By melting a shaping material in which a metal powder and a binder are mixed and by carrying out injection molding (primary shaping) in an injection mold, an injection molded body, or an intermediate shaped body are produced. The injection molded body or the intermediate shaped body is placed by a transfer mold and is subjected to a gravity shaping (secondary shaping) with a transformation. A sintered body is manufactured by carrying out debindering and sintering to the injection molded body.

In an example implementation, a sintering system includes optical fiber installed into a sintering furnace. A support structure inside the furnace is to support a token green object in a predetermined position and to hold a distal end of the fiber adjacent to the predetermined position. A light source is operably engaged at a proximal end of the fiber to transmit light through the fiber into the furnace. A light detector is operably engaged at the proximal end of the fiber to receive reflected light through the fiber that scatters off a surface of the token green object.

A method for manufacturing metal powder is provided. The method includes preparing first metal powder, agglomerating the first metal powder to manufacture second metal powder in which the first metal powder is agglomerated, coating the second metal powder with an organic binder, and agglomerating and coarsening the second metal powder coated with the organic binder to manufacture third metal powder having higher flowability than the second metal powder coated with the organic binder.

A method for manufacturing metal powder is provided. The method includes preparing first metal powder, agglomerating the first metal powder to manufacture second metal powder in which the first metal powder is agglomerated, coating the second metal powder with an organic binder, and agglomerating and coarsening the second metal powder coated with the organic binder to manufacture third metal powder having higher flowability than the second metal powder coated with the organic binder.

This invention provides a method for manufacturing parts with a built-in channel. Two kinds of materials with different melting points are used, the material with the lower melting point is a molding element with an arbitrary shape, the material with the higher melting point is powdered, and the material with the low melting point is wrapped and positioned in the powder with the high melting point. When the preparation is completed, the low-temperature material is melted down, and the channel with the random shape is formed after sintering. In the application that the metal parts need supply water, air, or oil, instead of the channel acquired by mechanical splicing or the channel molded by 3D printing technology, this method in the invention is with a wide application range, the lower cost, and the simple and controllable technology, and is suitable for mass production and with very broad market prospects.

This invention provides a method for manufacturing parts with a built-in channel. Two kinds of materials with different melting points are used, the material with the lower melting point is a molding element with an arbitrary shape, the material with the higher melting point is powdered, and the material with the low melting point is wrapped and positioned in the powder with the high melting point. When the preparation is completed, the low-temperature material is melted down, and the channel with the random shape is formed after sintering. In the application that the metal parts need supply water, air, or oil, instead of the channel acquired by mechanical splicing or the channel molded by 3D printing technology, this method in the invention is with a wide application range, the lower cost, and the simple and controllable technology, and is suitable for mass production and with very broad market prospects.

A locking ring for use in a seal assembly and a seal assembly having a locking ring. The locking ring can be manufactured by metal injection molding (MIM) for reduced elastic modulus, as a result of increased grain size in the microstructure, and reduced locking ring installation force. Optionally, the locking can include a through cut to decrease the overall hoop stress of the locking ring, which can be made from a MIM-produced bulk stock or from a metal stock.

An ultrasonic horn for an ultrasonic transducer assembly of an ultrasonic surgical instrument includes a body and a nose. The body defines a tubular configuration having a hollow interior and a plurality of slots therethrough extending into the hollow interior. The nose extends distally from the body. The body defines a proximal connector configured to enable the body to be secured to a piezoelectric stack and the nose defines a distal connector configured to enable the nose to be engaged with a waveguide for transmission of ultrasonic energy produced by the piezoelectric stack to the waveguide.

Disclosed is a cartridge case for various caliber ammunition that consists essentially of a powdered metal and/or powdered metal alloy that is formed into the cartridge case through an injection mold processing. Also disclosed is a method for forming a cartridge case, which may include use of Metal Injection Molding (“MIM”) processes to produce the cartridge case which retains a primer, propellant, and/or a bullet. The method can include metal injection molding an initial part, and also at least one of tapering and trimming the initial part to form the finished cartridge case. Further embodiments can include the use of Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis to develop an optimized MIM design.

Disclosed is a cartridge case for various caliber ammunition that consists essentially of a powdered metal and/or powdered metal alloy that is formed into the cartridge case through an injection mold processing. Also disclosed is a method for forming a cartridge case, which may include use of Metal Injection Molding (“MIM”) processes to produce the cartridge case which retains a primer, propellant, and/or a bullet. The method can include metal injection molding an initial part, and also at least one of tapering and trimming the initial part to form the finished cartridge case. Further embodiments can include the use of Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis to develop an optimized MIM design.