A manufacturing system for fabricating a three-dimensional article includes a housing, a sensor within the housing, a coater, a removable powder module (RPM) with a platen, a laser system, and a controller. A method of operating the manufacturing system includes installing the RPM into the housing, forming pillars onto the platen, positioning the top surfaces of the pillars a distance D below a build plane, installing a calibration plate onto the top surfaces of the pillars, and then calibrating the laser system using the sensor. The sensor can include one or more of an optical sensor and an acoustic sensor.

A composition design optimization method of aluminum alloy for selective laser melting, including the following steps: S1: making alloy ingots with different composition; S2: pre-treating and processing the alloy ingots to obtain alloy sample blocks with different composition; S3: twice laser surface scanning treatment; S4: treating the alloy sample blocks by induction heating and quenching; S5: inspecting surface morphology, microstructure and properties of second laser melting layer of each alloy sample block, to determine whether the alloy sample blocks are suitable for selective laser melting process and optimize alloy composition.

Techniques are described for calibrating an optical system in an additive fabrication device using an image of the build surface within the device. These techniques allow calibration to be performed by imaging one or more calibration features generated on (or at) the build surface, which may include illuminated regions of the build surface, regions of the build surface on which solid material has been formed, and/or regions of the build surface to which energy has otherwise been directed thereby making those regions distinguishable from their surroundings. The calibration features may be produced (at least in part) by the optical system to be calibrated. The location of the calibration features within the image may be compared with the intended location of these calibration features, and corrections to the optical system determined based on any differences between the actual and intended locations.

An adjustment to an irradiation parameter corresponding to a first irradiation unit and/or a second irradiation unit of an irradiation device of an additive manufacturing apparatus may be performed based at least in part on a simulation. The simulation may include simulating generation of a plurality of first calibration patterns by the first irradiation unit and a plurality of second calibration patterns by the second irradiation unit with a simulated change to the irradiation parameter of the irradiation device, and determining a calibration quality value based at least in part on position information relating to the plurality of first calibration patterns and the plurality of second calibration patterns. The calibration quality value may include an indication as to whether a calibration quality of the apparatus would be improved as a result of the adjustment to the irradiation parameter.

An adjustment to an irradiation parameter corresponding to a first irradiation unit and/or a second irradiation unit of an irradiation device of an additive manufacturing apparatus may be performed based at least in part on a simulation. The simulation may include simulating generation of a plurality of first calibration patterns by the first irradiation unit and a plurality of second calibration patterns by the second irradiation unit with a simulated change to the irradiation parameter of the irradiation device, and determining a calibration quality value based at least in part on position information relating to the plurality of first calibration patterns and the plurality of second calibration patterns. The calibration quality value may include an indication as to whether a calibration quality of the apparatus would be improved as a result of the adjustment to the irradiation parameter.

The disclosed embodiments relate to the monitoring and control of additive manufacturing. In particular, a method is shown for removing errors inherent in thermal measurement equipment so that the presence of errors in a product build operation can be identified and acted upon with greater precision. Instead of monitoring a grid of discrete locations on the build plane with a temperature sensor, the intensity, duration and in some cases position of each scan is recorded in order to characterize one or more build operations.

Examples described herein relate to a method of 3D printing. In an example, at least part of a layer of build material is fused. The temperatures of the fused part of the layer are measured at different locations using respective temperature sensors. The temperature sensors are calibrated using the measured temperatures. Heating of additional layers of build material is controlled using the calibrated temperature sensors.

Examples described herein relate to a method of 3D printing. In an example, at least part of a layer of build material is fused. The temperatures of the fused part of the layer are measured at different locations using respective temperature sensors. The temperature sensors are calibrated using the measured temperatures. Heating of additional layers of build material is controlled using the calibrated temperature sensors.

A 3D printing apparatus includes a distance measurement portion that detects the height of a build platen having its height controlled by a displacement control portion. The apparatus detects a Z-scale error by displacing the build platen between at least two different set heights, detecting the heights of the build platen at each set height, and calculating the Z-scale error.

A 3D printing apparatus includes a distance measurement portion that detects the height of a build platen having its height controlled by a displacement control portion. The apparatus detects a Z-scale error by displacing the build platen between at least two different set heights, detecting the heights of the build platen at each set height, and calculating the Z-scale error.