Expandable apparatus include a triggering element comprising an at least partially corrodible composite material. Methods are used to trigger expandable apparatus using such a triggering element and to form such triggering elements for use with expandable apparatus.

A tool to differentially compress a powder material comprises a differential compression piston and a support. The piston comprises a first part configured to apply a pressure on a first region of an external surface of the powder material. The piston comprises a second part with a recess which is located at a lateral distance from the first part and which is configured to face a second region of the external surface of the powder material. The tool further comprises a membrane that can be deformed by the piston. The deformable membrane is configured to at least partially retain the powder material in the tool.

A ceramic body prosthetic implant or prosthetic implant component of a magnesium oxide stabilized transformation toughened zirconia (Mg-TTZ) ceramic can be made by providing a bisqued initial green body of ceramic by providing a powdered ceramic material, which substantially is a monoclinic zirconia having magnesium oxide for a stabilizer, and, without employing a binder additional to the powdered ceramic to do so, compressing the material in its powder form through a cold isostatic press operation to form a raw, pressed initial green body, and then heating the raw, pressed initial green body to a bisque stage to provide the bisqued initial green body. Then, the following further steps are carried out: without embedding the bisqued initial green body of ceramic in an embedding mass, machining the bisqued initial green body to provide a machined, bisqued green ceramic body such that the machined, bisqued green ceramic body has a shape, which is a precursor shape essentially analogous to, being of the same proportions as, the shape of, but larger than, the ceramic portion of a fired predetermined finished ceramic body prosthetic implant or prosthetic implant component; and then firing the machined, bisqued green ceramic body to provide a fired Mg-TTZ ceramic body product, which is the same size and shape or essentially the same size and shape as the ceramic portion of the fired predetermined finished ceramic body prosthetic implant or prosthetic implant component.

A system and a method for molding a part from fiber cement, or fibrocement, slurry are provided. The molding is preferably made by pressure injection of the slurry. The slurry includes cementitious material, additives, fibers and water. The fibers can include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyacrylic, cellulose, and/or asbestos fibers. First and second molding sections define, at least partially, a chamber. The second molding section has at least one evacuating channel. The system includes a slurry inlet communicating with the chamber, for inserting the slurry. A bladder covers the first molding section, the bladder being inflatable for compressing the slurry between the bladder and the second molding section. A filter covers the second molding section and allows water contained in the slurry to pass through while retaining the cementitious material and fibers within the chamber. A pressurized fluid inlet port communicates with at least one conduit for inflating the bladder.

A method of making a powder of dense and spherically shaped cemented carbide or cermet granules and a powder produced by the method is provided. The powder made according to the present method can be used in additive manufacturing such as 3D printing by the binder jetting technique. Moreover, a Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) process for manufacturing a product by using the powder is also disclosed.

A system and a method for molding a part from fiber cement, or fibrocement, slurry are provided. The molding is preferably made by pressure injection of the slurry. The slurry includes cementitious material, additives, fibers and water. The fibers can include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyacrylic, cellulose, and/or asbestos fibers. First and second molding sections define, at least partially, a chamber. The second molding section has at least one evacuating channel. The system includes a slurry inlet communicating with the chamber, for inserting the slurry. A bladder covers the first molding section, the bladder being inflatable for compressing the slurry between the bladder and the second molding section. A filter covers the second molding section and allows water contained in the slurry to pass through while retaining the cementitious material and fibers within the chamber. A pressurized fluid inlet port communicates with at least one conduit for inflating the bladder.

There is provided an oxide sintered body including indium, tungsten and zinc, wherein the oxide sintered body includes a bixbite type crystal phase as a main component and has an apparent density of higher than 6.5 g/cm.sup.3 and equal to or lower than 7.1 g/cm.sup.3, a content rate of tungsten to a total of indium, tungsten and zinc is higher than 1.2 atomic % and lower than 30 atomic %, and a content rate of zinc to the total of indium, tungsten and zinc is higher than 1.2 atomic % and lower than 30 atomic %. There are also provided a sputtering target including this oxide sintered body, and a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor film formed by a sputtering method by using the sputtering target.

A titanium diboride wettable cathode includes a cold-pressed sintered block of titanium diboride, including a titanium diboride and an additive, the additive including a graphite, a carbon fiber and a titanium nitride; and a coating of titanium diboride, coated on a surface of the cold-pressed sintered block of titanium diboride.

Process for forming tiles which provides for pressing a building material in a cell of a mold of a press by means of an isostatic punch, in which the punch has a compaction surface that is elastically deformable and provided with projections in order to attain cavities on an internal face of a tile and with recesses in order to shape feet projecting on the internal face, in which such punch comprises means for feeding a pressurized fluid and a pressure compensation circuit shaped in order to form pockets of the aforesaid fluid at the recesses.

The invention relates to a sintered molding with a color gradient for use in the manufacture of dental restorations, obtainable by sintering a compression-molded element comprising five or more different ceramic powder layers, each powder layer comprising at least two different base powders and each base powder containing at least 80 wt. % ZrO.sub.2, each weight amount being relative to the total weight of the base powder.