Calculation of energy balance and efficiency in Laser Hot-Wire (LHW) cladding process

Abstract

Laser Hot-Wire (LHW) processing is a subset of freeform welding, which in turn is an extension of the well-established wire-based robotic cladding. The process is adaptable as a viable additive manufacturing (AM) technology. In LHW two separate heat sources are combined - a laser impinges on the surface of the workpiece and the feed wire is resistively heated through an external DC circuit. The two materials used in the experiments reported here are Ti-6Al-4V and Nickel 625. Advantages of the process are high deposition rate, high energy efficiency, and the ability to produced controlled unique microstructures. Preliminary calculations of energy efficiency and energy balance of the process are reported.