Farsoon FS621M-Cu
Farsoon has introduced its latest additive manufacturing hardware, designed specifically for 3D printing copper alloys.
The FS621M-Cu is a large-format system, which includes four 1000W ytterbium fibre lasers (1060–1080 nm) to achieve stable, long-duration printing of highly reflective materials like CuCrZr.
The machine features an anti-reflective chamber coating, a smart thermal management system, and tailored laser process parameters. According to Farsoon, test parts are said to deliver thermal conductivity of ≥345 W/(m·K), thermal diffusivity of ≥95 mm²/s and specific heat capacity of ≥0.35 J/(g·K).
The FS621M-Cu builds on the Chinese OEMs work in copper AM, which began with its copper-compatible FS271M platform in 2017. Per a press release, Farsoon says it has been working with a ‘leading aerospace manufacturer’ since 2023 to co-develop a large-format laser powder bed fusion solution for copper alloys. The company says this latest machine is enabling the production of large, complex aerospace components, with the unnamed aerospace customer reportedly using the FS621M-Cu to produce a 600 mm diameter × 850 mm height thrust chamber liner, thought to be one of the largest monolithic copper alloy components ever 3D printed.
The highly reflective nature of copper and copper alloys has proved a challenge for 3D printing due to the material’s reaction to near-infrared lasers, which can lead to defects like porosity, delamination, and warping. However, as applications in aerospace continue to dominate, particularly for large monolithic structures with optimised cooling channels, demand for such materials has increased. Several OEMs have responded with solutions engineered to overcome the challenges associated with copper, such as Eplus3D which introduced its copper developments at TCT Asia this year without any hardware upgrades but rather process optimisations which have validated the mechanical properties of copper-chromium-zirconium (C18150) for part stability and long-cycle reliability. EOS has also been working with copper for some time but recently expanded its efforts with the launch of a UK centre in collaboration with the University of Wolverhampton, with a particular focus on copper.
Applications are growing too, with the space industry taking the lead on large copper structures, but emerging applications in the semiconductor and e-mobility industries are showing where the technology can deliver greater design freedoms and efficiencies. Alloy Enterprises, for example, recently launched its copper direct liquid cooling solution to reduce the energy use of AI data centres by combining the material properties of wrought aluminium and copper with novel geometries that can only be produced with AM.
