Melt Pool Acquisition Using Near-Infrared Camera in Aluminum Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

In order to produce functional parts in Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), mastering parts quality is a key challenge. The literature highlights the connection between thermal conditions and part defects. Thus, monitoring a thermal parameter, for instance the melt pool in this study, is a crucial indicator to describe parts quality. The paper aims to investigate the feasibility of CMOS camera (Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor) to track a homothety of the melt pool for parts manufactured by WAAM. In this field, the literature still lacks information concerning this sensor operating in industrial condition, especially for aluminum alloys. An experiment and a numerical method are developed to estimate its sensitivity and robustness. Validation criteria for the method are presented and confirm its interest.