Multi-Beam Laser Processing Head for Scalable Additive Manufacturing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laser-based generative production methods, such as selective laser melting, face limitations in scalability regarding laser power and installation space, leading to unstable processes, poor component quality, and increased costs due to the need for complex optical systems and scanner systems with limited scanning fields.
Innovation Solution
A device and method utilizing a processing head that directs multiple laser beams adjacently or overlapping onto the processing plane, allowing independent modulation of laser intensity and power, enabling scalable processing with increased build-up rates and larger installation spaces without the need for complex scanner systems or additional optical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If higher laser power is used to achieve higher build-up rates, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to material vaporisation, splatter formation, and deep-penetration welding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single high-power laser beam into multiple lower-power laser beams that process different regions simultaneously. This segmentation allows each beam to maintain sufficient power for efficient melting while avoiding the vaporisation and quality degradation that occurs with excessive power concentration in a single location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-point processing to line processing by arranging multiple laser beams in spatial configurations (e.g., arrays or patterns). This dimensional change from 0D point to 1D line enables parallel processing of multiple locations, increasing build-up rate while maintaining quality through distributed power delivery.
2Productivity
If larger beam diameter is used with higher laser power to achieve higher build-up rates, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to reduced surface quality and detail resolution
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large-diameter beam that compromises quality, the patent segments the energy delivery into multiple smaller beams. Each beam maintains an optimal diameter for high-quality processing while the collective arrangement of multiple beams achieves the higher effective processing width and increased build-up rate.
3Productivity
If scanning speed is increased to achieve higher build-up rates with higher laser power, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to unstable process and poor component quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent distributes the processing load across multiple laser beams operating in parallel. This segmentation allows each individual beam to operate at moderate, stable speeds while the system collectively achieves high build-up rates, avoiding the process instability that occurs when single beams operate at excessively high speeds with high power.
4Productivity
If single high-power laser beam is used to reduce auxiliary processing time, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to need for complex optical systems and scanner systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple laser beam sources and their corresponding optical paths into an integrated processing system. By merging these parallel processing channels into a unified device architecture, the system achieves high productivity through parallel processing while avoiding the excessive complexity that would result from coordinating multiple independent high-power laser systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the optical system to handle multiple laser beams simultaneously using common components (e.g., beam combining optics, shared scanning mechanisms, or synchronized control systems). This multi-functional approach allows a single optical platform to perform what would otherwise require multiple separate systems, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for linear scaling of build-up rates with laser power, reduced auxiliary processing times, and cost-effective expansion of installation spaces, while maintaining surface quality and detail resolution, by dynamically adjusting the melt bath dimensions to match component geometry through continuous intensity distributions and simultaneous powder application.
Implementation Method 1
a laser beam source arrangement 12 for generating a plurality of mutually separate laser beams 2
Implementation Method 2
selective laser melting (SLM), using which functional components can be produced in layers
Implementation Method 3
a processing head 1, using which a plurality of mutually separate laser beams 2 are directed adjacently and/or overlapping to some extent onto a processing plane 10
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device for laser-based generative component production. The device comprises a processing head (1), using which a plurality of mutually separate laser beams are directed adjacently and/or overlapping to some extent onto the processing plane, The processing head (1) is moved across the processing plane using a movement apparatus (9), while the mutually separate laser beams are modulated independently of one another in terms of intensity, in order to obtain the desired exposure geometry. The laser power and the dimensional size can be scaled cost effectively during the generative production using the suggested device and the associated method.