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.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 11, 2003
Filed:
Nov. 16, 2000
Joseph K. Kelly, Plymouth, MI (US);
Other;
Abstract
The laser duty cycle in a direct metal deposition (DMD™) system is monitored and used to control another device to keep the duty cycle within a desired range. In the preferred embodiment, the duty cycle is used to control powder flowrate to keep the duty cycle between 75 to 95%. For example, the powder flowrate may be increased or decreased by stepping up or stepping down the angular velocity of the feed-rod. The duty cycle of the laser is preferably measured by sampling the output signal of the feedback device at a sufficiently high rate, at least twice as fast as the on/off switching speed of the feedback device. The sampled data is stored in a memory buffer, and an algorithm is used to calculate the duty cycle over a period of time specified by the operator. The current duty cycle is preferably displayed on the screen of the operator's computer along with the values of the periodic measurements stored in the process history database.