FRAMGRAF II - Improved properties of additively produced metals by adding graphene

This project is a continuation of the feasibility study that was carried out in 2020 and showed the possibilities of using graphene as an additive material in additive manufacturing (AM, powder bed). The goal is now to build on the knowledge from the feasibility study and take the promising results further and manufacture metal matrix composites of graphene and stainless steel (SS316L) with improved mechanical and tribological properties. Components produced in this way can be designed with the flexibility allowed by additive manufacturing while benefiting from the improved properties achieved by the addition of graphene. SS316L is a widely used alloy and the most evaluated for powder bed technology, which opens up for a faster way to market for components made with this technology. A selected end-user component will be manufactured with a laser powder bed and the tribological properties will be evaluated in a tribometer. The material will be characterized to increase the understanding of the graph's stability during production and the graph's interaction with the microstructure of the built material. The functionalized graphene, "GraphCot", invented by Graphmatech AB, will be coated on the SS316L powder particles with a unique coating technology developed by Graphmatech before printing with laser and powder bed. The consortium includes representatives from both the AM sector and the graphene production sector. The possibility of combining AM with graphene opens up for a large number of applications where high performance is needed, such as the aerospace industry, orthopedic manufacturing and the tool and energy sectors. The technology will be taken further for commercialization via the end users at Amexci AB and Graphmatech AB.

Graphene - the new supermaterial