Additive manufacturing with energy delivery system having rotating polygon and adjustment of angle of light path

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018257300-A1
Application number	US-201715811589-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 13, 2017
Priority date	Mar 9, 2017
Publication date	Sep 13, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

An additive manufacturing apparatus includes a platform, a dispenser to dispense a plurality of layers of feed material on a top surface of the platform, an energy delivery system, and an actuator. The energy delivery system includes a light source to emit a light beam, and a reflective member having a plurality of reflective facets, the reflective member positionable in a path of the light beam to receive the light beam and redirect the light beam toward the top surface of the platform to deliver energy to an uppermost layer of the layers of feed material to fuse the feed material. The reflective member is rotatable such that sequential facets sweep the light beam sequentially along a linear path on the uppermost layer. The actuator is configured to adjust an angle of the linear path relative to the platform.

First claim

1 . An additive manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a platform; a dispenser to dispense a plurality of layers of feed material on a top surface of the platform; an energy delivery system comprising
a light source to emit a light beam, and
a reflective member having a plurality of reflective facets, the reflective member positionable in a path of the light beam to receive the light beam and redirect the light beam toward the top surface of the platform to deliver energy to an uppermost layer of the layers of feed material to fuse the feed material, wherein the reflective member is rotatable such that sequential facets sweep the light beam sequentially along a linear path on the uppermost layer; and
an actuator to adjust an angle of the linear path relative to the platform.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the platform is rotatable, and the actuator is coupled to the platform to rotate the platform to adjust to angle of the linear path relative to the platform.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reflective member is mounted on a rotatable support, wherein the reflective member is rotatable about a first axis, and the actuator is coupled to the support to rotate the support about a second axis to adjust the angle of the linear path relative to the platform.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a controller coupled to the energy deliver system and the actuator and configured to cause the reflective member to sweep the light beam sequentially along the linear path along a first direction during fusing of a first layer of the feed material, to activate the actuator to adjust the angle of the linear path, and to cause the reflective member to sweep the light beam sequentially along the linear path along a second direction at a non-zero angle relative to the first direction during fusing of a second layer of the feed material.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

6 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the energy delivery system is mounted on a support that is movable relative to the platform along a third direction.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the third direction is at a non-zero angle relative to the first direction and the second direction.

8 . The additive manufacturing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to selectively operate the light source while the reflective member is rotated such that the light beam is delivered to a first region of the uppermost layer and is not delivered to a second region of the uppermost layer, and selectively operate the light source while the reflective member is rotated such that the light beam is delivered to the second region of the uppermost layer and is not delivered to the first region of the uppermost layer.

9 . An additive manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a platform; a dispenser to dispense a plurality of layers of feed material on a top surface of the platform; an energy delivery system comprising
a light source to emit a light beam, and
a reflective member having a plurality of reflective facets, the reflective member positionable in a path of the light beam to receive the light beam and redirect the light beam toward the top surface of the platform to deliver energy to an uppermost layer of the layers of feed material to fuse the feed material, wherein the reflective member is rotatable such that sequential facets sweep the optical path for the light beam sequentially along a linear first path in a first direction on the uppermost layer;
an actuator to adjust a position of the linear path relative to the platform; and a controller to couple to the actuator and light source and configured to selectively operate the light source while the reflective member is continuously rotated such a region of impingement of the light beam extends along a second path formed by activation of the light beam, the second path extending in a second direction at a non-zero angle to the first direction.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the energy delivery system is mounted on a support that is movable relative to the platform along a third direction at a non-zero angle to the first direction and the actuator is coupled to the support.

11 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

12 . The apparatus of claim 9 , comprising a second reflective member comprising at least one second reflective surface positioned in the path of the light beam, the second reflective member being movable by the actuator so as to reposition the linear path along a third direction at a non-zero angle to the first direction.

13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the first third direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

14 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the region of impingement of the light beam to traverse a plurality of second paths, each second path offset along a fourth direction perpendicular to the second direction.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of second paths fill a region on the uppermost layer to fuse the region.

16 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein during a first scan period, sequential adjacent ones of the plurality of second paths are separated in the fourth direction by at least one voxel.

17 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to selectively operate the light source such that second path extends in the second direction during fusing of a first layer of the feed material, and to selectively operate the light source such that second path extends in the fifth direction at a non-zero angle relative to the second direction during fusing of a second layer of the feed material.

18 . A method of additive manufacturing, comprising:
dispensing a plurality of layers of feed material on a top surface of a platform; rotating a polygonal mirror that has a plurality of reflective facets; directing a light beam from a light source to the polygonal mirror and reflecting the light beam from the mirror to deliver energy to an uppermost layer of the layers of feed material to fuse the feed material, wherein rotation of the polygonal mirror causes sequential facets of plurality of facets to sweep an optical path of the light beam sequentially along a linear first path in a first direction on the uppermost layer; and selectively operating the light source while the polygonal mirror is continuously rotated such that a region of impingement of the light beam on the outermost layer caused by activation of the light beam traverses a linear second path, the second path extending in a second direction at a non-zero angle to the first direction.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the region of impingement of the light beam to traverses a plurality of second paths, each second path offset along a fourth direction perpendicular to the second direction.

20 . The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of second paths fill a region on the uppermost layer to fuse the region.

21 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the light source is selectively operated such that second path extends in the second direction during fusing of a first layer of the feed material, and to selectively operating the light source such that second path extends in a third direction at a non-zero angle relative to the second direction during fusing of a second layer of the feed material.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Ng Hou T
• Patibandla Nag B
• Joshi Ajey M
• Zehavi Raanan
• Franklin Jeffrey L
• Maqsood Kashif

Classifications

• B22F12/33

  translatory in the deposition plane · CPC title

• B22F12/49

  Scanners · CPC title

• B22F10/28

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title

• B22F12/90

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

• B22F12/226

  for rotary motion · CPC title