Hybrid laser manufacturing

For some materials, application of laser-based additive manufacturing is limited due to cracking during solification by rapid cooling. Hybrid laser manufacturing is meant to include additional heat sources as well as process technologies to overcome current limitations in laser-based AM and to use the synergistic effects of both heat sources. The additional energy sources are often cheaper than laser sources, but they are less precise. However, additional equipment increases the costs of the process and the final AM part. Nevertheless, hybrid manufacturing can substantially widen the range of materials suitable for AM processing.