Matching the 3-D Printing Promise with Machining Precision

Sept. 3, 2014

Metal laser sintering and milling technologies working in concert will allow engineers to think outside the box and create unique ideas, potentially triggering a departure from conventional manufacturing.

Travis M. Hessman

MC Machinery Systems' LUMEX Avance-25 is a magical machine. It represents a new direction for 3-D printing into the industrial world, one that could bring it one step closer to basic machine shop viability: additive machining.

The LUMEX is a metal laser-sintering hybrid milling machine – a market still too new to warrant an acronym or less clunky description.

It remains one of the only machines in the world capable of one-machine, one-process manufacturing of complex molds and parts by mixing metal laser sintering (3-D SLS) technology with high-speed milling.

The machine builds up layers of additively manufactured parts from a powder bed and then pulls in a series of tools to mill, grind and tool each layer to ensure perfect spec.

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About the Author

Travis M. Hessman | Editor-in-Chief

Travis Hessman is the editor-in-chief and senior content director for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest. He began his career as an intern at IndustryWeek in 2001 and later served as IW's technology and innovation editor. Today, he combines his experience as an educator, a writer, and a journalist to help address some of the most significant challenges in the manufacturing industry, with a particular focus on leadership, training, and the technologies of smart manufacturing.