Advances in laser powder bed fusion thanks to beam shaping: Beam shaper based on multi‐plane light conversion enables new forms of material processing

Cailabs have designed a reconfigurable beam shaper dedicated to the laser powder bed fusion process that is able to produce an ellipse, ring or round top‐hat beam profile in the processing plane. This study highlights the potential of beam shaping to improve the quality and productivity of the additive manufacturing process. Using a machine which was not initially able to print Inconel 939, the round top‐hat shape made it possible with a large scan speed process window.