6 Ways Additive Affects Machining
Machining is part of additive manufacturing, but the problems, pacing and possibilities of machining are all affected by their interaction with AM. Here are some of the ways machining changes when metal 3D printing is one of its drivers.
-
An additive manufactured part being completed via five-axis machining at Cumberland Additive. Photo courtesy of Cumberland.
- Downstream machining has to preserve the high value of parts made additively. For this reason, don’t call it mere postprocessing.
- Because of the different pace and the need to take care with valuable parts, a different kind of temperament suits the machinists in an additive shop.
- The promise of AM for distributed manufacturing leads to CNC programming being performed remotely.
- Machining to separate parts from their build plate can be a challenging wire EDM operation, made even more challenging when it comes to EDM for part removal from very large build plates.
- Additive is bringing new possibilities to cutting tools and even to the machine tool itself.
Related Content
-
Additive Manufacturing Is Subtractive, Too: How CNC Machining Integrates With AM (Includes Video)
For Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing, succeeding with laser powder bed fusion as a production process means developing a machine shop that is responsive to, and moves at the pacing of, metal 3D printing.
-
How Machining Makes AM Successful for Innovative 3D Manufacturing
Connections between metal 3D printing and CNC machining serve the Indiana manufacturer in many ways. One connection is customer conversations that resemble a machining job shop. Here is a look at a small company that has advanced quickly to become a thriving additive manufacturing part producer.
-
Qualification Today, Better Aircraft Tomorrow — Eaton’s Additive Manufacturing Strategy
The case for additive has been made, Eaton says. Now, the company is taking on qualification costs so it can convert aircraft parts made through casting to AM. The investment today will speed qualification of the 3D printed parts of the future, allowing design engineers to fully explore additive’s freedoms.