Manufacturing Complexity Evaluation For Additive and Subtractive Processes: Application to Hybrid Modular Tooling

The aim of this work is to determine how to combine a subtractive process (HSM) and an additive process (SLS) to realize tools (dies or molds). In fact, the design and manufacturing of tools may be optimized with hybrid and modular points of view. Tools are not seen as single pieces but as 3-D puzzles with modules; each module is manufactured by the best process. So a new methodology is proposed: the most complex-to-manufacture areas of a tool are determined (based on a manufacturability analysis from tool CAD model) and a hybrid modular tool CAD model with a reduced manufacturing complexity is proposed.