Metallic Bipolar Plate Production Through Additive Manufacturing: Contrasting MEX/M and PBF-LB/M Approaches

The corresponding paper investigates the production of metallic bipolar plates using MEX/M and PBF-LB/M additive manufacturing technologies. Six design variations were fabricated, and the geometric accuracy of both methods was evaluated using 3D scanning technology. To account for dimensional deviations, the shrinkage of MEX/M samples was measured and compensated in the digital models before the comparison. A comparative analysis was conducted based on 20 measurement points per sample, calculating mean values and standard deviations. The results indicate that PBF-LB/M is well-suited for manufacturing complex structures with intricate geometric details, while MEX/M provides a balanced trade-off between accuracy and production efficiency for simpler bipolar plate designs. Consequently, PBF-LB/M is recommended for prototyping and experimental validation of complex geometries, whereas MEX/M is more suitable for prototype production as a preparatory step for mass manufacturing via the MIM process.

本研究针对采用材料挤出增材制造（MEX/M）与激光粉末床熔融（PBF-LB/M）两种增材制造技术制备金属双极板（metallic bipolar plates）的工艺展开了探究。研究共制备了6种设计变体，并通过三维扫描技术（3D scanning technology）对两种工艺的几何精度进行了评估。为考量尺寸偏差，研究人员先对MEX/M试样的收缩率进行了测量，并在开展对比分析前于数字模型中完成了收缩补偿。本次对比分析基于每个试样的20个测量点展开，计算得到平均值与标准差。结果表明，PBF-LB/M工艺十分适配带有精细几何细节的复杂结构制造，而MEX/M工艺则在简易双极板设计的精度与生产效率间实现了均衡的权衡。综上，PBF-LB/M推荐用于复杂几何结构的原型制造与实验验证；而MEX/M则更适合作为通过金属注射成型（MIM）工艺实现批量制造的前期步骤，用于原型件生产。