Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) of nanotreated aluminum alloy 6061

Abstract

Purpose Additive manufacturing (AM) can achieve significant weight savings with only minor compromises in strength if high-performance wrought aluminum alloys are used as feedstock. Despite the advantages in strength that aluminum alloys (AA) 6061 offer, they cannot be manufactured via printing because of hot cracking and other solidification problems. The purpose of this study is to achieve high-quality printing of AA6061 with nanotreated wires. Design/methodology/approach Nanotreating was used to modify the AA6061 alloy composition by adding a small fraction of nanoparticles to enhance the alloy’s manufacturability and resultant properties. Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) was used to print the nanotreated AA6061 wire feedstock. The microstructure of the printed AA6061 was characterized by X-ray crystallography, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy mapping. The microhardness profile, tensile behavior and fracture surface were analyzed. Findings This work successfully used WAAM to print nanotreated AA 6061 components. The resulting AA6061 parts were crack-free, with exceptional grain morphology and superior mechanical properties. Owing to the excellent size control capabilities of nanoparticles, a homogeneous distribution of small grains was maintained in all deposited layers, even during repeated thermal cycles. Originality/value Previous studies have not successfully printed AA6061 using WAAM. Conventional WAAM products exhibit anisotropic mechanical properties. The nanotreated AA6061 was successfully printed to achieve homogeneous microhardness and isotropic tensile properties. The promising results of this study reflect the great potential of nanotech metallurgy as applied to the WAAM process.

Ongoing Challenges of Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion Processing of Al Alloys and Potential Solutions from the Literature—A Review

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Significance of Industry 4.0 technologies in major work functions of manufacturing for sustainable development of small and medium‐sized enterprises

“…Streamline production activities, reduce lead times, and improve overall productivity (Anzolin & Andreoni, 2023;Bueno et al, 2020;Krzywdzinski & Jo, 2022;Mortimer, 2006;Syed et al, 2020;Wilson, 2010) 3D printing Enables on-demand production, reducing lead times, inventory costs, and waste (Bueno et al, 2020;Chi et al, 2022;Dilberoglu et al, 2017;Ferreira et al, 2023;Savsani et al, 2023) systematic planning, implementation, and monitoring of all activities to improve product quality or services, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction (Claver et al, 2003). I4.0 technologies can enhance customer satisfaction when integrated with QM principles such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, and ISO Standards (Chiarini, 2020;Nicholas, 2016;Patyal & Maddulety, 2015).…”

A critical investigation of the anisotropic behavior in the WAAM-fabricated structure

“…Additive manufacturing (AM) is an innovative production technology that has gathered the attention of researchers owing to its several benefits, ranging from its ability to manufacture peculiar and complex-shaped components, cutting off the use of additional tooling and fixtures and its ability to handle a wide range of metals, polymers and ceramics (Ngo et al , 2018). Among the seven derivatives of the AM process, wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a metal AM process that uses metallic wire as the feedstock material and electric arc as the heat source to melt, solidify and deposit the material layer upon layer in a predefined path (Wang et al , 2019; Chi et al , 2022). It belongs to the directed energy deposition (DED) family of AM, for which the first patent was filed in 1925, but the basic process of WAAM has been used to perform the local repair of damaged and worn-out components for decades (Williams et al , 2016).…”