A metallic ink for solvent-cast 3D printing, the ink comprising a solution or a gel of a polymer in a volatile solvent, and heat-sinterable metallic particles dispersed in the solution or gel, wherein the particles are present in a particles:polymer weight ratio of more than about 85:15, is provided. There is also provided a method of manufacturing this ink and a method of manufacturing a solvent-cast metallic 3D printed material using this ink.

The invention relates to a stethoscope comprising a stethoscope chestpiece comprising a body member having a bottom surface and an ejector mark disposed on the bottom surface. The stethoscope chestpiece has a weight of at least 50 g, a surface roughness (Ra) no greater than 1.6 microns in an unpolished state, and reflectivity (% R) of at least 60% in an unpolished state. The stethoscope chestpiece can be produced by injection molding, extruding, or pressing a metallic thermoplastic composition into a mould forming a green molded body, debinding a portion of binder material from green molded body forming a brown molded body without reducing the temperature by more than 80° C., and sintering the brown molded body to form the stethoscope chestpiece.

The invention relates to a stethoscope comprising a stethoscope chestpiece comprising a body member having a bottom surface and an ejector mark disposed on the bottom surface. The stethoscope chestpiece has a weight of at least 50 g, a surface roughness (Ra) no greater than 1.6 microns in an unpolished state, and reflectivity (% R) of at least 60% in an unpolished state. The stethoscope chestpiece can be produced by injection molding, extruding, or pressing a metallic thermoplastic composition into a mould forming a green molded body, debinding a portion of binder material from green molded body forming a brown molded body without reducing the temperature by more than 80° C., and sintering the brown molded body to form the stethoscope chestpiece.

A method for producing a bonded magnet, comprising: (i) low-shear compounding of a thermoplastic polymer and magnetic particles to form an initial homogeneous mixture thereof; (ii) feeding the initial homogeneous mixture into a plasticator comprising a low-shear single screw rotating unidirectionally toward a die orifice and housed within a heated barrel to result in heating of the initial homogeneous mixture until the thermoplastic polymer melts and forms a further homogeneous mixture, wherein said further homogeneous mixture is transported within threads of the single screw towards the die orifice and exits the die orifice as a solid pellet; (iii) conveying the solid pellet into a mold and compression molding the pellet in the mold, to form the bonded magnet, wherein the bonded magnet possesses a magnetic particle loading of at least 80 vol % and exhibits one or more magnetic properties varying by less than 5% throughout the bonded magnet.

A method for producing a bonded magnet, comprising: (i) low-shear compounding of a thermoplastic polymer and magnetic particles to form an initial homogeneous mixture thereof; (ii) feeding the initial homogeneous mixture into a plasticator comprising a low-shear single screw rotating unidirectionally toward a die orifice and housed within a heated barrel to result in heating of the initial homogeneous mixture until the thermoplastic polymer melts and forms a further homogeneous mixture, wherein said further homogeneous mixture is transported within threads of the single screw towards the die orifice and exits the die orifice as a solid pellet; (iii) conveying the solid pellet into a mold and compression molding the pellet in the mold, to form the bonded magnet, wherein the bonded magnet possesses a magnetic particle loading of at least 80 vol % and exhibits one or more magnetic properties varying by less than 5% throughout the bonded magnet.

The present invention provides a metal powder-polymer matrix film for use in delivering metal powder to a three-dimensional printing process, the matrix comprising at least one metal powder and a polymer sheet, wherein the metal powder is incorporated within the polymer sheet architecture or on the polymer sheet surface, and wherein the polymer sheet has a thickness that is at least half that of the powder thickness.

A sintered friction material, in which a content of a copper component is 0.5 mass % or less, is provided. The sintered friction material includes a titanate and a metal material other than copper, as a matrix. A content of the metal material other than copper is 10.0 volume % to 34.0 volume %. A method for manufacturing a sintered friction material is provided. The method includes a mixing step of mixing raw materials containing a titanate and a metal material other than copper, a molding step of molding the raw materials mixed in the mixing step, and a sintering step of sintering, at 900° C. to 1300° C., a molded product molded in the molding step. In the sintered friction material, the titanate and the metal material other than copper form a matrix, and a content of the metal material other than copper is 10.0 volume % to 34.0 volume %.

A sintered friction material, in which a content of a copper component is 0.5 mass % or less, is provided. The sintered friction material includes a titanate and a metal material other than copper, as a matrix. A content of the metal material other than copper is 10.0 volume % to 34.0 volume %. A method for manufacturing a sintered friction material is provided. The method includes a mixing step of mixing raw materials containing a titanate and a metal material other than copper, a molding step of molding the raw materials mixed in the mixing step, and a sintering step of sintering, at 900° C. to 1300° C., a molded product molded in the molding step. In the sintered friction material, the titanate and the metal material other than copper form a matrix, and a content of the metal material other than copper is 10.0 volume % to 34.0 volume %.

Included is a method of preparing a compound for bonded magnets, the method including: coating a magnetic material having an average particle size of 10 μm or less with a thermosetting resin and a curing agent at a ratio of the equivalent weight of the curing agent to the equivalent weight of the thermosetting resin of 2 or higher and 10 or lower to obtain a coated material; granulating the coated material by compression to obtain a granulated product; milling the granulated product to obtain a milled product; and surface treating the milled product with a silane coupling agent to obtain a compound for bonded magnets, the method either including, between the granulation and the milling, heat curing the granulated product to obtain a cured product, or including, between the milling and the surface treatment, heat curing the milled product to obtain a cured product.

A cylinder for a molding machine comprising a HIP-sintered lining layer on an inner surface of a cylindrical steel body, the lining layer comprising 38-70% by volume of tungsten carbide particles having a median diameter d.sub.50 of 1-7 μm and a matrix composed of an Ni-based alloy, and the maximum length of the matrix in an arbitrary cross section being 12 μm or less.