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Today, the manufacturing industry increasingly faces the challenge of producing low volumes of personalized parts. As such, novel approaches have to be developed to address this new reality. To this end, a low-cost hybrid manufacturing method combining fused deposition modeling and electroforming to fabricate personalized high-precision metal parts is investigated. Three different approaches are studied and compared with each other in order to fabricate the mold assemblies employed for part electroforming. The potential of employing the chosen technique was evaluated by electroforming micro-hinges with various thicknesses and characterized mechanically. It is demonstrated that dimensions relevant to typical applications of micro-hinges can be achieved. In order to determine the capability of the developed manufacturing process, a functional X–Y micro-positioning stage is fabricated. Finally, the time and costs per part to manufacture personalized parts through the suggested method are studied based on the number of 3D printers deployed to print the molds during the electroforming. Manufacturing costs range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars depending on the type of deployed 3D printer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for customization and personalization, the manufacturing industry faces new challenges related to cost-effective, low batch size production. Additive manufacturing (AM) is among the promising technology to address this problem. AM has however some limitations in metal structure fabrication, including high surface roughness, porosity, and poor mechanical properties. Electroforming on an AM mandrel could be a potential alternative solution for low batch production and complex structures with high aspect ratios. This process takes advantage of both high design freedom from AM and better structural control with electroforming. However, the uniformness, deposition quality, and end-geometry of the electrodeposition on a mandrel are not always guaranteed. In this paper, a method and an algorithm are proposed to improve the geometric precision of the deposition on the mandrel. The desired net-shape can be achieved by a corrected mandrel that takes the variable electrodeposition thickness into consideration. Therefore, the dimensional accuracy of the outer surface can be improved for applications requiring the dimensional accuracy of the outer shape, and a uniform part thickness is less important. In addition, a method that allows the forming of parts with controlled multiple thicknesses on the same mandrel is proposed. As one of the potential applications, the manufacturing of high-aspect-ratio flexures is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]