Role of substrate shape on thermal energy transmission in robotized wire and arc additive manufacturing

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to present how the thermal energy transmission of circular parts produced in robotized gas metal arc (GMA)-based additive manufacturing was affected by the substrate shape through finite element analysis, including distributions of thermal energy and temperature gradient in the molten pool and deposited layers.

Design/methodology/approach

Three geometric shapes, namely, square, rectangle and round were chosen in simulation, and validation tests were carried out by corresponding experiments.

Findings

The thermal energy conduction ability of the deposited layers is the best on the round substrate and the worst on the rectangular substrate. The axial maximum temperature gradients in the molten pool along the deposition path with the round substrate are the largest during the deposition process. At the deposition ending moment, the circumferential temperature gradients of all layers with the round substrate are the largest. A large temperature gradient usually stands for a good heat conduction condition. Altogether, the round substrate is more suitable for the fabrication of circular thin-walled parts.

Originality/value

The predicted thermal distributions of the circular thin-walled part with various substrate shapes are helpful to understand the influence of substrate shape on the thermal energy transmission behavior in GMA-based additive manufacturing.

Citation

Li, R. and Xiong, J. (2019), "Role of substrate shape on thermal energy transmission in robotized wire and arc additive manufacturing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 25 No. 7, pp. 1285-1294. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-10-2018-0277