**5. Fabrication of components using WAAM**

WAAM has already proven that it could fabricate medium to large-sized components as well because of high deposition rate welding processes. Similar to AM technologies, WAAM could produce uniform, defect-free metal components are a key reason for the selection of WAAM. Moreover, WAAM is not simply a prototyping technology and most of the present day's attention is on using this WAAM as a transformation to a viable and cost-effective fabrication. Fabrication of a metallic plate component by Welding based Additive Manufacturing (WAM) is explained for an easy understanding of WAAM fabrication.

As an example, the low-carbon high-strength steel (AWS A5.28 ER110S-G) metal plate as shown in **Figure 4** is fabricated by WAM. The experimental apparatus is a GMAW based WAAM setup available at the Coimbatore Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore. The experimental process consists of a welding torch mounted on a linear manipulator system. An Ador makes GMAW power source based experimental setup was employed to deposit the metal over the parent plate. The feedstock material was AWS A5.28 ER110S-G filler wire, a low-carbon high-strength steel wire electrode with a diameter of 1.2 mm. The metal plate was built on a mild steel substrate plate. The GMAW parameters such as voltage, current, wire feed rate, gas flow rate, and welding speed were considered as the primary parameters and those values were kept as 20 V, 100 A, 4 m/min, 12 l/min, and 4 mm/s respectively for the fabrication of decided plate component. Totally 15 numbers of weld beads were deposited and this structure is capable of giving 10 × 100 mm desired dimensions plate component after a small machining operation. This is the reason why the WAAM component is famously described as a near-net component.

After the fabrication of this plate-shaped component, a lot of properties such as surface waviness, weld bead dimensions, height of each layers, and weld bead angle are evaluated essentially to speak about the geometrical specifications of fabricated component and similarly, mechanical properties such as tensile strength, ductility, fatigue strength, corrosion rate, hardness, and microstructural evaluations are essential to be carried out in order to meet the quality and quantity benefits of fabrications as well.

**Figure 4.** *Fabrication of components using WAAM.*
