# US 11,897,030 B2 · Method and system for improved temperature control for additive manufacturing > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,897,030 B2 - Document ID: US11897030B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/341,488 - Filed: 2021-06-08 - Published: 2022-01-13 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2020-07-08 - Assignees: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Applicants: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Inventors: Liang He; Ranajit Ghosh; Mark Kurt Weise - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897030B2 ## CPC - B22F 10/25: Direct deposition of metal particles, e.g. direct metal deposition [DMD] or laser engineered net shaping [LENS] - B22F 10/34: of powder characteristics, e.g. density, oxidation or flowability - B22F 10/20: Direct sintering or melting - B22F 10/30: Process control - B22F 10/85: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes - B22F 12/20: Cooling means - B22F 12/41: characterised by the type, e.g. laser or electron beam - B22F 12/70: Gas flow means - B22F 12/90: Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors - B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing - B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor - B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes - B22F 2203/11: temperature, temperature profile - B22F 2999/00: Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy - Y02P 10/25: Process efficiency - 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 - 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 A method and system for providing cooling to a part formed using high-temperature additive manufacturing process. Infrared sensors or cameras are used to measure sidewall temperatures and, optionally, top layer temperature. Coolant nozzles provide cooling to the sidewalls of the finished layers and, optionally, to the top layer. The coolant intensity of the coolant nozzles is controlled in order to reduce temperature gradients between layers and/or to maintain temperatures in each layer below preferred maximum temperature. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: a. forming a metal part comprising a plurality of layers using a direct energy deposition additive manufacturing process, the plurality of layers comprising a top layer and a plurality of finished layers that collectively form left and right sidewalls; b. providing a plurality of coolant nozzles in fluid flow communication with a cryogenic fluid, the plurality of coolant nozzles comprising a plurality of sidewall coolant nozzles that are capable of providing cooling to at least a portion of at least one of the left and right sidewalls; c. measuring a plurality of sidewall temperatures, each of the plurality of sidewall temperatures corresponding to a different one of the plurality of layers; and d. controlling a cooling intensity of each of the plurality of coolant nozzles in order to maintain a temperature gradient between each of the plurality of sidewall temperatures measured in step (c) below a first predetermined maximum temperature gradient and below a first predetermined maximum temperature, wherein the temperature gradient is the difference between the sidewall temperatures of two adjacent layers of the plurality of layers. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises forming the metal part comprising the plurality of layers using a wire-arc additive manufacturing process. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises forming the metal part comprising the plurality of layers using a blown powder additive manufacturing process. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of layers has a height of at least 1 mm. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of coolant nozzles comprises at least one top nozzle that is adapted to provide cooling to the top layer and a plurality of sidewall nozzles that are adapted to cool at least one of the plurality of finished layers. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the cryogenic fluid in fluid flow communication with the plurality of sidewall nozzles has a different composition from the cryogenic fluid in fluid flow communication with the at least one top nozzle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sidewall temperatures measured in step (c) are measured using a plurality of infrared sensors. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of any of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sidewall temperatures measured in step (c) are measured using at least one infrared camera. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of sidewall temperatures are obtained by reading a plurality of temperatures at different layers from a temperature field captured by each of the at least one infrared camera. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method claim 1, further comprising: g. measuring a plurality of top layer temperatures; and h. controlling the cooling intensity of each of the plurality of coolant nozzles in order to maintain a temperature gradient between each of the plurality of top layer temperatures measured in step (g) below a second predetermined maximum temperature gradient and a second predetermined maximum temperature. ### Claim 11 A method comprising: a. forming a metal part comprising a plurality of layers using a direct energy deposition additive manufacturing process, the plurality of layers comprising a top layer and a plurality of finished layers that collectively form left and right sidewalls; b. providing at least one coolant nozzle in fluid flow communication with a cryogenic fluid, a first nozzle of the at least one coolant nozzle being positioned to provide cooling to one of the left and right sidewalls; c. measuring a temperature difference between a first pair of adjacent layers of the plurality of layers; and d. controlling a cooling intensity of the least one coolant nozzle in order to maintain the temperature difference between the first pair of adjacent layers below a first predetermined maximum. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: e. measuring a temperature difference between a second pair of adjacent layers of the plurality of layers; and f. controlling the cooling intensity of the least one coolant nozzle in order to maintain the temperature difference between the second pair of adjacent layers below a second predetermined maximum.