IP Library Granted Patent US 12,459,040
Granted Patent B2
US 12,459,040 · App. 17/760,746 · Granted Nov 4, 2025

Hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing

Inventors: Lee Sanders (Tamworth, GB); Robert Bowerman (Oxford, GB); Kelvin Samuel Allan Hamilton (South Holland, NL)
Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
B22F10/80B22F10/00B33Y50/00G05B19/4099B33Y80/00G05B2219/35134
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,459,040
App. No.
17/760,746
Granted
Nov 4, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for computer aided design and manufacture of physical structures using hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing include, in one aspect, a method including: obtaining data for 3D geometry of a part; simulating at least a portion of a manufacturing process that includes adding first material in a first stage and removing second material in a second, subsequent stage, where the second material includes a portion of the first material, removing the second material includes blending between the material added in the first and second stages, and thermal effects of adding and removing the material in the first and second stages is simulated; and adjusting an amount of the portion based on results of the simulating to prevent deviation of the part from the three dimensional geometry that results in not enough material being available for the blending.

Claims (12)

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining data for three dimensional geometry of a part to be manufactured from a material by a hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing system comprising an additive manufacturing tool and a subtractive manufacturing tool using a manufacturing process comprising a series of two or more stages, each of the two or more stages comprising adding the material with the additive manufacturing tool and removing some of the material with the subtractive manufacturing tool;

simulating, in accordance with the data and a physical property of the material, at least a portion of the manufacturing process that includes adding first material using the additive manufacturing tool in a first stage of the two or more stages and removing second material using the subtractive manufacturing tool in a second stage of the two or more stages, wherein the first stage precedes the second stage, wherein the second material includes a portion of the first material, wherein removing the second material comprises blending between the material added in the first and second stages, and wherein the simulating comprises simulating thermal effects of adding and removing the material in the first and second stages;

adjusting an amount of the portion of the first material included in the second material based on results of the simulating, in accordance with the physical property of the material, to prevent deviation of the part from the three dimensional geometry, during the portion of the manufacturing process, that results in not enough material being available for the blending; and

manufacturing the part by the hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing system using the adjusted amount of the portion of the first material included in the second material for blending between material added in the first and second stages.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the manufacturing process comprises adding third material using the additive manufacturing tool in the second stage of the two or more stages and removing fourth material using the subtractive manufacturing tool in the first stage of the two or more stages, the first material includes the fourth material, the second material includes a portion of the third material, the simulating comprises simulating vibration experienced during at least the removing of the second material, and the method comprises:

modifying two or more tiers of the part to be manufactured and thus the two or more stages responsive to the vibration being excessive.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein simulating vibration comprises simulating instability during cutting based on predicted cutting forces and dynamic response.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the amount of the portion of the first material included in the second material comprises increasing an overbuild amount of the first material, in relation to the three dimensional geometry of the part, to be added using the additive manufacturing tool in the first stage of the two or more stages.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the manufacturing process comprises adding third material using the additive manufacturing tool in the second stage of the two or more stages and removing fourth material using the subtractive manufacturing tool in the first stage of the two or more stages, the first material includes the fourth material, the second material includes a portion of the third material, and adjusting the amount of the portion of the first material included in the second material comprises decreasing an amount of the fourth material and increasing the portion of the first material included in the second material.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the part is a turbine rotor comprising a hub and blades designed to operate in a high temperature environment, and the simulating comprises simulating machining of the blades built with the additive manufacturing tool, in the two or more stages, on top of blade roots included as integral portions of the hub.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing system comprises one or more computer processing apparatus including at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium encoding a computer aided design program operable to perform the obtaining, the simulating, the adjusting, and the manufacturing.

Assignments (5)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 2, 2022
From: SANDERS, LEE; BOWERMAN, ROBERT
To: AUTODESK LIMITED
Reel/Frame 060985/0267 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 2, 2022
From: AUTODESK LIMITED
To: AUTODESK, INC.
Reel/Frame 060985/0309 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 2, 2022
From: HAMILTON, KELVIN SAMUEL ALLAN
To: AUTODESK B.V.
Reel/Frame 060985/0481 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 2, 2022
From: AUTODESK B.V.
To: AUTODESK, INC.
Reel/Frame 060985/0545 →
CHANGE OF ADDRESS FOR ASSIGNEE Recorded Aug 19, 2022
From: AUTODESK, INC.
To: AUTODESK, INC.
Reel/Frame 061572/0061 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62902320 · Sep 18, 2019
Related Publication 20220379380A1 · Dec 1, 2022
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