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Additive metal printing on multi materials using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet on a 5-Axis platform

Hagger, Oliver SJ; Parkes, Michael A; Estrin, Francis Lockwood; Agrotis, Stefanos; Parkin, Ivan P; Handoko, Albertus D; Caruana, Daren J; (2025) Additive metal printing on multi materials using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet on a 5-Axis platform. Materials & Design , Article 113681. 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113681. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Post-production embellishment of objects with metal tracks presents challenges, due to the need for multiple processing steps and the complexity of navigating intricate substrate geometries. Here we describe a flexible approach to deposit conducting metal tracks on 3D objects using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). APPJs offer distinct advantages over traditional inkjet printing methods as they do not require metal particle inks or post-processing. An in-house-built APPJ print head was mounted onto a 5-axis platform to demonstrate metal printing on multifaceted metal, ceramic and glass complex objects. We use finite element modelling of the flow characteristics at the jet nozzle exit to understand and predict the track deposition. The modelling was corroborated through Schlieren imaging of the gas flow as well as chemical and physical characterisation of the resulting deposited track. Conductive metallic tracks of 0.3 mm widths were deposited on non-planar surfaces with one pass at a rate of 1 mm/s, using simple aqueous metal salts with an average plasma power of 10 W. Our findings reveal conductivity, adhesion strength and precision which present a benefit for additive manufacturing.

Type: Article
Title: Additive metal printing on multi materials using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet on a 5-Axis platform
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113681
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113681
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204291
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