Abstract: Solid fuel pellets or particles are coated with a diamond-like and/or graphitic coating to impart increased resistance to oxidation or other forms of degradation. An apparatus and method for producing solid fuel pellets or particles or other comminuted or particulate material that are coated with diamond-like and/or graphitic coatings employ plasma coating of the particles or comminuted material in a plasma chamber that has provision for agitating and/or stirring the particles during the plasma coating process. The gas feed to the plasma chamber may contain at least one organic carbon source.

Abstract: A coating apparatus for applying a film to a substrate is provided. The coating apparatus includes a coating chamber, a filament fixture having a filament array, a tensioning device to maintain tension on the filament array to maintain filaments in a planar array during the application or removal of current or heat to the filaments, and a movable stage arranged to hold the substrate to be treated in the coating apparatus in proximity to the filament array so as to maintain a constant thermal gradient across the substrates being treated in the apparatus. An apparatus for applying nanocrystalline diamond to a substrate is also provided.

Abstract: This invention provides an apparatus and method for splicing together two threadlines in a manufacturing process and, more specifically, to a manually assisted apparatus and method resulting in a knot-induced twist entanglement splice that joins a threadline from a standby spool to the running threadline from an active spool.

Abstract: This invention provides an apparatus and method for splicing together two threadlines in a manufacturing process and, more specifically, to a manually assisted apparatus and method resulting in a knot-induced twist entanglement splice that joins a threadline from a standby spool to the running threadline from an active spool.