DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO-PLASMA WIRE DEPOSITION PROCESS FOR LAYERED MANUFACTURING

This chapter presents the use of micro-plasma wire depsotion process as an alternative to the existing layer manufacturing procesess for small sized deposition. Experiments at two stages were conducted to identify important process parameters generating regular and smooth track geometry in single and multi-layer deposition. Further investigations were conducted for enhancing the deposition quality of the process by approximating and validating the deposition. The process was found to be capable of fabricating straight walls having total wall width of 2.45 mm and effective wall width of 2.11 mm. The deposition efficiency was found to be 87% for the maximum deposition rate of 42 g/h. The microscopic examination and micro-hardness measurements revealed that the deposited wall is free from cracks, porosity and inclusions. This study confirms the capability of micro-plasma wire depsotion process as an alternative to various established layer manufacturing processes used for meso-scale fabrication.