Gas absorption and the directional development of mechanical properties of copper alloys produced by GMAW-WAAM

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) offers considerable potential for the production of large-volume components due to the high deposition rate compared to laser-based processes. In the present study, the WAAM technique (also known as DED-Arc/M) was applied to the copper alloys CuSi3Mn1, CuAg1, CuSn6P, CuSn12P and CuSn1MnSi. In order to determine the absorption of gases such as oxygen and hydrogen during the process, samples of the initial wires and the additively manufactured walls were examined using melt extraction analysis. A significant increase in the oxygen content was detected after production. In order to gain insight into the solidification behavior of the alloys during this process, metallographic examinations of the microstructures were made. Tensile tests were carried out in three different orientations (0°, 45°, 90°) relative to the welding direction to mechanically characterize the additively manufactured components. Despite the directional microstructure, the results show close to isotropic behavior with alloy-dependent differences.