WAAM3D

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a technology that promises to reduce part cost by reducing material wastage and time to market. Furthermore, AM can also enable an increase in design freedom, which potentially results in weight saving as well as facilitating the manufacture of complex assemblies formerly made of many subcomponents.

The combination of an electric arc as heat source and wire as feedstock is referred to as WAAM and has been investigated for AM purposes since the 1990s, although the first patent was filed in 1925. WAAM hardware currently uses standard, off the shelf welding equipment: welding power source, torches and wire feeding systems. Motion can be provided either by robotic systems or computer numerical controlled gantries. Whenever possible, MIG is the process of choice: the wire is the consumable electrode, and its coaxiality with the welding torch results in easier tool path. MIG is perfect for materials such as aluminium and steel, but unfortunately, with titanium, this process is affected by arc wandering. Consequently, tungsten inert gas, or plasma arc welding, is currently used for titanium deposition.