Fast beam shaping for advanced laser manufacturing

这个项目是关于建立一个具有成本效益的可变形反射镜系统，适用于先进的激光制造系统。激光系统现在用于或建议用于机械加工、抛光和增材层制造。在计算机控制下引导和塑造激光束，可以生成多个激光工具，并可以制造高度复杂的结构，适用于原型制作、小批量高价值制造和一次性组件，如医疗植入物。更快、更精确、更便宜的自适应光学元件将增加这些先进激光制造技术在工业中的应用。快速光束整形技术的关键方面是：(1)反射镜设计，它适用于小型化和与传感和驱动电子器件的集成；(2)“致动器扩展传感”技术，它减少了压电滞后的影响，使反射镜控制更快、更准确。具有扩展传感的可变形反射镜的发展为激光光束轮廓和光斑尺寸的连续可变操纵提供了潜力。例如，在增材层制造中，激光束在计算机控制下扫描，通过熔化金属粉末来创建组件，这将有可能补偿在扫描金属粉末床时的离轴扭曲，或者使用更大或更小的斑点来显示组件结构的粗或细细节。本课题旨在展示扩展传感控制变形镜的有效性和商业价值。我们将展示在实验室激光制造应用中，即增材层制造中，镜子在控制下的工作。我们将深入研究先进激光制造的市场机会、技术的市场路线以及进一步投资的需求。

This project is about building a cost-effective deformable mirror system suitable to incorporate into advanced laser manufacturing systems. Laser systems are now used or proposed for machining, polishing, and additive layer manufacture. Directing and shaping a laser beam under computer control allows multiple laser tools to be generated and enables highly complex structures to be manufactured, suitable for prototyping, low volume high value manufacture, and one-off components such as medical implants. Faster, more accurate, and cheaper adaptive optic components will increase the take-up in industry of these advanced laser manufacturing techniques. The key aspects of the fast beam shaping technology are (i) the mirror design, which is adaptable to miniaturisation and integration with sensing and drive electronics, and (ii) the technique of "actuator extension sensing" which reduces the effect of piezoelectric hysteresis enabling faster and more accurate mirror control. The development of the deformable mirror with extension sensing offers the potential for continuously-variable manipulation of the beam profile and spot size of a laser. For example in additive layer manufacturing, in which a laser beam is scanned under computer control to create a component by melting metal powder, it will be possible to compensate for off-axis distortions during scanning across the metal powder bed, or to use a larger or smaller spot for coarse or fine detail of the component's structure.The aim in this project is to show the effectiveness and commercial value of the deformable mirror with extension sensing control. We will show the mirror working under control in the laboratory in a laser manufacturing application, namely additive layer manufacture. We will investigate in depth the market opportunity in advanced laser manufacturing, route to market for the technology, and the requirements for further investment.