Technical Article

The Future for WAAM

An acronym for Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing, WAAM is one of several prominent 3-D printing
techniques where significant advances have been made in the last five years. Already established
as an alternative production process in the airframe industry WAAM is now making an impact in
other manufacturing sectors.

Already attracting massive investment across the world, a recent estimate of from the International
Data Corporation indicates that global spending on 3-D printing will grow to $23.0 billion by 2022.
This is an increase of over 23% from 2018. China, the UK and the USA spearhead the drive to
exploit the potential for 3-D printing but Australia, India and the rest of Europe are also actively
examining applications.

Essentially, 3-D printing involves the progressive deposition of material under computer control to
generate a three-dimensional structure. Because the material source is very small and control is
extremely accurate the process offers the potential to produce near-finished complex shapes that
are difficult if not impossible to create by any other technique.

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing employs an electric arc as a heat source and metal as the deposition
material. Standard arc welding equipment coupled with readily available filler alloys coupled with a
routine multi axis robot means that a system can be purchased for little over $100,000.

The concept of metal deposition using arc welding is not new. Over 50 years ago the process was
used for cladding operations in which thick coatings were added to low alloy steels to improve
corrosion or wear resistance. WAAM employs the same arc welding processes (GTAW, GMAW or
PAW) but under much more precise computer control.

Previously focused on aerospace there is now growing interest from the automotive, marine,
motor sport, renewable energy, oil and gas, and nuclear sectors. At Cranfield University in the UK
for example there are more than 60 ongoing projects, totalling more than £3.5 million, involving
almost 30 staff and MSc / PhD students; some are in collaboration with other universities such as
Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham. The work is in part funded by organisations such as
Airbus, BAE Systems, United Technologies Research Centre and Lockheed Martin;

The WAAM process promises to make a reduction in the cost of parts by reducing material wastage
and time to market, as well as offering the benefits of increased freedom of design and part complexity,
and customisation. Thanks to low capital and operating costs, WAAM is a much cheaper process
when compared with other 3-D techniques such as laser, electron beam wire or powder-based
additive manufacturing.

by Dr Michael J Fletcher of Delta Consultants

Technical Article

A recent major additive manufacturing conference in Detroit included 150 sector experts on
processes, applications, materials and research. They highlighted how these 3D technologies can
cut costs, reduce time to market, produce stronger and lighter parts, improve efficiency and create
complex geometries without sacrificing strength. A case study of a 2.1m tall additively manufactured
excavator arm with a final error of 1mm was introduced.

Aerospace Applications

The early application areas have been in aerospace and several prominent examples ae available
to illustrate the dramatic developments.

One of the largest 3D metal titanium parts in the UK has been produced by Cranfield University.
Measuring 1.2m in length. The part forms a main structural element (Fig 1) of an aircraft wing
structure and took just 37 hours to build from a digital model, where previously this process would
have taken weeks. An even larger aluminium wing part measuring over 2.5m in size has also been
produced in less than one day.

Fig 1. Main structural element of aircraft wing. 1200 x 500 x 100

mm. Material: titanium alloy. Image from Sciaky.

The world’s largest and fastest metal 3D printer to date has been manufactured by Titomic Ltd in
Australia and is capable of making complex aircraft wing parts of up to 9m in length. It can also print
metal bicycle frames in around 25 minutes. The company is also using the additive manufacturing
process to produce wear-resistant coatings for the mining industry.

Spirit AeroSystems recently began installing the Boeing 787’s first titanium structural component,
made by Norsk Titanium (Fig 2). Feedback from Boeing notes that the real wins won’t involve
just material reduction; they will include part weight, reduction in assembly time by consolidating
systems into single 3D-printed forms, and faster time-to-market
as a result of reducing the number of manufacturing steps.

Fig 2. Door latch fitting for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

by Dr Michael J Fletcher of Delta Consultants

Technical Article

Marine Applications

Casting is the traditional method used to create marine propellers, but it requires long lead times
since the process involves making a mould, casting it, and then processing it. Most forging and
casting companies are no longer located in Europe, which means even more time is needed to
obtain parts. Additionally, most of those companies require orders for quantities larger than one part,
which means warehousing a large stock of components that may never be used.

Fig 3. 1300mm diameter propeller produced by Damen

Shipyards. Fabricated from a bronze alloy using the GTAW
(TIG) process it weighs 180kg

Automotive Applications

WAAM affords the possibilities of producing complex parts for vehicles that may not be possible with
traditional manufacturing techniques. This is particularly attractive in sectors such as motor sport
and specialist road vehicles where production runs are limited and cannot take advantage of cost
reductions that come with volume manufacture. The process even offers the opportunity to produce
prototypes on a one-off basis quickly and cost-effectively.

Car manufacturer Audi is taking advantage of the benefits of metallic 3D printing in collaboration with
SLM Solutions Group AG. (Fig 4)

Fig 4. Metal water connectors for the AUDI W12 engine

Limitations on further application of WAAM

Deposition Rates

Early uses of metal additive technology were restricted to small components because of the very low
deposition rates and the resultant long and therefore expensive manufacturing times.

by Dr Michael J Fletcher of Delta Consultants

Technical Article

Rapid development by the WAAM industry generally has led to current rates of 15 kg/hr being
realised with many metals. Whilst this may not appear noteworthy it brings the process into line
with alternative manufacturing methods whilst at the same time offering opportunities for producing
complex shapes in small runs and this is now leading to exploitation by an ever-widening industrial
arena.

Component Size

Limited availability of large dimension 3-D computer numerical control equipment has restricted
growth of direct metal deposition but recent developments, particularly by the aerospace industry,
have expanded the scope considerably. Work at Cranfield University has achieved a milestone by
depositing a 6-metre long spar using the WAAM process and an aerospace-grade aluminium alloy.
The 300-kg, double-sided spar was built at the university’s 10-metre deposition facility. This trend
seems likely to continue with similar facilities in Australia, USA and Spain.

Precision

Whilst the early applications of WAAM included the use of multi-axes robots, the positioning accuracy
falls well short of that available with specialist computer numerical control equipment. A typical robot
can offer precision of between 0.5 and 2 mm whereas a cnc facility might claim to be ten times more
accurate. The final decision will be one of cost and space – robots are much cheaper and more
compact.

Protection Against Oxidation

The use of high metal deposition rates brings with it the problem of protection of the metal from oxidation
during the fusion and cooling cycles. Local protection using standard shields is often inadequate but
specialist equipment suppliers have developed flexible enclosures capable of providing an inert gas
environment. Fabricated from engineering plastics and using advanced sealing technology these
enclosures can be large enough to accommodate a complete WAAM system (Fig 5) and provide
a gas environment with an oxygen content as low as 20 parts per million – more than adequate to
protect even the most sensitive materials from oxidation.

Fig 5. 27 cubic metre flexible enclosure from Huntingdon Fusion

Techniques, installed at Cranfield University and containing a
complete WAAM facility

by Dr Michael J Fletcher of Delta Consultants

Technical Article

Lack of Awareness

The success of 3D printing generally has been publicised widely but the emphasis has been almost
exclusively on a phrenetic outpouring of the more exciting applications such as those in the medical
and biomedical sectors.

Despite success in the demanding aerospace industry, full engineering potential has so far gone
largely unrecognised.

The proven application of WAAM in the aerospace, automotive and marine industries should now
be grasped eagerly. The process promises to make significant reductions in the cost of parts by
reducing material wastage and time to market, as well as offering the benefits of increased freedom
of design and part complexity, and of customisation.

Sources of further information

Additive Manufacture of Large Structures. Bandfari et al. Welding Engineering and Laser Processing
Centre, Cranfield University MK43 0AL,

Welding Makes Major Impact on 3D Printing Technology. Fletcher. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques
White Paper WP 197. huntingdonfusion.com

What Is the Role for Additive Manufacturing in Aircraft Structural Components? Zelinski. Additive
Manufacturing. March 2019

Video: WAAM Casts Away Traditional Large Manufacturing Methods.

Heimgartner. Engineering.com. April, 2018

Author is Dr Michael J Fletcher of Delta Consultants

by Dr Michael J Fletcher of Delta Consultants