An ultrafine fiber production device has a first heating unit, a nozzle unit, a hot air heating unit, a hot air blowing unit, a second heating unit, and a fiber collecting unit. The first heating unit melts a thermoplastic resin. The nozzle unit discharges the thermoplastic resin melted by the first heating unit. The hot air blowing unit performs fiber forming by blowing high-temperature gas produced by the hot air heating unit to the melted thermoplastic resin discharged by the nozzle unit and by extending the thermoplastic resin. The second heating unit further heats, extends, and fines produced fibers. The fiber collecting unit collects the thermoplastic resin in a fibrous form which is fined by the second heating unit.

Automatic process control of additive manufacturing. The system includes an additive manufacturing device for making an object and a local network computer controlling the device. At least one camera is provided with a view of a manufacturing volume of the device to generate network accessible images of the object. The computer is programmed to stop the manufacturing process when the object is defective based on the images of the object.

A ram extrusion apparatus including a die having several thermal zones, a hopper for introducing a granular polymer resin to the die, and a ram for moving the granular polymer resin through the thermal zones of the die and out from an outlet end thereof at a temperature above the crystalline melt temperature of the polymer resin. The hopper may be designed to deliver the polymer resin into a resin inlet of the die in a plurality of specifically metered amounts which may vary across a width of the resin inlet end of the die. The apparatus may further include one or more finishing tables positioned after the outlet end of the die for receiving and moving the extruded resin away from the outlet end of the die so that there is no backpressure on the extruded resin, and which provide compression force and even cooling to the extruded resin.

A ram extrusion apparatus including a die having several thermal zones, a hopper for introducing a granular polymer resin to the die, and a ram for moving the granular polymer resin through the thermal zones of the die and out from an outlet end thereof at a temperature above the crystalline melt temperature of the polymer resin. The hopper may be designed to deliver the polymer resin into a resin inlet of the die in a plurality of specifically metered amounts which may vary across a width of the resin inlet end of the die. The apparatus may further include one or more finishing tables positioned after the outlet end of the die for receiving and moving the extruded resin away from the outlet end of the die so that there is no backpressure on the extruded resin, and which provide compression force and even cooling to the extruded resin.

With a method for producing a two-dimensional or three-dimensional framework (1) with rods (2) of a composite material with fibers and a matrix, which are connected with nodes (3) to at least one other rod (2) and/or another component (29), comprising the steps of: producing the rods (2) out of a composite material, connecting the rods (2) with at least one other rod (2) and/or another component (29) at the nodes (3), the framework (1) should be manufactured inexpensively and reliably by a low technical effort. This object can be solved in a way that the rods (2) are being produced with pultrusion and/or extrusion and a pultrusion unit (6) and/or an extrusion unit (7) is moved in space such that after the pultrusion and/or extrusion the pultruded and/or extruded rods (2) are pultruded and/or extruded in each case at the required position within the framework (1).

A heat bolt unit according to one embodiment includes a plurality of heat bolts disposed in parallel to one another, and a holding portion that holds the plurality of heat bolts. The holding portion holds a base end portion of each of the plurality of heat bolts disposed in parallel to one another. In other words, the holding portion holds the plurality of heat bolts disposed in parallel to one another in a cantilever manner.

A three-dimensional printing nozzle, a three-dimensional printing nozzle assembly, and a three-dimensional printing apparatus are provided. The three-dimensional printing nozzle includes a nozzle body having an inlet and an outlet, a driving unit disposed in the nozzle body, a first heating unit, and a first heat dissipation unit. A particle forming material is adapted to enter the nozzle body from the inlet. The driving unit is configured for pushing the particle forming material to move from the inlet to the outlet. The first heating unit is disposed in the nozzle body for heating and melting the particle forming material and extrudes a melted forming material out of the nozzle body from the outlet through the driving unit. The first heat dissipation unit is disposed in the nozzle body and located between the first heating unit and the inlet to reduce heat transmitted from the first heating unit to the inlet.

A material melting device (10) for melting a work material, and discharge of the melted work material, is described. The material melting device (10) comprises a cold part (12) and a hot part (30), and a work material duct (22) for supplying said work material. The work material duct (22) extends at least partially through the cold part (12) to a melting chamber (33) arranged in the hot part (30). The hot part (30) comprises a nozzle duct (34) extending from the melting chamber (33) to a nozzle opening (35) such that melted work material can be flowed from the melting chamber (33) and discharged from the nozzle opening (35). The melting chamber (33) has a cross-sectional area which is larger than the cross-sectional area of the work material duct (22).

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a method for creating a solidified material using a machine tool. In some aspects, the machine tool supplies a current to an induction coil such that the induction coil generates a magnetic field. The machine tool changes the magnetic field to induce eddy currents in a first conductor surrounding a feedstock and a second conductor surrounded by the feedstock. The machine tool uses the eddy currents to cause the feedstock to transition from a solid state to a uniform malleable state regardless of the feedstock's electrical conductivity.

Silicone-containing light fixture optics. A method for manufacturing an optical component may include mixing two precursors of silicone, opening a first gate of an optic forming device, moving the silicone mixture from the extrusion machine into the optic forming device, cooling the silicone mixture as it enters the optic forming device, filling a mold within the optic forming device with the silicone mixture, closing the first gate, and heating the silicone mixture in the mold to at least partially cure the silicone. Alternatively, a method for manufacturing an optical component may include depositing a layer of heat cured silicone optical material to an optical structure, arranging one or more at least partially cured silicone optics on the layer of heat cured silicone optical material, and heating the heat cured silicone optical material to permanently adhere the one or more at least partially cured silicone optics to the optical structure.