A drilling tool includes a drive assembly with a shank that is configured to couple to a power tool and a step drill bit. The step drill bit includes a body having a proximal end adjacent the shank, a distal end opposite the proximal end, and a bit axis extending centrally through the body between the proximal end and the distal end. The body is defined by a wall extending around the bit axis to define a hollow interior cavity of the body. The step drill bit also includes a plurality of axially stacked, progressively sized steps with a first step at the proximal end and a terminal step at the distal end and a flute extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The flute defines a cutting edge.

A three-dimensional (3D) metal object manufacturing apparatus is equipped with a wire detector to determine a position of a top surface of melted metal contained in a receptacle of a heated vessel in the apparatus from time to time. The solid metal wire being fed into the heated vessel is retracted and the length of the retracted wire is determined using a signal generated by the wire detector. The determined length of the wire is used to identify the position of the top level of the melted metal in the receptacle so the receptacle can be replenished if the level has fallen below a predetermined capacity for the receptacle.

A polymer-assisted 3D printing method and ink compositions are used to manufacture magnetocaloric devices having many applications including in heat pumps, refrigerators, etc. The ink compositions and printing methods can produce compositionally graded, anisotropically aligned magnetocaloric architectures with designed pores and channels, to bring forth significant improvement in heat exchange efficiency.

A polymer-assisted 3D printing method and ink compositions are used to manufacture magnetocaloric devices having many applications including in heat pumps, refrigerators, etc. The ink compositions and printing methods can produce compositionally graded, anisotropically aligned magnetocaloric architectures with designed pores and channels, to bring forth significant improvement in heat exchange efficiency.

A method and apparatus for depositing metals and metal-like substances in two and three dimensional form without a substrate in a safe, rapid and economical fashion using gas shielded arc welding equipment and programmable robotic motion. The method and apparatus includes the use and application of robotic controls, temperature and position feedback, single and multiple material feeds, and semi liquid deposition thereby creating near net shape parts particularly well suited to rapid prototyping and lower volume production

A method and apparatus for depositing metals and metal-like substances in two and three dimensional form without a substrate in a safe, rapid and economical fashion using gas shielded arc welding equipment and programmable robotic motion. The method and apparatus includes the use and application of robotic controls, temperature and position feedback, single and multiple material feeds, and semi liquid deposition thereby creating near net shape parts particularly well suited to rapid prototyping and lower volume production

A radiation beam field shaping device is made from a 3D printed frame that contains and gives shape to a granular material with bulk density of at least 3 g/cm.sup.3 and composed of metal grains having a size between 1 μm and 4 mm. The frame has a hole in the bottom with surrounding walls that defines the desired beam shape. In one implementation, the metal grains are composed of solid tungsten alloy ball bearings and/or tungsten alloy powder.

A three-dimensional molding device includes a discharge unit that discharges a molding material towards a stage, a heating unit that heats the discharge unit, a temperature acquisition unit that acquires a temperature of the molding material placed on the stage, and a control unit. The control unit controls the heating unit such that a relationship of a temperature Tb of an existing layer, a path cross-sectional area Sb of the existing layer, a specific gravity ρb of a first thermoplastic resin contained in the existing layer, a specific heat Cb of the first thermoplastic resin, a temperature Tu of the heating unit, a path cross-sectional area Su of a subsequent layer, a specific gravity ρu of a second thermoplastic resin contained in the subsequent layer, a specific heat Cu of the second thermoplastic resin, a thermal decomposition temperature Td that is a lower temperature between a thermal decomposition temperature of the first thermoplastic resin and a thermal decomposition temperature of the second thermoplastic resin, and a glass transition point Tg that is a higher glass transition point between a glass transition point of the first thermoplastic resin and a glass transition point of the second thermoplastic resin satisfies the following expression (1).
Td>(Tu×Su×ρu×Cu+Tb×Sb×ρb×Cb)/(Su×ρu×Cu+Sb×ρb×Cb)>Tg  (1)

A welding or additive manufacturing system includes a contact tip assembly having first and second exit orifices. A wire feeder is configured to deliver a first and second wire electrodes through the exit orifices. An arc generation power supply is configured to output a current waveform to the wire electrodes simultaneously, through the contact tip assembly. The current waveform includes a bridging current portion, and a background current portion having a lower current level than the bridging current portion. The bridging current portion has a current level sufficient to form a bridge droplet between the wire electrodes before the bridge droplet is transferred to a molten puddle during a deposition operation. Solid portions of the wire electrodes do not contact each other during the deposition operation. The bridge droplet is transferred to the molten puddle during a short circuit event between the molten puddle and the wire electrodes.

A method includes capturing a video of a plurality of drops being jetted through a nozzle of a printer. The method also includes measuring a signal proximate to the nozzle based at least partially upon the video. The method also includes determining one or more metrics that characterize a behavior of the drops based at least partially upon the signal.