Advances in resource-efficient and accelerated AM by Express Wire Coil Cladding (EW2C)

Express Wire Coil Cladding (EW2C) is a new manufacturing technology enabling the acceleration of wire-based Laser Metal Deposition for shaft production. Instead of feeding the wire continuously to the process, wire spirals are wound and preplaced on a base shaft. In a second step, the spiral material is deposited using laser energy. The part can then be finished by a subtractive turning process. In the presentation, the motivation, the advantages and potential applications of this process are shown. Several wire materials are analysed regarding their suitability for the new process. Special attention is given to IN718 processing.