A new method of direct metal prototyping: hybrid plasma deposition and milling

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel hybrid plasma deposition and milling (HPDM). For solving the bottleneck problem of low-surface quality in existing direct rapid metal prototyping technologies. Design/methodology/approach - HPDM uses plasma deposition as an additive and conventional milling as subtractive technique, which synthesizes the advantages of both processes. Compared to other laser or electron beam deposition processes, plasma deposition used in HPDM is one of the most economic ways of depositing metals, CNC assisted to ensure the precision of the manufactured parts simultaneity. Findings - This paper focus on the experimental investigation to find the basic process characteristics, the optimization of the process parameters such as transferred arc current, workpiece's speed, powder flow rate and feed per tooth using a statistical approach. Some metal parts, for instance, metal torsional vane, are then trial-manufactured. Research limitations/implications - The manufacturing cycle of HPDM is longer than simplex direct metal rapid prototyping, and the surface accuracy should be further investigated. Practical implications - HPDM is a very useful and effective method to manufacture metal parts with fine surface state directly. Originality/value - This paper describes a novel process and manufacturing system for fabrication metal prototyping direct, which can improve the inside and outside quality of the metal rapid prototypes.