A laser machining head has a function of rectifying an assist gas and includes a protection window, a nozzle configured to blow the assist gas over a workpiece, a chamber defining a space between the protection window and the nozzle, an inflow port disposed in a chamber and configured to allow the assist gas to flow in, and a flow dividing projection disposed at a position opposing to the inflow port and configured to divide the assist gas from the inflow port into a first flow and a second flow flowing along a circumferential direction around an optical axis of a laser beam.

Provided are a jet device and systems and methods using the jet device for manufacturing objects by additive manufacturing, especially titanium and titanium alloy objects, wherein the jet device directs a cooling gas across a liquid molten pool, or to impinge on the liquid molten pool, or to impinge upon a solidified material adjacent to a liquid-solid boundary of the liquid molten pool, or to impinge on an as-solidified material, or any combination thereof, during the additive manufacturing process. The application of the cooling gas can result in an additively manufactured metal product having refined grain structure with a high proportion of the grains being approximately equiaxed, and can yield an additively manufactured product exhibiting improvements in strength, fatigue resistance, and durability.

The present disclosure describes three-dimensional (3D) printing apparatuses, processes, software, and systems for producing high quality 3D objects. Described herein are printing apparatuses that facilitate control of water vapor concentration during one or more printing operations.

A method is provided for welding a substrate, in which an energy source and/or a material feed is or are moved in an oscillating motion over the surface of the substrate. The oscillating movement in a vertical and/or horizontal direction during welding results in smaller grains, which prevent the formation of fractures during welding.

A laser welding device includes a welding head configured to emit a laser beam to a working point, a shield gas supplying nozzle configured to supply shield gas to the working point, and a high-speed air supplying nozzle configured to supply a high-speed air stream between the shield gas supplying nozzle and the welding head, the high-speed air stream having a flow rate that is larger than a flow rate of the shield gas, and being supplied in a horizontal direction directly above the shield gas supplied to the working point, or in a direction orthogonal to an emission direction of the laser beam. The high-speed air supplying nozzle is disposed in a range from 80 mm to 200 mm, both inclusive, above the working point, or in a range equal to or lower than a half of a working distance between an emission surface of the laser beam of the welding head and the working point, and supplies the high-speed air stream in a belt shape.

According to one embodiment, a welding apparatus includes an irradiation device and a nozzle device. The irradiation device irradiates a target with laser light while scanning the laser light. The nozzle device includes an ejection port and ejects inert gas to an irradiation position of the laser light on the target through the ejection port located at a forward side in a scanning direction of the laser light relative to the irradiation position.

A method is provided for welding a substrate, in which an energy source and/or a material feed is or are moved in an oscillating motion over the surface of the substrate. The oscillating movement in a vertical and/or horizontal direction during welding results in smaller grains, which prevent the formation of fractures during welding.

Selective laser solidification apparatus is described that includes a powder bed onto which a powder layer can be deposited and a gas flow unit for passing a flow of gas over the powder bed along a predefined gas flow direction. A laser scanning unit is provided for scanning a laser beam over the powder layer to selectively solidify at least part of the powder layer to form a required pattern. The required pattern is formed from a plurality of stripes or stripe segments that are formed by advancing the laser beam along the stripe or stripe segment in a stripe formation direction. The stripe formation direction is arranged so that it always at least partially opposes the predefined gas flow direction. A corresponding method is also described.

Ejection and stop of a powder flow are switched while maintaining a once generated steady flow without stopping it. A processing nozzle includes a supply source of a fluid containing a powder, a first channel through which the fluid supplied from the supply source passes, a second channel that supplies the fluid to an ejection port of the nozzle, a third channel that releases the fluid outside the nozzle, and a switch that causes the first channel and the second channel to communicate with each other when supplying the fluid to the ejection port, and causes the first channel and the third channel to communicate with each other when not supplying the fluid to the ejection port.

A system for making a welded assembly. The system may include a welding system that projects a laser beam that welds a first part to a second part. The system may further include a gas delivery device defining an interior cavity. The gas delivery device may include an inlet that provides pressurized gas to the interior cavity, and a discharge slot that receives the pressurized gas from the interior cavity and outputs the pressurized gas with substantially laminar flow toward the laser beam.