Arc-welding based additive manufacturing is a cost-efficient, productive technology which has been shown to be capable of producing high-integrity components. It is suggested that in automotive engineering, this manufacturing process can be used to reinforce body components by generating stiffening elements. Benefits of this method could be more flexural rigidity with comparatively lower material volume. In the current study, wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) with an advanced short arc welding process with low heat input was chosen. The first objective of the work was to check possibility of generating a gusset plate on zinc-coated car body parts by additive manufacturing, for reinforcing of formed thin steel sheets. The second aim was to increase flexural rigidity of the sheets by depositing weld metal as a grid. Bending tests of the sheets indicated an increased flexural rigidity compared with the parent material. This production method and the results of this study are related to automotive engineering but could be employed for other applications. The aim is to demonstrate how these goals could be approached, what difficulties and limitations exist, and where further research work could be initiated.

中文翻译：

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基于弧焊的增材制造，用于汽车工程中的车身加固

基于电弧焊的增材制造是一种经济高效的生产技术，已被证明能够生产高完整性的部件。建议在汽车工程中，此制造过程可用于通过生成加强元件来增强车身部件。这种方法的好处是可以在相对较小的材料体积的情况下提高抗弯刚度。在当前的研究中，选择了具有先进的短弧焊接工艺，低热量输入的电弧增材制造（WAAM）。这项工作的首要目的是检验通过增材制造在镀锌车身部件上生成角撑板的可能性，以加固成形的薄钢板。第二个目的是通过将焊接金属沉积为网格来增加薄板的抗弯刚度。板材的弯曲测试表明，与母材相比，其弯曲刚度有所提高。这种生产方法和这项研究的结果与汽车工程有关，但可以用于其他应用。目的是说明如何实现这些目标，存在哪些困难和局限性以及可以在哪里开展进一步的研究工作。