Sažetak
One of the main disadvantages of Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is the occurrence of waviness caused by the fluctuating heat input of the electric arc. Reducing this waviness remains a key challenge limiting wider industrial adoption of the technology. In this study, the heat source required to melt the filler material was provided by both standard and AC MIG welding processes. The AC MIG process, a modified version of conventional MIG welding, uses alternating current to decrease overall heat input during deposition. Six samples were produced using both welding modes, with two different shielding gases and various polarity balance settings. An aluminium alloy 6063 wire was used as the filler material. The geometrical characteristics and the Buy-To-Fly (BTF) ratio, defined as the ratio between the weight of the raw material and the weight of the final component, were measured on macrosections. Additionally, the influence of polarity balance on layer height growth was compared. The results showed that increasing electrode negative (EN) time led to higher wall height and narrower wall width, with the greatest height observed at a polarity balance of +50. The BTF ratio was lowest for the +50 balance and highest for the 0 balance.
Ključne riječi
wire and arc additive manufacturing; WAAM; AC MIG; BTF ratio