The present disclosure generally relates to methods of additive manufacturing with control of the energy beam incidence angle that allows for aligning the laser beam angle to directly oppose the building direction of an angled wall. The method includes building an object in an additive manufacturing powder bed where the object includes a surface that is defined by a build vector projecting outward relative to the build plate center at an angle relative to normal of the build plate such that 90>>0 and the directed energy beam forms an angle .sub.L2 relative to normal of the build plate such that 270>.sub.L2>180, wherein .sub.L2=180, and <45. The present methods provide finished objects having overhanging regions with more consistent surface finish and resistance to mechanical strain or stress.

A method for butt-welding of sheet metal, especially bodywork in the motor vehicle industry, where at least two flat workpieces with any desired contours are fed to a machining process. In a first sub-process, the workpieces are positioned in relation to one another forming a minimal gap and secured in place with holding means. In another sub-process, the position and width of the gap are measured continuously immediately before welding together and the measurements are used to control a laser welding head. The laser welding head is fit with a rotatable twin-spot lens, where the relative alignment of a main spot to an auxiliary spot is controlled depending on the absolute position of the gap and the gap width during the welding process while the processing lens of the laser welding head is rotated around the laser beam axis with the angle of rotation alpha.

A computer-implemented method of generating scan instructions for forming a product using additive layer manufacture as a series of layers is provided. The method comprises determining a beam acceleration voltage to be used when forming the product; for each hatch area of layers of the product, determining a respective beam current to be used when forming the hatch area and providing a respective beam current value to the hatch area description in the scan pattern instruction file; and for each line of each hatch area, determining a respective beam spot size to be used when scanning the beam along the line and providing a respective beam spot size value to the line description in the scan pattern instruction file, and determining a respective series of beam step sizes and beam step dwell times to be used when scanning the beam along the line, and providing a respective series of beam position values and beam step dwell times to the line description in the scan pattern instruction file thereby defining how the beam is to be scanned along the line. Also provided are a file of scan instructions, an additive layer manufacture apparatus, and a method of forming a product using the additive layer manufacturing apparatus.

Disclosed are designs, methods and systems for manufacturing implants, implant components, features of implant components, and/or related tools using solid freeform fabrication or additive metals technologies.

The invention relates to a method for regulating the operation of an electromechanical apparatus (1), for example an EBM apparatus, in order to obtain certified processed products, wherein it is provided an initial calibration step that is intended to check the proper functioning of all the component parts of the apparatus (1) structured to ensure the complete functionality and a subsequent quality control step carried out on the obtained products by the carried out working process. The method entails the following steps: defining a plurality of measurement parameters relating to the component parts of the apparatus; measuring at least some of said parameters by means of sensors and/or measurement indicators related to said parameters during at least one processing phase performed by the apparatus; performing a quality control step on the obtained products after the working process obtaining data on any deviation from the expected quality; comparing the detected measurements of said parameters and data on any deviation from the expected quality with corresponding values of reference parameters available for that specific apparatus and for those products; detecting any deviations in one or more of said parameters or said data with respect to the values of the reference parameters; computing, on the basis of such differences, a total correction and regulation value; applying said total correction and regulation value preferably to only one of said parameters prior to the subsequent process, for example to the generation energy of the electrons beam (3). Basically, the method of the present invention allows obtaining semi-finished products free from structural defects by means of a primary check of the correct functioning of the various component parts of the apparatus (calibration procedure), a secondary check of the operational effectiveness of the process itself (operational qualification procedure) and a further final check of the process stability and repeatability within a process window (performance qualification).

A method of forming a passage in a turbine component that includes using an additive manufacturing process to form a first support structure on a first surface of the turbine component; and forming a passage through the first support structure and the turbine component.

A microalloyed steel component according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a structure composed of ferrite and pearlite. The microalloyed steel component includes a columnar structure including band-shaped pearlite layers extending in a longitudinal direction of the microalloyed steel component and having a width of 200 m or shorter, and a ferrite layer precipitated so as to extend in the longitudinal direction between the pearlite layers.

An additive manufacturing apparatus performs additive machining by controlling a machining head that includes a wire nozzle to feed a wire to a machining region on a surface of a base material, a beam source capable of emitting a beam to an end of the wire, and a gas nozzle placed such that the beam source is interposed between the gas nozzle and the wire nozzle, the gas nozzle directing a gas toward the machining region, and the additive manufacturing apparatus includes a machining-condition selection unit to obtain an angle that is formed between a direction in which the wire is fed and a travel direction of the machining head, when viewed in a direction in which the beam is emitted, and to select a machining condition for the additive machining on the basis of the angle.

An additive manufacturing apparatus performs additive machining by controlling a machining head that includes a wire nozzle to feed a wire to a machining region on a surface of a base material, a beam source capable of emitting a beam to an end of the wire, and a gas nozzle placed such that the beam source is interposed between the gas nozzle and the wire nozzle, the gas nozzle directing a gas toward the machining region, and the additive manufacturing apparatus includes a machining-condition selection unit to obtain an angle that is formed between a direction in which the wire is fed and a travel direction of the machining head, when viewed in a direction in which the beam is emitted, and to select a machining condition for the additive machining on the basis of the angle.

A weld joint and method of welding a joint in parts subject to expansion in use. The weld joint is between dissimilar steel alloys and a weldable nickel-base shim is located between faces of the steel alloys prior to welding by an electron beam. Embodiments of an expandable metal sleeve and a metal packer for use as an isolation barrier in a well, are described which include the weld joint.