Patent Description:
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure.

<CIT> provides the state of technology information reproduced below.

A method and apparatus for selectively sintering a layer of powder to produce a part comprising a plurality of sintered layers. The apparatus includes a computer controlling a laser to direct the laser energy onto the powder to produce a sintered mass. The computer either determines or is programmed with the boundaries of the desired cross-sectional regions of the part. For each cross-section, the aim of the laser beam is scanned over a layer of powder and the beam is switched on to sinter only the powder within the boundaries of the cross-section. Powder is applied and successive layers sintered until a completed part is formed.

<CIT>, provides the state of technology information reproduced below.

Selective laser sintering is a relatively new method for producing parts and other freeform solid articles in a layer-by-layer fashion. This method forms such articles by the mechanism of sintering, which refers to a process by which particulates are made to form a solid mass through the application of external energy. According to selective laser sintering, the external energy is focused and controlled by controlling the laser to sinter selected locations of a heat-fusible powder. By performing this process in layer-by-layer fashion, complex parts and freeform solid articles which cannot be fabricated easily (if at all) by subtractive methods such as machining can be quickly and accurately fabricated. Accordingly, this method is particularly beneficial in the production of prototype parts, and is particularly useful in the customized manufacture of such parts and articles in a unified manner directly from computer-aided-design (CAD) or computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) data bases.

Selective laser sintering is performed by depositing a layer of a heat-fusible powder onto a target surface; examples of the types of powders include metal powders, polymer powders such as wax that can be subsequently used in investment casting, ceramic powders, and plastics such as ABS plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate and other polymers. Portions of the layer of powder corresponding to a cross-sectional layer of the part to be produced are exposed to a focused and directionally controlled energy beam, such as generated by a laser having its direction controlled by mirrors, under the control of a computer. The portions of the powder exposed to the laser energy are sintered into a solid mass in the manner described hereinabove. After the selected portions of the layer have been so sintered or bonded, another layer of powder is placed over the layer previously selectively sintered, and the energy beam is directed to sinter portions of the new layer according to the next cross-sectional layer of the part to be produced. The sintering of each layer not only forms a solid mass within the layer, but also sinters each layer to previously sintered powder underlying the newly sintered portion. In this manner, the selective laser sintering method builds a part in layer-wise fashion, with flexibility, accuracy, and speed of fabrication superior to conventional machining methods.

<CIT> discloses a method for generative production of a product. Respective powder layers for forming the product are heated locally to a predetermined melting temperature upon impingement of a high energy beam, to form a molten bath. A further high energy beam is applied to the molten bath from the downstream direction of a post-heating zone to reheat the molten bath. A still further high energy beam is applied to the preheated molten bath from the upstream of the preheating zone, such that the molten bath is reheated.

<CIT> discloses a process for laser melting in which a component is produced in layers. For this purpose, a powder bed is used in which a melt pool is generated by a working laser beam. Further auxiliary laser beams are used, the power density of which is set in such a way that they only slow down the cooling of the material in one zone, but do not melt it again. In this way, the cooling rate of the microstructure can be adjusted so that it develops an advantageous microstructure. For example, the mechanical properties of the component produced can be advantageously improved without subsequent heat treatment.

<CIT> relates to a layer-wise 3D printing process. The system is acting on the layer to provide an annealing heat treatment using an electron gun after the layer is formed. A laser source is only used for fusing and solidifying the powder particles in a first step.

The invention provides a method with the features of claim <NUM> for producing a product through additive manufacturing wherein, after one or more layers have been deposited, a secondary energy source is used to anneal residual stresses caused by the additive manufacturing process. The problem the inventors method addresses is the residual stresses within the manufactured part during and after the additive manufacturing process. Residual stresses are inevitable in the prior art additive manufacturing due to localized heat deposition into the powder bed, and the cooling process that follows. Residual stresses can weaken the part being formed and cause changes in dimension while being formed, or afterwards. These stresses can cause internal cracking or yielding and present a serious problem in additive manufacturing technology.

The method are susceptible to modifications and alternative forms. Specific embodiments are shown by way of example.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a specific embodiment of the method and, together with the general description given above, and the detailed description of the specific embodiments, serve to explain the principles of the apparatus, systems, and methods.

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is the process of turning digital designs into three-dimensional objects. It is a convenient and affordable way to make prototypes as well as finished products, making it popular with businesses, hobbyists and inventors. One of the technologies used by today's 3D printers is called selective laser sintering (SLS). SLS is a manufacturing technology that was created in the <NUM> at The University of Texas at Austin. During SLS, tiny particles of plastic, ceramic or glass are fused together by heat from a high-power laser to form a solid, three-dimensional object. Another technology used by today's 3D printers is called selective laser melting (SLM). SLM is similar to SLS except that metal powder is used to form a three-dimensional product.

Like all methods of 3D printing, an object printed with an SLS or SLM machine starts as a computer-aided design (CAD) file. CAD files are converted to STL format, which can be understood by a 3D printing apparatus. Objects printed with SLS or SLM are made with powder materials, most commonly plastics such as nylon in SLS, and metal powders in SLM, which are dispersed in a thin layer on top of the build platform inside an SLS or SLM machine. A laser, which is controlled by a computer that tells it what object to "print," is incident on the platform, tracing a cross-section of the object onto the powder.

Initially a 3D model of the desired product is designed by any suitable method, e.g., by bit mapping or by computer aided design (CAD) software at a PC/controller. The CAD model of the desired product is electronically sliced into series of <NUM>-dimensional data files, i.e. 2D layers, each defining a planar cross section through the model of the desired product. The <NUM>- dimensional data files are stored in a computer and provide a digital image of the final product.

The digital images are used in the additive manufacturing system to produce the final product. Solidified powder particles are applied to a substrate in a layer by layer process to produce the final product. The digital image of the first 2D layer is used to produce the first layer of the desired product.

An embodiment of the inventor's method is illustrated in the drawing. This embodiment is designated generally by the reference numeral <NUM>. A delivery system directs metal powder particles from a material build supply onto a substrate <NUM>. A fusing light source <NUM> directs a projected beam <NUM> onto the layer of metal powder particles <NUM> that have been deposited on the substrate <NUM>. The digital image of the first 2D layer is used to produce the first layer of the desired product. Relative movement between the projected beam <NUM> and the substrate <NUM> is indicated by the arrow <NUM>.

The projected beam <NUM> containing the digital image of the first 2D layer is projected from the fusing light source <NUM> onto the layer of metal powder particles <NUM> that has been deposited on the substrate <NUM>. The projected beam <NUM> solidifies the metal powder particles according to the digital image of the first 2D layer information producing the sintered layer <NUM>.

The sintered layer <NUM> is heat treated to remove residual stress in the first and subsequent layers to improve the quality of the final product. Residual stresses are common in additive manufacturing due to localized heat deposition into the powder bed, and the cooling process that follows. Residual stresses can weaken the part being formed and cause changes in dimension while being formed, or afterwards. These stresses can cause internal cracking or yielding and present a serious problem in additive manufacturing technology.

The inventor's method utilizes a secondary energy source <NUM> to anneal residual stresses developed during the additive manufacturing process. The beam <NUM> is projected from the secondary energy source <NUM> onto the sintered layer <NUM> to remove residual stress in the sintered layer and produce the final layer <NUM>. Relative movement between the beam <NUM> and the substrate <NUM> is indicated by the arrow <NUM>.

Once the first layer <NUM> is completed, production of the second layer of the product is started. A second layer of metal powder particles is applied on top of the competed first layer <NUM>. This procedure is continued by repeating the steps and building the final product in a layer by layer process. The inventor's method removes residual stresses in each layer as it is formed and/or through post processing through peening (not according to the invention as claimed) or annealing through the use of lasers or diodes.

The inventor's method can also use laser peening (not according to the invention as claimed) and uses thermal annealing technology in situ with the additive manufacturing process to anneal residual stresses and harden the structure of parts as they are being created. For Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) or Diode Additive Manufacturing (DiAM), these processes would be used intermediately between layer development (or in a post processing step) to ensure that the residual stresses in that layer(s) were eliminated. Through peening (not according to the invention as claimed), layer hardening and uniform compressive stresses could be added internally to the part instead of just on the skin depth which is traditionally up to a couple millimeters. Upon part completion, peening and other thermal processes can be used to polish and smooth the rough and sometime "stair-stepped" edges that result from the layer by layer additive manufacturing process.

Although the description above contains many details and specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the application as defined by the claim, but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of the method.

In the claims, reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless explicitly so stated, but rather "one or more.

Claim 1:
A method of producing a product through additive manufacturing with heat treatment, comprising the steps of:
providing a substrate (<NUM>),
positioning a layer of powder particles (<NUM>) on said substrate (<NUM>) producing an interface between said layer of powder particles (<NUM>) and said substrate (<NUM>),
melting said powder particles with a heat source in the form of a fusing light source (<NUM>) that directs a projected beam (<NUM>) onto said layer of powder particles (<NUM>) such that said powder particles fuse with said substrate (<NUM>) in a desired shape and pattern producing fused powder particles, wherein the projected beam (<NUM>) solidifies the powder particles according to a digital image of a 2D layer information and produces a sintered layer, the 2D layer information being one of a series of <NUM>-dimensional data files that each define a planar cross section through a 3D model of the product obtained by electronically slicing the 3D model into the series of <NUM>-dimensional data files,
heat treating the sintered layer by projecting a beam (<NUM>) from a secondary energy source (<NUM>), which is a laser or diode laser, onto the sintered layer to anneal residual stresses in the sintered layer and produce a final layer (<NUM>),
repeating said steps with a new layer of powder particles provided on top of a completed previous final layer (<NUM>) in a layer by layer fashion until the product is completed.