Establishing　manufacturability　design　criteria　for　multidimensional　complex　parts　can　significantly　reduce　the　production　cost,　shorten　the　manufacturing　cycle,　and　improve　the　production　quality　of　directed　energy　deposition.　Therefore,　there　is　an　urgent　need　to　establish　a　high-performance　manufacturing　design　strategy　for　complex　parts.　Proposed　here　is　a　skeleton　contour　partitioning　hybrid　path-planning　method　that　takes　full　advantage　of　the　excellent　geometric　reducibility　of　the　contour　offset　method　and　the　outstanding　flexibility　of　the　zigzag　path　method,　eliminating　the　influences　of　sharp　corners　and　degradation　on　forming　quality　in　the　contour　offset　method.　First,　reference　contours　are　obtained　by　subjecting　the　original　contours　to　an　inward–outward　twice-offset　process;　incompletely　filled　regions　are　obtained　by　Boolean　operations　on　the　original　and　reference　contours,　and　these　regions　are　the　ones　to　be　optimized.　Second,　the　optimized　regions　are　merged　into　skeleton　fill　regions,　and　the　fill　paths　are　generated　by　a　polygon　trapezoidal　partitioning　recombination　algorithm　and　an　algorithm　for　generating　optimal　zigzag　paths.　Finally,　the　contour　offset　paths　are　split　and　regrouped　based　on　the　skeleton　regions　and　are　connected　into　a　continuous　forming　path　for　each　subregion,　then　all　the　forming　paths　are　converted　into　robot　printing　tool　paths　from　the　skeleton-region　filling　paths　to　the　contour-offset　ones.　The　actual　forming　results　for　several　parts　with　different　geometric　features　are　verified　and　compared　with　those　of　the　traditional　path-planning　method,　and　it　is　concluded　that　the　proposed　method　converges　rapidly　to　the　details　of　complex　components　and　is　highly　feasible　and　applicable.　©　2023