US 12,134,141 B2
Melt pool monitor
Quinlan Yee Shuck, Indianapolis, IN (US)
Assigned to Rolls-Royce Corporation, Indianapolis, IN (US)
Filed by Rolls-Royce Corporation, Indianapolis, IN (US)
Filed on Jun. 9, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/343,300.
Prior Publication US 2022/0395929 A1, Dec. 15, 2022
Int. Cl. B23K 26/342 (2014.01); B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/36 (2021.01); B22F 12/41 (2021.01); B22F 12/90 (2021.01); B23K 26/03 (2006.01); B23K 26/06 (2014.01); B23K 26/0622 (2014.01); B23K 26/70 (2014.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 50/02 (2015.01)
CPC B23K 26/342 (2015.10) [B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/36 (2021.01); B22F 12/41 (2021.01); B22F 12/90 (2021.01); B23K 26/032 (2013.01); B23K 26/034 (2013.01); B23K 26/0622 (2015.10); B23K 26/0626 (2013.01); B23K 26/703 (2015.10); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 50/02 (2014.12)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An additive manufacturing system comprising:
an energy source configured to direct an energy beam toward a component;
an optical system configured to:
form an annular energy beam from the energy beam;
direct the annular energy beam toward a surface of the component to form a melt pool;
receive at least a portion of thermal emissions produced by the annular energy beam and the melt pool at the surface of the component as an annular shaped thermal emissions intensity profile; and
direct the portion of the thermal emissions toward an imaging device;
and a material delivery device configured to deliver material to the melt pool; and
a computing device coupled to the imaging device, wherein the computing device is configured to:
receive, from the imaging device, an indication of the annular shaped thermal emissions intensity profile comprising thermal emissions observed at a plurality of locations at different circumferential portions of the annular shaped thermal emissions intensity profile;
determine, based on the annular shaped thermal emissions intensity profile received by the imaging device, a change at one or more circumferential portions of the annular shaped thermal emissions intensity profile,
compare the observed thermal emissions at the plurality of locations to determine whether the change at one or more circumferential portions of the annular shaped thermal emissions intensity profile to determine whether the change is due to a shrinking meltpool or whether the change is due to melt back associated with melt pool overlap at a component edge; and
responsive to determining the change at one or more circumferential portions is indicative of melt back associated with the melt pool positioned over at least a portion of the component edge, maintaining an intensity of the annular energy beam.