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AssigneeVulcanForms Inc.
InventorsJoseph D. Sandt, Richard A. Wessel, JR., Stephen Elliot Wei, Piotr Liebersbach, Jason Shay Chalfant, Jeffrey M. LeBlanc
Estimating the term…
An additive manufacturing system has an optics assembly to direct laser energy toward a build surface to fuse a portion of a precursor material on the build surface. An optics shield of the additive manufacturing system has a debris shield including an optical window. The optical window permits laser energy to pass through the debris shield and prevents fusion products released during fusion of the precursor material from contacting a portion of the optics assembly. The optics shield has a gas flow passage between the optical window and the build surface. The gas flow passage directs a flow of gas away from the optical window to resist movement of the fusion products through the gas flow passage toward the debris shield.
An optics shield for use in an additive manufacturing system having an optics assembly configured to direct laser energy toward a build surface to fuse a portion of a precursor material on the build surface, the optics shield comprising:
A method of resisting contact with a portion of an optics assembly of an additive manufacturing system by fusion products released during fusion of a precursor material on a build surface in an additive manufacturing process, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.