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The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.

The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.

Patent No.:

US 11980965 B1

PDFFull Text
Date of Patent:
May. 14, 2024

Filed:

Apr. 23, 2019

Systems and methods for multi-laser head alignment in additive manufacturing systems

Applicant:

General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);

Inventor:

Xiaolei Shi, Niskayuna, NY (US);

Assignee:

General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);

Attorney:

Dority & Manning, P.A.

Primary Examiner:

Nathaniel E Wiehe

Assistant Examiner:

Dilnessa B Belay

Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K 26/03 (2006.01); B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/31 (2021.01); B22F 10/36 (2021.01); B22F 12/45 (2021.01); B22F 12/49 (2021.01); B22F 12/90 (2021.01); B23K 26/06 (2014.01); B23K 26/064 (2014.01); B23K 26/082 (2014.01); B23K 26/342 (2014.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 50/00 (2015.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K 26/032 (2013.01); B22F 10/28 (2021.01); B22F 10/31 (2021.01); B22F 12/45 (2021.01); B22F 12/49 (2021.01); B22F 12/90 (2021.01); B23K 26/0608 (2013.01); B23K 26/064 (2015.10); B23K 26/082 (2015.10); B23K 26/342 (2015.10); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 50/00 (2014.12); B22F 10/36 (2021.01);
Abstract

An additive manufacturing system includes a build platform and at least two laser heads. Each laser head includes at least one laser device, an optical sensor, and a computing device. The build platform includes a plurality of calibration marks. The laser device is configured to generate a laser beam. The laser beam is directed toward the plurality of calibration marks and the build platform. The optical sensor is configured to detect a scattering signal of the laser beam generated by reflecting off of the plurality of calibration marks and the build platform. The computing device is configured to receive the scattering signal from the optical sensor. The computing device is configured to align the laser heads such that the scattering signal aligns with the plurality of calibration marks and such that the laser heads align with each other.

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