Additive Manufacturing has become an indispensable part of today's production, enabling completely new approaches in the design of products and tools.

The combination of additive processes with conventional processes in a machine environment further increases the possibilities: the production can be completely rethought. The project combines laser wire deposition welding with HSC milling in a machine environment.

By means of a mechanism, it shall be possible to switch between the subtractive machining by means of a milling spindle and the Additive Manufacturing with a laser-wire processing head. Thanks to the coaxial construction of wire and laser radiation, the processing head is able to weld independently of the direction, thus creating generative structures as well as coating or repairing surfaces using deposition welding. This is of interest to industry mainly for mold and tool making, on the one hand since complex, not conventionally manufacturable structures, such as cooling channels or undercuts, are generatively manufactured. On the other hand because high-strength and corrosion-resistant surfaces can be created by deposition welding in mechanically or corrosively loaded components. Furthermore, high-quality capital goods, such as pressing and punching tools, molds or dies can be repaired by means of the hybrid process. Here, bringing together the additive and subtractive processes in one environment has the advantages that the components can be completely finished and also interior functional surfaces can be realized without intermediate re-clamping on other production machines.

The project is being carried out in cooperation with Hüttmann Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH.