In one aspect, an oxygenated hierarchically porous carbon (an “O-HPC”) is provided, the O-HPC comprising: a hierarchically porous carbon (an “HPC”), the HPC comprising a surface, the surface comprising: (A) first order pores having an average diameter of between about 1 μm and about 10 μm; and (B) walls separating the first order pores, the walls comprising: (1) second order pores having a peak diameter between about 7 nm and about 130 nm; and (2) third order pores having an average diameter of less than about 4 nm, wherein at least a portion of the HPC surface has been subjected to O.sub.2 plasma to oxygenate and induce a negative charge to the surface. In one aspect, the O-HPC further comprises metal nanoparticles dispersed within the first, second, and third order pores. Methods for making and using the metal nanoparticle-impregnated O-HPCs are also provided.

The present invention pertains to a brazing method and a brazing apparatus. This brazing method comprises: a brazing material supply step for supplying a brazing material to a to-be-welded part; and a laser irradiation step for irradiating the brazing material having been supplied to the to-be-welded part with a laser beam while moving the laser beam along a brazing direction to form a welding bead. In the laser irradiation step, a gas is injected toward an area to be injected with gas, which is an area encompassing the welding bead located rearward of a laser-irradiated portion of the brazing material in the brazing direction, from above said area or from a front side of said area in the brazing direction.

A device for removing a defective electronic component from a circuit board includes a vacuum suction nozzle, a laser beam emitter and an infrared temperature sensor. The vacuum suction nozzle has a suction opening at which suction is generated. The suction opening is dimensioned to be larger than the defective electronic component. The laser beam emitter is oriented so as to emit a laser beam out the suction opening towards the electronic component on the circuit board. The temperature sensor measures the temperature of the electronic component based on infrared radiation emitted from around the electronic component. A method for removing the defective electronic component from the circuit board includes positioning the suction opening over the electronic component and directing the laser beam through the suction opening and onto the electronic component so as to heat and detach the electronic component, which is then sucked into the vacuum suction nozzle.

An additive manufacturing system is disclosed that comprises two or more lasers for precisely heating a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic feedstock and a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic workpiece in preparation for depositing and tamping the feedstock onto the workpiece. The system employs feedforward, a variety of sensors, and feedback to ensure that the feedstock and workpiece are properly heated.

A laser material processing head, such as a remote welding head, has an output with a protective optic configured to pass an emitted laser to a working area. The protective optic, such as a cover slide of the output, protects other optics inside the head and is a replaceable, spare part. To prevent at least some debris expelled from the working area from reaching the protective optic, a nozzle is mounted to the head adjacent to the protective optic. The nozzle has an inlet and an outlet for the gas. The outlet has a curvilinear profile configured to fan a cross-jet of the gas in the plane between the protective optic and the working area. The profile of the nozzle reduces the amount of gas needed to divert the debris from the protective optic.

Embodiments of an integrated laser hot wire deposition head are disclosed. In one embodiment, the deposition head includes a structural frame, a laser process sub-system, a wire feeding device, and a contact tube. The laser process sub-system is mounted within the structural frame to deliver a single beam path laser beam in a longitudinally-oriented direction toward a substrate or a part to be additively manufactured. The wire feeding device and contact tube are mounted within the frame to feed a consumable filler wire toward the substrate or part at an angle with respect to the longitudinally-oriented direction. The deposition head can be moved omni-directionally with respect to the substrate or the part, under the guidance of a motion control system, to additively manufacture the part without having to angularly change an orientation of the single beam path laser beam from the longitudinally-oriented direction or rotate the deposition head.

A laser machining nozzle includes: a nozzle body coupled to a machining head; and a flow path formed through the nozzle body in a longitudinal axis of the nozzle body to allow a machining-assist gas to be injected toward a workpiece therethrough while a laser beam is emitted toward the workpiece, wherein the flow path comprises a first flow path formed in a flow direction of the machining-assist gas and generating a supersonic flow of the machining-assist gas; a second flow path connected to the first flow path in the flow direction of the machining-assist gas and expanding a volume of the machining-assist gas having passed through the first flow path; and a flow path boundary defining a boundary between the first flow path and the second flow path.

An optical apparatus includes: an optical component opposed to and spaced apart from a light-emitting surface through which laser light is emitted; a case that houses a semiconductor laser element and the optical component and includes an introduction port for introducing gas and an exhaust port for exhausting the gas; and a flow passage section (i.e., a tubular body) including a spray port for spraying the semiconductor laser element with the gas introduced from the introduction port.

A method of manufacturing a part includes additively manufacturing, with an additive manufacturing machine, at least one wall of the part having a first thickness from powder in a powder bed, and peening, with a peening system, at least a portion of the wall of the part. The peening induces plastic deformation in the portion of the wall. The portion of the wall that is peened has a second thickness less than the first thickness of the wall prior to peening. The second thickness of the portion of the wall may be less than a minimum thickness limit achievable by the additive manufacturing machine.

A laser processing head (100) comprises a first-level nozzle (110) and a second-level nozzle (120) that communicate with each other, wherein the second-level nozzle (120) is arranged downstream of the first-level nozzle (110); an inner diameter of the second-level nozzle (120) gradually decreases in a laser transmission direction, and minimum inner diameter of the first-level nozzle (110) is larger than the inner diameter of a tail end of the second-level nozzle (120). The laser processing head (100) solves the contradiction between high energy density laser and the system reliability through gradual coupling. Also provided are a laser processing system and a laser processing method.