TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
First Claim
1. An additive manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
- a platform;
a dispenser to dispense successive layers of feed material on the platform;
a heat source above the platform, the heat source configured to deliver energy to a first region of a topmost layer of the successive layers of feed material to pre-heat and/or heat-treat the first region;
an energy source to emit a beam of energy to impinge a second region of the topmost layer to generate a melt pool from feed material in the second region, the second region smaller than the first region;
a sensor system to measure temperatures of the topmost layer of feed material and to measure a dimension of the melt pool; and
a controller configured tooperate the heat source to heat the topmost layer of feed material based on the measured temperatures, andoperate the energy source to fuse feed material in the topmost layer based on the measured dimension.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An additive manufacturing apparatus includes a platform, a dispenser to dispense successive layers of feed material on the platform, a heat source above the platform, an energy source to emit a beam of energy to impinge a second region of the topmost layer, a sensor system to measure temperatures of the topmost layer of feed material and to measure a dimension of a melt pool in the second region, and a controller. The heat source is configured to deliver energy to a first region of a topmost layer of the successive layers of feed material to pre-heat and/or heat-treat the first region. The controller is configured to operate the heat source to heat the topmost layer of feed material based on the measured temperatures, and operate the energy source to fuse feed material in the topmost layer based on the measured dimension.
31 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An additive manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
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a platform; a dispenser to dispense successive layers of feed material on the platform; a heat source above the platform, the heat source configured to deliver energy to a first region of a topmost layer of the successive layers of feed material to pre-heat and/or heat-treat the first region; an energy source to emit a beam of energy to impinge a second region of the topmost layer to generate a melt pool from feed material in the second region, the second region smaller than the first region; a sensor system to measure temperatures of the topmost layer of feed material and to measure a dimension of the melt pool; and a controller configured to operate the heat source to heat the topmost layer of feed material based on the measured temperatures, and operate the energy source to fuse feed material in the topmost layer based on the measured dimension. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An additive manufacturing method comprising:
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dispensing successive layers of feed material on a platform; measuring temperatures of a topmost layer of feed material of the successive layers of feed material; delivering heat to a first region covering the topmost layer based on the measured temperatures; and emitting a beam of energy to a second region smaller than the first region based on a dimension of a melt pool of the feed material created by the beam of energy. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An additive manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
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a platform; a dispenser to dispense successive layers of feed material on the platform; a heat source above the platform, the heat source configured to deliver energy to a first region of a topmost layer of the successive layers of feed material to pre-heat and/or heat treat the first region; an energy source to emit a beam of energy to impinge a second region of the topmost layer to generate a melt pool from feed material in the second region, the second region smaller than the first region; a sensor system including a first camera having a stationary first field of view of a build region of the platform, a second camera having a second field of view that is smaller than the first field of view and that is configured to trail the second region, and a third camera having a third field of view that is smaller than the second field of view and that covers the second region; and a controller configured to receive data from the first camera, the second camera and the third camera and generate a temperature map of the layer of feed material from the data, and operate the energy source to fuse feed material in the topmost layer based on the temperature map.
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Specification