Effect of process parameters on the quality of aluminium alloy Al5Si deposits in wire and arc additive manufacturing using a cold metal transfer process

A 3D print device using a cold metal transfer arc welding station to melt a metallic filler wire is developed to build aluminium part by optimising the process parameters. First tests achieved using standard pre-recorded process parameters allow to study the effect of the travel speed and the average welding power on the geometrical characteristics of mono-layer deposits and on walls built by layers superposition. Finally, a parametric study of the effect of each process parameter controlling the shape of the arc current or voltage and the filler wire feeding is carried out in order to try to improve the geometrical regularity of the deposits, and to better understand the effect of each parameter on the melting of the filler wire, its transfer on the support plate, and the geometry of the formed bead.