Effect of cooling strategies on Inconel 625 components produced by wire arc additive manufacturing

In this work, three cooling strategies were proposed to increase the cooling rate and avoid extensive exposure to higher temperatures during the manufacturing of components in Inconel 625 using wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM): forced cooling with compressed dry air jet, interpass idle time and the combination of both strategies. These strategies were compared for two welding technologies within gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process: pulsed and cold metal transfer (CMT). The results show that deposition using the GMAW-CMT welding mode showed better quality and uniformity than the GMAW-pulsed mode. The tested interpass idle time did not cause a significant effect on the mechanical properties, while the forced cooling using an air jet slightly improved the properties and may be used to increase productivity, especially for larger components.