Analytical process model for wire plus arc additive manufacturing
Williams, Stewart W.
- 1
- 2Cranfield University
Journal
Additive Manufacturing
ISSN
2214-8604
2214-7810
Open Access
hybrid
Volume
21
Start page
651
End page
657
An analytical process model for predicting the layer height and wall width from the process parameters was developed for wire + arc additive manufacture of Ti-6Al-4V, which includes inter-pass temperature and material properties. Capillarity theory predicted that cylindrical deposits were produced where the wall width was less than 12 mm (radius < 6 mm) due to the large value of the surface tension. Power was predicted with an accuracy of +/- 20% for a wide range of conditions for pulsed TIG and plasma deposition. Interesting differences in the power requirements were observed where a surface depression was produced with the plasma process due to differences in melting efficiency and/or convection effects. Finally, it was estimated the impact of controlling the workpiece temperature on the accuracy of the deposit geometry.