Patent attributes
Systems and methods are disclosed for manufacturing a three dimensional (3D) part. In one implementation a system in accordance with the present disclosure may make use of an additive manufacturing (AM) subsystem for performing an AM operation to form the 3D part. The 3D part may be formed using a plurality of distinct material layers layered one on top of another. The system may also involve at least one of a laser peening (LP) subsystem and a High Velocity Laser Accelerated Deposition (HVLAD) subsystem. The LP subsystem may be used for laser peening a selected subquantity of the layers, to impart improved hardness to the selected subquantity of the layers and/or to the overall 3D part. The HVLAD subsystem may be used to bond at least one of the material layers to a previously laid down one of the material layers.