The invention relates to an electrically conductive base material (112) for receiving a coating material (114) which comprises electrically conductive particles (116), a method for the production thereof and the use thereof as current collector for an electrode material comprising electrically conductive particles. The base material (112) comprises a metal foil, wherein at least one surface (118) of the base material (112) provided for receiving the electrically conductive particles (116) has a first structure (120) and a second structure (122), wherein the first structure (120) has first ridges (124) and/or first grooves (126) relative to the surface (118) of the base material (112) and wherein the second structure (122) has second ridges (128) and/or second grooves (130) relative to the surface (132) of the first structure (120). Herein, the first ridges (124) and/or the first grooves (126) have first dimensions, wherein the second ridges (128) and/or the second grooves (130) have second dimensions, wherein the first dimensions exceed the second dimensions by a factor of at least 10.

The invention further relates to an electrically conductive layer composite (110) which comprises the base material (112) and a coating material (114) comprising electrically conductive particles (116), a method for the production thereof and the use thereof in a secondary element of a rechargeable battery, in particular in a lithium ion battery. Herein, the particles (116) in the coating material (114) adhere to first ridges (124) and/or to first grooves (126) in a first structure (120) on the surface (118) of the base material (112) and/or to second ridges (128) and/or to second grooves (130) in a second structure (122) on the surface (132) of the first structure (120). A good bonding of the coating material (114) to the base material (112) reduces or prevents a layer delamination of the coating material (114) from the base material (112).

The present invention relates to a thin plate bonding method or a thin plate assembly, and more particularly, to a thin plate bonding method which includes coating with a coating material after increasing a surface roughness or increasing a surface roughness through coating with a coating material, and then, conducting diffusion bonding, such that excellent bonding strength is achieved even when the diffusion bonding is performed at low temperature and low pressure, thin plate deformation by thermal stress may be prevented, and high air tightness may be obtained since the coating material fills micro-pores.

A deep black housing for a handheld electronic device is disclosed having one or more high resolution, bleached markings. The bleached markings are significantly lighter than the housing and exhibit a smooth appearance. Methods for preparing a housing having the finish and markings are also disclosed, including housings for use in mobile phones.

A method for fabricating a lamination structure of a second-generation high-temperature superconducting (2G-HTS) tape is provided. Suitable lamination tapes are selected and subjected to local oxidation on side to form a locally oxidized region having a target pattern. The lamination tapes and a to-be-laminated 2G-HTS tape are sequentially arranged, where the locally-oxidized side of each of the lamination tapes faces toward the 2G-HTS tape. The lamination tapes and the to-be-laminated 2G-HTS tape are simultaneously immersed in a molten solder pool, and subjected to reel-to-reel squeezing lamination to form the desired lamination structure. A lamination structure fabricated by the method is also provided.

A welding method for manufacturing a heat sink has the following steps in sequence: removing rust from a first workpiece and a second workpiece, degreasing the first workpiece and the second workpiece, increasing surface roughness of the first workpiece and the second workpiece, performing a copper supersonic cold spray step to the first workpiece and the second workpiece, and then combining the first workpiece and the second workpiece via welding. With the copper supersonic cold spray step and the surface treatment steps before the copper supersonic cold spray step (i.e. rust removal and degreasing, and surface roughness increasing), the solder can be attached to the workpiece tightly in the combining via welding. Thus, the welded workpieces are combined firmly and not be separated easily. If a heat sink component is made through welding workpieces in the welding method, the heat sink component has higher strength and cannot be destroyed easily.

A welded assembly includes a first object, a second object, and an interlayer. The interlayer is an ESD coating deposited on the first object, and the second object is welded to the coating. The second object may be a material that has thermally sensitive properties, such as a shape-memory material. The second weld may also be made by ESD. The interlayer may be made of more than one layer. The layer or layers may be deposited of a material chosen for its compatibility with one, the other, or both of the material of the first object and the material of the second object.

The present invention relates to a method for preserving a mark on a metallic workpiece prior to a chemical etching process to remove a surface material from a surface of the workpiece carrying the mark, the method comprising the steps of: deepening the mark relative to the surface to form a first depth; and depositing a filling material into the first depth, wherein the filling material is adapted to be removed during the chemical process, such that a second depth is obtained at the mark after the chemical process. The present invention also relates to a method of treating a metallic workpiece to preserve a mark on the surface of the workpiece, the method comprising the step of treating at least a portion of the surface of the workpiece surrounding the mark to remove at least a surface oxide layer from the mark, the treating step being arranged such that it does not remove all of the surface material from said portion of the surface of the workpiece, but removes at least the surface oxide layer from the mark.

The present disclosure provides a method for preparing a superhydrophobic surface of an aluminum alloy through laser peening, including the following steps: coating a surface of the aluminum alloy as an absorption layer with an organic component-containing confinement layer to obtain a coated aluminum alloy, where the organic component-containing confinement layer is a mixed organic solution including 5 mL to 10 mL of perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (FOTS), 100 mL to 200 mL of absolute ethanol, and 30 mL to 50 mL of distilled water; and subjecting a surface of the coated aluminum alloy to the laser peening to form the superhydrophobic surface.

A method for non-destructive testing a cutting insert to determine coating thickness is disclosed. The method includes the steps of using a source of electromagnetic energy to ablate a surface of the cutting insert to non-destructively form a geometric feature and expose the substrate and each layer of the coating; and measuring the thickness of each layer of the coating. In one example, the geometric feature is a groove with a generally trapezoidal shape. In other examples, the groove can have a U-shape, V-shape, and the like. The thickness of each layer of the coating is determined using focus variation, contrast detection, confocal microscopy, an interferometric microscopy, an imaging interferometric microscopy, or similar technique.

A welding assembly including a current generator, a first electrode electrically coupled to the current generator, the first electrode including a first engagement surface, a second electrode electrically coupled to the current generator, the second electrode including a second engagement surface, a width-determining fixture positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode to define a welding volume having a width, and an electrically nonconductive material positioned to electrically insulate at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode from an electrical conductor outside the width.