A machining apparatus that need not exchange a processing nozzle when changing a shaping condition, and increases the use efficiency of a material. The processing nozzle that performs processing by ejecting a processing material towards a molten pool formed on a process surface by an energy line includes a cylindrical inner housing that incorporates a path through which the energy line passes, and ejects the energy line from one end. The processing nozzle also includes a cylindrical outer housing that incorporates the inner housing, and has an inner surface tapered in the ejection direction of the energy line ejected from the inner housing. The processing nozzle also includes a slide mechanism that changes, along the energy line, the relative position of the outer housing with respect to the inner housing.

An additive manufacturing system including a two-dimensional energy patterning system for imaging a powder bed is disclosed. Improved optical systems supporting beam combining, beam steering, and both patterned and unpatterned beam recycling and re-use are described.

An optical manufacturing process sensing and status indication system is taught that is able to utilize optical emissions from a manufacturing process to infer the state of the process. In one case, it is able to use these optical emissions to distinguish thermal phenomena on two timescales and to perform feature extraction and classification so that nominal process conditions may be uniquely distinguished from off-nominal process conditions at a given instant in time or over a sequential series of instants in time occurring over the duration of the manufacturing process. In other case, it is able to utilize these optical emissions to derive corresponding spectra and identify features within those spectra so that nominal process conditions may be uniquely distinguished from off-nominal process conditions at a given instant in time or over a sequential series of instants in time occurring over the duration of the manufacturing process.

Generally described, a hybrid additive manufacturing method may be used to produce complex parts using additive manufacturing technologies. The methods may include manufacturing one or more first portions of the part with a first additive manufacturing process, such as a powder bed fusion process using a metallic powder source material. The first portion of the part is then transferred to an operating bed of a second additive manufacturing process, such as a direct deposition process using a solid metallic source material. In this regard, the first additive manufacturing process is different from the second additive manufacturing process. Next, another portion of the part is manufactured, coupled to, and partially surrounding the first portion of the part using the second additive manufacturing process, portions of which may be machined with a tool to provide a finished part.

Various embodiments of the teachings herein include a method for fusing one or more cross sections in a powder layer for building one or more objects layer by layer with electron beam powder bed fusion. The method may include: pre-sintering only the cross sections in the powder layer by scanning the cross sections with a first line energy; and fusing the cross sections by scanning the cross sections with a second line energy. The second line energy exceeds the first line energy by at least a factor of 2.

A system for making a build using directed energy deposition is provided. The system includes a primary heat source; a processing nozzle movable relative to the build for delivering a metal powder, a carrier gas for the metal powder, and a shield gas to the build; a melt pool sensor for providing information regarding a temperature of a melt pool of the build; a secondary heat source separate from the primary heat source positionable relative to the build for delivering heat to a selected area of the build; a cooling source positionable relative to the build for delivering a cooling fluid to a selected area of the build; and a control system for operating the primary heat source, the secondary heat source and the cooling source to maintain a desired temperature profile for the build. The system preferably includes a temperature sensor for providing a temperature profile of the build. The temperature control system preferably includes a programmable controller configured to control the secondary heat source and the cooling source to conform the temperature of the build to the desired temperature profile. In one embodiment, the programmable controller is pre-programmed with a dynamic thermal model of a thermal history of the build for each time step.

A method and an apparatus for collecting a powdered material after a print job in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involve a build platform supporting a powder bed capable of tilting, inverting, and shaking to separate the powder bed substantially from the build platform in a hopper. The powdered material may be collected in a hopper for reuse in later print jobs. The powder collecting process may be automated to increase efficiency of powder bed fusion additive manufacturing.

An electron beam installation, which is used for processing powdered material, has a powder container, which can accommodate a powder bed made of the powdered material to be processed. Furthermore, it has an electron beam generator, which is configured to direct an electron beam onto laterally differing locations of the powder bed. To reduce the dispersion of the powdered material during the processing using the electron beam, the electron beam installation has a frit device, which, by applying an AC voltage between at least two electrodes, generates an electromagnetic alternating field, which bonds the powdered material of the powder bed, at least in regions over the powder bed.

A powder supply device includes a hopper accommodating powder, a cylindrical roller provided below the hopper and rotatable around a rotational axis, and a wall surface storing the powder in a space between the roller and the wall surface. The powder supply device moves the powder stored between the roller and the wall surface in a rotation direction of the roller and drops the powder by the roller rotating. A plurality of groove portions extending in an axial direction are formed in a peripheral surface of the roller. At least one of the groove portions is formed such that a capacity allowing the powder to be accommodated changes in the axial direction.

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.