Additive manufacturing apparatus and methods

    公开(公告)号:US11267052B2

    公开(公告)日:2022-03-08

    申请号:US16677031

    申请日:2019-11-07

    Applicant: RENISHAW PLC

    Abstract: An additive manufacturing apparatus including a build chamber, build platform lowerable in the chamber so layers of flowable material can successively form across the platform, laser for generating a laser beam, scanning unit for directing the laser beam onto each layer to selectively solidify the material and a processor for controlling the scanning unit. The processor controls the scanning unit directs the laser beam to solidify a selected area of material by advancing the laser beam many times along a scan path. On each pass, the laser beam solidifies spaced apart sections of the scan path, each subsequent pass solidifying sections that are located between sections solidified on a previous pass. The processor controls the scanning unit to direct the laser beam to solidify selected area of material by solidifying sub-millimetre sized sections of non-continuously area and in an order such that consecutively solidified sections are spaced apart.

    Selective laser solidification apparatus and method

    公开(公告)号:US11478856B2

    公开(公告)日:2022-10-25

    申请号:US16409911

    申请日:2019-05-13

    Applicant: RENISHAW PLC

    Abstract: A selective laser solidification apparatus including; a powder bed onto which powder layers can be deposited, at least one laser module for generating a plurality of laser beams for solidifying the powder material deposited onto the powder bed, a laser scanner for individually steering each laser beam to solidify separate areas in each powder layer, and a processing unit. A scanning zone for each laser beam is defined by the locations on the powder bed to which the laser beam can be steered by the laser scanner. The laser scanner is arranged such that each scanning zone is less than the total area of powder bed and at least two of the scanning zones overlap. The processing unit is arranged for selecting, for at least one powder layers, which laser beam to use to scan an area of the powder layer located within a region wherein the seaming zones overlap.

    Selective solidification apparatus and methods

    公开(公告)号:US10994335B2

    公开(公告)日:2021-05-04

    申请号:US15124287

    申请日:2015-03-18

    Applicant: RENISHAW PLC

    Abstract: A selective solidification apparatus includes a build chamber, a build platform lowerable in the build chamber, a wiper for spreading powder material across the build platform to form successive powder layers of a powder bed, an energy beam unit for generating an energy beam for consolidating the powder material, a scanner for directing and focusing the energy beam onto each powder layer and a processor for controlling the scanner. The processor is arranged to control the scanner to scan the energy beam across the powder bed to consolidate powder material either side of the wiper when the wiper is moving across the powder bed and to scan the energy beam across at least one of the powder layers during two or more strokes of the wiper across the powder bed.

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