Effect of Heat Input on Formability, Microstructure, and Properties of Al-7Si-0.6Mg Alloys Deposited by CMT-WAAM Process

Featured Application The effect of heat input on the formability, microstructure and properties of Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloys fabricated by wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) was investigated in this paper. The results can provide theoretical and data support for the engineering application of WAAM Al-7Si-0.6Mg. In order to improve the forming efficiency of Al-7Si-0.6Mg fabricated by wire and arc additive manufacturing process (WAAM), wire with a diameter of 1.6 mm was selected as the raw material. The effect of heat input on the formability, microstructure, and properties of the WAAM alloy was investigated, and the forming model was established. The WAAM alloys were characterized by electronic universal testing, scanning electron microscopy, energy spectrum analysis, and metallographic microscopy. The results show that Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloy has a large processing window under the cold metal transfer (CMT) process, and it can be well formed with a large range of heat input. The secondary dendrite arm spacing and Fe-phase in the as-deposited alloy gradually increase with an increase in heat input, and slight overburning occurs in the heat affected zone at higher heat inputs. After solid solution and aging treatment (T6 heat treatment), the size of alpha-Al grain and eutectic silicon grain increases with the increase of heat input. Little anisotropy in the mechanical properties is observed except at higher heat inputs. The tensile strength is 354.5 MPa +/- 7.5 MPa, yield strength is 310 MPa +/- 5.5 MPa, and elongation is 6.3 +/- 0.7%.