WAAM3D The launch of the new v2 Signature has been announced WAAMCtrl Software TCT 3Sixty Birmingham is the same location where RoboWAAM was launched last year.
The software has been designed for use with the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) company’s large-format RoboWAAM 3D printer to give operators a fully controllable production process via improved real-time control and evaluation features.
Leveraging 60 sensors on board RoboWAAM, WAAMCtrl monitors and controls the material deposition, and records all key process parameters on a secure server. WAAMCtrl incorporates auditable storage of data, quality logs and interactive data navigation to demonstrate compliance on a repeatable basis. Operators can also start automatic cycles to establish, maintain, and evacuate shielding atmospheres.
The HPWAAM Project, funded by Innovate UK, began development of the software in 2015.
Jialuo Ding, Chief Technology Officer and one of the founders of WAAM3D, comments: “We are very pleased to be able to offer the v2 release of our signature WAAMCtrl software. WAAMCtrl offers more than just the ability to collect data about processes and systems. It also offers a high level of process control and assists users in confidently utilising the RoboWAAM system.”
The key features are the monitoring of voltage and current, as well as wire feed speed and travel speed, layer height and pre- and after-deposition temperatures, oxygen and gas flow, and melt pool. The user can log key parameters and access real-time rendering of 3D maps of the logged data on an actual tool path. Real-time colour-coding of the 3D charts is said to help make sense of big deposition data, mapped over the part’s real geometry. The software is integrated with ERP systems and MRPs via an API, according to the company.
The new features in version two include touchscreen operations, a configurable layout for the dashboard, and support for WAAM3D’s newest processes including CWMIG, Dual-Wire Plasma and Waspalloy. It also supports Inconel718 and Waspalloy. The software also provides support for in-process forging via vertical and lateral rolling and improved closed-loop control for automatic wire positioning for existing materials including Ti64 and carbon steel. WAAM3D promises users improved in-process height measurement, indicators indicating the location of key sensor on end-effectors as well as pre-deposition temperature monitoring and improvements to the UI/UX.
The company, which spun out of Cranfield University says its use of statistical process control monitoring delivers demonstrable robustness, validity and compliance to certification boards and other regulatory bodies.