A method for sintering metallic and/or non-oxide components includes completely encapsulating, in a metal halide salt, a green body comprising at least one metallic and/or non-oxide powder, and compressing the encapsulated green body so as to be gastight. The method further includes heating, together with a metal halide salt in the presence of oxygen up to sintering temperatures, the compressed, encapsulated green body. The method additionally includes at least partially dissolving, after cooling, the metal halide salt in a liquid so that the sintered component can be removed.

This invention relates to the field of medical technology, and can be used in dentistry and traumatology, in particular when creating dental implants. Namely, the invention relates to the development and creation of a method for producing a dental implant characterized by high strength, as well as increased ability to activate the process of osteogenesis and osseointegration. The implant obtained by this method is characterized by high biocompatibility, bactericidal properties (reduces pronounced dystrophic and necrotic processes of living tissue), and an increased level of implant surface strength.

Systems, methods, and compositions disclosed herein provide for low-oxygen metal powders. These metal powders, such as very-fine powders and spherical powders of titanium and titanium alloys, can be effectively deoxidized through use of vapor deoxidation without requiring the powder to undergo re-sizing or re-shaping subsequent to the deoxidation. Systems, methods, and compositions in accordance with the present disclosure can produce low-cost, low-oxygen, metal powders, such as very-fine powders and spherical powders of, for example, titanium and titanium alloys. Moreover, systems, methods, and compositions in accordance with the present disclosure can provide for reducing the number of processes or cost of processes required to produce these low-oxygen metal powders.

A method based on fluidizing for modifying and preparing low-cost titanium powders for 3D printing includes: using hydrogenated-dehydrogenated irregularly-shaped titanium powders as the raw material, adding the titanium powders to a fluidized bed reactor, and introducing Ar or H.sub.2 at the flow rate of 0.5-1.5 L/min, heating the reactor to 300-700° C., and fluidizing for 5-90 min to modify the titanium powders. When filled with high-purity argon gas and heated at high temperature, the sharp edges and corners of irregularly-shaped titanium powders are ground collision of the particles due to the friction among powder particles.

A Ti—Fe-based sintered alloy material including two phases of an α phase and a β phase, in which a content of iron is 0.5% or more and 7% or less on a weight basis, a β phase containing an iron component is dispersed in an independent state in an α phase, an area ratio of the β phase containing an iron component is 60% or less of an entire area, and an equiaxed crystal grain is contained in the α phase.

A system and method for treating additive powder includes a reactor configured for receiving a large volume of additive powder. An evacuation subsystem removes injected or residual gases from the reactor chamber by purging the chamber with an inert gas or drawing a vacuum within the chamber. A heating assembly raises the reactor content temperature of the reactor chamber while the additive powder is continuously stirred. A gas mixture including a small amount of reactive gas is injected into the reactor chamber to modify the surface chemistry of the additive powder before the additive powder is slowly cooled down.

Methodologies, systems, and devices are provided for producing metal spheroidal powder products. Dehydrogenated and spheroidized particles are prepared using a process including introducing a metal hydride feed material into a plasma torch. The metal hydride feed material is melted within a plasma in order to dehydrogenate and spheroidize the materials, forming dehydrogenated and spheroidized particles. The dehydrogenated and spheroidized particles are then exposed to an inert gas and cooled in order to solidify the particles into dehydrogenated and spheroidized particles. The particles are cooled within a chamber having an inert gas.

Vehicle structural components and additive manufacturing methods for forming the components are described. The structural components incorporate hydrogen storage materials for use in conjunction with hydrogen fuel cells in electric-powered vehicles such as unmanned aerial vehicles. The hydrogen storage materials can be in the form of a 3D printed metal foam that includes a metal hydride and an inert structural metal. The material can exhibit a very low weight density able to store hydrogen in a low pressure solid-state form at a high energy density. The structural components that carry the hydrogen storage materials can be exchangeable components of a vehicle, and the vehicle can be refueled by merely exchanging an exhausted component for a replacement component that is fully-charged with hydrogen.

Some variations provide a method of making a nanofunctionalized metal powder, comprising: providing metal particles containing metals selected from iron, nickel, copper, titanium, magnesium, zinc, silicon, lithium, silver, chromium, manganese, vanadium, bismuth, gallium, or lead; providing nanoparticles selected from zirconium, tantalum, niobium, or titanium; disposing the nanoparticles onto surfaces of the metal particles, in the presence of mixing media, thereby generating nanofunctionalized metal particles; and isolating and recovering the nanofunctionalized metal particles as a nanofunctionalized metal powder. Some variations provide a composition comprising a nanofunctionalized metal powder, the composition comprising metal particles and nanoparticles containing one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zirconium, tantalum, niobium, titanium, and oxides, nitrides, hydrides, carbides, or borides thereof, or combinations of the foregoing.

A method for heat treating a powder part preform including a titanium-based alloy, wherein the method includes the heat treatment of the preform in a furnace at a predetermined temperature, wherein the preform is on a holder during the heat treatment, wherein the holder includes a zirconium-based alloy having a zirconium content greater than or equal to 95% by weight, wherein the holder material has a melting temperature higher than the predefined temperature of the heat treatment, and wherein an anti-diffusion barrier is arranged between the preform and the holder in order to prevent welding of the preform to the holder.