iWAAM: An automated system for monitoring and control of wire-arc additive manufacturing
Fernando Coutinho, Nicolas Lizarralde, Marcel Mendes, Rodrigo Bostrom, Thales Silva, Marcus O. Couto, Fernando Lizarralde
Abstract
In this work, a wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) automated system named iWAAM is presented. iWAAM is an automated system for monitoring and control of WAAM depositions. The communication framework is based on ROS (Robot Operating System) and kuka_experimental package which allow the execution of predefined trajectories (ros_control) or online trajectory correction during the deposition. The power source control and configuration, and the deposition sequence are also embedded in the proposed framework. A Graphical User Interface (GUI), based on Qt, is used to monitor process variables, such as arc current, voltage, wire feed speed and travel speed. Furthermore, iWAAM controls the fabrication process of parts designed by external planners or by simple depositions using primitive trajectories (raster, zigzag, circular). In addition, a web interface is presented, allowing the users to monitor the process remotely. Experimental results of actual WAAM depositions illustrate the functionalities of the proposed automated system.