Thermally laminated foam boards, methods for making thermally laminated foam boards, apparatus for making thermally laminated foam boards, smaller foam pieces made from thermally laminated foam boards, methods for making smaller foam pieces from thermally laminated foam boards, parts made from thermally laminated foam boards, methods for making parts from thermally laminated foam boards, and tools for making parts from thermally laminated foam boards are disclosed. The thermally laminated foam boards are made by thermally bonding at least two polystyrene boards together.

A packaging machine including a hot plate assembly adapted to fuse a length of heat-sensitive film wrapped around a package. A controller is adapted to calculate a time period the heating element is energized to fuse the length of heat-sensitive film wrapped around the package based on an initial temperature of the heating element. A hot plate status indicator is adapted to indicate at least to different statuses of operation of the packaging machine.

A method, and an apparatus associated therewith, for detecting plastic tube ends clamped in a butt welding machine, the plastic tube ends being planed by means of a plane, which can be introduced between the plastic tube ends, and subsequently being heated by means of a heating mirror, which can be introduced between the plastic tube ends, and the plastic tube ends are welded together after removal of the heating mirror, the plane and/or the heating mirror being tilted in between the plastic tube ends by means of a controlled movement, wherein detection or sensing of the plastic tube ends during the controlled movement of tilting in the plane and/or the heating mirror is carried out by means of at least one sensor arranged on the plane and/or on the heating mirror.

A method for joining a lens with a housing of a lighting device for a motor vehicle, having the steps: positioning the housing in a receiving device of a welding device, said housing having on its underside at least one fastener for attaching the lighting device in the motor vehicle, identifying the position of the at least one fastener relative to the receiving device, calculating a correction value on the basis of the identified position of the at least one fastener, and moving the lens held in a holding device of the welding device in the direction of the housing along a travel distance and welding the lens to the housing.

An automated fiber placement (AFP) system includes a tool head with a compaction roller and a first variable heat source. The compaction roller is configured to receive at least one of a fiber and a plurality of fibers formed as a laydown tape, and is controlled to apply the laydown tape to a workpiece at a predetermined speed and direction. The first variable heat source is configured to apply a first amount of heat to the laydown tape. The first amount of heat applied is related to the predetermined speed. The AFP system further includes a second variable heat source configured to apply a second amount of heat to the workpiece. The second amount of heat applied is related to at least one of: a position on the workpiece, a thickness of the workpiece at that position, and a separation distance between the second variable heat source and the workpiece.

Fluid flow conduits and apparatus and methods for joining the conduits, preferably in a sterile manner, are disclosed. Each conduit has a polymeric open end that is sealed by a sealing member that may include a heating element. The polymeric end material is melted, the sealing members are moved to expose the melted open ends of the conduits and the ends are brought together to form a fused or welded connection between the conduits.

The invention relates to a device (1) for machining a workpiece (2) which preferably consist at least in sections of wood, wood material or synthetic material and/or for coating the workpiece (2) with a coating material (4), comprising: a machining device (30, 40) for machining the workpiece (2), and a conveyor (20) for affecting a relative movement between the workpiece (2) and the machining device (30, 40), a controller for controlling the conveyor (20) and the machining device (30, 40), characterized in that the device (1) further has at least one workpiece measuring device (22) which is configured to measure at least one property of the workpiece (2), in particular a property of a surface (2) of the workpiece (2) to be machined or to be coated.

3-D printers include an intermediate transfer surface that transfers a layer of material to a platen each time the platen contacts the intermediate transfer surface to successively form a freestanding stack of layers of the material on the platen. A sensor detects the thickness of the layer on the platen after a fusing station fuses the layer. A feedback loop is electrically connected to the sensor and a development station (that includes a photoreceptor, a charging station providing a static charge to the photoreceptor, a laser device exposing the photoreceptor, and a development device supplying the material to the photoreceptor). The exposure device adjusts the intensity of light exposed on the photoreceptor, based on a layer thickness measurement from the sensor through the feedback loop, to control the thickness of subsequent ones of the layers transferred from the intermediate transfer surface to the freestanding stack on the platen.

A layered body containing continuous sheets is thermally fused when passing through a space between an anvil roll and an energy applying device to form a layered sheet. A nip stage for sandwiching the layered body is provided upstream of the space between the anvil roll and the energy applying device. The nip stage includes at least one displacement member which is displaced in accordance with the thickness of the layered body sandwiched by the nip stage. Whether the thickness of the layered body sandwiched by the nip stage has deviated from a reference range is detected on the basis of the displacement of the displacement member, and when it is detected that the thickness has deviated from the reference range, the energy applying device is caused to retreat in a direction going away from the anvil roll.

A synthetic resin-made welding joint that has a pipe end portion into which an end portion of a synthetic resin-made tube is to be fitted and inserted, and that is configured so that the pipe end portion and the tube end portion which is fitted and inserted thereinto are enabled to be welded together by heating of heating means which externally surrounds the pipe end portion, therefore, a synthetic resin-made holder which is fitted and attached onto the pipe end portion is disposed, and a flange for ensuring a radial expansion gap with respect to the heating means is integrally formed in the holder.