Comparison of wear and mechanical properties of cast and 3D printed CuSn10 bronze alloy

This paper aims to provide a comparison between properties of CuSn10 bronze alloy produced by two methods: FDM (fused deposition modelling) and casting. Wear behavior, mechanical performance and microstructure of CuSn10 alloy produced by FDM and casting methods were determined and compared. 3D printed parts were sintered at 875 °C for 5 h and casting was done at 1200 °C. The amount of porosity was determined by the metallographic cross-sectional examination. Vicker’s hardness, wear and tensile properties of samples were determined. As a result, the porosity value of the CuSn10 alloy produced by the FDM technique was determined as 5.07 ± 0.53%. Tensile strength values were 233.75 ± 18.48 MPa and 349.04 ± 5.10 MPa for CuSn10 alloys produced by FDM and casting methods respectively. While adhesive wear occurs in both production methods, it was observed that the FDM method reduced the wear resistance.