DEDAluS

The main objective of DEDAluS is to develop an aluminium alloy for Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) by using new approaches to material design, taking into account the specific characteristics. First, promising alloy systems and strategies for further development will be investigated. On this basis, an experimental development of an aluminium alloy for wire-arc AM will be carried out. The new alloy will be validated with the help of material characterisation and the production of functional samples. At the same time, its economic viability and potential business applications will be investigated.

The project is divided into four main objectives:

1. Identification of promising alloy systems and further development strategies.
2. Experimental alloy development of aluminium wires for the DED-AM process.
3. Process adaptation and validation of the material properties on the basis of functional samples.
4. Investigation of the economic potential of the new alloy.

Thermodynamic simulations were used to identify promising alloy systems and further development strategies. This was followed by the experimental development of aluminium wires that were specially optimised for the DED-AM process. The processability of the alloy was validated using functional samples such as a car rim and a crash box. In addition, an economic feasibility study of the process was carried out. The project shows the potential of novel alloy wires specifically developed for the WAAM process.

In the project, promising alloy systems for the WAAM process were identified through extensive theoretical and experimental work (objective 1). Alloy wires were then fabricated and tests carried out to characterise the WAAM-printed samples (objective 2). Process studies increased the complexity of the structures, resulting in the fabrication and characterisation of two complex functional samples (objective 3). In addition, the economic potential of the project was investigated and positively evaluated
(objective 4).