Hybrid Additive Manufacturing: A Convergence of Physical, Digital, and Social Realms Driven by Generative AI

The traditional way of additive manufacturing (AM), often called 3D printing, could be revolutionized beyond creating physical structures by including a comprehensive integration of physical, digital, and social “printing” dimensions. We present the concept of “Hybrid Additive Manufacturing” (HAM), a visionary approach that extends traditional AM to create “intelligent entities” of emergent in Industry 5.0 cyber-physical-social systems. HAM combines physical mastery, digital intelligence, and meaningful social interactions within entities, opening up the possibility of “printing” such complex and hybrid entities as smart sensors, autonomous robots, human digital twins, etc. HAM aims to utilize a variety of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools for realistic generation and training the digital side of a hybrid product aiming its adaptive, responsible, and social behavior in addition to physical properties. HAM may extend current AM capabilities and envisions a future where entities can seamlessly navigate the intricate interplay of physical, digital, and social realms. Our study shows that, despite their different approaches, both traditional 3D printing and GAI are based on the same fundamental AM concept, which is to create objects by adding rather than removing “material”. This makes both technologies valuable tools for rapid prototyping, design exploration, and creation of customized and personalized products.