Machining is part of metal additive manufacturing, but the 3D printing/machining interconnection is particularly close when the mode of AM is directed energy deposition (DED). This process offers a fast way to obtain a near-net-shape metal part, providing for more economical production of some parts made of challenging metals and other metal parts that are very large — provided machining is available to complete the near-net-shape form. The advance of DED we are seeing will lead to advances in metal AM and machining working together, and I saw hints of this when I paid a visit to MC Machinery. Sample parts made on the company’s Mitsubishi AZ600 DED system illustrate various ways additive and subtractive operations affect one another and interrelate. In the video above, some of the parts I saw and the important points they illustrate.
Related Resources
- DED applications: U.S. Navy Artillery Rounds | Semiconductor Tray | Aircraft Wing Splice | NASA Thrust Chamber | Giant Mixer Blade and Bearing
- More on machining for additive manufacturing
- How DED is advancing and its role is changing
Transcript
I recently paid a visit to MC Machinery, in the Chicago area. Machine tool company. But they also carry an additive manufacturing system, the Mitsubishi AZ600 system, which builds metal parts through wire-fed directed energy deposition, DED.
When DED and machining are used together, when both are part of the planning from the beginning, one can make the other easier. Here are some examples I saw.
First, very simple, DED needs a surface to build on but offers a lot of freedom as to the size. Choose a build surface that is convenient for clamping in the machining center later.
Then, the build surface can also be a cylinder. When DED is used to add radial features to a shaft, it aids machining in a number of ways. The features don’t have to be machined out of a larger shaft. That does more than save on machining — it means the shop doesn’t have to carry the larger diameter barstock. Might even mean the part can be produced on a smaller lathe.
Both those examples show choices in additive aiding machining. Here is an idea in which machining aids additive. Bury the part design inside the build plate itself, and make it part of the component. That is the case with this golf club head. The design is, basically, submerged inside the plate. Less 3D printing is needed, because machining is coming. After the club gets machined out of this form, what was the plate and what was the 3D printing will be impossible to tell.
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