The Influence of Wire Properties on the Quality and Performance of Wire+Arc Additive Manufactured Aluminium Parts

Abstract

Wire+arc additive manufacture (WAAM) is a high build rate process for production of near-net shape components layer by layer. The performance and quality of the deposited metal are heavily affected by the properties of wires, which are the raw materials for WAAM. Therefore there may be higher requirements for the qualities and properties of wires for WAAM than for welding. External surface qualities, micro hardness, composition and microstructures of five ER4043 aluminium wires were investigated in the present research. The results indicate that the internal and external properties of the wires exert great influence on the performance of the WAAM parts.