# US 11,440,262 B2 · Method for operating an apparatus for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects

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- Number: US 11,440,262 B2
- Document ID: US11440262B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/277,977
- Filed: 2019-02-15
- Published: 2019-12-12
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2018-06-07
- Assignees: Concept Laser GmbH
- Applicants: Concept Laser GmbH
- Inventors: Jürgen Werner
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11440262B2

## CPC

- B23K 26/342: Build-up welding
- B22F 10/28: Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
- B22F 10/36: of energy beam parameters
- B22F 10/80: Data acquisition or data processing
- B28B 1/001: {Rapid manufacturing of 3D objects by additive depositing, agglomerating or laminating of material (selective deposition modelling of metallic powder B22F10/00; rapid manufacturing of 3D objects in general and in particular of plastics B29C64/00)}
- B28B 17/0081: {Process control}
- B29C 64/135: the energy source being concentrated, e.g. scanning lasers or focused light sources
- B29C 64/153: using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting
- B29C 64/165: using a combination of solid and fluid materials, e.g. a powder selectively bound by a liquid binder, catalyst, inhibitor or energy absorber
- B29C 64/20: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B29C 64/268: using laser beams; using electron beams [EB]
- B29C 64/30: Auxiliary operations or equipment
- B29C 64/386: Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
- B29C 64/393: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing
- B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B33Y 50/00: Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
- B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- Y02P 10/25: Process efficiency
- B23K: SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B22F: WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER (making alloys by powder metallurgy C22C); APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B28B: SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER (foundry moulding B22C; working stone or stone-like material B28D; shaping of substances in a plastic state, in general B29C; making layered products not composed wholly of these substances B32B)
- B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00)
- B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

Method for operating an apparatus (1) for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects (2) by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a build material (3) which can be consolidated by means of an energy source, wherein irradiation data define at least two regions (8, 9) of object data relating to a three-dimensional object (2), which regions (8, 9) are irradiated based on at least two different irradiation parameters.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for operating an apparatus for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a build material, the method comprising:
consolidating the layers of the build material by means of an energy source,
wherein an irradiation data defines at least two regions of object data relating to a three-dimensional object,
which wherein the at least two regions are irradiated based on at least two different irradiation parameters,
assigning at least one first irradiation parameter to an at least one first region and at least one second irradiation parameter to an at least one second region based on a geometry information of the first region and the second region and/or
irradiating the at least one first region based on at least one first irradiation parameter and the at least one second region based on at least one second irradiation parameter based on a geometry information of the at least one first region and the at least one second region;
generating intermediate object data based on the object data relating to a geometry of the three-dimensional object,
wherein at least one part of a contour of the three-dimensional object that is defined by an original object data of the three-dimensional object is decreased by a threshold value and structures of the three-dimensional object that are defined by the original object data comprising a corresponding dimension below the threshold value are removed and the at least one part of the contour is increased to an initial value.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein irradiation data defines at least two regions of object data relating to a three-dimensional object, wherein regions are irradiated based on at least two different irradiation parameters, wherein at least one first irradiation parameter is assigned to the at least one first region and the at least one second irradiation parameter is assigned to the at least one second region based on a geometry information of the at least one first region and the at least one second region.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the geometry information comprises at least one dimension of a corresponding region.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method according to claim 3,
wherein the threshold value is defined,
wherein at least one first irradiation parameter or at least one second irradiation parameter is assigned to a corresponding region dependent on a comparison between the threshold value and the geometry information of the corresponding region.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, wherein the at least one first irradiation parameter is assigned to a region if the geometry information of the region exceeds or matches the threshold value, and at least one second irradiation parameter is assigned to the region if the geometry information falls below the threshold value or vice versa.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one first irradiation parameter is assigned to regions present in the intermediate object data and at least one second irradiation parameter is assigned to regions present in the original object data and absent in an intermediate object data and/or regions present in the intermediate object data are irradiated based on at least one first irradiation parameter and regions present in the original object data and absent in the intermediate object data are irradiated based on at least one second irradiation parameter.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein fine structure data are determined by performing a comparison and/or a logical operation between the original object data and the intermediate object data,
wherein at least one first irradiation parameter is assigned to regions present in the intermediate object data and at least one second irradiation parameter is assigned to regions present in the fine structure data and/or regions present in the intermediate object data are irradiated based on at least one first irradiation parameter and regions present in the fine structure data are irradiated based on at least one second irradiation parameter.

### Claim 8

An apparatus for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a build material, the apparatus comprising:
an energy source,
a control unit connected or connectable to the apparatus, that is adapted to generate or receive an irradiation data,
wherein the irradiation data define at least two regions of object data relating to a three-dimensional object,
wherein the control unit is configured to cause the apparatus to irradiate the at least two regions based on at least two different irradiation parameters,
wherein the control unit assigns at least one first irradiation parameter to an at least one first region of the object data and assigns at least one second irradiation parameter to an at least one second region of the object data based on geometry information of the first region and the second region and/or controls irradiating the at least one first region based on at least one first irradiation parameter and controls irradiating at least one second region based on at least one second irradiation parameter based on a geometry information of the first region and the second region;
wherein the control unit is adapted to generate intermediate object data based on an original object data relating to a geometry of the three-dimensional object, wherein the control unit is adapted to decrease at least one part of a contour of the three-dimensional object that is defined by the original object data of the three-dimensional object by a threshold value and remove structures of the three-dimensional object that are defined by the original object data comprising a corresponding dimension below the threshold value and increase the at least one part of the contour to an initial value.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the geometry information comprises at least one dimension of a corresponding region.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit defines or receives a threshold value, wherein the control unit assigns at least one first irradiation parameter or at least one second irradiation parameter to a corresponding region dependent on a comparison between the threshold value and the geometry information of the corresponding region.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control unit assigns at least one first irradiation parameter to a region comprising a geometry information that exceeds or matches the threshold value assigns at least one second irradiation parameter to a region with a geometry information that falls below the threshold value or vice versa.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit assigns at least one first irradiation parameter to the at least one first and/or at least one second regions present in the intermediate object data and assigns at least one second irradiation parameter to the at least one first and/or at least one second regions present in the original object data and absent in the intermediate object data.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit generates fine structure data by performing a comparison and/or a logical operation between the original object data and the intermediate object data, wherein the control unit assigns at least one first irradiation parameter to the at least one first and/or at least one second regions present in the intermediate object data and assigns at least one second irradiation parameter to the at least one first and/or at least one second regions present in the fine structure data.