Eplus3D Prints Crack-Free Copper-Nickel Parts for Aerospace

Chinese metal 3D printing equipment maker Eplus3D has validated a laser powder bed fusion process for copper-nickel aerospace components that produces crack-free parts at 570 MPa tensile strength.

The collaboration with Young-Will Aerospace used the Eplus3D EP-M400, a mid-to-large metal system with a 400 x 400 x 450 mm build chamber and up to six lasers. The result exceeds conventional forging strength for the same alloy by 18 percent.

Copper-nickel alloys have long been considered difficult candidates for powder bed processing. Copper segregates at grain boundaries during laser fusion, and without tight process control, cracks follow. The fact that the team eliminated cracking entirely points to a genuinely stable process window, not a marginal one.

The validation covered tensile specimens and real aerospace geometries. Eplus3D says the established parameters are transferable to production parts with similar cross-sections and wall thicknesses.

This matters because CuNi alloys offer excellent corrosion resistance and are widely used in marine, chemical, and aerospace applications. A reliable LPBF process opens the door to complex, weight-optimized designs that traditional forging cannot produce economically.