Present embodiments include an additive manufacturing tool configured to receive a metallic material and to supply a plurality of droplets to a part at a work region of the part, wherein each droplet of the plurality of droplets comprises the metallic material and a heating system comprising a primary laser system configured to generate a primary laser beam to heat a molten zone of a substrate of the part and a secondary laser system configured to generate a secondary laser beam to heat a transition zone of the substrate of the part, wherein the molten zone and the work region are colocated, and wherein the transition zone is disposed about the molten zone.

A laser waveguide (22) with a tubular wall (24) that conducts laser energy (30) from a near end (23) to a far end (27) of the waveguide. A filler feed wire (36) slides through the hollow center of the waveguide. A laser emitter (40) delivers laser beam energy (30) to a first end of the waveguide within an acceptance angle A. The laser beam may be non-parallel to an axis (25) of the waveguide by at least 20 degrees to provide room for the laser emitter beside the feed wire. The near end of the waveguide may be flared (23C) to accept a laser beam at a greater angle from the axis. The beam exits the waveguide (32) with an annular energy distribution about the feed wire, and may be focused toward the feed wire by a lens (34) having an axial hole (37) for the wire.

A method for laser welding a metal foil stack to a metal substrate includes clamping the foil stack against a support surface of a substrate and irradiating the stack with a beam of laser pulses to weld the foils to the substrate. The beam is a composite beam including a center beam and a surrounding annular beam. An initial series of the laser pulses are incident on the stack at mutually distinct locations on a top surface of the stack, and a subsequent series of the laser pulses are incident on the stack at mutually distinct locations on a side of the stack. The resulting weld nuggets penetrate deeply into the stack, with an average penetration depth that exceeds an average pitch between the weld nuggets. The method is capable of welding more than 100 foils to the substrate. Welded assemblies have been demonstrated to withstand large shear forces.

A laser processing device includes a laser beam source, a compensation system, and an imaging system. The laser beam source is configured to provide a laser beam, in which a non-zero angle is defined between an optical axis of the laser beam and a normal direction of the surface of the workpiece. The compensation system includes a phase compensation sheet. The phase compensation sheet is configured to force the laser beam spreading away from the optical axis thereby forming a beam pattern, and the phase compensation sheet is designed based on the non-zero angle. The imaging system is configured to transform the beam pattern to a processing beam that focuses on a processing position, and a distance from the phase compensation sheet to the laser beam source along the optical axis is decided according to a processing depth of the processing position. A laser processing method is also disclosed.

The systems and methods disclosed herein utilize a beam-forming system configured to convert a Gaussian laser beam into an annular vortex laser beam having a relatively large depth of focus, which enables the processing of thick or stacked glass-based objects annular laser beam is defined in part by a topological charge m that defines an amount of rotation of the annular vortex beam around its central axis as it propagates annular vortex beam is used to form micro-holes in a glass-based object using either a one-step or a two-step method micro-holes formed by either process can be in the form of recesses or through-holes, depending on the application size of the micro-holes can be controlled by controlling the size of the annular vortex beam over the depth of focus range.

A laser processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a laser unit emitting a laser beam; an optical unit disposed on a propagation path of the laser beam and modulating the incident laser beam into a Bessel beam; a stage on which a workpiece to be processed with the Bessel beam emitted from the optical unit is mounted; and a control unit for controlling the operations of the laser unit, the optical unit, and the stage, wherein the optical unit is configured to position the focus line of the emitted Bessel beam on the workpiece and to move the focus line positioned on the workpiece with a predetermined range.

A laser machining head includes: a first lens group in which laser light diverging from a light emitter enters and is concentrated; a second lens group to which the laser light having passed through the first lens group propagates; a third lens group that constitutes a lens group in which the laser light having passed through the second lens group propagates and forms an image of the light emitter; a fourth lens group in which the laser light having passed through the third lens group enters and is concentrated; a light flux conversion optical element that is disposed on an optical axis between the first lens group and the second lens unit and converts a beam mode of the laser light; a first mover that moves the first lens group in an optical axis direction; and a second mover that moves the third lens group in an optical axis direction.

A laser drilling system is configured with a combination of system components including a fiber laser source, laser processing head, dynamic compensator, configured with one or multiple galvanometers, and stage supporting the workpiece to be laser drilled. The system components are all functionally coupled to one another to provide a plurality of trepanned holes in the workpiece each with the desired geometry. The laser head and stage are continuously displaceable relative to one another while the dynamic compensator pivots so as to keep the laser spot and the predetermined drilling location stationary relative to one another over a predetermined period of time sufficient for drill the hole. The laser source is selected from solid-state lasers configured with a single core or multi-core delivery fiber. The multicore delivery fiber is associated with adjustable mode beam (AMB) lasers to provide annular, polygonal or irregular holes.

Apparatus for laser processing a material (29), which apparatus comprises at least one first laser (15), at least one second laser (16), an optical combiner (3), and a multicore fibre (10), wherein: each first laser (15) is connected to the optical combiner (3) via a first feed fibre (1); each second laser (16) is connected to the optical combiner (3) via a second feed fibre (2); the optical combiner (3) connects the first feed fibre (1) to a first core (11) of the multicore fibre (10), and the second feed fibre (2) to a second core (12) of the multicore fibre (10); the optical combiner (3) provides a first optical path (41) from the first laser (15) to the first core (11) of the multicore fibre (10); the optical combiner (3) provides a second optical path (42) from the second laser (16) to the second core (12) of the multicore fibre (10); and the optical combiner (3) comprises a fibre bundle (4) that is tapered along its length.

Disclosed is a method and device for generating additive manufacturing control data. The control data are generated such that the energy beam has an intensity distribution, at the area of incidence on the build field, in a see tion plane running perpendicularly to the beam axis of the energy beam, which intensity distribution has at least one local minimum in a middle region along at least one secant of the intensity distribution in the section plane and has an intensity profile curve, running along the edge of the intensity distribution, which intensity profile curve has, at least at one point, a maximum value, and, at least at one point in a region opposite the maximum value on the intensity profile curve, a minimum value.