Laminated object manufacturing builds a part by bonding a sheet of material to the stack, cutting its cross section with a blade or a laser, and repeating. It was one of the earliest commercial additive processes and it has largely been displaced for general use, but the sheet lamination family it belongs to survives where its particular advantages matter.
How the process works
A roll or sheet of material, historically adhesive backed paper and later plastic, metal foil or ceramic tape, is laid over the build, bonded by heat and pressure, and its outline cut. Waste material is cross hatched so it can be broken away afterwards, and it supports the part during the build. The result is a solid laminated block from which the part is excavated.
Why it was attractive
It is fast, because only the outline is cut rather than the whole cross section being scanned. Material is cheap sheet stock rather than powder or photopolymer. There is no phase change of the bulk material, so shrinkage and residual stress are low. Large parts were possible on comparatively simple machines, which is why it appeared early.
Why it faded for general use
Removing the cross hatched waste from internal cavities is manual, slow and sometimes impossible. Properties are anisotropic in a pronounced way because the bond between layers is weaker than the sheet itself. Surface finish is stepped on any inclined face. And powder and resin processes improved faster, particularly on detail and on properties.
Where sheet lamination still matters
Ultrasonic additive manufacturing bonds metal foils with ultrasonic energy at low temperature, which allows dissimilar metals to be joined and sensors or fibres to be embedded inside a solid metal part, something no melting process can do. Ceramic tape lamination is used for electronic substrates. The family is narrow now, and inside that niche nothing else does the job.
Questions people ask about laminated object manufacturing
What is laminated object manufacturing?
An additive process that bonds successive sheets of material and cuts each layer's outline, building a part inside a laminated block that is then excavated.
Is it still used?
Rarely for general parts. Sheet lamination survives in ultrasonic additive manufacturing of metals and in ceramic tape lamination for electronics.
Why are the properties anisotropic?
Because the bond between layers is weaker than the sheet material itself, so strength across the layers is lower than strength within them.
What replaced it?
Powder bed and resin processes, which give better detail, better surface and better isotropy, and which do not require waste to be excavated by hand.