Significant progress has been made in last decade in area of arc-based additive manufacturing wherein complex geometries could be successfully manufactured. Control of inter-layer property variation and surface modulations are current challenges that the present investigation addresses. The challenges are more pertinent for thin wall components wherein surface area to volume area ratio is higher. Thin walled components over 100 layers are produced using cold metal transfer welding under different thermal management schemes such as natural cooling, forced cooling, liquid bed cooling, and their combinations. A consistent inter-pass temperature is maintained and thermal gradient are recorded. The samples are evaluated for surface topology, buy-to fly ration and achievable thickness. It is observed that cooling method significantly affect the surface topography. Use of a liquid bed provides a control on thermal gradients which also leads to a smoother outer surface and minimum post-process of material skinning. The result of present investigation has potential to be coupled with inter-layer heat management through control of process parameters.
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