A new slicing workflow to effectively bridge design to process for components from Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a promising technology for efficient and cost-effective production of metal components. Compared to other additive manufacturing methods, WAAM offers superior material deposition rates at lower cost. A key aspect is the slicing process, in which a 3D CAD model is subdivided into layers and machine control parameters are defined. While many free slicing tools are available for polymer 3D printing, WAAM requires specialized software solutions since material quality strongly depends on process parameters. A utility analysis of open-source slicer software was conducted in this work. For the system configuration comprising a GEFERTEC 3DMP machine (arc 605) coupled with a Fronius TransPuls Synergic 4000 CMT welding system, Cura emerged as the optimal base platform. Enhanced functionality for WAAM applications was achieved through implementation of custom scripting modules. The newly developed slicing workflow was validated using various test geometries and then compared with the standard slicing workflow using Rhino and Grasshopper on a demonstrator component. The developed methodology was found to consistently reduce G-code setup times from hours to approximately five minutes while achieving at least equal, in most cases significantly superior dimensional accuracy, emphasizing the validity and effectiveness of the methodology.