Process planning for laser wire-feed metal additive manufacturing system

Laser wire-feed metal additive manufacturing (LWMAM) is a promising additive manufacturing technology that is well suited to build from various materials near net shape mid- to large-size complex components with a high deposition rate and high material usage. It could find applications in diverse industrial sectors such as aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, and rapid tooling. To further gain the acceptance of this technology, the development of process planning software is identified as one of the main challenges. LWMAM has several specific features that complicate the process planning compared to other similar additive manufacturing processes. LWMAM is still in its infancy. In this study, key features involved in the LWMAM process were first identified by building a prismatic block. The corresponding strategies were proposed and tested. Then, a MATLAB-based process planning software was developed that consisted of modules for volume slicing, contour filling, track trimming/elongating, stair-step effect compensation, and post-processing. Free-form contours and a propeller were successfully built by using the developed software. The as-built shapes were measured and compared to the CAD models.