Numerical simulation of WAAM process by a GMAW weld pool model

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a high-productivity process which can make a near-net-shape structure. In this study, the focus is the wire-arc AM (WAAM) process. In the WAAM process, wire is the depositing material. The wire melts by an arc plasma and deposits layer by layer. To establish an advanced WAAM process, it is important to make a precise structure of the intended shape. In this study, a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) weld pool model is applied to WAAM process, and influence of the deposit condition on the shape of the deposition is numerically investigated. Firstly, influence of the interpass temperature is investigated. When cooling time is set appropriately, the deposition shape becomes higher and thinner. In addition, concerning influence of the welding direction, when the welding direction is reversed for each layer, the variance of the deposition height becomes small. These numerical results show that it is important to manage the temperature and torch motion for controlling the deposition shape. These numerical results have similar tendency with experimental results and show the GMAW weld pool model is a helpful tool to predict and control the WAAM process.