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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Hybridization: the promising combination of traditional manufacturing with 3D

Hybridization: the promising combination of traditional manufacturing with 3D
The days when 3D printing was reserved only for prototyping seem to be over. Nevertheless, despite its many advantages, additive manufacturing is not yet at the stage of replacing traditional manufacturing. However, in a much more subtle way, it is gradually being integrated into "traditional" manufacturing processes and now allows a combination that deserves attention: hybrid manufacturing.

In fact, although additive manufacturing has obvious advantages, certain factors currently limit its ambition to fully replace traditional processes:
  • The cost of printers and materials is still significant,
  • Current machines struggle to meet the constraints in terms of size and volume,
  • Manufacturing times are still relatively slow, which is incompatible with large-scale production,
  • Product finishing that can still be improved,
  • And also the need to train users to optimise the use of the process.

Far from stopping at these few limitations, companies are exploring the possibility of combining the various technologies and are interested in new "hybrid" systems that are likely to meet the requirements of industrial production.

According to the CIRP2 (International Academy for Production Engineering) hybrid manufacturing could be understood in two ways:
  • An "open definition": a hybrid manufacturing process combines two or more manufacturing processes where the benefits of each process can be exploited in synergy;
  • A "restricted definition": a hybrid process involves the simultaneous action of different production principles on the same treatment area.

The latest Sculpteo survey "The state of 3D Printing" also bears witness to this orientation. Among the findings of this survey (1,000 manufacturers responded), we note that additive manufacturing is increasingly integrated into the overall manufacturing process: it is considered useful not only for R&D and design activities but also for production.

Thus, as Giorgio Magistrelli (Additive Manufacturing Expert, Business and Project Manager) points out, "in many industrial sectors such as aeronautics, medical, automotive or energy, the manufacture of complex parts requires the use of several processes, while at the same time requiring post-processing interventions to obtain standardised tolerances and surface finishing.

An effective combination of additive and subtractive processes improves the characteristics and convenience of both techniques.

In conclusion, if additive manufacturing has, until now, followed a relatively traditional development trajectory, it is very likely that its industrial maturity will come through hybridization, i.e. its full integration into manufacturing processes.

On 3DPRINT, many examples will witness this evolution.
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Written by Anne DELANSALUT
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