Title: Design study for wire and arc additive manufacture

Authors: Jörn Mehnen; Jialuo Ding; Helen Lockett; Panos Kazanas

Addresses: Manufacturing and Materials Department, School of Applied Science, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK ' Manufacturing and Materials Department, School of Applied Science, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK ' Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK ' Aerospace Vehicle Design Department, School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK

Abstract: Additive Manufacture (AM) is a technique whereby freeform structures are produced by building up material in a layer by layer fashion. Among the different AM processes, Wire and Arc Additive Manufacture (WAAM) has the ability to manufacture large custom-made metal workpiece with high efficiency. A design study has been performed to explore the process capabilities of fabricating complicated geometries using WAAM. Features such as enclosed structures, crossing structures, and balanced building structures have been investigated in this study. Finite Element (FE) models are employed to take the thermo-mechanical performance into account. Robot tool path design has been performed to transfer the WAAM component designs into real components efficiently. This paper covers these essential design steps from a technical as well as practical point of view.

Keywords: WAAM; wire and arc additive manufacturing; design for manufacture; DFM; FEM; finite element method; modelling; simulation; complex geometries; enclosed structures; crossing structures; balanced building structures; thermomechanics; robot tool paths; tool path design; component design; freeform structures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2014.060028

International Journal of Product Development, 2014 Vol.19 No.1/2/3, pp.2 - 20

Received: 17 Feb 2012
Accepted: 10 Sep 2012
Published online: 22 Oct 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article