The invention relates to methods for laser welding a first and a second workpiece portion with a laser beam that is guided using a laser machining head along a joining gap formed between the workpiece portions, in which method the laser beam is focused and a filler is lined up with the joining gap. At least one gap width of the joining gap of the workpiece portions to be welded is detected and evaluated along the course of the joining gap and compared with at least a first and a second gap measurement. If a detected gap width is within the first gap measurement, the feeding of the filler to the joining gap is stopped and a beam profile of the laser beam is set with a point or annular focus, and if a detected gap width is within the second gap measurement, a feeding of the filler is actuated.

This shaping apparatus is equipped with: a movement system which moves a target surface; a measurement system for acquiring position information of the target surface in a state movable by the movement system, a beam shaping system that has a beam irradiation section and a material processing section which supplies a shaping material irradiated by a beam from beam irradiation section; and a controller. On the basis of 3D data of a three-dimensional shaped object to be formed on a target surface and position information of the target surface acquired using the measurement system, the controller controls the movement system and the beam shaping system such that a target portion on the target surface is shaped by supplying the shaping material while moving the target surface and the beam from beam irradiation section relative to each other.

A method for welding bar-type conductors includes arranging at least two bar-type conductors in partially overlapping fashion, and welding the at least two bar-type conductors to one another by using a processing laser beam. The processing laser beam traverses a welding contour relative to the bar-type conductors. The traversing of the welding contour includes an initial phase, a main phase and an end phase. In the initial phase, in a partial region of a beam cross section of the processing laser beam, an intensity of the processing laser beam, which is spatially averaged over the partial region, is increased over time. In the main phase, the spatially averaged intensity, which is achieved at the end of the initial phase, is kept at least substantially constant over time. In the end phase, the spatially averaged intensity, starting from the intensity at the end of the main phase, is reduced over time.

The present disclosure relates to a system for forming a material layer that may make use of an optical light source for generating an optical beam, and a beam shaping subsystem configured to shape the optical beam to generate a complex beam intensity profile. The complex shaped beam may be used to selectively melt at least portions of a bed of powder particles residing on a substrate during formation of the material layer, as the optical light source is moved. A computer may be used to control the optical light source. The complex beam intensity profile enables control over the microstructure of grains formed during melting of the powder particles as the material layer is formed.

A processing apparatus using laser according to an embodiment includes a stage configured to hold a substrate and rotate, and a laser irradiation apparatus capable of moving in a radial direction of the rotation. The laser irradiation apparatus includes a control unit configured to control an output of an infrared pulsed laser so that L1/L2 satisfies 1.2 or more and 10 or less when a distance between laser spots adjacent to each other in a rotation direction of the stage is L1 and a distance between laser spots adjacent to each other in the radial direction of the rotation is L2.

Provided are a laser cutting device and a laser cutting method. The laser cutting device comprises a beam expanding element provided with a plurality of lens sets, wherein optical axes of the plurality of lens sets are located in the same line and each lens set comprises at least one lens; the beam expanding element is configured to convert an incident beam into a first beam; and a spectroscopic element arranged on a light path of an emitted light of the beam expanding element, and wherein the spectroscopic element is configured to convert the first beam into multiple second beams that are annular and spaced apart from each other.

The invention concerns an apparatus and its use for laser welding. A laser welding apparatus comprise at least one first laser device, each providing at least one first optical feed fiber with a first laser beam; at least one second laser device, each providing at least one second optical feed fiber with a second laser beam; means for generating a composite laser beam comprising a first output laser beam and a second output laser beam for welding a workpiece; wherein the first output laser beam has a circular cross-section and the second output laser beam has an annular shape concentric to the first output laser beam. The second laser device is a fiber laser device or a fiber-coupled laser device. The apparatus is configured to form the second output laser beam at least on the basis of the second laser beam, and the second output laser beam comprises a first wavelength and a second wavelength having difference of at least 10 nanometers, or the second output laser beam has spectrum width of least 10 nanometers.

A method for laser welding of a bipolar plate for a fuel cell is provided. The bipolar plate includes two metallic plate parts. The method includes producing at least one continuously enclosing first weld seam with a first seam width, and producing at least one second weld seam with a second seam width. The second seam width is at least 10% greater than the first seam width.

The present disclosure provides three-dimensional (3D) printing methods, apparatuses, software, and systems, some of which utilize one or more detectors that may be used to detect characteristics of the 3D object, e.g., in real-time during its formation. The present disclosure provides methods, apparatuses, software, and systems for generating different cross sections of one or more energy beams used for 3D printing of the 3D object.

A component is fabricated in an additive manufacturing process. Only a portion of a first layer of a first material is at least partially melted to define a first component layer of the component. Only a portion of the second layer of a second material is at least partially melted to define a second component layer of the component in which the entirety of the second component layer is formed simultaneously, and the second component layer is attached to the first component layer.