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Xiao WAAM TMS2015
Xiao WAAM TMS2015
Xiao WAAM TMS2015
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Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
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1
University of South Carolina, 300 Main St.; Columbia, SC 29205, USA
2
Welding Engineering Research Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
3
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Abstract
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a flexible and high deposition rate technique for
production of a wide range of components. Limited available composition of feedstock (wires)
inhibits experimentation aimed at production of high strength parts, particularly for aluminum
alloys. In this work, alloy 6061 wires were produced by friction extrusion and subsequently used
as the feedstock in a Gas Tungsten Arc additive process. Deposits as thick as 15 mm were
evaluated in terms of microstructure, defect content, and strength (via sub-scale tensile testing).
Strength and hardness were evaluated both before and after post build aging treatments.
Introduction
Additive manufacturing is a potential route to improve performance and lower cost through reduced
part count and improved material utilization. As a promising metal-based additive manufacturing
method, WAAM combines an electric arc heating source with a wire feeding system [1]. It is of
particular interest due to its relatively high deposition rate and efficiency of material usage [2]. In
WAAM process, “weld” beads are deposited layer by layer to build 3D components. Various
kinds of metals or alloys that are weldable can be used in the WAAM process, such as steels, Al
alloys, Ti alloys, and Ni alloys.
Since WAAM requires a wire feedstock, it follows that a technology which can produce high
quality wire or fully consolidated bulk material from finely divided metals (e.g. machining chips
or low-cost, powder precursors) would be a useful adjunct to both the integral machining process
and many free form fabrication processes. Such a process would be economical and “green”:
direct conversion of such waste without an intervening melting step should be relatively energy
efficient. A manufacturing process, known as friction extrusion, was invented at the Welding
Institute (Cambridge, UK) in the early 1990’s [3]. The friction extrusion process is related to
simple extrusion processes with the primary difference being that the extrusion die rotates about
the extrusion axis and the die is required to impart substantial deformation to the initially finely
divided charge [4, 5].
In this study, friction extruded wires with different diameters were utilized as feedstock for a
GTA based WAAM process. Straight walls up to 16mm high were built. Post build analyses
including defect quantification, microstructure, hardness mapping, and tensile testing were
performed. The feasibility, short comes, and possible ways of improvement of this technology
are discussed.
Experimental systems, parameter and procedures
1. Friction extrusion
A C-frame milling machine with a hollow draw bar was employed for the friction
extrusion process. The milling machine spindle was used to rotate the die while a
hydraulic cylinder mounted on the knee was used to drive the billet chamber charge into
the spindle. Hence, this was a force controlled extrusion somewhat analogous to forward
extrusion with a rotating die. The rotation rate was set by gear selection and the extrusion
pressure was determined by setting the hydraulic pressure on the ram by adjustment of a
pressure regulator (the maximum hydraulic power supply pressure was 21 MPa). For this
experiment a 25.0 mm diameter by 38.1 mm long Aluminum Alloy 6061 cylinder was
used as the extrusion billet. The hollow drawbar enabled the extrusion of wires up to
several meters long. The die hole size defines the diameter of extruded wire. 1mm and
2mm dies were used in this study. The die rotation speeds, extrusion forces and drawing
dies used are shown in Table 1.
2. WAAM
Figure 1 AC-TIG experimental system for wire and arc additive manufacturing
Figure 2 Actual arc current and voltage waveforms
Builds were made w ith constant argon shielding gas flow rate of 15L/min, arc length of
approximately 5mm, an electrode tip angle of 60°, and travel speed of 0.21m/min. Each
layer was approximately 100mm long and 1 mm high. Arc current is varied with the
increase of deposition layer number in accord with previous experience.
The WAAM parts were transversely cut, ground and polished. Void content was assessed
on as polished specimens while Keller’s etchant (190ml water, 2ml HF, 3ml HCl, and
5ml HNO3) was used to elucidate the grain structure. Grain size was measured along the
vertical direction of the build by using the mean linear intercept (MLI) method [7]. Next,
the Vickers hardness along a central vertical line was measured on the transverse cross-
section. Tensile bars were sliced as shown in Figure 3. A sub-scale tension tester and
digital image correlation were used to obtain stress strain curves for the different layers.
In addition to testing the material in the as built condition, a standard 6061-T6 aging
treatment was applied (18 hours at 160°C). Vickers hardness and tensile tests were
performed on aged material as described above.
Results
1. Products
Figure 4 (1) wire No.3 (2) wire No.4 (3) wire No.5
b. WAAM Builds. Multilayer deposition samples successfully made with the three
AA6061 sample wires using the AC-TIG process are shown in Figure 5. The
height of walls made with No.3, No.4 and No.5 are 3mm, 10mm and 16mm
respectively.
Figure 5 Profile of multilayer deposition walls made with friction extruded wires
Due sub-optimal wire cleaning processes and issues related to waviness of the
wires, inclusions geometric inconsistencies are intermittently observed on the
build surface. The inclusions in a previous layer will influence the melting
stability and quality of subsequently deposited layers and may result in porosity
and other defects in the multilayer deposition. Inclusions and depressions which
are indicated in Figure 6(2) and (3) are generated mainly due to imperfections in
the wire. Twisting of the wire also results in somewhat inconsistent wire feed rate.
a. Void content. As shown in Figure 7, there are many voids observed in the cross-
sections of the WAAM parts made with the friction extruded wire. For all three
samples, the upper region contains more voids than bottom lower region: why this
is so is not obvious but may be related to the arc model type [7] and changes in
arc current with build height. The void number, total void area, average void size
and void area faction at different heights are shown in Figure 8. The lower region
contains a higher number of voids but total area and void fraction is relatively
small. Middle and top region contains more, larger, voids: the largest void is over
50 m across.
13-16mm
Crown 10-13mm
7-10mm
4-7mm
0-4mm
Root
Figure 7 Transverse cross-sections of WAAM parts
c. Hardness. The Vickers hardness of No.4 and No.5 WAAM parts have been
measured in two conditions: as-made and after a standard 6061-T6 heat-treatment.
The hardness data are shown in Figure 10. Both of them give same trend of
hardness along the vertical direction. From crown to root, the value increases first
and reaches a peak of 105HV at 3mm from the top. Below three mm from the
crown the hardness decreases to approximately 60 HV and remains stable. Below
the boundary of the WAAM part and the 5083 substrate, the hardness of the
substrate is higher than that of the wall. Comparing the result before and after heat
treatment, the T6 heat-treatment generally provides a minor improvement on
hardness but most regions remain far from the hardness of the standard 6061-T6
value 107HV.
Figure 10 Vickers hardness on vertical central line of
transverse cross-sections of part No.4 and No.5
Figure 11 Ultimate tensile stress and Vickers Hardness of WAAM sample No.5
Discussion
Feasibility of using friction extruded wire to produce WAAM parts has been demonstrated. The
value of the friction extrusion process most likely lies in the ability to quickly and easily produce
wires of various compositions in small batches. However, wire quality must be improved so that
build defects can be minimized and so that automatic wire feeding can be utilized. In particular,
it would be desirable to be able to use a GMA process.
Improved wire handling processes to ensure cleanliness is one readily improved aspect. In order
to eliminate the twisting inherent in friction extruded wire, it may be necessary to perform one or
two drawing steps after extrusion. Done properly, this would improve wire geometry and
surface finish. Once the mechanics of the wire production process are improved, it will be
simple to produce small batches of varying composition for testing in WAAM processes. This
will be a valuable adjunct to WAAM since optimum wire compositions for high strength
aluminum alloy AM builds are not known and high strength aluminum alloy wires are not
readily available.
The maximum hardness and tensile strength observed in the WAAM product are very close to
the values for AA6061 base metal. This indicates that high quality AA6061 products can be
made by WAAM with friction extruded wire if certain favorable conditions are satisfied: it also
may indicate that even higher strength alloys could be used. The defects (voids) in the WAAM
parts may be caused by both poor surface condition of the wire and un-optimized thermal
management from the standpoint of the actual deposition process. The matched trends of
hardness and tensile strength with build height are very likely to be related to thermal history.
Therefore, proper arc current and thermal management could be introduced to optimize the
quality of AA6061 WAAM parts in following aspects: (1) minimization of defects, (2) improved
uniformity of strength and hardness through the build.
References
2. W. Syed, A. J. Pinkerton, and L. Li. ‘‘A comparative study of wire feeding and powder
feeding in direct diode laser deposition for rapid prototyping,’’ Applied surface
science 247.1 (2005): 268-276.
5. X. Li, W. Tang, and A. P. Reynolds. ‘‘Material Flow and Texture in Friction Extruded
Wire,’’ Friction Stir Welding and Processing VII (2013): 339-347.
7. ASTM Standard E112-96, Standard Test Methods for Determining Average Grain Size, 3
2004.
8. B. Cong, J. Ding and S. Williams. ‘‘Effect of arc mode in cold metal transfer process on
porosity of additively manufactured Al-6.3% Cu alloy’’. The International Journal of
Advanced Manufacturing Technology (2014), 1-14.