Patent ID: 8813360

Claim:
A method for welding a component, the method comprising the steps of: performing a welding step including welding the component using a beam source including at least one of a laser beam source and an electron beam source; predicting a residual stress in one or more regions of the component; selecting at least one region of the component for heat treatment, the selected region having a predicted residual stress greater than a predetermined limit following the welding step; and delivering a supply of heat to the at least one selected region to control a cooling rate of the at least one selected region, wherein a residual heat remaining in the welded region following the welding step is determined by a thermal model or directly measured, and at least one of: (1) a location of the at least one selected region, and (2) a heat supply to the at least one selected region during the heat treatment, is selected based upon the determined quantity of residual heat in the welded region.