Hybrid Additive Manufacturing: Add. Subtract. Repeat.
Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is no longer just a promising idea for the future of metal manufacturing. It is already helping manufacturers reduce lead times, lower material waste, repair high-value components, and produce complex metal parts with more flexibility and control.
At Phillips Corporation, that promise comes to life through Phillips Additive Hybrid systems — integrated Haas CNC platforms that bring metal additive capability directly into the machining environment. The result is a practical, shop-floor-ready workflow: Add. Subtract. Repeat.
During a recent webinar, Jesse Silverberg, CEO and Research Director of Hybrid CNC Parts, shared how his team is using Phillips Additive Hybrid systems with Meltio additive printer-head solutions to produce real parts for demanding applications. His message was clear: Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is ready for prime time.
"I was initially skeptical when I saw the integrated Meltio-Haas system Phillips offers, but after seeing it in person, it exceeded all expectations. By the time I flew home, I was already issuing a purchase order. Our experience with the Haas and Meltio integration — and with the Phillips team — has been fantastic. Hybrid manufacturing is truly ready for prime time." — Jesse Silverberg
What Is Hybrid Additive Manufacturing?
Hybrid Additive Manufacturing combines metal additive manufacturing and CNC machining in one system. With Phillips Additive Hybrid, manufacturers can use directed energy deposition to add metal, then use CNC machining to finish critical surfaces, datums, tolerances, and interfaces — all within a familiar Haas CNC platform.
For manufacturers already comfortable with CNC machining, this makes metal additive manufacturing more accessible. It provides the design freedom of additive while maintaining the accuracy, repeatability, and familiarity of CNC.
Why Phillips Hybrid Technology Is Different
For many manufacturers, the challenge with metal additive manufacturing is not interest; it's implementation.
Standalone additive systems can be powerful, but they often require new workflows, unfamiliar equipment, additional post-processing steps, and separate finishing operations. Phillips Hybrid technology takes a different approach by integrating additive capability into Haas CNC platforms that shops already know and trust.
That matters because most manufacturers do not simply need a way to print metal. They need a complete production workflow.
Phillips Hybrid systems combine Haas CNC machining capability, Meltio wire-laser additive technology, machine integration, safety systems, additive and subtractive CAM workflows, hands-on training, applications support, and ongoing service. The goal is to make Hybrid Additive Manufacturing practical for real shop-floor environments — not just research labs or isolated additive departments.
A Real-World Example: Hybrid CNC Parts
Hybrid CNC Parts did not adopt Hybrid Additive Manufacturing as a theoretical experiment. The company needed a practical way to manufacture high-performance metal components that were difficult, expensive, or slow to produce through traditional methods alone.
After evaluating available technologies, Silverberg discovered the integrated Meltio-Haas solution offered by Phillips. What began with skepticism quickly turned into investment.
Since purchasing its first Phillips Hybrid system, Hybrid CNC Parts has expanded its hybrid capabilities and put the technology to work across demanding applications, including multi-material components, bearing systems, replacement parts, witness coupons, tensile testing fixtures, and high-performance alloy applications.
The team has worked with materials such as Inconel, Stellite, stainless steels, and tool steels — materials that are often expensive, difficult to machine, and associated with long lead times.
That is where Hybrid Additive Manufacturing can create a measurable advantage.
How Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Reduces Risk
One of the strongest benefits of Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is risk reduction.
In manufacturing, risk often comes from:
- Long supplier lead times
- High material costs
- Obsolete parts or difficult-to-source components
- Late-stage failures
- Supply chain uncertainty
A casting or forging may take months to arrive. A replacement part may be unavailable. A critical component may require expensive material removal before the final geometry is achieved.
With Phillips Hybrid technology, manufacturers can use directed energy deposition to build a near-net-shape preform, then machine it to final tolerance in the same CNC platform. For the right applications, that can reduce supplier dependency, shorten development cycles, and help manufacturers respond faster when critical parts are needed.
During the webinar, Silverberg identified several indicators that a part may be a good fit for hybrid manufacturing:
- Long lead times
- Expensive materials
- High buy-to-fly ratios
- Multi-material designs
- Complex geometries
- Repair applications
- Critical surfaces
- Parts where late-stage failure can scrap significant time and cost
When these challenges overlap, Hybrid Additive Manufacturing can offer a compelling business case.
Find the Right Hybrid DED Technology for Your Application
Not every part, material, or production challenge calls for the same additive process. If you're exploring Hybrid Additive Manufacturing but aren't sure which DED technology is the best fit, Phillips can help you narrow it down.
Take our quick "What Hybrid DED Is Right for Me?" quiz to compare your needs against Phillips' hybrid additive options and identify the best starting point for your application.
Take the Hybrid DED Quiz >>
The Advantage of Wire-Based Hybrid Additive Manufacturing
The Phillips Hybrid systems featured in the webinar use Meltio's wire-laser metal additive technology integrated into Haas CNC machines. This wire-based approach offers practical advantages for industrial users.
Unlike powder-based metal additive processes, wire-based directed energy deposition uses standard welding wire. That can simplify material handling, reduce powder-related safety concerns, and connect the process to familiar welding supply chains and material standards.
For industries that require documentation, qualification, and traceability, this matters. Welding wire is familiar. Welding codes are familiar. Material supply chains are familiar. When additive manufacturing can be understood as a controlled welding process inside a CNC environment, the path to adoption becomes more approachable.
Phillips Supports the Complete Hybrid Journey
A successful Hybrid Additive Manufacturing system requires more than a deposition head. It requires integration expertise, training, applications support, service, and a clear understanding of how additive and subtractive processes work together.
Phillips provides that support.
Phillips Hybrid integrates additive technology into Haas CNC platforms with the required mounting systems, deployment mechanisms, laser-safe glass, safety interlocks, communication between systems, and machine-level safeguards. Phillips also provides hands-on training to help teams understand system operation, maintenance, CNC-additive communication, G-code structure, additive CAM workflows, toolpath strategies, and multi-axis deposition when applicable.
As Silverberg shared, "Our experience working with Phillips and Meltio has been exceptional. These are great partners to have."
Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Is Ready
Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is not the best solution for every part. But for the right applications — including repair, remanufacturing, feature addition, near-net-shape preforms, high-value materials, replacement parts, tooling, fixtures, and low-volume/high-mix production — it can create significant advantages.
The most important takeaway from the webinar was not simply that hybrid technology is impressive. It was that Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is practical.
It can produce real parts. It can work with difficult materials. It can support qualification strategies. It can reduce lead times. It can help manufacturers rethink supply chain risk. And with Phillips Hybrid, it can be implemented inside a CNC platform that manufacturers already trust.
See what "ready for prime time" really looks like. Watch the full webinar, From Risk to Readiness: Why Hybrid Manufacturing is Ready for Prime Time, to hear how Phillips, Meltio, and Hybrid CNC Parts are using Hybrid Additive Manufacturing to reduce risk, solve production challenges, and bring additive capability directly into the CNC workflow.
Watch the Full Webinar >>