DEDRA: An automated Post-processing system for hybrid direct energy deposition

Direct Energy Deposition (DED) is a metal additive manufacturing technique that enables large-scale production, multi-material processing, and hybrid (CNC–DED) applications. However, adoption remains limited by lack of flexible post-processing software capable of generating machine-specific toolpaths and executable code. Conventional slicing tools provide geometric descriptions but cannot generate validated, machine-specific code for CNC–DED. This work presents DEDRA, an automated post-processing system that converts generic slicer output into validated, machine-ready G/M-code for hybrid manufacturing. The framework integrates trajectory extraction, geometric correction, machine-specific macro insertion, and real-time 3D toolpath visualization within a unified workflow. A geometric fidelity assessment showed deviations within ±10% for prismatic samples on 316 L stainless steel samples.