E! Cluster SMART EDM-ADDITIVE
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Add North 3D AB |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 2 409 604 |
| Project duration | January 2019 - December 2021 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Eureka cluster co-funding |
Important results from the project
The overall purpose of the project was to produce electrodes for EDM manufacturing via additive manufacturing. These electrodes need to be electrically conductive as well as chemically and thermally resistant. This has been achieved by a composite formulation consisting of PVDF and graphene, which has subsequently been coated with copper. The same material can also be used for FDM 3D-printed Faraday enclosures of sensitive electronics, antennas for IoT applications, sensors for wearable electronics and simpler circuits, and is now available on the market.
Expected long term effects
This material and method for manufacturing electrodes for EDM will of course directly affect tool manufacturers´ processes in terms of cost and time for developing electrodes, but will also indirectly benefit a number of other applications: antennas for IoT / 5g, EMI shielding in for example aircraft or self-driving cars where many sensors interact, radar equipment and wearable electronics such as VR sensors.
Approach and implementation
The implementation was based on collaboration between Add North and two Spanish project partners, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the technical institute AIJU, where we together produced candidates for recipes, then compounded and extruded into filaments which we then test-printed and then test-coated. Together we had the required skills and the collaboration went very well where we could benefit from each other´s strengths and experiences.