A concrete structure forming system includes a panel formed of a concrete material and a void former disposed on a section of the panel that is less than an entirety of the panel. The void former is monolithically formed in a single piece of a plastic material. The void former is removable from the panel in the single piece to leave a recess in the panel when the concrete material has reached a cured state.

Devices and methods for forming voids or cavities in concrete such that reinforcing bars can be used to connect different pours of concrete, the devices including an insert having a base and an elongate member extending from the base, and the method including coupling the insert to formwork, pouring concrete into the formwork, which surrounds the insert, allowing the concrete to partially cure, such that it retains its shape, removing the formwork and insert to form a void in the partially cured concrete, inserting a reinforcing bar into the void, applying adhesive to adhere the reinforcing bar to the concrete, and pouring concrete around the reinforcing bar, such that the reinforcing bar joins the two pours of concrete together via the void and adhesive.

A single piece ceramic platen is disclosed. This platen may be manufactured using additive manufacturing. The single piece ceramic platen may be manufactured using additive manufacturing processes. As such, the single piece ceramic platen may include a plurality of embedded features. Electrodes, cooling channels, heating elements, temperature sensors, strain gauges and back side gas channels may each be embedded in the electrode. Incorporation of cooling channels and heating elements allows the platen to operate over a wider range of temperatures. Further, these features may be disposed on a plurality of different depths following a planar or non-planar pathway. For example, the heating elements may be configured such that heating element in one region of the platen, such as an outer edge, are disposed closer to the top surface of the platen.