Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Components

Abstract

An increasing demand for flexibility and product integration, combined with reduced product development cycles, leads to continuous development of new manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing. Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) provides promising technology for the near net-shape production of large structures with complex geometry, using cost efficient production resources such as arc welding technology and wire materials. Compared to powder-based additive manufacturing processes, WAAM offers high deposition rates as well as enhanced material utilization. Because of the layer-by-layer built up approach, process conditions such as energy input, arc characteristics, and material composition result in a different processability during the additive manufacturing process. This experimental study aims to describe the effects of the welding process on buildup accuracy and material properties during wire arc additive manufacturing of aluminum structures. Following a process development using pulse cold metal transfer (CMT-P), linear wall samples were manufactured with variations of the filler metal. The samples were analyzed in terms of surface finishing, hardness, and residual stress. Furthermore, mechanical properties were determined in different building directions.

Effects of Thermal Cycling on Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing of Al-5356 Components

“…Cross-section micrographs of wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) samples with varying process strategies. Previous findings reported in [27,28] have shown the influence of wire feed and welding speed on the height and width of the resulting geometry. It was reported that the wall width increases at higher wire-feed rates and decreases at higher welding speeds, whereas the wire feed shows a dominant influence.…”

Comparative study of eutectic Al-Si alloys manufactured by WAAM and casting

“…Fang et al [32], on the other side, measured a relatively low area percentage (0.36-0.85%) in AA5183 thin walls. Köhler et al [33] compared the porosity content of AA5356 and AA4047 by visual inspection (no statistical data was given), and concluded AA5356 being denser. However, porosity is dependent on a wide range of parameters, such as deposition mode (GMAW/GTAW), wire quality, input deposition parameters and possibly component design (thin wall versus block).…”

ISSLEDOVANIE OSOBENNOSTEJ FORMIROVANIJa STRUKTURY IZDELIJ IZ SPLAVA AK12, POLUChENNYH METODOM JeLEKTRONNO-LUChEVOGO ADDITIVNOGO PROIZVODSTVA

“…Детали из сплава АК12 зачастую используют в качестве поршней двигателей, картеров двигателей автомобилей или автомобильных узлов [5][6][7][8][9]. На сегодняшний день уже исследованы изделия с использованием аддитивных технологий из сплава Al-12Si преимущественно в работах методом селективного лазерного плавления [8][9][10], но встречается и в работах с применением дуговой проволочной аддитивной технологией [11]. Из-за высокой отражательной способности лазера и из-за высокой пористости, получаемых дуговой аддитивной технологией изделий, стоит перейти к методу электронно-лучевого плавления.…”