An article includes a ceramic material and features a machined surface that is characteristic of cold ablation laser machining, and the machined surface exhibits no visible oxidation. A laser machining apparatus and technique is based on cold-ablation, but is modified or augmented with an inert assist gas to minimize deleterious surface modifications and mitigate oxide formation associated with laser machining.

A marking system for decorating one or more workpieces includes a plurality of marking stations that can mark product images on blank workpieces to produce product workpieces, at least some of which have different sizes, shapes, materials, or a combination thereof, a control system that can select one of the plurality of marking stations and send product image data to the selected one of the plurality of marking stations, and a robotic manipulator that can transport a blank workpiece to the selected marking station under the control of the robotic manipulator. The selected marking station can mark the product image the blank workpiece based on the product image data which produces a product workpiece. The robotic manipulator can remove the product workpiece from the selected one of the plurality of marking stations.

A laser processing method for scanning over a first member in a first direction while irradiating the first member with a laser beam emitted from an oscillator, and joining the first member and a second member adjacent to the first member by a molten portion, the laser processing method including the steps of: in each of a first measurement region and a second measurement region different from the first measurement region, measuring an intensity of a welding light including any one of a heat radiation light radiated from at least one of the first member and the second member by irradiation with the laser beam, a plasma light, and a reflected light; and evaluating a processing state based on the intensity of the welding light measured in each of the first measurement region and the second measurement region, in which the first measurement region and the second measurement region are aligned in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

A laser welding system includes: a laser irradiation unit configured to irradiate an object to be welded with a laser beam; a temperature distribution measurement unit configured to measure a temperature distribution of a molten pool formed in the object to be welded by the irradiation of the laser beam; a convection analysis unit configured to analyze a state of convection of the molten pool based on the temperature distribution of the molten pool measured by the temperature distribution measurement unit; and a laser control unit configured to control an irradiation condition of the laser beam. When the state of convection of the molten pool analyzed by the convection analysis unit corresponds to a predetermined spatter generation mode, the laser control unit changes the irradiation condition of the laser beam so that the state of convection of the molten pool is not in the spatter generation mode.

The present disclosure provides three-dimensional (3D) printing methods, apparatuses, and systems using, inter alia, a controller that regulates formation of at least one 3D object (e.g., in real time during the 3D printing); and a non-transitory computer-readable medium facilitating the same. For example, a controller that regulates a deformation of at least a portion of the 3D object. The control may be in situ control. The control may be real-time control during the 3D printing process. For example, the control may be during a physical-attribute pulse. The present disclosure provides various methods, apparatuses, systems and software for estimating the fundamental length scale of a melt pool, and for various tools that increase the accuracy of the 3D printing.

Systems, devices, and methods for additive manufacturing are provided that allow for components being manufactured to be assessed during the printing process. As a result, changes to a print plan can be considered, made, and implemented during the printing process. More particularly, in exemplary embodiments, a spectrometer is operated while a component is being printed to measure one or more parameters associated with one or more layers of the component being printed. The measured parameter(s) are then relied upon to determine if any changes are needed to the way printing is occurring, and if such changes are desirable, the system is able to implement such changes during the printing process. By way of non-limiting examples, printed material in one or more layers may be reheated to alter the printed component, such as to remove defects identified by the spectrometer data. A variety of systems, devices, and methods for performing real-time sensing and control of an additive manufacturing process are also provided.

In a laser welding method, generation of relatively large blow holes in a welding part is prevented while decrease in productivity is reduced. The laser welding method for lap welding, using a laser beam LB, of a plurality of metal plates and including an aluminum alloy cast plate includes: a melting path of scanning and irradiating circularly a superimposed part of the aluminum alloy plate and the aluminum alloy cast plate with a first laser beam LB1 to form a molten pool of the molten aluminum alloy plate and the molten aluminum alloy cast plate; and a stirring path of scanning and irradiating circularly the molten pool with a second laser beam LB2 having a scanning speed V.sub.2 faster than a scanning speed V.sub.1 of the first laser beam LB1 to stir the molten pool.

The invention relates to a system and to a method for coating workpieces using a coating device, which is designed to apply a metal coating to a surface of the workpiece. According to the invention, it is provided that a plurality of coating devices, which are designed as identical coating modules, are provided and are arranged in a module group, that an input measuring station is assigned to the module group, by means of which station a surface of the face of the workpiece to be coated can be detected, that a conveying apparatus is provided, by means of which a workpiece can be supplied to one of the coating modules from the input measuring station, and that an output measuring station is assigned to the module group, by means of which station a surface of the coated face of the workpiece can be detected.

A plurality of values measured are relatively compared to determine an optical axis deviation direction in which an optical axis of a measurement beam S deviates from a laser beam L. In performing laser welding in the optical axis deviation direction, an irradiation position of the measurement beam S is changed so that the irradiation position of the measurement beam S is moved to a rear side of the center of the optical axis of the laser beam L in the welding direction.

An apparatus and method of improving the stability and repeatability of the laser cutting of an RFID antenna is disclosed. The present invention provides direct feedback from an optical inspection of the cutting process to the control system to determine the shape of the RFID antennas that are being cut and compare the same to the desired RFID antenna shape or pattern. When appropriate, the present invention enables a user to employ both short term and long term feedback data to make modifications to the laser cutting process to improve the same and reduce waste.