Sigma Labs, Inc.

Roger Frye

Lars Jacquemetton

Darren Beckett

Scott Betts

Mark J Cola

Vivek R Dave

Martin S Piltch

R Bruce Madigan

Alberto M Castro

Glenn Wikle

Christina Xuan Yu

Kevin C Anderson

An additive manufacturing system comprises an apparatus arranged to distribute layer of metallic powder across a build plane and a power source arranged to emit a beam of energy at the build plane and fuse the metallic powder into a portion of a part. The system includes a processor configured to steer the beam of energy across the build plane and receive data generated by one or more sensors that detect electromagnetic energy emitted from the build plane when the beam of energy fuses the metallic powder. The received data is converted into one or more parameters that indicate one or more conditions at the build plane while the beam of energy fuses the metallic powder. The one or more parameters are used as input into a machine learning algorithm to detect one or more defects in the fused metallic powder.

Defect identification using machine learning in an additive manufacturing system

This disclosure describes various methods and apparatus for characterizing an additive manufacturing process. A method for characterizing the additive manufacturing process can include generating scans of an energy source across a build plane; measuring an amount of energy radiated from the build plane during each of the scans using an optical sensing system that monitors two discrete wavelengths associated with a blackbody radiation curve of the layer of powder; determining temperature variations for an area of the build plane traversed by the scans based upon a ratio of sensor readings taken at the two discrete wavelengths; determining that the temperature variations are outside a threshold range of values; and thereafter, adjusting subsequent scans of the energy source across or proximate the area of the build plane.

Systems and methods for measuring radiated thermal energy during an additive manufacturing operation

Growing community of inventors

Santa Fe, NM, United States of America

Roger Frye