A 60-year-old man presented with an 18-month history of gradually worsening cough and a 12-month history of dyspnea on exertion. High-resolution computed tomography showed bilateral uniform ground grass opacity in the lower lung fields, partially resolved by smoking cessation. A tentative diagnosis of desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) was made. Video-assisted thoracic surgery was perfor...

Special attention has been focused on creating an ergonomic operator station that is not intimidating. This guarantees fast and efficient work, without fatigue, for many hours. The operator sits in front of the welder and manually loads parts to be welded into the enclosure. The operator has a clear view of the processing area through a large laser-safe window of protective glass. The final pos...

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a relatively new welding technique where metals are joined through mechanical stirring. Due to its numerous advantages over older welding methods, it has been implemented in an increasing number of industries. However, there are remaining challenges to be overcome in FSW. One of the most serious is its reliance on accurate weld parameters. Additionally, faults or ...

Observation and measurement of a weld pool surface is a key towards the development of next generation intelligent welding machines which can mimic a skilled human welder to a certain extent. However, the bright arc radiation and the specular surface complicate the observation and measurement task. This paper proposes a novel method to turn the difficulty of the specular surface into an advanta...