Laser shock peening is applied to a harvester component for an agricultural wear application that for example may be any of the following components: a knifeback, a knifehead, a knifeback connecting strap, a straw chopper, a sickle section, stalk chopper, a bedknife, a sod cutter knife, a net wrap knife or a combine concave component. The laser shock peening may be selectively applied. For example, laser shock peening can be applied in regions of drive ends of harvester components, and/or in regions proximate fastener holes of such harvester components.

Provided is a forming system including: a forming device including a fluid supply unit that supplies a fluid to a heated metal pipe material, and a forming die that forms a formed product by bringing an expanded metal pipe material into contact with a forming surface; a machining unit that machines the formed product removed from the forming die; and a scale removing unit that removes scales from the formed product machined by the machining unit.

A method for manufacturing a part of nitrided steel includes a step of nitriding the part. After nitriding, laser shocking is carried out on a surface of the nitrided part.

A method for manufacturing a cutting tool includes: the cutting tool comprising a tool body made of a sintered alloy, a hard coating which is disposed on an outer surface of the tool body and has at least a layer formed of any of a carbide, a nitride, and a carbonitride, or a composite compound thereof, and a cutting edge which is formed at a ridge portion of the tool body and includes a portion of the hard coating located at the ridge portion, a laser peening step of directly irradiating the hard coating with a pulsed laser having a pulse width of 100 ps or less to apply compressive residual stress to the hard coating and a surface region of the tool body.

A manufacturing method according to one aspect includes performing a first process of refining crystal grains of the metal member, performing a second process of releasing residual stress of the metal member after the first process, and performing a third process of applying residual stress to the metal member after the second process.

A system for laser-driven propulsion, system comprising a laser source and a target comprising an accelerating part and a projectile part, the accelerating part comprising a metal layer and a porous layer pressed against the metal layer; wherein the laser source is selected to emit pulse beams directed to the metal layer at a fluence below the plasma ablation threshold of the material of the metal layer.

Improved steel compositions and methods of making the same are provided. More particularly, the present disclosure provides high manganese (Mn) steel having enhanced strength and/or performance at cryogenic temperatures, and methods for fabricating high manganese steel compositions having enhanced strength and/or performance at cryogenic temperatures. The advantageous steel compositions/components of the present disclosure improve one or more of the following properties: strength, toughness, elastic modulus, thermal expansion coefficient and/or thermal conductivity. In general, the present disclosure provides high manganese steels tailored to resist wear and/or deformation at cryogenic temperatures.

In one embodiment, a laser peening apparatus includes an output unit (41) configured to output laser light (6); a light-guide unit (31) configured to guide the outputted laser light (6); a condenser lens (42) configured to condense the guided laser light (6); an irradiation nozzle (32) configured to radiate the condensed laser light (6); a focus-change unit (50) configured to change a focal position of the laser light (6) based on distance from an irradiation target (4, 5) of the laser light (6) to the irradiation nozzle (32); and a control unit (66) configured to apply laser peening by radiating the laser light (6) toward the irradiation target (4, 5) which is in contact with water.

A method of post processing a laser peened component to remove a laser remelt layer is proposed. The post processing includes a series of steps including grit blasting, chemical etching and mechanical finishing the component. This will ensure that the mechanical property (i.e., damage tolerance) benefit of laser peening is restored to the surface of the component.

A method of heating a portion of an object includes the steps of projecting an energy beam onto a surface of the object so as to produce a primary spot on the surface, and repetitively scanning the beam in two dimensions in accordance with a scanning pattern so as to establish an effective spot on the surface, and displacing the effective spot in relation to the surface of the object to progressively heat the at least one selected portion of the object. Displacing the effective spot in relation to the surface of the object includes displacing the effective spot following a track featuring at least one change of direction.

The effective spot is maintained aligned with the track by modifying operation of a scanner in correspondence with the at least one change of direction.