Laser Beam Shaping in PBF-LB/M
How ring-shaped, dual-spot, and inverse-designed beam profiles change melt pool behavior, microstructure, and productivity.
Beam shaping makes the laser intensity profile a design variable of the process. The cover figure shows measured caustics of a conventional Gaussian beam (VP0) and a ring-shaped beam (VP6) — same laser, radically different energy distribution. This project investigates how such profiles change the thermal footprint of the melt pool, and what that means for defects, microstructure, and build rates.
Topics covered:
- Ring-shaped beams vs. Gaussian: calibrated MSI thermal analysis in stainless steel 316L. Gaussian beams create a concentrated heat zone with linearly increasing peak temperature, while ring profiles produce characteristic half-moon-shaped temperature fields and a different melting sequence (published in Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2025).
- Dual-spot strategies: microstructural anisotropy and productivity in high-power PBF-LB/M of Inconel 718 (collaboration, published in JMPT, 2026).
- Inverse-designed beam shapes: experimental validation of numerically optimized beam profiles for temperature control, in collaboration with computational mechanics groups (published in Additive Manufacturing, 2026).
The common thread: measured, absolute melt pool temperatures — not simulations alone — as the basis for evaluating what a beam shape actually does.