Industrial Flash September 2019

RNI-MAHNEG/2000/874 

September - 2019 

KINGS EXPOMEDIA LTD. B-303, Samarth Complex, Goregaon West, Mumbai - 400 062, INDIA. | Tel.: +91 22 4270 2000 

TM 

FOCUS 

PACKAGING WORLD

September - 2019 03

04 

September - 2019

September - 2019 

07 

The What, Why and How of Industrial 

Robot Simulation Software for 

Ofine Programming (OLP) 

Cutting Tool ABCs 

16 

26 

The Digital Mirror: How Industry 

4.0 is Changing Supply 

Hybrid Manufacturing &The Future of 3D 

Printing for Production 

31 

38 

Circuit Board Manufacturing 

USA vs. Asia 

Industrial Flash (Monthly Magazine) This Newspaper 

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400064. 

Editor : Niranjan Kumar Gupta. 

All Rights Reserved, Reproduction in Whole Part 

Without Permission of the Publisher is Prohibited. All 

Dispute are Subject to Mumbai (INDIA) Jurisdiction. 

06 


The What, Why and How of Industrial 

Robot Simulation Software for 

Offline Programming (OLP) 

designing something, you have the design available 

for programming at a very early stage. You don't have 

the car, the airplane, the product ready yet, but you 

can do everything based on CAD model beforehand,” 

he said. “Once you have your components on the 

shop floor, you have done your program already.” 

Choosing the right robotic simulation software 

involves several important considerations. 

Will the software be compatible with the robots 

and tools in use? 

 

 

 

Is the software best suited to the process, such as 

arc welding or painting? 

How much robot programming or CAD 

experience is required to use the software? 

And how much will it cost? 

When it's time to program an industrial robot on the 

production line, the line has to stop. Because this 

downtime can cost upwards of thousands of dollars, 

offline programming (OLP) is an attractive option for 

many manufacturers. Using simulation software, it's 

possible to digitally recreate robots, tools, fixtures, 

and the entire cell, then define a program complete 

with motions, tool commands, and logic. That 

program can be processed and downloaded to the 

robot, similar to the process of programming any 

CNC machine with CAM software. 

Even if line stoppage isn't a problem, however, there 

are still cases where designing a robot program in 

simulation is preferable to manual programming. For 

example, in a palletizing application involving 

dozens or even hundreds of boxes, a typical program 

could include hundreds of points. Teaching all these 

points manually would be tedious and time 

consuming. In these cases, OLP comes into play. 

According to Heikki Aalto, founder and executive 

vice president of Delfoi, the ubiquity of CAD models 

in today's manufacturing world means that 

programming in simulation can begin even before 

the first product rolls off the line. “When you are 

In this article, we'll take a look at several options in 

the OLP market and some of the critical factors. In 

the end, you should have a better idea of how to find 

an OLP solution that will be best for your application. 

Cost 

For the purposes of this article, we've divided cost of 

one seat of the product into three tiers: 0-$10,000; 

$10,000 - $40,000; and $40,000 and beyond. 

Because this software is highly customizable, price is 

variable, and it's important to contact your vendor for 

an accurate quote. For example, a user planning to 

simulate one robot performing one process will need 

a package costing less than a package that can 

simulate multiple robots of different brands, with 

extra features like calibration or analysis. 

Compatibility 

Robots 

Robot controllers from each vendor perform motion 

planning differently, so there's no guarantee that a 

simulated robot will move the way a real one does. 

However, even if the motion of individual axes differs 

from the simulation, the defined motion of the TCP in 

cartesian space will be the same. 


alloon on the end of the robot in my model but if I 

had the ability to control the pattern, the spray 

pattern and parameters that are driving the 

calculation of the spray application I would get the 

same results,” explained Mike Rouman, Senior 

Marketing Manager in Manufacturing Engineering 

Software at Siemens PLM. 

In general, However, whatever OLP solution you 

choose, it's safe to say the robot you need to simulate 

will be supported. In most cases, the specific robot 

model you need can be added to the simulation from a 

library. These models are typically provided by the 

robot manufacturer (eg. KUKA, FANUC, etc.) If you 

are working with a smaller or lesser-known robot 

vendor, it may be more challenging. 

In OLP software, programs created in simulation can 

be generated in the proprietary languages for the 

specific desired robot brand. “When you are happy 

with the program, you select the specific translator,” 

said Aalto, “For example, when it comes to KUKA or 

FANUC there is a pull-down menu, you just select 

KUKA and then it asks downloading or uploading. It's 

possible to upload a program from a robot on the 

shop floor as well as to generate native KUKA code to 

download to the robot.” 

Tooling 

As long as the tool is integrated properly into the 

robotic cell, I/O calls in the simulation can be done 

according to the I/O required by the tool 

manufacturer. In the simulation, an on and off 

command with a specific I/O can be executed, which 

will correlate to an arc on/arc off in welding, or 

plasma on/off for a plasma process, or spray on/off. 

Existing Software Environments 

It's not uncommon for users of professional software 

in all industries to want to stick with one vendor in 

order to keep things simple and ensure compatibility. 

For example, if your company uses SolidWorks for 

CAD from DassaultSystemes, you may be inclined to 

choose Delmia, Dassault's robot simulation software. 

However, several experts we interviewed for this 

article did not agree with this approach. 

GarenCakmak, Senior Director at Robotmaster, 

explained: “What does the programmer really need? 

If that product does not cater to exactly what the 

customer needs, I would caution this approach. For 

instance, Robotmaster is not the best product for 

every single robotic application and the same is true 

for all software solutions. When we ask the customer 

about their application, we sometimes actually make 

other recommendations because Robotmaster is very 

powerful for path planning and programming, but we 

don't cater to the markets of pick and place or 

palletization, For those types of applications we will 

make other recommendations better suited for those 

customers.” 

Justin Glover, software accounts manager at 

OCTOPUZ, Inc. agreed. “There's a long list of 

different CAD file formats or file extensions that we 

can import to OCTOPUZ. Very seldom are there 

limitations to the models that we can bring into the 

environment and play around with.” 

Tools and end effectors, such as welding guns, 

grippers or dispensers can be more challenging to 

simulate accurately. The tool's parameters are 

required, as well as the offset of the TCP from the 

robot flange. A CAD Model of the tool can be used in 

many cases, but it's not strictly required. “I could put a 

If your robot runs on the open-source Robot 

Operating System (ROS), you can use Gazebo, an 

open-source simulation tool, to develop code for it. 

Calibration 

When you program a robot manually, the robot is 

typically calibrated to a specific frame of reference, 

08 


as well as being calibrated to the precise position of 

its joints. When teaching points, the programmer 

jogs the robot to a precise location in order to teach a 

point. The programmer can visually confirm that the 

programmed point is calibrated to the desired 

physical location. Some points can also be 

programmed by inputting coordinates directly. In a 

program designed to dispense glue along a 10mm 

joint, the programmer may teach the first point, then 

create the next point by offsetting the x coordinate 

position by 10mm, for example. 

In simulation, the components of the work cell, such 

as fixtures, welding positioners or parts must be 

accurately located relative to each other to create a 

digital twin of the cell. When the program is 

downloaded, the robot's frame of reference can be 

calibrated to align the programmed points with the 

corresponding real locations. 

Simulation does not Translate Perfectly to Reality 

Whe using simulation software to program a robot, 

it's important to remember that no simulation will 

accurately represent what will really happen when 

you run the program with the real robot. The 

movement of cables and hoses is not simulated by 

most software environments, so it's possible that the 

programmed motion may snag or stretch cables, 

causing failure. 

“I think that dynamics and physics modeling will 

also help make simulations more accurate,” said 

Rouman. “We have started to do some of that in the 

design of machines in our software, but in terms of 

simulation, I still think there's some ground to cover. 

If you think about when a robot moves at high speed 

with a high payload, when it stops, it's not going to 

just stop. It's going to settle and there'll be some 

movement and so on. With those kinds of fine 

adjustments and things, we have to make some 

assumptions. I think that in the future we won't have 

to make so many assumptions. We'll be able to more 

closely match what the real robot will do.” 

One factor that contributes to better simulation is a 

shift from time-based simulation to event-based 

simulation. “In the past, simulation developers 

would have to sort of guess the amount of time a 

given event would take,” explained Rouman. “But 

that's not really how these robotics systems work. 

They work in an event-based mode, and if we can 

simulate the system the way it's actually operating on 

the floor by having these events starting and 

stopping and coordinating with one another, we'll 

also achieve a higher level of accuracy between the 

simulation and the real world execution of that 

program model on the shop floor.” 

Using sensors, some robots can make up this 

calibration difference. For example, a robot 

performing an insertion task may use a touch probe 

to perform a search routine to find a hole, rather than 

relying on a highly precise point. “The process will 

dictate how sensors are used,” said Cakmak. “For 

example, in arc welding, the robot may use touch 

sensing or laser seam tracking to accurately position 

the tool with the part. Depending on the customer's 

process, these or other types of sensors can help to 

match the real world part to the theoretical CAD 

model in addition to compensating for the lack of 

accuracy of the robot.” 

According to RoboDK CEO Albert Nubiola, it's 

important to understand that a robot is not a CNC. 

With the right software you can make a robot behave 

like a 5-axis milling machine, however, robots are 

not as stiff or accurate as a CNC. For this reason, the 

real robot path may deviate more from the 

programmed path compared to a CNC. Keeping this 

in mind, there are still many applications, typically 

done by a CNC, that could be handled by a robot 

arms. Furthermore, robot calibration is another tool 

that can remarkably improve robot accuracy. 


Brand-Specific Simulation Tools 

While this article focuses on third-party simulation 

software, nearly every robot manufacturer offers a 

simulation tool as well. Why not stick with these 

options, such as ABB RobotStudio or FANUC 

Roboguide? 

First, if your shop floor includes robots from more 

than one brand, you may not have the option to use a 

vendor-specific tool. Most brand-specific offerings do 

not support robots of other makes and models, so 

ensuring compatibility may be a hassle or even 

impossible. In addition, users of used robots may find 

difficulty in finding support for old controller 

versions within new brand-specific software. 

In addition, Glover noted that OCTOPUZ aims to 

provide a simpler user experience within the 

software than what's available from the major robot 

brands. “I'd say the biggest difference is that our 

software is built around the user and the user 

experience, rather than around the robot and the 

machine,” he explained. “That being said, we value 

our partnerships with each of the OEMs. Without 

them, we wouldn't have a product that was very 

useful to our customers. That close relationship 

allows us to build each of our robots to spec based on 

data we get directly from them. I like to think that we 

take it a step beyond and we try to make things simple 

as possible. Our entire line is complex made simple. 

That is the business that we are in.” 

Siemens Process Simulate 

If you're familiar with robotic simulation software 

from Siemens, you may already be familiar with 

Robcad, the company's legacy OLP tool. According to 

Rouman, Robcad is still supported and in use today. 

Process Simulate, however, is the newer product. In 

addition, Siemens NX has capability for robotic 

machining. 

One of the features of Process Simulate is that it can 

connect to Siemens Teamcenter, a PLM data 

repository. This allows users to tie their robot 

simulation into the entire product lifecycle 

management system, along with other types of 

manufacturing data, including designs and 

processes. However, this connection is not required 

to run Process Simulate for robot simulation and 

programming. 

According to Rouman, when choosing a simulation 

solution that includes OLP, it's important to look for 

dedicated process tools. “For example, if someone is 

looking to do spraying or painting with a robot and 

they want to use a general-purpose tool, they may 

struggle,” said Rouman. “If they find a solution that 

has dedicated tools for that particular process, they're 

likely to have a much higher rate of success.” Process 

Simulate, for example, enables users to set 

parameters of a spray tool within the software, and 

deposition of the spray is shown graphically in the 

simulation. 

Cost 

Process Simulate is currently available as a perpetual 

license, with options for single seats, seats shared 

across a network, or other deployments. According to 

Rouman, some customers prefer subscription-based 

software-as-a-service (SaaS) access, which is 

available in some cases. 

“As far as price range goes, we're on the low end of the 

middle range,” said Rouman. “We are providing some 

additional configurations of the software for lower 

cost to entry. For instance, a solution that wouldn't 

include all of these additional process-specific tools, 

but is ideally suited to a more basic application such 

as general handling and pick and place type 

operations, has a much lower entry point, and then 

the customer can add on additional modules over 

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time if they want to expand into different processes. 

Or for instance, if I want to program robots from 

different vendors, I have a base software price and 

the ability to add different atdifferent interfaces for 

different robot vendor robot models. That would be at 

an additional cost. That's what gets you into that midrange 

pricing with a basic seat of software, a process 

application and a database for one or two or more 

robots.” 

Robotmaster 

Robotmaster features a click-and-drag interface for 

creating and modifying robot positions and 

trajectories. Like most other universal solutions, 

Robotmaster is robot agnostic, working with all 

brands and models of robots and end effectors. 

According to the company, Robotmaster V7, a taskbased 

robot programming platform was built from 

scratch on a completely new architecture. 

“Using offline programming, you can take problems 

that can become quite complex, whether the 

application is welding, cutting, milling, thermal spray 

painting or other processes, it creates trajectories 

with the proper parameters and very quickly solves 

for all robotic errors during the process,” said 

Cakmak. "Our claim to fame is our proprietary 

optimization feature that allows end users to create 

error-free robot programs with fewer mouse clicks, 

even for customers that have no previous robotic 

experience.” 

Cost 

Robotmaster is currently available on a perpetual 

license, with the option for either local or network 

access. According to the company, the software falls 

into our middle tier (between $10,000 to $40,000 

USD) 

“Depending on the application, we consider 

ourselves to be in the midrange from a price 

standpoint, but from a functionality standpoint, we 

offer high-end functionality for a midrange price,” 

said Cakmak. 

Delfoi 

Delfoi runs on the Visual Components simulation 

platform, which includes a robot library of over 1,300 

models. Delfoi provides the post-processing for each 

robot brand. Visual Components was acquired by 

KUKA in 2017. After the acquisition, KUKA made a 

statement affirming that Visual Components would 

remain a hardware neutral simulation platform, 

hosting models from more than 30 robot brands. 

Delfoi offers three main products: Arc, Cut and Paint. 

Each is specifically targeted to a specific process. 

According to Aalto, the company aims to provide 

value to customers by enhancing their programming 

speed. “In our software, we have several automated 

algorithms. So, when you are defining a path to weld 

along a curved surface, the software will 

automatically detect the curve and create the 

complete welding arc and then you just click one 

button to start. We call it automated programming. 

This reduces the number of clicks required to create a 

program.” 

One thing to note about Delfoi is that it cannot 

currently generate code for Universal Robots, though 

it can simulate them. According to the company, this 

is because UR robots are not commonly used for their 

main process focus areas; arc welding, metal cutting 

or painting. 

Aalto noted that Delfoi is currently a small, growing 

company. While there are no Delfoi partners 

currently located in North America, the software is 

available in these regions, delivered from Europe. 

Cost 

According to Aalto, Delfoi Robotics tools are 

available on a perpetual license, with an additional 

fee for support and updates. The cost for one seat 

falls within fall within the middle tier, at €16,800 

(About $20,000 USD) for the tool with a translator for 

one robot brand and updates. There are also more 

advanced versions with additional features costing 

up to €48,000 (about $54,000 USD). 

OCTOPUZ 

Like Delfoi, OCTOPUZ also runs on the Visual 

Components simulation platform. On top of that 

12 



platform, OCTOPUZ provides process-specific addons 

to teach process-specific paths and programs, 

such as for welding. “Once those paths are generated, 

we have several tools inside of our platform to allow 

you to analyze, and subsequently solve or manually 

find solutions to potential errors in your tool path. 

Those errors can include but are not limited to, 

singularity, joint limits, reach limits or acceleration 

limits,” said Glover. 

implementations. “The average investment, for our 

software as well as some of our competitors' software 

as well, ranges somewhere from $25,000 to 40,000 

CAD (about $18,800 to $30,000 USD). That really 

depends on several options. It's going to depend on 

whether you want a local seat or a floating seat. It's 

going to depend on training and implementation. It's 

going to depend on the number of cells, the 

complexity of the parts, training and the application.” 

RoboDK 

Currently, OCTOPUZ supports 15 brands of robots. In 

the cases of brands that utilize two programming 

languages, such as KUKA (which uses KRL for its 

main product lines, and java for its collaborative 

robots) OCTOPUZ supports both. Generated code is 

exported to a USB stick, which is then used to upload 

the program to the robot controller. OCTOPUZ is UR 

certified by Universal Robots. 

According to Glover, many OCTOPUZ customers use 

it for welding applications. “As a result of this interest 

in welding, we've had the opportunity to invest quite a 

bit of time and money into the welding-specific 

features inside the software because they have been 

driven by our customers and their experience,” he 

explained. “Most of the feature enhancements that 

occur inside the software are customer-driven. The 

applications that are most popular are the ones that 

are going to impact the most significant growth 

development. I think that from a product perspective, 

welding is probably the process OCTOPUZ is best 

suited to.” However, he stressed that OCTOPUZ has 

customers in a wide array of processes and industries, 

with more projects added in 2018 than ever before. 

Cost 

According to Glover, OCTOPUZ falls into the middle 

tier, with a wide range of available features and 

RoboDK is a unique option in the market because of 

the 30-day free trial offered. Users can continue to 

experiment with the software after the trial has 

expired, but saving projects is disabled. According to 

Nubiola, while a free trial like this is unique among 

industrial software vendors, RoboDK believes that it 

gives users a better chance to try the software before 

making a decision. RoboDK is also UR+ certified by 

Universal Robots. 

One interesting feature of RoboDK is the ability to 

import a CAM toolpath and convert it into a robot 

program for applications such as robot machining. 

Nubiola cautioned users to carefully consider the 

number of software licenses they will need for robotic 

simulation and OLP. “Sometimes, companies buy one 

license and they have access to the software on one 

workstation, dedicated to that software, and 

everybody who needs to use a robot goes through that 

computer. So, even if the company wants to do a 

million things, they buy one license, and there may be 

10 users using it within a week,” he explained. 

Consider opting for network licenses to allow users to 

access the software from more than one local 

workstation, and buy enough licenses to support 

capacity. 

14 



Cutting Tool ABCs 

It seems like everyone's trying to get kids hooked on 

STEM as early as possible these days; every toy store 

stacked to the ceiling with My First Microscopes and 

Smart Building Blocks. It's difficult to complain about 

a trend towards encouraging education, but that won't 

stop me from trying. 

B is for Button Cutter 

When you look at what falls under STEM 

education—science, technology, engineering and 

math—there's a perfectly understandable tendency to 

focus on things that will appeal to kids: rockets, outer 

space, animals or robots. But those are the obvious 

ones, and there's a huge part of engineering that tends 

to be overlooked: manufacturing. 

And hey, do you know what else kids like? 

Sharp objects! 

What follows is a way to introduce young STEM minds 

to the wonderful world of cutting tools, without the 

risk of accidental laceration. It's also a useful resource 

for any grown-up engineers who might want to brush 

up on their cutting tool terminology. Obviously, there's 

far more to cutting tools than 26 letters can describe, 

but this is merely a starting point. Stay tuned for more 

in-depth coverage. 

A is for Approach Angle 

A button cutter is a face mill that uses round inserts, 

which resemble buttons—hence the name. Round 

inserts spread stresses from cutting forces over a 

larger area than other shapes, but they also generate 

higher axial forces, which transfer to the workpiece. 

Although button cutters have seen diminished use 

with the advancement of high-speed geometry, they 

remain useful in certain applications, such as those 

involving workpieces that have been recently heat 

treated. 

C is for Cutting Fluid 

Approach angle for a single-point tool on a lathe. 

The approach angle is the angle between a plane 

perpendicular to the cutter axis and a plane tangent to 

the surface of revolution of the cutting edges. It's 

typically 90° for end and shoulder mills, and 45°, 60° or 

70° for face milling. Also known as the “lead angle” 

under the ANSI Standard. 

In addition to cooling the workpiece and tool during 

cutting operations, cutting fluids enhance workpiece 

machinability, extend tool life and flush out chips and 

other machining debris. The three basic types of 

cutting fluids are straight oils (which contain no 

water), soluble oils (suspensions of oil in water) and 

synthetic fluids (which contain no oil). 

16 



D is for Dovetail Cutter 

As the name implies, dovetail cutters have a 

trapezoidal shape, like a dove's tail. The dovetail's 

shape makes it well-suited to undercutting and 

deburring applications. Dovetails are typically used 

for cutting O-ring grooves for fluid or pressure 

devices, as well as industrial slides. Those intended 

for O-rings are designed to cut a groove that is wider at 

the bottom than the top, which helps to hold the O-ring 

in place. 

E is for End Mill 

Designed for plane surfacing, a fly cutter consists of a 

body and one or more inserts, attached such that the 

tool bit(s) makes broad, shallow facing cuts as the 

body rotates. Fly cutters with two inserts are 

colloquially known as double fly cutters or double end 

fly cutters. Though face mills are generally preferable 

for most applications in terms of rigidity and depth-ofcut, 

fly cutters are much less expensive, and can be 

useful when facing off large workpieces, such as 

die/mold blocks. 

G is for Gundrill 

A gundrill is a self-guided tool used to produce deep 

holes (depth-to-diameter ratios of >300:1 are 

possible) with good accuracy and fine surface finish. 

Gundrills have hollow bodies and use extended 

coolant passages to deliver coolant to the tool or 

workpiece at high pressure. Though gun barrels are 

the obvious application, gundrills are also used in the 

die/mold industry and for making engine parts, such 

as crankcases and cylinder heads. 

H is for Hard Turning 

Distinguished from drill bits—which can only cut in 

the axial direction—end mills can typically cut in all 

directions, though some cannot cut axially. End mills 

come in a variety of shapes, such as single- or doubleend, 

T-slot and cup-end. Their number of flutes (the 

grooves that promote fluid application and chip 

removal) also varies. End mills are most commonly 

used in facing operations, but they can also be used for 

plunging, profile milling and tracer milling. 

F is for Fly Cutter 

The hard rocess involves the single-point cutting of a 

workpiece that has a hardness value of 45 HRC or 

higher. Historically, such workpieces required 

grinding in order to be finished, but the advent of new 

tool materials and turning centers with greater 

rigidity and accuracy has led finish hard turning as a 

viable alternative to grinding for finishing operations. 

However, part size remains a limiting factor with the 

length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio of 4:1 and 8:1 as the 

upper limits for unsupported and supported 

workpieces, respectively. 

18 



I is for Inches Per Minute (IPM) 

L is for Look-Ahead 

IPM is a unit of measurement expressing the velocity 

at which the cutting tool is advanced against the 

workpiece, i.e., the feed rate. It's calculated by the 

formula above, where: FR = the feed rate, RPM = the 

calculated speed for the cutter, T = the number of teeth 

on the cutter; and CL = the chip load or feed per tooth. 

This formula does not apply to turning operations, 

where the feed rate is given as feed per revolution. 

J is for Jig 

'Look-ahead' refers to a feature of modern CNCs in 

which an algorithm evaluates data blocks in advance 

of the cutting tool's location in order to prevent 

collisions by adjusting machining parameters 

automatically. The idea is to reduce the risk that the 

tool overshoots its projected path. How far ahead the 

program has to look depends on workpiece profile and 

feed rate. 

A jig is a type of tooling used to secure the workpiece 

and/or guide the cutting tool via a bushing. Jigs can 

also assist in assembly by providing alignments and 

adjustments. Prior to the widespread adoption of 

computer numerical control (CNC), jig boring was the 

primary approach to high-precision machining, 

encompassing processes such as centering, drilling, 

boring, counterboring and reaming. 

K is for Kerf 

M is for Machinability 

Broadly speaking, a metal or alloy's machinability 

refers to the ease with which it can be cut. There are 

numerous factors affecting machinability and many 

ways to quantify it, such as by tool life, power 

consumption or surface finish. The American Iron and 

Steel Institute (AISI) uses AISI 1212 free-machining 

steel as the basis for a percentage system, whereby 

materials more difficult than AISI 1212 steel are rated 

below 100 percent, and materials that are easier to 

machine are rated above 100 percent. 

N is for Nose Radius 

The channel left after the pass of a blade or tool is 

called the kerf. It originally described the amount of 

wood removed by the cut of a saw, which is wider than 

the blade itself because the teeth are angled. In 

machining, kerf depends on several factors, including 

the width and angle of the tool, as well as the amount of 

material removed from the sides of the cut. Most CNCs 

can automatically offset the tool path to compensate 

for kerf, which is why the kerf value is often referred to 

as the kerf offset. 

The nose radius of a cutting tool determines the 

strength of the tool tip and, along with feed rate, affects 

part finish. Because the tip is subjected to severe 

cutting forces, cutting tool designers include a small 

bevel, known as the nose radius. Formally, the nose 

radius is defined as the radius value at the tip of the 

cutting tool, measured on the reference plane (πR). 

The radius value is typically 0.6 – 1.5mm on single 

point turning tools, but it can be considerably smaller 

for precision tools. 

20 



O is for Overshoot 

Q is for Quick-Change Tooling 

An overshoot occurs when the cutting tool deviates 

from its nominal path as a result of momentum carried 

over from the preceding step, such as a rapid traverse 

across a long distance before beginning a cut. 

Overshooting is contrasted with undershooting, 

which occurs when a machining centre rounds off the 

corners of its nominal path because of servo lag or 

backlash. Both issues can be avoided with look-ahead 

software. 

P is for Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) 

A popular feature on lathes and turning centers, 

quick-change tooling can significantly reduce 

machine downtime during tool changes. Normally, 

tools are clamped into toolholders and tightened, 

taking care to seat the tool properly and account for 

offsets. Quick-change tooling introduces 

interchangeable cutting units that are inserted into 

standardized locking units, which can remain on the 

machine indefinitely. The interface between the units 

is such that the cutting unit will only sit in one position 

in the locking unit, ensuring consistently precise 

cutting. 

R is for Rake Angle 

Schematic showing positive (left) and negative (right) 

rake angles. 

PVD is a tool-coating method used to improve 

hardness and resistance to oxidation and wear. In 

contrast to chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which is 

performed at temperatures in excess of 1,000 C, PVD 

processes operate at lower temperatures, typically 

500 C. PVD coatings are harder and more corrosion 

resistant than coatings applied by electroplating, and 

the PVD process itself is highly flexible, able to utilize 

virtually any coating material on an equally diverse 

selection of substrates. 

The rake angle is the angle of the cutting face relative 

to the workpiece. There are three types of rake angle: 

positive, negative and neutral. A tool has a neutral 

rake if its face lies in a plane through the axis of the 

workpiece. If the angle of the cutting edge is more 

acute than when the rake angle is neutral, then tool 

has positive rake. If the angle of the cutting edge is less 

acute than when the rake angle is neutral, then the 

rake is negative. The best rake angle varies, 

depending on the tool and workpiece materials, depth 

of cut, cutting speed, machine and setup. 

22 



.S is for Scalloping 

In operations utilizing end mills, small waves in the 

material called scallops can be generated between 

adjacent cuts. This can be caused by deflection, an 

unbalanced tool or unsecured workpiece, or machine 

wear. On horizontal surfaces, scalloping is typically 

the result of using a ball end mill and can be minimized 

by reducing step-over distance relative to tool 

diameter. Scallops on vertical surfaces can be removed 

via profiling. 

T is for Threading 

Parts made with milling (above) and turning (below), 

with and without undercuts. 

In the most general terms, an undercut refers to a 

recessed surface on a workpiece, but its referents 

depend on the production process. Undercuts on 

turned parts are also known as “necks” or “relief 

grooves” and are often used at the end of a shaft or 

screw to provide tool clearance. In milling, corners 

may be undercut to remove the radius left by the cutter. 

V is for Vibration 

Parts made with (left) and without (right) chatter. 

More commonly known as “chatter,” vibration 

occurring as the result of the interactions between the 

machine, cutting tool and workpiece is problematic 

because it tends to be self-sustaining. Until the 

underlying problem is corrected, this vibration can 

produce lines or grooves on the workpiece in addition 

to reducing tool life. The primary methods of 

minimizing machine vibration include enhancing 

machine, tool and workpiece rigidity, adjusting the 

cutting angles, spindle speed and number of teeth, and 

utilizing vibration-dampening technology. 

W is for Work Hardening 

One of, it not the most common machining operation, 

threading is the process of creating external or internal 

screw threads. Methods of threading include singlepoint 

threading on lathes or turning centers, and 

t h r e a d m i l l i n g v i a C N C m a c h i n e . C e r t a i n 

specifications, such as thread height and material are 

critical to determining overall thread strength. 

Threads are distinguished in terms of specified 

tolerances and/or allowances. 

U is for Undercut 

Phenomenological uniaxial stress–strain curve 

showing typical work hardening plastic behavior of 

materials in uniaxial compression. For work 

hardening materials the yield stress increases with 

increasing plastic deformation. The strain can be 

decomposed into recoverable elastic strain (εe) and an 

inelastic strain (εp). The stress at initial yield is σ0. 

Also known as “strain hardening,” work hardening is 

the strengthening of metal as a result of plastic 

deformation. Work hardening is an inevitable part of 

machining, stemming from the stresses and strains to 

which a workpiece is subjected. It is especially 

pronounced in soft, low-carbon steels and alloys 

containing nickel and manganese, as well as 

nonmagnetic stainless steel, Inconel and Monel. 

X, Y and Z are for X-, Y- and Z-Axis 

Taken together, the X-, Y-, and Z-axes describe the 

three directions of motion for a CNC machine. These 

can be linear or, in the case of lathes and turning 

centers, circular. In milling machines, the three axes 

are used to define points, lines and surfaces on the 

workpiece's three-dimensional geometry. In addition 

to the three conventional linear axes, some machine 

tools also make use of a fourth and fifth axis, each of 

which rotates around one f the other linear axes. 

24 



The Digital Mirror: How Industry 

4.0 is Changing Supply 

“It's a digital mirror. It's a digital twin of the product, 

a twin of the asset, a mirror of the world. This allows 

us to begin to dynamically adjust processes. The 

philosophy we have is that we want to create a digital 

mirror of the real world with this environment.” 

Hans Thalbauer, Senior VP, supply chain and IoT 

SAP 

The fourth industrial revolution is living up to its 

name. Digital transformation impacts nearly every 

industry, but it's especially useful in applications 

where it can bring to light valuable data which would 

otherwise be inaccessible. One example is adding 

internet-connected sensors to machine tools, 

allowing production data to be analyzed in the cloud. 

In healthcare, IoT is used for remote health 

monitoring, which uses connected devices such as 

wearables to eliminate the need for some visits and 

checkups, saving time and costs. 

Just like in these examples, supply chain 

management involves a lot of obscured and 

inaccessible data, meaning a lot of opportunities for 

IoT, enabling leaner and more sophisticated supply 

chains. 

Supply chains are the specialty of the global 

industrial software giant SAP. We interviewed Hans 

Thalbauer, senior VP of supply chain and IoT at SAP, 

to find out more about how IoT will change industrial 

supply chains. 

“Digital supply chain is all of the solutions and 

business processes that are relevant for the Chief 

Operating Officer,” said Hans Thalbauer, senior VP 

of supply chain and IoT at SAP. “We define it in a 

way where we say we need to combine years of 

ledger planning, we need to include logistics and 

26 


transportation management topics, but also the 

engineering, R&D, manufacturing and asset 

management areas. In this context, industry 4.0 and 

the industrial internet of things are super 

important.” 

Next-Level Asset Tracking and Traceability 

Traceability is a key focus for Identify 3D, which 

offers a digital distribution system for managing 3D 

CAD files, such as part designs. 

“Every time your file moves in the supply chain, 

such as from a supplier to a printer, we keep a trace 

of what happened to that file so that for each part 

that is being manufactured, you know the 

authenticity of that product. You can connect it back 

to the original design or set of data that was used for 

the production process,” said Joe Inkenbrandt, 

CEO and Cofounder of Identify3D. 

According to Thalbauer, better asset tracking 

technology feeds into a larger vision for IoTconnected 

supply chain. 

“We need to create the connectivity not only to the 

things but also to the business partners. And we 

need to be able to connect to not only the supplier, 

but also the supplier's supplier. So, we're achieving 

a dream which everyone in supply chain has had for 

the last few decades. And why is this important? It 

minimizes risk,” explained Thalbauer. 

Historically, asset tracking has been done using 

barcodes and tracking numbers. This approach 

provides a series of discrete data points as the asset 

moves through the supply chain. However, this 

approach can cause problems when something 

goes wrong. We've all experienced the simplest 

example when ordering a package online. The 

tracking number shows the package is 'out for 

delivery', but there is no information about where it 

is or when it will arrive. At home, it's a small 

inconvenience. For a factory receiving a shipment 

of parts, it could lead to confusion, penalties and 

downtime. 

Connected sensors on assets and the vehicles which 

move them can solve this problem by providing ondemand 

location and time data. Rather than 

knowing an asset's last known check-in, assets 

could be traceable to their exact current location, 

allowing personnel to make better decisions. While 

GPS tracking is by no means a new technology, the 

development of less expensive and complex devices 

and systems to achieve it makes it accessible to 

ever-smaller companies. 

In addition, new management software is enabling 

this better visibility as well. 

“For example, consider the recent hurricane in 

North Carolina. In the area are some automotive 

plants. Maybe some of them already shut 

down—this has an impact to their suppliers. In 

Japan, actually in Hong Kong right now, there's a 

typhoon coming. This might have another impact 

on some of the plants which are there for their 

suppliers. And if I know this, and if I consider that, 

and if I have this information that 'my supplier's 

supplier has a plant in Japan and there's an 

earthquake and because of that the plant will be 

down for the next two weeks,' I can make the 

decision to order parts earlier or later from others 

around the world.” 

“So, we need to have this type of intelligence. You 

have a completely free environment, but always in 

the business context, you say, this supplier is 

producing this component, where is it coming 

from? I see where it's coming from. Which finished 

projects include a certain part on the BOM? Which 

customer orders are impacted by that? Oh yeah, 

these customers orders.” 

Fleet Monitoring and Just-In-Time 

Toyota pioneered the concept of just-in-time 

production several decades ago due to the 

company's Japan-based operation's lack of the 


cash, physical space and local suppliers needed to 

maintain a large inventory of parts and deliver 

products in big batches. Instead, the Toyota 

Production System takes a lean approach to 

inventory, resulting in faster response time from 

parts must arrive when you need them. On an 

automotive assembly line, the windshield wiper 

station does not have the next bin of wiper blades to 

install until the current bin is almost empty. If that 

shipment is delayed, it could cause quality issues or 

even a line stoppage. If the shipment is early, it 

causes other problems, as the factory isn't ready to 

receive it 

“The future will be even more exciting because 

there will be more and more machine learning 

capabilities so that we can predict,” explained 

Thalbauer. “So instead of only knowing and having 

visibility of what is current and right now and 

dynamically adjusting to it, we also can start to 

predict more and more of what might happen. This 

of course is a very different philosophy which leads 

us to introduce the so-called touchless supply 

chain, which is a very much highly automated 

environment.” 

Thalbauer described a three-pronged approach to 

SAP's digitization of supply chain management. 

“First of all, we are providing the visibility aspect: 

the KPIs, including manufacturing OEE for 

example, performance management and strategy. 

The second aspect that we include is connectivity: 

connecting digitally to the business partners as well 

as to the things. We say, 'to perfect reality, connect 

digitally.' For this, we have intelligence around 

predictive quality management, predictive 

manufacturing, predictive maintenance. The final 

aspect includes mobile solutions to address the 

users, the service technicians, and so on. The 

tagline that you see us using more and more is 

'digital supply chain connects digitally to perfect 

reality.'” 

To make this tight schedule work, OEMs have 

responded by creating strict appointments for 

shipments. For the OEM, this ensures that parts 

arrive on time. However, it puts high pressure on 

suppliers, who must deliver on time or face high 

penalties. In some cases, suppliers are required to 

pay for the downtime caused by a late shipment. 

This massive penalty leads to things like expedited 

shipping, where suppliers pay a premium to get 

parts to the OEM on time. It also leads to suppliers 

keeping an inventory of parts to ensure a stoppage 

won't delay a shipment and incur the penalties. 

In short, Just-in-time creates efficiency at the OEM 

but creates inefficiency in suppliers. In turn, those 

extra costs wind up in the supplied parts. 

Theoretically, the most cost-efficient supply chain 

would utilize JIT all the way from the raw material 

to the end customer. With IoT, this becomes 

possible. 

The democratization of these tools, such as GPS 

shipment monitoring and predictive analytics, can 

save lower-tier suppliers time and money, but 

visibility is a double-edged sword. A supplier may 

be required to give production data access to a 

client, but that data could reveal a certain amount of 

slack built into the system to ensure deadlines are 

met. If a client identifies that slack and wants it 

eliminated, it could cause issues in the relationship. 

So, industry 4.0 technology will benefit OEMs. 

But, will it also benefit those lower in the supply 

chain? 

“If I am the OEM, and if I believe the data that I'm 

sharing with my contractors and manufacturers is 

critical, then I will put that as part of my 

requirements if you want to do business with me 

you need to have some kind of system that enables 

you to control the data all the way to the production 

point,” explained Inkenbrandt, speaking about 

Identify3D's digital security and authentication 

software. “The benefit for the contractor that owns 

28 



the manufacturing is the ability to meet the 

requirement of those larger clients when it comes 

to securing their data featuring their IP.” 

Blockchain 

Blockchain technology is very early in its adoption 

c y c l e . W h i l e h i g h - p r o f i l e p r o j e c t s l i k e 

cryptocurrency are increasing awareness of the 

technology, useful applications are few and far 

between. 

One of the most promising applications for 

blockchain is in supply chain management. Since 

the technology creates an open, secure record of 

transactions, blockchain can make different 

processes across networks more visible and 

interoperable SAP is using blockchain in SAP the 

company's cloud platform. “IT technology can 

connect to things—to the augmented machines, to 

the products, to everything. 

We then have big data management in this cloud 

platform and we add machine learning in order to 

determine the patterns of the data and start to 

predict, making it intelligent. We add the 

blockchain in order to automate processes across 

networks,” explained Being a digital security 

service provider of sorts, Identify 3D is also 

involved in using blockchain technology. “We are 

not a blockchain company, we are blockchain 

enabled. Most of our deployment are using a 

centralized database. This is because there are not 

many actors involved today. 

So, we don't need to have a distributed ledger. 

However, we thought of two different, let's call that 

proof of concept at this point, because that's really 

what they are, where we put the trace part of our 

s o f t w a r e o n t h e b l o c k c h a i n , ” e x p l a i n e d 

Inkenbrant.While blockchain isn't yet fully 

L e o n a r d o, i n t e g r a t e d i n t o r e a l - w o r l d 

manufacturing yeuture it'sdefinitely poised to play 

an important role in the factory of the future. 

version control becomes an important application 

area for industry 4.0 technology. 

This area is something Identify3D is focused on. 

“With our software, you can decide who has the 

right to access your parts, what machine they need 

to be made on, what materials, what specs, any 

type of requirement, you define that,” explained 

Inkenbrandt. “Then we have a component that we 

call enforce, which is the piece of the software that 

will fit in the machine, depending on the machine 

manufacturer, sometimes it's in the controller, 

sometimes it's in the software that drive the 

machine. That piece needs to be connected to the 

machine, to read the settings of the machine to 

authorize for production or deny if the settings are 

incorrect.” 

The Digital Mirror For All 

Much of what is reported as new or emerging 

industry 4.0 technology is not especially new—it 

has existed at the largest, most powerful 

manufacturing companies for years, but is not 

viable for small and medium-sizedmanufacturers 

to execute due to high costs. However, the 

breakthroughs come as new technology lowers the 

cost barrier for advanced functionality, allowing 

small companies to get involved. For example, a 

connected feedback control and monitoring 

system existed last century, but required a massive 

investment and a factory essentially built around 

the system, with a central control room. Today, that 

level of control is essentially possible with smart 

network-connected plug-and-play sensors, a cloud 

IoT platform, and a laptop. 

Version Control 

One complicated and error-prone process in 

manufacturing is versioning and iteration. Even 

within one company, it can be difficult to ensure 

that the design engineers and the machinists are 

looking at the same drawing. However, expand 

that problem across the entire supply chain, and 

30 


Hybrid Manufacturing &The Future of 3D 

Printing for Production 

Where's my 3D-printed car? 

For that matter, where's my 3D-printed house or 

clothing or smartphone? 3D printing was supposed to 

be the biggest technological game-changer since the 

PC. But what have we gotten for the past three 

decades? Trinkets, art projects, prototypes and the 

occasional medical or aerospace pièce de résistance. 

When are we going to see honest-to-goodness additive 

manufacturing (AM)? 

Perhaps I'm being unfair. 

If you've attended the last few International 

Manufacturing Technology Shows (IMTS), then 

you've been able to witness the growth of industrial 3D 

printing firsthand. In a relatively short time, we've 

gone from making PLA prototypes with cobbledtogether 

desktop units to making production-grade 

parts on industrial-grade 3D printers. 

printing, known in the context of production as 

additive manufacturing (AM)—and subtractive 

processes, such as milling. While there are plenty of 

parts being made through some combination of these 

processes—and more are being introduced all the 

time—the crucial qualifier for hybrid manufacturing is 

that both processes occur on the same machine. 

If you think we're anywhere close to the limits of what 

3D printing can do for mass production, imagine 

someone who might have been inclined to say the 

same thing about computers in 1974. Technologies 

take time to mature and—like human teenagers—they 

tend to go through phases that aren't always well 

understood. 

Consider hybrid manufacturing. 

What is Hybrid Manufacturing? 

The simplest way to understandhybrid manufacturing 

is as a combination of additive processes—3D 

A part that is printed on a metal 3D printer, surface 

machined to improve its finish and separated from its 

build plate using a wire EDM would be an impressive 

example of modern manufacturing techniques, but it 

w o u l d n ' t c o u n t a s a n e x a m p l e o f h y b r i d 

manufacturing. Consequently, the number of parts 

produced via hybrid manufacturing may be relatively 

small. The technology is still relatively new, even for 

an industry as young as 3D printing. 

And yet, much like 3D printing, the potential benefits 

of hybrid manufacturing have made some early 


adopters very optimistic about the technology's future 

prospects. Michael Sealy, assistant professor of 

mechanical and materials engineering at the 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln is one of them. 

“Additive really opens up the doors in terms of being 

able to print your own mechanical properties layer-bylayer 

or zone-by-zone,” he said. “That's one of the big 

advantages, so I see hybrid AM exploding in the next 

few years just because of all that potential.” 

Hybrid Machining Formats & Processes 

Beyond this basic distinction, the available options for 

hybrid manufacturing can also be divided in terms of 

their underlying additive technologies. These include 

directed energy deposition (DED), wire-arc additive 

manufacturing (WAAM), cold spray (CS) and 

Fabrisonic's ultrasonic additive manufacturing 

(UAM). There are important differences between 

these technologies, and the manufacturers of hybrid 

machine tools have each placed their bets, so to speak, 

so it's worth looking at these technologies in more 

detail. 

Directed Energy Deposition (DED) 

Although the overall number of available hybrid 

machines is still relatively small, it's helpful to divide 

them into several types. The most basic distinction to 

draw is between off-the-shelf hybrid machines and 

additive modifications for conventional machine 

tools. 

As of this writing, major players in the machine tool 

industry with hybrid offerings include DMG MORI, 

ELB-Schliff, Matsuura, Mazak, Mitsui Seiki and 

Okuma. Lesser known companies with hybrid 

machines include Diversified Machine Systems, 

Fabrisonic and Optomec. 

The options for additive modifications to machine 

tools are more limited, represented by Hybrid 

Manufacturing Technologies (HMT) and 3D-Hybrid 

Solutions, Inc. We've covered the former company 

before, while the latter is a relative newcomer. In both 

cases, the core technology involves one or more metal 

3D printing tools that are designed to operate 

alongside the standard set of subtractive tools which 

populate machine tool magazines. 

Although hybrid add-ons are designed to be 

purchased and installed independently, some 

machine tool builders are starting to offer them as 

standard options, including ELB-Schliff, Mazak and 

Mitsui Seiki, in HMT's case. 3D-Hybrid Solutions' 

founder, Karl Hranka, confirmed that his company is 

on the same path: “We're working with some of our 

early customers to progress their applications and 

we're starting to partner with machine tool builders as 

a dedicated additive manufacturing tool developer.” 

Directed energy deposition involves feeding powder 

into a melt pool generated on the surface of a part 

using a laser or electron beam. The process is 

essentially the same as selective laser sintering (SLS), 

except the powder is applied only where material is 

being added to the part at that moment. 

Titanium, stainless steel, aluminum and other 

difficult-to-machine metals are among the materials 

supported by DED. Another advantage of this 

approach—at least for some of Okuma's LASER EX 

series of super multitasking machines and some 

options from 3D-Hybrid Solutions—is the ability to 

perform hardening operations with the machine's 

laser. 

Depending on the material being used, DED often 

requires the build chamber to be filled with inert gas. 

However, for some hybrid machine tools—such as 

DMG MORI's LASERTEC 65 3D hybrid and 

LASERTEC 4300 3D hybrid—a local inert shroud gas 

can be sufficient to shield the melt pool for better 

control of material properties. 

HMT's AMBIT heads use laser metal deposition 

(LMD), a subtype of DED. Consequently, ELB-Schliff, 

Mazak and Mitsui Seiki's offerings are all DED-based. 

Optomec's laser engineered net shaping (LENS) 

technology, which is featured on its LENS 500 and 

LENS 860 hybrid machine tools, also falls under DED. 

32 



Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) 

one designed for processing harder alloys and one 

which is laser-assisted for higher speed deposition. 

The cold spray process grew out of the thermal spray 

market, but unlike thermal spray processes, which 

generally melt metal powders, cold spray processes 

keep the metal powders in a solid state. 

“We might get up to 80 percent of the melting point,” 

explained Tom Woods, Director of Business 

Development for VRC Metal Systems. “It's a softened 

powder, so instead of liquidizing the metal and 

spraying it—which doesn't give you a very strong 

bond—we spray the powder through a supersonic 

nozzle that accelerates it up to about Mach 2 or Mach 

3.” 

While DED is best for parts that require higher levels 

of precision or accuracy—powder bed fusion (PBF) is 

even more accurate and precise but it is not, as of this 

writing, an option for hybrid machine tools—WAAM 

wins out on deposition rates. 

“With our wire-arc solution, we're around two to five 

pounds per hour, depending on the alloy,” Hranka 

said. “We believe we can go faster, but we're still 

optimizing.” 

“That deforms the metal particles on impact,” he 

continued, “and they shear into whatever metal 

substrate you're spraying them on. Because of that, 

you get a metallurgical bond, not just a mechanical 

one. We end up with generally greater than 8,000 psi 

bond strength, less than one percent porosity and 

tensile strength—for a material like titanium—we've 

gotten over 80,000 psi.” 

Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) 

The DMS Huron Peak hybrid system is based on wirearc 

technology, with deposition rates of three to five 

pounds per hour. It's also worth noting that wire-arc 

systems do not require an inert environment, though 

they do need to be shielded for safety like any arc 

welding process. Peter Gratschmayr, senior sales 

engineer at Midwest Engineered Systems (MES), 

further explained what distinguishes WAAM from 

other additive systems: 

“This really doesn't compete with other laser additive 

manufacturing technologies,” he said, “because those 

are meant for a higher definition, smaller component. 

It ends up costing somewhere between 12 and 25 

dollars an ounce for the powder to be able to make the 

part, because there's usually a 20 percent scrap rate 

that comes out of it, so not all the powder gets used.” 

“The other thing to keep in mind is that we're putting 

down material at 15 to 20 times the weight of powder,” 

Gratschmayr continued. We can make parts that are 

up to 42 meters long by six meters wide, two meters 

high and keep it at repeatability somewhere around 20 

to 30 thousandths.” 

Cold Spray (CS) 

Cold spray is a coating deposition method that was 

originally developed for shaft coating applications, 

but which is now being used in hybrid manufacturing. 

3D-Hybrid Solutions offers two cold spray tool heads, 

Developed by Fabrisonic, UAM is based on a 

technology that's been around since the 1950s: 

ultrasonic welding. “We have a proprietary patented 

design of a roller which rolls over the foil back and 

forth and vibrates as it's rolling, giving us the 

scrubbing action we need to make the bond,” 

explained Mark Norfolk, president and CEO of 

Fabrisonic. 

“The great thing about ultrasound is its low 

temperature,” he continued. “A part doesn't need to go 

above 200° F. So, the material properties going in are 

the same material properties coming out. You can also 

combine dissimilar metals in the same part without 

forming intermetallics or having metallurgical 

consequences you don't want.” 

Fabrisonic takes off-the-shelf CNC mills and adds the 

company's weld-head to it. “Because we have a CNC 

34 



mill, we're using standard G-code to drive the 

machines motion and we'll print thin foils side by side 

and then on top of each other in a brick laying pattern 

to build up a three-dimensional shape.” Using this 

technique, the hybrid machines can print parts in 

near-net shape with the weld-held and then deploy 

cutting tools for the subtractive work. 

Hybrid Manufacturing Applications 

All talk of technology aside, the eternal question in 

manufacturing persists: What's the application? 

“Like machining, the applications are diverse: 

aerospace, medical, mold and die, lots of different 

things,” Hranka said. “Metal 3D printing is a new 

technology, and everyone using it is facing the 

challenge of material qualification. We're focused on 

printing very fast and utilizing the strengths of the 

CNC machine.” 

This raises an important point: right now, the two 

biggest industries for metal additive manufacturing of 

any kind are aerospace and medical. Working in these 

industries requires adherence to strict regulations, 

and when it comes to additive, that can mean 

qualifying not just a part, but the process, material and 

machine as well. The ability to layer metals and 

develop new alloys is unquestionably exciting, but 

that excitement needs to be tempered with a reminder 

about the onerousness of industry regulation. 

Pessimism notwithstanding, the potential 

applications for hybrid manufacturing are tantalizing 

indeed. Dr. Sealy has been working on a particularly 

intriguing application for the medical implant 

industry. 

“We thought, 'Instead of having this whole second 

surgery, let's make an implant that degrades,' and we 

use hybrid additive manufacturing to control how fast 

that happens. So, we can tailor the degradation rate to 

be very fast for someone who's younger and still 

growing or much slower for someone who's older and 

doesn't regenerate bone tissue very quickly. Hybrid 

manufacturing enables us to adjust how fast an 

implant will degrade, and we achieve that just by 

changing the way we manufacture it.”Michael Sealy, 

an assistant professor of engineering at the University 

of Nebraska-Lincoln is using an Optomec hybrid 

machine to produce biodegradable medical implants. 

Even the comparatively mundane applications for 

hybrid manufacturing are impressive, as Hranka 

explained. “We're showing off our system with Takumi 

USA, and leveraging the strengths of their machine, 

which in this case is in the mold and die industry. So, 

think of repairing molds, printing conformal cooling 

channels or even hardfacingmolds so they last 

longer.” 

Jason Jones, CEO and co-founder of Hybrid 

Manufacturing Technologies agrees. “DED is really 

ideal for repair and remanufacturing, and it's really 

mature for those type of applications,” he said. “In our 

experience, the halfway point between those is remanufacturing, 

just adding a little bit of material.” 

Tom Cobbs, LENS Product Manager at Optomec, also 

emphasized the advantages of using hybrid 

machining for repair applications, as well as remanufacturing. 

“We can scan a part,” he said, 

“compare it to a CAD drawing, and then repair the 

coating—whether that's a wear-resistant coating on 

the exterior surface or a corrosion coating on an inner 

bore for a valve or pipe. Let's say you have an existing 

part and you want to add a feature to it. You can 

machine down the original and then add something on 

to it—for example, we took a stock bar, machined it 

down to a rod, and then printed a fitting on the end of 

it.” 

Hybrid Machines vs Standalone 3D Printers 

“Whenever you break a bone, you get either a 

titanium, stainless steel or cobalt chromium implant,” 

he explained. “We're talking about plates, screws and 

rods. The problem is that having these inside your 

body can create long-term complications. In my case, I 

have two screws in my elbow and it's starting to hurt 

whenever I carry a gallon of milk or unload the 

washing machine. That's why orthopedic surgeons 

will often recommend that you take the implant out 

after six to eight weeks. 

36 


When it comes to hybrid machine tools, the obvious 

question to ask is whether merging additive and 

subtractive processes in a single machine is really 

necessary. Given that we already have plenty of 

standalone subtractive options, more standalone 

metal additive options cropping up all the time, and 

pallet-changing systems galore, what's the benefit of 

putting it all in one machine (aside from obvious 

added floorspace)? 

“Here is the crux of the challenge that I pose to folks 

who want to go hybrid,” said Dhruv Bate, associate 

professor at Arizona State University. “Unless it is able 

to do everything for me in one step—that means 

support removal and finishing—then I do not see the 

advantage in investing in a hybrid machine, because 

it's very likely that I will still need all these 

downstream operations to truly get my part 

production-ready.”Dr. Sealy offered a different 

perspective. “To do hybrid manufacturing on a 

reactive material—for example, if you need to 

machine a magnesium part—you have to worry about 

the chips and powder becoming combustible,” he said. 

“So, you need the ability to have an inert environment 

through all the processing steps, as opposed to 

printing, pulling the part out, and then going back to 

the printer.” 

Hranka also emphasized the benefits of being able to 

switch between additive and subtractive operations 

without having to move the workpiece. “With powder 

bed printing, you can't do any machining internally,” 

he said. “You can only print your part complete and 

you can't go back into it. With hybrid, you can stop 

printing, machine, and then print further. I always 

think of it like a ship in a bottle: being able to print the 

bottle, print the ship, machine with precision to get the 

surface finish and the ship's sails, and then print the 

whole thing shut. There's no way to get a cutting tool 

into a part that's completely closed.” 

Jones pointed to the benefits of consolidating your 

equipment needs, particularly when capital 

expenditure is a pressing concern. “A company I 

visited in South America has historically been making 

a product which requires a traditional pre-heat prior to 

adding metal by manual welding,” he said. “With our 

technology, they're going to skip that entirely. They're 

going to almost half of the capital equipment 

requirements to produce their parts by going to a 

single-setup approach. They're working on castings 

coming from a foundry, which will go onto a hybrid allin-one 

machine and what has historically been three 

or four different setups will now be merged into one. 

What do AmericanFirms do best in EMS 

So, if Asia is the reigning champion of consumer 

electronics manufacturing, what are companies like 

Kimball Electronics doing assembling circuit boards in 

the USA? 

Protoyping and Limited Runs 

“If the product has several thousand or more per month 

of quantity, then there are often some advantages going 

to Asia,” said Baker. “But, it's slower, and much more 

difficult to manage compared to doing something in the 

US. If the design is going through a lot of changes, you 

probably want to do it close to home.” 

That's where USA-based EMS shines: in the early stages, 

when kinks are being worked out, changes and 

improvements are being made, and frankly, when you're 

still operating on the R&D budget. 

If you're working on the very first prototype of your 

product, consider building it yourself with your own 

equipment or in a makerspace. There's no substitute for 

getting your hands on the design and learning about the 

potential issues or areas of improvement than doing it 

yourself. 

Certain Low-Volume Industries 

I asked Phil Baker when it makes sense to hire a USAbased 

firm. 

“If you have a product that doesn't have a really high 

competitive pressure to keep cost down,” He said. “In a 

particular field with a lot of competition, you really want 

to have the lowest manufacturing cost, so you have 

resources left to market the product. It's much harder to 

compete with another product if your manufacturing 

cost is 50% higher.” 

There are some industries where that isn't the case. 

Medical devices, aerospace OEM, and custom projects 

are often unique and expensive, allowing them to absorb 

the higher costs. They also may need to deal with specific 

requirements or certifications, which can be difficult to 

oversee or attain in Asia. 

Of course, the ultimate in USA EMS is the defense 

contract. “In the US, we never developed the 

infrastructure for mass production,” said Baker. “We 

never developed all the component manufacturing, and 

the fast response for product manufacturing. Our 

government has put a lot of focus into defense contracts, 

at the expense of the consumer industries.” 

OEM contracts for companies like Lockheed Martin, 

Raytheon and Boeing are difficult to land, but could spell 

big money for American electronics contract 

manufacturers. Because of the sensitive nature of the 

contract, much of the work can't be exported, no matter 

the cost. 


Circuit Board Manufacturing 

USA vs. Asia 

Lower manufacturing costs, with PCB prototype 

prices as low as $5 for 10 pieces. 

Communicating with Your Manufacturer 

Bao's enthusiasm for fast response time is reflected in 

Baker's experience with manufacturers in 

China.According to Baker, faster, more responsive 

service and communication is a definite advantage to 

working with Asian companies, compared to those in 

the United States. 

According to Research and Markets, the worldwide 

OEM electronics assembly market is worth $1.4 

trillion USD, and is expanding rapidly. Automotive, 

consumer electronics, computers and aerospace are 

all major segments. Much of this market is currently 

controlled by Chinese companies in places like in the 

city of Shenzhen, located in Southeastern China. 

However, there is also a contingent of electronics 

manufacturing services (EMS) providers in the USA. 

Competition with Asia is steep, but some American 

contractors have found the niche, the contracts and 

the suppliers to make EMS a viable business. 

For North American entrepreneurs with a PCB 

diagram in hand, is local or overseas the better option? 

And for North American contract manufacturers, is 

there money to be made in electronics assembly? 

To get started, I spoke with Phil Baker, a noted product 

designer and author of the book “From Concept to 

Consumer: How to Turn Ideas into Money.” If you're 

an entrepreneur looking for advice on manufacturing, 

you should probably stop reading my article and order 

that book, instead.Otherwise, keep reading! 

The Asian Advantage in Electronics Manufacturing 

I spoke to Anson Bao, Manager of PCBway, a 

Shenzhen-based PCB manufacturer about the 

advantages of using PCBWay. He listed the following 

items: 

 

 

 

Communicating and negotiating with factories, 

and providing 24-hour service to each customer. 

Sometimes PCBWay can manufacture according 

to a customized design. 

Quick delivery time. Expedited orders can be 

completed within 24 hours, and general orders can 

usually be completed in 2-3 days. 

Higher production capability. PCBWay can 

manufacture 1-14 layers of PCB and will finish it 

within the specified production time. 

“In the US, it's between a week to two weeks to get a 

response,” said Baker. “And that's a big indictment 

against US companies, but I have to say that one of the 

advantages with Asia is speed of response. When I 

started out it was fax and telex, now it's email and 

messaging. That's been my experience, anyway, and 

I've never seen anything that counters it. Anyone can 

test it; just go on a website like China Sources or 

Alibaba and make an inquiry about a product on a 

listing, and you'll get a response within 24 hours,” said 

Baker.Of course, this is a generalization, and you may 

well have experience with a North American company 

with excellent, fast service. 

Lower Manufacturing Costs 

While factors like lower cost of labor and lighter 

regulations do factor into the reduced cost of 

manufacturing in Asia, the biggest factor is the supply 

chain. 

Efficient manufacturing is all about supply chain, and 

electronics are no different. With very few exceptions, 

the components in our devices are made in China, 

Korea and other Asian countries. Before even getting 

into things like labor cost, level of automation, service, 

or quality, the fact is that a company in a city like 

Shenzhen is dealing with a components supplier 

across the street, while a company in Ohio is dealing 

with a supplier across the globe. 

There's no way around it—this adds cost to the 

process. If the China-based manufacturer receives a 

bad shipment of LED displays, they can be back up 

and running in a matter of hours—not days or weeks. 

need to be shipped around the globe, so too do the 

plans, personnel and finished products. At low 

production levels, these costs can be significant. 

Because of this balance of efficiencies and costs, Asian 

manufacturing is well-suited to a specific range of 

electronics manufacturing projects, while others are 

best done Stateside. 

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Industrial Flash September 2019

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