Investigation of In Situ Vibration During Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Manufacturing Engineering

Background:

• Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) offers high deposition rates and cost-effectiveness.
• A key challenge in WAAM is the formation of coarse grains, which negatively impacts material properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel in situ vibration method for mitigating coarse grains in WAAM.
• To investigate the effects of this vibration method on grain size, microstructure, and mechanical performance of low-carbon steel parts.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of temperature and vibration distributions during the WAAM process.
• Optimization of vibration parameters for manufacturing.
• Fabrication of low-carbon steel parts using the optimized vibration-assisted WAAM.

Main Results:

• The in situ vibration method reduced average grain size from 9.8 to 7.1 μm (fine grain zone) and 10.6 to 7.4 μm (coarse grain zone).
• Grain refinement was attributed to increased dendrite fragmentation caused by stress.
• Mechanical strength (ultimate tensile strength and yield strength) increased by 10% and 13.8%, respectively.
• Average hardness improved by 10.1% to 163 HV.
• No significant deformation occurred due to controlled low temperatures.

Conclusions:

• The proposed in situ vibration method is effective in refining grains during WAAM.
• Vibration-assisted WAAM enhances the mechanical strength and hardness of low-carbon steel components.
• This technique offers a promising solution for improving the quality of WAAM-produced parts.