The current general consensus is that the relationship between additive manufacturing (3D printing) and subtractive manufacturing (CNC machining) is not a substitute relationship, but a complementary relationship. For a certain application, the advantages of additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing are used. Come out, can greatly improve the production level. Okuma believes that the way to maximize the potential of additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing is not to integrate the two technologies into the same device, because the processing environment and processing speed are different. For integration into the same device, one technology is processing At that time, another technology is in a "waiting" state, which is a waste of equipment capacity. Separate the two technologies, with automated robots or a multi-pallet system to achieve coordinated operations, which can maximize work efficiency. 

In addition to processing speed, another reason for separating additive processing from subtractive processing is that they have different requirements for the processing environment. RPM's laser deposition system is designed to keep the oxygen content below 10 parts per million (PPM) to prevent oxidation of the metal powder, and the dew point of the working area is below 50°C. After the additive manufacturing is completed, sending the parts to heat treatment will effectively improve the performance of the parts. The heat treatment can be performed either in outsourcing or in-house in an automated process. Combining the heat treatment process will not damage the process flow, from one machine to another. The automatic production line of one machine shows sufficient flexibility, and other later processes including cleaning, marking, inspection, etc., are easily integrated. 

Why is additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing combined in this case? An obvious benefit is to save materials, shorten processing time, and save costs. It turns out that if only a CNC machining process is used, a 2000-pound forging workpiece needs to be machined to a 200-pound part, which means 1800 pounds of metal removal. The additive manufacturing method by laser deposition requires only 400 pounds of forged workpieces, which means only 200 pounds of cutting removal, so that the same amount of material can be produced through the combination of additive and subtractive materials to produce nine parts, and Not a part.