A comprehensive survey on the cold metal transfer process for additive manufacturing

Abstract

Abstract Cold metal transfer (CMT) welding has shown significant interest in the research community because of its excellent capabilities. A low heat input associated with the CMT process has made this technology important for difficult-to-weld stuff like aluminum and its alloys and dissimilar material joining. Nowadays, the primary emphasis has been on avoiding the negative impact of joining in order to achieve a longer service life. The aim of this analysis is to recognize the process parameters that affect additive manufacturing in terms of material and process by using CMT and its variants. It is observed that CMT as an advanced welding approach has gained a significant attraction of researchers in investigating it for additive manufacturing which leads to the advancement of a renowned wire and arc additive manufacturing, abbreviately called (WAAM) process. Bead width, height, current, and voltage are the main parameters that are influenced by linear energy density and in turn, leads to the quality of the fabricated products.