WAAM | FIT Additive Manufacturing Group

WAAM - description of the process

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) uses arc welding to build up the component in layers. A metal wire is melted at the right place using a welding torch to form the desired blank. The rotating building platform means that the material build-up takes place across 5 axes with a maximum component size of 1 m³. This allows complex structures or cavities to be manufactured. The built-up component is then finally machined by CNC milling.

Benefits

Material savings with targeted material application
Up to 60 % cheaper than subtractive CNC manufacturing
High build-up rate of up to 600 cm³/h, making it much faster than powder bed-based technologies
High variety of materials
Minimum distortion and low residual stress in the component
Pore-free layer structure
Hybrid construction, i.e. welding onto semi-finished products

Machine capacities

1 x GEFERTEC GTarc 800-5
Envelope: Ø 900 x 1,100 mm

Available materials

Virtually all weldable wires, e.g. steel, aluminum, Ni-base, NF metals
Steel: 1.5125, 1.4316, 1.4316 |X1 CrNi 19, 1.4332 |X2 CrNi 24 1,1.4370 |X5 CrNiMn 18, 1.4430 |X2 CrNiMo 19 12, 1.4462 |X2 CrNiMoN 22 8 3, 1.4551 |X5 CrNiNb 19 9, 1.5125 |G3Si1, 1.5130 |G4Si1
Aluminum: 3.2245 |AlSi5, 3.2371 |AlSi7Mg, 3.3536 |AlMg3, 3.3546 |AlMg4.5MnZr, 3.3548 |AlMg4.5Mn0.7, 3.3556 |AlMg5Cr
Copper-aluminum: 2.0921 |CuAl8

Post-processing options

Blasting
Polishing
HPHT (High pressure heat treatment)

Applications

Ideal for the rapid production of high-quality blanks for subsequent final machining of spare parts
Repairing of damaged components or parts of components