An Architecture for Hybrid Manufacturing Combining 3D Printing and CNC Machining

Additive manufacturing is one of the key technologies of the 21st century. Additive manufacturing processes are often combined with subtractive manufacturing processes to create hybrid manufacturing because it is useful for manufacturing complex parts, for example, 3D printed sensor systems. Currently, several CNC machines are required for hybrid manufacturing: one machine is required for additive manufacturing and one is required for subtractive manufacturing. Disadvantages of conventional hybrid manufacturing methods are presented. Hybrid manufacturing with one CNC machine offers many advantages. It enables manufacturing of parts with higher accuracy, less production time, and lower costs. Using the example of fused layer modeling (FLM), we present a general approach for the integration of additive manufacturing processes into a numerical control for machine tools. The resulting CNC architecture is presented and its functionality is demonstrated. Its application is beyond the scope of this paper