Features of C11000 copper products formation by wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing

In the work samples of large-sized blocks made of C11000 copper were obtained by wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing. Selection of parameters of electron beam printing technology made it possible to obtain products with mechanical properties corresponding to cast C11000 copper. Obtained samples had an inhomogeneous scale-like surface, as well as violations of the specified geometry formation were revealed. With the chosen printing strategy, these drawbacks can be eliminated by a more accurate selection of printing parameters. The most effective way to obtain blocks with a defect-free structure may be to change the scanning strategy. Despite the presence of geometric distortions, the mechanical properties of the copper samples are at the level of the properties of cast copper. However, anisotropy of properties is observed in the additively formed material. Close to the substrate, the mechanical properties of the copper increase significantly due to mixing with substrate material—steel and grain size refinement.