When most people think of 3D printing, they think of the typical additive process, in which layers of material are fused into the desired end shape. However, additive manufacturing cannot always pull off the perfect final product alone. In fact, most metal 3D printing processes require additional milling or other finishing methods to create the ultimate part.For this reason, there are a number of companies, such as Mazak, DMG MORI and Cincinnati Inc., that combine additive and subtractive processes to achieve a given result. One company stands out for a novel hybrid manufacturing technology called ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM). By using sound waves, rather than heat energy, Fabrisonic’s UAM platform can be used for applications that no other system can.
