4th International Conference

„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2018“ Development and Application

June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

WIRE AND ARC ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (WAAM) – A

NEW ADVANCE IN MANUFACTURING

Nikola Knezović1, Angela Topić2

1,2
Fakultet strojarstva, računarstva i elektrotehnike Sveučilišta u Mostaru, Matice
hrvatske bb, 88000 Mostar, Bosna i Hercegovina
nikola.knezovic@sve-mo.ba – corresponding author
angela@sve-mo.ba
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ABSTRACT:
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technique where structures are produced by ading
and depositing material in a layer upon layer manner.. WAAM (Wire and Arc Additive
Manufacturing) is a technology which has been investigated in last 30 years, although
the first patent dates from almost 100 years ago. It became interesting for scientists and
manufacturers due to its ability to produce fully dense metal parts and large near-net-
shape products. WAAM is mostly used in modern industries, like aerospace industry. It
uses existing welding equipment, electric arc as energy source and welding wire as
feedstock. Because of this, it is cheaper than other AM technologies, which usually need
specific equipment and materials. The process consists of few steps (designing CAD
model, slicing into layers, tool-path generating, choosing welding parameters, material
deposition and post-processing). The aim of this paper is to explain WAAM in detail,
give a review about researches so far in this area and to give suggestions for new
advances.

Keywords: WAAM, welding, additive manufacturing

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1. INTRODUCTION

Modern industry always develops and continuously looking for new investigations and
findings in new technologies. Great example for that is aerospace industry, which will
need about twenty million tonnes of raw material in next two decades. [1] That is mostly
because it uses materials like titanium, which has high BTF (buy-to-fly) ratio. That
means it has low material utilisation because it is necessary to buy greater amounts of
forgings or ingots to produce a low amount of finished parts, due to its poor
machinability. [2] One of the possible solutions are additive manufacturing (AM)
technologies. The bases of AM system are motion system, feedstock and energy (heat)
source. Their combination enables moving, heating and deposition of material. Mostly,
AM technologies use polymer materials, while the use of metals is possible only in its
powder form, so products are often porous and not fully functional. WAAM (Wire and
Arc Additive Manufacturing) is technology which can offer a solution for these
problems.
It has been investigated in investigated in last 30 years, although the first patent dates
from 1925. [3] WAAM uses metal welding wire as the feedstock and electric arc as the
Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić
4th International Conference
„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2016” Development and Application
June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

heat source, which makes it a combination of welding and AM technology. It uses

ordinary welding equipment (power source, welding torch, wire and protective gas
feeding systems), combining it with robotic systems or CNC machines which provide
moving of the torch, and that is its first advantage – it can be considerably cheaper than
conventional AM technologies, which use specific equipment and materials. Also, it can
produce fully functional, near-net-shape products, almost unlimited by size.
Achievable deposition rates are usually from 50-130 g/min, which is higher than any
other AM method, so it provides faster manufacturing and reduced time to market. [4]
Considering the fact it builds the product on vacant baseplate, design freedom is greater
than in conventional technologies. Of course, there still are some problems and
challenges to investigate – deformations and residual stresses due to enormous heat
input, relatively low dimensional accuracy and rough surface finish of the part (post-
processing is needed). [5] Some of these problems are already reduced and researchers
are looking forward to find a solution for other challenges.

2. PROCESS STEPS

Figure 1: Simple WAAM system [6]

Figure 1. shows simple WAAM system with its main features (wire feeder and power
source, robot, welding torch and WAAM part). [6] WAAM starts like any other AM
technology – with designing of 3D CAD model using special software or reverse
engineering processes, like 3D scanning. That model is then saved in some standard
format (usually .stl), which represents model's geometry. It is the basis for slicing part
per its height into 2D layers, whose contour is then used for generating tool (torch) path.
This step is followed by choosing suitable welding parameters (travel speed, current,
voltage, etc.) and bead modelling. With generated tool path and chosen welding
parameters, the product then can be made by additive manufacturing – the first layer is
deposited on the base plate, torch goes up for the specified layer's height and deposits
second layer onto it, and the process continues until whole part is made). Some post-
process machining can be done simultaneously [7], but usually, post-processing is done
independently, often with heat treatment if it is needed. Schematic process diagram is
shown in the Figure 2. [4]

Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić

4th International Conference
„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2018“ Development and Application
June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Figure 2. WAAM schematic diagram [4]

This maybe seems simple and easy, but all of this main steps contain numerous smaller
sub-steps which have to be calculated and implemented carefully in order to produce the
high-quality part. Slicing algorithms have been developed to provide layers of better
quality [8], as well as different bead modelling methods [9]–[11] and various kinds of
path patterns [12]–[14]. Also, there has been a lot of researches regarding optimization
of welding parameters [15]–[17] and other welding-related problems like changes in
microstructure [18]–[20] and problems with heat input [21], [22]. It should be clear this
is a complex process where every mistake in some of the steps can cause major defects,
affecting the part surface finish, microstructure, mechanical properties and overall
quality of the part. If everything is done correctly, parts can look like the ones shown in
Figure 3. Mostly, MIG is welding process used in WAAM. The wire is coaxial with the
welding torch, which provides easily generated path. While it is suitable for steel and
aluminium, there are problems with arc wandering when it comes to titanium, and part's
surface is often rough. For producing titanium parts, TIG is a better choice, but it needs
external wire feeding, and to obtain a product of good quality, the wire has to be fed
from the same side. It means torch has to be rotated and it makes robot programming and
tool path generation much more complicated. [3]

Figure 3. Different WAAM products [5]

Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić

4th International Conference
„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2016” Development and Application
June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

3. IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS

Most important WAAM characteristics are its advantages over other conventional
manufacturing technologies and its disadvantages and limitations, which are main
reasons why WAAM is still not used as much as it could be. Advantages are numerous.
Investments and material costs are lower compared with other AM technologies. Also,
use of welding wire as feedstock means the choice of materials is wide. High deposition
rates, near-net-shape processing, short lead time producing and almost unlimited part
size are already mentioned. There is no need for a lot of machining which means there is
less waste.
Some researchers found out that particular mechanical properties of WAAM products
can match or even exceed for castings and wrought products made of same material.
Strength and ductility, according to [23], can reach appropriate values, while fatigue
resistance can surpass them. [24]
WAAM also offers a solution for producing functionally graded materials, designed for
particular applications, thanks to their specific properties. One of most known is iron
aluminide, Fe3Al, usually produced using metal powder, which results in porosity
problems. [25] WAAM can reduce or eliminate this kind of problems and it can make
materials like that simply by adding another wire into the process. Other materials and
alloys produced this way are TiAl [26], Al-6Mg [27] and NiAl bronze [28].
Unfortunately, there are still some problems and disadvantages which limit WAAM
application. First of all, WAAM is more suitable to make large and less complex parts,
rather than smaller parts with complex geometry and that is a constraint which clearly
defines its application.
Some researchers found anisotropic properties, with higher strength and lower ductility
in horizontal (deposition) direction. [23], [24], [29]
Generating tool path is related to defects like excessive camber (peak development), sag
(deposition failure), cavities and porosity. Camber and sag usually occur in crossing
features, while cavities and porosity are common in thick parts. Solutions for mitigating
or at least reducing both of the problems have been found in some papers. A
methodology called MAT (Medial Axis Transformation) is used to solve problems with
porosity and cavities by filling the part from inside towards its boundaries [12]–[14],
while [29] and [30] investigated path patterns for producing crossing features. They were
trying to actually avoid crossing by making path looks like two „L“ letters touching each
other at the intersection.
Typical welding issues which also affect WAAM products are residual stresses,
distortions and deformations. WAAM part is usually made on one side of the base plate,
and due to great heat input, deposited layers tend to „pull“ base plate towards
themselves, in building direction. Base plate bends together with the wall and deforms it.
The base plate can be clamped, but it produces residual stresses after unclamping base
plate. The solution called Balanced Building Strategy or Symmetrical Building is
proposed in [1], [3] and shown in Figure 4. Layers are deposited on both sides of the
plate, and stresses produced on one side are balanced with those produced on the other
side. Sometimes two parts are needed anyway, so this is an additional benefit, but
sometimes redesign is necessary.

Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić

4th International Conference
„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2018“ Development and Application
June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Figure 4. WAAM part produced using Balanced Building Strategy [1]

4. CONCLUSION

WAAM is interdisciplinary technology with plenty of space and different areas for
improving and introducing new ideas. Some investigations suggest interpass rolling as a
solution for issues with anisotropic properties [19], other researchers propose including
non-destructive testing in process, which can find porosities early [3], while some papers
presented the use of new materials. [31] Further investigations should include work on
these ideas, alongside improvement of parameters optimization, monitoring, process
control, part design and heat treatment, which will all together lead to better
understanding and implementation of WAAM technology. With improvements in these
areas, WAAM could become a replacement for conventional production methods, like
casting and forging, in particular applications. Present issues still limit the industrial use
and market's approval of WAAM, but different researches are already suggested to
reduce and remove them, so WAAM can become equal to traditional methods.

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Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić

4th International Conference
„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2016” Development and Application
June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić

4th International Conference
„NEW TECHNOLOGIES NT-2018“ Development and Application
June 14-16. 2018 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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CORRESPONDENCE:
Nikola Knezović, mr. sc.
University of Mostar
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Computing and Electrical Engineering
Matice hrvatske bb
88 000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
nikola.knezovic@sve-mo.ba

Editors: Isak Karabegović, Zijad Haznadar, Sead Pašić