Systems and methods for laser drilling provide laser beam energy modification to reduce (e.g., eliminate or minimize) back-wall strikes during laser drilling. The systems and methods modify the process laser beam energy such that a beam energy at a central region of the process laser beam is less than a beam energy at an outer region of the process laser beam. In one example, the modified process beam has zero beam energy at the central region, thereby providing a donut mode. The laser beam energy modification may be achieved by detuning a fiber coupler in the Z axis such that laser energy is coupled into a cladding layer of the process fiber coupled to the laser fiber via the fiber coupler.

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.

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.

Systems and methods for ablating or processing a surface using a laser beam are provided. A method includes directing a laser beam at a surface to form a contact area. The method also includes moving the contact area to form a contact curve. The method includes tuning a wavelength and a power of the laser beam to process a material and/or ablate a coating. The wavelength and the power may be further tuned to not damage the surface beneath the coating. Moving the contact area may include forming a second contact curve by superimposing, at a same time, the second contact curve on the contact curve. A system includes a laser and a directing arrangement configured to direct a laser beam from the laser at a surface to form a contact area. A non-transitory processor-readable medium having instructions stored thereon is provided.

A laser uniformly machining apparatus and method thereof are provided. The apparatus includes a laser unit, a shaping element, a collimating element, a scaling element and a focusing element. The laser unit provides a laser beam for machining. The shaping element shapes the laser beam into an annular beam. The collimating element modifies the direction of the annular beam in accordance with the direction of an optical axis to turn the annular beam into a collimated annular beam. The scaling element adjusts the collimated annular beam in accordance with a scaling ratio to produce a scaled annular beam. The focusing element focuses the scaled annular beam. The scaled annular beam is produced by the scaling element to form a focused beam having a uniformly distribution of light intensity in the direction of the optical axis.

A welding optical unit for shaping a processing beam of a processing head of a welding apparatus includes a collimation lens, a focusing lens, and a beamforming insert for forming one or more spots of the processing beam on at least one workpiece to be processed. The beamforming insert has a base face and one or more side faces lying opposite the base face, which converge at a common point or in a common plateau of the beamforming insert.

An additive manufacturing system may include an energy source, an optical system to modify and direct an energy beam from the energy source toward a component to form a melt pool, and a material delivery device to deliver material to the melt pool. The optical system may form an annular energy beam, direct the annular energy beam toward the component, receive at least a portion of thermal emissions produced by the annular energy beam and the melt pool, and direct the portion of the thermal emissions toward an imaging device, which may be used to control the energy source.

Systems and methods for ablating or processing a surface using a laser beam are provided. A method includes directing a laser beam at a surface to form a contact area. The method also includes moving the contact area to form a contact curve. The method includes tuning a wavelength and a power of the laser beam to process a material and/or ablate a coating. The wavelength and the power may be further tuned to not damage the surface beneath the coating. Moving the contact area may include forming a second contact curve by superimposing, at a same time, the second contact curve on the contact curve. A system includes a laser and a directing arrangement configured to direct a laser beam from the laser at a surface to form a contact area. A non-transitory processor-readable medium having instructions stored thereon is provided.

An additive-manufacturing head is used for performing additive manufacturing by feeding a material to a workpiece and irradiating the workpiece with a laser beam. The additive-manufacturing head includes: a ring-shape laser beam forming unit configured to form a laser beam in a ring shape; a laser beam emitting unit configured to emit the ring-shape laser beam toward a workpiece; and a material feeding unit having an outlet which is disposed inside the ring-shape laser beam emitted from the laser beam emitting unit and from which the material is released, and configured to feed the material from the outlet toward the workpiece. The head configured in this manner can improve the material usage efficiency for the directed energy deposition method.

A workpiece may be laser processed by a method that may include forming a contour line in the workpiece, and directing an infrared laser beam onto the workpiece along or near the contour line to separate the workpiece along the contour line. The contour line may include defects in the workpiece. The infrared laser beam may have a beam profile such that a greater distribution of cumulated energy from the infrared laser beam is located in areas adjacent to the contour line than directly on the contour line.