Abstract: An arc welding or additive manufacturing system includes a wire feeder, a torch, a wire electrode driven through the torch by the wire feeder, and an arc generation power supply operatively connected to the torch to deliver a pulse waveform to the wire electrode during a deposition operation. The pulse waveform includes a series of current pulses and interleaved background current portions such that each current pulse is separated from a prior current pulse by a prior background current portion and separated from a subsequent current pulse by a subsequent background current portion. During each current pulse a molten droplet is projected from a tip of the wire electrode followed by an axial spray of molten metal away from the tip of the wire electrode before the subsequent background current portion occurs.