Laser assisted casting and related system

Abstract

Various embodiments include methods and related systems for laser-assisted casting. Some embodiments include a method including: performing laser ablation to a preliminary wax casting model to form a modified wax model including at least one additional feature absent from the wax casting substrate; coating the modified wax model to form a mold shape around the modified wax model; and removing the modified wax model to leave a casting mold including the at least one additional feature.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 performing laser ablation to a preliminary wax casting model to form a modified wax model including at least one additional feature absent from the preliminary wax casting model;   coating the modified wax model to form a mold shape around the modified wax model; and   removing the modified wax model to leave a casting mold including the at least one additional feature.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising forming a shape from a casting material using the casting mold having the at least one additional feature. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the casting material includes steel or alloys including steel. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the forming of the shape includes:
 pouring the casting material into the casting mold having the at least one additional feature; and   cooling the casting material to solidify the shape.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing of the laser ablation includes applying an ultra-short-pulse laser to the preliminary wax casting model to directly vaporize a portion of the preliminary wax casting model, forming the at least one additional feature. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the directly vaporizing includes increasing a local temperature of the portion of the preliminary wax casting model above approximately 500 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the directly vaporizing includes maintaining a temperature of an adjacent portion of the preliminary wax casting model below approximately 120 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising scanning the modified wax model to image the at least one additional feature after the performing of the laser ablation. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the scanning includes performing at least one of a two dimensional scan or a three dimensional scan of the at least one additional feature. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising performing a subsequent laser ablation to the modified wax model based upon the image of the at least one additional feature. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the subsequent laser ablation includes a modified laser ablation approach including a modified at least one of: laser power, laser focus, laser scanning speed or laser pulse duration, compared with the laser ablation. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising:
 a laser system programmed to perform laser ablation to a preliminary wax casting model to form a modified wax model including at least one additional feature absent from the preliminary wax casting model;   an imaging system for scanning the modified wax model to image the at least one additional feature after the performing of the laser ablation;   a coating system for coating the modified wax model to form a mold shape around the modified wax model, and removing the modified wax model to leave a casting mold including the at least one additional feature; and   a casting system for casting a shape from a casting material using the casting mold having the at least one additional feature.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the imaging system includes at least one of a two dimensional scanning system or a three dimensional scanning system. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the laser system is programmed to perform the laser ablation by applying an ultra-short-pulse laser to the preliminary wax casting model to directly vaporize a portion of the preliminary wax casting model, forming the at least one additional feature. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the directly vaporizing includes increasing a local temperature of the portion of the preliminary wax casting model above approximately 500 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the directly vaporizing includes maintaining a temperature of an adjacent portion of the preliminary wax casting model below approximately 120 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the laser system is further programmed to perform a subsequent laser ablation to the modified wax model based upon the image of the at least one additional feature. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the subsequent laser ablation includes a modified laser ablation approach including a modified at least one of: laser power, laser focus, laser scanning speed or laser pulse duration, compared with the laser ablation. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 performing laser ablation to a preliminary wax casting model to form a modified wax model including at least one additional feature absent from the preliminary wax casting model,   wherein the performing of the laser ablation includes applying a pulsed laser to the preliminary wax casting model to directly vaporize a portion of the preliminary wax casting model, forming the at least one additional feature,   wherein the directly vaporizing includes:
 increasing a local temperature of the portion of the preliminary wax casting model above approximately 500 degrees Celsius; and 
 maintaining a temperature of an adjacent portion of the preliminary wax casting model below approximately 120 degrees Celsius; and 
   scanning the modified wax model to image the at least one additional feature after the performing of the laser ablation.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising performing a subsequent laser ablation to the modified wax model based upon the image of the at least one additional feature, wherein the subsequent laser ablation includes a modified laser ablation approach including a modified at least one of: laser power, laser focus, laser scanning speed or laser pulse duration, compared with the laser ablation, wherein the pulsed laser includes an ultra-short-pulse laser.