Comparative Process Parameter Optimization For Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) of E120C-GH4 Metal Cored and ER120S-G Solid Wire

M. Harman, N. Bol, C. Çetinkaya, O. Yilmaz

This paper was presented at AMC Türkiye 2024.

Abstract

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM)  method is a metal additive manufacturing method that allows the production of large and medium complexity parts layer by layer by considering the part-specific CAD model. Armor steel materials produced in the WAAM method enable the production of parts with the same hardness with less material and in a shorter time compared to conventional welded manufacturing technologies, thanks to the metal deposition rate advantage provided by metal-cored wire. In this study, E120C-GH4 metal-cored seamless high-strength wire with a diameter of 1.2 mm and ER120S-G solid wire of the same diameter were used at different wire feeding speeds with heat input (low, medium, high). Single and double layer 18 beads were produced with each of these wires. Samples were prepared for macro section examination and macro hardness measurement processes by cutting these beads in water jet. Samples with similar deposition volume were compared in terms of seam geometry, micro hardness, penetration depth, production time, metal deposition rate at the same heat input (low, medium, high). Detailed measurement data taken from the samples were subjected to multiple regression analyzes using the Taguchi method and Anova module in Minitab software. Comparative experimental studies have proven that metal-cored wire has 43% less production time and 74% higher metal deposition rate than solid wire, with the most ideal parameters obtained from analyzes and real experiments.

Keywords: Metal cored wire, Taguchi method, Armor steel, WAAM, macro section.

Link: https://amctr.org/