Investigation into Layered Manufacturing Technologies for Industrial Applications

Additive processes, which generate parts in a layered way, have more than 20 years of history can be defined as layered manufacturing. Layered manufacturing is gaining ground for rapid prototypes (RP), rapid tools (RT) and rapid manufacturing (RM) for production of functional parts. The paper describes which mechanism of layered manufacturing and definition and classification of rapid prototypes can be applied to complex geometries for long-term consistency. The paper demonstrates the application examples of layered manufacturing fulfilling the required physical, mechanical and geometrical properties. The most notable advantage is the integration of production planning and testing within the product development period.