SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LASER BASED PREHEATING IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENTS

摘要

A system and method for preheating building material using a laser scanning device in additive manufacturing environments is provided. Various embodiments involve the use of a control computer to determine a desired temperature distribution of the building material for a particular layer of the build process. The control computer further determines the current temperature distribution by means of a heat sensor and/or estimation based on a heat profile of the object being built. The control computer directs the laser scanning device to heat portions of the building material to achieve the desired temperature distribution by adjusting aspects of the laser scanning device for directing a laser beam to the portions of the building material.