Abstract: An apparatus for performing an industrial working operation on a workpiece comprises: an anthropomorphous robot comprising an end effector including a 2D laser scanner and a working tool; an RTOS computer; and a robot controller. The computer provides successive positional data along a scanning path to robot controller, and a synchronization signal directly to input port of the 2D laser scanner, thereby commanding successive scanning operations on the workpiece in synchronism with successive poses of the end effector, to acquire 3D shape information about the workpiece. The working tool is operated while the end effector is subsequently moved along a tooling path and/or is moved along a combined scanning and tooling path. An apparatus for acquiring a shape of an object arranged at a working area and methods are further disclosed.

Abstract: In a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) method, the component to be treated, affected by imperfections, like porosity, cracks and cavities in its structure, is placed into a container together with non-metallic material in form of powder or grains having size greater than the porosity and the cracks and imperfections of the component. During the HIP process, the non-metallic material presses on the whole surface of the embedded component in order to generate a combination of temperature and forces capable to reduce defects, embedded and not embedded, in the component itself. The component is not contaminated during the process thus allowing easily removal of the non-metallic material by a simple operation of mechanical cleaning or chemical washing.

Abstract: In a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) method, the component to be treated, affected by imperfections, like porosity, cracks and cavities in its structure, is placed into a container together with non-metallic material in form of powder or grains having size greater than the porosity and the cracks and imperfections of the component. During the HIP process, the non-metallic material presses on the whole surface of the embedded component in order to generate a combination of temperature and forces capable to reduce defects, embedded and not embedded, in the component itself. The component is not contaminated during the process thus allowing easily removal of the non-metallic material by a simple operation of mechanical cleaning or chemical washing.