As a multidimensional DED technology, WAAM (Wire-Arc-Additive Manufacturing) requires special functionalities and routines for path planning. As part of a development partnership between GEFERTEC and Siemens, the “Multi Axis Deposition” NX CAM module has been extended to handle WAAM operations for effective processing.
As a result, users benefit from a continuous digital process chain: from the component preparation via AM programming, CNC reworking through to quality control including fully integrated PLM, ERP- and MES functionalities.
“We are very pleased to be able to offer our customers and the market GEFERTEC WAAM-manufacturing systems with Siemens‘ software. We are convinced that this collaboration can not only make the potential of WAAM more easily accessible to industrial customers but can also enable faster exploration of the technical and commercial potential of the technology,” said Tobias Krümberg, CEO of GEFERTEC.
Helmut Zeyn, portfolio development additive production at Siemens Digital Industries Software, added: “WAAM is one of the more promising technologies for additive manufacturing so we are excited to collaborate with GEFERTEC, who is a leader in this area.”
The rugged inert gas welding process, high build up rates and easy handling of the wire as the raw material make the process interesting for the production of medium-sized to large components. In contrast to other AM processes, the focus of the WAAM technology is on cost reduction and high availability.
Spare parts or components in job lots in industries such as oil & gas, maritime, mechanical and plant engineering, transportation and aerospace have already been successfully converted from conventional production to WAAM with substantial reductions in delivery times and costs. In addition, production is more resource-efficient due to significantly lower material consumption.
As one of the first joint partners of Siemens and GEFERTEC, Siemens Energy is benefiting from the continuous process chain in Siemens NX to produce components using WAAM and subsequent CNC reworking. The company already uses additive manufacturing technologies for its own products, but now also offers AM services for external customers.
“The integration of WAAM in Siemens’ NX makes a significant contribution to making processes more efficient for us as users and thus enabling us to reduce throughput times in spare parts production, for example,” said Ole Geisen, head of engineering services for additive manufacturing at Siemens Energy.
