Hybridizing MJF Based Additive Layer and CNC Supported Subtractive Manufacturing for Enhancing Productivity in PD Design Iterations

Job-shop type production plays a vital role in the manufacturing industry when delivery of low-volume production is required. Prototyping and testing in product development (PD), especially, need low-volume production to perform design iterations and testing. Job-shop production has been less productive due to the inherent nature of traditional subtractive manufacturing (SM). Additive layer manufacturing (ALM) and computer numerical control (CNC) supported SM enable the salient features of computer aided engineering (CAE) developments to be used for increasing productivity, especially in job-shop production. Although CNC controllers have evolved to use conversational programming, SM remains unproductive in job-shop production. This manuscript first illustrates the basic notion of multi jet fusion (MJF) technology based ALM (MJF-ALM). Secondly, it illustrates the pros and cons of CNC-SM. Thirdly, it demonstrates how it is possible for CNC-SM to be supplemented with MJF-ALM in enhancing the productivity of job-shop production. Finally, it demonstrates the potential benefits in hybridizing MJFALM with CNC-SM, especially: focusing on job-shop production and PD-related design iterations and testing.