Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Alloys Produced by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing Method

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technology is a new technology that is considered to be a technological revolution in the manufacturing industry. It has advantages such as design flexibility, saving material and time, producing low-density and high-strength parts. Due to these advantages it is used in many sectors such as aviation and automotive. The additive manufacturing method can be integrated into different welding methods. One of these technologies is wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). Metal inert/active gas (MIG/MAG) or tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding methods are generally used in this method. The basic principle of the WAAM method is to melt the raw material in the form of wire with electric arc heat and deposit it in layers on top of each other. The fact that large-sized and complex parts can be produced without any problems, almost no waste, and being economical compared to other metal additive manufacturing methods has made this technique a demanding production method. In this study, AA5356 aluminum alloy wires with a diameter of 2.4 mm were deposited on plates under argon gas by TIG welding method and jointed aluminum parts were produced with different welding parameters. As a result of tests and microstructure investigations, it was determined that the samples prepared parallel and perpendicular to the weld seam direction showed different behavior in terms of mechanical properties. These results were supported by the microstructure and compared with the parts produced by traditional methods. In addition mechanical tests and microstructural examinations were supported by EBSD, EDS and AFM analyzes.