Overview of hybrid machining processes

Most of the unconventional or advanced machining processes (AMPs) were developed after the World War II in response to the challenges of machining and/or finishing unusual shapes and/or sizes in the advanced and difficult-to-machine (DTM) materials or for those applications where use of conventional machining processes is technically unfeasible, detrimental to the useful material properties, uneconomical and unproductive. But, further development of advanced materials and emphasis on miniaturization and ultra-precision machining and/or finishing requirements exposed limitations of individual AMPs. These challenges are being met with the development of hybrid machining processes (HMPs) by either combining two AMPs or one AMP with a conventional machining process to exploit their capabilities in a single process and simultaneously overcome their individual limitations. This chapter introduces AMPs, defines and classifies HMPs and refers to their applications.