Effect of standoff distance on printability of aluminum 5356 alloy through extrusion-based metal additive manufacturing using induction heating

Abstract

Induction heating as a heat source in extrusion-based metal additive manufacturing (EMAM) is gaining popularity due to its inherent benefits as a safe, clean, and precise heating source. Metal wire as a feedstock material is economically viable and highly efficient in terms of material utilization compared to powder feedstock materials. The combination of induction heating with metal wire as a feedstock through an EMAM system has been investigated in this article. The article aims to identify the standoff distance for printing aluminum 5356 in EMAM using induction heating ( Figure 1). In induction heating-based AM, it is crucial to identify the standoff distance between the extruder and substrate to maintain a constant extruder tip temperature and ensure a consistent liquid/solid fraction ratio for uniform material deposition. The approach adopted in this article is to perform electromagnetic and thermal multifield coupling model simulations of extruder with the substrate through a two-dimensional axe-symmetrical model using COMSOL multiphysics. The simulation model analyzed the extruder tip temperature at variable standoff distance cases during extruder heating and material deposition processes. A practical approach for thermal cartography has been used to identify extruder tip temperature during experimentation using an infrared imager. The extruder tip temperature results obtained through simulation have been compared with experimental results and found to be in close agreement with each other. A favorable temperature range of 575–625 °C is obtained through a standoff distance of 2.0 mm compared to other standoff distances taken for the study.