Additive manufacturing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An additive manufacturing apparatus for building an object by layerwise consolidation of material, the apparatus comprising:
- a build chamber containing a working area;
an optical unit configured to control transmission of a plurality of laser beams onto material in the working area for consolidating the material deposited in layers, the optical unit arranged to move over the working area and comprising a plurality of optical elements, each optical element movable in the optical unit for scanning a corresponding laser beam of the plurality of laser beams across the material in the working area; and
a control unit configured to control scanning of the corresponding laser beam along a path across the working area by controlling (i) movement of the optical unit over the working area so that the corresponding laser beam moves in a first direction, and (ii) movement of the optical elements in the optical unit, simultaneously with the movement of the optical unit over the working area, so that the corresponding laser beam moves in a second direction, transverse to the first direction, the path of the corresponding laser beam being a combination of movement of the corresponding laser beam in the first direction and the second direction.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An additive manufacturing apparatus for building objects by layerwise consolidation of material. The apparatus includes a build chamber containing a working area, a plurality of high energy beams for consolidating material deposited in the working area in layers and an optical unit for controlling transmission of the high energy beams onto material in the working area. The optical unit includes a plurality of independently controllable optical elements each optical element for controlling transmission of at least one of the high energy beams onto the material in the working area, the optical unit movable in the build chamber.
79 Citations
23 Claims
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1. An additive manufacturing apparatus for building an object by layerwise consolidation of material, the apparatus comprising:
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a build chamber containing a working area; an optical unit configured to control transmission of a plurality of laser beams onto material in the working area for consolidating the material deposited in layers, the optical unit arranged to move over the working area and comprising a plurality of optical elements, each optical element movable in the optical unit for scanning a corresponding laser beam of the plurality of laser beams across the material in the working area; and a control unit configured to control scanning of the corresponding laser beam along a path across the working area by controlling (i) movement of the optical unit over the working area so that the corresponding laser beam moves in a first direction, and (ii) movement of the optical elements in the optical unit, simultaneously with the movement of the optical unit over the working area, so that the corresponding laser beam moves in a second direction, transverse to the first direction, the path of the corresponding laser beam being a combination of movement of the corresponding laser beam in the first direction and the second direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An additive manufacturing apparatus for building an object by layerwise consolidation of material, the apparatus comprising:
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a build chamber containing a working area; an optical unit configured to control transmission of a plurality of laser beams onto material in the working area for consolidating the material deposited in layers, the optical unit arranged to move over the working area and comprising a plurality of independently controllable optical elements, each optical element for steering a corresponding laser beam of the plurality of laser beams onto the material in the working area, wherein a scanning zone for each optical element is defined by a zone over which the corresponding laser beam can be directed by the independent movement of the optical element, the optical elements arranged in the optical unit such that, for a position of the optical unit, the scanning zones for at least two of the optical elements overlap; and a control unit configured to select a single one of the at least two optical elements to use to form an area of the object located within a region in which the scanning zones overlap.
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13. An additive manufacturing apparatus for building an object by layerwise consolidation of material, the apparatus comprising:
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a build chamber containing a working area; an optical unit configured to control transmission of a plurality of laser beams onto material in the working area for consolidating the material deposited in layers, the optical unit arranged to move over the working area and comprising a plurality of independently controllable optical elements, each optical element for controlling transmission of a corresponding laser beam of the plurality of laser beams onto the material in the working area; and a gas flow device configured to generate a gas flow across a part of the working area, and the gas flow device configured to be movable across the working area simultaneously with the optical unit such that the laser beams are directed to the part of the working area across which the gas flow is generated. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An additive manufacturing apparatus for building an object by layerwise consolidation of material, the apparatus comprising:
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a build chamber containing a working area; an optical unit configured to control transmission of a plurality of laser beams onto material in the working area for consolidating the material deposited in layers, the optical unit arranged to move over the working area and comprising a plurality of independently controllable optical elements, each optical element for controlling transmission of a corresponding laser beam of the plurality of laser beams onto the material in the working area, wherein the optical unit comprises a two-dimensional array of the optical elements, and the two-dimensional array of optical elements comprises first and second rows of the optical elements, each optical module of the first row configured to transmit the corresponding laser beam to a corresponding first region of the working area and each optical module of the second row configured to transmit the corresponding laser beam to a corresponding second region of the working area, the second row located above the first row in a direction substantially perpendicular to the working plane and staggered with respect to the first row such that the first regions are located adjacent to and interspersed with the second regions to provide a continuum of the first and second regions across the working area. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification