Additive manufacturing system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11292090-B2
Application number	US-201615336428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2016
Priority date	Oct 30, 2015
Publication date	Apr 5, 2022
Grant date	Apr 5, 2022

Abstract

An additive manufacturing system including a two-dimensional energy patterning system for imaging a powder bed is disclosed. Improved chamber designs, multiple chambers, powder handling and re-use systems, and powder characterization methods are disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a print head comprising an energy source capable of providing one or more incident beams of sufficient energy to process a plurality of powdered materials, the print head further comprising a dynamic and pixel-addressable energy patterning unit to provide one or more incident two-dimensional patterned energy beams, with the beam patterning unit rejecting energy not required to form the one or more incident two-dimensional patterned beams;
a plurality of build chambers, each of the build chambers configured to at least partially surround a respective build platform of a plurality of build platforms able to hold a powder bed formed by a powdered material;
a plurality of optical-mechanical assemblies arranged to receive and direct the one or more incident two-dimensional patterned energy beams into the build chambers respectively; and
a rejected energy handling unit configured to reuse the rejected energy, the rejected energy handling unit comprising one or more relays configured to transfer at least a portion of the rejected energy to one or more of an electricity generator, a thermal management system, beam shaping objects configurable to homogenize the rejected energy with the one or more incident beams, and an additional energy patterning system;
wherein at least one of the plurality of build chambers is configured to be sealed in a vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere during powder bed fusion additive manufacturing, and
wherein at least one of the plurality of build chambers comprises a vacuum and a high-pressure jet such that vacuuming and gas jetting by the vacuum and the high-pressure jet, respectively, are utilized to dislodge powders from a respective one of the build platforms.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of build platforms has an adjustable height or fixed height.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of build chambers is configured to accommodate side removal of the respective build platform.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of build chambers further comprises a thermal regulation system embedded in at least one of the build platforms and walls forming the build chambers.

5. An additive manufacturing system, comprising:
an energy beam;
a beam patterning unit configured to receive the energy beam and emit a two-dimensional patterned beam, with the beam patterning unit rejecting energy not required to form the two-dimensional patterned beam;
an image relay configured to receive and focus the two-dimensional patterned beam on a powder bed, the image relay comprising an actuator configured to direct the two-dimensional patterned beam to a desired position on the powder bed; and
a rejected energy handling unit configured to reuse the rejected energy, the rejected energy handling unit comprising one or more relays configured to transfer at least a portion of the rejected energy to one or more of an electricity generator, a thermal management system, beam shaping objects configurable to homogenize and combine the rejected energy with the one or more incident beams, and an additional energy patterning system.

6. The additive manufacturing system of claim 5 , further comprising
a plurality of build chambers, each of the build chambers configured to at least partially surround a respective build platform of a plurality of build platforms able to hold the powder bed formed by a powdered material; and
a plurality of optical-mechanical assemblies arranged to receive and direct the two-dimensional patterned beam into the build chambers respectively.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the inert gas atmosphere includes air, nitrogen, argon, or helium.

8. The additive manufacturing system of claim 5 , wherein the actuator comprises a moveable mirror or a compensation gantry.

Assignees

• Seurat Tech Inc

Inventors

• Demuth James A
• Toomre Erik
• Leard Francis L
• Kamshad Kourosh
• Fees Heiner
• Berdichevsky Eugene

Classifications

• B22F10/39

  Traceability, e.g. incorporating identifier into a workpiece or article · CPC title

• Y02P10/25

  Process efficiency · CPC title

• Y02P80/40

  Minimising material used in manufacturing processes · CPC title

• G02B27/108

  for sampling a portion of a beam or combining a small beam in a larger one, e.g. wherein the area ratio or power ratio of the divided beams significantly differs from unity, without spectral selectivity · CPC title

• B29C64/286

  Optical filters, e.g. masks · CPC title