Additive concentration and nozzle moving speed influence on local copper deposition for electrochemical 3D-printing

The local deposition process from copper sulfate electrolyte was investigated depending on nozzle moving speed and additive concentration in the electrolyte. A 2×2 cm square model was created and sliced in Ultimaker Cura software, uploaded in a 3D printer, and printed from the copper electrolyte on the stainless-steel surface. Low additive concentration in the electrolyte was found to influence dendrite formation in the corner sections of a square model. Nozzle movement speed was found to influence the deposition area and the thickness of the metal. The lowest tested nozzle movement speed of 5 s / voxel increased the deposition area by nearly 40 % in horizontal direction compared to 2.5 s / voxel. Further increase of nozzle movement speed to 1.6 s / voxel does not change the deposition area. The thickness in the corners increases by 2.5 times compared to the straight section of the square when the nozzle movement speed increases from 5 to 1.6 s / voxel. The non-uniform thickness of the deposited metal is caused by a considerable reduction of nozzle movement speed when it moves through the corner. The results obtained in this work can be further used to develop electrochemical 3D printing technology.