Additive manufacturing processes have been investigated for some years, and are commonly used industrially in the field of plastics for small- and medium-sized series. The use of metallic deposition material has been intensively studied on the laboratory scale, but the numerical prediction is not yet state of the art. This paper examines numerical approaches for predicting temperature fields, distortions, and mechanical properties using the Finite Element (FE) software MSC Marc. For process mapping, the filler materials G4Si1 (1.5130) for steel, and AZ31 for magnesium, were first characterized in terms of thermo-physical and thermo-mechanical properties with process-relevant cast microstructure. These material parameters are necessary for a detailed thermo-mechanical coupled Finite Element Method (FEM). The focus of the investigations was on the numerical analysis of the influence of the wire feed (2.5–5.0 m/min) and the weld path orientation (unidirectional or continuous) on the temperature evolution for multi-layered walls of miscellaneous materials. For the calibration of the numerical model, the real welding experiments were carried out using the gas-metal arc-welding process—cold metal transfer (CMT) technology. A uniform wall geometry can be produced with a continuous welding path, because a more homogeneous temperature distribution results.

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Multi-material-design (MMD) is commonly realized through the combination of thin sheet metal and fibre reinforced plastics (FRP). To maximize the high lightweight potential of the material groups within a multi-material system as good as possible, a material-adapted and particularly fibre adjusted joining technology must be applied. The present paper focuses on two novel joining technologies, the Flow Drill Joining (FDJ) method and Spin-Blind-Riveting (SBR), which were developed for joining heavy-duty metal/composite hybrids. Tests were carried out with material combinations which are significant for lightweight constructions such as aluminium (AA5083) and carbon fibre-reinforced polyamide in sheet thickness of 1.8 mm. The mechanical testing and manufacturing of those multi-material joints was investigated.