Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication
This study aims to simplify and accelerate the production of battery cell housings through additive manufacturing, emphasizing reduced tooling requirements and flexible design possibilities—especially advantageous for early-stage prototyping. The research focuses on fabricating conductor-insulator c...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Materials & Design |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525004307 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849331254519922688 |
|---|---|
| author | Thomas Bareth Daniel Eder Maja Lehmann Georg Schlick Christian Seidel |
| author_facet | Thomas Bareth Daniel Eder Maja Lehmann Georg Schlick Christian Seidel |
| author_sort | Thomas Bareth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to simplify and accelerate the production of battery cell housings through additive manufacturing, emphasizing reduced tooling requirements and flexible design possibilities—especially advantageous for early-stage prototyping. The research focuses on fabricating conductor-insulator compounds through multi-material powder bed fusion with a laser beam (PBF-LB). An additional nozzle-based powder deposition method allows for the processing of three materials within a single build job: electrically insulating alumina-toughened zirconia, along with highly conductive pure aluminum and pure copper. Initial results from mono-material ceramic manufacturing were followed by a detailed analysis of the multi-material process between the metals and ceramics. Various strategies for optimizing the material transition zone were explored, with the most effective approach incorporating a stepped interface design combined with overlapping laser vectors to compensate for thermal shrinkage. The aluminum–ceramic samples produced with this strategy successfully met the helium leak tightness criterion, exhibiting a maximum leak rate below Image 1. This confirms that both the material transition and the ceramic region itself can be processed to be helium-tight. Furthermore, the investigations on ceramic processing revealed a maximum Archimedean density of 97.30%, and the ceramic specimens demonstrated a mean dielectric breakdown strength of 7.92 Image 2, underlining their suitability for insulation applications. These results demonstrate the robustness and potential of the proposed multi-material PBF-LB method for creating conductor-insulator compounds, particularly when compared to the current state of the art. The insights gained have led to the creation of guidelines that provide scientific support for future applications in multi-material manufacturing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a1af6eb2bf24f14839503de59fd38a3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0264-1275 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials & Design |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a1af6eb2bf24f14839503de59fd38a32025-08-20T03:46:41ZengElsevierMaterials & Design0264-12752025-06-0125411401010.1016/j.matdes.2025.114010Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabricationThomas Bareth0Daniel Eder1Maja Lehmann2Georg Schlick3Christian Seidel4Fraunhofer IGCV (Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV), Am Technologiezentrum 10, 86159 Augsburg, Germany; Technical University of Munich, Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management, Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching, Germany; Corresponding author at: Fraunhofer IGCV (Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV), Am Technologiezentrum 10, 86159 Augsburg, Germany.Fraunhofer IGCV (Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV), Am Technologiezentrum 10, 86159 Augsburg, Germany; Technical University of Munich, Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management, Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching, GermanyFraunhofer IGCV (Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV), Am Technologiezentrum 10, 86159 Augsburg, GermanyFraunhofer IGCV (Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV), Am Technologiezentrum 10, 86159 Augsburg, GermanyMunich University of Applied Sciences, Department of Applied Sciences and Mechatronics, Lothstr. 34, 80335 Munich, GermanyThis study aims to simplify and accelerate the production of battery cell housings through additive manufacturing, emphasizing reduced tooling requirements and flexible design possibilities—especially advantageous for early-stage prototyping. The research focuses on fabricating conductor-insulator compounds through multi-material powder bed fusion with a laser beam (PBF-LB). An additional nozzle-based powder deposition method allows for the processing of three materials within a single build job: electrically insulating alumina-toughened zirconia, along with highly conductive pure aluminum and pure copper. Initial results from mono-material ceramic manufacturing were followed by a detailed analysis of the multi-material process between the metals and ceramics. Various strategies for optimizing the material transition zone were explored, with the most effective approach incorporating a stepped interface design combined with overlapping laser vectors to compensate for thermal shrinkage. The aluminum–ceramic samples produced with this strategy successfully met the helium leak tightness criterion, exhibiting a maximum leak rate below Image 1. This confirms that both the material transition and the ceramic region itself can be processed to be helium-tight. Furthermore, the investigations on ceramic processing revealed a maximum Archimedean density of 97.30%, and the ceramic specimens demonstrated a mean dielectric breakdown strength of 7.92 Image 2, underlining their suitability for insulation applications. These results demonstrate the robustness and potential of the proposed multi-material PBF-LB method for creating conductor-insulator compounds, particularly when compared to the current state of the art. The insights gained have led to the creation of guidelines that provide scientific support for future applications in multi-material manufacturing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525004307Additive manufacturingPowder bed fusion using a laser beamPBF-LBCeramic processingCeramic–metal compositesBattery cell housings |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Bareth Daniel Eder Maja Lehmann Georg Schlick Christian Seidel Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication Materials & Design Additive manufacturing Powder bed fusion using a laser beam PBF-LB Ceramic processing Ceramic–metal composites Battery cell housings |
| title | Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication |
| title_full | Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication |
| title_fullStr | Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication |
| title_short | Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication |
| title_sort | multi material additive manufacturing of conductor insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication |
| topic | Additive manufacturing Powder bed fusion using a laser beam PBF-LB Ceramic processing Ceramic–metal composites Battery cell housings |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525004307 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thomasbareth multimaterialadditivemanufacturingofconductorinsulatorcompoundsforbatterycellcapfabrication AT danieleder multimaterialadditivemanufacturingofconductorinsulatorcompoundsforbatterycellcapfabrication AT majalehmann multimaterialadditivemanufacturingofconductorinsulatorcompoundsforbatterycellcapfabrication AT georgschlick multimaterialadditivemanufacturingofconductorinsulatorcompoundsforbatterycellcapfabrication AT christianseidel multimaterialadditivemanufacturingofconductorinsulatorcompoundsforbatterycellcapfabrication |