Techniques for 3-D printing a tooling shell for use in producing panels for a transport structure, such as an automobile, boat, aircraft, or other vehicle, or other mechanical structure, are disclosed. A 3-D printer may be used to produce a tooling shell containing Invar and/or some other material for use in molding the panels. A channel may be formed in a 3-D printed tooling shell for enabling resin infusion, vacuum generation or heat transfer. Alternatively, or in addition to, one or more hollow sections may be formed within the 3-D printed tooling shell for reducing a weight of the shell.

In an example implementation, a sintering system includes optical fiber installed into a sintering furnace. A support structure inside the furnace is to support a token green object in a predetermined position and to hold a distal end of the fiber adjacent to the predetermined position. A light source is operably engaged at a proximal end of the fiber to transmit light through the fiber into the furnace. A light detector is operably engaged at the proximal end of the fiber to receive reflected light through the fiber that scatters off a surface of the token green object.

In an example implementation, a sintering system includes optical fiber installed into a sintering furnace. A support structure inside the furnace is to support a token green object in a predetermined position and to hold a distal end of the fiber adjacent to the predetermined position. A light source is operably engaged at a proximal end of the fiber to transmit light through the fiber into the furnace. A light detector is operably engaged at the proximal end of the fiber to receive reflected light through the fiber that scatters off a surface of the token green object.

A method of forming a composite component having a brass or bronze powder metal portion sinter fit into a supporting, ferrous portion.

A method of forming a composite component having a brass or bronze powder metal portion sinter fit into a supporting, ferrous portion.

An additive manufacturing machine (10) comprises: a manufacturing chamber (12), the manufacturing chamber being formed by at least one working plane (20), a front wall (22), a rear wall (24), a left-hand lateral wall (26), a right-hand lateral wall, and an upper wall (30), at least one of these walls supporting a source of energy or heat (14); an inner skin (32) that is positioned inside the manufacturing chamber (12) in front of each wall of this chamber supporting the source of energy or heat (14) and at a non-zero distance from these walls so as to create a circulation volume (V) for a flow of gas (F); and a device (52) for generating the flow of gas (F) that is connected to the circulation volume (V).

An additive manufacturing machine (10) comprises: a manufacturing chamber (12), the manufacturing chamber being formed by at least one working plane (20), a front wall (22), a rear wall (24), a left-hand lateral wall (26), a right-hand lateral wall, and an upper wall (30), at least one of these walls supporting a source of energy or heat (14); an inner skin (32) that is positioned inside the manufacturing chamber (12) in front of each wall of this chamber supporting the source of energy or heat (14) and at a non-zero distance from these walls so as to create a circulation volume (V) for a flow of gas (F); and a device (52) for generating the flow of gas (F) that is connected to the circulation volume (V).

The invention relates to a printhead (1) for a 3D printer, particularly a metal printer, comprising a housing (3), a device (28) for supplying a metal (14), a reservoir (7, 27), a nozzle device (2) and a piston (5), the nozzle device (2) comprising a guide sleeve (11), a nozzle plate (9) provided with an outlet (10), and a clamping device (4). The nozzle plate (9) and the guide sleeve (11) are mutually elastically braced by means of the clamping device (4), and the guide sleeve (11) and the reservoir (7, 27) are mutually elastically braced by means of the clamping device (4).

The invention relates to a printhead (1) for a 3D printer, particularly a metal printer, comprising a housing (3), a device (28) for supplying a metal (14), a reservoir (7, 27), a nozzle device (2) and a piston (5), the nozzle device (2) comprising a guide sleeve (11), a nozzle plate (9) provided with an outlet (10), and a clamping device (4). The nozzle plate (9) and the guide sleeve (11) are mutually elastically braced by means of the clamping device (4), and the guide sleeve (11) and the reservoir (7, 27) are mutually elastically braced by means of the clamping device (4).

Wear resistant articles are described herein which, in some embodiments, mitigate CTE differences between wear resistant components and metallic substrates. In one aspect, an article comprises a layer of sintered cemented carbide bonded to a layer of iron-based alloy via a metal-matrix composite bonding layer, wherein coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of the sintered cemented carbide layer, metal matrix composite bonding layer, and iron-based alloy layer satisfy the relation:

[00001]$x=\frac{\left(.Math.C.Math..Math.T.Math..Math.E.Math..Math.\mathrm{WC}-C.Math..Math.T.Math..Math.E.Math..Math.M.Math..Math.M.Math..Math.C.Math.\right)}{\left(.Math.C.Math..Math.T.Math..Math.E.Math..Math.M.Math..Math.M.Math..Math.C-C.Math..Math.T.Math..Math.E.Math..Math.\mathrm{Fe}.Math.\right)}$

wherein 0.5x2 and CTE WC, CTE MMC and CTE Fe are the CTE values for the sintered cemented carbide, metal matrix composite, and iron-based a