Processing machines and methods for heating a powder to produce three-dimensional components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11679557-B2
Application number	US-202016870326-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 8, 2020
Priority date	Nov 9, 2017
Publication date	Jun 20, 2023
Grant date	Jun 20, 2023

Abstract

The disclosure relates to processing machines and methods for producing three-dimensional components by irradiating powder with a processing beam, the machines including a container with a moveable support for the powder, as well as an irradiating device with a scanner device for aligning the processing beam on a processing field at an opening of the container. The irradiating device includes a heating device that includes a heating radiation source for generating a heating beam for heating the powder from above and including a beam shaping optical unit configured to convert a first beam profile of the heating beam into a second beam profile, e.g., a ring-shaped beam profile, of the heating beam.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A processing machine for producing three-dimensional components layer by layer by irradiating a powder by a processing beam, comprising:
a container with an opening and a moveable support for the powder;
an irradiating device comprising a processing beam scanner for aligning the processing beam on a processing field at the opening of the container for producing the three-dimensional component layer by layer by irradiating and melting the powder,
wherein the irradiating device further comprises a heater comprising:
a heating radiation source for generating a heating beam for heating the powder from above by aligning the heating beam on the processing field, wherein the heating radiation source is arranged and controlled to align a beam axis of the heating beam in stationary fashion on a point of the processing field irrespective of a position of the processing beam in the processing field; and
a beam shaping optical unit configured to convert a first beam profile of the heating beam into a second beam profile of the heating beam, wherein the beam shaping optical unit comprises at least one axicon for generating the second beam profile, wherein the second beam profile comprises a ring-shaped beam profile, and wherein a diameter of the ring-shaped beam profile of the heating beam in the processing plane substantially corresponds to a diameter of the processing field.

2. The processing machine of claim 1 , wherein the processing beam comprises a laser beam.

3. The processing machine of claim 1 , further comprising a further heater for heating the powder from below by heating the moveable support.

4. The processing machine of claim 3 , wherein the further heater comprises an infrared radiation source or a heating element embedded in the moveable support, or both, for heating the moveable support.

5. The processing machine of claim 1 , wherein the beam shaping optical unit is configured to set an intensity distribution of the second beam profile of the heating beam.

6. The processing machine of claim 5 , wherein the beam shaping optical unit is configured to set an intensity difference between a minimum intensity and a maximum intensity of the second beam profile of the heating beam.

7. The processing machine of claim 1 , wherein the beam shaping optical unit is configured to generate a second beam profile of the heating beam, in which a minimum intensity of the heating beam along a beam axis of the heating beam is at least 60% of a maximum intensity of the heating beam.

8. The processing machine of claim 5 , wherein the beam shaping optical unit comprises a second axicon, and the spacing of the two axicons is adjustable for altering the intensity distribution of the second beam profile of the heating beam.

9. The processing machine of claim 1 , wherein the heating radiation source is configured to generate the heating beam with an adjustable power.

10. The processing machine of claim 1 , wherein the heating radiation source comprises a plurality of laser diodes for generating the heating beam.

11. The processing machine of claim 10 , wherein the heating radiation source comprises a plurality of optical fibers, wherein a respective input-side fiber end of an optical fiber is coupled to a respective laser diode and wherein output-side fiber ends of the optical fibers form a fiber bundle for emergence of the heating beam.

12. The processing machine of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor for spatially resolved capture of a temperature distribution of the powder in the processing field.

13. The processing machine of claim 12 , wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

14. The processing machine of claim 1 , wherein the processing beam passes through the heating beam.

15. A method for heating a powder, which is applied on a moveable support of a container in a processing machine for producing three-dimensional components layer by layer, the method comprising:
generating a heating beam with a first beam profile;
converting the first beam profile of the heating beam into a second beam profile, wherein the second beam profile comprises a ring-shaped beam profile, and wherein a diameter of the ring-shaped beam profile of the heating beam substantially corresponds to a diameter of a processing field; and
heating the powder from above by aligning the heating beam with the second beam profile on a point of a processing field of the processing machine irrespective of a position of a processing beam in the processing field, on which an opening of the container is formed.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising heating the powder from below by heating the moveable support to which the powder is applied.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising altering a power of the heating beam, or an intensity distribution of the second beam profile of the heating beam, or altering both, on the basis of a construction progress of the production of the three-dimensional component or on the basis of a spatially resolved captured temperature distribution of the powder in the processing field, or on the basis of both the construction progress and the spatially resolved captured temperature distribution.

Assignees

• Trumpf Laser & Systemtechnik Gmbh

Inventors

• Pieger Markus
• Allenberg-Rabe Matthias

Classifications

• B22F12/45

  Two or more · CPC title

• B22F12/49

  Scanners · CPC title

• B22F12/90

  Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• B33Y50/02

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title