Method of additive manufacturing
AssigneeBAE SYSTEMS plc
InventorsPeter Neil Stewart, Howard James Price
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of additive manufacturing an article from a feed material in a chamber includes evacuating at least some of a first gas from the chamber, thereby reducing a pressure therein from a first pressure to a second pressure and reducing the first gas from a first concentration to a second concentration. At least some of the first gas is then gettered from the chamber using a getter, thereby lowering the first gas concentration to a third concentration. The article is then additive manufactured from the feed material in the chamber using the getter as a substrate. The gettering comprises heating the getter at least in part using a fusion source, and the additive manufacturing comprises heating the feed material at least in part using the fusion source.
Claims9
A method of additive manufacturing of an article from a feed material in a chamber, the method comprising:
- A) evacuating at least some of a first gas from the chamber, said evacuating comprising reducing a pressure therein from a first pressure to a second pressure, wherein the first gas has a first concentration at the first pressure and a second concentration at the second pressure;
- B) gettering at least some of the first gas from the evacuated chamber using a getter located in the evacuated chamber, thereby lowering the concentration of the first gas from the second concentration to a third concentration;
- and
- C) additive manufacturing the article from the feed material in the gettered chamber;
- wherein:
- step B) comprises heating the getter using, at least in part, a fusion source;
- step C comprises heating the feed material using, at least in part, the fusion source;
- and
- in step C) the article is additive manufactured using the getter as a substrate comprising a baseplate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.