Green laser promises to be used for 3D printing of pure copper materials

During the period from the 1960s to the 1980s, various nonlinear crystal materials were utilized for internal cavity frequency doubling Nd: YAG lasers to obtain green light sources. Into the 1990s, high power, high repetition frequency all-solid-state green laser with the advantages of long life, high reliability, small size, high efficiency, etc. has been unprecedented development. And with the improvement of the quality of domestic semiconductor lasers and the reduction of the price of foreign semiconductor lasers, the research of domestic all-solid-state high power green laser has also made great progress. 

In 2021, TRUMPF debuted its 3 kW high-power continuous green disk laser. It is reported that the average output power of this product is as high as 3 kW, which represents the strongest power in the current green laser series, and it is very suitable for the welding work of copper, aluminum and other high-reversal materials. Especially in the lithium-ion industry represented by new energy automobile power batteries, the Trafotek green laser (1,000-3,000W) can realize the welding of as many as 120 layers of copper foils, with virtually no spattering, and with the depth of melting The melting depth is precisely controllable. In addition, high power green light also has outstanding advantages in pure copper material additive manufacturing - 3D printing applications. 

According to the German Institute of Photonics Technology to give the results of the study, at a room temperature of 20 ℃, copper in the solid state, the absorption rate of green light band for about 40%; and in the temperature rises to 1600 ℃, copper in the molten state, the absorption rate instead of a decline of about 5%. That is, the absorption of green light after the copper melt is a slight decrease. This characteristic helps to obtain stable small holes in the processing of copper, and can achieve almost zero splash. This is a clear advantage of green laser over infrared laser welding. 

The above research proves that green laser can be used as the best light source for 3D printing of highly reflective metal materials, 3D printing of pure copper materials, can be a good solution to the relevant problems, and achieve greater than 99.95% densities. In the future, green laser is expected to be used in pure copper material 3D printing, pure copper material 3D printing market scale is also expected to be further expanded.