Investigation on synergism between additive and subtractive manufacturing for curved thin-walled structure

Direct energy deposition (DED), as a flexible and economic manufacturing method, has drawn extensive attentions, whereas low surface quality and dimensional accuracy hinder its development. Hybrid manufacturing perfectly solves these problems without introducing additional positioning errors. In this study, we evaluate the effect of the synergies on the forming process of curved thin-walled structures in terms of procedure complexity, microstructures and mechanical properties. A multi-physics model is developed to simulate the DED process and provide guidance for the subsequent subtractive manufacturing (SM) process to better achieve the objective. The results demonstrate that the process procedure of the multiple-cycle hybrid manufacturing (MCHM) presents much more complex than the one-cycle hybrid manufacturing (OCHM). The grain size in the transition region of the MCHMed sample is refined, increasing the localised microhardness. However, the tensile strength and ductility of the MCHMed sample are found slightly lower than those of the OCHMed sample.