LARGE SCALE METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING WITH WOLF ROBOTICS

Abstract

Large Scale Metal Additive Manufacturing (LSMAM) is a new additive manufacturing (AM) technology based on the metal arc welding. A continuously fed metal wire is melted by an electric arc that forms between the wire and the substrate, and deposited in the form of a bead of molten metal along the predetermined path. Objects are manufactured one layer at a time starting from the base plate. The final properties of the manufactured object are dependent on its geometry and the metal deposition path, in addition to depending on the basic welding process parameters. The focus of the first phase of this two phase program was the installation, initial operation and development of processing parameters to demonstrate the ability to manufacture metal large scale parts. If successful, the second phase will focus on the development, and validation, of process models for the system.