ABSTRACT
Cold metal transfer-based additive manufacturing technique is a new promising approach based on wire-feed AM. It is gaining more popularity than its contemporary additive manufacturing processes for metal additive manufacturing due to its capability of economically producing large-sized components with relatively high deposition rates and lower heat input. This chapter introduces cold metal transfer-based wire arc additive manufacturing (CMT-WAAM), starting with an overview of CMT-WAAM and the detailed mechanism of the cold metal transfer (CMT) process and its selection preference over the other variants of WAAM. A critical review of the microstructure and mechanical properties of various metals and alloys fabricated through the CMT-WAAM technique has been reported. Research indicates an exciting result as the mechanical properties of CMT-WAAM fabricated materials, such as titanium, steels, aluminum alloys, and nickel-based alloys, have been found to be relatively comparable to wrought materials and superior to as-cast materials. The advantages of CMT-WAAM have piqued the interest of many industrial experts and researchers for further developments in this technique; thus, the recent advances performed in this sector have been summarised in the last section of this manuscript. This chapter suggests that CMT-WAAM can be a viable alternative for high-quality manufacturing and offers a vision for the future of this technology.
