Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference - MAMC 2024

Additive manufacturing using wire arc technology has become increasingly popular in the generation of large-scale and complex shaped 3D parts. However, heat input and solidification shrinkage during deposition causes distortions and residual stresses. These can significantly affect the geometric accuracy and mechanical properties of the deposit. Process simulation offers the possibility to predict the evolution of such stresses and distortions numerically. Possible violations of geometric tolerances and high stress concentrations can be identified in advance. Expensive trial-and-error can be reduced or eliminated.
The investigations of this study focus on the precise thermal calibration of the numerical simulation of the plasma arc wire additive manufacturing process using a Ti-6Al-4V alloy. This involves examining variations in thermal boundary conditions, such as convection and efficiency, as well as the geometries of heat sources when simulating the welding process for both the initial and subsequent layers of a thin-walled structure. Additionally, methods are presented on how simulation can be used to adjust process parameters or build strategies in order to reduce geometric deviations.