OPTIMIZING ADDITIVE PARAMETERS AND TESTING OF THE HYBRID 3D METAL PRINTER

Pavel Ikonomov¹, Sudarshan Rawale²

^1,2 Department of Engineering Design, Manufacturing and Management Systems, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.

Abstract

Hybrid 3D Metal Printer uses repetitive and alternate cycles of additive and subtractive processes. The additive process is Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) and the subtractive process makes use of Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machining. To manufacture parts having zero geometrical defects, it is important to optimize these processes. This research is focused on design of experiments to find out the factors which influence the additive process in Hybrid 3D metal printing. The additive process (welding) in 3D metal printing has a major influence on the mechanical properties of the final product as during this stage the microstructure is formed. The welding parameters such as voltage, current, wire-feed rate, gas flow rate, arc stability, height and welding speed play a critical role. Porosity and hardness of the weld impacts its strength. But when the whole part is manufactured using a 3D printing process - alternate welding (additive) and milling/machining (subtractive) processes, it is important to understand how these parameters affect the microstructure and in turn, the mechanical properties of manufactured parts. Whereas all these parameters influence the outcome of the welding process, this paper only discusses the most influential factors such as wire feed speed (WFS - in/min), machine feed rate (MF - in/min) and the Trim (Arc Length Control). After optimizing the process, it also imports to check for the mechanical properties of the parts, hence various mechanical testing of printed parts using optimized process are discussed in brief.

Keywords

• GMAW, hybrid 3D metal printing, MIG welding, additive process, metal 3D printing, feedback system.

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Cite this Article as Follows

Rawale, S., & Ikonomov, P. (2020). OPTIMIZING ADDITIVE PARAMETERS AND TESTING OF THE HYBRID 3D METAL PRINTER. In Proceedings of International Conference on Cloud of Things and Wearable Technologies 2020. (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 01-11). London, GB: ASDF International. (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 01-12). London, GB: ASDF International.