Method of Production of Composite Powder Cu-Ni Suitable for Use in Selective Laser Melting

The copper-nickel alloys are widely used in various industries. The adding of nickel significantly enhances mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and thermoelectric properties of copper. The technology was proposed of production of copper-nickel composite micro-powders by the gaseous deposition of nickel on the surface of copper powder. The vaporization of nickel was implemented by using magnetron. The relationship between mode of processing and the ratio of phases in the powder was investigated. The proposed method allows to modify the powder surface without deformation of the particles. The possibility of using of obtained composite powder in selective laser melting (SLM) was evaluated. It is assumed that the structure of the obtained composite material (SLM) will have inclusions of nickel and continuous chain of copper. This structure will have high mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity. The equipment was used: magnetron sprayer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM).