Application of Electric Arc Surfacing in the Manufacturing of Three-Dimensional Steel Products.

The paper presents the results of research on the influence of the conditions of volume electric arc surfacing on the geometric accuracy of "cube" type objects with dimensions of 20 × 20 × 20 mm made of 09Mn2Si and 06Cr19Ni9Ti steel fillers. It has been found that the actual length and width dimensions of the samples surfaced with 09Mn2Si steel generally are exceeded and the dimensions in height are smaller than the specified dimensions of the model. This may be due to the melt spreading over the substrate during the formation of the first layers. The optimal surfacing conditions for cube type objects made of 09Mn2Si steel have been defined. When surfacing the samples of 06Cr19Ni9Ti steel, spreading does not occur; however, all actual dimensions are smaller than the specified ones. This might be caused by shrinkage processes that proceed in the deposited layers during their solidification. The most optimal mode for samples made of 06Cr19Ni9Ti steel is the mode in which the reduction in length and width was no more than 2.5%, and that in height was 13.5%. Studies on the influence of the welding arc voltage and the grade of the filler material on the width of the deposited track has confirmed the tendency of 09Mn2Si steel to spread over the substrate in the entire voltage range studied (11–19 V). The microstructure of the deposited samples has been investigated. Tensile tests of the deposited samples at room temperature have shown that the samples have a set of acceptable mechanical properties that exceed the reference values. This is a proof that the deposition process occurs at a high level of quality without formation of incomplete fusion and porosity areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]