Method and planning device for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with an energy beam, as well as method and manufacturing device for the additive manufacturing of a component from a powder material.

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for planning a locally selective irradiation of a working area (15) with at least one energy beam (11), wherein, in addition, a simultaneous displacement of a coating device (17) along a coating displacement path is planned for applying a powder material (5) to the working area (15) in order to produce at least one component (3) layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers of the powder material (5) arranged in a layer sequence in the working area (15) by means of the at least one energy beam (11), wherein, for at least one planning powder material layer of the plurality of powder material layers, a coating trajectory for the coating device (17) and an irradiation plan for the irradiation of the working area (15) are created depending on each other.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method and a planning device for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with an energy beam, as well as a method and a manufacturing device for the additive manufacturing of a component from a powder material.

[0002] In manufacturing devices for the additive manufacturing of components from a powder material, it is typically provided that a plurality of powder material layers are arranged in a layer sequence in a work area using a coating device. The coating device is moved across the work area along a coater displacement path in order to apply powder material to the work area and, in particular, to distribute it over the work area. It is possible that irradiation of the work area with at least one energy beam is paused while the coating device is moved. However, this disadvantageously lengthens the manufacturing process, which also results in high unit costs for the components to be manufactured.It has therefore been proposed as an alternative to move the coating device for applying a new layer of powder material across the work area simultaneously with the irradiation of the work area with the at least one energy beam. However, the coating device must not interfere with the irradiation, or ideally not even influence it, in order to avoid any loss of quality in the manufactured components; but conversely, it should also be avoided that the at least one energy beam marks the coating device. To this end, it has been proposed to adapt the irradiation with the at least one energy beam to the - fixed - relocation of the coating device, in particular in real time during component production. The disadvantage, however, is that this approach cannot achieve an optimized overall process, so that the individual shift times and overall production times, and thus the unit costs, remain high.In addition, the adaptation of the irradiation to the predetermined displacement of the coating device, especially when a sequence of irradiation of different irradiation areas is adjusted, may be disadvantageous for other reasons, which may affect the quality of the manufactured components.

[0003] Independent of or in addition to the problems described above, there is a constant need to improve radiation planning, particularly the creation of a treatment plan. This need is particularly evident with regard to simultaneous coating and irradiation.

[0004] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method and a planning device for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with an energy beam as well as a method and a manufacturing device for the additive manufacturing of a component from a powder material, wherein the aforementioned disadvantages are at least reduced, preferably do not occur.

[0005] The object is achieved by providing the present technical teaching, in particular the teaching of the independent claims as well as the embodiments disclosed in the dependent claims and the description.

[0006] The object is achieved according to a first aspect in particular by creating a method - hereinafter also referred to as a planning method - for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with at least one energy beam, wherein in addition a displacement of a coating device along a coater displacement path for applying a powder material to the work area is planned, simultaneous with the irradiation, in order to produce at least one component layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers of the powder material arranged in a layer sequence in time successively by means of the coating device in the work area,wherein, for at least one planning powder material layer of the plurality of powder material layers, a coater trajectory for the coating device and an irradiation plan for the irradiation of the work area are created interdependently. Since the coater trajectory, on the one hand, and the irradiation plan, on the other hand, are created interdependently, they can be coordinated and optimized overall, so that the overall process can also be optimized. This allows for shorter shift times and thus also overall production times as well as lower unit costs for the components to be manufactured. Furthermore, a one-sided adjustment of the irradiation plan to the relocation of the coating device is avoided, so that no compromises with regard to component quality are necessary. The quality of the manufactured components is thus high while maintaining low costs.

[0007] In particular, the simultaneous movement of the coating device along the coater movement path during the irradiation is planned in addition to the planning of the irradiation.

[0008] In one embodiment, the coating trajectory and the irradiation plan are planned for a plurality of planning powder material layers, in particular for a minority of the powder material layers, as planning powder material layers. In one configuration, the coating trajectory and the irradiation plan are planned for each of the powder material layers—intended or required for producing the at least one component—as a respective planning powder material layer. In particular, the method is carried out entirely for each powder material layer, in particular iteratively—powder material layer by powder material layer.

[0009] In the context of the present technical teaching, a coater displacement path is understood in particular to be a path along which the coating device is displaced on or above the work area for applying the powder material. In one embodiment, the coater displacement path can in particular be a linear path, wherein the coating device is displaced in particular from a first side of the work area to a second side of the work area opposite along the straight path - and back. In this case, powder material can only be applied to the work area during the displacement in one of the two displacement directions - the other displacement direction then corresponds to a pure reverse displacement - or powder material can be applied in both displacement directions during both displacements.Other paths deviating from a straight line are also possible depending on the design of the work area and / or the coating device; in particular, a displacement of the coating device along a circular path is also possible.

[0010] In contrast, a coater trajectory in the context of the present technical teaching is understood to be an explicitly time-dependent description of the displacement of the coating device across the work area, in particular a combination of the coater displacement path with additional temporal information relating to the displacement. Additional temporal information can, in particular, comprise at least one displacement parameter selected from a group consisting of: a location- and / or time-dependent speed of the coating device within the work area and optionally also outside the work area; a location- and / or time-dependent acceleration; at least one stopping point; at least one stopping time associated with a stopping point; and a combination of at least two of the aforementioned displacement parameters.

[0011] In the context of the present technical teaching, a stopping point is understood to be a location along the coater's displacement path at which the coating device stops, i.e., at which the speed of the coating device becomes zero. In the context of the present technical teaching, a stopping time is understood to be a period of time during which the coating device stops at a stopping point, i.e., in particular, a period of time during which the speed of the coating device is zero at the stopping point.

[0012] In one embodiment, the coater trajectory is planned such that the coating device does not stop along the coater displacement path. This is particularly advantageous with regard to the homogeneity of the applied powder material and the avoidance of so-called stop marks in the powder material layer. Alternatively, it is possible to plan at least one stop point for the displacement of the coating device along the coater displacement path. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, at least one displacement parameter, selected from the speed and acceleration of the coating device, is then selected, particularly in a predetermined vicinity of the at least one stop point, such that the greatest possible homogeneity of the applied powder material is achieved with as few stop marks as possible.For this purpose, the at least one displacement parameter is selected in particular within a suitably predetermined value range.

[0013] In the context of the present technical teaching, an irradiation plan is understood, in particular, to be a chronological sequence of irradiation of irradiation areas within the work area. If irradiation is planned with a plurality of energy beams, the irradiation plan, in one embodiment, also includes an assignment of the energy beams to the irradiation areas, i.e., information about which irradiation area of ​​the plurality of irradiation areas is irradiated by which energy beam of the plurality of energy beams. It is also possible for an irradiation area to be irradiated by more than one energy beam.The irradiation plan may comprise further information, in particular at least one energy beam parameter of the - optionally assigned - energy beam, selected from a group consisting of: an energy beam power; an extension of the energy beam over the work area; a displacement speed of the energy beam over the work area; and a combination of at least two of the said energy beam parameters.

[0014] In one embodiment, the irradiation plan comprises a command list for at least one scanner device assigned to the at least one energy beam, which is configured to relocate the at least one energy beam over the work area. This command list includes, in particular, relocation commands to be executed sequentially, as well as wait commands, i.e., waiting times during which the scanner device and the at least one energy beam are inactive. In one embodiment, the at least one energy beam is switched off or masked out during such waiting times.Such wait commands are inserted into the command list, for example, if no irradiation areas are available for the at least one energy beam at a specific time, for example, because restricted areas block the irradiation areas yet to be irradiated, irradiation areas yet to be irradiated are not located within an irradiation window of the at least one energy beam (explained in more detail below), or no further irradiation areas yet to be irradiated exist. If a plurality of energy beams is used, the irradiation plan includes such a command list for each energy beam of the plurality of energy beams.

[0015] The coater trajectory and the irradiation plan are optimized, in particular, in dependence on one another. In one embodiment, the coater trajectory and the irradiation plan are created iteratively, with the irradiation plan being newly determined in each iteration step based on the previously newly created coater trajectory—and vice versa.

[0016] In particular, the coating trajectory and the irradiation plan are obtained within the framework of the planning process, in particular as a result or product of the planning process.

[0017] In the context of the present technical teaching, an irradiation area is understood in particular to mean an area that is completely irradiated with an energy beam, in particular systematically, in particular with a defined direction of displacement of the energy beam, in particular in one go, in particular without the energy beam being temporarily shifted to another irradiation area. Once an irradiation area has been completely irradiated, the energy beam jumps in particular to the next irradiation area, which is then systematically irradiated with the energy beam before the energy beam jumps in turn to another irradiation area. An irradiation area is therefore in particular a contiguous region in the work area, which is processed with the energy beam in particular without interruption.In one embodiment, such an irradiation region comprises at least two irradiation vectors, which are irradiated with the energy beam directly one after the other, i.e., processed by the energy beam. In one embodiment, such an irradiation region can be formed as a strip of irradiation vectors aligned parallel to one another and arranged next to one another perpendicular to their alignment. Different irradiation regions can be assigned to the same component or to different components.

[0018] An irradiation vector is understood to be a continuous, particularly linear, displacement of the energy beam over a specific distance with a specific displacement direction. The irradiation vector includes, in particular, the direction and orientation of the displacement, i.e., the vector orientation. The irradiation vector does not have to be a straight line; rather, an irradiation vector can also follow a line or curve that is at least partially curved.

[0019] In the context of the present technical teaching, irradiation or processing of an irradiation vector is understood in particular to mean that irradiation of the powder material in the working area is carried out in accordance with the definition given by the irradiation vector.

[0020] Additive or generative manufacturing or production of a component is understood to mean, in particular, a layer-by-layer buildup of a component from powder material, in particular a powder bed-based method for producing a component in a powder bed, in particular a manufacturing method selected from a group consisting of selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, powder bed fusion (PBF), laser metal fusion (LMF), direct metal laser melting (DMLM), laser net shaping manufacturing (LNSM), selective electron beam melting ((Selective) Electron Beam Melting - (S)EBM), and laser engineered net shaping (LENS). The manufacturing device is therefore particularly configured to carry out at least one of the aforementioned additive or generative manufacturing methods.

[0021] The energy beam is selected, in particular, from a group consisting of an electromagnetic beam, in particular an optical working beam, in particular a laser beam, and a particle beam, in particular an electron beam. The energy beam can be continuous or pulsed, in particular continuous laser radiation or pulsed laser radiation. In an embodiment with a plurality of energy beams, in one specific configuration, all energy beams are laser beams.

[0022] In particular, within the scope of the planning method, a locally selective irradiation of a work area with a plurality of energy beams can be planned in order to produce one or more components layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers arranged sequentially in a layer sequence in the work area using the plurality of energy beams. In one embodiment, it is possible for all energy beams to be displaced across the entire work area. However, it is also possible for certain energy beams of the plurality of energy beams to be assigned specific partial displacement areas, also referred to as irradiation windows, in the work area within which they can be displaced, whereby these energy beams cannot be displaced, in particular in other partial displacement areas.In particular, with larger manufacturing devices or larger work areas, it is possible that certain energy beams cannot reach certain partial displacement areas of the work area due to their design.

[0023] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that a) an initial coater trajectory is determined, where b) starting from the initial coater trajectory, a working coater trajectory is defined, whereby c) a working irradiation plan is searched for on the basis of the working coater trajectory, wherein the result of step c) is the found working irradiation plan or a message is output that no working irradiation plan can be found, wherein d) on the basis of the result of step c) a new work coater trajectory is determined according to a first algorithm, and wherein e) steps c) and d) are repeated with the new work coater trajectory as the work coater trajectory until a first termination criterion is met, and wherein f) the last determined working coater trajectory is stored as the first optimized coater trajectory and the last determined working irradiation plan is stored as the first optimized irradiation plan.

[0024] In one embodiment, in step b), the working coater trajectory is the initial coater trajectory itself. Alternatively, the working coater trajectory in step b) is a trajectory modified from the initial coater trajectory. In one embodiment, the working coater trajectory in step b) is obtained by multiplying the initial coater trajectory by a delay factor, in particular by a predetermined initial delay factor. The predetermined initial delay factor can be read from a configuration file.

[0025] In the context of the present technical teaching, a deceleration factor is understood in particular to be a factor by which a coater trajectory, in particular the at least one displacement parameter of the coater trajectory, is multiplied globally for the entire coater trajectory. In one embodiment, the location- and / or time-dependent speed of the coating device is multiplied by the deceleration factor—optionally exclusively. In another embodiment, the location- and / or time-dependent acceleration is additionally or alternatively multiplied by the deceleration factor. In yet another embodiment, the holding times are additionally or alternatively multiplied by the deceleration factor.In particular, in one embodiment, it is possible that all location- and / or time-dependent speeds, location- and / or time-dependent accelerations and holding times of a coater trajectory are multiplied by the deceleration factor.

[0026] In the context of the present technical teaching, the finding of a working irradiation plan in step c) means, in particular, that a valid or functional working irradiation plan can be found in the sense that complete irradiation of the planning powder material layer is possible with the working irradiation plan, taking into account the working coater trajectory. This means that a solution exists to the problem of completely irradiating the planning powder material layer under the condition of the given working coater trajectory, or—in other words—of irradiating every irradiation area of ​​the planning powder material layer, i.e., completely processing the planning powder material layer.If no such solution exists, or if the search for the solution takes longer than a predetermined time limit for step c), no working treatment plan is found and the corresponding message is displayed.

[0027] The first termination criterion mentioned in connection with step e) can, in particular, be checked in each of steps c) and d). In one embodiment, it is checked immediately before the respective step is executed. In another embodiment, it is checked immediately after the respective step is executed.

[0028] In one embodiment, a shift time is used within the scope of checking the first termination criterion, i.e., a time duration for complete irradiation, i.e., irradiation of all irradiation areas to be irradiated, of the currently considered planning powder material layer using the current combination of work coater trajectory and work irradiation plan. In particular, the shift time can be determined within the scope of checking the first termination criterion. In one embodiment, the shift time determined in the current iteration is compared with the shift time determined in the previous iteration, and in particular, a shift time reduction is calculated as the difference between the shift time of the current iteration and the shift time of the previous iteration.

[0029] As explained in more detail below, in one embodiment, the determination of the new work coater trajectory also includes the determination of a new delay factor. In one embodiment, as part of the termination criterion check, a factor increment is calculated between the delay factor newly determined in the current iteration in step d) and the delay factor determined in the previous iteration in step d).

[0030] In one embodiment, at least one criterion selected from a group consisting of: the factor step size is smaller than a predetermined step size limit; the calculated shift time reduction is smaller than a predetermined first reduction limit; a number of iterations of steps c) and d) has reached or exceeded a predetermined first iteration maximum; and a combination of at least two of the aforementioned termination criteria.

[0031] In one embodiment, the first optimized coater trajectory and the first optimized irradiation plan are stored in step f). The storage can be volatile—in particular in a working memory—or non-volatile—in particular on a non-volatile storage medium. Alternatively or additionally, the first optimized coater trajectory and the first optimized irradiation plan can be further used, in particular further optimized, within the framework of the planning process. However, in one embodiment, it is also possible for the first optimized coater trajectory and the first optimized irradiation plan to be obtained as a result of the planning process; in particular, in this case, the planning process can end with the storage and / or output of the first optimized coater trajectory and the first optimized irradiation plan, and these can be used to manufacture at least one component.

[0032] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that g) on ​​the basis of the first optimized irradiation plan, an optimization coater trajectory is determined according to a second algorithm different from the first algorithm, wherein h) a new working irradiation plan is determined on the basis of the optimised coater trajectory, whereby i) a new optimization coater trajectory is determined on the basis of the new working irradiation plan according to the second algorithm, whereby j) steps h) and i) are repeated with the new optimization coater trajectory as the optimization coater trajectory until a second termination criterion is met, and wherein k) the combinations of new working irradiation plan and new optimised coater trajectory obtained in step i) are evaluated with regard to a predetermined quality criterion, whereby a combination optimising the quality criterion is determined and stored as a second optimised coater trajectory and as a second optimised irradiation plan.

[0033] This approach can advantageously be used to further optimize the irradiation plan and the coating trajectory. In particular, this is also referred to below as the first post-optimization.

[0034] In one embodiment, the optimization coater trajectory is determined in step g) according to the second algorithm independently of the first optimized coater trajectory.

[0035] The second termination criterion mentioned in connection with step j) can, in particular, be checked in each of steps h) and i). In one embodiment, it is checked immediately before the respective step is carried out. In another embodiment, it is checked immediately after the respective step is carried out.

[0036] In one embodiment, the shift time of the current combination of optimized coater trajectory and working irradiation plan is also used in the context of checking the second termination criterion. In particular, the shift time can be determined in the context of checking the second termination criterion. In one embodiment, the shift time determined in the current iteration is compared with the shift time determined in the previous iteration, and in particular, a shift time reduction is calculated as the difference between the shift time of the current iteration and the shift time of the previous iteration.

[0037] In one embodiment, at least one criterion selected from a group consisting of: in step h), no new working irradiation plan can be found; the calculated slice time reduction is less than a predetermined second reduction limit, which may be the same as or different from the first reduction limit; a number of iterations of steps h) and i) has reached or exceeded a predetermined second iteration maximum, which may be the same as or different from the first iteration maximum; and a combination of at least two of the aforementioned termination criteria.

[0038] In the context of the present technical teaching, a quality criterion is understood in particular to be a criterion by which the quality of a determined solution of a planning, in particular optimization, problem can be evaluated in comparison to other solutions, in particular thus a criterion by which the quality of a determined combination of a coater trajectory and an irradiation plan can be evaluated in comparison to other such combinations.

[0039] In one embodiment, the predetermined quality criterion is the shift time, i.e., the time required for complete irradiation—i.e., irradiation of all irradiation areas to be irradiated—of the currently considered planning powder material layer using the combination of coater trajectory and irradiation plan to be evaluated. The quality of the combination to be evaluated is higher the shorter the shift time assigned to it. Optimizing the quality criterion thus means, in particular, minimizing the shift time.

[0040] In one embodiment, the evaluation already takes place in step i). In one configuration, the new optimization coater trajectory can advantageously already be determined taking the quality criterion into account. In particular, the new optimization coater trajectory is determined, in particular calculated, using the new working irradiation plan obtained in step h) by optimizing the quality criterion. In particular, the new optimization coater trajectory is determined using the new working irradiation plan obtained in step h) by minimizing the shift time.

[0041] In one embodiment, the second optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized irradiation plan are stored in step k). The storage can be volatile—in particular in a working memory—or non-volatile—in particular on a non-volatile storage medium. Alternatively or additionally, the second optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized irradiation plan can be further used, in particular further optimized, within the framework of the planning process. However, in one embodiment, it is also possible for the second optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized irradiation plan to be obtained as a result of the planning process; in particular, in this case, the planning process can end with the storage and / or output of the second optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized irradiation plan, and these can be used to manufacture at least one component.

[0042] According to a further development of the invention, a coater trajectory to be reoptimized, selected from the first optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized coater trajectory obtained in step k), is reoptimized based on the quality criterion, from which a third optimized coater trajectory is obtained. Advantageously, a further optimization of the coater trajectory can be performed in this way. In particular, this is also referred to below as a second reoptimization.

[0043] In one embodiment, the second re-optimization comprises identifying time intervals in the irradiation plan assigned to the coater trajectory to be re-optimized, to which wait commands are simultaneously assigned to all energy beams of the at least one energy beam. If such a time interval is identified, the coater speed in the part of the workspace assigned to this time interval is increased, ideally set to a predetermined maximum coater speed. From this, the third optimized coater trajectory is obtained. This leads to a corresponding shortening of the time interval under consideration, thus to a time reduction. This time reduction is then subtracted from all subsequent wait commands in the assigned irradiation plan, thus also obtaining a corresponding, new optimized irradiation plan. Overall, the shift time is advantageously reduced in this way.

[0044] Additionally or alternatively, the second re-optimization includes identifying an end section of the coater trajectory to be re-optimized, in which, if applicable, no commands for the at least one energy beam are present in the associated irradiation plan, since all commands have already been processed. In this case, too, the coater speed is advantageously increased for the part of the work area associated with the identified end section, preferably to the predetermined maximum coater speed.

[0045] In one embodiment, two predetermined maximum coater speeds are generally used, a first predetermined maximum coater speed for moving the coating device above the powder material, and a second predetermined maximum coater speed for moving the coating device in edge regions outside the powder material, i.e. outside the working region, for example for moving the coating device into a parking position.

[0046] According to a further development of the invention, the initial coater trajectory is determined by determining local irradiation times for the irradiation areas of the work area to be irradiated along the coater displacement path, with the initial coater trajectory being determined based on the determined local irradiation times. It has been found that this initialization advantageously contributes to stable and rapid optimization.

[0047] In one embodiment, the initial coater trajectory is determined by defining an initial speed profile for the coating device along the coater displacement path. An initial speed profile is understood to mean, in particular, a local sequence of displacement speeds along the coater displacement path. The initial speed profile is determined, in particular, such that a predetermined minimum coater speed is not undershot and the predetermined maximum coater speed is not exceeded. The predetermined minimum coater speed and the predetermined maximum coater speed can vary depending on the specific production device, the geometry of the coating device, the powder material used, and other conditions. They are therefore preferably parameterizable.

[0048] In one embodiment, the irradiation areas to be irradiated along the coater's displacement path are determined, and each irradiation area is assigned a local irradiation duration. The coating device is assigned a predetermined displacement speed that is initially constant along the displacement path. For each location or interval along the coater's displacement path at or in which at least one irradiation area is located, the assigned local irradiation durations are added to form a local irradiation duration sum. If the irradiation is carried out with a plurality of energy beams, the number of energy beams available for irradiation at the respective location or interval is taken into account, and the local irradiation duration sum is adjusted accordingly.Furthermore, the predetermined displacement speed at the locations or in the intervals along the coater displacement path for which local irradiation duration sums other than zero were determined is reduced as a function of the determined local irradiation duration sums, in particular proportional to the local irradiation duration sums. In one embodiment, no dynamics of the coating device are taken into account, i.e., in particular, no accelerations of the coating device are taken into account. However, in another embodiment, it is entirely possible to also take the dynamics of the coating device into account. Furthermore, in one embodiment, possible waiting times and / or jumps in the energy beams between individual irradiation areas are not taken into account, in particular since these are not yet known before the irradiation plan is determined.

[0049] Alternatively or additionally, the initial coater trajectory is determined based on the total irradiation duration of the irradiation areas of the work area to be irradiated, in particular all irradiation areas of the planning powder material layer to be irradiated. This also allows a suitable initialization for stable optimization to be obtained. In contrast to the previously explained procedure, the irradiation areas are not considered locally; rather, only the total irradiation duration is determined, in particular for the planning powder material layer as a whole. In one embodiment, the predetermined displacement speed is then reduced as a function of the determined total irradiation duration, in particular proportional to it. In particular, a reduced displacement speed that is constant along the coater displacement path is thus obtained.

[0050] Regardless of its specific determination, the initial coater trajectory—especially when neglecting the dynamics of the coating device—represents an upper bound, in particular a supremum, of all possible coater trajectories, since an even faster relocation of the coating device would inevitably lead to a conflict between the irradiation and the relocation of the coating device due to the simple consideration of the irradiation times assigned to the irradiation areas. In other words, this also means that an initial trajectory time, i.e., the time required to relocate the coating device according to the initial coater trajectory, represents a lower bound for the coating time, which can never be reached or undercut in the real process.

[0051] In one embodiment, the working coater trajectory is therefore obtained in step b) by multiplying the initial coater trajectory by a delay factor, in particular by the predetermined initial delay factor, which is less than 1. Advantageously, the delay factor for step b) is selected such that a - first - working irradiation plan for the working coater trajectory determined in this way can be found at least with high probability in the subsequent step c).

[0052] According to a further development of the invention, the first algorithm in step d) comprises determining a delay factor and multiplying a coater trajectory, selected from the initial coater trajectory and the most recently obtained working coater trajectory, by the delay factor. Regardless of whether the initial coater trajectory or the most recently obtained working coater trajectory is multiplied by the delay factor, the same result is preferably obtained; in this respect, only the delay factor is defined differently depending on the trajectory used. A particularly simple definition of the delay factor can be used if it is always applied to the initial coater trajectory.

[0053] In one embodiment—particularly when applying the current delay factor to the initial coater trajectory—the delay factor is selected from the interval 0,1. This implicitly takes into account that the initial coater trajectory represents an upper bound for all possible coater trajectories. At the same time, the result of multiplying the initial coater trajectory by a delay factor of zero represents an obvious lower bound, in particular an infimum, whereby this lower bound obviously does not belong to the set of reasonable coater trajectories.

[0054] In one embodiment, the delay factor is determined using a bisection method. This represents a simple and robust method for determining the delay factor.

[0055] Alternatively, the delay factor is determined as a predetermined factor. The delay factor can be read from a configuration file. In particular, a predetermined sequence of delay factors can be read from the configuration file. In one embodiment, a delay factor is stored for each step of the sequence, in particular for each iteration step, to be read or used depending on the result achieved in step c). The actual read or selected delay factor thus differs in each step depending on whether a new working irradiation plan could be found in step c).

[0056] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that after step c) initially a predetermined delay factor, i.e. a predetermined delay value for the delay factor, and then the respectively last used delay factor is defined as a new lower limit if a new working irradiation plan could be successfully found in step c), or is defined as a new upper limit if no new working irradiation plan could be found in step c).

[0057] If a new working irradiation plan is found in step c), the predetermined delay factor, in particular the predetermined initial delay factor used in step b) or another delay factor read from a configuration file, is set as the new lower bound in a first iteration, i.e., initially. In each subsequent iteration, the most recently used delay factor is then set as the new lower bound. This is based on the idea that it is proven possible to find a working irradiation plan using the most recently used working coater trajectory, so that in any case, slower working coater trajectories—which means, equivalently, smaller delay factors—no longer need to be tested.Rather, it is only necessary to investigate the question of whether a working irradiation plan can also be found for faster working coater trajectories - that is, equivalent to larger delay factors.

[0058] If, on the other hand, no new working irradiation plan is found in step c), the predetermined delay factor, in particular the predetermined initial delay factor used in step b), is set as the new upper bound in a first iteration, i.e., initially. In each subsequent iteration, the most recently used delay factor is then set as the new upper bound. This is based on the idea that it is proven impossible to find a working irradiation plan with the most recently used working coater trajectory, so that in any case, faster working coater trajectories—which means, equivalently, no larger delay factors—need no longer to be examined. Instead, slower working coater trajectories—which means, equivalently, smaller delay factors—need to be examined with regard to the possible working irradiation plans to be found.

[0059] Strictly speaking, a distinction can be made between the terms "delay value" and "delay factor," where "delay factor" in the narrower sense refers to the variable so named as an abstract quantity, and "delay value" refers to a numerical value assigned to this variable. For the sake of simplicity, however, this distinction will not be consistently applied here. Instead, the term "delay factor" will be used - depending on the context - for both the delay factor in the narrower sense, i.e., the variable, and the value assigned to it.

[0060] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that initially before step d) a predetermined first upper limit and a predetermined first lower limit are defined, wherein the bisection method in step d) comprises that the delay factor is set to a new delay value which corresponds to the sum of the last used delay factor and half of a difference between the last defined upper limit and the last used delay factor if a new working irradiation plan could be successfully determined in step c), or the difference between the last used delay factor and half of a difference between the last used delay factor and the last defined lower limit if no new working irradiation plan could be determined in step c).

[0061] The predetermined first upper bound and the predetermined first lower bound can, in particular, be technically determined bounds which optionally cannot be exceeded or must not be exceeded or should not be exceeded, in particular with regard to the functionality or service life of the manufacturing device or individual components thereof. However, in one embodiment, it is also possible for 1, i.e., the maximum of the interval ]0,1], to be used as the predetermined first upper bound. Alternatively or additionally, 0, i.e., the infimum of the interval ]0,1], can be used as the predetermined first lower bound. It is further possible for the predetermined initial delay factor to be used as the predetermined first upper bound in one embodiment.

[0062] If a new working irradiation plan was successfully determined in step c), the delay value is used to jump to the middle of the interval between the last used delay factor and the last specified upper limit. In this way, a new working irradiation plan can be searched for "further up," i.e., towards a faster coater trajectory. If, on the other hand, a new working irradiation plan could not be determined in step c), the delay value is used to jump to the middle of the interval between the last used delay factor and the last specified lower limit. In this way, a new working irradiation plan can be searched for "further down," i.e., towards a slower coater trajectory.

[0063] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that the second algorithm in step i) comprises a determination of coater support points on the work area on the basis of the new work irradiation plan, wherein the new optimization coater trajectory is determined on the basis of the coater support points.

[0064] In one embodiment, the second algorithm comprises determining location-dependent coating support points in the work area based on the new work irradiation plan. Alternatively or additionally, the second algorithm comprises determining time-dependent coating support points in the work area based on the new work irradiation plan. In particular, the coating support points can be specified or determined both location-dependently and time-dependently.

[0065] In one embodiment, the new optimization coater trajectory is determined taking into account real coater dynamics, in particular accelerations, of the coating device.

[0066] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that the coating support points are selected such that all irradiation areas currently to be irradiated according to the new working irradiation plan are arranged within at least one currently valid coating window of the coating device.

[0067] In the context of the present technical teaching, a currently valid coating window is understood to mean, in particular, a permissible range defined depending on the current coating position of the coating device, within which irradiation is permitted or authorized. In one embodiment, it is possible for the at least one coating window—which is then particularly constant in its extent—to be displaced with the coating device.

[0068] In a simple embodiment, the coating window is defined by a - possibly imaginary - edge of the work area on the one hand and an edge of the coating device facing the edge. In this case, the coating window opens or enlarges when the coating device moves away from the edge of the work area along the coating device displacement path, and it closes or shrinks when the coating device moves toward the edge of the work area along the coating device displacement path. It is possible for two edges of the work area opposite each other along the coating device displacement path to each define a coating window, each with an edge of the coating device facing the respective edge.In one embodiment in which the irradiation exclusively precedes the coating device, i.e., only a previously applied layer of powder material is applied simultaneously with the application of a new layer of powder material by the coating device, there is then only one coating window along the coater displacement path in front of the coating device. In another embodiment in which the irradiation exclusively follows the coating device, i.e., only a newly applied layer of powder material is irradiated while the coating device applies new powder material to an already irradiated layer of powder material, there is likewise only one coating window along the coater displacement path behind the coating device. However, in yet another embodiment, it is also possible for both the new and the already existing layer of powder material to be irradiated.In this case, there are two coating windows in the work area, one located in front of the coating device and one located behind it. For example, when the coating device is moved to apply the new layer of powder material, the first coating window closes while the second coating window opens.

[0069] It is possible for the production device to have a protective gas device that is configured to generate a protective gas flow over the work area. At least one flow generation element, selected from a protective gas source, which may in particular have at least one protective gas nozzle, and a protective gas sink, which may have a protective gas extraction system, can be arranged on the coating device, in particular integrated into the coating device. Another flow generation element, selected from the protective gas source and the protective gas sink, can be arranged at at least one of the edges of the work area or form the corresponding edge. In one embodiment, the coating device has the protective gas sink, and a protective gas source is arranged at at least one of the edges.If protective gas sources are arranged on both opposite edges, the coating device also preferably has two protective gas sinks, each of which is aligned with the associated edge, in particular arranged on the edge of the coating device associated with the respective edge.

[0070] In one embodiment, the coating device has at least two edges spaced apart from one another along the coater displacement path and oriented at least locally perpendicular to the coater displacement path, which edges together define a coating window arranged between the edges. Both edges then move with the coating device, so that the coating window—which remains constant in its extension—also moves with the coating device along the coater displacement path. Advantageously, a protective gas source is arranged at one edge and a protective gas sink is arranged at the other edge. The coating window can also be designed to be circumferentially closed, in particular by connecting the edges laterally to one another.In one embodiment, flow generation elements are suitably arranged at the edges, wherein in particular a flow source can be arranged at one of the edges and a flow sink can be arranged at the other edge.

[0071] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the coating device has two such coating windows - constant in their extent and moving with the coating device - wherein the coating windows are delimited on the one hand by a front edge and a central part of the coating device and on the other hand by the central part and a rear edge of the coating device. The first coating window, delimited by the front edge and the central part, runs ahead along the coating device displacement path, while the second coating window, delimited by the central part and the rear edge, runs behind. In one embodiment, flow generation elements are also suitably arranged at the front edge, the central part, and the rear edge, wherein in particular a flow source can be arranged at the front edge and the rear edge, and a flow sink can be arranged at the central part - in particular on both sides.In one embodiment, the central part is designed to apply the powder material to the work area; the coating is therefore carried out through the central part.

[0072] In one embodiment, within the framework of the second algorithm, a time-dependent profile—in particular, discretely dependent on time steps—of a minimum position of the at least one energy beam along the coater displacement path, also referred to as the minimum energy beam position for short, is determined on the basis of the new working irradiation plan. In the context of the present technical teaching, a minimum position of the at least one energy beam is understood in particular to be the location of the at least one energy beam on the coater displacement path, interpreted as a one-dimensional coordinate—or as a trajectory curve in parameter representation depending on exactly one path parameter—to which a minimum coordinate or path parameter value is assigned at a given time.The coating support points are selected such that the time-dependently determined minimum positions of the at least one energy beam are arranged within the at least one currently valid coating window for each point in time, in particular time step. In particular, a new coating support point is added at each change in the time-dependent minimum positions.

[0073] Alternatively or additionally, within the framework of the second algorithm, a time-dependent profile—in particular, discretely depending on time steps—of a maximum position of the at least one energy beam along the coater displacement path, also referred to as the maximum energy beam position for short, is determined on the basis of the new working irradiation plan. In the context of the present technical teaching, a maximum position of the at least one energy beam is understood in particular to be the location of the at least one energy beam on the coater displacement path, interpreted as a one-dimensional coordinate—or as a trajectory curve in parametric representation depending on exactly one path parameter—to which a maximum coordinate or path parameter value is assigned at a given time.The coating support points are selected such that the time-dependently determined maximum positions of the at least one energy beam are arranged within the at least one currently valid coating window for each point in time, in particular time step. In particular, a new coating support point is added at each change in the time-dependent maximum positions.

[0074] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that for a number of time steps, the minimum and the maximum energy beam position of the at least one energy beam along the coater displacement path are determined, wherein the coater support points are determined for each time step of the number of time steps as a function of the respective minimum and maximum energy beam position.

[0075] In one embodiment, within the framework of the second algorithm, a time-dependent profile—in particular discretely in the form of the number of time steps—of the minimum energy beam position and the maximum energy beam position is determined on the basis of the new working irradiation plan. This results in a positional path along the time axis. The coater support points are selected such that this positional path is located within the at least one currently valid coater window for each point in time, in particular time step. In particular, new coater support points are added at each position change of the maximum and minimum energy beam positions. In particular, the coater support points are selected in each time step of the number of time steps such that the minimum and maximum energy beam positions are located within the at least one currently valid coater window.

[0076] In general, when adding new coater support points, real coater dynamics are preferably taken into account. This advantageously ensures that the resulting coater trajectory is drivable, which means, in particular, that the resulting coater trajectory can be implemented in the actual mechanical setup, taking into account, in particular, the dynamic parameters of the axes.

[0077] According to a second aspect, the object is also achieved by providing a method—referred to as a further planning method—for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with at least one energy beam, in which method an irradiation plan, in particular the work irradiation plan according to one of the previously described embodiments of the planning method, is determined according to at least one allocation criterion selected from a group consisting of: at least one constraint, at least one cost criterion, and a combination of the at least one constraint and the at least one cost criterion. Taking into account the at least one allocation criterion, an improved irradiation plan—in particular with regard to the shift time—can be obtained.Advantageously, the assignment criterion enables the consideration of simultaneous coating in a simple and at the same time stable manner, in particular the simultaneous planning of a coater trajectory.

[0078] In one embodiment, the irradiation plan in the further planning method according to the second aspect is determined as a function of a coater trajectory, in particular a predetermined or previously determined coater trajectory, in particular a current working coater trajectory obtained by means of the planning method according to the first aspect.

[0079] In the context of the present technical teaching, a constraint is understood in particular to be a condition that must be absolutely fulfilled by the irradiation plan, or - expressed differently - that must not be violated at any point in the irradiation plan. Thus, in particular in step c) described above, an irradiation plan is only found if the at least one constraint is fulfilled - in particular at all times and for each irradiation area in the irradiation plan. If the fulfillment of the at least one constraint proves impossible, in particular if the at least one constraint cannot be fulfilled for an irradiation area at any time, the message is output that no irradiation plan could be found.

[0080] In the context of the present technical teaching, a cost criterion is understood to mean a criterion that does not necessarily have to be met or does not have to be fully met in the irradiation plan, wherein in one embodiment, when determining the irradiation plan, non-fulfillment of the corresponding criterion is penalized or, conversely, fulfillment of the corresponding criterion is rewarded; it is also possible to take into account the extent to which the corresponding criterion is fulfilled.

[0081] In the context of the present technical teaching, the fact that the irradiation plan is determined according to the at least one allocation criterion means, in particular, that the irradiation plan is determined taking into account the at least one allocation criterion. In one embodiment, the irradiation plan is determined such that the at least one constraint is met; if the at least one constraint cannot be met, no irradiation plan is determined. In another embodiment, the irradiation plan is determined taking into account, in particular weighting—in a particular embodiment, optimizing, in particular minimizing—the at least one cost criterion or a cost function that takes the at least one cost criterion into account.In a further embodiment, the irradiation plan is determined such that the at least one constraint is met, and additionally with optimization, in particular minimization, of the at least one cost criterion or the cost function taking the at least one cost criterion into account. In this case, it is particularly possible for the at least one constraint to be met first and then the at least one cost criterion or the cost function to be optimized, in particular minimized.

[0082] In one embodiment, the further planning method can be carried out independently of the previously described planning method. In another embodiment, the further planning method is part of the previously described planning method according to the invention or a planning method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments. In particular, the further irradiation method is an embodiment of the previously described planning method according to the invention, wherein the further irradiation method comprises determining the irradiation plan, in particular the respective working irradiation plan.

[0083] In an embodiment of the further planning method - also according to the invention - the at least one constraint is selected from a group consisting of: at least one restricted area, that is to say in particular the arrangement of an irradiation area to be tested outside the at least one restricted area; a - current - arrangement of at least one coater window of the coating device, that is to say in particular the arrangement of the irradiation area to be tested within the at least one coater window; an irradiation window of the at least one energy beam, that is to say in particular the arrangement of the irradiation area to be tested within the irradiation window; and a combination of at least two of the said constraints.

[0084] In the context of the present technical teaching, a restricted area is understood in particular to be an area in the work area that is not permitted for irradiation. Such a restricted area can, for example, be set up to prevent a negative influence on the quality of the resulting components due to smoke or fumes introduced into an irradiation area from another irradiation area due to the protective gas flow. Such a restricted area can therefore be defined in particular with regard to a flow direction of the protective gas flow, optionally further depending on a current position of at least one further energy beam that irradiates the work area in addition to a first energy beam. However, such a restricted area can also be defined with regard to the at least one further energy beam in such a way that mutual interference between the energy beams is avoided.

[0085] As previously explained, a coating window can be dynamic, and therefore time-dependent. The coating window can, in particular, change its arrangement, i.e., its size and / or position, depending on the position of the coating device. Thus, the definition of the areas within the work area permitted for irradiation also changes over time.

[0086] In particular, a location- and / or time-dependent arrangement of the at least one coating window is taken into account as a constraint.

[0087] In the context of the present technical teaching, an irradiation window of the at least one energy beam is understood to mean, in particular, a predetermined - in one embodiment, firmly defined - area on the work area in which the at least one energy beam may irradiate the work area, or in which the at least one energy beam can irradiate the work area.It is therefore possible that the energy beam is assigned only a specific area of ​​the working area for irradiation by means of certain, in particular fixedly implemented rules, whereby the energy beam may not irradiate other areas of the working area, for example because otherwise an angle of incidence of the energy beam would be too flat - or in other words a deflection angle of the energy beam would be too large - or the energy beam would come into conflict with other energy beams; in other embodiments, it is possible that the energy beam can only be displaced over a predetermined area of ​​the working area, for example because the range of a scanner device provided for displacing the energy beam is limited.

[0088] Alternatively or additionally, the at least one cost criterion is selected from a group consisting of: a current distance of an irradiation region from the coating device, a jump distance for the at least one energy beam, a predetermined energy beam trajectory for the at least one energy beam, a deflection angle of the at least one energy beam, and a combination of at least two of the said cost criteria.

[0089] In the context of the present technical teaching, a current distance of an irradiation area from the coating device is understood to mean, in particular, a shortest distance of the irradiation area, in particular of an outer edge of the irradiation area, from a current position of the coating device along the coater displacement path.

[0090] In one embodiment, shorter distances are rewarded, or in other words, given higher priority, while longer distances are penalized, or in other words, given lower priority. This means that irradiation areas located closer to the coating device are given higher weighting than those farther away. This can help ensure that every irradiation area is irradiated before it is reached by the coating device, especially when irradiation is carried out in advance of relocating the coating device.

[0091] In another embodiment, longer distances are rewarded, or in other words, given higher priority—or shorter distances are penalized, or in other words, given lower priority—that is, irradiation areas located farther from the coating device are given higher weighting than those located closer to the coating device. This can help ensure that irradiation is completed before the coating device returns to its starting point, especially when irradiation is carried out after relocating the coating device.

[0092] In yet another embodiment, in a first coating window, in which the irradiation of the coating precedes, shorter distances are rewarded, or in other words, given higher priority—or longer distances are penalized, or in other words, given lower priority—that is, irradiation areas located closer to the coating device are given higher weighting than those located farther away from the coating device. At the same time, in a second coating window, in which the irradiation of the coating precedes, longer distances are rewarded, or in other words, given higher priority—or shorter distances are penalized, or in other words, given lower priority—that is, irradiation areas located farther away from the coating device are given higher weighting than those located closer to the coating device.In particular, the distances to the central part of the coating device are considered, ie used for prioritization.

[0093] In an embodiment in which the coating device has, on the one hand, a first edge leading the irradiation and a second edge trailing the irradiation, shorter distances to the second edge are preferably rewarded, or in other words, given higher priority – or longer distances to the second edge are penalized, or in other words, given lower priority – i.e., those irradiation areas located closer to the second edge are given higher weighting than those located farther from the second edge. At the same time, longer distances to the first edge are rewarded, or in other words, given higher priority – or shorter distances to the first edge are penalized, or in other words, given lower priority – i.e., those irradiation areas located farther from the first edge are given higher weighting than those located closer to the first edge.

[0094] In the context of the present technical teaching, a jump distance for the at least one energy beam is understood, in particular, to be a distance between a last energy beam position during the irradiation of a preceding irradiation area and a first energy beam position during the irradiation of a next, immediately subsequent irradiation area. In one embodiment, shorter jump distances are rewarded—or longer jump distances are penalized—that is, potentially subsequent irradiation areas that are located closer to the preceding irradiation area are given a higher weighting than those that are farther away. This advantageously reduces unproductive downtime or dead time during irradiation and thus the overall shift time.

[0095] In the context of the present technical teaching, a predetermined energy beam trajectory is understood to mean, in particular, a virtual trajectory that is specified for the energy beam, in particular in such a way that certain irradiation targets are adhered to as closely as possible. For example, the energy beam trajectory can be specified in such a way that large deflection angles for the at least one energy beam and / or interactions between different energy beams, and / or potential component defects in overlapping areas of different energy beams are avoided. Adhering to the predetermined energy beam trajectory as precisely as possible thus at least potentially increases the quality of the manufactured components. However, exact adherence to the predetermined energy beam trajectory is not required.In one embodiment, a deviation from the energy beam trajectory is penalized - in particular depending on the extent of the deviation - or, conversely, the most accurate adherence to the energy beam trajectory is rewarded - in particular depending on the extent of adherence.

[0096] In the context of the present technical teaching, a deflection angle of the at least one energy beam is understood to mean, in particular, an angle formed by the at least one energy beam with a normal line projected onto the work area from the scanner device provided for its displacement or from another energy beam source. The greater the deflection angle, the flatter the angle of incidence of the energy beam onto the work area. It has been found that flatter angles of incidence can tend to lead to reduced component quality. Therefore, in one embodiment, larger deflection angles—particularly depending on the magnitude of the respective deflection angle—are penalized, or, conversely, smaller deflection angles are rewarded accordingly.

[0097] As explained, the various cost criteria can be advantageously combined.

[0098] In one embodiment, the irradiation plan is created by optimizing a cost function that incorporates at least one of the aforementioned cost criteria. This represents an advantageous possibility, on the one hand, to perform optimization using only one cost criterion and, on the other hand, to combine these when applying multiple cost criteria. In one embodiment, a plurality of cost criteria are included in the cost function. In one configuration, the individual cost criteria are weighted, in particular with a weighting factor. The weighting of the individual cost criteria can be specified or changed, in particular depending on a predetermined strategy for manufacturing the at least one component.For example, the weighting can be selected differently depending on whether the fastest possible production of a component - in particular with maximum utilization of the at least one energy beam - or the highest possible quality in the production of a component - in particular with minimal deflection angles of the at least one energy beam - is to be achieved.

[0099] For example, the cost function J can generally have the following form: J=∑igiKi, with cost criteria K i and assigned weighting factors g i .

[0100] The irradiation plan is determined by optimizing, in particular minimizing the cost function J.

[0101] According to a further development of the invention, the irradiation plan is created for a plurality of energy beams. In particular, the at least one allocation criterion is evaluated or checked for the plurality of energy beams, in particular for each energy beam. In other words, the at least one allocation criterion is evaluated or checked for the scanner devices of a plurality of scanner devices respectively assigned to the energy beams, in particular for each scanner device.

[0102] In particular, the irradiation plan includes an assignment of irradiation areas in the work area to the individual energy beams of the plurality of energy beams. In one embodiment, the irradiation plan additionally includes a chronological order for the processing of the irradiation areas.

[0103] In one embodiment, the irradiation plan is determined by iterating over a time parameter—in particular time step by time step—in an outer iteration, wherein the energy beams of the plurality of energy beams are iterated over in a first inner iteration, wherein the as yet unassigned irradiation regions are iterated over for each energy beam in a second inner iteration, wherein the iteration is continued until a third termination criterion is reached. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the outer iteration is replaced by event control or event triggering, i.e., the first inner iteration is started when a specific event occurs, wherein the event is preferably used as the fact that at least one energy beam is available and / or that at least one irradiation region is available for irradiation.In particular, the event is systematically checked for along the current working coater trajectory or an otherwise obtained coater trajectory, and the first inner iteration is always started for the corresponding point along the coater trajectory when the event is given.

[0104] The third termination criterion may, in particular, include that all irradiation areas could be successfully assigned; if this is the case, an irradiation plan was successfully determined that includes both the assignment of the irradiation areas to the individual energy beams and the chronological order in which the irradiation areas are processed. Alternatively or additionally, the third termination criterion may include that at least one irradiation area could not be assigned; in this case, no permissible irradiation plan can be found. Alternatively or additionally, the third termination criterion may include that a collision between an energy beam and the coating device was detected, or that the coating device has already been displaced so far along the coater trajectory that an irradiation area that has not yet been irradiated can no longer be irradiated.These criteria can be checked purely geometrically and / or using logical operations. Furthermore, the third termination criterion specifically checks whether the coating trajectory has reached its end, i.e., whether no further event is pending. The third termination criterion preferably includes a suitable logical combination of the aforementioned termination criteria.

[0105] In one embodiment, the first inner iteration initially checks for the current energy beam whether it is already active, i.e., irradiating an irradiation area, or whether it is inactive and thus ready for assignment to a further irradiation area. If the current energy beam is already active, the system immediately moves on to the next energy beam. If the current energy beam is inactive, the system jumps to the second inner iteration and, taking into account the at least one assignment criterion, searches for the optimal irradiation area for the current energy beam among the irradiation areas not yet assigned. If such an irradiation area is found, the corresponding irradiation area is marked as assigned and thus, in particular, removed from the list of irradiation areas not yet assigned. The first inner iteration then continues with the next energy beam.If, however, no such irradiation area is found, a waiting time is assigned to the current energy beam, and the first inner iteration continues with the next energy beam. Once all energy beams have been iterated through, the outer iteration jumps to the next time step—or the next event along the coating trajectory is sought—and then the first inner iteration is restarted.

[0106] The result of this method can depend on the order in which the energy beams are considered. In particular, a predetermined order of the majority of energy beams is used for the first inner iteration.

[0107] In particular, the irradiation plan is obtained as a data set for controlling a manufacturing device, in particular a manufacturing device according to the invention described below or a manufacturing device according to one or more of the embodiments described below, for additively manufacturing a component from the powder material. Regardless of whether the method is carried out on a planning device arranged separately from a manufacturing device or on the manufacturing device itself, the irradiation plan is thus obtained in an easily manageable, in particular machine-readable form. In particular, it is preferably also possible to export the irradiation plan obtained as a data set and to transport it, in particular to transmit it, independently of a specific device, for example embodied on a data carrier or virtually via a network.

[0108] The object is also achieved by creating a method - also referred to below as a manufacturing method - for the additive manufacturing of at least one component from a powder material, which has the following steps: providing an irradiation plan obtained with the aid of a planning method according to the invention or a planning method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments for the locally selective irradiation of a work area with at least one energy beam and a coater trajectory in order to produce the at least one component by means of the at least one energy beam layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers of the powder material arranged in a layer sequence in the work area, and producing the at least one component according to the irradiation plan and the coater trajectory, in particular by means of the methods described below,manufacturing device according to the invention or a manufacturing device according to one or more of the embodiments described below. In connection with the manufacturing method, the advantages already explained above in connection with the planning method arise in particular.

[0109] In one embodiment, the irradiation plan is provided by performing a planning method according to the invention or a planning method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments. Thus, the method for manufacturing the component simultaneously also includes the planning method—particularly in the form of upstream steps.

[0110] A laser beam or an electron beam is preferably used as the energy beam.

[0111] Preferably, the component is manufactured by means of selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, powder bed fusion and / or selective laser melting.

[0112] As powder material, a metallic or ceramic powder can preferably be used.

[0113] The invention also includes a computer program product comprising machine-readable instructions on the basis of which a planning method according to the invention or a planning method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments is carried out on a computing device when the computer program product is running on the computing device.

[0114] Alternatively or additionally, the computer program product comprises machine-readable instructions on the basis of which a manufacturing method according to the invention or a manufacturing method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments is carried out on the computing device when the computer program product is running on the computing device.

[0115] In connection with the computer program product, the advantages that have already been explained in connection with the planning process or the manufacturing process arise in particular.

[0116] The invention also includes a data carrier comprising a computer program product according to the invention or a computer program product according to one or more of the previously described embodiments.

[0117] The object is also achieved by providing a planning device for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with at least one energy beam in order to produce at least one component from a powder material arranged in the work area by means of the at least one energy beam. The planning device is configured to carry out a planning method according to the invention or a planning method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments. In connection with the planning device, the advantages that have already been explained in connection with the planning method, the manufacturing method, or the computer program product arise in particular.

[0118] In particular, the planning device can be configured to plan the locally selective irradiation of the work area with a plurality of energy beams.

[0119] In one embodiment, the planning device is configured as a device selected from a group consisting of a computer, in particular a personal computer (PC), a plug-in card or control card, and an FPGA board. In one embodiment, the planning device is an RTC5 or RTC6 control card from SCANLAB GmbH, in particular in the configuration currently available on the date determining the priority of the present patent.

[0120] In particular, the planning device can be provided externally or separately from a manufacturing device, wherein the planning device preferably creates a data set, which is then transmitted in a suitable manner, for example by means of a data carrier or via a network, in particular via the Internet, or via another suitable wireless or wired transmission form, to a manufacturing device, in particular a control device of a manufacturing device. For example, it is possible for the planning device to generate CAM data from CAD data, i.e., in particular, a command sequence, in particular an NC program, for controlling the manufacturing device. This command sequence is then transmitted to the manufacturing device for its control.It is also possible for CAD data of a component to be transferred to the planning device, with the planning device generating the command sequence for the manufacturing device from this data. However, the planning device can also be integrated into a manufacturing device. In particular, the planning device can be integrated into the control device of the manufacturing device, or the control device of the manufacturing device can be designed as a planning device, in particular by providing a suitable hardware component and / or by implementing a suitable computer program product, in particular software.For example, it is possible for CAD data of a component to be manufactured to be transferred to the manufacturing device, whereby the manufacturing device itself, in particular the planning device implemented in the control device, generates corresponding CAM data or a command sequence for controlling the manufacturing device from the CAD data. However, it is also possible for the planning device to comprise a plurality of computing devices, wherein it is designed in a physically distributed manner, in particular. The planning device then preferably comprises a plurality of interconnected computing devices. In particular, the planning device can be designed as a data cloud or so-called cloud, or the planning device can be part of a data cloud or cloud.In a preferred embodiment, it is also possible for the planning device to comprise, on the one hand, at least one computing device external to the production device and, on the other hand, the production device, in particular the control device of the production device, wherein steps performed by the planning device are then carried out partly on the external computing device and partly on the production device, in particular on the control device. In particular, it is also possible for the planning device not to take over the complete planning of the locally selective irradiation of the work area, but only parts thereof; in particular, it is possible for the planning device to take over only that part of the planning of the locally selective irradiation of the work area that relates to the previously described steps and / or specifications.Other parts of the planning of the locally selective irradiation, however, can be performed in other computing devices, in particular in computing devices external to the manufacturing device, or in the manufacturing device itself, in particular its control device, or even in a data cloud. In particular, it is possible for the planning device to modify, adapt, or correct CAM data generated by another computing device or a command sequence, in particular an NC program.

[0121] The object is finally also achieved by providing a manufacturing device for the additive manufacturing of components from a powder material. The manufacturing device has at least one beam generation device configured to generate at least one energy beam. Furthermore, the manufacturing device has at least one scanner device configured to locally and selectively irradiate a work area with the at least one energy beam in order to produce a component from the powder material arranged in the work area using the at least one energy beam. Furthermore, the manufacturing device has a coating device for applying the powder material to the work area.Finally, the manufacturing device comprises a control device that is operatively connected to the at least one scanner device and the coating device and configured to control the at least one scanner device and the coating device. The control device is configured to carry out a manufacturing method according to the invention or a manufacturing method according to one or more of the previously described embodiments. In connection with the manufacturing device, the advantages that have already been explained in connection with the planning method, the manufacturing method, the computer program product, and the planning device arise in particular.

[0122] In one embodiment, the beam-generating device is configured to generate a plurality of energy beams, and / or the manufacturing device comprises a plurality of beam-generating devices for generating a plurality of energy beams. It is possible for a plurality of scanner devices to be provided for the plurality of energy beams. However, it is also possible for the scanner device to be configured to displace a plurality of energy beams—in particular independently of one another—on the work area. In particular, the scanner device can comprise a plurality of separately controllable scanners, in particular scanner mirrors, for this purpose.

[0123] The at least one scanner device preferably comprises at least one scanner, in particular a galvanometer scanner, piezo scanner, polygon scanner, MEMS scanner, and / or a working head or processing head that can be displaced relative to the work area. The scanner devices proposed here are particularly suitable for displacing the energy beam within the work area between a plurality of irradiation positions.

[0124] A working head or processing head that can be displaced relative to the work area is understood here in particular to mean an integrated component of the manufacturing device that has at least one radiation outlet for at least one energy beam. The integrated component, i.e., the working head, can be displaced as a whole relative to the work area along at least one displacement direction, preferably along two mutually perpendicular displacement directions. Such a working head can, in particular, be designed as a gantry or be guided by a robot. In particular, the working head can be designed as a robot hand of a robot.

[0125] The control device is preferably selected from a group consisting of a computer, in particular a personal computer (PC), a plug-in card or control card, and an FPGA board. In a preferred embodiment, the control device is an RTC5 or RTC6 control card from SCANLAB GmbH, in particular in the version currently available on the date determining the priority of the present patent.

[0126] Preferably, the at least one beam-generating device comprises at least one laser. The at least one energy beam is thus advantageously generated as an intense beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation, in particular coherent light. Irradiation in this respect preferably means exposure.

[0127] The manufacturing device is preferably configured for selective laser sintering. Alternatively or additionally, the manufacturing device is configured for selective laser melting. Alternatively or additionally, the manufacturing device is configured for selective laser melting and / or powder bed fusion. These configurations of the manufacturing device have proven particularly advantageous.

[0128] According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that the manufacturing device has a protective gas device - as a source of a protective gas flow - which is designed to generate a protective gas flow with a defined flow direction at least locally above the working area.

[0129] The protective gas device is designed in particular as previously explained in connection with the planning process and in particular the coating window.

[0130] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings, which show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of an embodiment of a manufacturing device for the additive manufacturing of components from a powder material with an embodiment of a planning device, and Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a first embodiment of a method for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with an energy beam; Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a detail of the first embodiment of the method according to Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a schematic representation of a third embodiment of a method for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with an energy beam and / or a further detail of the first embodiment of the method according to Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 a schematic representation of a fourth embodiment of a method for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area with an energy beam and / or a further detail of the first embodiment of the method according to Fig. 2.

[0131] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a manufacturing device 1 for additively manufacturing at least one component 3 from a powder material 5 with an embodiment of a planning device 7.

[0132] The manufacturing device 1 has at least one beam generating device 9, preferably designed as a laser, which is configured to generate at least one energy beam 11, in particular a laser beam, as well as at least one scanner device 13, which is configured to locally selectively irradiate a work area 15 with the at least one energy beam 11 in order to produce the at least one component 3 from the powder material 5 arranged in the work area 15 by means of the at least one energy beam 11. In particular, the beam generating device 9 generates more than one energy beam 11, or the manufacturing device 1 has more than one beam generating device 9 for generating a plurality of energy beams 11; in Fig. 1 specifically shows a first beam generating device 9.1 for generating a first energy beam 11.1 and a second beam generating device 9.2 for generating a second energy beam 11.2. Preferably, the manufacturing device 1 has a separate scanner device 13 for each energy beam 11, here a first scanner device 13.1 for the first energy beam 11.1 and a second scanner device 13.2 for the second energy beam 11.2. The manufacturing device 1 has a coating device 17 for applying the powder material 5 to the work area 15. The coating device 17 can, in particular, have a slide or be designed as a slide.The manufacturing device 1 further comprises a control device 21, embodied in particular as a computing device 19, which is operatively connected to the scanner device 13, preferably also to the beam generating device 9, and to the coating device 17, and is configured to control the scanner device 13, optionally the beam generating device 9, and the coating device 17. The control device 21 is configured to carry out a method, described in more detail below, for planning the locally selective irradiation of the work area 15 with the energy beam 11, also referred to as the planning method for short.

[0133] In particular, the control device 17 has the planning device 7, which is designed in particular as a further computing device 23 and is configured accordingly to carry out the planning method. Alternatively, it is possible for the control device 21 itself to be designed as the planning device 7. However, in an embodiment not shown here, it is also possible for the planning method to be carried out on a planning device 7 provided separately from the production device 1.

[0134] The coating device 17 can be displaced above the work area 15 along a coater displacement path indicated by an arrow P. In particular, in the exemplary embodiment shown here, a new layer of powder material is applied while the coating device 17 is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow P, i.e., from left to right in the figure, along an x-direction. The coating device 17 can then be displaced back to its starting position on the left-hand side. However, it is also possible for a new layer of powder material to be applied in both displacement directions. In any case, in the exemplary embodiment shown here, the coating device 17 is displaced purely linearly, along a straight line.

[0135] The manufacturing device 1 further comprises a protective gas device 25 configured to generate a protective gas flow over the work area 15. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, a flow generation element 27, selected from a protective gas source 29, which may in particular comprise at least one protective gas nozzle, and a protective gas sink 31, which may comprise a protective gas extraction system, is integrated into the coating device 17. Another flow generation element 27, selected from the protective gas source 29 and the protective gas sink 31, is arranged at a left edge and a right edge of the work area 15, respectively. In particular, the coating device 17 comprises the protective gas sink 31, and protective gas sources 29 are arranged at the respective edges.

[0136] A first coating window 35.1 of two coating windows 35 is formed by a left edge 33 of the coating device 17 in the figure and the left edge of the work area 15, which dynamically changes its size with the displacement of the coating device 17. Accordingly, a second coating window 35.2 of the two coating windows 35 is formed by a right edge 37 of the coating device 17 in the figure and the right edge of the work area 15, which also dynamically changes its size with the displacement of the coating device 17—in the opposite direction to the first coating window 35.1.

[0137] Various irradiation areas 39 are shown on the work area 15, which are assigned to the energy beams 11.1, 11.2 for irradiation. The individual irradiation areas 39 can, in any case, belong to the same component 3 or to different components 3, either in groups or as a whole. For clarity, only one of the irradiation areas 39 is identified with the corresponding reference symbol.

[0138] The manufacturing device 1 is particularly configured to build the component 3 layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers arranged sequentially in a layer sequence in the work area 15. For this purpose, the work area 15, in particular in the form of a powder bed, is arranged on a build platform which is gradually lowered counter to a vertical direction as the sequential powder material layers are provided in the work area 15. The powder material 5 forming a next powder material layer is conveyed by the coating device 17, in particular from the area of ​​a storage cylinder, into the work area 15, where it is distributed and smoothed by the coating device 17, so that the current powder material layer is provided.By successively and selectively solidifying the powder material 5 layer by layer of powder material in this way by means of the at least one energy beam 11 in the working area 15, the component 3 is built up layer by layer, that is to say layer by layer.

[0139] Within the scope of a method, also referred to as a manufacturing method, for manufacturing the component 3 from the powder material 5, an irradiation plan, obtained in particular using the planning method described below, and a coating trajectory for the locally selective irradiation of the work area 15 with the energy beam 11 are provided simultaneously with the displacement of the coating device 17, and the component 3 is manufactured according to the provided irradiation plan and the coating trajectory. The irradiation plan is preferably provided by carrying out the planning method—in particular by the planning device 7.

[0140] Within the scope of the planning method, in particular, the displacement of the coating device 17 along the coater displacement path, which is simultaneous with the irradiation, is additionally planned, wherein for at least one planning powder material layer of the plurality of powder material layers, the coater trajectory for the coating device 17 and the irradiation plan for the irradiation of the work area 15 are created in dependence on one another.

[0141] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the planning method.

[0142] Identical and functionally identical elements are provided with the same reference numerals in all figures, so that reference is made to the preceding description in each case.

[0143] In a first step S1, a coater trajectory is determined. In a second step S2, an irradiation plan is determined depending on the coater trajectory determined in the first step S1. It is schematically indicated that the first step S1 and the second step S2 are iterated, whereby from the second run in the first step S1, the new coater trajectory is determined depending on the irradiation plan determined in the second step S2. The coater trajectory and the irradiation plan are thus alternately determined in dependence on one another and are thus optimized. The iteration continues until a first termination criterion is met. A specific embodiment of this procedure is described in detail in Fig. 3 shown.

[0144] As a result of the first two steps S1, S2, after the iteration is terminated, a combination of a first optimized coater trajectory and an associated first optimized irradiation plan is obtained. These can be used to manufacture the at least one component 3, or stored, or optionally further optimized, either in an optional first or directly in an optional second post-optimization.

[0145] In particular, a first post-optimisation is optionally carried out in a third step S3, preferably according to the following procedure: On the basis of the first optimised irradiation plan, a first algorithm used in the first step S1 from the second run onwards - see Fig. 3 - different, second algorithm, an optimization coater trajectory is determined (referred to above and below as step g)). Based on the optimization coater trajectory, a new working irradiation plan is determined (referred to above and below as step h)). Based on the new working irradiation plan, a new optimization coater trajectory is determined according to the second algorithm (referred to above and below as step i)). Steps h) and i) are repeated with the new optimization coater trajectory as the optimization coater trajectory until a second termination criterion is met (referred to above and below as step j)).The combinations of new working irradiation plan and new optimised coater trajectory obtained in step i) are evaluated with regard to a predetermined quality criterion, whereby a combination optimising the quality criterion is determined as a second optimised coater trajectory and as a second optimised irradiation plan and is optionally used for the production of a component, or stored, or further optimised in the optional second post-optimisation (referred to above and hereinafter as step k)).

[0146] When testing the second termination criterion, the shift time of the current combination of optimized coater trajectory and working irradiation plan is preferably used. This means the time required for complete irradiation, i.e., irradiation of all irradiation areas to be irradiated, of the currently considered planning powder material layer using the combination of coater trajectory and irradiation plan to be evaluated. Preferably, the shift time determined in the current iteration is compared with the shift time determined in the previous iteration, and in particular, a shift time reduction is calculated as the difference between the shift time of the current iteration and the shift time of the previous iteration.Preferably, at least one criterion selected from a group consisting of: in step h) no new working irradiation plan can be found; the calculated slice time reduction is less than a predetermined second reduction limit, which may be the same as or different from a first reduction limit; a number of iterations of steps h) and i) has reached or exceeded a predetermined second iteration maximum, which may be the same as or different from a first iteration maximum; and a combination of at least two of the aforementioned termination criteria.

[0147] Preferably, the shift time is used as the predetermined quality criterion.

[0148] It is possible that the combination of the second optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized irradiation plan obtained in step k) is used to manufacture the at least one component. However, they can also be further optimized, particularly in the optional second post-optimization.

[0149] The second algorithm in step i) preferably comprises determining location- and / or time-dependent coater support points in the work area based on the new work irradiation plan, wherein the new optimized coater trajectory is determined based on the coater support points. The time-dependent coater support points are preferably selected such that all irradiation areas 39 currently to be irradiated according to the new work irradiation plan are arranged within at least one currently valid coater window 35.

[0150] In particular, within the framework of the second algorithm, based on the new working irradiation plan, a time-dependent course—in particular, discretely depending on time steps—a minimum energy beam position and a maximum energy beam position of the at least one energy beam 11 along the coater displacement path are determined. The coater reference points are determined for each time step of the number of time steps depending on the respective minimum and maximum energy beam positions.

[0151] Preferably, within the scope of the second algorithm, a time-dependent profile—in particular discretely in the form of a number of time steps—of the minimum energy beam position and the maximum energy beam position is determined on the basis of the new working irradiation plan. This results in a positional path along the time axis. The coater support points are selected such that this positional path is arranged within the at least one currently valid coater window 35 for each point in time, in particular time step. In particular, new coater support points are added at each position change of the maximum and minimum energy beam positions. In particular, the coater support points are selected in each time step of the number of time steps such that the minimum and maximum energy beam positions are arranged within the at least one currently valid coater window 35.When adding new coater support points, real coater dynamics are preferably taken into account.

[0152] Optionally, the first optimized coater trajectory obtained from steps S1, S2 or the second optimized coater trajectory obtained in step k) is further optimized based on the quality criterion, from which a third optimized coater trajectory is then obtained.

[0153] In particular, the irradiation plan comprises a command list for the at least one scanner device 13, wherein the command list includes relocation commands to be executed sequentially, as well as wait commands. If a plurality of energy beams 11 are used, the irradiation plan comprises such a command list for each energy beam 11 of the plurality of energy beams 11, i.e., for each assigned scanner device 13.

[0154] The second re-optimization preferably comprises identifying time intervals in the irradiation plan assigned to the re-optimized coater trajectory, to which wait commands are simultaneously assigned to all energy beams of the at least one energy beam. The coater speed is then increased in the parts of the work area assigned to these time intervals, in particular to a predetermined maximum coater speed. From this, the third optimized coater trajectory is obtained. The resulting time reduction is then subtracted from all subsequent wait commands in the assigned irradiation plan, thus also obtaining a corresponding, new optimized irradiation plan.

[0155] Additionally or alternatively, the second re-optimization includes identifying an end section of the coater trajectory to be re-optimized, in which, if appropriate, no commands for the at least one energy beam 11 are present in the associated irradiation plan, since all commands have already been processed. In this case, too, the coater speed is advantageously set, in particular to the predetermined maximum coater speed, for the part of the work area associated with the identified end section.

[0156] Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a detail of the first embodiment of the method according to Fig. 2. In particular, a detailed design of the functioning of the first and second steps S1, S2 according to Fig. 2 shown.

[0157] In a first sub-step S101, an initial coater trajectory BT idetermined by determining local irradiation times for the irradiation areas 39 to be irradiated along the coater displacement path, whereby the initial coater trajectory BT i is determined on the basis of the determined local irradiation times.

[0158] The initial coater trajectory BT iby defining an initial speed profile for the coating device 17 along the coater displacement path, by determining the irradiation areas 39 to be irradiated along the coater displacement path and assigning a local irradiation duration to each irradiation area 39. The coating device 17 is assigned a predetermined maximum displacement speed that is initially constant along the displacement path. For each location or interval along the coater displacement path, that is to say here on the x-axis, at or in which at least one irradiation area 39 is located, the assigned local irradiation durations of the irradiation areas 39, which may be determined via the y-axis - see Fig. 1 - distributed irradiation areas 39 are added to a local irradiation duration sum; if the irradiation is carried out with a plurality of energy beams 11, the number of energy beams 11 available for irradiation at the respective location or in the respective interval is taken into account, and the local irradiation duration sum is adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, the maximum displacement speed at the locations or in the intervals along the coater displacement path for which non-zero local irradiation duration sums were determined is reduced as a function of the determined local irradiation duration sums, in particular proportional to the local irradiation duration sums. Preferably, no dynamics of the coating device are taken into account.

[0159] The initial coater trajectory BT iHowever, it can also be determined based on the total irradiation duration of the irradiation areas 39 of the working area 15 to be irradiated. The predetermined maximum displacement speed is then reduced, in particular, proportionally to the determined total irradiation duration.

[0160] In a second sub-step S102, starting from the initial coater trajectory BT i a work coater trajectory BT n=0 - with a control variable n - which is defined in particular as a product of the initial coater trajectory BT i and an initial delay factor VF i from the interval ]0,1].

[0161] In a third sub-step S103, a delay factor VF used for a first run of the subsequent iteration n=0 with the initial delay factor VF i initialized, and a predetermined first upper bound VFo,n=0 and a predetermined first lower bound VF u,n=0 set or read from a configuration file, where the predetermined first upper limit VF o,n=0 preferably chosen larger than the initial delay factor VF i , and where the predetermined lower bound VF u,n=0 preferably chosen smaller than the initial delay factor VF i . The control variable n is initialized with the value zero.

[0162] In a fourth sub-step S104, depending on the current work coater trajectory BT n a working radiation plan BP n wanted.

[0163] Can the work treatment plan BP n are successfully found in the fourth sub-step S104, the method is continued in a fifth sub-step S105, in which preferably the found working irradiation plan BP nis output. Subsequently, in a sixth sub-step S106, the current delay factor VF n as new lower bound VF u,n+1 Subsequently, in a seventh sub-step S107 - in the sense of a bisection process - a new delay factor VF n+1 than half the sum of the current delay factor VF n and the current upper bound VF o,n In other words, the new delay factor VF n+1 upwards to half the numerical distance between the current delay factor VF n and the current upper bound VF o,n .

[0164] If, however, no working irradiation plan BP can be created in the fourth sub-step S104 n are found, the method is continued in an eighth sub-step S108, in which a message is preferably issued that no working irradiation plan BP ncould be found. Subsequently, in a ninth sub-step S109, the current deceleration factor VF n as new upper bound VF o,n+1 Subsequently, in a tenth sub-step S110 - in accordance with the bisection method - the new delay factor VF n+1 than half the sum of the current delay factor VF n and the current lower bound VF u,n In other words, the new delay factor VF n+1 down to half the numerical distance between the current delay factor VF n and the current lower bound VF u,n .

[0165] In an eleventh sub-step S111, a new work coater trajectory BT n+1 calculated by the initial coater trajectory BT i with the new delay factor VF n+1 is multiplied.

[0166] In a twelfth sub-step S112, it is then checked whether a first termination criterion is met. Preferably, at least one criterion selected from a group consisting of: a factor step size between the current delay factor VF n and the new delay factor VF n+1 is smaller than a predetermined step size limit; a calculated shift time reduction is smaller than the predetermined first reduction limit; the current value of the control variable n has reached or exceeded the predetermined first iteration maximum; and a combination of at least two of the aforementioned termination criteria.

[0167] If it is determined in the twelfth sub-step S112 that the first termination criterion is not met, the value of the control variable n is incremented by one in a thirteenth sub-step S113, and the iteration continues with the new value of the control variable n in the fourth sub-step S104. However, if it is determined in the twelfth sub-step S112 that the first termination criterion is met, the iteration ends in a fourteenth sub-step S114.

[0168] Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of a third embodiment of a method for planning a locally selective irradiation of the working area 15 with the at least one energy beam 11 and / or a further detail of the first embodiment of the method according to Fig. 2.

[0169] The Fig. The method described in Figure 4 can be carried out independently of the previously explained process steps - as an independent planning method - in order to determine a treatment plan. In a preferred embodiment, however, in the method described in connection with Fig. 3 explained fourth sub-step S104 that in Fig. 4 procedures are applied to determine the treatment plan BP n depending on the current work coater trajectory BT n If explained Fig. 4 in any case preferably the procedure in the fourth part step S104.

[0170] Since the procedure according to Fig. 4 can also be carried out independently, the steps there are not referred to as sub-steps, but more generally as investigative steps.

[0171] In particular, the procedure under Fig. 4 the irradiation plan is determined according to at least one allocation criterion selected from a group consisting of: at least one constraint, at least one cost criterion, and a combination of the at least one constraint and the at least one cost criterion.

[0172] In the embodiment shown here, the irradiation plan is created for a plurality of energy beams 11, in particular for the first energy beam 11.1 and the second energy beam 11.2.

[0173] In an initial determination step S200, starting from a coater trajectory, be it the current working coater trajectory BT nor an otherwise obtained coater trajectory, a list of energy beams E and irradiation areas B is created, each of which is assigned points in time along the coater trajectory at which the energy beams E and irradiation areas B are available. An energy beam E is available when it is currently not active, i.e., can be reassigned, and an irradiation area B is available when it can be irradiated.

[0174] In a first determination step S201, a check is carried out for a triggering event along the coater trajectory of the initial determination step S200, i.e. the loops or iterations described below are carried out in an event-controlled or event-triggered manner. In the first determination step S201, in particular in an inner sub-step S201.1, it is checked whether at least one energy beam E is available. If this is not the case, the process continues along the coater trajectory, with the inner sub-step S201.1 being repeated until at least one energy beam E is available. If this is the case, the method continues in a second determination step S202. According to one embodiment, it is possible that in the inner sub-step S201.1 it is checked whether at least one irradiation area 39 is available, whereby the second determination step S202 is only jumped to if both conditions are cumulatively fulfilled.

[0175] In the second determination step S202, a - to distinguish it from a related to Fig. 5, the first run variable m introduced for an outer iteration—referred to as the second run variable—is initialized with the value zero. The second run variable o serves a first inner iteration over the plurality of energy beams 11, in particular over all energy beams 11.

[0176] In a third determination step S203, for the current energy beam E ochecked whether this is already active at the time associated with the current event along the coating trajectory, i.e. irradiates an irradiation area 39, or whether it is inactive and thus ready for the assignment of a further irradiation area 39. If the check in the third determination step S203 shows that the current energy beam E o is already active, the process first branches to a thirteenth determination step S213, in which it is checked whether a first predetermined maximum number O of runs of the first inner iteration has already been completed. If this is not yet the case, the process branches back to the fourth determination step S204, where the value of the second control variable o is increased by one; subsequently, the process is again continued in the third determination step S203 and thus to a next energy beam E o+1If, however, the first maximum number O of runs has already been reached, the system jumps to a fourteenth determination step S214, which will be explained later.

[0177] If, however, the test in the third determination step S203 shows that the current energy beam E o is inactive, in a fifth determination step S205, a third running variable p is initialized with the value zero, which serves for a second inner iteration over the irradiation areas 39. In this case, either according to one embodiment, all irradiation areas 39 can be iterated, or in another embodiment, only those irradiation areas 39 can be iterated that are available at the current time along the coater trajectory according to the list created in the initial determination step S200.

[0178] In a sixth determination step S206, it is now checked whether the current irradiation area B pwhich satisfies at least one constraint ZB. If this is not the case, the program branches to a ninth determination step S209, in which it is checked whether a second predetermined maximum number P of runs of the second inner iteration has already been completed. If this is not yet the case, the program branches back to a seventh determination step S207 and the value of the third control variable p is increased by one, thus switching to the next irradiation area B. p+1 The method then continues in the sixth determination step S206. If, however, the second maximum number P of runs has already been reached, the method jumps to a tenth determination step S210, which will be explained later. If, however, the test in the sixth determination step S206 shows that the current irradiation area B pwhich satisfies at least one constraint ZB, in an eighth determination step S208 the at least one cost criterion for the current irradiation area B p evaluated, that is, according to the present embodiment, in particular a cost function J(B p ). The cost function can be defined as given above in equation (1).

[0179] Subsequently, in the ninth determination step S209, it is checked whether the second predetermined maximum number P of runs of the second inner iteration has already been completed. If this is not yet the case, the method branches to the seventh determination step S207 and the value of the third control variable p is increased by one; then the method continues again in the sixth determination step S206. If, on the other hand, the second maximum number P of runs has already been reached, the method branches to the tenth determination step S210, in which the value pmin of the third control variable p is determined for which the cost function is dependent on the associated irradiation area B pmin is minimal. Can this value pmin or the corresponding irradiation area B pmin The irradiation area B thus determined is pmin in an eleventh determination step S211 the current energy beam E oassigned and at the same time removed from a list of the not yet assigned irradiation areas 39 - thus no longer taken into account in a subsequent run of the second inner iteration. If, however, no such value pmin can be determined - in particular if, for example, none of the irradiation areas 39 fulfills the at least one constraint in the sixth determination step S206 - no irradiation area 39 can be assigned in the present run, and the method is continued in a twelfth determination step S212, in which the current energy beam E o a waiting time is assigned. The method then continues in the thirteenth determination step S213. The method also continues in the thirteenth determination step S213 directly after the eleventh determination step S211.

[0180] In the thirteenth determination step S213, a check is made to determine whether the first predetermined maximum number O of runs of the first inner iteration has already been completed. If this is not yet the case, the process branches to the fourth determination step S204, where the value of the second control variable o is incremented by one. The process then continues in the third determination step S203 with the next energy beam 11. If, however, the first maximum number O of runs has already been reached, the process branches to a fourteenth determination step S214.

[0181] In the fourteenth determination step S214, it is checked whether a third termination criterion is met. The third termination criterion can, in particular, include that all irradiation areas 39 have already been successfully assigned; if this is the case, an irradiation plan has been successfully determined, which includes both the assignment of the irradiation areas 39 to the individual energy beams 11 and the chronological order of processing the irradiation areas 39 along the coating trajectory. Alternatively or additionally, the third termination criterion can include that at least one irradiation area 39 could not be assigned; in this case, no permissible irradiation plan can be found.Furthermore, the third termination criterion can include whether a collision between an energy beam and the coating device 17 has been detected, or whether the coating device 17 has already been displaced so far along the coating trajectory that an irradiation region 39 that has not yet been irradiated can no longer be irradiated. These criteria can be checked purely geometrically and / or via logical operations. Furthermore, the third termination criterion particularly checks whether the coating trajectory has reached its end, i.e., whether no further event is pending. The third termination criterion preferably includes a suitable logical combination of the aforementioned termination criteria.

[0182] If the third termination criterion defined in this way is met, the method is terminated in a fifteenth determination step S215. Otherwise, the method continues in the first determination step S201, and the next event is sought.

[0183] The at least one constraint is preferably selected from a group consisting of: at least one restricted area, an arrangement of at least one coating window 35 of the coating device 17, an irradiation window of the at least one energy beam 11, and a combination of at least two of the said constraints.

[0184] The at least one cost criterion included in the cost function J is preferably selected from a group consisting of: a current distance of an irradiation area 39 from the coating device 17, a jump distance for the at least one energy beam 11, a predetermined energy beam trajectory for the at least one energy beam 11, a deflection angle of the at least one energy beam 11, and a combination of at least two of the aforementioned cost criteria.

[0185] The different cost criteria are combined in particular in the cost function J.

[0186] Fig. 5 shows a schematic representation of a fourth embodiment of a method for planning a locally selective irradiation of the working area 15 with the at least one energy beam 11 and / or a further detail of the first embodiment of the method according to Fig. 2.

[0187] The Fig. The procedure described in 5 can - just like the one in Fig. 4 can be carried out independently of the previously explained process steps as an independent planning procedure in order to determine a treatment plan. In a preferred embodiment, however, in the process described in connection with Fig. 3 explained fourth sub-step S104 - alternatively to the method according to Fig. 4 - the Fig. 5 procedures are applied to determine the treatment plan BP n depending on the current work coater trajectory BT n In this respect, Fig. 5 in any case preferably the procedure in the fourth sub-step S104.

[0188] Since the procedure according to Fig. 5 can also be carried out independently, the steps there are again not referred to as sub-steps, but more generally as determination steps. The same designations and reference symbols are used as in Fig. 4 is used because the determination steps are identical except for a few modifications explained below.

[0189] In the first determination step S201, in contrast to Fig. 4 - a first control variable m is initialized with the value zero. The first control variable m is used to perform an external iteration over time steps, in particular with a predetermined time duration per time step. The value of the first control variable m thus always indicates the number of time steps completed and thus, multiplied by the predetermined time duration, the total time simulated since the start of the method.

[0190] Accordingly, the energy beams E and irradiation areas B considered within the three nested iterations or loops additionally receive an index m, which refers to the current time step in which the energy beams E and irradiation areas B are considered.

[0191] If the termination condition is not met in the fourteenth determination step S214, the first control variable m is incremented in an additionally inserted sixteenth determination step S216, and the method is continued in the second determination step S202.

[0192] The procedure according to Fig. 5 thus differs from the procedure according to Fig. 4 in particular by relying on an explicit processing of successive time steps in the outer iteration instead of event control or event triggering.

Claims

[1] Method for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area (15) with at least one energy beam (11), wherein, in addition to the irradiation, a displacement of a coating device (17) along a coater displacement path for applying a powder material (5) to the work area (15) is planned in order to produce at least one component (3) layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers of the powder material (5) arranged in a layer sequence in the work area (15) by means of the at least one energy beam (11), wherein a coater trajectory for the coating device (17) and an irradiation plan for the irradiation of the work area (15) are created as a function of one another for at least one planning powder material layer of the plurality of powder material layers. [2] The method according to claim 1, wherein a) an initial coater trajectory (BT i ), where b) starting from the initial coater trajectory (BT i ) a work coater trajectory (BT n ), where c) based on the work coater trajectory (BT n ) a working radiation plan (BP n ) is searched, whereby the result of step c) is the found working irradiation plan (BP n ) or a message (not(BP n )) is output that no working irradiation plan can be found, whereby d) based on the result of step c) according to a first algorithm, a new work coater trajectory (BT n+1 ) is determined, and where e) steps c) and d) with the new work coater trajectory (BT n+1 ) than the work coater trajectory (BT n) are repeated until a first termination criterion is met, and where f) the last determined work coater trajectory (BT n ) as the first optimized coater trajectory and the last determined working irradiation plan (BP n ) as the first optimized treatment plan. [3] Method according to claim 2, wherein g) on ​​the basis of the first optimized irradiation plan, an optimization coater trajectory is determined according to a second algorithm different from the first algorithm, wherein h) a new working irradiation plan is determined on the basis of the optimised coater trajectory, whereby i) a new optimization coater trajectory is determined on the basis of the new working irradiation plan according to the second algorithm, whereby j) steps h) and i) are repeated with the new optimization coater trajectory as the optimization coater trajectory until a second termination criterion is met, and wherein k) the combinations of new working irradiation plan and new optimised coater trajectory obtained in step i) are evaluated with regard to a predetermined quality criterion, whereby a combination optimising the quality criterion is determined and stored as a second optimised coater trajectory and as a second optimised irradiation plan. [4] Method according to one of claims 2 or 3, wherein a coater trajectory to be re-optimized, selected from the first optimized coater trajectory and the second optimized coater trajectory obtained in step k), is re-optimized on the basis of the quality criterion, from which a third optimized coater trajectory is obtained. [5] Method according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein - the initial coater trajectory (BT i ) is determined by determining local irradiation times for irradiation areas (39) of the working area (15) to be irradiated along the coater displacement path, and wherein the initial coater trajectory (BT i ) is determined on the basis of the determined local irradiation times, or where - the initial coater trajectory (BT i ) is determined on the basis of a total irradiation time of the irradiation areas (39) of the working area (15) to be irradiated, - where the initial coater trajectory (BT i ) is optionally determined by defining an initial speed profile for the coating device (17) along the coater displacement path. [6] Method according to one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first algorithm in step d) comprises determining a delay factor and multiplying a coater trajectory selected from the initial coater trajectory (BT i ) and the last obtained work coater trajectory (BT n ), with the delay factor, wherein optionally the delay factor is selected from the interval ]0,1], wherein the delay factor is determined in particular by means of a bisection method or as a predetermined factor, in particular read from a configuration file. [7] Method according to claim 6, wherein after step c) initially a predetermined delay value (VF i ) for the delay factor and then the last used delay factor (VF n ) - as a new lower bound (VF u,n+1) is determined if in step c) a new working treatment plan (BP n ) could be found, or - as a new upper bound (VF o,n+1 ) is determined if no new working treatment plan (not(BP n )) could be found. [8] Method according to claims 6 and 7, wherein initially before step d) a predetermined first upper bound (VF o,n=o ) and a predetermined first lower bound (VF u,n=0 ), wherein the bisection method in step d) comprises setting the delay factor (VF) to a new delay value (VF n+1 ) is set, the - the sum of the last used delay factor (VF n ) and half of the difference between the last specified upper bound (VF o,n ) and the last used delay factor (VF n) if in step c) a new working treatment plan (BP n ) could be determined, or - the difference between the last used delay factor (VF n ) and half of the difference between the last used delay factor (VF n ) and the last determined lower bound (VF u,n ) if no new work treatment plan could be determined in step c) (not(BP n )). [9] Method according to one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the second algorithm in step i) comprises a determination of coater support points on the work area (15) on the basis of the new work irradiation plan, wherein the new optimization coater trajectory is determined on the basis of the coater support points, in particular taking into account a real coater dynamics of the coating device (17). [10] Method according to claim 9, wherein the coater support points are selected such that all irradiation areas (39) currently to be irradiated according to the new working irradiation plan are arranged within at least one currently valid coater window (35) of the coating device (17). [11] Method according to one of claims 9 or 10, wherein for a number of time steps a minimum and a maximum energy beam position of the at least one energy beam (11) along the coater displacement path is determined, wherein - the coating support points are determined for each time step of the number of time steps depending on the respective minimum and maximum energy beam positions, in particular - the coater support points in each time step of the number of time steps are selected such that the minimum and the maximum energy beam position are arranged within the at least one currently valid coater window (35) of the coating device (17). [12] Method, optionally according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an irradiation plan, in particular the working irradiation plan, is determined according to at least one allocation criterion which is selected from a group consisting of: at least one constraint, at least one cost criterion, and a combination of the at least one constraint and the at least one cost criterion, wherein - optionally, the at least one constraint is selected from a group consisting of: at least one restricted area, an arrangement of at least one coating window (35) of the coating device (17), an irradiation window of the at least one energy beam (11), and a combination of at least two of said constraints, and / or wherein - at least one cost criterion is selected from a group consisting of: a current distance of an irradiation area (39) from the coating device (17), a jump distance for the at least one energy beam (11), a predetermined energy beam trajectory for the at least one energy beam (11), a deflection angle of the at least one energy beam (11), and a combination of at least two of the said cost criteria; - the irradiation plan being drawn up in particular by optimising a cost function (J) which takes into account at least one of the said cost criteria. [13] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the irradiation plan is created for a plurality of energy beams (11) and in particular comprises an assignment of irradiation areas (39) on the working area (15) to the individual energy beams (11) of the plurality of energy beams (11). [14] Method for the additive manufacturing of at least one component (3) from a powder material (5), comprising the following steps: providing an irradiation plan for the locally selective irradiation of a work area (15) with at least one energy beam (11) and a coater trajectory, which are obtained using a method according to one of claims 1 to 13, in order to produce the at least one component (3) by means of the at least one energy beam (11) layer by layer from a plurality of powder material layers of the powder material (5) arranged sequentially in a layer sequence in the work area, and manufacturing the at least one component (3) according to the irradiation plan and the coater trajectory. [15] Planning device (7) for planning a locally selective irradiation of a work area (15) with at least one energy beam (11) in order to produce at least one component (3) from a powder material (5) arranged in the work area (15) by means of the at least one energy beam (11), wherein the planning device (7) is designed to carry out a method according to one of claims 1 to 13. [16] Manufacturing device (1) for the additive manufacturing of components (3) from a powder material (5), with - at least one beam generating device (9) which is designed to generate at least one energy beam (11), - at least one scanner device (13) which is designed to irradiate a working area (15) locally selectively with the at least one energy beam (11) in order to produce at least one component (3) from the powder material (5) arranged in the working area (15) by means of the at least one energy beam (11), - a coating device (17) for applying the powder material (5) to the working area (15), and with - a control device (21) which is operatively connected to the at least one scanner device (13) and the coating device (17) and is configured to control the at least one scanner device (13) and the coating device (17), wherein - the control device (21) is configured to carry out a method according to claim 14.

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