Deposition Conditions for Laser Formation Processes with Filler Wire

Abstract

Recently, studies on three-dimensional (3D) formation technology, which is capable of forming components directly, have become increasingly popular as a part of additive manufacturing technologies. However, a very limited amount of information has been published about its processing conditions or settings. In this study, we have prototyped a wire-feeding type 3D laser deposition equipment to publish information about adjusting the deposition conditions and examining the deposition characteristics, which can be used as a reference by engineers who carry out 3D formations. We hope that this study can contribute significantly to the progress in additive manufacturing technologies. Using the proposed equipment, we determined the deposition conditions under which the melting of a specimen can be limited to a shallow depth, while making depositions of sufficient height on the specimen. These deposition conditions are a laser power of 2.0 kW, a laser traveling speed of 1.5 m/min, and a wire-feeding speed of 7.7 m/min. Further, we confirmed that slight tuning of these deposition conditions even allows for 10-layer depositions and depositions containing curved lines.