Shiloh Industries, Inc.

Twb Company, LLC

Chatham Outdoors, LLC

Grouper Blanking, LLC

James W Walther

Anthony M Parente

James J Evangelista

Jack A Atkinson

Michael Telenko

Jason E Harfoot

Stephen A Fetsko

John Robert Ewolski

Thomas Goad

Constantine Zampetis

A welded blank assembly is formed by welding first and second sheet metal pieces together at a weld joint. At least one of the sheet metal pieces includes a boron steel or press hardenable steel base material layer and an aluminum-based coating material layer, along with a weld notch where at least a portion of the coating material layer is removed before welding. An additional material can be provided during welding to influence weld joint composition and/or a secondary heat source can be used to heat and flow a protective material in a weld region of the blank assembly. The weld notch has a width that may be related to the width of a heat-affected zone formed during welding.

Welded blank assembly and method

Sheet metal pieces intended to be welded can be made with weld notches located along one or more edges. A weld notch is characterized by the absence of certain material constituents so that they do not unacceptably contaminate nearby welds. The weld notch can be created by first forming an ablation trench along the sheet metal piece, then separating the sheet metal piece along the formed ablation trench into two separate pieces, at least one of which includes a newly formed and weldable edge.

Method of forming a weld notch in a sheet metal piece

A welded blank assembly includes a capping material in a weld region of the assembly. The capping material can help protect a weld joint joining first and second sheet metal pieces together. At least one of the sheet metal pieces has a coating material layer that is removed prior to forming the weld joint so that the coating material does not contaminate the weld joint. The removed coating material can be collected before the weld joint is formed and reapplied as part of the capping material after the weld joint is formed, effectively changing the coating material from a potential weld contaminant to a weld joint protectant. The capping material may also include additional material from a source other than the coating material layer.

A welded blank assembly is formed by welding edge regions of separate sheet metal pieces together at a weld joint. One or more of the sheet metal pieces includes a coating material layer and a weld notch, where at least some of the coating material layer is removed from the edge region(s) prior to welding so that the weld joint is substantially free from constituents of the coating material layer. An additional material may be added to a weld pool during weld joint formation to influence the size, shape and/or composition of the resulting weld joint to help compensate for the presence of the weld notch.

A sheet metal piece includes a base material layer and one or more intermediate and coating material layers, along with a weld notch formed along an edge region of the piece. At least a portion of the coating and intermediate material layers is removed at the weld notch so that certain constituents from such layers do not affect the integrity of a nearby weld joint when it is subsequently formed along the edge region. Various methods of ablation, including laser ablation, can be used to form the weld notch.

Sheet metal piece having weld notch and method of forming the same

A programmable, mechanical scrape making device that is battery operated and that can be fastened to the ground. When activated, the device comes in contact with the ground to create a scrape through a sweeping and/or linear motion that is the same as or similar to that of an actual scrape that is performed by deer during the Rut or breeding season. The device also has a scent spraying mechanism that operates as the scrape is made. The device can be enclosed and operate from a weatherproof case which may be designed to look like a tree log. The design of the case can vary in appearance as to create a look that is indigenous to the end users' geographic area. The device is portable and may include a carrying case with a shoulder strap allowing the end user to transport the device from one location to another. The device may include power ports accessible for other devices such as motion detecting digital cameras and mock licking branches.

Mechanical scrape making device

A metal blank that includes a binder trim component having at least one cut edge with a non-linear section. The creation of the non-linear section simultaneously forms a corresponding section in a binder trim component of an adjacent metal blank so that binder material can be shared therebetween. This reduces the amount of scrap metal, as the binder trim component is subsequently cut off and discarded. Furthermore, the non-linear section can include one or more strategically placed formations, such as projections, recesses, flat sections, etc., that cause it to be non-uniform along its length and to be specifically tailored to the manufacturing requirements of the part being formed.

Metal blank with binder trim component and method

Metal blank with binder trim component

A laser welded blank for use in applications calling for an engineered or tailor welded blank, such as in vehicle door panel assemblies. Two sheet metal pieces of different thicknesses are in edge-to-edge abutment such that an interface is formed therebetween, however, the mating edges are not parallel. Instead, a first segment of the interface is flush on a first side of the laser welded blank, while a second segment is flush on a second side of the blank. This arrangement permits an adjacent component, such as a rubber seal, located on one side of the laser welded blank to extend across or contact the interface at the first segment, while another component located on the other side of the blank may extend across or contact the interface at the second segment. Because both components are in flush contact with the interface, there is a reduction of air gaps, leaks, etc.

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Litchfield, OH, United States of America

James W Walther