Laser pulse shaping for additive manufacturing

Patent · 13 August 2019

OSTI ID:1568706

Demuth, James A.; Bayramian, Andrew J.; Duoss, Eric B.; Kuntz, Joshua D.; Spadaccini, Christopher M.

A system for additive manufacturing uses a pulsed laser beam with one or more low flux components on the order of kW/cm2, and one or more high flux components on the order of MW/cm2 during the duration of the pulse. The pulsed laser beam is directed onto the powder particles on the substrate thereby melting the powder particles and melting the substrate at the interface layer between the powder and the substrate such that the powder particles bond to the substrate. This is accomplished by using low power (and low cost) lasers to do the majority of the energy transfer, and using high power (and higher cost) lasers to complete the melting process, overcoming the kinetics of powder agglomeration through surface tension forces by partially melting the powder-substrate interface layer before surface tension can take effect on the molten powder particles.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC52-07NA27344
• Assignee: Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (Livermore, CA)
• Patent Number(s): 10,376,987
• Application Number: 15/010,107
• OSTI ID: 1568706
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY