A heating device and method for providing temperature control in an additive manufacturing processes. The heating device is positioned circumferentially about a print head and proximate a top layer of a printed object. An area of the top layer of the printed object is heated by directing energy from the heating device to the top layer as material is deposited from the print head onto the printed object. The directed energy applied to the printed object reduces distortion of the printed object caused by temperature gradients and improves the layer-to-layer bonding of the printed object.

A crush resistant, kink resistant optical cable including crush resistant, kink resistant optical fiber buffer tubes and systems and method for making the same are provided. The buffer tubes include a depression pattern formed along the outer surface of the buffer tube. The depression pattern provides areas of decreased thickness in the buffer tube facilitating flexibility and kink resistance. The system and method relates to laser ablation for forming the depression pattern in the buffer tube.

An orthopedic device, such as an intramedullary nail for internal fixation of a bone and a method of manufacturing the same. The orthopedic device may be formed from a medical grade powder via an additive manufacturing process. The forming process may include heat treating the additive manufactured component and machining the heat treated additive manufactured component to form the orthopedic device. Further, the orthopedic device may be formed to include an internal sensor probe channel that extends within at least a portion of the wall of the device, but which does not protrude through an outer portion of the wall. Embodiments further include a dynamizing intramedullary nail that accommodate adjustments in the relative axial positions of one or more sections of the orthopedic device. The devise may include features in an inner region of the orthopedic device that may alter an elastic modulus of the orthopedic device.

Exemplary systems and methods utilize laser heating to improve the surface finish, dimensional tolerance, and material strength of objects constructed via fused filament fabrication.

Methods of fabricating formed glass articles are described herein. In one embodiment, a method for fabricating a formed glass article may include forming a glass ribbon, forming a parson, and shaping the parson to form a glass article. The glass article may be attached to the glass ribbon at an attachment region defining an edge of the glass article. The process may also include contacting the attachment region with a focal line of a laser beam and separating the glass article from the glass ribbon at the attachment region. The attachment region may be perforated by the laser beam and the focal line may be substantially perpendicular to the plane of the glass ribbon.

A laser device is provided for performing an annular circumferential welding on a workpiece, and includes a laser head having a laser source configured for emitting a laser beam to perform welding around an outer circumferential target area of the workpiece. Also included is an optical reflector assembly having at least two optical reflectors spaced from the workpiece for reflecting the laser beam emitted from the laser head. The reflectors are spaced from each other, disposed on opposite lateral sides of the workpiece, and inclined relative to an axis transverse to a longitudinal axis of the workpiece so that the circumferential weld is achieved by a single cycle of the laser beam.

Additive manufacturing method includes providing a number of scanners with at least partially overlapping fields of view. The scanners are positioned such that respective optical axes thereof are at an angle relative to a normal part bed. The method includes positioning the fields of view such that a cumulative field of view is substantially equal to a surface area of a part bed. A layer of materials is applied to the part bed, and each scanner directs a beam from a laser emitter to the part bed to selectively fuse the material to produce a layer of a three-dimensional part.

An apparatus for non-contact processing on a ribbon-like article includes a conveying device of the ribbon-like article including an inlet section, an outlet section and a connecting segment extending between the inlet section and the outlet section and at least two operating units configured to perform non-contacting processing on the ribbon-like article that are movable along a loop path. The conveying device is configured to advance the ribbon-like article at a feed rate along the connecting segment. The operating units are configured to displace at a first speed along a processing portion of the loop path. The speed difference between the first speed and the feed rate is lower than a predetermined value.

Disclosed is a cutting device (100) and a method for manufacturing a fiber-based container (10). The cutting device (100) has a holding device (50) for holding the fiber-based container (10) and a cutting laser (20) for generating a laser beam (21). The laser beam (21) of the cutting laser (20) and the fiber-based container (10) can be moved relative to one another by means of the laser beam (21) in order to separate an excess projection (11) of the fiber-based container (10).

A method for non-contact processing on a ribbon-like article includes providing at least two operating units configured to perform non-contact processing on the non-contact ribbon-like article. Operating units are movable along a loop path. The operating units is provided with a set of processing instructions on the basis of which to carry out a predetermined non-contact processing on the ribbon-like article. The non-contact ribbon-like article advances on a conveyor device. At least one of said operating units performs the predetermined non-contact processing on the ribbon-like article. One of the operating units is provided with a further set of processing instructions on the ribbon-like article when said operating unit transits along a reset portion of the loop path. The operating unit performs the further predetermined non-contact processing provided.