BEAM ANALYSIS FEATURE
technology to measure the laser performance’
Real-time integration in a challenging environment Additive manufacturing has been around for many years, but it has recently started to be considered as a practical means for production. For this to happen, it requires timely measurements on how the laser is interacting with the process and requires the laser, or even sometimes multiple lasers, to work to increasingly demanding specifications, smaller spot-sizers, and more power density. “You need to be able to reproduce the
environment in which the component was created, in production, in large-volume, in different parts of the world, and on different machines,” Prefontaine explains. “It requires the laser to be well analysed and characterised both in R&D and in production. Even before R&D, there’s new simulation software that can simulate how a laser and its different parameters can affect a 3D print structure – all the various laser parameters have to be monitored and then reproduced to ensure your laser is responding according to your simulation.” More clients require live feedback to ensure process quality and reduce downtime, minimise lost material and increase throughput to better utilise the machines that they have already put in place, Prefontaine adds. “The difference is that, instead of making standalone detectors for laboratory or scientific use, or spot detection, we’re seeing a lot of these detectors being integrated into their machines. Some are being integrated by the client end-users, but some are being integrated by the laser machine manufacturers, so we’re climbing up the chain in addressing the question of laser quality control earlier on in the design process.” How the laser is interacting with the
process can change over a short amount of time, with a laser having different characteristics when the laser is first turned on and just a few seconds later. As McCauley explains: “Historically, laser measurement products have given you a snapshot of what is happening at a brief moment in time. With additive manufacturing, it is crucial to understand how that laser is performing over long g
www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics November 2022 Electro Optics 25
customer who has bought this million-dollar machine, but still wants to use 1970s and 1980s
‘It’s amazing to hear of a
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