Wire-based additive manufacturing system

Abstract

Wire-based additive manufacturing system (10), comprising: a base (12) that can be moved in the feed direction (14); at least one welding laser (42); at least one first cutting laser (50) and one second cutting laser (50); and at least one first wire feed element that guides a first wire (26) onto the base (12) as the base (12) moves in the feed direction (14); characterized by the fact that the manufacturing system (10) further comprises at least one second wire feed element which guides a second wire (26') onto the base (12) and parallel to the first wire (26) when the base (12) moves in the feed direction (14); wherein the at least one welding laser (42) is energized to fuse the first wire (26) with the second wire (26'), wherein the first cutting laser (50) is energized to cut the first wire (26), and the second cutting laser (50) is energized to cut the second wire (26') to complete a wire layer.

Description

INTRODUCTION

[0001] The present invention relates to machines for additive manufacturing. In particular, the invention relates to a wire-based additive manufacturing system according to the preamble of claim 1, as is essentially known from US 2016 / 0 089 754 A1.

[0002] Another wire-based additive manufacturing system is also described in DE 10 2016 003 464 A1.

[0003] The additive manufacturing of metal parts with a lattice structure can currently be achieved by laser sintering a metal powder, which locally melts the metal powder and fuses the melt with a base material or a lower level of previously molten metal. A new layer of the metal powder is then applied, and the laser sintering process is repeated. In this way, multiple additive metal layers are laser melted in successive steps until a final part thickness or depth is achieved. Multiple parts can be manufactured simultaneously, and the parts can have complex geometries.

[0004] Disadvantages of today's laser sintering processes include unwanted welding of the powdered metal, excessive application of the powdered metal to areas that do not need to be welded, resulting in wastage of the unused powdered metal, or requiring a reclamation process to collect, refine, and reuse the powdered metal. This process is also slowed by the powder metal installation procedure between each welding step, as well as by the cleaning or smoothing of the previous layer of welded material before another layer can be applied. The laser must also directly contact the entire surface of the component being manufactured to melt the powdered metal, and the process is therefore limited in speed to the travel speed of the welding laser.

[0005] While today's additive manufacturing processes of laser sintering serve their purpose, a new and improved system and process for the additive manufacturing of metal or plastic parts is needed. SUMMARY

[0006] According to several aspects, a wire-based additive manufacturing system includes: a feed-movable base; at least one welding laser; and at least a first and a second cutting laser. At least one first wire feed element feeds a first wire onto the base as the base moves in the feed direction. At least one second wire feed element feeds a second wire onto the base and parallel to the first wire as the base moves in the feed direction. The at least one welding laser is activated to fuse the first wire to the second wire, the first cutting laser is activated to cut the first wire, and the second cutting laser is activated to cut the second wire to complete a wire layer.

[0007] In another aspect of the present invention, after the first and second wires are fused together to complete the wire layer and each wire is cut, the base is lowered and rotated approximately 90 degrees to position the base for receiving a next wire from the first wire feed member and a next wire from the second wire feed member to create a next wire layer over the wire layer.

[0008] In another aspect of the present invention, the next wire from the first wire feed member and the next wire from the second wire feed member are aligned orthogonally to the first wire and the second wire.

[0009] In another aspect of the present invention, a wire guide slidably receives each of the first wire and the second wire and aligns the first wire and the second wire with the at least one welding laser.

[0010] In another aspect of the present invention, the wire guide is spatially fixed when the base moves in the feed direction.

[0011] In another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of flexible pusher fingers extend from the wire guide, biasing the first wire and the second wire toward the base.

[0012] In a further aspect of the present invention, the at least one welding laser and the at least first and second cutting lasers are spatially fixed when the base moves in the feed direction.

[0013] In another aspect of the present invention, a first mirror redirects a laser welding beam from the at least one welding laser to the first wire and the second wire; and a second mirror redirects a laser cutting beam from each of the at least first and second cutting lasers to one of the first or second wires.

[0014] In a further aspect of the present invention, the first wire and the second wire each define a trapezoidal shape with opposing angular surfaces, wherein an angular surface of the first wire and an angular surface of the second wire are opposite each other to define an intersection point between the first wire and the second wire, which enables the at least one welding laser to create a fillet weld at the intersection point.

[0015] In another aspect of the present invention, a wire guide includes a plurality of openings, each defining a trapezoidal shape and sized to slidably receive one of the first wires or the second wire. Each of the plurality of openings connects to a slot in the wire guide and is oriented such that the first wire and the second wire are directed toward the at least one welding laser.

[0016] According to several aspects, a wire-based additive manufacturing system includes a base movable in the feed direction. A plurality of welding lasers are each spatially fixed as the base moves in the feed direction. A plurality of cutting lasers are each spatially fixed as the base moves in the feed direction. A plurality of wire feed elements each feed a single wire from a plurality of wires onto the base as the base moves in the feed direction. Each of the plurality of welding lasers is energized to fuse parallel adjacent ones of the plurality of wires, and each of the cutting lasers is energized to cut one of the fused wires to complete one of the plurality of wire layers.

[0017] In another aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of wire feed elements includes: a stepper motor; and a guide roller.

[0018] In another aspect of the present invention, each stepper motor is operated at a feed rate less than a displacement rate of the base in the feed direction to generate a counter-traction force in the plurality of wires.

[0019] In another aspect of the present invention, one of the stepper motors is offset in height across a surface of the base.

[0020] In another aspect of the present invention, the plurality of welding lasers and the plurality of cutting lasers are coupled to define a laser welding assembly.

[0021] In another aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of wires defines a trapezoidal shape with opposing angular surfaces, wherein an angular surface of individual, parallel adjacent wires forms a longitudinal channel across each wire layer.

[0022] In another aspect of the present invention, a gap is created in the one of the plurality of wires by operating one of the plurality of cutting lasers on one of the plurality of wires while the base continues to translate in the feed direction.

[0023] According to several aspects, a method of operating a wire-based additive manufacturing system includes: translating a base in the feed direction; spatially fixing a plurality of welding lasers and a plurality of cutting lasers as a weld assembly with respect to the base as the base moves in the feed direction; actuating a plurality of wire feed elements to feed individual wires of a plurality of wires onto the base as the base moves in the feed direction; energizing the individual welding lasers to fuse parallel adjacent ones of the plurality of wires; and energizing the individual cutting lasers to cut one of the fused wires to complete one of a plurality of wire layers.

[0024] In another aspect of the present invention, the method includes, after fusing each of the parallel adjacent wires of the plurality of wires and cutting each of the plurality of wires to complete one of the plurality of wire layers: lowering the base; and rotating the base, for example, about 90 degrees, to position the base for receiving a next wire from each of the plurality of wire feed elements to create a next wire layer over the one of the plurality of wire layers.

[0025] In another aspect of the present invention, the method includes creating at least one vertical column connecting two of the plurality of wire layers.

[0026] Further areas of application will become apparent from the description provided here. Please note that the description and specific examples are for illustrative purposes only. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only. Fig. 1 is a front left perspective of a wire-based additive manufacturing system according to an exemplary embodiment; Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of the wire-based additive manufacturing system of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front left perspective view of area 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a front left perspective view similar to that shown in Fig. 3, which represents laser welding and laser cutting; Fig. 5 is a front left perspective view taken after the laser cutting process of Fig. 4 was modified; Fig. 6 is a final elevation view of a wire filler produced with the wire-based additive manufacturing system of Fig. 1 was manufactured; Fig. 7 is one of Fig. 6 modified final elevation view; Fig. 8 is a front left perspective view of area 8 of Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a rear left perspective view of a wire guide of Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is one of Fig. 9 modified rear left perspective view including additional wires; Fig. 11 is a perspective bottom view of the wire guide of Fig. 9; Fig. 12 is a front perspective view of an exemplary structure produced using the wire-based additive manufacturing system of Fig. 1 was manufactured; Fig. 13 is a top view of a lattice structure component produced using the wire-based additive manufacturing system of Fig. 1 was manufactured; and Fig. 14 is a final elevation view of a vertical wire additive lattice structural component produced using the wire-based additive manufacturing system of Fig. 1, which was modified to allow the welding of individual vertically stacked wires. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present invention, application, or uses.

[0029] With reference to Fig. 1, a wire-based additive manufacturing process and method, hereinafter wire-based additive manufacturing system 10, includes a platform or base 12 depicted in a planar form, however, the base 12 may assume other geometric shapes than that depicted, including curved ones. The base 12 is translated in the feed direction 14 during welding of a wire filler 16. The wire filler 16 includes at least one, and in several aspects, multiple layers of wire material, each layer having wires oriented substantially transversely to the underlying layer.

[0030] In the illustrated example, the wire filler element 16 includes a first layer 18, which may be a sheet of material, such as a metal, onto which a plurality of wires may be welded together and supported by the first layer 18. In several aspects, the first layer 18 may be sacrificial such that the first layer 18 is removed after the upper layers are formed. The first layer 18 may include a pattern of slots or grooves 20 to minimize weld contact when the wires of subsequent layers are applied. A second layer 22 provides a plurality of wires aligned parallel to one another, with each of the wires of the second layer 22 welded to an adjacent one of the wires of the second layer 22. A third layer 24 illustrates how a next or each new layer is created.The third layer 24 includes a plurality of wires, such as wires 26, 26', 26'', 26''', each aligned parallel to each other, with each of the wires of the second layer 22 aligned at an angle, with each of the wires 26, 26', 26'', 26''' of the third layer 24 ready to be welded to a subsequent one of the wires of the second layer 22 (such as wire 26' welded to wire 26 and wire 26'', respectively).

[0031] Each of the wires, such as wire 26, is individually fed from a wire spool (not shown) via a stepper motor 28 and a guide roller 30. In several aspects, one size of the wires 26 may have a cross-section of approximately 1.0 mm, although the wire size may vary within the scope of the present invention. Each of the wires 26 is guided into and through a wire guide 32, which adjusts the parallel alignment of the wires to be fed to the base 12. A plurality of flexible pusher fingers 34 are attached to the wire guide 32 and push the wires 26 in a downward direction 36 as they exit the wire guide 32, such that the wires 26 are pushed into physical contact with the wires of the next lower layer of the wire attachment 16.The pusher fingers 34 are flexible to maintain a downward compressive force on the wires 26 toward the base 12 until they can be welded by a laser welding assembly 38.

[0032] The laser welding assembly 38 includes both welding and cutting lasers as follows. Each of a plurality of optical welding laser feeds 40, such as a fiber optic feed, is connected to a welding collimator lens 42. From each of the collimator lenses 42, a laser welding beam 44 is redirected by at least one reflecting mirror 46 to direct the laser welding beams 44 in the downward direction 36. Each of the laser welding beams 44 is oriented substantially perpendicular to the wires 26, 26', 26'', 26''', and individual ones of the laser welding beams 44 are disposed between two consecutive wires, such as between the wires 26, 26'.

[0033] Similar to the welding lasers, each of a plurality of optical cutting laser feeds 48, such as a fiber optic feed, is connected to a cutting collimator lens 50. A laser cutting beam 50 is deflected from each of the collimator lenses 52 using at least one reflecting mirror 54 to direct the laser cutting beams 52 in the downward direction 36. Each of the laser cutting beams 52 is also oriented substantially perpendicular to the wires 26, 26', 26'', 26''', and individual ones of the laser cutting beams 52 are positioned to directly intersect one of the wires, such as the illustrated wire 26.

[0034] In several aspects, the laser welding assembly 38, which includes both the welding lasers 42 and the cutting lasers 50, can be laterally fixed or laterally shifted in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction 14. The lateral shift can accommodate different welding or cutting beam widths of the individual lasers. For example, the lateral shift can be approximately half the width of the wire 26. The lateral shift also makes it possible to melt only one side of one of the wires 26 at a time, thereby minimizing the melting of the underlying wire material from a lower layer. The need for lateral cutting laser shift can be eliminated if the beam shape of the cutting laser is oval instead of circular and has a width that corresponds to the width of the wire to be cut.

[0035] The stepper motors 28, the guide rollers 30, the wire guide 32, the push-off fingers 34, and each of the components of the laser welding assembly 38 (except when the lateral displacement described above is desired) are fixed and do not move as the base 12 and the wire filler 16 move in the feed direction 14 as the wires of the wire filler 16 are welded and cut. This ensures that the wires for each layer of the wire filler 16 are similarly aligned and held in position, welded, and cut as needed, by the push-off fingers 34. This also ensures that the alignment of the mirrors 46, 54, the laser welding beams 44, and the laser cutting beams 52 remain fixed with respect to the wire positions.

[0036] To prepare the system for another layer of wire filler 16, each of the wires is cut with one of the laser cutting beams 52 to define an end or edge of the wire filler 16, with the base 12 being returned in a return direction 56 opposite the feed direction 14 and rotated at an angle between approximately 45 degrees and 90 degrees from the illustrated orientation. The stepper motors 28 are then operated to feed wires for another layer of wire filler 16 as the base 12 is again translated in the feed direction 14.

[0037] With reference to Fig. 2 and again on Fig. 1, to accommodate an increasing thickness of the wire filler element 16 with each subsequent layer, a surface 58 of the base 12 is gradually lowered in a downward direction 36 by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the wires 26. This maintains a constant downward pressure of the push-off fingers 34 on the wires 26. To minimize a bending radius 59 of the wires, such as the wires 26, 26', which are to be inserted into the wire guide 32 by the stepper motors, successive stepper motors shown, such as the stepper motors 28, 28', are offset in height above the surface 58 and can also be offset laterally, as shown.To minimize the risk of wire bending during feeding into the wire guide 32, the stepper motors 28 can be operated at a feed speed slightly lower than that of the base 12 in the feed direction 14 to generate a small counter-traction force acting on the wires in the direction 60.

[0038] With reference to Fig. 3 and again on the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the successive wire layers of the wire filler element 16, as already mentioned, have an angular alignment of the wires to one another. To reduce the weight of the wire filler element 16, each of the wires is provided with a trapezoidal cross-section, so that adjacent wires form longitudinal channels through the layer, such as channels 62, 62'. As the laser welding beam 44 passes between adjacent wires, a fillet weld pool 64 fixes the adjacent wires to one another, and a root weld 66 fixes the two adjacent wires of one of the layers, for example, from the second layer 22 to the wires of a next lower layer.

[0039] With reference to Fig. 4 and again on Fig. 3, a plurality of adjacent wires, such as adjacent wires 26 and 26', adjacent wires 26' and 26'', and adjacent wires 26'' and 26''', are welded simultaneously with individual welding lasers, such as laser welding beams 44, 44', 44''. A fillet weld pool 64, as previously described, fuses each pair of adjacent wires for a desired length of wires in the wire filler element 16. If it is desired to provide one or more individual wires with a length less than an overall length of the wire filler element 16, one of the laser cutting beams 52 can be deployed at any desired cutting position to cut an individual one of the wires, such as wire 26, into a first wire section 68 and a second wire section 70. The push-off fingers 34 are positioned near the welding and cutting positions to maintain the wires in their parallel arrangement prior to welding or cutting.

[0040] With reference to Fig. 5 and again Fig. 4 is produced using the laser cutting beam 52 (shown in Fig. 4) creates a gap 72 for a certain time, as the wire filler element 16 continues to move in the feed direction 14. A width 74 of the gap 72 depends on the operating time of the laser cutting beam 52 multiplied by the speed or the travel speed of the wire filler element 16 with the base 12. The laser welding beams 44 can be selectively stopped during operation of the laser cutting beam 52, so that the fillet weld pool 64 within the gap 72 is eliminated.

[0041] With reference to Fig. 6 and again Fig. 3, the trapezoidal shape of the wires, such as wire 26', provides a base surface 76, a top surface 78 parallel to the base surface 76, a first angled side surface 80, and a second angled side surface 82. In several aspects, the first and second angled side surfaces 80, 82 are substantially flat or planar. As the wires are guided through the wire guide 32, the first angled side surface 80 is positioned adjacent an angled side surface 84 of an adjacent wire, such as wire 26, to form an intersection point 86. The trapezoidal-shaped wires advantageously allow the laser welding beam 44 to be positioned between the first angled side surface 80 and the angled side surface 84 directed toward the intersection point 86 and oriented perpendicular to the base surface 76.This allows a single fillet weld and the fillet weld bath 64 to be evenly distributed between the adjacent wires 26, 26' and the root weld 66 to be created in the next wire below, such as a wire 88 of the first layer 18 shown.

[0042] With reference to Fig. 7 and again Fig. 6, a wire attachment 90 from the wire attachment 16 can be modified according to several aspects to change the trapezoidal shape of the wires. In this example, the wire attachment 90 includes at least two wire layers with a first wire 92 oriented parallel to a second wire 94, with both the first wire 92 and the second wire 94 oriented orthogonally to a wire 96 of a lower wire layer. Each of the wires includes oppositely directed concave surfaces, such as a first concave surface 98 and a second concave surface 100. The second concave surface 100 faces a concave surface 102 of the second wire 94 and forms an intersection point 104 similar to the intersection point 86.Again, this allows a single fillet weld and the fillet weld bath 64 to be distributed evenly between the adjacent wires 92, 94 and the root weld 66 to be introduced into the next wire below, such as wire 96.

[0043] With reference to Fig. 8 and again on Fig. 1, depending on the spacing between the wires in the individual wire layers, multiple mirrors may be used to create sufficient space for the various welding collimator lenses 42 and the cutting collimator lenses 50. For example, the at least one reflection mirror 46 may include a first reflection mirror 46 and a second reflection mirror 46' for the laser welding beams 44. To create space for the individual laser welding beams 44, openings may be provided in the first reflection mirror 46, including at least one opening 106 that allows the passage of a laser welding beam 44'. Similarly, the at least one reflection mirror 54 may include a first reflection mirror 54 and a second reflection mirror 54' for the laser cutting beams 52.In order to create space for the individual laser cutting beams 52, openings can be provided in the first reflection mirror 54, including at least one opening 108 which allows the passage of a laser cutting beam 52.

[0044] With reference to Fig. 9 and again on Fig. 1, the wire guide 32 includes a surface 110 with a plurality of openings 112, each having a trapezoidal shape similar to the trapezoidal shape of the wires 26. To accommodate the spacing of the wires 26, the stepper motors 28, and the guide rollers 30, the openings 112 can be staggered, for example, to form a wave pattern, as shown. The wave pattern allows adjacent openings, such as openings 112', 112'', to be positioned at different heights on the surface 110.

[0045] With reference to Fig. 10 and again on Fig. 9, the wave pattern of the openings 112 allows the wires, such as wires 26, 26', 26'', to not overlap near the wire guide 32. As each wire is guided out of the wire guide 32, it makes direct contact and is guided by one of the push-off fingers 34.

[0046] With reference to Fig. 11, a bottom side 114 of the wire guide 32 provides a plurality of longitudinal slots 116 for slidingly guiding the individual wires 26. Each slot 116 is connected to one of the openings 112. Each slot 116 provides a conical surface 118 for pushing the wire 26 downwards to the bottom side 114. The slots 116 can form a wave-like pattern similar to the wave pattern of the openings 116 and can have different lengths, such as a slot 116' that is shorter than the slot 116 shown. The push-off fingers 34 are fixedly connected to an end face 120 of the wire guide 32. The push-off fingers 34 can be formed as homogeneous extensions of the wire guide 32 or can be separate but fixedly connected to the end face 120.

[0047] With reference to Fig. 12, a structure 121 having a plurality of vertical columns 122, 124, 126, 128 may be formed using the wire-based additive manufacturing system 10 of the present invention. These columns may be used as separate parts of an object produced by the process, or in an intermediate manufacturing step to support components or parts of an object that may include a central core with wings or features extending outwardly from the core. Such articles may be, for example, elements with a central core and outwardly extending or overhanging portions, or elements with a plurality of holes or pores. The vertical columns 122, 124, 126, 128 may be used to individually support each of the layers forming the blades while the blades and core are welded together.The intermediate cross members 134, 136, 138, 140 can be used depending on the overall height 142 of the structure to achieve the required rigidity.

[0048] With reference to Fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary component 144 from the wire-based additive manufacturing system 10 of the present invention. The component 144 may have a complex shape, such as a curved body 146, including different body widths. For example, a first body width 148 near a center of the component 144 may be narrower than a second body width 150 near a rod end. Additionally, other non-wire-connected objects may be incorporated, for example, through a subsequent joining process. For example, a first socket 152 may be connected to a first end of the component 144 and a second socket 154 may be connected to a second end. The first and second sockets 152, 154 may be attached, for example, by soldering. The first and second sockets 152, 154 may also be replaced by braze-ons with a bolt hole therethrough.

[0049] With reference to Fig. 14 and again on the Fig. 1 to 6 shows an exemplary configuration of a vertical lattice structure 156, illustrating how individual wire strands 26, 158, and 160 can be vertically mounted and welded. These vertical lattice structures are composed of a stack of short wire strands whose height is limited to prevent bending of the structure due to the vertical loading by the wire guide 32. The welding of the wire 26 to the wire 158 can be carried out as shown in Fig. 6, with a fillet weld 162. When welding only a single wire to a single underlying wire, for example, when welding wire 160 to the underlying wire 158, a vertical laser beam 166 modified from the laser welding beam 44 may be used to apply a different pulse sequence that promotes melting of the upper wire 160 without overheating the lower or underlying wire 158.

[0050] Regularly embossed dots or painted markings on the top or bottom of the lead wires can be recorded, for example, by optical sensors, and used to accurately and reliably determine the position of the lead wire ends. Without these embossings or markings, the position of the feed wire ends could be determined by tracking a rotation angle of the feed motors that would not cause slippage of the feed wires in the feed motor pulleys.

[0051] To maintain the feed wire in a slack state, two wire feed motor stages can also be used. For example, a primary wire feed motor stage consists of high-torque motors used to pull the wire from the spools, and a secondary stage consists of low-torque motors that control the position of the feed wire ends. The torque difference between the primary and secondary stages allows the section of wire located between the primary and secondary stages to be maintained in a slightly slack state. The use of higher-torque motors also allows for the use of large wire spools, which also has the advantage of extending the spool replacement interval.

[0052] Lasers used for laser welding can be, for example, light-emitting diode (LED) lasers. Lasers used for laser cutting can be, for example, sublimation lasers. Other types of lasers can also be used or replaced within the scope of the present invention.

[0053] A wire-based additive manufacturing system 10 of the present invention offers several advantages. These include the ability to weld multiple wires of an additive wire layer simultaneously and the incorporation of a trapezoidal shape into the wires, creating a channel between each wire to reduce weight and enable fillet welding of adjacent wires. Welding and cutting operations can be performed with lasers fixed with respect to a movable base, making the laser process repeatable and accurate. Mounting a wire guide and a plurality of wire feed stepper motors with respect to the movable base improves the accuracy of wire placement and wire tension. The wire can also be fed as a continuous strand from a spool, with spool size being the only limitation.

Claims

[1] Wire-based additive manufacturing system (10), comprising: a base (12) displaceable in the feed direction (14); at least one welding laser (42); at least one first cutting laser (50) and one second cutting laser (50); and at least one first wire feed element that guides a first wire (26) onto the base (12) when the base (12) moves in the feed direction (14); characterized by , that the manufacturing system (10) further comprises at least one second wire feed element that guides a second wire (26') onto the base (12) and parallel to the first wire (26) as the base (12) moves in the feed direction (14); wherein the at least one welding laser (42) is energized to fuse the first wire (26) to the second wire (26'), the first cutting laser (50) is energized to cut the first wire (26), and the second cutting laser (50) is energized to cut the second wire (26') to complete a wire layer. [2] The wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) of claim 1, wherein after fusing the first and second wires (26, 26') to complete the wire layer, the base (12) is lowered and axially rotated to position the base (12) over the wire layer for receiving a next wire from the first wire feed element (32) and a next wire from the second wire feed element to create a next wire layer. [3] The wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) of claim 2, wherein the next wire from the first wire feed element and the next wire from the second wire feed element are oriented orthogonally to the first wire (26) and the second wire (26'). [4] The wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) of claim 1, further comprising a wire guide (32) slidably receiving the first wire (26) and the second wire (26') and oriented to direct the first wire (26) and the second wire (26') toward the at least one welding laser (42). [5] Wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) according to claim 4, wherein the wire guide (32) is spatially fixed when the base (12) moves in the feed direction (14). [6] The wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of flexible push-off fingers (34) extending from the wire guide (32) and operable to bias the first wire (26) and the second wire (26') toward the base (12). [7] Wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one welding laser (42) and the at least first and second cutting lasers (50) are spatially fixed when the base (12) moves in the feed direction (14). [8] Wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) according to claim 1, further comprising: a first mirror (46) which deflects a laser welding beam (44) from the at least one welding laser (42) onto the first wire (26) and the second wire (26'); and a second mirror (54) that redirects a laser cutting beam (52) from each of the at least first and second cutting lasers (50) onto one of the first or second wires (26, 26'). [9] The wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) of claim 1, wherein each of the first wire (26) and the second wire (26') defines a trapezoidal shape with opposing angled surfaces (80, 82), wherein an angled surface (80) of the first wire (26) and an angled surface (82) of the second wire (26') oppose each other to define an intersection point (86) between the first wire (26) and the second wire (26') that enables a fillet weld to be created at the intersection point (86) using the at least one welding laser (42). [10] The wire-based additive manufacturing system (10) of claim 9, further including a wire guide (32) having a plurality of openings each defining a trapezoidal shape and sized to slidably receive one of the first wires (26) or the second wire (26'), each of the plurality of openings being connected to a slot (116) in the wire guide (32) oriented to direct the first wire (26) and the second wire (26') toward the at least one welding laser (42).

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