| United States Patent | 5,847,357 |
| Woodmansee, et. al. | Dec. 8, 1998 |
Abstract
A laser assisted thermal spray process for material spraying of a workpiece utilizes a primary energy source for producing a heating plume and a spray material injector for injecting a spray material comprising a plurality of particles into the heating plume. A deposit of the spray material transported by the heating plume is formed on the workpiece surface. The laser assisted thermal spray a process further utilizes a laser-heating system for irradiating a portion of the spray material and a portion of the targeted workpiece so as to limit incompletely melted particles thereon.
| Inventors: | Woodmansee; Donald Ernest (Niskayuna, NY); Chen; Xiangli (Niskayuna, NY). |
| Assignee: | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY). |
| Appl. No.: | 917,237 |
| Filed: | Aug. 25, 1997 |
| Intl. Cl. : | B23K 26/00, C23C 4/00 |
| Current U.S. Cl.: | 219/121.65; 219/121.47; 219/121.66; 427/446; 427/453 |
| Field of Search: | 219/121.65, 121.66, 121.47; 427/446, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 554, 556, 596, 597 |
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