Micro-Plasma Transferred Arc Additive Manufacturing for Die and Mold Surface Remanufacturing

摘要

Micro-plasma transferred arc (A mu PTA) additive manufacturing is one of the newest options for remanufacturing of dies and molds surfaces in the near-millimeter range leading to extended usage of the same. We deployed an automatic micro-plasma deposition setup to deposit a wire of 300 A mu m of AISI P20 tool steel on the substrate of same material for the potential application in remanufacturing of the die and mold surface. Our present research effort is to establish A mu PTA additive manufacturing as a viable economical and cleaner methodology for potential industrial applications. We undertook the optimization of single weld bead geometry as the first step in our present study. Bead-on-plate trials were conducted to deposit single bead geometry at various processing parameters. The bead geometry (shape and size) and dilution were measured and the parametric dependence was derived. A set of parameters leading to reproducible regular and smooth single bead geometry were identified and used to prepare a thin wall for mechanical testing. The deposits were subjected to material characterization such as microscopic studies, micro-hardness measurements and tensile testing. The process was compared qualitatively with other deposition processes involving high-energy density beams and was found to be advantageous in terms of low initial and running costs with comparable properties. The outcome of the study confirmed the process capability of A mu PTA deposition leading to deployment of cost-effective and environmentally friendlier technology for die and mold remanufacturing.