Wire-Array High Energy Beam Analyzer for Build Area Calibration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current high energy beam diagnostic and calibration methods are limited in providing comprehensive and reproducible data across entire build areas, leading to inconsistencies and errors in the manufacturing of components using electron beam melting processes.
Innovation Solution
The Enhanced Wire-Array High Energy Beam Analyzer system measures and calibrates high energy beam parameters such as current, shape, size, and peak power distribution across an entire build area, ensuring consistent spot size, circularity, and intensity, and can be transferred between machines, using a conductive wire array and data logging to calculate beam diameters and astigmatism parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the EMFC system is used to measure beam parameters, then beam quality data is obtained, but the measurement is limited to the center of the build area only
Solution Approach 1:
The build area is divided into multiple measurement zones with wire arrays positioned at different locations (center, corners, edges). The beam is scanned across each zone separately to collect comprehensive data across the entire build area, resolving the limitation of center-only measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement approach transitions from a single-point measurement (EMFC at center) to a distributed multi-point measurement system. Wire arrays are positioned in multiple spatial dimensions across the build area, enabling comprehensive coverage through systematic beam scanning across different locations.
2Manufacturing precision
If beam calibration is performed manually to achieve smallest spot size and highest intensity, then beam quality is optimized, but the process is operator-dependent and lacks repeatability
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses wire arrays to detect beam parameters and provides feedback data to an automated control system. The measured beam current, position, and intensity data are used to automatically adjust beam focusing and positioning, eliminating operator subjectivity and ensuring repeatable calibration results.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration system performs self-adjustment through automated feedback loops. The beam calibration is achieved through systematic scanning and data collection from wire arrays, with the system automatically determining optimal focus and position settings without requiring operator skill or judgment.
3Area of stationary object
If the beam verification process scans the beam across the build area to check intensity and focus, then limited beam characterization is obtained, but the process is not sensitive to small changes in beam quality
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniform scanning, the system positions wire arrays at specific critical locations (center, corners, edges) where beam quality variations have the most impact. This targeted local measurement approach provides high sensitivity to beam quality changes while maintaining comprehensive build area coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire arrays are pre-positioned at optimal locations before beam scanning begins. This preliminary setup ensures that the measurement system is ready to detect even small beam quality changes as the beam passes through each predetermined location, enhancing measurement sensitivity.
4Manufacturing precision
If manual beam calibration procedures are used to ensure smallest spot size and most circular beam, then beam intensity is maximized, but significant variation exists across the build area and between machines
Solution Approach 1:
The wire array measurement system is designed to be universally applicable across different machine types and build area sizes. The same measurement methodology and analysis procedures can be applied to any electron beam melting machine, ensuring consistent calibration criteria and results across the entire machine fleet.
Solution Approach 2:
The system measures beam parameters at multiple spatial dimensions across the build area (center, corners, edges) rather than relying on a single calibration point. This multi-dimensional measurement approach captures variations across the entire build area and enables comprehensive calibration that ensures consistency throughout.
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 solution enables accurate, reproducible, and non-user-dependent beam calibrations, ensuring consistent beam performance across machines and improving the reliability and reproducibility of components manufactured using high energy beam systems.
Implementation Method 1
traversing a high energy beam over a thin electrical conductor... A voltage drop over a known resistance may be measured by a data logger as the beam traverses the conductor
Data Source
AI summary
A high energy beam verification, calibration, and profiling system includes a conductive base plate, supports extending from the base plate, a plurality of conductors, a data logger electrically connected to the conductors, and a computer electrically connected to the data logger. Each conductor is supported by some of the supports such that each conductor is insulated from the conductive base plate. Each conductor has a profile intersecting with profiles of at least some of the other conductors to define a multidirectional and two-dimensional array of conductors. The data logger receives and records data associated with electrical charges flowing through the conductors. The computer is adapted to receive, manipulate, and display the data recorded by the data logger for comparison of beam characteristics at different locations across a high energy beam build area.