CuCrZr Cold Plate Additive Manufactured for EV Battery Thermal Control

EV battery packs are getting denser, charge rates are rising, and thermal margins are shrinking. If you’re trying to hold tight pack ∆T while minimizing pressure drop and mass, a 3D printed CuCrZr cold plate is a practical, production-oriented path. Our copper 3D printing service (LPBF/SLM/DMLS) produces one-piece cold plates with conformal micro-channels, built-in turbulators, and optimized manifolds—ready for machining on gasket lands and ports—so you can move faster from CFD to dyno to road.

Why CuCrZr for EV battery cooling

CuCrZr (UNS C18150 / CW106C) is a precipitation-hardened copper alloy that pairs high thermal/electrical conductivity with good strength and softening resistance—exactly the balance you want for compact liquid cold plates that see thermal cycling and assembly loads. In LPBF form, EOS reports up to ~88% IACS electrical conductivity after conductivity-optimized aging, with dense parts (≥ 8.84 g/cm³) and average internal defect levels around ~0.2% on their validated parameter sets. That conductivity tracks with high thermal conductivity after heat treat.

Commercial powder data (e.g., Sandvik Osprey C18150) further notes service stability to elevated temperatures, reinforcing the alloy’s headroom for under-hood and inverter-adjacent environments—even though battery plate operation is much cooler in practice. (Metal powder | Sandvik)

Why additive manufacturing (LPBF) for cold plates

Traditional plates rely on stacked sheets, diffusion bonding, or braze-on covers. LPBF CuCrZr collapses that into a single, leak-tight body with:

• Conformal micro-channels placed exactly where cells dump heat.
• Topology-optimized manifolds that tame flow maldistribution and reduce hot spots.
• Integrated features—bosses, ribs, O-ring glands, sensor ports—printed in, not added later.
• Weight reduction via lattices and hollow ribs while maintaining stiffness.

Industry engineering writeups highlight how AM unlocks biomimetic, high-performance channel topologies that are extremely costly with subtractive fabrication. (Siemens Blog Network)

Design targets we help you hit

What EV teams typically optimize:

• Cell/module temperature uniformity across the plate to extend life and reduce degradation.
• Peak temperature under fast charge and high C-rate drive cycles.
• Pressure drop within pump budget and acoustic targets.
• Structural margins (mount points, crush/impact zones) and NVH.

NREL’s work on battery cooling plates and broader BEV thermal strategies underscores the links among pack ∆T, heat generation, and system energy. Use these as guardrails when setting your CFD acceptance criteria. (NREL 文档)

Recommended DfAM guidelines for CuCrZr cold plates

These are starting points; we tune to your platform and supplier stack.

• Process & material: LPBF CuCrZr (C18150/CW106C). Validated parameter sets are available on industrial systems. EOS discloses 80 µm nominal layers in their Core configuration.

• Minimum walls / features: As a rule-of-thumb, ≥ 0.8 mm wall and ≥ 0.8–1.2 mm hydraulic diameter for steady manufacturability; go larger where machining/grinding follows. EOS notes 0.8 mm minimal wall thickness in the datasheet.

• Surface finish: As-built surfaces are rough; we machine gasket lands, port faces, and sensor pockets. (See EOS roughness charts for angle/finish dependency.)

• Heat treat:

  • Conductivity-optimized aging: ~3 h @ 550 °C, inert gas, slow cool—maximizes conductivity.
  • Strength-optimized aging: ~1 h @ 490 °C, inert gas, slow cool—boosts tensile. These recipes are documented for LPBF CuCrZr.
  • Solution + age route: Some OEMs also apply ~950–1000 °C solution anneal + water quench followed by aging ~500 °C; see SLM Solutions guidance and fusion-materials literature. We select the route aligned to your property targets. (SLM Solutions)

• Post-processing: Stress relieve/age → machine critical faces → optional densification strategy (case-by-case) → leak/pressure testing.

• Sealing: O-ring glands to ISO 3601 or customer spec; brazed or swaged fittings per your connector family.

Peer-reviewed studies on LPBF CuCrZr confirm that aging significantly lifts conductivity and strength versus as-built, and that property tuning is sensitive to exact time/temperature history—plan to lock your metallurgical route during DV/PV. (Wiley Online Library)

Fluids, compatibility, and corrosion control

We support water-glycol mixes (EGW/PGW) with inhibitors, deionized water in controlled chemistries, and dielectric coolants where electrical isolation is mandatory. Final coolant selection drives plating/coating decisions (e.g., nickel or tin for cosmetic tarnish control or compatibility), gasket materials, and maintenance intervals. Provide your target chemistry and inhibitor pack; we’ll confirm material compatibility and, if needed, coupon testing. Guidance from DOE/NREL shows why accurate heat generation characterization is critical for picking coolants and sizing your BTMS. (The Department of Energy’s Energy.gov)

Galvanic couples (e.g., copper to aluminum) are mitigated with design isolation, hardware choices, and coatings as required by the vehicle environment. (Share your mating stack and torque specs.)

Thermal design workflow we use with customers

1. Inputs we need (RFQ stage): pack layout, module heat map vs. drive/charge cycles, coolant type/temperature/flow envelope, pump head budget, allowable ∆p, connector family, test plans.
2. Concept generation: Several channel topologies & manifold strategies to balance ∆T vs. ∆p and purge-ability.
3. CFD co-development: Constrain to printable limits; incorporate turbulators or local area augmentation under known hot cells.
4. Prototyping: Print → heat treat → machine → helium leak test → bench thermal with calorimetry.
5. Iterate to DV/PV: Lock metallurgy and sealing after correlation; build validation units for thermal cycle, burst, vibration, and corrosion exposure aligned with your lab’s protocols.

NREL publications provide useful frameworks for thermal goals (uniformity and maximum temperature), abuse-condition modeling, and system-level energy tradeoffs—solid references for your design reviews. (NREL 文档)

Testing & quality options

• Helium leak (mass-spec) to your threshold.
• Hydro/burst proof per spec.
• CT scan of channels (sampling plan).
• Thermal bench (plate ∆T and R_th under specified flow/inlet).
• Metallurgical coupons per lot (hardness/conductivity %IACS).
• Dimensional reports on machined features.

AM datasheets document density and defect levels that underpin leak-tightness—yet we always validate on your geometry because manifolds, thin walls, and overhangs change local build conditions.

Multi-material and integration options

Research groups and OEMs are exploring multi-material builds (e.g., CuCrZr with 316L stainless interfaces) to combine thermal performance with structural or corrosion advantages. Interface quality depends on orientation and processing windows; we can advise when this architecture is beneficial and when it’s not. (科学直通车)

What you’ll get from our copper 3D printing service

• Design-for-AM review within your requirements and supplier ecosystem.
• Production-grade LPBF CuCrZr with controlled heat treatment for your property target (conductivity-biased vs. strength-biased).
• Machined sealing surfaces & ports, pressure-tested, with material certificates as requested.
• Documentation to accelerate DV/PV (test plans, inspection, metallurgical records).

RFQ checklist (copy/paste into your email)

• Vehicle program / pack name & build stage (DV / PV / VP)
• Module geometry (envelope CAD or simplified) and heat maps vs. charge/discharge profiles
• Coolant (chemistry, inlet temperature range), flow & ∆p budget
• Connector family (thread/ORB, quick-connect, custom)
• Thermal targets (max cell temp, module ∆T, hot-spot criteria)
• Mechanical & environmental tests (burst, leak, vibration, salt/fog, thermal shock)
• Coating/plating preferences; galvanic constraints
• Quantity and schedule constraints (prototype / pilot / ramp)

Send to: [email protected]

Applications beyond EV battery trays

• Inverters & onboard chargers: baseplate cooling with high heat flux zones.
• DC fast chargers & power electronics: compact heat exchangers with aggressive ∆T targets.
• Motors/e-axles: oil-cooling assist plates/manifolds.

Technical notes & typical properties (LPBF CuCrZr)

• Process example: 80 µm layers on industrial LPBF platforms (EOS Core).

• Heat treatments discussed in OEM literature:

  • Age 3 h @ 550 °C (conductivity focus) or 1 h @ 490 °C (strength focus).
  • Alternative route with ~950–1000 °C solution + water quench + aging ~500 °C where appropriate.

• Indicative outcomes (vendor data, coupons): up to ~88% IACS after conductivity-optimized aging; tensile properties rise with strength-biased aging. Always validate on your geometry.

• As-built vs. aged: peer-reviewed studies report significant conductivity and strength gains after aging on LPBF CuCrZr. (Wiley Online Library)

Frequently asked questions (fast answers)

References & further reading

• EOS CopperAlloy CuCrZr Material Data Sheet (LPBF parameters, conductivity and heat treatment). Status 05/2025.
• EOS CuCrZr public materials page. (EOS GmbH)
• SLM Solutions CuCr1Zr datasheet (solution + aging route). (SLM Solutions)
• Sandvik Osprey C18150 powder overview (AM-grade CuCrZr). (Metal powder | Sandvik)
• NREL (2022): Cooling plates in battery packs—numerical and experimental study. (NREL 文档)
• NREL (2018): Total Thermal Management of BEVs. (NREL 文档)
• NREL/DOE (2017): Battery thermal characterization & modeling. (The Department of Energy’s Energy.gov)
• Wegener et al. (2021): LPBF CuCrZr—heat treatments and properties. (Wiley Online Library)
• Candela et al. (2024): Influence of heat treatments on LPBF CuCrZr conductivity/strength. (科学直通车)
• Meyer et al. (2025): CuCrZr with stainless steel—multi-material AM interface quality. (科学直通车)
• Siemens Simcenter blog (2025): AM reshaping cold-plate design. (Siemens Blog Network)

Talk to a manufacturing engineer: [email protected]

Disclaimer: If you choose to implement any of the examples described in this article in your own projects, please conduct a careful evaluation first. This site assumes no responsibility for any losses resulting from implementations made without prior evaluation.