A method is provided for the heat treatment of an object comprising at least one rare-earth element with a high vapor pressure. One or more objects comprising at least one rare-earth element with a high vapor pressure are arranged in an interior of a package. An external source of the at least one rare-earth element is arranged so as to compensate for the evaporation of this same rare-earth element from the object and/or to increase the vapor pressure of the rare-earth element in the interior of the package, and the package is heat treated.

A method of making a component using additive manufacturing (AM) techniques that selecting an AM manufacturing process suitable for making the component; selecting a material for the component that is compatible with the AM manufacturing component; selecting and programming AM process steps into a selected AM apparatus; and building the component on the selected AM apparatus using the selected AM process steps. The AM process steps are selected to produce a plurality of melt pools that reduce material segregation in the finished part. The component exhibits reduced material segregation compared to making the material with a consumable electrode remelting process. The component made with AM techniques includes a region exhibiting reduced material segregation compared to making the material with a consumable electrode remelting process.

A method is provided in which a lower box comprising a base, walls that surround the base and an open side, and an upper box comprising a cover, walls that surround the cover and an open side are provided. One or more objects are arranged on the base of the lower box. The object(s) are covered with the upper box such that the open side of the upper is oriented towards the base of the box, the walls of the upper box are arranged on the base of the lower box and a gap is formed between the walls of the upper box and the walls of the lower box. A powder material is introduced into the gap in order to form an assembly having an interior. The powder material provides a mechanical obstacle to gas exchange between the interior and the environment. This assembly is then heat treated.

Hydrogen storage materials being inexpensive and having hydrogen absorption (storage) and desorption properties suitable for hydrogen storage are provided. The hydrogen storage materials have alloys with an elemental composition of Formula (1), a hydrogen storage container containing the hydrogen storage material, and a hydrogen supply apparatus including the hydrogen storage container:
La.sub.aCe.sub.bSm.sub.cNi.sub.dM.sub.e (1)
wherein M is Mn or both of Mn and Co, a satisfies 0.60a0.90, b satisfies 0b0.30, c satisfies 0.05c0.25, d satisfies 4.75d5.20, e satisfies 0.05e0.40, a+b+c=1, and d+e satisfies 5.10d+e5.35.