A method of monitoring an additive manufacturing process in which one or more energy beams are used to selectively fuse a powder to form a workpiece, in the presence of one or more plumes generated by interaction of the one or more energy beams with the powder. The method includes using at least one sensor to generate at least one signal representative of a trajectory of one or more of the plumes.

A component includes an additively manufactured component with an internal passage; and an additively manufactured elongated member within the internal passage. A method of additively manufacturing a component including additively manufacturing a component with an internal passage; and additively manufacturing an elongated member within the internal passage concurrent with additively manufacturing the component.

In various embodiments, wire composed at least partially of arc-melted refractory metal material is utilized to fabricate three-dimensional parts by additive manufacturing.

A method of additive manufacture is disclosed. The method may include creating, by a 3D printer contained within an enclosure, a part having a weight greater than or equal to 2,000 kilograms. A gas management system may maintain gaseous oxygen within the enclosure atmospheric level. In some embodiments, a wheeled vehicle may transport the part from inside the enclosure, through an airlock, as the airlock operates to buffer between a gaseous environment within the enclosure and a gaseous environment outside the enclosure, and to a location exterior to both the enclosure and the airlock.

This disclosure describes various methods and apparatus for characterizing an additive manufacturing process. A method for characterizing the additive manufacturing process can include generating scans of an energy source across a build plane; measuring an amount of energy radiated from the build plane during each of the scans using an optical sensing system that monitors two discrete wavelengths associated with a blackbody radiation curve of the layer of powder; determining temperature variations for an area of the build plane traversed by the scans based upon a ratio of sensor readings taken at the two discrete wavelengths; determining that the temperature variations are outside a threshold range of values; and thereafter, adjusting subsequent scans of the energy source across or proximate the area of the build plane.

A subsea wet-mateable connector handle has a handle part, a bushing support ring, a resilient bushing, a connector mount and a securing pin. A method of manufacturing a subsea wet-mateable connector handle includes cutting a handle part from a sheet of inherently corrosion resistant metal plate by a two-dimensional cutting process. A bushing support ring and a bushing are assembled onto a limb extending from the handle part. A connector mount is mounted to the bushing and the connector mount and bushing are fixed to the handle part with the securing pin.

An airfoil member having a root end, a tip end, a leading edge, and a trailing edge, the airfoil member including an upper skin; a lower skin; and a support network having a plurality of interconnected support members in a lattice arrangement and/or a reticulated arrangement, the support network being configured to provide tailored characteristics of the airfoil member. Also provided are methods and systems for repairing an airfoil member.

A method and an apparatus for collecting powder samples in real-time in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involves an ingester system for in-process collection and characterizations of powder samples. The collection may be performed periodically and uses the results of characterizations for adjustments in the powder bed fusion process. The ingester system of the present disclosure is capable of packaging powder samples collected in real-time into storage containers serving a multitude purposes of audit, process adjustments or actions.

The present invention relates to a methods, computer program products, program elements, and apparatuses for forming a three-dimensional article through successively depositing individual layers of powder material that are fused together so as to form the article. The method comprising the steps of providing at least one electron beam source emitting an electron beam for at least one of heating or fusing the powder material, where the electron beam source comprises a cathode and an anode, and varying an accelerator voltage between the cathode and the anode between at least a first and second predetermined value during the forming of the three-dimensional article.

A machining program generation device that generates a machining program for controlling a 3D printing apparatus to form an object by stacking a plurality of layers, includes: a machining route generation unit that extracts a plurality of support points that are based on an end point, an intersection point, and a bending point of the machining path from machining path data indicating a shape and a position of the machining path for forming each of the plurality of layers, and generates a machining route by adding, to the machining path, an order of shaping indicating that shaping of the support points is to be executed first and then shaping of a gap line segment connecting the plurality of support points shaped is to be executed; and a machining program generation unit that generates a machining program for controlling the 3D printing apparatus according to the machining route.