A method of additive manufacturing includes a) providing a component geometry with a hole and, b) selectively irradiating a powder bed with an energy beam according to the geometry in a layerwise manner, wherein in layers of the component including the hole, the respective regions which define the hole are irradiated with the energy beam such that a supporting structure is generated in the hole having a lower rigidity than a structure of the component. The supporting structure is used for counteracting stress or distortion during the additive buildup. A computer program product and apparatus correspond to the method.

A processing system includes: an irradiation part for irradiating an object with an energy beam; a powder supply part for supplying powder to a melt pool formed by an irradiation of the energy beam; an illumination apparatus for illuminating a position of a solidified part where the melt pool is solidified with a second light having a wavelength different from a wavelength of a first light emitted from the melt pool; an imaging apparatus for optically receive at least a part of the first light and at least a part of a third light from a part of the solidified part that is illuminated with the second light; and a display apparatus for displaying, based on an output of the imaging apparatus, an image related to the melt pool and the solidified part.

A processing system includes: an irradiation part for irradiating an object with an energy beam; a powder supply part for supplying powder to a melt pool formed by an irradiation of the energy beam; an illumination apparatus for illuminating a position of a solidified part where the melt pool is solidified with a second light having a wavelength different from a wavelength of a first light emitted from the melt pool; an imaging apparatus for optically receive at least a part of the first light and at least a part of a third light from a part of the solidified part that is illuminated with the second light; and a display apparatus for displaying, based on an output of the imaging apparatus, an image related to the melt pool and the solidified part.

Methods for joining components, and apparatuses comprising components to be joined, are described. An apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure comprises a first component comprising a first feature having a first surface profile, and an additively-manufactured second component comprising a second feature having a second surface profile, wherein the second surface profile is generated at least in part from the first surface profile of the first interface, such that the first surface profile is configured to mate with the second surface profile.

An additive manufacturing system includes an energy source and a material delivery device. The energy source is configured to direct an energy beam toward a component to form a melt pool. The material delivery device is configured to feed a wire toward the melt pool to deposit material on the component. In some examples, the material delivery device is configured to discharge a current to the wire to disengage the wire from the melt pool. In some examples, the material delivery device is configured to measure an arc voltage between the wire and the component.

An additive manufacturing system includes an energy source and a material delivery device. The energy source is configured to direct an energy beam toward a component to form a melt pool. The material delivery device is configured to feed a wire toward the melt pool to deposit material on the component. In some examples, the material delivery device is configured to discharge a current to the wire to disengage the wire from the melt pool. In some examples, the material delivery device is configured to measure an arc voltage between the wire and the component.

A method and an apparatus for collecting powder samples in real-time in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involves an ingester system for in-process collection and characterizations of powder samples. The collection may be performed periodically and uses the results of characterizations for adjustments in the powder bed fusion process. The ingester system of the present disclosure is capable of packaging powder samples collected in real-time into storage containers serving a multitude purposes of audit, process adjustments or actions.

Determining a quality score for a part manufactured by an additive manufacturing machine based on build parameters and sensor data without the need for extensive physical testing of the part. Sensor data is received from the additive manufacturing machine during manufacture of the part using a first set of build parameters. The first set of build parameters is received. A first algorithm is applied to the first set of build parameters and the received sensor data to generate a quality score. The first algorithm is trained by receiving a reference derived from physical measurements performed on at least one reference part built using a reference set of build parameters. The quality score is output via the communication interface of the device.

Apparatus (1) for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects (2) by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a build material (3) which can be consolidated by means of an energy source (4), wherein a control unit (6) is provided that is adapted to receive or generate encrypted object data relating to at least one three-dimensional object (2) to be built in a, in particular additive, manufacturing process performed on the apparatus (1), wherein the or a control unit (6) is adapted to decrypt the encrypted object data for performing the additive manufacturing process.

Apparatus (1) for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects (2) by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a build material (3) which can be consolidated by means of an energy source (4), wherein a control unit (6) is provided that is adapted to receive or generate encrypted object data relating to at least one three-dimensional object (2) to be built in a, in particular additive, manufacturing process performed on the apparatus (1), wherein the or a control unit (6) is adapted to decrypt the encrypted object data for performing the additive manufacturing process.