Manufacturing of copper-chromium composite using electrochemical additive manufacturing method: a screening study

The demand for additive manufacturing (AM) metal parts has increased today. Still, the general procedure of these methods is to apply heat to metal powder or electrodes, which requires advanced equipment such as expensive lasers. Manufactured parts also need post-processing operations. Electrochemical additive manufacturing (ECAM) has solved this problem because making parts with this method does not require high heat and prints different metals using electrochemical processes and metal deposition. In this research, various samples of copper and composites consisting of copper and chromium were made using the electrochemical additive manufacturing method, and the samples were studied in terms of electrical resistance and deposition method. Also, the effect of potential, electrolyte temperature, substrate temperature, and nozzle-to-substrate distance on the deposition rate was investigated. The microstructure of the samples was also analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and image processing, and the effect of manufacturing potential on electrical resistance and print width was also studied. In the end, it was determined that chromium layers in the composite increase electrical resistance. With the increase of chromium layers, the weight and height of the composites decreased. Increasing the manufacturing potential also increases the electrical resistance, but it does not affect the width of the print. Also, the results showed that the deposition rate increases with the increase in potential, electrolyte temperature, and substrate temperature. However, it is necessary to determine the optimal distance between the nozzle and the substrate for the best deposition rate.