Apparatus for additive layer manufacturing of an article
AssigneeMaterials Solutions
InventorGordon R Green
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus is for additive layer manufacturing of an article from a material which can be rendered solid locally by application of a focused beam of laser radiation at a planar focal plane. The apparatus includes at least two laser beams, respective scanners for each laser beam for scanning the respective laser beams over a planar field, and a support movable stepwise to allow successive manufacturing layer cycles and for supporting material within the field. The entire planar field is common to each scanner and at least one scanner is tilted with respect to the planar field, and the at least one scanner is provided with a lens arranged to generate a focal plane tilted with respect to that scanner.
Claims19
Apparatus for additive layer manufacturing of an article from a material rendered solid when impinged by a focussed beam of laser radiation, including:
- (a) a source of at least two laser beams;
- (b) scanners having optical axes about which laser beams are scanned, respectively,
- at least one of the scanners being tilted with respect to a planar field such that the optical axis of the at least one scanner subtends an acute angle with the planar field, and
- the scanners being oriented relative to one another such that the laser beams are each moved by the scanners, respectively, across the planar field whereby the planar field is common to the scanners, and
- (c) a support dedicated to support the material within the planar field and movable step wise to allow successive manufacturing layer cycles;
- and
- (d) a respective lens operatively associated with each said at least one scanner and by which the focal plane of laser light transmitted from the at least one scanner towards the planar field is tilted with respect to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of that scanner.
Apparatus for additive layer manufacturing of an article from a material rendered solid locally by application of a focussed beam of laser radiation at a top surface of a powder bed comprising the material, the apparatus including:
- a source of at least two laser beams;
- scanners over the planar powder bed and operable to scan the laser beams, respectively, across the top surface of the powder bed;
- a support dedicated to support the powder bed and movable step-wise to allow for successive manufacturing layer cycles to be executed in manufacturing at least one article from the powder bed,
- wherein at least one of the scanners is tilted off-axis relative to a normal axis perpendicular to the top surface of the powder bed such that the at least one scanner outputs beams which propagate along axes that are non-parallel to said normal axis;
- and
- controllable optics comprising a lens associated with the at least one scanner and configured to provide a compensated focal plane substantially parallel to the top surface of the powder bed and which compensated focal plane subtends acute angles with the axes, respectively, along which the beams output by the at least one scanner propagate.
Additive layer manufacturing apparatus including:
- an elevator having a horizontal support surface;
- and
- a system of optics comprising:
- a source of at least two laser beams, and
- first and second scanners disposed above the support surface of the elevator, the scanners being optically coupled to the source of the at least two laser beams so as to receive the laser beams, respectively, from the source, each of the scanners having a central optical axis, and the scanners being oriented relative to one another such that a respective horizontal field across which laser beams output by one of the scanners is scanned overlaps a respective horizontal field over which laser beams output by another of the scanners is scanned, whereby the scanners have a common planar exposure field, and
- wherein one of the scanners is tilted relative to the vertical such that the central optical axis thereof is inclined and a scanning direction in which the laser beam received by the scanner is moved is non-parallel to the horizontal fields, and
- the system of optics is configured to have focal planes for light output from each of the scanners substantially parallel to the horizontal fields and disposed above the support surface when the elevator is in a position at which a cycle of an additive layer manufacturing process is being carried out by the apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.