Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080217377 | Fracture Resistant Friction Stir Welding Tool - Friction stir welding tool to facilitate stress reduction within the tool that may include a body, a pin, a tension member, and an end assembly, the tension member and end assembly facilitating axial compression of the pin. The tension member may be decoupled from the pin and/or body of the tool via one or more decoupling members. The end assembly may comprise spring members to provide an axial force to the tension member. The pin may include various features to facilitate stress reduction proximal the pin. | 09-11-2008 |
20090084763 | Production or assembly line method of spot welding - The present invention provides a production line method of resistance welding comprising the steps of contacting a metal sheet with an electrode having an initial contact surface area at a force provide a pressure to the metal sheet; applying a current though the electrode to the metal sheet; measuring dimensional changes of the electrode; correlating dimensional changes in the electrode to changes in the initial contact surface area; and adjusting the force to compensate for the changes in the initial contact surface area of the electrode to maintain pressure to the metal sheet. The force may be adjusted by stepping the force to maintain pressure to the flaying surface of the metal sheet to be welded. By maintaining the pressure at the faying surface the life cycle of the electrodes may be increased without forming discrepant welds. | 04-02-2009 |
20090230173 | ADVANCED MULTI-SHOULDERED FIXED BOBBIN TOOLS FOR SIMULTANEOUS FRICTION STIR WELDING OF MULTIPLE PARALLEL WALLS BETWEEN PARTS - The present invention discloses a multi-shouldered friction stir welding tool. The multi-shouldered friction stir welding tool comprises an integral shank-pin unit having a plurality of pin portions on the shank-pin unit, where the plurality of pin portions for driving into a plurality of joints to perform a friction stir welding operation on the corresponding plurality of joints and, where a shank portion of the shank-pin unit is for attachment to an optional axial tension rod, each of the friction stir welding modules comprises a pair of shoulders that is connected to the shank-pin unit where each shoulder has a distal end and a proximal end, where the proximal end of each shoulder faces the pin portion of the shank-pin unit, whereby the shoulder and pin(s) rotate in unison, and a pair of split collars or a pair of nuts that is connected to the shank-pin unit and faces the distal end of each shoulder, where the plurality of friction stir welding modules are connected to each other whereby the modules rotate in unison to simultaneously make a plurality of parallel welds. In addition, a method of friction stir welding a plurality of joints simultaneously comprising using at least one multi-shouldered friction stir welding tool is provided. | 09-17-2009 |
20100071197 | INTEGRAL ANTENNAS IN METAL LAMINATES - A method of making an integral antenna from a metal laminate is provided. The metal laminate comprises a top metal layer, a middle thermoplastic layer, and a bottom metal layer. A portion of the top metal layer of the metal laminate is isolated to create an antenna structure so that the antenna remains a part of the metal laminate to create an integral antenna. | 03-25-2010 |
20100089873 | ENHANCED METAL WICKING SURFACE - A method of producing a metal structure with a grooved wicking surface is provided. An aluminum alloy is provided that is thermomechanically processed to produce grain size and shape suitable for wicking. Then, the alloy is heat treated to produce a continuous etchable phase on the grain boundaries. The alloy is then etched with a solvent that dissolves the continuous etchable phase on the grain boundaries to produce the metal structure with a grooved wicking surface. In addition, the method of producing a laminate metal structure with a grooved wicking surface is provided. The laminate is provided with at least a top layer and a bottom layer where the top layer and bottom layer are made of an aluminum alloy. The laminate is thermomechanically processed to produce grain size and shape spanning the entire depth of the top layer suitable for wicking. Then, the laminate is heat treated to produce a continuous etchable phase on the grain boundaries within the top layer. The laminate is then etched with a solvent that dissolves the continuous etchable phase on the grain boundaries of the top layer to produce the metal structure with a grooved wicking surface where the grooves have a depth equal to the thickness of the top layer where the bottom layer is substantially free of the etchable phase on the grain boundaries. | 04-15-2010 |
20100108742 | FRACTURE RESISTANT FRICTION STIR WELDING TOOLS - Friction stir welding tool to facilitate stress reduction within the tool that may include a body, a pin, a tension member, and an end assembly, the tension member and end assembly facilitating axial compression of the pin. The tension member may be decoupled from the pin and/or body of the tool via one or more decoupling members. The end assembly may comprise spring members to provide an axial force to the tension member. The pin may include various features to facilitate stress reduction proximal the pin. | 05-06-2010 |
20100163603 | ADVANCED MULTI-SHOULDERED FIXED BOBBIN TOOLS FOR SIMULTANEOUS FRICTION STIR WELDING OF MULTIPLE PARALLEL WALLS BETWEEN PARTS - A multi-shouldered friction stir welding tool ( | 07-01-2010 |
20120111542 | COILED HEAT PIPES AND METHODS THEREOF - A coiled heat pipe and methods of making a coiled heat pipe are provided. The coiled heat pipe includes a sealed-exterior coil and a plurality of interior-perforated coils. The exterior coil and the plurality of interior-perforated coils are be formed from a single aluminum sheet. The exterior coil is sealed and houses, or otherwise contains, a partial vacuum and a working fluid. | 05-10-2012 |