A method for manufacturing a planet gear or a sun gear of a gearbox of a wind turbine includes forming a base of the planet gear via at least one of casting or forging. The base of the planet gear includes an inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface. Therefore, at least one of the inner circumferential surface or the outer circumferential surface of the planet gear includes a plurality of net or near-net gear teeth. The method also includes applying a coating material to at least a portion of the base of the gear and at least a portion of the plurality of gear teeth of the gear via an additive manufacturing process so as to increase a hardness of the portions of the base and the plurality of gear teeth that includes the coating material.

A method for manufacturing a planet gear or a sun gear of a gearbox of a wind turbine includes forming a base of the planet gear via at least one of casting or forging. The base of the planet gear includes an inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface. Therefore, at least one of the inner circumferential surface or the outer circumferential surface of the planet gear includes a plurality of net or near-net gear teeth. The method also includes applying a coating material to at least a portion of the base of the gear and at least a portion of the plurality of gear teeth of the gear via an additive manufacturing process so as to increase a hardness of the portions of the base and the plurality of gear teeth that includes the coating material.

A method of testing a multi-specimen additive manufacturing build plate includes acquiring and installing the multi-specimen build plate in a test system, aligning one or more force exertion tools with respective selected specimens, imparting a force on the selected specimen(s), collecting test data from each selected specimen, and analyzing the collected data to identify a potential correlation between material behavior for the selected specimen and its applied manufacturing build parameter(s). A system and a non-transitory medium are also disclosed.

A method of testing a multi-specimen additive manufacturing build plate includes acquiring and installing the multi-specimen build plate in a test system, aligning one or more force exertion tools with respective selected specimens, imparting a force on the selected specimen(s), collecting test data from each selected specimen, and analyzing the collected data to identify a potential correlation between material behavior for the selected specimen and its applied manufacturing build parameter(s). A system and a non-transitory medium are also disclosed.

A 3D-printed reflective optic providing very high specific stiffness through the utilization of a hollow shelled design, with closed back, filled with high-stiffness internal volumetric space-filling open-cell lattice structures. High-stiffness, structurally-integrated, sacrificial structures are also included for the purposes of reduction or elimination of tooling during post-processing operations.

A 3D-printed reflective optic providing very high specific stiffness through the utilization of a hollow shelled design, with closed back, filled with high-stiffness internal volumetric space-filling open-cell lattice structures. High-stiffness, structurally-integrated, sacrificial structures are also included for the purposes of reduction or elimination of tooling during post-processing operations.

A 3D-printed reflective optic providing very high specific stiffness through the utilization of a hollow shelled design, with closed back, filled with high-stiffness internal volumetric space-filling open-cell lattice structures. High-stiffness, structurally-integrated, sacrificial structures are also included for the purposes of reduction or elimination of tooling during post-processing operations.

A system for forming a product with different size particles is disclosed. The system comprises at least one print head region configured to retain a first group of print heads configurable to additively print at least a first portion of the product with a first material and a second group of print heads configurable to additively print at least a second portion of the product with a second material. The described system may also comprise a processor configured to regulate the first group of print heads and the second group of print heads to distribute the first material and the second material. A method of making an object by ink jet printing using the disclosed system is also disclosed.

A system for forming a product with different size particles is disclosed. The system comprises at least one print head region configured to retain a first group of print heads configurable to additively print at least a first portion of the product with a first material and a second group of print heads configurable to additively print at least a second portion of the product with a second material. The described system may also comprise a processor configured to regulate the first group of print heads and the second group of print heads to distribute the first material and the second material. A method of making an object by ink jet printing using the disclosed system is also disclosed.

An apparatus and method for removing support material from and/or smoothing surfaces of an additively manufactured part (the “AM part”) is disclosed. The apparatus may include a chamber, a support surface within the chamber, and one or more nozzles within the chamber. The nozzles may be the same size or different sizes. The support surface may be configured to support the AM part. The support surface may have one or more openings sized and configured to allow the fluid to pass through the opening(s). The nozzles may be configured to spray a fluid at the AM part, and the spray may be an atomized or semi-atomized spray of the fluid. For removing support material from parts with internal spaces, such as cavities or passages, the apparatus can include a nozzle at the end of an adjustable flexible hose member that can be adjusted to spray into an internal space of the part. Alternatively, for removing unwanted support material from multiple parts with internal spaces, the apparatus may include a submersion tank.