Rapid tooling combining laser generating and high speed milling

In the past few years, the Fraunhofer IPT has presented the development of laser generating, a rapid prototyping process based on the principle of laser deposition welding. This paper describes how the process has been optimized and expanded by combining laser generating with high-speed milling. The application of high-speed milling techniques permits metallic parts and tools with sharp contours to be manufactured to comply with the standards of form and dimensional accuracy required. The principle behind this process, the specific advantages of the combined technique and the latest technological developments in this field, are discussed in this paper