An innovative forming method based on an arc welding robot

Welding rapid forming is a type of rapid forming technology which can be used to rapidly form metal functional parts directly. Some problems always exist in the routine part-forming process, such as the requirement for a support structure, difficulties balancing forming efficiency with accuracy, and lack of an appropriate slicing method. This paper is related to an innovative forming method based on use of an arc welding robot. A professional welding forming database, a special adaptive slicing method customized to the characteristics of the surfacing process, on-requirement milling, and renewed slicing are created to realize this strategy. Before a part is built, its computer-aided design (CAD) model will be firstly decomposed into its individual features, and then special adaptive slicing will be enforced on the model. This is followed by a freeform stage to start to build the part. During this process, the height of the formed layers and the surface quality are under constant review using new methods that we will present to determine if on-requirement milling and renewed slicing consideration is required. After each part is built, the final step will be to perform post-treatment on the entire part. Typical part tests show that if this technique is used, the requirement for a support structure can be completely removed, while ensuring the forming efficiency and accuracy during the deposition process at the same time.