Abstract: An artificial Christmas tree includes a central trunk broken into at least two separate portions including a fixed trunk portion and at least one rotating trunk portion. The fixed trunk extends up from an underlying base. Rotating trunks rotatably attach at midpoints thereof at least indirectly to an upper end of the fixed trunk. Limbs are pivotably attached to the rotating trunks with optional lights coupled thereto. These limbs pivot between a perpendicular orientation extending from the rotating trunks and a collapsed configuration closer to a centerline of the rotating trunks. The rotating trunks can be pivoted from a first collapsed configuration with a first end above a second end to a deployed configuration with the second end above the first end. During pivoting, the limbs attached to the rotating trunk transition between a collapsed to a deployed configuration automatically. A wheeled base and cover further facilitate storage and deployment.

Abstract: Disclosed is an austenitic stainless steel alloy that includes or consists of, by weight, about 20.0% to about 21.5% chromium, about 8.5% to about 10.0% nickel, about 4.0% to about 5.0% manganese, about 0.5 to about 1.5% niobium, about 0.5% to about 2.0% silicon, about 0.4% to about 0.5% carbon, about 0.2% to about 0.3% nitrogen, and a balance of iron with inevitable/unavoidable impurities. The elements tungsten and molybdenum are excluded beyond impurity levels. Turbocharger turbine housings made of the stainless steel alloy, and methods of making the same, are also disclosed. The stainless steel alloy is suitable for use in turbocharger turbine applications for temperatures up to about 1020° C.

Abstract: Disclosed is an artificial tree having a plurality of electrified tree sections that couple together to provide power and/or command signals to devices connected thereto. One or more tree sections may have a trunk portion, one or more electrical connectors having a plurality of terminals, branches, a light string, and an electrical distribution system located at least partially within the trunk portion. A first tree section may be configured to couple to a second tree section such that an electrical connector of the first tree section is in electrical connection with an electrical connector of the second tree section, thereby mechanically and electrically connecting the first tree section to the second tree section such that power and/or the control data are transmitted to the second tree section. Further, each trunk segment may include an axial electrical connector that permits adjacent trunk segments to connect in a plurality of radial orientations relative to each other.

Abstract: A reinforcement strand (400) comprises a core (403) around which steel filaments (404) are twisted all with the same final lay length and direction. The steel filaments are arranged in an intermediate layer comprising N first steel filaments and an outer layer of 2N steel filaments circumferentially arranged around the intermediate layer. In the intermediate layer filaments will contact one another at a closing lay length that is determined by the number of steel filaments N in the intermediate layer, the diameter of the core and the diameter of the first steel filaments. By choosing the final lay length and direction equal to the between two and six times the closing lay length gaps will form between the intermediate layer filaments. The 2N outer layer filaments are further divided into a group of smaller (408) and a group of larger (406) diameter steel filaments.

Abstract: The disclosed wall includes several narrow aluminum sheets and posts that are Friction Stir Welded (FSW) into a sidewall. The length of the wall is the summation of the narrow sheets' width, and the walls width is the narrow sheets' length. Several aluminum posts are spaced along the wall's length direction in order to improve the stiffness and strength of the wall. When welding the aluminum sheets and posts together, the sheets are placed under the posts and jointed tightly together through FSW. With the high-speed spinning of the stirring pin, the post and sheet melt and form into a compact solid phase weld seam under the extrusion of the welding head. When welding two aluminum sheets and one post together, the two sheets are placed edge-to-edge or slightly overlapped. The post is then placed over the sheet joint and the stir-welding head melts portions of the post and the two sheets simultaneously.

Abstract: A hot stamped article having excellent shock absorption having a predetermined chemical composition, having a microstructure containing prior austenite having an average grain size of 3 ?m or less and further containing at least one of lower bainite, martensite, and tempered martensite in an area ratio of 90% or more, and having a grain boundary solid solution ratio Z defined by Z=(mass % of one or both of Nb and Mo at grain boundaries)/(mass % of one or both of Nb and Mo at time of melting) of 0.3 or more.

Abstract: An essentially lead free steel having improved machinability while reducing or eliminating lead (except for trace impurities) and without detriment of the material properties of the steel. The properties of the lead free steel are dependent on both the composition and method of manufacture. The improved lead free steel has, in percent by weight (wt-%): Carbon: 0.39-0.43%; Manganese: 0.75-1.00%; Silicon: 0.15-0.35%; Chromium: 0.80-1.05%; Molybdenum: 0.15-0.25%; at least one of Tellurium: 0.003-0.090 wt-%, Selenium: 0.080-0.2 wt-%, Sulfur: 0.065-0.09% wt-%, and Bismuth: 0.03-0.1 wt-%; and the balance being Fe and normally occurring scrap steel impurities. The hot-rolled lead-free steel product is subjected to a heat treatment at a first temperature for a first duration, at a second temperature for a second duration that is less than the first temperature, at a third temperature for a third time period that is greater than the second temperature, and subsequently cooling the steel product.

Abstract: A hot stamped body comprising a steel base material and an Al—Zn—Mg-based plating layer formed on a surface of the steel base material, wherein the plating layer has a predetermined chemical composition, the plating layer comprises an interfacial layer positioned at an interface with the steel base material and containing Fe and Al and a main layer positioned on the interfacial layer, the main layer comprises, by area ratio, 10.0 to 85.0% of an Mg—Zn containing phase and 15.0 to 90.0% of an Fe—Al containing phase, the Mg—Zn containing phase comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an MgZn phase, Mg2 Zn3 phase, and MgZn2 phase, and the Fe—Al containing phase comprises at least one of an FeAl phase and Fe—Al—Zn phase and an area ratio of the Fe—Al—Zn phase in the main layer is 10.0% or less.

Abstract: A dust core that can significantly reduce the iron loss is provided. The dust core of the present invention includes soft magnetic particles comprising pure iron or an iron alloy and a grain boundary layer existing between adjacent soft magnetic particles. The grain boundary layer has a compound layer comprising MxFe2-xSiO4 (0?x?1, M: one or more types of metal elements that serve as divalent cations). Such a dust core is obtained by annealing a compact. The compact is obtained by compression-molding a powder for magnetic cores. In the powder for magnetic cores, coating layers that coat the surfaces of soft magnetic particles are each composed of a composite phase in which spinel-type ferrite represented by MyFe3-yO4 (0?y?1, M: one or more types of metal elements that serve as divalent cations) is dispersed on a surface of a silicone resin or inside the silicone resin.

Abstract: A thin-walled metal part, and a method to fabricate such a part out of various alloys. A plurality of layers are formed, each of the layers being formed on a polymer template or on a previously formed layer. A homogenizing heat treatment is used to cause chemical elements in the layers to interdiffuse, to form a single continuous layer with a substantially uniform alloy composition.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of hot dip coating of flat steel products, comprising a step of stripping the coated steel strip by means of at least one nozzle that emits a stripping gas having a temperature T3 at an angle ? in the direction of the coated steel strip, wherein the angle ?, the distance h between the surface of the melt bath and the lower edge of the nozzle in mm, the temperature of the stripping gas in ° C. and the differential between the temperature T2 of the melt bath and the temperature T1 of the steel strip are in a particular relationship to one another, and to a correspondingly produced hot dip-coated flat steel product.

Abstract: Provided is a heat sink that has a clad structure of a Cu—Mo composite material and a Cu material and has a low coefficient of thermal expansion and high thermal conductivity. A heat sink comprises three or more Cu layers and two or more Cu—Mo composite layers alternately stacked in a thickness direction so that two of the Cu layers are outermost layers on both sides, wherein each of the Cu—Mo composite layers has a thickness section microstructure in which flat Mo phase is dispersed in a Cu matrix. The heat sink has a low coefficient of thermal expansion and also has high thermal conductivity in the thickness direction because the thickness of each of the Cu layers which are the outermost layers is reduced, as compared with a heat sink of a three-layer clad structure having the same thickness and density.

Abstract: The steel pipe according to the present disclosure contains a chemical composition consisting of, in mass %, C: more than 0.50 to 0.65%, Si: 0.05 to 0.50%, Mn: 0.05 to 1.00%, P: 0.025% or less, S: 0.0050% or less, Al: 0.005 to 0.100%, Cr: 0.30 to 1.50%, Mo: 0.25 to 3.00%, Ti: 0.002 to 0.050%, N: 0.0010 to 0.0100% and O: 0.0030% or less, with the balance being Fe and impurities. The steel pipe contains an amount of dissolved C within a range of 0.010 to 0.060 mass %. The tensile yield strength in the axial direction and the circumferential direction is 862 to 1069 MPa, and the yield ratio in the axial direction is 90% or more. The tensile yield strength in the circumferential direction is 30 to 80 MPa higher than the compressive yield strength in the circumferential direction.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hot-stamping formed article made of steel, in which the hot-stamping formed article has at least one of a tensile strength of 1200 MPa or more and a martensitic steel structure and includes a first portion, a corner portion, and a second portion, which are sequentially continuous from one end portion to the other end portion in a longitudinal direction, each of the first portion, the corner portion, and the second portion includes a top sheet and two vertical walls connected to the top sheet when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the second portion includes a first outwardly-extending flange adjacent to the vertical wall, and the corner portion includes a vertical flange extending from the vertical wall of the first portion, a second outwardly-extending flange adjacent to the vertical wall located on an outer peripheral side of the corner portion out of the two vertical walls, and a transition portion in which the vertical flange and the se

Abstract: An ornamental tree assembly includes a base defining a presentation surface and at least one base edge defining a base periphery. A lower portion of an ornamental tree is fixedly secured to the presentation surface of the base. A plurality of walls is movable with respect to the base, with at least one of the walls pivotally secured to the base edge. The ornamental tree assembly also includes an upper portion of the ornamental tree fixedly secured to another of the plurality of walls. The upper portion of the ornamental tree is inverted and disposed adjacent the lower portion of the ornamental tree when the plurality of walls are configured in a storage configuration; and the upper portion is upright and extending over the lower portion when the plurality of storage walls are in a display configuration.

Abstract: Steel material whose constituent grains comprise a matrix in which precipitates are incorporated, the precipitates comprising at least one metallic element selected from a metallic element M, a metallic element M?, a metallic element M? or mixtures thereof; the microstructure of the steel being such that the grains are equiaxed and the average grain size being such that the average of their largest dimension “Dmax” and/or the average of their smallest dimension “Dmin” is comprised between 10 ?m and 50 ?m. The steel material has optimized, stable and isotropic mechanical properties, in particular so that the steel material can best withstand mechanical and/or thermal stresses.

Abstract: Provided is a martensite-based stainless steel component that has a nitride layer on a surface of a martensite-based stainless steel with a constituent composition including, in percent by mass, 0.25 to 0.45% of C, 1.0% or less of Si, 0.1 to 1.5% of Mn, 12.0 to 15.0% of Cr, and 0.5 to 3.0% of Mo, with a remainder being Fe and impurities, wherein hardness at a position of a depth of 0.1 mm from a surface of the martensite-based stainless steel component is 650 HV or more, and a number density of carbide with an equivalent circle diameter of 1 ?m or more is 100 particles/10000 ?m2 in a sectional structure at the position of the depth of 0.1 mm from the surface of the martensite-based stainless steel component. Also, a method for manufacturing the martensite-based stainless steel component is provided.

Abstract: A connector system facilitates the connection of a first tree trunk to a second tree trunk of an artificial tree system. The connector system can prohibit rotation of the first tree trunk relative to the second tree trunk.

Abstract: A bonding structure formed on a substrate includes an indium layer and a passivating nickel plating formed on the indium layer. The nickel plating serves to prevent a reaction involving the indium layer.

Abstract: A bathless plating for a conductive material with composite particles or with high surface coverage. The setup for the bathless electro-plating includes a cathode, a composite mixture, a membrane, and an anode. The cathode is a conductive material. The composite mixture comprises a metal salt, an acid, and a composite material. The composite mixture is applied to the cathode. A hydrophilic membrane is applied to the composite mixture. An anode, with oxidizing properties, is applied to the membrane. A current is applied to the bathless setup. Upon removing the current and composite mixture from the cathode, a metal-based composite coating remains on the cathode.