Methods and apparatus for 2-D and 3-D scanning path visualization

A method comprising:

• determining at least one of a first laser beam parameter setting or a first electron beam parameter setting;
• identifying melt pool dimensions using the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting, the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting varied to obtain multiple melt pool dimensions, the multiple melt pool dimensions including variable melt pool width or variable melt pool depth;
• identifying at least one response surface model based on the multiple melt pool dimensions to determine an effect of the variations in the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting on the melt pool dimensions;
• outputting a three-dimensional model of a scanning path for an additive manufacturing process using the at least one response surface model, the at least one response surface model including a first transfer function to determine a melt pool depth and a second transfer function to determine a melt pool width;
• and
• adjusting the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting based on the three-dimensional model to identify a second laser beam parameter setting or a second electron beam parameter setting, the at least one of the second laser beam parameter setting or the second electron beam parameter setting used to at least one of increase fusion, decrease fusion, or decrease burn back of a build using the additive manufacturing process to improve three-dimensional build quality.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

• determine at least one of a first laser beam parameter setting or a first electron beam parameter setting;
• identify melt pool dimensions using the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting, the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting varied to obtain multiple melt pool dimensions, the multiple melt pool dimensions including variable melt pool width or variable melt pool depth;
• identify at least one response surface model based on the multiple melt pool dimensions to determine an effect of the variation in the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting on the melt pool dimensions;
• output a three-dimensional model of a scanning path for an additive manufacturing process using the at least one response surface model, the at least one response surface model including a first transfer function to determine a melt pool depth and a second transfer function to determine a melt pool width;
• and
• adjust the at least one of the first laser beam parameter setting or the first electron beam parameter setting based on the three-dimensional model to identify a second laser beam parameter setting or a second electron beam parameter setting, the at least one of the second laser beam parameter setting or the second electron beam parameter setting used to at least one of increase fusion, decrease fusion, or decrease burn back of a build using the additive manufacturing process to improve three-dimensional build quality.