University of Wolverhampton, EOS and AMCM establish 3D printing center of excellence

The University of Wolverhampton (UK) and 3D printing companies EOS and AMCM have announced that they will join forces to create a new UK center of excellence in additive manufacturing (AM). The partnership will provide access to cutting-edge technology from EOS and AMCM, specializing in the development of advanced materials and processes for demanding applications in industries such as space, automotive, aerospace, electronics and quantum computing.

Partly funded by the UK’s Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), the center will be based at the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills (ECMS) on the university’s Springfield campus. It will promote knowledge exchange and commercialization of research serving both local and international clients from a range of sectors.

The university’s additive manufacturing research group and its spin-off, Additive Analytics, will lead the material and process development. The broad applicability of copper in AM for thermal management and electrification, thanks to its excellent thermal and electrical properties, is already attracting interest from various industries. While copper offers desirable properties, it is difficult to process by laser, which has so far hindered its wide adoption in AM. The consortium aims to overcome this by using novel technologies and expertise.

Professor Arun Arjunan, director of the ECMS and Centre for Engineering Innovation and Research at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “The establishment of the UK Centre of Excellence for copper AM marks a significant milestone in additive manufacturing, setting the stage for a new era of innovation, sustainability, and responsible manufacturing. Future projects will investigate the integration of laser process data and machine learning, and artificial intelligence technologies for efficient material and laser process development.”

With a relationship of over 20 years with EOS, the new center will be strengthened by the introduction of an AMCM 290 FLX, a state-of-the-art laser melting system capable of processing challenging materials such as copper. This system provides companies with early and easy access to the latest technology and research.

Nathan Rawlings, Sales Manager at EOS UK, said: “The UK manufacturing sector has always pushed forward and embraced innovation. Additive Manufacturing with materials such as copper offers huge benefits for product designers, but they can be demanding for manufacturers to work with. This new Centre of Excellence will create and test the processes that enable material benefits to be reliably and consistently realised in real-world manufacturing component manufacturing.”