The invention relates to a method of manufacturing high durability timber product, the method comprising: a) selecting a durable substrate timber; b) selecting a veneer of high-performance timber; and c) gluing the veneer of high-performance timber to the face of the durable substrate 5 timber, wherein the resulting manufactured high durability timber product is suitable for long-term use in exterior applications at a lower cost than that of the same thickness timber product if made of high-performance timber alone.

A laminator is disclosed. The laminator includes a substrate supply part for supplying a substrate on which a metal pattern is formed; a coverlay supply part for supplying a film to which a plurality of coverlays is attached; a heating roller part for bonding the substrate and the film so that the plurality of coverlays respectively covers the metal pattern; a substrate tension adjustment part and a film tension adjustment part; a bonding state image photographing part for measuring an interval between the plurality of coverlays after the substrate and the film are bonded; and an adjustment part for adjusting the substrate tension adjustment part or the film tension adjustment part so that the interval between the plurality of coverlays measured by the bonding state image photographing part maintains a preset allowable interval.

A method of detecting defects in a composite layup includes capturing, using an infrared camera, reference images of a reference layup being laid up by a reference layup head. The method also includes manually reviewing the reference images for defects, and generating reference defect masks indicating defects in the reference images. The method further includes training, using the reference images and reference defect masks, a neural network, creating a machine learning model that, given a production image as input, outputs a production defect mask indicating the defect location and the defect type of each defect. The method also includes capturing, using an infrared camera, production images of a production layup being laid up by the production layup head, and applying the model to the production images to automatically generate a production defect masks indicating each defect in the production images.

An acoustic structure presenting a front surface and a back surface is provided. The acoustic structure includes a support layer comprising the back surface, a honeycomb core comprising a thickness defined between a back and a front, and a plurality of walls that define a plurality of honeycomb cells, wherein the plurality of honeycomb cells extend through the thickness of the honeycomb core opening out toward at least the front, and wherein the back of the honeycomb core is affixed to the support layer, a mesh layer affixed to the front of the honeycomb core, and a knit fabric layer affixed to the mesh layer and conforming to the front surface of the acoustic structure.

A sheet attaching apparatus includes a gripping mechanism that grips one end portion, in a longitudinal direction, of a first sheet that has been drawn out from a first supply roll; a moving mechanism that allows the first sheet to be attached to a second sheet by moving the gripping mechanism to cause the first sheet to approach and contact the second sheet that passes through an attaching portion provided in a feeding path; and a releasing mechanism that releases a grip of the gripping mechanism on the first sheet, after the first sheet has contacted the second sheet.

A sheet attaching apparatus includes a gripping mechanism that grips one end portion, in a longitudinal direction, of a first sheet that has been drawn out from a first supply roll; a moving mechanism that allows the first sheet to be attached to a second sheet by moving the gripping mechanism to cause the first sheet to approach and contact the second sheet that passes through an attaching portion provided in a feeding path; and a releasing mechanism that releases a grip of the gripping mechanism on the first sheet, after the first sheet has contacted the second sheet.

A substrate bonding apparatus for bonding a first substrate to a second substrate includes a first bonding chuck supporting the first substrate, a second bonding chuck disposed above the first bonding chuck and supporting the second substrate, a resonant frequency detector detecting a resonant frequency of a bonded structure with the first substrate and the second substrate which are at least partially bonded to each other, and a controller controlling a distance between the first bonding chuck and the second bonding chuck according to the detected resonant frequency of the bonded structure.

A substrate bonding apparatus for bonding a first substrate to a second substrate includes a first bonding chuck supporting the first substrate, a second bonding chuck disposed above the first bonding chuck and supporting the second substrate, a resonant frequency detector detecting a resonant frequency of a bonded structure with the first substrate and the second substrate which are at least partially bonded to each other, and a controller controlling a distance between the first bonding chuck and the second bonding chuck according to the detected resonant frequency of the bonded structure.

A method and apparatus for securing a zipper closure to polymeric film using minimal tension on the zipper closure includes providing first and second tension control loops, an eyemark detector, and a hole punch programmed to punch a hole in the zipper closure upon detection of the eyemark. The zipper closure and the film are supplied to a sealing station at the same speed, and the hole zipper closure is aligned with the eyemark on the film, to result in sealing the strip of zipper closure to the film resulting in minimal wrinkles to the resulting bag.

An image forming apparatus includes a sheet separation device, a first sheet feeder, a second sheet feeder, an image forming device, and circuitry. The sheet separation device is configured to separate a non-bonding portion of a two-ply sheet in which two sheets are overlapped and bonded together at a bonding portion of the two-ply sheet. The first sheet feeder is configured to feed the two-ply sheet. The second sheet feeder is configured to feed an inner sheet to be inserted between the two sheets. The image forming device is configured to form an image on a surface of the inner sheet. The circuitry is configured to cause the first sheet feeder to feed the two-ply sheet, perform a sheet separating operation on the two-ply sheet and cause the second sheet feeder to start feeding the inner sheet before completion of the sheet separating operation on the two-ply sheet.