Back to results
US 10,821,519 B2Granted
Laser shock peening within an additive manufacturing process
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorScott Alan Gold
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure generally relates to methods and apparatuses for laser shock peening during additive manufacturing (AM) processes. Such methods and apparatuses can be used to embed microstructural and/or physical signatures into manufactured objects, and such embedded chemical signatures may find use in anti-counterfeiting operations and in manufacture of objects with multiple materials.
Claims16
A method of fabricating an object, comprising:
- (a) irradiating at least a portion of a given layer of build material with an energy source to form at least one solidified region;
- (b) providing a subsequent layer of build material;
- (c) repeating steps (a) and (b) until the object is formed;
- (d) at least one step of placing a confinement material over the at least one solidified region;
- (e) at least one step of irradiating, through the confinement medium, at least one portion of the solidified region to modify the density or microstructure of the solidified material with minimal ablating or melting of the solidified material,
- wherein step (e) comprises at least one step of irradiating, through the confinement medium, the at least one portion of the solidified region to form a localized laser shock peening therein, and
- after (e), removing the confinement medium from the at least one portion of the solidified region.
4 more elements
An apparatus for metal-based additive manufacturing, comprising:
- a laser source;
- a powder dispenser;
- a confinement medium dispenser;
- an electron beam source;
- a positioning unit to move the confinement medium dispenser in at least two dimensions, and
- wherein the powder dispenser comprises a recoater arm moveable in a first direction, and wherein the confinement medium dispenser is attached to the recoater arm, wherein the confinement medium dispenser is moveable with the recoater in the first direction and moveable along the recoater arm in a second direction.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.