Process–Task Matching and Hybrid Integration in Mechanical Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing is a way of producing that has become an innovative approach in contemporary mechanical engineering. However, its application in practice has some well-defined intrinsic limits. In this paper, the authors present an exhaustive, methodical analysis of the kind of operability of the seven different AM techniques, in which the basic advantages and intrinsic limits of the seven techniques, when compared to usual production, are seen, as well as the effectiveness and the still present problems of the recent technological advances. The investigation also collects the gist of the principles of the successful industrial implementation in a value-oriented way. The research results show that, given the present technological capacities and economic considerations, the AM works the best for tangles, high performances, low number of pieces, with a big added value, instead of simple, mass-produced pieces with little value addition. The technological developments, which are still ongoing, are continuously changing the limits of the applicability of the integrated hybrid manufacturing systems.