It is an object of the present invention to effectively suppress the overflow of brazing material from each joint of a sinter-brazed component, such as a planetary carrier, obtained by brazing a plurality of members together. According to the present invention, there is provided a sinter-brazed component obtained by mating and joining a first member having a first bonding surface and a second member having a second bonding surface to each other. Brazing material is provided between the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface. The first bonding surface has a first recess, the first recess having an inner peripheral wall and a bottom surface. The inner peripheral wall extends along and on an inner side of a profile line of the first bonding surface.

Methods for the fabrication of metal strain wave gear flexsplines using a specialized metal additive manufacturing technique are provided. The method allows the entire flexspline to be metal printed, including all the components: the output surface with mating features, the thin wall of the cup, and the teeth integral to the flexspline. The flexspline may be used directly upon removal from the building tray.

A method of joining two ferrous alloy component parts. The method includes hot metal casting a portion of a first ferrous alloy component part onto a first joining surface of a low carbon intermediate element; friction fitting a joining surface of a second ferrous alloy component part against a second joining surface of the low carbon intermediate element; and fusion welding with a concentrated energy source the intermediate element to the second ferrous alloy component part. The hot metal casting includes flowing a molten ferrous alloy onto the textured first joining surface, wherein the molten ally encompasses tabs extending from the first joining surface and filling apertures defined in the intermediate element. Then cooling the molten ferrous alloy such that a metallurgical and mechanical bond is formed between the portion of the first ferrous alloy component part and the first joining surface of the low carbon intermediate element.

To increase strength without any weight increase due to a thickness increase and without causing the machining problem in half-blanking, an external gear and an internal gear are ring-shaped gears, and external teeth and internal teeth each have a tooth width substantially corresponding to the thickness of an outer circumferential surface of the external gear or an inner circumferential surface of the internal gear. The external gear and the internal gear are ring-shaped gears, that is, each can be formed through the punching of a plate, and strength resulting from the engagement of the external teeth and the internal teeth corresponds to strength resulting from the thickness of the material plates forming the external gear and the internal gear. Accordingly, the external teeth and the internal teeth can have a wider tooth width, achieving higher strength than when half-blanking is used.

A method of joining a first piece of an automotive component that is made from a first material to a second piece of the automotive component that is made from a second material includes machining a fay surface onto each of the first and second pieces of the automotive component, cleaning the fay surfaces of each of the first and second pieces of the automotive component, placing a metal filler between the fay surfaces of the first and second pieces of the automotive component, holding the first and second pieces together with the metal filler positioned between the fay surfaces of the first and second pieces, and passing an electric current through the first piece, the metal filler and the second piece to melt the metal filler and weld the first piece to the second piece.

A method of joining parts, where at least one of the parts has a faying surface defining grooves therein. One of the parts is formed of a majority of titanium, and the other part is formed of a majority of iron. The method includes providing a set of opposed welding electrodes disposed on a side of each part and applying pressure to and heating the parts via the set of electrodes to form a joint between the parts. A bonded assembly includes a first part formed of a majority of titanium and a second part formed of a steel alloy. The first and second parts having a bond that includes a portion of the first part directly in contact with and attached to a portion of the second part. The parts may be a titanium-containing differential carrier case bonded to a steel gear.

An apparatus and a method for powder bed fusion additive manufacturing involve a multiple-chamber design achieving a high efficiency and throughput. The multiple-chamber design features concurrent printing of one or more print jobs inside one or more build chambers, side removals of printed objects from build chambers allowing quick exchanges of powdered materials, and capabilities of elevated process temperature controls of build chambers and post processing heat treatments of printed objects. The multiple-chamber design also includes a height-adjustable optical assembly in combination with a fixed build platform method suitable for large and heavy printed objects. A side removal mechanism of the build chambers of the apparatus improves handling and efficiency for printing large and heavy objects. Use of a wide range of sensors in the apparatus and by the method allows various feedback to improve quality, manufacturing throughput, and energy efficiency.

A composite metal flexplate is disclosed that includes an aluminum center plate and a steel ring gear joined to the aluminum center plate by a solid-state joint. The solid-state joint that joins together the aluminum center plate and the steel ring gear may be formed by friction welding. During the friction welding process, a surface of an annular body of the steel ring gear is preheated, followed by bringing the preheated surface of the annular body into contact with a surface of a periphery of a circular body of the aluminum center plate. The two contacting surfaces are then caused to experience relative rotational contacting movement, which generates frictional heat therebetween and softens adjacent regions of the steel ring gear and the aluminum center plate. Once this occurs, an applied force is administered to compress and forge the contacting surfaces together, thereby establishing the solid-state joint.

A method of fusion welding two ferrous alloy component parts, at least one of which is considered unweldable, involves placing a low carbon steel band into a groove defined in part by each of the ferrous alloy component parts and then conveying a concentrated energy source along a welding line that overlaps the low carbon steel band to melt the steel band along with adjacent portions of the ferrous alloy component parts to form a blended alloy weld pool. The blended alloy weld pool solidifies behind the forward movement of the concentrated energy source into a weld joint that fusion welds the ferrous alloy component parts together. The ferrous alloy component parts may include a differential casing and a ring gear. In that regard, a differential casing and ring gear assembly that includes a weld joint is also disclosed.

An additive manufacturing system including a two-dimensional energy patterning system for imaging a powder bed is disclosed. Improved structure formation, part creation and manipulation, use of multiple additive manufacturing systems, and high throughput manufacturing methods suitable for automated or semi-automated factories are also disclosed.