A method of additive manufacture is disclosed. The method may include creating, by a 3D printer contained within an enclosure, a part having a weight greater than or equal to 2,000 kilograms. A gas management system may maintain gaseous oxygen within the enclosure atmospheric level. In some embodiments, a wheeled vehicle may transport the part from inside the enclosure, through an airlock, as the airlock operates to buffer between a gaseous environment within the enclosure and a gaseous environment outside the enclosure, and to a location exterior to both the enclosure and the airlock.

A method of additive manufacture suitable for large and high resolution structures is disclosed. The method may include sequentially advancing each portion of a continuous part in the longitudinal direction from a first zone to a second zone. In the first zone, selected granules of a granular material may be amalgamated. In the second zone, unamalgamated granules of the granular material may be removed. The method may further include advancing a first portion of the continuous part from the second zone to a third zone while (1) a last portion of the continuous part is formed within the first zone and (2) the first portion is maintained in the same position in the lateral and transverse directions that the first portion occupied within the first zone and the second zone.

A suction unit, including a first module, a second module, and a third module. The first module is provided with an air-permeable zone. The second module is provided with air holes a. The third module is provided with air holes b. A solder ribbon and a solar cell are sequentially stacked on the first module. A channel S2 is formed by the air holes b and the air holes a to fix the first module to the second module. A channel Si is formed by the air holes b, the air holes a and the air-permeable zone to fix the solder ribbon and the solar cell on the first module.

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 method of additive manufacture is disclosed. The method may include restricting, by an enclosure, an exchange of gaseous matter between an interior of the enclosure and an exterior of the enclosure. The method may further include running multiple machines within the enclosure. Each of the machines may execute its own process of additive manufacture. While the machines are running, a gas management system may maintain gaseous oxygen within the enclosure at or below a limiting oxygen concentration for the interior.

A robotic welding system comprises a supporting arm for attaching to a repositionable support structure, the supporting arm comprising a first mounting portion connectable to the repositionable support structure, and a second mounting portion rotatably coupled to the first mounting portion. A yaw rotary actuator rotates the second mounting portion about a yaw axis. A welding arm comprises a third mounting portion rotatably coupled to the second mounting portion of the supporting arm. A pitch rotary actuator rotates the third mounting portion about a pitch axis generally perpendicular to the yaw axis. A roll rotary actuator rotates a torch holder shaft about a roll axis generally perpendicular to the pitch axis. The shaft has a torch mounting portion for mounting a welding torch at an end thereof. A controller is operably coupled to the actuators to cause the welding torch to execute a welding pattern.

A method and an apparatus of a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system that enables a quick change in the optical beam delivery size and intensity across locations of a print surface for different powdered materials while ensuring high availability of the system. A dynamic optical assembly containing a set of lens assemblies of different magnification ratios and a mechanical assembly may change the magnification ratios as needed. The dynamic optical assembly may include a transitional and rotational position control of the optics to minimize variations of the optical beam sizes across the print surface.

A method includes removing a section of electrical insulation proximate an end of a tubing-encased conductor (TEC) to form an end of electrical insulation that is axially recessed relative to the end of the TEC. The method includes welding an end member to an outer surface of the outer tube at a weld joint that is axially between the end of the TEC and the end of the electrical insulation to protect the electrical insulation from heating damage from welding. The method includes replacing the section of electrical insulation proximate the end of the TEC by inserting a spacer into the end of the TEC between the outer tube and the electrical conductor after welding the end member to the outer surface of the TEC. A tool can be electrically connected to the electrical conductor and the tool can be welded to the end member.

An apparatus of assembling a cell stack including a plurality stacked battery cells and a conduction block having a busbar electrically connected to cell leads of the plurality of battery cells may include, a jig base including a rear base and a front base integrally formed with the rear base, a bending knife which is slidably provided in the jig base, may include a frontal surface to selectively contact with at least one of the cell leads, and is elastically supported by a first plate spring formed on a first side surface of the rear base, a jig plate provided external to the jig base and configured to slide along the jig base in a front and rear direction thereof, and a bending link pivotally engaged with a frontal end portion of the jig plate and configured to rotate to be perpendicular to the jig plate while pressurizing the at least one of the cell leads.

A method and an apparatus for collecting powder samples in real-time in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involves an ingester system for in-process collection and characterizations of powder samples. The collection may be performed periodically and uses the results of characterizations for adjustments in the powder bed fusion process. The ingester system of the present disclosure is capable of packaging powder samples collected in real-time into storage containers serving a multitude purposes of audit, process adjustments or actions.