Passive intensity modulation of a pattern for fabricating near-net shaped features in microscale metal additive manufacturing

Abstract

A large variation in part size across the projection area of the microscale selective laser sintering process is caused by non-uniform intensity projected onto the substrate by the digital micromirror device (DMD). A corrective gray scale mask with varying intensities was mapped according to a sintered array of parts. The variance in part size across the area was reduced by as much as 45% by using this technique. This approach can be extended to in real-time process control to create a more uniform distribution of heat and in turn better near net shape parts across the projection area.