In October 2016, the three-year OpenHybrid project began, a part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. The project was designed to address current hybrid manufacturing systems’ commercial and technical limitations. Coordinated by UK-based Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), supported by the European Federation of Welding, Joining and Cutting, and with over ten international partners, OpenHybrid has just been finalized.
The project’s mission was to create new hybrid machines, equipped with both subtractive and additive manufacturing technologies – specifically CNC machining and Directed Energy Deposition (DED) 3D printing. OpenHybrid succeeded in developing two hybrid machines that used subtractive and additive manufacturing to create working parts that collaborate with standardization bodies while also addressing manufacturing and repair applications of automotive, mining, and power generation companies.
The objective for the OpenHybrid project states:
“The OPENHYBRID project will overcome the technical and commercial barriers of current hybrid manufacturing systems to deliver a single manufacturing system capable of undertaking a wider range of processes in a seamless automated operation. The new system will offer unrivalled flexibility in terms of materials, including the ability to switch between powder and wire feed-stock within a single part. Moreover the process can be fitted to a diverse range of platform to produce parts from 2cm to 20m in length. The capability of the OPENHYBRID approach will be validated through the production of industrial demonstrators from the power generation, automotive and mining equipment sectors.”
The consortium developed a hybrid multi-tool platform for medium parts, and another for large parts. The first uses a powder head feed system, which project partner Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies (HMT) created, and the second one uses a wire head feed system developed by HMT and Fraunhofer IPT. Both platforms were successfully demonstrated for repair applications, and can also be used to manufacture new parts as well.
“By creating new hybrid machines, equipped with both subtractive and additive manufacturing technologies, OpenHybrid is a game changer for faster creation of new opportunities and applications for Additive Manufacturing,” stated an EWF press release. “This new solution increases the level of robustness and repeatability of such industrial processes, optimises and evaluates the increased performance of production lines in terms of productivity and cost-effectiveness and, finally, provides an effective assessment on the sustainability, functionality and performance of the produced new materials.”
One important part of the project’s approach is its use of a patented, standardized docking system by HMT, which allows for an automatic change to DED processing heads during fabrication for a more flexible process. OpenHybrid also made sure to support the development of AM standards by engaging the ASTM, AWS, CEN, and ISO organizations, so that its applications would be “widely accepted.”
OpenHybrid’s project partners wanted to make sure that it would be easy to integrate its hybrid system onto any machine tool platform and achieve a quality performance. The project’s flexible new approach makes it possible to process both powder and wire feedstock, and combine the system with machine tools and large-scale automation platforms, courtesy of project partners GF Machining Solutions and Gudel, respectively.
Additional extended system capabilities developed by consortium members include:
- CAD/CAM adaptive software – BCT and Picasoft
- Enhanced gas shielding – TWI and MTC
- In-process inspection using thermal and optical imaging and advanced laser ultrasound – MTC and TWI
- Laser ultrasonic NDT inspection for defect analysis – TWI
- Process simulation tools – ESI
OpenHybrid supports the vision and objectives of the EU’s Horizon 2020 Factories of the Future program, and the two systems developed by the consortium members will hopefully make some of the more demanding industries in Europe even more competitive.
Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
You May Also Like
Lockheed Martin Adds 16,000 Square Feet of 3D Printing to Texas Facility
Defense giant Lockheed Martin has unveiled a substantial increase in its additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities with an expansion of its facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. The addition includes some 16,000...
EOS Launches New P3 NEXT SLS 3D Printer at Formnext 2004
EOS, the German-US leader in additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, has launched the P3 NEXT selective laser sintering (SLS) printer at Formnext 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany (November 19-22). EOS created the...
3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: November 10, 2024
We’ve got another busy week ahead of webinars and events around the world! There are multiple open houses and conferences, advanced AM training, a 3D printer launch event, our own...
Dinsmore Gains Ability to 3D Print Functional Stents Thanks to Axtra3D
As essentially everyone familiar with additive manufacturing (AM) knows, one of the greatest advantages of 3D printing technologies is the potential to produce parts with complex geometries that are unachievable...