Control for powder fusion

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10888924-B2
Application number	US-201815880931-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 26, 2018
Priority date	Jan 27, 2017
Publication date	Jan 12, 2021
Grant date	Jan 12, 2021

Abstract

A powder processing machine includes a work bed, a powder deposition device operable to deposit powder in the work bed, at least one energy beam device operable to emit an energy beam with a variable beam power and direct the energy beam onto the work bed with a variable beam scan rate to melt and fuse regions of the powder, and a controller operable to dynamically control at least one of the beam power or the beam scan rate to change how the powder melts and fuses. The controller is configured to determine whether an instant set of process parameters falls within a defect condition or a non-defect condition and adjust at least one of the beam power or the beam scan rate responsive to the defect condition such that the instant set of process parameters falls within the non-defect condition.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A powder processing machine comprising:
a work bed;
a powder deposition device operable to deposit powder in the work bed;
at least one energy beam device operable to emit an energy beam with a variable beam power and direct the energy beam onto the work bed with a variable beam scan rate to melt and fuse regions of the powder; and
a controller operable to dynamically control at least one of the beam power or the beam scan rate to change how the powder melts and fuses, the controller configured to determine whether an instant set of process parameters falls within a defect condition or a non-defect condition and adjust at least one of the beam power or the beam scan rate responsive to the defect condition such that the instant set of process parameters falls within the non-defect condition, the instant set of process parameters including an instant temperature at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed, and the instant temperature is based, at least in part, on an edge factor that represents an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed relative to an edge of a component being formed from the powder.

2. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the instant temperature is determined based, at least in part, on a temperature of a build plate surface in the work bed.

3. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the instant temperature is based, at least in part, on a temperature change due to previous energy beam passes in a current stripe.

4. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the instant temperature is based, at least in part, on a temperature change due to a previous stripe.

5. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the instant temperature is based, at least in part, on a temperature change due to previous powder layers.

6. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the instant temperature is T 0 =T BP +ΔT 1 f+ΔT 2 +ΔT 3 , where T 0 is the instant temperature, T BP is a temperature of a build plate surface in the work bed, ΔT 1 is a temperature change due to previous energy beam passes in a current stripe, ΔT 2 is a temperature change due to a previous stripe, ΔT 3 is a temperature change due to previous powder layers, and f is an edge factor that represents an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed relative to an edge of a component being formed from the powder.

7. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the defect condition and non-defect condition are based, at least in part, on at least one of an instant surface stress of a melt pool of the powder at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed, an energy density of the energy beam and an instant cross-sectional area of a melt pool of the powder at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed, or an instant diameter of a melt pool of the powder at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed.

8. A powder processing machine comprising:
a work bed;
a powder deposition device operable to deposit powder in the work bed;
at least one energy beam device operable to emit an energy beam with a variable beam power and direct the energy beam onto the work bed with a variable beam scan rate to melt and fuse regions of the powder; and
a non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions, operable when executed, to:
dynamically control at least one of the variable beam power or the variable beam scan rate of the energy beam in the powder processing machine to change how a powder melts and fuses in the work bed of the powder processing machine, by
determining whether an instant set of process parameters falls within a defect condition or a non-defect condition, and
adjusting at least one of the variable beam power or the variable beam scan rate responsive to the defect condition such that the instant set of process parameters falls within the non-defect condition, the instant set of process parameters including an instant temperature at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed, and the instant temperature is based, at least in part, on an edge factor that represents an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed relative to an edge of a component being formed from the powder.

9. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 8 , wherein the instant temperature is determined based on at least one of a temperature of a build plate surf ace in the work bed, a temperature change due to previous energy beam passes in a current stripe, a temperature change due to a previous stripe in the same layer, or a temperature change due to previous powder layers.

10. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 8 , wherein the instant temperature is T 0 =T BP +ΔT 1 f+ΔT 2 +ΔT 3 , where T 0 is the instant temperature, T BP is a temperature of a build plate surface in the work bed, ΔT 1 is a temperature change due to previous energy beam passes in a current stripe, ΔT 2 is a temperature change due to a previous stripe in the same layer, ΔT 3 is a temperature change due to previous powder layers, and f is an edge factor that represents an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed relative to an edge of the component being formed from the powder.

11. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 8 , wherein the defect condition and non-defect condition are based, at least one part, on at least one of an instant surface stress of a melt pool of the powder at an instant location of the energy beam in a work bed, an energy density of the energy beam and an instant cross-sectional area of a melt pool of the powder at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed, or an instant diameter of a melt pool of the powder at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed.

12. The powder processing machine as recited in claim 8 , including adjusting the beam power by adjusting a time that the energy beam is on (non-zero power) and off (zero power).

13. A method for use in a powder processing machine, the method comprising:
dynamically controlling at least one of a beam power or a beam scan rate of an energy beam in a powder processing machine to change how a powder melts and fuses in a work bed of the powder processing machine, by
determining whether an instant set of process parameters falls within a defect condition or a non-defect condition, and
adjusting at least one of the beam power or the beam scan rate responsive to the defect condition such that the instant set of process parameters falls within the non-defect condition, the instant set of process parameters including an instant temperature at an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed, and the instant temperature is based, at least in part, on an edge factor that represents an instant location of the energy beam in the work bed relative to an edge of a component being formed from the powder.

14. The method as recited in claim 13 , wherein the instant temperature is determined base, at least in part, on at least one of a temperature of a build plate surface in the work bed, a temperature change due to previous energy beam passes in a current stripe, a temperature change due to a previous stripe in the same layer, or a temperature change due to previous powder layers.

15. The method as recited in claim 13 , wherein the instant temperature is T 0 =T BP +ΔT 1 f+ΔT 2 +ΔT 3 , where T 0 is the instant temperature, T BP is a temperature of a build plate surface in the work bed, ΔT 1 is a temperature change due to previous energy beam passes in

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp
• Raytheon Tech Corp

Inventors

• Burlatsky Sergei F
• Furrer David Ulrich
• Runkle Rebecca L
• Boyer Jesse R
• O'Neill Christopher F

Classifications

• B22F10/385

  Overhang structures · CPC title

• B22F12/44

  characterised by the configuration of the radiation means · CPC title

• B22F12/224

  for motion along a direction within the plane of a layer · CPC title

• B22F10/368

  Temperature or temperature gradient, e.g. temperature of the melt pool · CPC title

• B22F10/36

  of energy beam parameters · CPC title