APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRECISION THERMAL PROCESSING OF A BODY

摘要

The invention pertains to apparatus and method for precision thermal processing of a body. An energy beam emanating from an energy beam source is scanned across the surface of the body, creating heat input through a moving spot on the surface of said body. By means described herein to condition the spot shape and flux profile, the flux profile within the spot is configured to approximate a thermal solution obtained by solving a boundary condition of the third kind imposed upon the moving spot associated with the beam as it is scanned across the body. In this manner a predetermined surface temperature profile is imposed on the surface of the body within a moving, locally heated spot of predetermined shape and size.;Potential uses include any application which would benefit from the ability to apply a prescribed uniform or variable thermal process to the surface of a body, thus including but not limited to thermal processing of inorganic materials, such as metals and ceramics, and thermal processing of polymeric or organic materials or tissues. Exemplary desired outcomes range from an improvement of surface properties, such as hardness or wear resistance, to the fabrication of a component through an additive manufacturing process.

主权项

1. An apparatus for precision thermal processing of a body, comprising:
(a) an energy beam emanating from a beam source; and (b) means to scan said energy beam across the surface of said body, thereby creating heat input through a moving spot on the surface of said body; and (c) means to condition the spot shape and flux profile, wherein said flux profile within said spot is configured to approximate a thermal solution obtained by solving a boundary condition of the third kind imposed upon the moving spot associated with said beam as it is scanned across said body.