Wire arc additive manufacturing of mild steel

This paper presents an overview of additive manufacturing technologies for production of metal parts. A special attention is set to wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) technologies, which include MIG/MAG welding, TIG welding and plasma welding. Their advantages compared to laser or electron beam technologies are lower investment and operational costs. However, these processes have lower dimensional accuracy of produced structures. Owing to special features and higher productivity, the WAAM technologies are more suitable for production of bigger parts. WAAM technology has been used together with welding robot and a cold metal transfer (CMT) power source. Thin walls have been produced using G3Si1 welding wire. The microstructure and hardness of produced structures were analysed and measured. A research was done to determine the optimal welding parameters for production of thin walls with smooth surface. A SprutCAM software was used to make a code for 3D printing of sample part.