Materials reference
Copper Alloy CuCrZr
What is it?
Copper Alloy CuCrZr is a metal alloy selected for particular strength, temperature, weight or manufacturing needs.
Why would someone print it?
Printing may help create complex shapes or low-volume parts, but the complete finishing and inspection route still matters.
What should a beginner know?
- Confirm the exact machine, material settings and acceptance requirements.
- A material listing does not by itself qualify a production part.
What happens after printing?
Printed parts may need heat treatment, support removal, machining, finishing and inspection before they are accepted. Powder feedstock is often the largest consumable in LPBF economics — public powder price evidence, where records exist, is collected by alloy on its own page.
What is an alloy?
What does this mean? An alloy is a defined metal composition. Why does it matter? Composition, process settings and post-processing affect the finished part.
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Technical material evidence
The copper alloy that actually prints: pure copper reflects infrared laser energy and cracks easily in LPBF, while CuCrZr keeps most of copper’s thermal and electrical conductivity with enough strength and printability to be manufacturable on high-power machines. That makes it the standard choice for conformal-cooled tooling, heat exchangers, nozzles and thermal-management hardware. The AM-specific catch: conductivity and density trade against each other, machine power class matters, and alloy density must not be assumed from pure copper. Verify the measured printed-part conductivity/density evidence, not the nominal alloy datasheet.
LPBF (high-power variants) · process-family reference. Nominal alloy properties and printed-part properties are different evidence — the table and sections below separate what is verified from what needs your qualified process.
| Property | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Designations | CuCr1Zr UNS C18150/C18160 W.Nr 2.1255/2.1257OEM ↗ · Source reviewed |
| Nominal material density | Density not verified for this alloy |
| Powder price | Current supplier quote required No public powder list price was captured in the supplied source review. Obtain a current supplier quote. |
Post-processing evidence
Conductivity-optimized vs strength-optimized HT routes (EOS data sheet)
OEM ↗ · Source reviewedThis is a research summary, not a production heat-treatment instruction. Use the current OEM material datasheet, qualified parameter set and application-specific acceptance requirements.
Machine and process compatibility
| Referenced platform | Evidence scope |
|---|---|
| EOS M 290 1kW / M 300-4 1kW variants | Portfolio evidence only; exact machine, parameters and qualification must be confirmedOEM ↗ · Source reviewed |
Manufacturing considerations
- high reflectivity + thermal conductivity need 1kW-class power
- springback
- hot cracking
- dense parts need careful power window