APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORK PIECE

    公开(公告)号:US20220355380A1

    公开(公告)日:2022-11-10

    申请号:US17617345

    申请日:2020-06-10

    摘要: An apparatus for producing a three-dimensional work piece is provided. The apparatus comprises an irradiation unit comprising at least one scanning unit configured to scan a radiation beam over an uppermost layer of raw material powder to predetermined sites of the uppermost layer of the raw material powder in order to solidify the raw material powder at the predetermined sites. An axis corresponding to the radiation beam when it impinges on the uppermost layer of raw material powder at an angle of 90° is defined as a central axis for the scanning unit. The apparatus further comprises a control unit configured to receive work piece data indicative of at least one layer of the three-dimensional work piece to be produced, and assign at least a part of a contour of the layer of the three-dimensional work piece to the at least one scanning unit. According to a first aspect, the control unit is configured to generate control data for controlling the irradiation unit, the control data defining a scan strategy of the radiation beam such that for more than 50% of a predefined length, the radiation beam moves away from the central axis, the predefined length being defined as a length the radiation beam moves along the contour assigned to the at least one scanning unit, excluding sections concentric with regard to the central axis. Further, corresponding methods and computer program products are provided.

    APPARATUS AND METHOD
    3.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20220194010A1

    公开(公告)日:2022-06-23

    申请号:US17613763

    申请日:2020-05-27

    摘要: We describe an apparatus for producing a three-dimensional workpiece, the apparatus comprising: a process chamber for receiving a material from which the three-dimensional workpiece is producible using an additive layer manufacturing technique, wherein the process chamber comprises a translucent window; an irradiation device for irradiating, through the translucent window, the material for producing the three-dimensional workpiece; and an enclosure arranged between the translucent window of the process chamber and the irradiation device, wherein at least a part of the enclosure is translucent for an irradiation beam stemming from the irradiation device to travel from the irradiation device through the enclosure to the material for producing the three-dimensional workpiece, wherein the enclosure comprises an inlet and an outlet, and wherein the apparatus is configured to control a flow of a fluid through the enclosure via the inlet and the outlet.

    METHOD AND APPARATUS
    4.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20220193772A1

    公开(公告)日:2022-06-23

    申请号:US17606114

    申请日:2020-03-31

    摘要: We describe a calibration method for calibrating one or more optical elements of an additive layer manufacturing apparatus useable for producing a three-dimensional workpiece, the method comprising: projecting, using the one or more optical elements, an optical pattern onto a material in order to prepare, from said material, solidified material layers using an additive layer manufacturing technique to form a test sample; determining a geometry of the test sample; comparing the determined geometry with a nominal geometry to generate calibration data; and calibrating the one or more optical elements using said calibration data.

    Apparatus for producing a three-dimensional work piece with process temperature control

    公开(公告)号:US10710304B2

    公开(公告)日:2020-07-14

    申请号:US15812353

    申请日:2017-11-14

    摘要: An apparatus for producing a three-dimensional work piece comprises a process chamber accommodating a carrier for receiving a raw material powder and an irradiation device for selectively irradiating electromagnetic or particle radiation onto the raw material powder applied onto the carrier in order to produce the work piece from said raw material powder by an additive layer construction method, the irradiation device comprising at least one radiation source and at least one optical unit with a plurality of optical elements. A heat transfer arrangement is configured to transfer heat generated by a heat source to the at least one optical unit of the irradiation device. The apparatus further comprises a control unit configured to control the heat transfer arrangement so as to adjust a temperature of the at least one optical unit of the irradiation device.

    DEVICE AND APPARATUS
    7.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20220193785A1

    公开(公告)日:2022-06-23

    申请号:US17632387

    申请日:2020-08-27

    摘要: We describe a device for calibrating an irradiation system of an apparatus for producing a three-dimensional workpiece, the irradiation system comprising an irradiation unit for selectively irradiating an irradiation beam onto an irradiation plane, wherein the device comprises: a control unit configured to control the irradiation system to irradiate the irradiation beam onto the irradiation plane, and an optical detection unit coupled to the control unit, wherein the optical detection unit comprises an optical detector and an objective lens for optically detecting a portion of the irradiation plane, wherein the optical detection unit is configured to detect a position of a spot of the irradiation beam on the irradiation plane, wherein the objective lens is adapted to be arranged, with respect to an irradiation beam path of the irradiation beam, between the optical detector and an irradiation beam scanner of the irradiation system, wherein the optical detection unit is configured to detect the position of the spot of the irradiation beam in multiple focal planes based on a focal length of the optical detection unit being adjustable, wherein the optical detection unit is configured to output a signal to the control unit in response to the optical detection unit detecting the position of the spot of the irradiation beam on the irradiation plane, and wherein the control unit is configured to control the irradiation system based on the signal output from the optical detection unit to the control unit.

    CONTROL METHOD, CONTROL DEVICE AND PRODUCTION APPARATUS

    公开(公告)号:US20220193769A1

    公开(公告)日:2022-06-23

    申请号:US17432216

    申请日:2020-03-02

    摘要: The invention relates to a control method for controlling a multi-beam apparatus having one or more beam sources for producing a plurality of beams of a system for manufacturing a three-dimensional workpiece by means of an additive layer construction method, in which method a material that can be solidified in order to manufacture the three-dimensional workpiece is applied in layers to a surface of a carrier and the material that can be solidified is solidified by the plurality of beams in a respective layer at points of incidence of the plurality of beams on the material that can be solidified, wherein the points of incidence of the beams for solidifying selective regions of the layers of the material that can be solidified in order to manufacture the three-dimensional workpiece are each controlled substantially against a gas flow direction of a gas flow over the surface of the carrier; wherein the control method comprises (a) dividing the material to be solidified in the respective layer into at least two sections, wherein two of the at least two sections extend in the gas flow direction of the gas flow prevailing over the two of the at least two sections in succession at least in part, (b) dividing at least one of the two of the at least two sections into at least two surface pieces, (c) assigning each of the surface pieces to exactly one specific beam, which solidifies the material to be solidified in the assigned surface piece, (d) controlling the points of incidence of the beams such that, at at least one point in time during an exposure of the material to be solidified, the material to be solidified is solidified in at least two surface pieces, and a network consisting of straight lines extending between each center point of the points of incidence to every other center point of the points of incidence, at no point in time during the exposure, in which all center points of the points of incidence are located outside of a predetermined distance from each other, has a straight line parallel to the gas flow direction of the gas flow prevailing over the two of the at least two sections.