Additive manufacture of titanium alloys using integrated robotic GTAW welding

Additive manufacturing (also known as rapid prototyping, shape metal deposition or near net manufacture ) is becoming an important option for low volume production of complex parts. Much of the recent effort has been devoted to laser based processes using powder feedstock and 3D printing techniques; these techniques are well suited to producing smaller complex structures in a wide range of materials. The current paper describes a technique for cold wire GTAW deposition of titanium alloys using robotic welding and integrated post weld machining; the approach is suitable for producing much larger parts. The techniques involved and resultant weld quality will be discussed.