Multi-Material Design in Welding Arc Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Due to the inherent properties of the process, arc-based generative manufacturing offers the possibility, of specifically applying different material properties locally. One possibility to realize this is the use of different materials. Three approaches are presented to illustrate this option. First, anisotropic behavior in the welding direction is generated. For this purpose, a FeNi36 is specifically combined with a low-alloy ultra-high-strength fine-grained structural steel filler metal. It will be shown that the integral component properties can be specifically adjusted in the welding direction. In addition, the metallurgical and welding characteristics will be discussed. As a second possibility, the use of well plasticizable materials to locally increase the material strength under cyclic loading with locally notched components is presented. For this purpose, an austenitic FeNi36 with good plasticizability and a good yield strength ratio for the application was applied to a fillet weld of a high-strength fine-grained structural steel in the weld seam toe. It is shown that the tolerable cyclic load can be improved by 35% by this procedure. Thirdly, it is shown that the required thickness of corrosion protection layers can be reduced by 50% through a targeted production sequence in arc-based generative manufacturing.

Keywords

• wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM)
• multi-material design
• steel