Abstract:
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is one of the less-explored metal 3D
printing technologies that hold up a huge potential for large-scale product
manufacturing across multiple industries. The low-cost AM uses arc energy as a
heat source and metallic wire as a feedstock material. The process is sustainable
and supports green manufacturing. However, the major challenge associated
with the WAAM is that heat management leads to the development of residual
stress causing dimensional inaccuracy and poor surface finish. Therefore, fourlayer straight wall structures are fabricated by depositing material layer-uponlayer with nine distinct heat inputs (HI). The prime focus of the work is to study
the effect of HI on the dimensional accuracy and the quality of deposited
structures. The influence of deposition height on the surface topography is
investigated. Furthermore, the effect of HI on the mechanical properties of the
WAAM-printed thin wall is examined. The results show that with increase in the
number of depositing layers, surface roughness values get increased under the
similar process parameter used for the part fabrication. Therefore, it is
recommended to re-adjust the process parameter after certain layers of
deposition with proper monitoring of the thermal condition in the deposited
layers while fabricating medium to large WAAM components. The outcomes
from the studies show that increases in the HI while fabricating the WAAM
component deteriorate the surface quality of the deposited layer and are
responsible for reducing the mechanical properties of the WAAM-printed
component.
