Particle damping optimization and multi-material additive manufacturing of an atom chip bracket: a case study

The powder bed fusion by laser beam of metals (PBF-LB/M) offers the possibility of directly integrating particle dampers during manufacturing. Building on an existing optimization tool, this article investigates the optimization and multi-material additive manufacturing (AM) of a bracket for an atom chip of a quantum inertial sensor. The bracket is optimized in terms of mass, stiffness, and damping properties, and subsequently manufactured using Scalmalloy and tungsten in a PBF-LB/M process. The results provide findings into component design as well as into the pre-processing phase of AM.