A system for inspecting a part while said part is produced by additive manufacturing, includes an additive manufacturing apparatus having a build tray, the apparatus being configured to fabricate the part layer-by-layer on the tray; an automated tool holder carrying a tool configured to deposit, add or weld layer-upon-layer of material; the tool holder and tray are configured to move relative to one another along a defined path; and an inspection device attached to the tool holder and configured to scan a layer of material in situ. The tool holder alternately arranges the tool and inspection device in a working position so that the tool holder fixes the tool in the working position for depositing, adding, or welding the layer of material and thereafter the tool holder switches said tool with the inspection device into the working position for scanning and detecting defects in the layer of material.

In a general aspect, a method includes filling at least a portion of a cavity of a component with an additive material, and mixing, using a friction stir tool, a material of the component with the additive material. The additive material may be a liquid metal or a solid metal.

In a method for producing a piston, a flat end surface 44a of a rotary tool 44 of a frictional pore sealing device is brought into abutment with the top surface 5a of a low thermal conductivity member 5 cast on the crown surface 2a of an aluminum alloy piston 1, and this rotary tool is pressed against the low thermal conductivity member's side with a load while rotating the rotary tool through an electric motor and a speed reduction mechanism. With this, a frictional heat between the top surface of the low thermal conductivity member and the end surface of the rotary tool causes to form a plastic flow layer 5d on the top surface, thereby sealing an opening portion of a pore 9a on the top surface of the porous member 6.

Electrical connection element having a first flat part made of a metallic substrate and a metallic contact layer applied to one surface of the substrate. A reliable coating is possible through the substrate being friction coated with the contact layer.

A system and method of joining at least two workpieces together using a friction rivet and a friction rivet cap that are friction stirred together after a cutting tip or cutting feature on the friction rivet cuts through workpieces and is then bonded to the friction rivet cap, and wherein the friction rivet cap may be excluded if the friction rivet includes a hollow in the cutting tip, the hollow being flared after the friction rivets cuts through the workpieces to thereby create an integral rivet cap in the end of the friction rivet.

Methods for material build-up on a tip of a blade of a gas turbine engine are provided. The method can include inserting a material supply and an inflatable bladder between the tip and a shroud such that the material supply is exposed to the tip and the inflatable bladder is positioned between the material supply and a shroud, inflating the inflatable bladder to force contact between the material supply and the tip, and causing relative movement between the material supply and the tip. The relative movement, in combination with the radial biased contact between the material supply and the tip, creates heat through friction. As such, the relative movement can frictionally weld new material from the material supply onto the tip of the blade. For example, the heat created can be sufficient to melt the surface of the material supply to transfer material from the material supply to the tip.

A method of forming an internal channel within a workpiece. In an embodiment, the method includes (a) rotating a tool about a central axis, wherein the tool includes: a shoulder; a pin extending axially from the shoulder; and a flange mounted to the pin that is spaced from the shoulder along the central axis. In addition, the method includes (b) moving the tool across the workpiece in a radial direction with respect to the central axis during (a). Further, the method includes (c) engaging the shoulder of the tool with an outer surface of the workpiece during (a) and (b), (d) submerging the pin and the flange within the workpiece during (a) and (b); and (e) forming the internal channel with the flange during (a) and (b).

A method of depositing an extrudate onto a substrate, the method including steps of rotating a stirring tool about an axis of rotation while urging a tool distal end of the stirring tool against the substrate, and wherein the stirring tool defines a bore, extending therethrough; positioning a die adjacent to the stirring tool, such that the stirring tool rotates relative to the die; and passing feedstock through the bore toward the tool distal end.

A method for loading feedstock bars into an additive friction stir deposition machine (AFSD) is described. The method comprises containing a plurality of feedstock bars in a container disposed adjacent to a spindle of the additive friction stir deposition machine. The method further comprises moving one feedstock bar of the plurality of feedstock bars into axial alignment with the spindle of the additive friction stir deposition machine.

A micro-region semi-solid additive manufacturing method is provided, where rod-shaped materials are used as consumables, and front ends of the consumables are heated by means of high-energy beam, an electric arc, a resistance heat, or the like, to enable the front ends to be in a semi-solid state in which the solid-liquid two phases coexist; at the same time, the rotational torsion and the axial thrust are applied to the consumables to perform shearing, agitation and extrusion on the semi-solid front ends, that is, the mold-free semi-solid rheoforming is performed. The consumable is transmitted to the bottom layer metal continuously in this manner to form metallurgical bonding, the stacking process is repeated according to a planned route obtained after discretization slicing treatment, and then an object or a stack layer in a special shape can be formed.