Additive manufacturing in metals with a fiber array laser source and adaptive multi-beam shaping
US11117218B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 18, 2018 |
| Grant date | Sep 14, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02P10/25
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A system that uses a scalable array of individually controllable laser beams that are generated by a fiber array system to process materials into an object. The adaptive control of individual beams may include beam power, focal spot width, centroid position, scanning orientation, amplitude and frequency, piston phase and polarization states of individual beams. Laser beam arrays may be arranged in a two dimensional cluster and configured to provide a pre-defined spatiotemporal laser power density distribution, or may be arranged linearly and configured to provide oscillating focal spots along a wide processing line. These systems may also have a set of material sensors that gather information on a material and environment immediately before, during, and immediately after processing, or a set of thermal management modules that pre-heat and post-heat material to control thermal gradient, or both.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.