The deposition of metallic materials (copper or aluminum;
FIGURE) on CFRP and glass fber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) substrates is being investigated, which has already created signifcant
interest in the aeronautic and automotive industries. In addition,
the new technology can be applied in novel ways in electronics
manufacturing. As an example, Cold Gas Spraying may deposit a
copper layer on a non-conducting housing for fanless heat removal
from electronic components.
The project team is composed of French, Dutch, and German
partners. Dycomet Europe (Netherlands) brings cold gas spraying
expertise, Edgewave (Germany) delivers high-power short-pulsed
laser technology, and Industrial Laser Systems (France) is acting
as the system integrator and coordinator of the project. Research
teams from Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard
(UTBM; France) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology
(ILT; Germany) are developing the process.
The EMLACS project (reference number 606567) has been running since June 2014 under Research for SMEs – FP7-SME-2013
and has been funded by the Research Executive Agency (REA)
for 24 months.
This article was written by Gail Overton, senior editor for Laser
High-speed deposition of copper on aluminum segments uses
laser-assisted cold spraying. (Image credit: Dycomet)