Investigation on Mechanical Properties of ER70S-6 Copper-Coated Steel Wire Sample Produced by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM)

Wire arc additive manufacturing technology has become a promising alternative technology to high-volume metal deposition in many manufacturing industries like aerospace and automotive due to arc stability, long process cycle time, and formability. In this work, the Fanuc arc mate robot forms a single-pass, single-layer structure with a 1.2 mm diameter wire of copper-coated steel. Pure Argon gas is used as a shielding gas to protect the weld from oxidation. Different welding speed is carried out to analyze the bead thickness and height. Current and voltage as a heat input with optimal welding speed, a 10 kg straight wall is built with an operative building rate of 3.94 kg/h. The Rockwell hardness test is used to determine the hardness of the material, and it is discovered that it is 80 HRB. The tensile test is performed to determine the tensile strength and yield strength of the component; the measured values are 483.88 N/mm2 and 342.156 N/mm2, respectively. Increasing the welding speed affects the weld quality and formability, therefore using the optimal parameter gives better results in the WAAM process.