Radial Slicing Methods for Rotary Substrate Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a form of Direct Energy Deposition technology that uses an arc welding process to additively manufacture metal parts. WAAM can be used for the manufacturing of large-scale parts as well as repair and maintenance operations, due to its high deposition rates. However, the limitations in the use of support structures in WAAM pose a significant challenge in the manufacturing of overhangs and curved structures. This work develops path planning using radial slicing for the manufacturing of geometries with radial symmetry. Radial slicing methods were developed in SolidWorks and MATLAB for slicing curved geometries to ensure the deposition path remains in line with the deposition head. This method ensures there is no overhang at the time of deposition. The feasibility of the proposed algorithms was demonstrated by the deposition of a ship propeller blade. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.