Unconstrained manufacture of plastic parts-A novel concept of hybrid manufacturing process

Today, the design of a part is still significantly constrained by the capabilities of the manufacturing process used. The major reason behind this bottleneck is each individual type of manufacturing process only deals with specific manufacturing requirements and application areas. In recent years, hybrid manufacturing technologies that combine different processes (e.g. additive and subtractive processes) together have gained significant attention. This is due to their ability to capitalise on the advantages of each individual process, whilst minimising their disadvantages. Furthermore, by using an additive process that reuses existing material has the potential to further reduce manufacturing costs in terms of reducing material consumption. However, current hybrid processes are unable to effectively utilise existing material. This paper introduces a novel concept for hybrid manufacturing, enabling a plastic part to be manufactured from zero material or by adding material to an existing part. It illustrates how rapid prototyping, CNC machining and inspection processes can be used interchangeably to manufacture example polylactic acid (PLA) components.