US 11,931,825 B2
System and methods for fabricating a component with laser array
Jason Harris Karp, Niskayuna, NY (US); and Victor Petrovich Ostroverkhov, Ballston Lake, NY (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed on Nov. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/990,984.
Application 17/990,984 is a division of application No. 15/433,582, filed on Feb. 15, 2017, granted, now 11,548,094.
Prior Publication US 2023/0083950 A1, Mar. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. B29C 64/20 (2017.01); B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/36 (2021.01); B22F 12/00 (2021.01); B22F 12/41 (2021.01); B22F 12/44 (2021.01); B22F 12/45 (2021.01); B22F 12/47 (2021.01); B23K 26/06 (2014.01); B23K 26/342 (2014.01); B29C 64/153 (2017.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B22F 10/10 (2021.01); B22F 12/49 (2021.01)
CPC B23K 26/342 (2015.10) [B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/36 (2021.01); B22F 12/00 (2021.01); B22F 12/41 (2021.01); B22F 12/44 (2021.01); B22F 12/45 (2021.01); B22F 12/47 (2021.01); B23K 26/0604 (2013.01); B23K 26/0648 (2013.01); B23K 26/0665 (2013.01); B29C 64/153 (2017.08); B29C 64/20 (2017.08); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B22F 10/10 (2021.01); B22F 12/222 (2021.01); B22F 12/224 (2021.01); B22F 12/49 (2021.01); Y02P 10/25 (2015.11)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of fabricating a component in a powder bed comprising:
emitting a plurality of energy beams from a plurality of laser devices of a laser array;
inducing, by an optical element, a power diffusion in at least one energy beam of the plurality of energy beams providing a diffused energy beam; and
generating a melt pool, at least in part, with the diffused energy beam, wherein:
emitting the plurality of energy beams produces a plurality of beam spots defining a beam spot pattern having a beam spot pattern length and a beam spot pattern width, each beam spot of the beam spot pattern corresponding to one of the energy beams, and
inducing the power diffusion elongates at least one of the beam spots in a direction that is at least one of substantially parallel to the beam spot pattern length and substantially parallel to the beam spot pattern width.