Ramp-up of hybrid manufacturing technologies

Hybrid manufacturing technologies provide a high potential in enhancing manufacturing process capabilities in terms of new product properties and sustainable production. Combining two or more technologies in one process or machine result in a larger range of options for the creation and optimization of technology chains. Sustainability is an important objective when using hybrid processes but also economic targets can be achieved. The aim of this paper is to present a method for detecting and evaluating hybrid manufacturing technologies and implementing them at the right moment into an existing production environment. A decision has to be made, whether a certain hybrid technology is suitable or not. To make this decision a risk-and-potential analysis of manufacturing technologies was developed. In the first part this article will provide an introduction to hybrid manufacturing processes. Further a design approach for hybrid technologies is shown. The second part concentrates on the possible implementation of manufacturing technologies during the ramp-up phase into the production environment. (C) 2011 CIRP.