Patent ID: 7879394

Claim:
An apparatus for depositing material on a workpiece, the apparatus comprising: an elongated member comprising a deposition head at one end; a fiber laser for producing a single laser beam, wherein a path of said single laser beam is internal to said elongated member; at least one material delivery tube attached to or within said elongated member and terminating in a feed nozzle proximate to or within said deposition head; said feed nozzle diverging away from an elongate axis of said elongated member; a mirror proximate to or within said deposition head for reflecting said single laser beam from said fiber laser out of said deposition head so that said single laser beam diverges from said elongate axis of said elongated member; wherein a reflection angle of said single laser beam relative to said elongate axis of said elongated member is greater than 90 degrees; and wherein material exiting said feed nozzle is contacted by said single laser beam approximately at a desired location on the workpiece.