Review on application of additive manufacturing for electrical power converters

Additive manufacturing(AM) or 3D printing is one of the fastest growing technologies that has been successfully implemented in various fields. The technique of building components by addition of material rather than the conventional subtractive manufacturing has opened up new realm of product design possibilities. From using AM for prototyping purpose it has evolved to make working parts it started replacing the conventional machines from the production lines. All the engineering disciplines, medical applications, fashion and jewelery designs, hobbyist etc. utilizes 3D printing to build efficient prototypes and products. In this paper, potential application of 3D printing for parts of electrical power converters has been identified and discussed. Surge in the dependence of electromechanical machines had urged to improve the performance of electrical power converters and their form factor. High power density requirements, compactness, rugged environments of usage poses challenges for the converters design. The promising AM technology and their material capabilities could improve the converter design features and assist to meet the requirements. This paper highlights the potential of AM which improved the performance of parts used for thermal management, passive electrical components, PCB construction and other constructional features of the power converters.