Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and techniques for producing complex components using a reinforced thermoplastic material. The complex components can include contoured or curved outer surfaces, and in some cases define a cavity. In certain examples, one or more thermoplastic materials are arranged to form a wheel component, such as that adapted to define a rim of the bicycle. Thermal bonding can be used to join multiple reinforced thermoplastic materials to one another in order to form a cavity of the wheel component or other complex shape. In certain examples, a portion of a tooling assembly can be pressurized to maintain a shape of the cavity during thermal bonding and cooling. This can remove the need for a sacrificial bladder or other structure that would maintain the shape of the cavity, allowing for a seamless final component, optionally absent indicia of bladder exit or other seams.

Abstract: A consumable assembly for a 3D printer includes a spool carrying wound filament. A 3D printer includes a print head configured to receive filament material and a spool cabinet configured to have a filament spool positioned therein to provide a controlled environment for filament on the filament spool. A dock of the 3D printer is located outside of a chamber of the spool cabinet and is configured to receive a filament key fob, including a spool chip, of the filament spool to maintain the spool chip outside of the controlled environment of the chamber.

Abstract: The tire mold comprises lower 12 and upper portions 14 which are movable relative to one another between a close-together position for molding the tire and a distanced position for extracting said tire from the mold, and a plurality of central sectors 16 which are in axial contact with the lower 12 and upper portions 14 in their close-together molding position. For each sector 16, the mold comprises an upper member 22 for permanently coupling said sector to the upper portion 14, and a lower member 20 for temporarily coupling said sector to the lower portion 12, said coupling members 20, 22 being configured so as to obtain, during an axial distancing movement of the lower 12 and upper portions 14 from their close-together molding position, a radial displacement of said sector 16 toward the outside followed by an angular pivoting.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing a three-dimensional work piece is provided. The apparatus comprises an irradiation unit comprising at least one scanning unit configured to scan a radiation beam over an uppermost layer of raw material powder to predetermined sites of the uppermost layer of the raw material powder in order to solidify the raw material powder at the predetermined sites. An axis corresponding to the radiation beam when it impinges on the uppermost layer of raw material powder at an angle of 90° is defined as a central axis for the scanning unit. The apparatus further comprises a control unit configured to receive work piece data indicative of at least one layer of the three-dimensional work piece to be produced, and assign at least a part of a contour of the layer of the three-dimensional work piece to the at least one scanning unit.

Abstract: An ice mold for forming hollow, elongated ice structures intended to be used as drinking straws. The ice mold includes an outer tube, an inner tube concentrically positioned within the outer tube, and top and bottom caps that fluidly seal a chamber defined between the outer tube, the inner tube, the top cap, and the bottom cap.

Abstract: A method of making a nonwoven from continuous filaments is provided. The method comprises the steps of spinning continuous filaments from a spinneret to move along a vertical travel path in a vertical travel direction, cooling and stretching the filaments downstream of the spinneret in a cooler and a stretcher, and depositing the cooled and stretched filaments at a deposition location on a foraminous belt moving horizontally underneath the cooler and stretcher and having an array of openings of which a portion are plugged with a sealing compound to create a partially plugged foraminous belt. The method comprises drawing air downward through unplugged openings in the foraminous belt to stabilize the continuous filaments deposited on the foraminous belt, and pre-consolidating the deposited nonwoven into final form.

Abstract: Automatic table-top machines for kneading and extruding pasta are disclosed. The present machines overcome problems associated with prior known automatic table-top pasta machines that exhibit safety problems in relation to a detachable connection of a dough forming tank. The present invention provides one or more automatic table-top machines for kneading and extruding pasta of the specified type, which allows, among other advantages, an operator to carry out the assembly and disassembly operations of a dough forming tank in a safe and easy manner.

Abstract: A resin molding apparatus includes: a first molding mold provided with a first member and a second member configured to move relative to the first member, and configured to form a cavity by the first member and the second member; a second molding mold configured to hold a substrate; and a mask member so as to be relatively immovable with respect to the first member, configured to make contact with a portion of the substrate when the first molding mold and the second molding mold are clamped, and formed with a flow portion through which a resin material existing in the cavity and pressurized by the second member is capable of flowing.

Abstract: A coaxial powder-feeding nozzle includes a partition wall-type shell, a powder flow area, a cooling liquid flow area and a shielding gas conveying channel. A powder self-cleaning filter is on the outer side of the partition wall-type shell; the powder self-cleaning filter includes a set of powder collecting tubes on each side of the partition wall-type shell in the axial direction; each set of powder collecting tubes includes at least one powder collecting tube; under the coaction of a suction force applied by a powder collecting system and the self-weight of residual powder, a residual powder inlet of each powder collecting tube causes the residual powder on the opposite side to roll down to the bottom along the wall surface of a metal tube to be processed on the same side, and to be gathered at the front end of the residual powder inlet of the powder collecting tube.

Abstract: Extrusion dies and methods of manufacturing extrusions dies, the extrusion die including a first plate and a second plate. The first plate has first upstream and downstream surfaces. A first material of the first plate has a first elastic modulus. The first plate includes pins formed between a plurality of slots. The pins and slots define a discharge face for the extrusion die at the first downstream surface of the first plate. The second plate has second upstream and downstream surfaces. The second plate is joined at the second downstream surface to the first upstream surface of the first plate. A second material of the second plate has a second elastic modulus. The second elastic modulus is greater than the first elastic modulus. A plurality of feed holes extend from the second upstream surface of the second plate through the extrusion die into communication with the slots.

Abstract: A platform is moved to translate contents of a print chamber to a secondary chamber. Negative pressure is applied to the secondary chamber and print chamber during motion of the platform, to reduce friction between the contents of the print chamber and sidewalls of the print chamber.

Abstract: A honeycomb extrusion die (120) includes a die body (302) including an inlet face (306) and an exit face. The die body (302) has slot inlets (309) and a plurality of pins (320, 500) disposed between the slot inlets (309) and the exit face. The plurality of pins (320, 500) include side surfaces (322, 500B) configured to define a matrix of intersecting slots (324), wherein the matrix of intersecting slots (324) has slot exit (509) widths at the exit face. Divots (526) extend into a plurality of the side surfaces (322, 500B) between the slot inlets (309) and the exit face. Each individual divot (526) has a divot depth (D55) extending into a side surface (500A, 500B, 502A, 502B) of the side surfaces (322, 500B). A ratio between a slot exit width (W53) W53 of an individual slot (324) and the divot depth (D55) of an individual divot (526) extending into a side surface (500A, 500B, 502A, 502B) of the individual slot (324) is greater than 1.2.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, a device and a binding agent system for producing three-dimensional models.

Abstract: An assembly and method for creating a 3D structure. An improved compression of particulate construction material to be applied in layers, and as for increased speed in the forming of the individual layers is provided. A compressor element (2) has a blade with cutting edge arranged for compressing particulate construction material to be applied in layers. The cutting edge width is in a range between about 0.1 and about 3 times the diameter of a particle of the particulate construction material. The compression of construction material occurs with a compressor element (2) having a blade with a cutting edge and arranged in a compressor assembly (1). The width of the cutting edge is in a range between about 0.1 and about 3 times the diameter of a particle. The compressor element (2) is moved in a linear movement direction (12) by a drive element (3).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of an organic solar cell module and an organic solar cell module, and more particularly, to an organic solar cell module and a manufacturing method thereof, in which lower electrodes are spaced and etched in a staggered pattern and upper electrodes are coated to correspond to the lower electrodes to reduce a photoactive area of a sub cell and arrange more sub cells than sub cells in the related art in a predetermined area. Further, the present invention relates to an organic solar cell module and a manufacturing method thereof, which can reduce the installation cost and the manufacturing cost by coating a buffer layer and a photoactive layer on the lower electrode etched in the staggered pattern using a slot die coating apparatus in the related art.

Abstract: A solar cell module includes: a sealing layer in which power generating elements are sealed; a front surface layer formed from resin and joined to a light-receiving surface side of the power generating elements in the sealing layer; and a rear surface layer joined to an opposite side from the light-receiving surface side of the power generating elements in the sealing layer, wherein the front surface layer has a solar cell installation area that forms a portion of a solar cell, and an antenna installation area that extends at a vehicle front side or a vehicle rear side of the solar cell installation area.

Abstract: Various embodiments of a power source and method of forming such power source are disclosed. The power source can include a substrate and a cavity disposed in a first major surface of the substrate. The power source can also include radioactive material disposed within the cavity, where the radioactive material emits radiation particles; and particle converting material disposed within the cavity, where the particle converting material converts one or more radiation particles emitted by the radioactive material into light. The power source further includes a sealing layer disposed such that the particle converting material and the radioactive material are hermetically sealed within the cavity, and a photovoltaic device disposed adjacent the substrate. The photovoltaic device can convert at least a portion of the light emitted by the particle converting material that is incident upon an input surface of the photovoltaic device into electrical energy.

Abstract: A micro-inverter assembly for use in a photovoltaic system includes a housing, a direct current (DC)-to-alternating current (AC) micro-inverter disposed within the housing, and a DC connector electrically coupled to the DC-to-AC micro-inverter. The DC connector is positioned within a recess formed in a bottom surface of the housing such that at least one electrical contact of the DC connector is accessible from outside the housing. According to alternative embodiments, the DC connector comprises a plug-and-play connector constructed for one of a rotational engagement and a translational engagement with a DC connector of a photovoltaic (PV) panel.

Abstract: A Peltier element for a thermoelectric heat exchanger may include n-doped n-type semiconductors, p-doped p-type semiconductors, and a plate structure for electrically contacting the semiconductors. The plate structure may include first plate sections and second plate sections, which may be alternately arranged along an extension of the Peltier element. The first plate sections may form a first side of the Peltier element, and the second plate sections may form a second side of the Peltier element, the second side being spaced from the first side. The plate structure may further include a plurality of legs. Each leg may interconnect adjacent first and second plate sections and may extend inclined relative to the adjacent first and second plate sections. An n-type semiconductor and a p-type semiconductor may be alternately integrated in the legs along the plate structure.

Abstract: An optoelectronic device comprising a substrate comprising a groove having a first and a second face. The first face of the groove is coated with a semiconductor material and the second face of the groove is coated with a conductor material. The conductor material and the semiconductor material are in contact with another semiconductor material in the groove. The first face of the groove is longer than the second face of the groove or the second face of the groove is longer than the first face of the groove.