ModuleWorks And METROM Collaborate On Mobile Hybrid Manufacturing

METROM, manufacturer of parallel kinematic machine tools, has integrated ModuleWorks hybrid toolpath planning software into its pentapod machining centers to offer high-performance additive and subtractive manufacturing of complex freeform workpieces on a single, mobile machine tool.

Instead of taking workpieces to the machining center, METROM mobile machining centers come to the workpiece for convenient, just-in-time on-site manufacturing. Depending on the production scenario, this can significantly reduce production costs as well as the CO2 footprint. Combining additive and subtractive processes in a single machining center makes mobile manufacturing even more attractive because only one machine needs to be transported. Machining precision is comparable with standard CNC milling machines due to special calibration of the center spindle position, while fewer mechanical elements and a toolpath engine with inverse kinematics increases machine reliability.

METROM uses the ModuleWorks software for offline toolpath programming to automatically generate high-precision, collision-free hybrid toolpaths that enable the METROM machining centers to offer Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) alongside subtractive milling strategies. The toolpath algorithms support up to 6-axes for 3D geometries while the inverse kinematics provide even more axes for robotic manufacturing of geometrically complex workpieces. Overhang geometries are considered during toolpath generation to eliminate the need for support structures and simplify the machining process.