The present disclosure generally relates to additive manufacturing systems and methods on a large-scale format. One aspect involves a build unit that can be moved around in three dimensions by a positioning system, building separate portions of a large object. The build unit has an energy directing device that directs, e.g., laser or e-beam irradiation onto a powder layer. In the case of laser irradiation, the build volume may have a gasflow device that provides laminar gas flow to a laminar flow zone above the layer of powder. This allows for efficient removal of the smoke, condensates, and other impurities produced by irradiating the powder (the gas plume) without excessively disturbing the powder layer. The build unit may also have a recoater that allows it to selectively deposit particular quantities of powder in specific locations over a work surface to build large, high quality, high precision objects.

An additive manufacturing system is disclosed including multiple conveying pipelines, a mixer and a nozzle. The multiple conveying pipelines are connected to respective material sources. The multiple conveying pipelines are connected to the mixer which is configured to mix in real time powder materials supplied via the multiple conveying pipelines during additive manufacturing. The mixer is connected via a supply pipeline to the nozzle which is configured to deliver mixed material onto a substrate to perform the additive manufacturing. Each of the multiple conveying pipelines is configured to change conveying amount or speed of the powder materials in real time. An additive manufacturing method for the above additive manufacturing system is also disclosed. The additive manufacturing system and method can adjust in real time types or proportions of the materials so as to meet different property requirements for different parts of a product.

In a laser processing method, laser lights of fiber lasers or direct diode lasers is irradiated onto an iron-based plate material from a nozzle, a nozzle with a nozzle opening whose opening diameter is preliminarily set according to a thickness of the plate material is selected from plural nozzles whose nozzle openings have different opening diameters from each other, and the plate material is cut while irradiating the laser lights onto the plate material and injecting assist gas from the nozzle opening toward the plate material.

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.

A three-dimensional deposition device and a three-dimensional deposition method used to highly accurately manufacture a three-dimensional object are provided. A three-dimensional deposition device for forming a three-dimensional shape by depositing a formed layer on a base unit includes: a powder supply unit which supplies a powder material; a light irradiation unit which irradiates the powder material with a light beam so that at least a part of the powder material irradiated with the light beam is sintered or melted and solidified to form the formed layer; a heating unit which selectively heats an area having passed through a position irradiated with the light beam in the base unit or the formed layer or an area not having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam; and a control device which controls operations of the powder supply unit, the light irradiation unit, and the heating unit.

Cladding material is applied by laser to a net-shape. A method of cladding a host component includes installing the component in a fixture. A shroud component is located against the host component adjacent a select location for the cladding. Cladding is applied to the host component to the select location and adjacent to shroud component so that the shroud component defines an edge of the cladding as applied. The edge of the cladding as defined by the shroud component defines a desired cladding profile requiring no/approximately no post-cladding processing to remove over-cladded material.

A laser beam is directed onto a pyramid-shaped element, wherein the beam is directed onto at least three reflecting surfaces and the respective reflected partial beams are incident on reflecting surfaces arranged on an optics carrier element. The partial beams are aligned such that they intersect in a common plane. An internal wire feed is arranged in a housing, having an outlet nozzle for a fusible wire-shaped material, which material is using the energy of the partial beams. The outlet nozzle is arranged in front of the plane in which the reflected partial beams intersect. The pyramid-shaped element and the reflecting surfaces are formed on a carrier element, which is arranged in such a way that it is displaceable following the outlet nozzle in two perpendicular directions to the optical axis of the laser beam or perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis of the wire-shaped material.

A controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing system and method is disclosed. The disclosed product relates to the manufacture of metallic material product (MMP) having a thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) in a predetermined range. The disclosed system and method provides for a first material deformation (FMD) of the MMP that comprises at least some of a first material phase (FMP) wherein the FMP comprises martensite randomly oriented and a first thermal expansion coefficient (FTC). In response to the FMD at least some of the FMP is oriented in at least one predetermined orientation. Subsequent to deformation, the MMP comprises a second thermal expansion coefficient (STC) that is within a predetermined range and wherein the thermal expansion of the MMP is in at least one predetermined direction. The MMP may be comprised of a second material phase (SMP) that may or may not transform to the FMP in response to the FMD.

Disclosed is a multi-mode laser device for metal manufacturing applications including additive manufacturing (AM), laser cladding, laser welding, laser cutting, laser texturing and laser polishing. The multi-mode laser device configures off-axis, solid-state diode or diode-pumped lasers into an array to perform precision controlled, direct metal deposition printing, cladding, laser welding, laser cutting, laser texturing and laser polishing through a single device. Dual-mode printing, cladding and welding capability using metal wire and powder feedstock sources in the same device is provided with in-line control, precision wire feed driver/controller, adjustable shield gas diffuser, and nozzles tailored to wire feedstock diameter.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to improved laser metal deposition heads. Various embodiments may include a main body, a nozzle seat, a powder flow guide, an inner nozzle, an outer nozzle, and a coolant sleeve. In some embodiments, powder inlets in the main body are angled relative to a primary axis of the laser metal deposition head. In some embodiments, the nozzle seat includes a plurality of powder distribution channels that are also angled relative to the primary axis of the laser metal deposition head.