Nickel-based superalloys, namely INCONEL® variants, have had an increase in applications throughout various industries like aeronautics, automotive and energy power plants. These superalloys can withstand high-temperature applications without suffering from creep, making them extremely appealing and suitable for manufactured goods such as jet engines or steam turbines. Nevertheless, INCONEL® alloys are considered difficult-to-cut materials, not only due to their superior material properties but also because of their poor thermal conductivity (k) and severe work hardening, which may lead to premature tool wear (TW) and poor final product finishing. In this regard, it is of paramount importance to optimise the machining parameters, to strengthen the process performance outcomes concerning the quality and cost of the product. The present review aims to systematically summarize and analyse the progress taken within the field of INCONEL® machining sensitively over the past five years, with some exceptions, and present the most recent solutions found in the industry, as well as the prospects from researchers. To accomplish this article, ScienceDirect, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley and ASME have been used as sources of information as a result of great fidelity knowledge. Books from Woodhead Publishing Series, CRC Press and Academic Press have been also used. The main keywords used in searching information were: “Nickel-based superalloys”, “INCONEL® 718”, “INCONEL® 625” “INCONEL® Machining processes” and “Tool-wear mechanisms”. The combined use of these keywords was crucial to filter the huge information currently available about the evolution of INCONEL® machining technologies. As a main contribution to this work, three SWOT analyses are provided on information that is dispersed in several articles. It was found that significant progress in the traditional cutting tool technologies has been made, nonetheless, the machining of INCONEL® 718 and 625 is still considered a great challenge due to the intrinsic characteristics of those Ni-based-superalloys, whose machining promotes high-wear to the tools and coatings used.

Additive manufacturing is defined as a process based on the superposition of layers of materials in order to obtain 3D parts; however, the process does not allow achieve the adequate and necessary surface finishing. In addition, with the development of new materials with superior properties, some of them acquire high hardness and strength, consequently decreasing their ability to be machined. To overcome this shortcoming, a new technology assembling additive and subtractive processes, was developed and implemented. In this process, the additive methods are integrated into a single machine with subtractive processes, often called hybrid manufacturing. The additive manufacturing process is used to produce the part with high efficiency and flexibility, whilst machining is then triggered to give a good surface finishing and dimensional accuracy. With this, and without the need to transport the part from one machine to another, the manufacturing time of the part is reduced, as well as the production costs, since the waste of material is minimized, with the additive–subtractive integration. This work aimed to carry out an extensive literature review regarding additive manufacturing methods, such as binder blasting, directed energy deposition, material extrusion, material jetting, powder bed fusion, sheet laminating and vat polymerization, as well as machining processes, studying the additive-subtractive integration, in order to analyze recent developments in this area, the techniques used, and the results obtained. To perform this review, ScienceDirect, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar were used as the main source of information because they are powerful search engines in science information. Specialized books have been also used, as well as several websites. The main keywords used in searching information were: “CNC machining”, “hybrid machining”, “hybrid manufacturing”, “additive manufacturing”, “high-speed machining” and “post-processing”. The conjunction of these keywords was crucial to filter the huge information currently available about additive manufacturing. The search was mainly focused on publications of the current century. The work intends to provide structured information on the research carried out about each one of the two considered processes (additive manufacturing and machining), and on how these developments can be taken into consideration in studies about hybrid machining, helping researchers to increase their knowledge in this field in a faster way. An outlook about the integration of these processes is also performed. Additionally, a SWOT analysis is also provided for additive manufacturing, machining and hybrid manufacturing processes, observing the aspects inherent to these technologies.

Composite materials such as Fiber Metal Laminates (FMLs) have attracted the interest of the aerospace and automotive industries due to their high strength to weight ratio, but to use them as structures it is necessary to master the manufacturing and wiring techniques of these materials. Therefore, this paper aims to address and summarize the drilling and milling processes in FMLs based on a literature review of papers published from 2000 to 2023. Parameters used in multi-material manufacturing and machining such as drilling and milling, tool geometry, tool coating, lubricants and coolants published by researchers were analyzed, compared and discussed. Machining process parameters related to sustainability were also analyzed. A SWOT analysis was carried out and discussed to identify opportunities for improvement in the machining process. There are opportunities to develop the surface treatment of aluminum alloys, such as testing other combinations than those already used, testing non-traditional surface treatments and manufacturing modes, and developing sustainable techniques during the FML manufacturing process. In the area of tooling, the opportunities are mainly related to coatings for tools and changing machining parameters to achieve an optimum finished part. Finally, to improve the sustainability of the process, it is necessary to test coated drills under cryogenic conditions to reduce the use of lubricants during the machining process.

Due to Inconel 718’s high mechanical properties, even at higher temperatures, tendency to work-harden, and low thermal conductivity, this alloy is considered hard to machine. The machining of this alloy causes high amounts of tool wear, leading to its premature failure. There seems to be a gap in the literature, particularly regarding milling and finishing operations applied to Inconel 718 parts. In the present study, the wear behavior of multilayered PVD HiPIMS (High-power impulse magnetron sputtering)-coated TiN/TiAlN end-mills used for finishing operations on Inconel 718 is evaluated, aiming to establish/expand the understanding of the wear behavior of coated tools when machining these alloys. Different machining parameters, such as cutting speed, cutting length, and feed per tooth, are tested, evaluating the influence of these parameters’ variations on tool wear. The sustained wear was evaluated using SEM (Scanning electron microscope) analysis, characterizing the tools’ wear and identifying the predominant wear mechanisms. The machined surface was also evaluated after each machining test, establishing a relationship between the tools’ wear and production quality. It was noticed that the feed rate parameter exerted the most influence on the tools’ production quality, while the cutting speed mostly impacted the tools’ wear. The main wear mechanisms identified were abrasion, material adhesion, cratering, and adhesive wear. The findings of this study might prove useful for future research conducted on this topic, either optimization studies or studies on the simulation of the milling of Inconel alloys, such as the one presented here.