Stress measurement and stress relief during additive layer manufacturing

摘要

A method of forming a metallic component 3 by additive layer manufacturing where metal is added to a weld pool formed on the component 3. While the component 3 is being formed, stress in the component 3 is measured and if it is greater than a predetermined value then the component 3 is stress relieved. Stress can be measured by measuring the distortion across at least a substantial portion of the component 3, for example using load cells 13 & 14 to measure the force experienced by the component 3 where it is clamped to the apparatus on which it is formed. Stress relief can be by high frequency peening using a pulsed laser or ultra-sonic impact, annealing or creep forming. The component 3 can be cooled before it is stress relieved.