The main project objective is to develop the new Cu-based alloys and production technology of the following: water turbine propellers, ship propellers, seawater pump elements and other marine equipment. These components will be manufactured by means of 3DMP^® process which belongs to the Wire+Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) and is considered as the most promising for such applications.

The 3D Metal Printing (3DMP^®) process will be alternative, competitive and more environmental friendly to presently used conventional metal processing technologies. The principle of the 3DMP^® technology is to make the final product layer-by-layer from the wire as an feedstock material.

The development of Cu-based alloys and production technology for seawater corrosion resistant components will be less expansive and result in longer lifetime due to the extraordinary mechanical properties of the new alloys used to build these elements. The 3DMP^® technology enables to build components and equipment of lower weight in comparison with the products presently available on the market at lower material loss.

The cost reduction of the production process is possible due to shortening production time and using less processes: from min. 7 (conventional technologies) to max. 3 (3DMP^®). The project will result in ready to implement 3DMP^® technology for manufacturing of corrosion resistant components. Moreover, developed materials and production technology can be used to manufacture other products in many branches of the industry.

Project consortium:

• IMN Institute of Non-Ferrous Materials (Project Coordinator - Poland)
• Gefertec GmbH (Germany)
• Tecnalia Research and Innovation (Spain)
• ENEA (Italy)
• Ghent University (Belgium)

The project "3DMPWIRE. Material-efficient Cu wire-based 3D printing technology", 2019-2021 (Upscaling) is cofounded by EIT RAW MATERIALS