Precision and Additive Manufacturing: Partners, Not Rivals

In aerospace and advanced manufacturing, 3D printing (additive manufacturing) often gets the spotlight — but precision machining is the unsung hero that makes those printed parts viable. Metal additive processes like Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) can produce complex geometries impossible to machine outright, yet the surfaces they create aren’t flight-ready. That’s where CNC machining takes over.

Why Additive Parts Still Need Machining

Even the most advanced metal printers leave surfaces with microroughness, residual stress, and dimensional variability.

• Critical interfaces: ensuring perfect flatness, alignment, and hole locations for assemblies.
• Tight tolerances: bringing parts within ±0.0005″ or better — accuracy that 3D printing alone can’t achieve.
• Surface finish: producing mirror-smooth bearing bores, sealing surfaces, and aerodynamic contours.
• Traceability and repeatability: machining delivers measurable results that meet AS9100 and aerospace standards.

Bridging Digital and Physical Manufacturing

When properly integrated, machining and additive manufacturing form a hybrid process chain — design, print, measure, machine.
At Metron Machining, we use precision workholding, five-axis machining, and CMM verification to ensure every printed part meets the same criteria as billet or forged material.

• Locate printed parts in 3D space using datums defined in the CAD model.
• Machine multiple faces in one setup for consistent accuracy.
• Verify the final geometry with in-process probing and CMM inspection.

The result: additive components that meet or exceed the same standards as traditionally manufactured parts — only lighter and more efficient.

The Future Is Hybrid Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing opens new frontiers in part design. Precision machining ensures those designs perform in the real world. Together, they create a new era of design freedom and manufacturing discipline — where complexity is printed, and precision is machined.

Closing Thought

At Metron Machining, we see additive and subtractive processes as two sides of the same coin — innovation backed by precision.

Because in mission-critical industries, “close enough” isn’t close enough.