Research On Twin Tungsten Electrode – Wire Electrode Indirect Arc Additive Manufacturing Process

The low forming efficiency and high heat accumulation existed in TIG additive manufacturing process hinder its further development and application. A novel twin tungsten electrode – wire electrode indirect arc (TTWIA) additive manufacturing has great potential to solve the above problem due to its high wire deposition rate and lower heat input. Different from TIG, the substrate heat input of TTWIA excluded the heat production in the electrode region and the resistive heating, and the wire melting heat of TTWIA was predominantly composed of the heat production in the electrode region. onsequently, the molten pool temperature of TTWIA was relatively lower, and the wire deposition rate of TTWIA was more than 2.75 times higher than that of conventional TIG under the identical experimental conditions. Moreover, the surface roughness and material utilization rate of the component fabricated by TTWIA could reach 1.21 mm and 83.74%, respectively. Additionally, the top and bottom regions of the component fabricated by TTWIA featured coarse columnar grains, while the middle region showed fine equiaxed grains. Furthermore, the tensile strength and elongation of the component approached those of original wire, and possessed significant anisotropy.