Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. A technique includes determining a fabric's response to a laser, capturing an initial image of a wear pattern on a garment, and processing the initial image to obtain a working image in grayscale. The working image is further processed to obtain a difference image by comparing each pixel relative to a dark reference. The difference image is converted to a laser values image by using the previously determined fabric response to the laser.

The invention relates to a method for producing an axle housing of a vehicle axle, by means of integrally connecting an axle tube (1) to an axle shaft (2) which is positioned on the longitudinal axis (L) of the axle tube, is equipped with bearing surfaces (3) for mounting a vehicle wheel, and has a tube cross-section facing said axle tube (1) which is substantially the same as the tube cross-section of the axle tube. In order to develop a welding method for the production of an axle housing that consists of an axle tube and an axle shaft secured thereto, which method is optimised in terms of the dynamic loads to which the axle housing is typically subjected in a driving operation, the method comprises the following steps: •—arranging the axle tube (1) and the axle shaft (2), with the abutting surfaces of their tube cross-sections positioned coaxially to one another, in a workpiece receiving portion of a welding installation (10), said welding installation additionally comprising an arc welding device (11) and a laser welding device (12) which is operated in parallel, •—continuously miming a weld seam (20) in the peripheral direction of the tube cross-sections, both welding devices (11, 12) being directed, actively and from the outside, onto substantially the same peripheral section of the abutting surfaces, wherein the laser beam (S) meets the outside (14) of the tube at right angles, and intersects the longitudinal axis (L) of the axle tube (1), and •—stopping running the weld seam (20) once this has passed over a peripheral angle of at least 360°. A corresponding axle housing is also disclosed.

An automotive shaft includes a journal having a crest-to-crest contact surface area defined by and between undercut regions of the shaft, an entirety of the crest-to-crest contact surface area being laser hardened to a depth no greater than 1 mm to form a layer that does not contain unhardened portions.

An automotive shaft includes a journal having a crest-to-crest contact surface area defined by and between undercut regions of the shaft, an entirety of the crest-to-crest contact surface area being laser hardened to a depth no greater than 1 mm to form a layer that does not contain unhardened portions.

An apparatus for producing an optically variable film includes a laser configured to emit a beam, a telescoping lens section having a first lens and a second lens spaced apart by a first distance and an interferometer configured to direct the beam toward a workpiece. The laser may be operated at a predetermined power level and the first and second lenses are sized and spaced relative to one another to direct the beam onto the workpiece at about 200-230 dots per inch. The workpiece may include a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer configured to be ablated by the beam, forming a microstructure in the surface of the layer. The microstructure may be randomized and used to present non-chroma visual effects.

A plurality of workpiece-holding spindles is arranged, each engaging an article being processed, and a plurality of trays, each removably engaging a plurality of said spindles. The trays are moved along a feeding line extending along a feeding path passing near a decoration module. By a transfer assembly, the spindles carrying the articles are transferred from the trays on the feeding path, to the decoration module. A decorative treatment is applied to the articles carried by the spindles, in correspondence with at least one treatment unit (40, 41, 42) operating along the decoration module. In correspondence with a painting module operatively connected with the feeding line, the articles carried by the spindles are painted.

A plurality of workpiece-holding spindles is arranged, each engaging an article being processed, and a plurality of trays, each removably engaging a plurality of said spindles. The trays are moved along a feeding line extending along a feeding path passing near a decoration module. By a transfer assembly, the spindles carrying the articles are transferred from the trays on the feeding path, to the decoration module. A decorative treatment is applied to the articles carried by the spindles, in correspondence with at least one treatment unit (40, 41, 42) operating along the decoration module. In correspondence with a painting module operatively connected with the feeding line, the articles carried by the spindles are painted.

A surface treating method and apparatus include operating a quasi-continuous wave fiber laser and pre-scan shaping the laser beam such that an instantaneous spot beam has predetermined geometrical dimensions, intensity profile, and power; operating a scanner at an optimal angular velocity and angular range to divide the pre-scan beam into a plurality of sub-beams deflected towards the surface being processed; guiding the sub-beams through a post-scan optical assembly to provide the spot beam with predetermined geometrical dimensions, power, and angular velocity and range, which are selected such that the instantaneous spot beam is dragged in a scan direction over a desired length at a desired scan velocity, which allow the treated surface to be exposed for a predetermined exposure duration and have a predetermined fluence distribution providing the treated surface with a quality comparable to that of the surface processed by an excimer laser or a burst-mode fiber laser.

A surface treating method and apparatus include operating a quasi-continuous wave fiber laser and pre-scan shaping the laser beam such that an instantaneous spot beam has predetermined geometrical dimensions, intensity profile, and power; operating a scanner at an optimal angular velocity and angular range to divide the pre-scan beam into a plurality of sub-beams deflected towards the surface being processed; guiding the sub-beams through a post-scan optical assembly to provide the spot beam with predetermined geometrical dimensions, power, and angular velocity and range, which are selected such that the instantaneous spot beam is dragged in a scan direction over a desired length at a desired scan velocity, which allow the treated surface to be exposed for a predetermined exposure duration and have a predetermined fluence distribution providing the treated surface with a quality comparable to that of the surface processed by an excimer laser or a burst-mode fiber laser.

A pulley assembly having a body, a shaft mount and a plurality of bolts is disclosed. The body is aligned to the shaft mount by providing a tight tolerance between a shoulder portion of the bolt and a neck portion of a counter sunk hole formed in the body. Additionally, an outer surface of the body may have a pattern of friction lines or patches formed by fusing particulate matter to the outer surface with heat generated by a laser beam.