Coaxial laser triangulation for height monitoring in laser metal deposition

The control of the height parameter plays a crucial role in the laser metal deposition (LMD) process. A mismatch between the deposition height increment and the process growth rate can generate geometrical inaccuracies as well as collisions. The paper presents a method based on triangulation for monitoring in-line the height on a LMD system composed of a coaxial deposition head, an anthropomorphic robot and a fiber laser. The measurement device is implemented within the deposition head, with a probe laser beam that is launched coaxially through the nozzle and focused directly on the melt pool at different positions depending on the standoff distance. The position of the probe spot is acquired through a coaxial camera and converted in relative height values. The system is demonstrated for the distance measurement over a range of some millimeters during the deposition of AISI 316L stainless steel. This method allows for high flexibility being independent on the deposition direction.