IP Library Granted Patent US 11,701,740
Granted Patent B2
US 11,701,740 · App. 16/290,942 · Granted Jul 18, 2023

Method for producing a three-dimensional component

Inventors: Frank Herzog (Lichtenfels, DE); Florian Bechmann (Lichtenfels, DE); Sebastian Berumen (Mursbach, DE); Jean Pierre Kruth (Leuven, BE); Tom Craeghs (Heverlee, BE)
Assignees: CONCEPT LASER GMBH; KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
B22F10/00B23K26/0622B23K26/705B23K31/12B23K31/125B29C64/153B29C64/386B33Y10/00B33Y30/00B22F10/10B33Y40/00Y02P10/25
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,701,740
App. No.
16/290,942
Granted
Jul 18, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method for producing a three-dimensional component by means of a laser melting process, in which the component is produced by consecutively solidifying individual layers made of building material by melting the building material, wherein said building material can be solidified by the action of radiation, wherein the melting area produced by a punctiform and/or linear energy input is detected by a sensor device and sensor values are derived therefrom in order to evaluate the component quality. The sensor values detected in order to evaluate the component quality are stored together with the coordinate values that locate the sensor values in the component and are displayed by means of a visualization unit in two- and/or multi-dimensional representation with respect to the detection location of the sensor values in the component.

Claims (42)

1. A method of additively manufacturing a three-dimensional component by a laser melting process, the method comprising:

selectively solidifying sequential layers of a powdered build material with radiation from a radiation source comprising an energy influx, the energy influx having a point shape and/or a line-shape, the radiation causing a melt region within a build plane defined by the powdered build material, the melt region solidifying to form a three-dimensional component;

capturing sensor values from the melt region using a sensor device;

generating a component quality output based at least in part on the sensor values; and

evaluating a quality of the three-dimensional component based at least in part on the component quality output, the component quality output being used to accept, reject, or modify the three-dimensional component.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising: displaying at least some of the sensor values in a 2D representation, the sensor values corresponding to a layer solidified by the radiation prior to a next deposition of powdered build material.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising: displaying at least some of the sensor values in a 2D representation in the form of a freely selectable sectional plane of the three-dimensional component, the sectional plane extending at an angle to a layer solidified by the radiation.

4. The method of claim 1 , comprising: displaying, in a two-dimensional representation and/or a multidimensional representation, a portion of the sensor values corresponding to regions of the three-dimensional component that exhibit a deviation from an intended sensor value, the sensor values and the intended sensor values being indicative of density, degree of solidification, temperature, energy influx, and/or melt pool dimensions, the deviation from the intended sensor value displayed visually and/or highlighted.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising: displaying the component quality output in a two-dimensional and/or multidimensional representation in respect of the capture location thereof in the three-dimensional component.

6. The method of claim 5 , comprising: displaying the component quality output, wherein displaying the component quality output comprises: displaying one or more sensor values representing an optimized value in a first color, a first grayscale value, a first degree of transparency and/or with a first areal structure; and displaying one or more sensor values representing a deviation upward or downward from the optimized value in a second color, a second grayscale value, a second degree of transparency and/or in respect of a second areal structure.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising: localizing the sensor values to the three-dimensional component and evaluating the quality of the three-dimensional component based at least in part on the component quality output.

8. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

determining coordinate values localizing the sensor values to the three-dimensional component based at least in part on build coordinate values used to produce the three-dimensional component.

9. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

determining the coordinate values based at least in part on sensor value coordinates obtained when capturing the sensor values and using the coordinate values to localize the sensor values to the three-dimensional component.

10. The method of claim 9 , comprising:

determining the sensor value coordinates based at least in part on an areal capture of at least a portion of the build plane, the at least a portion of the build plane including the melt region.

11. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

assigning coordinates to the sensor values based at least in part on exposure data or scanner data.

12. The method of claim 1 , comprising: capturing at least some of the sensor values with a time delay with respect to the time of the energy influx; and displaying the component quality output, wherein the component quality output comprises a visualization that exhibits a time profile of a thermal behavior of the melt region.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising: capturing, for a given location on the build plane, a plurality of the sensor values with respectively different time delays with respect to the time of the energy influx at the given location on the build plane.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional component is modified during solidification of the powdered build material.

15. A method additively manufacturing a three-dimensional component, the method comprising:

selectively solidifying sequential layers of a powdered build material with radiation from a radiation source comprising an energy influx, the energy influx having a point shape and/or a line-shape, the radiation causing a melt region within a build plane defined by the powdered build material, the melt region solidifying to form a three-dimensional component;

capturing sensor values from the melt region using a sensor device; and

generating a component quality output based at least in part on the sensor values for use in accepting, rejecting, or modifying the three-dimensional component, wherein generating the component quality output comprises correlating the sensor values with coordinate values of the component.

16. The method of claim 15 , comprising:

correlating the sensor values with coordinate values of the component based at least in part on scanner data; and

localizing the sensor values to the component quality output for the three-dimensional component.

17. The method of claim 15 , comprising:

evaluating a quality of the three-dimensional component based at least in part on the component quality output; and

displaying the component quality output in a two-dimensional and/or multidimensional representation of at least a portion of the three-dimensional component and a capture location of the sensor values in the three-dimensional component.

18. A method of additively manufacturing a three-dimensional component, the method comprising:

selectively solidifying sequential layers of a powdered build material with radiation from a radiation source comprising an energy influx, the energy influx having a point shape and/or a line-shape, the radiation causing a melt region within a build plane defined by the powdered build material, the melt region solidifying to form a three-dimensional component;

capturing sensor values from the melt region using a sensor device;

generating a component quality output based at least in part on the sensor values for use in accepting, rejecting, or modifying the three-dimensional component; and

correlating the sensor values with coordinate values of the component.

19. The method of claim 18 , comprising:

localizing the sensor values to the three-dimensional component; and

evaluating a quality of the three-dimensional component based at least in part on the component quality output, the component quality output being used to accept, reject, or modify the three-dimensional component.

20. The method of claim 19 , comprising:

displaying the component quality output in a two-dimensional and/or multidimensional representation in respect of the respective capture location in the three-dimensional component of at least some of the sensor values.

Assignments (6)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE FIRST ASSIGNOR'S NAME AND EXECUTION DATE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 055892 FRAME: 0869. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT . Recorded Apr 20, 2021
From: KRUTH, JEAN PIERRE; CRAEGHS, TOM
To: KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Reel/Frame 056437/0046 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 12, 2021
From: KRUTH, JEAN-PIERRE; CRAEGHS, TOM
To: KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Reel/Frame 055892/0869 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 29, 2021
From: HERZOG, FRANK; BECHMANN, FLORIAN
To: CONCEPT LASER GMBH
Reel/Frame 055074/0877 →
MERGER AND CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 20, 2020
From: CL SCHUTZRECHTSVERWALTUNGS GMBH; CONCEPT LASER GMBH
To: CONCEPT LASER GMBH
Reel/Frame 052437/0060 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 7, 2019
From: HERZOG, FRANK; BECHMANN, FLORIAN; BERUMEN, SEBASTIAN; KRUTH, JEAN PIERRE; CRAEGHS, TOM
To: KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Reel/Frame 048534/0593 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 5, 2019
From: HERZOG, FRANK; BECHMANN, FLORIAN; BERUMEN, SEBASTIAN; KRUTH, JEAN PIERRE; CRAEGHS, TOM
To: CONCEPT LASER GMBH
Reel/Frame 048504/0761 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 202010010771.7 · Jul 28, 2010 · national
Continuity (3)
Continuation 15904272 · Feb 23, 2018
Division 13812446
Related Publication 20190202129A1 · Jul 4, 2019
Cited By (1)
US 12,251,777