US 11,911,848 B2
Systems and methods for additive manufacturing
Michael Evans Graham, Slingerlands, NY (US); Thomas Charles Adcock, Glenville, NY (US); John Joseph Madelone, Jr., South Glen Falls, NY (US); and John Broddus Deaton, Jr., Niskayuna, NY (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed on Jun. 30, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/363,181.
Application 17/363,181 is a continuation of application No. 16/007,272, filed on Jun. 13, 2018, granted, now 11,072,039.
Prior Publication US 2021/0323093 A1, Oct. 21, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B23K 26/354 (2014.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 50/02 (2015.01); B23K 26/34 (2014.01); B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 12/44 (2021.01); B22F 10/47 (2021.01); B22F 12/00 (2021.01); B22F 12/46 (2021.01); B22F 12/49 (2021.01)
CPC B23K 26/354 (2015.10) [B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/47 (2021.01); B22F 12/44 (2021.01); B23K 26/34 (2013.01); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 50/02 (2014.12); B22F 12/22 (2021.01); B22F 12/46 (2021.01); B22F 12/49 (2021.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of fabricating a component, said method comprising:
depositing and distributing particles onto a build platform;
operating at least one consolidation device to consolidate at least a portion of the particles to form an initial build layer of the component, wherein the consolidation device comprises a laser device and a scanning device;
repeating the steps of depositing particles, distributing the particles, and operating the at least one consolidation device to form at least a portion of the component, the at least a portion of the component including the initial build layer and at least one subsequent build layer, the at least a portion of the component including an outer surface defining an outer perimeter of the component, wherein at least a portion of the outer surface faces a substantially particle-free region of the build platform, wherein forming each subsequent build layer of the at least one subsequent build layer comprises:
depositing top surface particles on the initial build layer or a previous layer of the at least a portion of the component;
distributing the top surface particles to form a top surface build layer; and
operating the at least one consolidation device to consolidate a first plurality of the top surface particles along a scan path to form a top surface of the subsequent build layer of the component and a build layer retainer of the subsequent build layer, the top surface spaced apart the build platform such that the outer surface extends between the build platform and the top surface, the build layer retainer extending from at least a portion of the top surface and around the outer perimeter, wherein the build layer retainer is configured to retain at least a portion of the top surface build layer along the top surface; and
operating the at least one consolidation device to consolidate at least a portion of the particles of the initial build layer, a second plurality of the top surface particles, or both along a scan path to form at least one particle containment wall.