Wire Arc 3D-Printer

• Subject Area: Materials Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504590295

The requested metal wire 3D printer (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing; WAAM) is a system from the field of filament-based additive manufacturing. With this 3D printing technology, metallic materials in the form of wires are selectively melted by means of a metal inert gas (MIG) welding system and the resulting molten droplets are applied via a manipulable building platform or via a robot system. The software and control system, which has been specially adapted for 3D printing applications, is finally capable of generatively producing the components layer by layer from prepared CAD models. Compared to powder bed-based 3D printing processes, metal wire 3D printing can produce much larger components in a relatively short time, which predestines the process for the fields of constructive mechanical engineering, steel construction and aeronautical engineering. The portfolio of materials and alloys to be processed includes nickel-based alloys, aluminium alloys, titanium alloys and copper alloys in addition to various types of steel. It should be noted that there is still a need for research, especially in the area of low-alloyed copper compositions in the areas of hardenability, microstructure and oxidation resistance. There are also research gaps to be filled in the metal wire 3D printing of nickel-based alloys. Here, for example, the influence of a local workpiece cooling strategy on the microstructure of the γ'- and γ''-precipitates are interesting topics. Further research questions on the part of the main user (LWT) include the comparison of powder-technological 3D printing by means of cold spraying with the WAAM process and their mutual synergy effects. In joining technology, open questions are located in the areas of high-temperature brazeability of metal-wire-printed oxygen-sensitive components. The ISF, as a co-user (10%) of the proposed equipment, is researching issues in the field of machining. This includes planned research projects on deep drilling as well as on milling surface structures of additively manufactured components to correct deviations from the CAD model. The WPT, which also has a 10% share of use, is linked to research questions in materials and testing technology, such as the formation of defects in additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V and Al-12Si alloys and their influence on fatigue behaviour. Finally, with a utilisation share of 5%, the FT should be mentioned, which deals with WAAM manufacturing of screw machines?? with variable rotor geometry. In addition to these planned focal points, the WAAM facility applied for will finally complement the research landscape at TU-Dortmund in the field of metallic additive manufacturing with filament-based 3D printing processes in addition to the already existing powder-based processes.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Lichtbogenbasierter Metalldraht-3D-Drucker
• Instrumentation Group: 2110 Formen-, Modellherstellung und gießereitechnische Maschinen
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dortmund
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Tillmann