Processing of pure copper by powder bed fusion with infrared laser

The metal laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) process was used to produce copper (Cu) samples using a conventional single-mode IR fiber laser with a wavelength of 1060–1080 nm and laser power in the range of 185–500 W. As is known in copper laser welding, the creation of surface ripples during keyhole generation affects surface absorption. In this study, the parameters that allow to achieve a keyhole condition to obtain a dense copper sample with an infrared laser were investigated. The deposited energy density allows the parameter window to be identified more precisely with respect to the linear and volumetric energy typically used with the process.