Proof-of-concept of an absorbance determination of a powder bed by high resolution coaxial multispectral imaging in laser material processing

• Imaging techniques are very popular for process monitoring in laser material processing due to their high information content. At the same time, coaxial systems focused by passive laser optics still present a major challenge, because most laser optics cause imaging errors for the monitoring channel. In this paper, the design, methodology and procedure are shown to be able to acquire coaxial image data by standard laser components, which is demonstrated by components for a laser powder bed fusion system and their use on a powder bed. The focus is on the correction of the image data to produce a high-resolution, geometrically accurate and gap-free overview image of the entire processing area. For this purpose, optical simulations of the system are performed to detect aberrations, distortions and chromatic errors and to correct them by hardware elements or in software post-processing. Over the entire 114 mm by 114 mm working area, objects can be captured geometrically accurate with a maximum deviation of 22 μm - 49 μm, depending on the detection wavelength. By capturing images atPaper C: Coaxial multispectral imaging Benedikt Brandau148wavelengths of 405 nm, 450 nm, 520 nm, 580 nm, 625 nm and 850 nm, multispectral information is gained over the entire working area. In addition, an absorbance of the powder bed is derived from the images. To qualify this methodology, tests are performed on 20 different powders. These include different particle sizes, aged and oxidized powders of different metals. The ability to determine absorbance is simulated by ray tracing powder surfaces. This allows the determination of in-line absorbances from the powder bed with a maximum deviation of 2.5 % compared to absorbance spectra of established methods. The origins of component defects such as foreign particles, powder oxidation, spatter and uncoated areas were able to be identified down to a diameter of 20 μm.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Bearbetnings-, yt- och fogningsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Manufacturing, Surface and Joining Technology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Spectroscopic Measurement

Correction Method

Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Scanning Method

Metal Powder

Multispectral Imaging

Laser Material Processing

Produktionsutveckling

Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

art (subject category)