Patent Application
20230173609
The present invention relates to a method for displacing a continuous energy beam along an irradiation path formed by a sequence of beam positions. Further, the invention relates to an apparatus for additive manufacturing of component parts from a powder material.
Laser-based additive manufacturing of in particular metal or ceramic component parts is based on solidifying a starting material present in powdered form by irradiating it with laser light. During the additive manufacture of component parts from a powder material, an energy beam such as a laser beam is typically displaced to predetermined irradiation positions within a work region - in particular along a predetermined irradiation path - in order to locally solidify powder material arranged in the work region. In particular, this is repeated layer-by-layer in powder material layers successively arranged in the work region in order to ultimately obtain a three-dimensional component part made of solidified powder material.
Additive manufacturing methods are also known as powder bed-based methods for producing component parts in a powder bed, selective laser melting, selective laser sintering, laser metal fusion (LMF), direct metal laser melting (DMLM), laser net shaping manufacturing (LNSM), and laser engineered net shaping (LENS). Accordingly, the manufacturing devices disclosed herein are configured in particular to carry out at least one of the aforementioned additive manufacturing methods.
The concepts disclosed herein can be used, inter alia, in machines for (metallic) 3-D printing. An exemplary machine for producing three-dimensional products is disclosed in EP 2 732 890 A1. The advantages of additive manufacturing are generally the simple production of complex and individually creatable component parts. In particular defined internal structures and/or structures with an optimized flow of forces can be implemented here.
Parameters such as intensity/energy, beam diameter, scanning speed, dwell time at one location on part of the energy beam and parameters such as grain size distribution and chemical composition on part of the powder material type are included in the interaction of the energy beam with the powder material. Further, thermal parameters which inter alia arise from the interaction zone surroundings are incorporated in the energy input. Thus, already solidified regions of already produced layers of the component part and already solidified regions of the same layer adjacent to the interaction zone dissipate the introduced heat better than powder material that has not (or not yet) fused and that may be situated below a structure of the component part or in the same layer. Should molten powder material overheat, droplets may detach/splash from the melt, as a result of which these may generally impair the product quality and the production process.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method for displacing a continuous energy beam along an irradiation path formed by a sequence of beam positions and provided to solidify a powder material in a powder layer within a work region of a manufacturing device. The method includes the steps of radiating the continuous energy beam onto the powder material in order to form a layer of a component part within the scope of an additive manufacturing method, and displacing the energy beam within the work region by overlaying an optical deflection of the energy beam using a deflection device and a mechanical deflection of the energy beam using a scanner device. The mechanical deflection is configured to position the energy beam at a plurality of irradiation positions arranged within the work region and substantially spanning the work region, and the optical deflection is configured to deflect the energy beam around each of the irradiation positions within a beam region onto at least one beam position of the sequence of beam positions. The optical deflection and the mechanical deflection are changed simultaneously or successively in order to scan the sequence of beam positions using the energy beam.
Subject matter of the present disclosure will be described in even greater detail below based on the exemplary figures. All features described and/or illustrated herein can be used alone or combined in different combinations. The features and advantages of various embodiments will become apparent by reading the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate the following:
One aspect of this disclosure is based on enabling irradiation concepts and, in particular, irradiation paths which go beyond the limitations of a conventional scanner device. In particular, overheating of the molten powder should be prevented independently of the course of the irradiation path, with the intention being that this is ensured, where possible, even when high energies are introduced. Further, a problem consists of specifying methods for flexibly adjustable displacement of a continuous energy beam along an irradiation path and an apparatus for additive manufacturing of component parts from a powder material for the implementation of such methods.
One aspect relates to a method for displacing a continuous energy beam along an irradiation path formed by a sequence of beam positions and provided to solidify a powder material in a powder layer within a work region of a manufacturing device. The method comprises the following steps:
The optical deflection and the mechanical deflection are changed simultaneously or successively in order to scan the sequence of beam positions by means of the energy beam.
In a further aspect, a manufacturing device for additive manufacturing of a component part from a powder material provided in a work region comprises:
In some developments of the method, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that changing the optical deflection and changing the mechanical deflection are implemented simultaneously in such a way that the sequence of beam positions is scanned with a specified speed or in a target speed range about the specified speed. In particular, a scanning speed of the mechanical deflection, which may optionally be limited in terms of adjustability by an inertial parameter of a moving component of the scanner device (e.g., a deflection mirror of a galvanometer scanner), may be taken into account when changing the optical deflection and when changing the mechanical deflection.
In some developments of the method, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that a change in the optical deflection of the energy beam at least partially compensates a change in the mechanical deflection of the energy beam in a direction transversely to the irradiation path such that the irradiation path deviates from a sequence of irradiation positions set by means of the scanner device. Optionally, the optical deflection of the energy beam can have a component in the direction of the irradiation path such that, in particular, a speed with which the sequence of beam positions is scanned in a segment of the irradiation path is constant or remains within a target speed range about a specified speed.
In some developments of the method, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that a change in the optical deflection of the energy beam and the change in the mechanical deflection of the energy beam at least partially compensate one another in at least a first direction. In addition or as an alternative, a change in the optical deflection of the energy beam and a change in the mechanical deflection of the energy beam can add in at least one second direction.
In some developments of the method, the irradiation path may comprise a curvature segment. Accordingly, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that the energy beam is displaced continuously along the curvature segment. In particular, the change in the mechanical deflection can be implemented continuously, optionally with a varying scanning speed. In addition or as an alternative, the mechanical deflection can bring about a sequence of irradiation positions which is set by means of the scanner device and arranged on a curved scanning path, wherein a curvature of the scanning path is less than a curvature of the curvature segment.
In some developments of the method, the displacement of the energy beam along the irradiation path can be split by way of a frequency splitter between the deflection of the scanner device and the deflection of the deflection device. Such frequency splitters for splitting displacements among deflections of a sluggish and dynamic axis are known from WO 93/01021 A1, for example, which discloses a movement split by means of a high-pass and low-pass filter, and from DE 103 55 614 A1, which discloses a control device for splitting a movement using a low-pass filter. By way of example, this is advantageous in that the split of the irradiation path can be implemented during the method and hence is independent of an earlier plan of the split.
In some developments of the method, the irradiation path may comprise two, in particular linear irradiation path segments that together form an irradiation path corner. Accordingly, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that the energy beam is displaced continuously along each of the irradiation path segments. In particular, the energy beam can be displaced in the direction of the irradiation path corner along at least one of the two irradiation path segments. In addition or as an alternative, the change in the mechanical deflection can be implemented continuously, optionally with a varying scanning speed. Further additionally or in a further alternative, the mechanical deflection can bring about a sequence of irradiation positions set by means of the scanner device, which are arranged on a curved scanning path.
In some developments of the method, the irradiation path may comprise two, in particular linear irradiation path segments that together form an irradiation path corner, the irradiation path segments each comprising a subsequence of beam positions. Accordingly, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that the energy beam is alternately displaced to at least one beam position of the subsequence of a first of the irradiation path segments and to at least one beam position of the subsequence of a second of the irradiation path segments. In particular, changing the mechanical deflection can be implemented continuously, optionally with a varying scanning speed, and/or the mechanical deflection can bring about a sequence of irradiation positions set by means of the scanner device, which are arranged on a curved scanning path. Alternatively or in addition, the displacement between the subsequences by way of the optical deflection can be implemented abruptly.
In some developments of the method, the scanner device can traverse a sequence of irradiation positions with an unchanging, optionally with a varying scanning speed.
In some developments of the method, the irradiation path can comprise a subsequence of beam positions whose positions are located within an associated beam region of the deflection device in the case of a mechanical deflection that has been fixed at an irradiation position within the work region. Accordingly, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that the subsequence is scanned by changing only the optical deflection during a fixed mechanical deflection.
In some developments of the method, the subsequence of beam positions can form a line-up of parallel, in particular linear scanning vectors and a length of each of the scanning vectors can be less than or equal to an extent of the beam region of the deflection device in the direction of the respective scanning vector.
In some developments of the method, the irradiation path may comprise a plurality of subsequences of beam positions, the positions of which are located within a beam region of the deflection device in the case of a mechanical deflection that has been fixed within the work region at a respective irradiation position belonging to a subsequence. Accordingly, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that
In some developments of the method, the irradiation path may further comprise a subsequence of beam positions which are adopted by a change in the mechanical deflection in the case of a fixed or varying optical deflection.
In some developments of the method, the deflection device and the scanner device can be controlled such that a speed at which a sequence of spatially adjacent beam positions is scanned is independent of whether one of the beam positions of the sequence of spatially adjacent beam positions is adopted by changing the optical deflection and/or by changing the mechanical deflection.
In some developments of the method, the deflection device may comprise an optical material, more particularly a transparent material, such as a crystal in a passage region provided for the energy beam, said material having optical properties which can be adjusted to bring about the optical deflection.
In some developments, the method can further comprise:
In some developments, the deflection device may be controlled in such a way that at least one beam position is skipped when scanning the sequence of beam positions, with the skipped beam position being scanned at a subsequent time.
In some developments, the method can further comprise:
In some developments of the manufacturing device, the deflection device can be configured to abruptly displace the energy beam to a plurality of discrete beam positions.
In some developments of the manufacturing device, the control device can comprise a frequency splitter for splitting the displacement of the energy beam along an irradiation path into a deflection of the scanner device and a deflection of the deflection device. As already mentioned previously, such frequency splitters are known from the prior art. This is advantageous in that the actual split can be implemented by way of the manufacturing device, and so prior planning, for example within a build processor, is not required, as a result of which, inter alia, relatively long calculation times for the generation of control files by way of the build processor are avoided and the control files are smaller.
In some developments of the manufacturing device, the control device may be configured to control the scanner device and the deflection device in accordance with the methods disclosed herein. The scanner device can comprise at least one scanner, in particular a galvanometer scanner, a piezo-scanner, a polygon scanner, a MEMS scanner, and/or a work head that is displaceable relative to the work region.
In some developments of the manufacturing device, the deflection device may comprise at least one electro-optic deflector and/or acousto-optic deflector, preferably two electro-optic or acousto-optic deflectors oriented in non-parallel fashion, in particular perpendicular to one another. The deflection device may comprise at least one acoustic-optic deflector with an optical material, such as a crystal, and an exciter for producing acoustic waves in the optical material.
In some developments of the manufacturing device, the beam producing device may be in the form of a continuous wave laser.
Herein, an optical deflection is understood to mean a deflection optically induced by means of a deflection device. An example of an optical deflection is a variation of an optical parameter of an optical medium in the beam path, which brings about a change in the beam path. The optical deflection differs from a mechanical deflection, which is understood to be a deflection mechanically induced by means of a scanner device. An example of a mechanical deflection is a mechanically controlled reflective deflection of a laser beam.
Concepts which allow aspects from the prior art to be at least partially improved are disclosed herein. In particular, further features and their expediencies will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:
Aspects described herein are based in part on the discovery that a positioning of the energy beam on a powder bed of an additive manufacturing device may be divided into
Within the scope of additive manufacturing, a deflection about sluggish axes is usually implemented by positioning mirrors in a scanner device and is referred to herein as a mechanical deflection. By way of example, scanner devices are operated with scanning speeds during the process of several hundred millimeters per second, with maximum scanning speeds of the order of m/s (for example, up to 30 m/s). Thus, galvanometer scanners have scanning speeds of, e.g., 1 m/s to 30 m/s.
A deflection about dynamic fast axes can be implemented by influencing optical properties of optical elements/materials in the beam path of the energy beam in the manufacturing device. This is referred to as optical deflection herein. By way of example, this can be brought about by acousto-optic or electro-optic effects in an optical crystal. The optical crystal interacts with the energy beam and influences the beam path very quickly, and so changeover times between beam positions of the order of 1 µs and corresponding changeover speeds depending on the extent of the jump of up to several 1000 m/s (e.g., 10 000 m/s and more) become possible. A deflection angle of the energy beam, for example by means of an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) or an electro-optic deflector (EOD) - as examples of an optical solid-state deflector - can be set by varying the acoustic excitation frequency or an applied voltage within a deflection range about a central value. Maximum scanner accelerations of AODs and EODs can be of the order of 160 000 rad/s2. Depending on the dimensioning of the additive manufacturing device, this yields scanner accelerations of, e.g., 80 000 m/s2 (depending on the respective work distance from the AOD/EOD).
The division within the scope of the deflection of an energy beam proposed herein may enable irradiation concepts which allow the avoidance of disadvantages which may occur, inter alia, in the case of movements with significant changes in direction by means of a purely mechanical deflection; see, inter alia, the exemplary explanations relating to an angular irradiation path in the context of
Further, the inventors have recognized that the dynamic (fast) axis can further be used to abruptly displace the position of the energy beam. By way of example, within the scope of the manufacture of tapering structures, this allows segments of the irradiation path to always be scanned in the direction of the taper; see, inter alia, the exemplary explanations relating to an angular irradiation path in the context of
Further, the inventors have recognized that the option of an instantaneous abrupt optical deflection may generally allow the use of an energy input by way of the energy beam (e.g., a power value of a laser beam) which is above a limit value as usually given for a powder material type (determined, inter alia, by a grain size distribution and a chemical composition of the powder material) in the case of continuous scanning with a beam diameter in the case of a given scanning speed and component part geometry to be produced.
To this end, a “spatially local” exposure in a type of pulsed operation can be undertaken by way of the dynamic (fast) axis provided by the optical deflection. In this way, it is possible to expose, in particular, delicate component parts and sections with a poor heat dissipation (for example, in the region of protrusions or pointed structures) by way of the “spatially locally pulsed” energy beam, as a result of which it is possible to obtain a better component part quality. Such “spatially locally pulsed” irradiation using a continuous energy beam (e.g., a cw laser beam) can increase the productivity of the additive manufacturing process, especially in comparison with manufacturing using a pulsed laser beam.
Using “spatially locally pulsed” irradiation, it is possible for example to process two or more sections to be processed in pulsed fashion, which sections are located within the (small) range of movement of the optical deflection (e.g., up to a few millimeters or even centimeters in the case of an acousto-optic deflector, depending on the position of same in the beam path). By way of example, a point can be exposed in a first section; then, it is possible to carry out a jump to a second (different) section and a point can be exposed there; subsequently, following a jump back to the (original) first section, a further point, which is adjacent to or spaced apart from the first point, can be exposed. Expressed differently, spatially non-adjacent beam positions of an irradiation path are adopted successively in time.
In this respect, see, inter alia, the exemplary explanations regarding the jumping along an irradiation path (explained in the context of
Further, the mechanically scanned region can be broadened when the optical deflection is used. To this end, the optical deflection can be implemented laterally in relation to a main scanning direction of the energy beam on the powder bed, the main scanning direction being provided by the mechanical deflection. Optionally, the lateral deflection can also consider thermal aspects of overheating in this case, as explained in the context of
Finally, the concepts disclosed herein can be used during additive manufacturing of a delicate structure of a component part, for example of the order of the size of the beam region provided by the optical deflection. In this case, the mechanical deflection, optionally complemented with the optical deflection, can be used for coarser, larger structures, especially extensive structures. In some embodiments, delicate structures, in particular contained structure sections, can be produced purely by controlling the deflection device and producing a local beam profile - formed by means of a virtually simultaneous illumination of a plurality of beam positions in the beam region of the optical deflection - at a fixed irradiation position without the scanner device being controlled, in particular by virtue of a beam profile in the form of the structure section to be formed being produced by suitably controlling the deflection device. Scanning delicate structures by way of an energy beam is explained in the context of
For the implementation of the concepts mentioned above and explained below in exemplary fashion in the context of the figures, an optical deflector can be installed in the beam path of the energy beam in addition to a conventional scanner device. A beam deflection by way of the optical deflector can be integrated in the machine controller of the manufacturing device as a further parameter for additive manufacturing. Using such a combination of a mechanical deflection (e.g., galvanometer scanner) for a positioning/shift/displacement of the energy beam over long paths and an optical deflection (e.g., acousto-optic deflector) for very fast positioning without loss of time within a locally restricted region (beam region of the optical deflection), it is possible to realize a flexible control of the spatial and temporal energy input between a plurality of interaction zones without loss of time. Especially for a continuous energy beam/cw laser beam, the switching of beam positions by way of an optical deflection device (AOD/EOD) allows a higher energy of the energy beam/power of the cw laser beam to be introduced into the powder material.
The manufacturing device 1 is preferably configured for selective laser sintering and/or for selective laser melting within the scope of additive manufacturing of component parts. The already partially manufactured component part 4 is indicated in
The manufacturing device 1 provides a work area comprising the work region 9 and optionally a powder storage region, usually in a sealed housing (not shown). For a (layer-by-layer) construction of the component part 4 by means of the energy beam 5, the powder material 2 is applied sequentially/layer-by-layer within the work region 9. To locally solidify the powder material 2, the powder material 2 is locally impinged by the energy beam 5 within the work region 9 in order to produce the component part 4 layer-by-layer. In particular, a layer of the component part 4 is formed by virtue of the (continuous) energy beam 5 being displaced along an irradiation path 101 formed by a sequence of beam positions 17. The irradiation path 101 is designed such that, within the work region 9 of the manufacturing device 1, the powder material 2 of a powder layer is solidified in accordance with the geometry of the component part 4.
The location of a beam position 17 where the energy beam 5 strikes the work region 9 arises from the undertaken adjustments of the mechanical deflection and optical deflection. An irradiation position 11, from which the optical deflection can be considered, can be assigned to the mechanical deflection. Usually, the irradiation positions 11 (substantially) span the work region 9. Proceeding from a given irradiation position 11, the resultant possible beam positions 17 span the beam region 15. That is to say, the energy beam 5 can be displaced within a corresponding beam region 15 about each of the irradiation positions 11, wherein irradiation positions 11 usually can be set within the entire work region 9 as starting points for corresponding beam regions 15. The beam region 15 has a two-dimensional extent that is greater than a cross section of the energy beam 5 projected onto the work region 9. The beam region 15 is very much smaller than the work region 9. In particular, the beam region 15 preferably has a length scale of the order of a few millimeters (i.e., less than ten millimeters) to a few centimeters, and preferably a two-dimensional extent of the order of a few square millimeters to a few square centimeters. By contrast the work region 9 may have a length scale of the order of a few decimeters to a few meters, and preferably have a two-dimensional extent of the order of a few square decimeters to a few square meters.
Expressed differently, an irradiation position 11 is understood to mean, in particular, a location within the work region 9 at which energy can be deposited locally into the work region 9, in particular into the powder material 2 arranged there, by means of the energy beam 5. The energy input determines the respective interaction zone and hence a melt region of the powder material 2. The scanner device 7 is configured - assuming there is no superposition of an optical deflection - to displace the energy beam 5 along a “mechanical” scanning path 103 within the work region 9, the mechanical scanning path 103 consisting of a temporal sequence of irradiation positions 11 successively swept over by the energy beam 5. In this case, the individual irradiation positions 11 may be arranged spaced apart from one another, or may otherwise overlap with one another and merge into one another.
If an optical deflection is overlaid on the mechanical deflection, this yields the irradiation path 101 formed by the sequence of beam positions 17 set by the scanner device 7 and the optical deflection device 13. The resultant irradiation path 101 may be a path that is continuously scanned by the energy beam 5. Further, the resultant irradiation path 101 may have path segments that each comprise at least one beam position 17. Scanning the path segments with the energy beam 5 may comprise jumps between spatially spaced apart path segments, with the jumps being controlled by the optical deflection device 13.
The beam producing device 3 - for example in the form of a continuous wave (cw) laser - supplies the energy beam 5 for fusing the powder. In general, an energy beam is understood to mean directed radiation that is able to transport energy. In general, this may be particle radiation or wave radiation. In particular, the energy beam propagates through physical space along a propagation direction and transports energy along its propagation direction in the process. In particular, local deposition of energy into the powder material 2 within the work region 9 is possible by means of the energy beam.
Herein, the energy beam 5 is generally an optical work beam that is consequently deflectable by means of the optical deflection device 13. In particular, an optical work beam is understood to mean directed, either continuous or pulsed, electromagnetic radiation which, in terms of its wavelength or a wavelength range, is suitable for additive manufacturing of the component part 4 from the powder material 2, more particularly for sintering or melting the powder material 2. In particular, an optical work beam is understood to mean a laser beam which - preferably continuously - is radiated onto the work region 9. The optical work beam preferably has a wavelength or a wavelength range within the visible electromagnetic spectrum or within the infrared electromagnetic spectrum or within the overlap range between the infrared range and the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
In summary, a beam guiding system of the manufacturing device 1 for guiding the energy beam 5 to the powder bed consequently comprises the scanner device 7 for a mechanically induced deflection of the energy beam 5. In the scanner device 7, a deflection of the energy beam 5 (e.g., the laser beam in this case) can be brought about for example by way of a rotation of mirrors (for example, by means of a galvanometer scanner). The mechanical deflection can be used to scan an irradiation path 101 for exposing a powder layer, either on its own (scanning path 103) or in combination with an optical deflection.
The scanner device 7 preferably comprises at least one scanner, in particular a galvanometer scanner, a piezo-scanner, a polygon scanner, a MEMS scanner and/or a work head or processing head that is displaceable relative to the work region. Such scanner devices are known and especially suitable for displacing the energy beam 5 between a plurality of irradiation positions 11 within the work region 9.
On account of the inertia of an optical element to be moved mechanically (e.g., a deflection mirror), a spatial distribution of the energy input controlled only by means of mechanical deflection is sluggish. As a result, irradiation paths intended to be scanned purely by mechanical deflection, for example the scanning path 103, may expose the additive manufacturing process to the risk of local overheating of the powder melt. Attention is drawn to the fact that local overheating in the case of a purely mechanical deflection is avoidable by non-productive times (delays introduced into the irradiation process) but accompanied by a loss of productivity. The concepts proposed herein are able to prevent or at least reduce this loss of productivity.
According to the invention, the beam guiding system of the manufacturing device 1 for guiding the energy beam 5 to the powder bed further comprises the deflection device 13 for an optically induced deflection. The deflection device 13 is configured to displace the energy beam 5 within the beam region 15 - if a fixed irradiation position 11 is assumed - and thus to be able to impinge a certain region - the beam region 15 - within the work region 9 with the energy beam at the fixed irradiation position 11. The beam region 15 is larger than the cross section of the energy beam 5 projected onto the work region 9.
Since the scanner device 7 is configured to displace the energy beam between irradiation positions 11, it allows the deflection device 13 to sweep over a new beam region 15 around a different irradiation position, that is to say at a different location within the work region 9, with the energy beam 5. The deflection device 13 therefore serves a local deflection of the energy beam 5 proceeding from an irradiation position 11 while the scanner device 7 serves the global displacement of the energy beam 5 within the work region 9.
In particular, the deflection device 13 is configured to abruptly displace the energy beam 5 to the plurality of beam positions 17 within the beam region 15, wherein the beam positions 17 may be discrete beam positions. In particular, it is possible that successively processed beam positions 17 are arranged spaced apart from one another. However, it is also possible that successively processed beam positions 17 overlap one another at least regionally and merge into one another. In some embodiments, the energy beam 5 is not displaced continuously from beam position to beam position by the deflection device 13, but is displaced in discrete steps instead. Without loss of generality and without wanting to be tied to theory, the assumption can be made for all practical application purposes that the energy beam 5 virtually disappears at a first beam position and arises at a second beam position without in particular sweeping over intermediate regions in the case of an abrupt or discrete displacement from the first beam position to the second beam position. In this respect, see the explanations in relation to
Examples and explanations regarding optical deflectors for an optically induced deflection of a laser beam are disclosed inter alia in “Electro-optic and acousto-optic laser beam scanners”; Römer G.R.B.E. et al., Physics Procedia 56 (2014) 29 - 39.
Optical deflectors comprise acousto-optic deflectors (AOD), which are based on the generation of a periodic change in the refractive index during the propagation of acoustic waves in an optically transparent material of the AOD (usually an optically transparent crystal). An optical deflection using a schematically depicted AOD 111 and a change in the acoustic excitation are elucidated in
In the arrangement of
If the wavelength of the exciting acoustic wave is varied continuously or discretely, there is a change in the angle of the first order of diffraction, and hence in the position of the laser beam 119A. Varying the wavelength of the excited acoustic wave enables a controllable deflection of the diffracted beam; i.e., a sought-after target position of the energy input can be adjusted on the powder bed.
Expressed differently, changing the acoustic wavelength leads to a replacement of the first acoustic wave with a second acoustic wave in the AOD. Sound speeds in solid bodies are of the order of, e.g., 1000 m/s or a few 1000 m/s (dependent inter alia on the hardness of the crystal). Should a first acoustic wave (with a first wavelength) in for example a crystal of the AOD be completely replaced by a second acoustic wave (with a second wavelength), the first acoustic wave must first completely propagate out of the crystal so that it can be replaced (as simultaneously as possible) by the second acoustic wave. Assuming an energy beam with a diameter of approximately 1 cm acts on the crystal, the acoustic wave passes through this distance in a few microseconds, for example approximately 3 µs. After this time there is the interaction with the second acoustic wave. In general, this time becomes longer the larger and softer the crystal is and shorter the smaller and harder the material of the AOD is. During the change from the first acoustic wave to the second acoustic wave, energy (the laser beam) can temporarily be diffracted into the corresponding first orders at both arising grating-like structures. In general, a switchover between acoustic waves, and hence a deflection of the energy beam to different locations (i.e., a switchover of the deflection from a first to a second angle) can be implemented in the megahertz timescale range.
In
If, as shown in
The advantage of the beam displacement using an AOD is evident from the intensity distribution I(x) 121A to 121C; in the example, the beam displacement realizes the aforementioned case where a region between start position (location x1 in this case) and end position (location x2 in this case) is not exposed to the laser beam since the periodic changes in the refractive index temporally merge into one another substantially without the formation of the diffractive transition behavior. Accordingly, the energy input is restricted to the start position and the end position; this corresponds to an abrupt change in the optical deflection.
Optical deflectors further comprise electro-optic deflectors (EOD), the deflection of which is based upon refraction during the passage through an optically transparent material.
Both AODs and EODs can bring about the deflection of a laser beam referred to as optical deflection herein, which can be adjusted quickly, that is to say virtually in real time in relation to the powder fusing process in additive manufacturing.
Referring to
The control device 19 is configured to implement the movement of the point of incidence of the energy beam 5 on the powder bed in accordance with a specified irradiation strategy. The control device 19 is preferably selected from a group consisting of a computer, more particularly a personal computer (PC), a plug-in card or control card, and an FPGA board. In a preferred configuration, the control device 19 is an RTC6 control card by SCANLAB GmbH, in particular in the current configuration obtainable at the priority date of the present property right.
The control device 19 is preferably configured to synchronize the scanner device 7 with the deflection device 13 by means of a digital RF synthesizer. In this case, the RF synthesizer can be controlled by way of a programmable FPGA board of the control device 19. Additionally, there preferably is a division into the comparatively slow movement of the scanner device 7 and the fast movement of the deflection device 13 by means of a frequency splitter. Preferably, position values and default values for the movement of the point of incidence are calculated, and these can then be converted in the FPGA board into temporally synchronous frequency specifications for the RF synthesizer. To this end, it is possible to implement a spatial assignment of the optical deflection to irradiation positions 11 in the respective powder material layer. The latter can preferably already be carried out in a build processor when creating the irradiation strategy. The build processor can write the corresponding data into a control file, for example, which can preferably be read and implemented by the control device 19.
In particular, the scanner device 7/the mechanical deflection on the one hand and the deflection device 13/the optical deflection on the other hand allow a separation of the time and length scales relevant to the production of the arising component part 4. While the scanner device 7 is configured to displace the energy beam virtually globally along the plurality of irradiation positions 11, in particular along a predetermined scanning path 103, over the entire work region 9 at a longer timescale in comparison with the deflection device 13, the deflection device 13 is configured to displace the energy beam virtually locally to the plurality of beam positions 17 within the beam region 15 at an irradiation position 11, which is virtually stationary on account of the timescale separation and which is specified by the scanner device 7, at a shorter timescale relative to the timescale of the scanner device 7.
On account of the timescale separation, in some embodiments there can be, quasi-statically, a local scanning sequence of beam positions 17 in the respective beam region 15 at each irradiation position 11 of the plurality of irradiation positions 11 and/or a certain beam profile may arise as geometric form and as intensity profile of the beam region 15. Expressed differently, the scanner device 7 is able to displace the beam profile generated thus and, in general, the beam region 15, that is to say the beam positions 17 that can be homed in on optically, along the plurality of irradiation positions 11, in particular along the scanning path 103. By changing the control of the deflection device, it is now advantageously possible to change the beam profile of the beam region, that is to say in particular the shape of the beam region and/or the intensity profile in the beam region, virtually as desired, where necessary even from irradiation position to irradiation position. Further, a scanning sequence during the displacement of the beam positions 17 is able to take account of thermal effects. In some embodiments, a plurality of adjacent irradiation positions 11, in particular a respective contiguous section of the scanning path 103, can be swept over with the same beam profile and/or the same scanning sequence. Alternatively, different sections of the scanning path 103 can be swept over with different beam profiles and/or different scanning sequences.
The produced beam profile and/or the scanning sequence can be considered quasi-static in view of the melting process in the powder material 2 in some embodiments, with the timescale for the deflection of the energy beam 5 by the optical deflection device 13 being significantly shorter than the characteristic interaction time between energy beam 5 and powder material 2. Then, averaged over time, the dynamically generated beam profile can interact with the powder material like a statically produced profile. The same applies to the scanning of the dynamically generated scanning sequence.
In particular, an acousto-optic deflector is understood to mean an element with a solid body which is transparent to the energy beam and to which acoustic waves, in particular ultrasonic waves, can be applied, with the energy beam being deflected upon the passage through the transparent solid body, in a manner dependent on the frequency of the acoustic waves applied to the transparent solid body. In the process, an optical grating, in particular, is generated by the acoustic waves within the transparent solid body. Advantageously, such acousto-optic deflectors are able to very quickly deflect the energy beam within an angular range specified by the frequency of the acoustic waves produced within the transparent solid body. In particular, switching speeds of up to 1 MHz can be attained in the process. In particular, the switching times for such an acousto-optic deflector are significantly faster than typical switching times for conventional scanner devices, in particular galvanometer scanners, which are generally used to displace an energy beam within a work region of a manufacturing device of the type under discussion here. Therefore, such an acousto-optic deflector can particularly suitably be used to produce a quasi-static beam profile within the beam region.
Modern acousto-optic deflectors are able to deflect the energy beam into a predetermined angular range of the first order of diffraction with an efficiency of at least 90% (in particular at least 80%), and so they are eminently suitable as a deflection device for the manufacturing device proposed here. Decisive for the high efficiency are, in particular, the employed material that is transparent to the energy beam and a suitably high intensity of the input coupled ultrasonic waves.
Especially if the deflection device 13 has acousto-optic deflectors, the AODs produce, on account of their configuration analogous to an optical grating, a non-diffracted partial beam of zeroth order and a diffracted or deflected partial beam of first order. However, usually it is only the first order partial beam that should be used to irradiate the work region. In the embodiment shown in
In particular, the separation mirror 23 is arranged in the vicinity of an intermediate focus 31 of a telescope 33, in particular not exactly in a plane of the intermediate focus 31, particularly preferably offset along the direction of propagation at a distance of one fifth of the focal length of the telescope 33, in particular upstream of the intermediate focus 31. Advantageously, this prevents the reflective surface 27 from being impinged on by an excessively high power density of the energy beam 5.
The telescope 33 preferably has a first lens 35 and a second lens 37. It is preferably designed as a 1:1 telescope. Preferably, the telescope 33 has a focal length of 500 mm.
The functionality of the telescope 33 is preferably two-fold: Firstly, the telescope 33 enables a particularly advantageous and clean separation of the different orders of the energy beam 5 deflected by the deflection device 13, especially in the case of the arrangement of the separation mirror 23 chosen here; secondly, the telescope 33 preferably images an imaginary, common beam rotation point 39 of the deflection device 13 advantageously onto a pivot point 41 of the scanner device 7. Alternatively, the telescope 33 preferably images the beam rotation point 39 onto a point of smallest aperture.
To facilitate a compact arrangement of the manufacturing device 1, the energy beam 5 is preferably diverted a number of times by diverting mirrors 43.
In summary, within the scope of a method for displacing a continuous energy beam along an irradiation path formed by a sequence of beam positions during the additive manufacture of a component part 4 from a powder material, the energy beam 5 can be displaced preferably within the work region 9 to a plurality of beam positions 17 in order to produce the component part 4 layer-by-layer from the powder material 2 arranged in the work region 9 by means of the energy beam 5. With respect to an irradiation position 11, the energy beam 5 is displaced to a plurality of beam positions 17 within a beam region 15.
In preferred embodiments, a continuous energy beam is continuously displaced, at least sectionally, along an irradiation path. By way of example, a cw laser beam can be displaced continuously along scanning vectors of an irradiation path that are defined within the scope of the irradiation strategy, wherein the scanning vectors respectively run parallel to one another in irradiation zones (hatches). The scanning vectors of an irradiation zone can be traversed uniformly in the same direction or alternately in opposite directions. This corresponds to a continuous exposure of the scanning vectors.
It is evident from
The linear scanning procedure can be carried out either from a fixed irradiation position or in the case of a changing mechanical deflection, wherein, in the latter case, the optical deflection (the distance ΔX1) should be adapted in the irradiation strategy in accordance with the mechanically induced movement of the irradiation position.
Further, discontinuous displacement of the energy beam can be carried out, with positions along the irradiation path being abruptly homed in on and illuminated. Such a discontinuous exposure can be carried out, for example, within a scanning vector of an irradiation zone, when changing to non-adjacent scanning vectors within an irradiation zone, or when changing between irradiation zones.
In these cases, a cw laser beam can scan for example discrete beam positions along the irradiation path in a sequence fixed in the irradiation strategy. A discontinuous exposure differentiates between a geometry of the irradiation path and an adjustability of a time of irradiation. Consequently, the geometry of the irradiation path is assigned a sequence of times at which the respective beam positions of the irradiation path are exposed. The geometry of the irradiation path is substantially given by the layer-specific cross section of the component part 4, with segments of the irradiation path possibly being introduced for technical reasons; these are, for example, the (in particular parallel linear) scanning vectors running next to one another in the irradiation zones, with adjacent irradiation zones possibly having different orientations of the scanning vectors. The adjustability of the time of irradiation determines parameters of the interaction of the energy beam with the powder material at a beam position. By way of example, a duration of the irradiation is specified by adjusting time intervals between the change between beam positions. Further, the choice of the distance between beam positions may influence thermal aspects, for instance a dissipation of introduced heat into the powder material/the powder melt.
Circles elucidating melt regions are once again indicated schematically around the beam positions 317A, 317B, 317G in
The beam positions B1, ..., B7 and C1, ..., C8 each represent subsequences of beam positions (17), which comprise only one beam position of the sequence of the irradiation path (101). A person skilled in the art will acknowledge that these subsequences can be extended to two or more adjacent beam positions for as long as the energy influx remains within the specified limits. The irradiation strategies in
In general, beam positions of a subsequence can be arranged spaced apart from one another by at least 1.5- to 2-times the diameter of the energy beam, or more, within the work region. In general, when alternating between subsequences, regions of the work region which are selected from the group of regions comprising a not yet irradiated region of the work region, a region of the work region not to be irradiated, and an already irradiated region of the work region further can be skipped. A person skilled in the art will acknowledge that at least one beam position which was skipped during the scanning of the sequence of beam positions can be scanned at a subsequent time.
In this case, too, a fixed irradiation position or a movement of the irradiation position can be assumed. On account of the large distances between successive interaction regions, the energy input can be further increased and the irradiation duration can be accordingly shortened, and so the manufacturing process can be carried out efficiently.
In a further irradiation strategy, it is possible to skip forward along the irradiation path by a maximum jump distance (e.g., from beam position A1 in
To elucidate that the scanning vectors S1 to S6 are primarily traversed by way of the scanner device 7, the scanning vectors were depicted using dashed lines. Different alignments of the scanning vectors S1 to S6 are present in adjacent irradiation zones, and so the scanning vectors S1 to S6 respectively run in parallel in the irradiation zones HA1, HA2, HA3, just as in the irradiation zones HB1, HB2. A corresponding arrangement in two dimensions yields what is known as a checkerboard arrangement of irradiation zones, with the concepts being analogously applicable to strip arrangements of irradiation zones.
An implementation of jumps within the irradiation zone HA1 is indicated in the irradiation zone HA1. During the mechanical deflection in the direction of the scanning vectors, the optical deflection device brings about jumping between the scanning vectors. In the example of
Scanning vectors in different irradiation zones can be exposed simultaneously if different irradiation zones are within the range of the optical deflection. In
In general, significantly more energy/laser energy can be introduced into the component part if the distance between the homed in on beam positions is chosen to be so large that these beam positions do not influence one another thermally. As a result, the productivity can be increased in comparison with drawing a melt track in the powder bed using a (circular/Gaussian) laser beam.
As shown on the basis of the scanning sequences of
To this end, for example, continuous laser radiation is terminated at this location with the aid of the optical deflection following a powder material type-dependent irradiation duration of the powder material in order to provide the molten material the option for heat dissipation and in order to avoid local overheating with an unwanted expansion of the melt pool. Expressed differently, overheating can be avoided by virtue of the laser beam, following the exposure of a first point (e.g., B1 in
However, this requires a very fast deflection of the laser beam from the first point to the second point. The fast deflection is required so as to lose as little time as possible as a result of jumping from the first position to the second position and so as to avoid an unwanted exposure/processing of the material along the jumped path. Although the mechanically induced scanner devices (e.g., galvanometer scanners) usually used in apparatuses do not meet this requirement on account of the inertia of the mirrors, a corresponding abrupt displacement can be undertaken by means of an optical deflection as described herein. Since the optical deflection paths realizable by means of AODs, for example, are small, a scanner device such as a galvanometer scanner is additionally required for positioning the laser beam over relatively large regions (in particular the work region 9).
The implementation of an exemplary irradiation path with a significant change of direction is explained in the context of
In general, when exposing an angular contour using only one mechanical scanner device, that is to say a sluggish axis, a scanning movement of an optical component (e.g., a deflection mirror) of the scanner device is temporarily brought to a complete standstill before a further optical component, or the same optical component, is accelerated in a new direction, for example at a 90° angle. In the case of the constant energy input by way of a continuous energy beam (constant laser power), this may lead to the powder melt overheating in the region of the formed corner. Overheating may occur, in particular, if the heat can only be dissipated poorly on account of the non-molten (and accordingly isolating) powder which for example surrounds a pointed structure formed layer by layer.
Using the division, proposed herein, into a mechanical deflection (sluggish axis of the scanner device) and an optical deflection (dynamic axis of the optical deflection device), the sluggish axis can now traverse a rounded curve in the vicinity of the corner (see the exemplary scanning path 203 in the form of a quarter circle in
In particular, to this end, a change in the optical deflection of the energy beam can at least partially compensate a change in the mechanical deflection of the energy beam in a direction transversely to the irradiation path 201, and so the irradiation path 201 deviates from a sequence of irradiation positions (scanning path 203) set by means of the scanner device 7. Optionally, the optical deflection of the energy beam (5) may have a component in the direction of the irradiation path 201 such that, in particular, a speed with which the sequence of beam positions 217 is scanned in a segment (path segments 201A, 201B) of the irradiation path 201 is constant or remains within a target speed range about a specified speed.
In general, a change in the optical deflection of the energy beam and a change in the mechanical deflection of the energy beam may at least partially compensate one another in at least one first direction. In at least one second direction, a change in the optical deflection of the energy beam and a change in the mechanical deflection of the energy beam may add.
The dynamic axis carries out a compensation movement in such a way that the energy beam remains on the angular contour, the linear path segments 201A, 201B in
In general, a scanning speed along the irradiation path 201 can be chosen by adapting the speeds of the mechanical deflection and optical deflection. In this way, it is also possible to influence the energy input of the energy beam along the irradiation path 201.
Consequently, the aspects described herein can allow in particular the reduction or even avoidance of deceleration phases, acceleration phases, and adaptations in the energy of the energy beam required as a result. Consequently, it is also possible to reduce the outlay in the process development since, in particular, the energy in the energy beam should be adapted for every powder material type (grain size distribution, chemical composition).
By way of example, the corner E may be part of a protruding structure in the case of the additive manufacture of the component part 4 shown in
In this way, solidification processes can in general be implemented from the region “with better heat dissipation” to a region “with poorer heat dissipation” (e.g., a tip in the structure of the component part 4 to be manufactured), which allows a risk of overheating to be further reduced. Attention is drawn to the fact that precisely the concepts for the division into a mechanical and an optical deflection proposed herein allow such a procedure to be advantageously implemented. The energy beam need not be deactivated in the process since the required jump is implemented virtually instantaneously, and so valuable time is not lost as a result of displacing the energy beam prior to carrying out the process “from the other side”.
To this end, like in
For a given combinability of mechanical deflection and optical deflection, two strategies for processing protrusion regions while avoiding local overheating are explained in exemplary fashion below:
With the object of an improved manufacturing process, the energy beam will only directly successively expose non-adjacent beam positions 417 where possible, as described above. There is no displacement of the irradiation position 411 (i.e., no movement of the scanner device) during the exposure of the partial area T by the fast deflection. Consequently, there is temporarily a static exposure situation in view of the mechanical deflection. Once the entire partial area T has been exposed, the scanner device is activated and a new irradiation position 411B is set such that an adjoining partial region of the strip 403′ can be exposed.
According to the embodiments in
In view of the various exemplary embodiments regarding the irradiation of beam positions, a person skilled in the art will further acknowledge that the deflection device can be controlled in such a way that the energy beam at an irradiation position of the plurality of irradiation positions is displaced to a plurality of beam positions within a beam region in order, during the production of a component part, to form a beam profile of the beam region to be irradiated. In the process, the energy beam can be abruptly displaced to the plurality of discrete beam positions of the beam profile to be irradiated. Further, the energy beam may skip spatially adjacent beam positions in the beam region in particular and in particular only adopt spatially non-adjacent beam positions in the beam region successively in time.
For a fixed mechanical deflection, and in a manner similar to
A number of short scanning vectors frequently arise within the irradiation plan of delicate component parts. Expressed differently, the irradiation path may comprise a plurality of subsequences of beam positions, the positions of which are located within a beam region of the deflection device in the case of a mechanical deflection that has been fixed within the work region at a respective irradiation position belonging to a subsequence.
When triggering the short vectors with a relatively sluggish mechanical scanner device, the exposure requires a high proportion of acceleration and deceleration paths (skywriting, scanner delay) between the individual short vectors. Consequently, this requires a high non-productive proportion of time during the exposure if the exposure is carried out only by the scanner device 7 of
Using the concepts, disclosed herein, of combining, e.g., a galvanometer scanner and an AOD, writing/exposing of delicate structures is only implemented using the optical deflection of the AOD. Expressed differently, each of the plurality of subsequences can be scanned solely by changing the optical deflection, with the mechanical deflection being fixed. Between the scanning of two subsequences of the plurality of subsequences, the mechanical deflection can be changed from one irradiation position to another irradiation position. This can reduce or avoid idle times and/or overheating.
It is evident from
A change in the type of scanning can be implemented for these proportions, within the scope of which scanning is now implemented exclusively by means of optical deflection. For the narrow partial areas T_O of the component part layer of the delicate structure F,
As a result of the fast optical deflection by means of the AOD, disadvantageous delay times when changing between short scanning vectors S_O are dispensed with.
Since a sequential exposure may lead to overheating on account of the short scanning vectors if the vicinity of a region previously exposed is irradiated prematurely by the energy beam, the exposure sequence of the individual short scanning vectors S_O in the partial area T_O may moreover be implemented in virtually any vector sequence.
Further, a respective scanning direction has been indicated for the scanning vectors S_M and S_O, which is inverted in each case for successive scanning vectors (be they short or long).
Expressed differently, non-adjacent short scanning vectors S_O which always have a minimum spacing can be scanned with the aid of the optical fast deflection, and so the short scanning vectors S_O of the delicate structure F can be worked efficiently - without stopping the optical deflection.
The short scanning vectors S_O are likewise examples of subsequences of beam positions which each comprise a plurality of beam positions.
In view of the various exemplary embodiments for irradiating subsequences of beam positions, a person skilled in the art will acknowledge that if the dissipation of the energy input into the subsequences by means of the energy beam is considered, more particularly ensured, it is possible to determine a number of subsequences along the irradiation path and/or a number of beam positions in one of the subsequences and/or a spatial distance between successively adopted subsequences. In particular, it is possible to limit the amount of energy input into the subsequences by means of the energy beam or limit the irradiation duration.
The selection of energy and irradiation duration at a beam position depends, inter alia, on whether there is skipping between, e.g., two, three, or even more subsequences: By way of example, if only one beam position is skipped such that there might still be a thermal interaction, albeit a reduced thermal interaction, between the two subsequences and if there is only jumping back and forth between two subsequences, it may be possible to introduce twice as much energy per unit time into each of the subsequences (in comparison with continuous irradiation); an analogous statement applies if, for example, there is jumping between four subsequences (assuming the same irradiation time per beam position). Thus, close, thermally interacting subsequences may possibly also be irradiated if sufficient “thermal pauses” are installed between the exposures as a result of further exposure at different subsequences/beam positions. It is thermally relevant, inter alia, whether the energy/power introduced at a point during the manufacturing process is so much higher than the dissipated heat/power that a peak temperature that is too high is obtained, which for example may lead to discolorations, an unstable manufacturing process, or other problems.
Attention is drawn to the fact that the irradiation strategies disclosed herein may generally also comprise an irradiation path with a subsequence of beam positions which are adopted by a change in the mechanical deflection in the case of a fixed or varying optical deflection.
Further, in general, a speed at which a sequence of spatially adjacent beam positions is continuously scanned may be chosen independently of whether one of the beam positions of the sequence of spatially adjacent beam positions is adopted by changing the optical deflection and/or by changing the mechanical deflection. Within the scope of additive manufacturing, preferred speeds for such a continuously carried out scanning movement are in the range from one meter per second to a few meters per second - similar to a purely mechanical scanner device. In this case, the speed may be chosen specifically for the powder material type and the energy beam/laser beam type.
In view of a scanning of beam positions that is as uniform as possible, a target speed range is located, for example, in the range of a few percent (possibly up to ±10% and more) about a given speed for an irradiation situation (powder material type, energy beam/laser beam), which given speed was determined, for example, for laser beam parameters and powder material parameters present in each case.
If the option of abrupt homing in on non-adjacent beam positions is included and the energy of the energy beam is increased accordingly, a scanning speed related to the entire irradiation path may adopt correspondingly higher values, with a correspondingly increased manufacturing efficiency.
Further aspects of the invention are summarized below.
Aspect 1. A method for displacing a continuous energy beam (5) along an irradiation path (101) formed by a sequence of beam positions (17) and provided to solidify a powder material (2) in a powder layer within a work region (9) of a manufacturing device (1), including the steps of:
Aspect 2. The method according to aspect 1, further including:
Aspect 3. The method according to aspect 2, wherein at least one of
Aspect 4. The method according to aspect 2 or 3, wherein the deflection device (13) and the scanner device (7) are controlled such that
adjacent beam positions (17) of the irradiation path (101) are not adopted successively in time.
Aspect 5. The method according to any one of aspects 2 to 4, wherein the deflection device (13) comprises an optical material, more particularly a transparent material, in a passage region provided for the energy beam (5), said material having optical properties which are adjusted to bring about the optical deflection, and
wherein the deflection device (13) comprises a crystal in particular, within which an acoustic wave with an acoustic wavelength is formed or a refractive index or a refractive index gradient is set in order to bring about the optical deflection.
Aspect 6. The method according to aspect 5, further including
Aspect 7. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein spatially non-adjacent beam positions (17) of the irradiation path (101) are adopted successively in time and/or
Aspect 8. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein, while the scanner device (7) is controlled such that the mechanical deflection positions the energy beam (5) at an irradiation position (11), the deflection device (13) is controlled such that the energy beam (5) successively adopts the beam positions (17) of subsequences which completely cover the beam region (15) of the corresponding irradiation position (11), and in particular a specified beam shape of the beam region (15).
Aspect 9. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein, while the scanner device (7) is controlled such that the mechanical deflection positions the energy beam (5) continuously at a sequence of irradiation positions (11), the deflection device (13) is controlled such that the energy beam (5) successively adopts the beam positions (17) of subsequences which partially or completely cover the beam region (15) of the corresponding irradiation position (11), and in particular a specified beam shape of the beam region (15).
Aspect 10. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the deflection device (13) is controlled such that the energy beam (5) at one irradiation position (11) of the plurality of irradiation positions (11) is displaced to a plurality of beam positions (17) within a beam region (15) in order to form a beam profile of the beam region during the production of a component part (4), and the energy beam (5) is abruptly displaced to the plurality of discrete beam positions (17),
with the energy beam (5) skipping spatially adjacent beam positions (17) in the beam region (15) in particular and in particular only adopting spatially non-adjacent beam positions (17) in the beam region (15) successively in time.
Aspect 11. The method according to aspect 10, further including:
radiating-in the energy beam (5) by virtue of the scanner device (7) being controlled in such a way that the energy beam (5) is positioned along a subsequence of irradiation positions (11) in accordance with a scanning path (103) and the deflection device (13) simultaneously being controlled in such a way that the energy beam (5) jumps back and forth between beam positions (17) of a two-dimensional arrangement of beam positions (17), in particular between beam positions (17) arranged transversely to the scanning path (103).
Aspect 12. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 11, wherein the irradiation path (101) has at least one irradiation zone (HA1), in which a plurality of subsequences of irradiation positions are defined in the form of adjacent, at least partially parallel scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6), in particular of the same length, further including:
radiating-in the energy beam (5) by virtue of the scanner device (13) being controlled in such a way that the irradiation position (11) is displaced along a first scanning vector (S1) of the scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) and the deflection device (13) simultaneously being controlled in such a way that the energy beam (5) jumps back and forth between the first scanning vector (S1) of the scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) and at least one further scanning vector (S4) of the scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6).
Aspect 13. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 12, furthermore comprising:
radiating-in the energy beam (5) by virtue of the scanner device (7) being controlled in such a way that the irradiation position (11) is displaced along a subsequence of irradiation positions (11) in accordance with a scanning direction and the deflection device (13) simultaneously being controlled in such a way that the energy beam (5) jumps, in and counter to the scanning direction, between beam positions arranged along the subsequence.
Aspect 14. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13, wherein the irradiation path (101) has at least two irradiation zones (HA2, HA3; HB1, HB2), in each of which a plurality of subsequences of irradiation positions are defined in the form of adjacent, at least partially parallel scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) of the same length, wherein,
to displace the energy beam (5), the scanner device (7) is controlled in such a way that the energy beam is positioned along a first scanning vector (S1; S2) of the scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) in a first of the irradiation zones (HA2, HA3; HB1, HB2) and the deflection device simultaneously is controlled in such a way that the energy beam jumps back and forth between the first of the scanning vectors in the first of the irradiation zones (HA2, HA3; HB1, HB2) and at least one further scanning vector (S1; S2) of the scanning vectors (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) of a further one of the irradiation zones (HA2, HA3; HB 1, HB2).
Aspect 15. A manufacturing device (1) for additive manufacturing of a component part (4) from a powder material (2) provided within a work region (9), comprising
Aspect 16. The manufacturing device (1) according to aspect 15, wherein the deflection device (13) is configured
Aspect 17. The manufacturing device (1) according to either of aspects 15 and 16, wherein
It is explicitly emphasized that all features disclosed in the description and/or the claims should be regarded as separate and independent of one another for the purpose of the original disclosure and likewise for the purpose of restricting the claimed invention independently of the combinations of features in the embodiments and/or the claims. It is explicitly stated that all range indications or indications of groups of units disclose any possible intermediate value or subgroup of units for the purpose of the original disclosure and likewise for the purpose of restricting the claimed invention, in particular also as a limit of a range indication.
While subject matter of the present disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. Any statement made herein characterizing the invention is also to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive as the invention is defined by the claims. It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made, by those of ordinary skill in the art, within the scope of the following claims, which may include any combination of features from different embodiments described above. The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. For example, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an element should not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements. Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as being inclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “A and B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing description that only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “at least one of A, B and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a group of elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted as requiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C, regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise. Moreover, the recitation of “A, B and/or C” or “at least one of A, B or C” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from the listed elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., A and B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 2020 107 409.1 | Jul 2020 | DE | national |
| 10 2020 006 217.2 | Oct 2020 | DE | national |
| 10 2020 128 807.7 | Nov 2020 | DE | national |
| 10 2020 131 032.3 | Nov 2020 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/070409 (WO 2022/018146 A1), filed on Jul. 21, 2021, and claims benefit to German Patent Applications No. DE 20 2020 107 409.1, filed on Jul. 21, 2020, DE 10 2020 006 217.2, filed on Oct. 9, 2020, DE 10 2020 128 807.7, filed on Nov. 2, 2020 and DE 10 2020 131 032.3, filed on Nov. 24, 2020.The aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2021/070409 | Jul 2021 | WO |
| Child | 18154050 | US |
