A method of providing a tool with a conformal cooling passage includes rough machining a cavity generally corresponding to a manufactured part shape using CAD data. Conformal cooling slots are cut in the cavity using the CAD data. The conformal cooling slots are welded shut using the CAD data to provide conformal cooling passages. A class A surface is machined over the conformal cooling passage and corresponds to a finished manufactured part shape using the CAD data.

In a preferred embodiment, there is provided a process for forming a reinforced rocker panel assembly, and which includes positioning a reinforcement patch having first and second patch sections in surface-to-surface contact with a blank panel sheet, and welding the first patch section to the blank panel sheet. The process further includes bending both the blank panel sheet and the reinforcement patch along a bend line interposed between the first and second patch sections to form the blank panel sheet into a rocker panel portion having an elongated base section and a longitudinal flange, where the first and second patch sections are in at least partial abutting contact with the base section and the flange. The process also includes welding the second patch section to the flange.

The disclosed apparatus, systems and methods relate to the design principles for forming a welded joint between two sections of tubing or pipe. The material at the end portion of a first section of tubing to is folded inwardly to create a support surface. This support surface improves the ability to weld light gage material with traditional arc welding and it creates conditions to allow brazing to be as strong as traditional arc welding by using A shaped piece of filler material which is located at the intersection between the support surface of the first section of tubing and a side wall section of the second section of tubing. While holding together the first and second sections of tubing with the filler material, heat is applied at the intersection at a temperature and for a duration sufficient to melt the filler material and form the 3t joint.

A process for preparing a multi-thickness welded steel vehicle rail, the process comprises the steps of: (a) forming a first tube having a first outer diameter, an inner diameter and a first wall thickness; (b) forming a second tube having the first outer diameter, a second inner diameter and a second wall thickness different than the first wall thickness; (c) swaging a first end of the first tube to a second outer diameter less than the second inner diameter of the second tube; (d) inserting the swaged first end of the first tube into an end of the second tube to form a joint; (e) welding the first tube and the second tube together to form a weld at the joint to form a tube blank with a heat affected zone of lower metal strength in the area of the weld; (f) preheating the tube blank to create a common crystalline microstructure along a length of the tube blank; (g) introducing the tube blank into a blow molding tool having inner molding walls; (h) molding the tube blank at an elevated temperature by expanding the tube blank against the inner molding walls of the molding tool by injecting a pressurized medium into an interior cavity of the tube blank; and (i) quenching the tube blank by replacing the pressurized medium with a cooling medium through the molding tool and the tube blank to achieve a rapid cooling effect on the tube blank and to create a completed vehicle rail with essentially uniform material strength across the weld. A completed vehicle rail has an overlapped welded structure and uniform microcrystalline structure along the length of the rail.

Weld metals and methods for welding ferritic steels are provided. The weld metals have high strength and high ductile tearing resistance and are suitable for use in strain based pipelines. The weld metal contains retained austenite and has a cellular microstructure with cell walls containing lath martensite and cell interiors containing degenerate upper bainite. The weld metals are comprised of between 0.02 and 0.12 wt % carbon, between 7.50 and 14.50 wt % nickel, not greater than about 1.00 wt % manganese, not greater than about 0.30 wt % silicon, not greater than about 150 ppm oxygen, not greater than about 100 ppm sulfur, not greater than about 75 ppm phosphorus, and the balance essentially iron. Other elements may be added to enhance the properties of the weld metal. The weld metals are applied using a power source with current waveform control which produces a smooth, controlled welding arc and weld pool in the absence of CO.sub.2 or oxygen in the shielding gas.

A semiconductor device includes: a housing; a substrate inside the housing; first and second semiconductor circuits on the substrate; and first and second planar terminals electrically connected to the first and second semiconductor circuits, respectively, the first and second planar terminals stacked on top of each other, wherein each of the first and second planar terminals extends away from the housing.

A semiconductor device includes: a housing; a substrate inside the housing; first and second semiconductor circuits on the substrate; and first and second planar terminals electrically connected to the first and second semiconductor circuits, respectively, the first and second planar terminals stacked on top of each other, wherein each of the first and second planar terminals extends away from the housing.

Discussed is an electrode lead bending and welding apparatus including a base portion movable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, a bending portion attached to the base portion and extending away from the base portion, and a sensing portion attached to the bending portion and rotatable; . A welding between an electrode lead and a busbar of a battery cell is performed in the state in which the electrode lead is bent by the bending portion, . Also discussed is an electrode lead welding method using the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus.

An exterior panel is formed of superplastic materials, including an exterior skin of titanium to accommodate high thermal stresses imposed on hypersonic transport vehicles during hypersonic flight. The exterior skin is fixed to an underlying reinforcing skeletal structure consisting of a superplastic formable reinforcement (SFR) layer, for example a titanium, zirconium, and molybdenum (TZM) alloy, which supports the exterior skin whenever the latter may be heated to temperatures exceeding 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The exterior panel includes a separate interior skin configured for attachment to a frame member such as a rib, stringer, or spar of the hypersonic transport vehicle. A multicellular core is sandwiched between the exterior and interior skins to impart tensile and compressive strength to the exterior panel. In one disclosed method, the core is superplastic formed and diffusion bonded to the exterior and interior skins.

An exterior panel is formed of superplastic materials, including an exterior skin of titanium to accommodate high thermal stresses imposed on hypersonic transport vehicles during hypersonic flight. The exterior skin is fixed to an underlying reinforcing skeletal structure consisting of a superplastic formable reinforcement (SFR) layer, for example a titanium, zirconium, and molybdenum (TZM) alloy, which supports the exterior skin whenever the latter may be heated to temperatures exceeding 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The exterior panel includes a separate interior skin configured for attachment to a frame member such as a rib, stringer, or spar of the hypersonic transport vehicle. A multicellular core is sandwiched between the exterior and interior skins to impart tensile and compressive strength to the exterior panel. In one disclosed method, the core is superplastic formed and diffusion bonded to the exterior and interior skins.