Material is provided for forming a part using a manufacturing system. The material includes a plurality of discrete particles. Each of the particles includes a metal powder core encapsulated by a non-metal coating. At least the cores of the particles are adapted to be solidified together by the manufacturing system to form the part.

An electrode for the use of an advanced lithium battery is fabricated using three-dimensionally structured metal foam coated with an active material. The metal foam is porous metal foam that can be used as an anode current collector of a lithium-ion battery and is coated with an anode active material, such as tin, through a sonication-assisted electroless plating method. Additionally, the coated metal foam is heat-treated at an appropriate temperature in order to improve the integrity of the coating layer and hence, the cyclic performance of the lithium-ion battery.

A complex flow tube for fine scaling coating of a PVC material for an automobile includes a base fixed to a mechanical arm, and a pipeline connected to the base for delivering a PVC sealant; the base is detachably butted with an interface of a PVC gluing pump mounted on the mechanical arm; the PVC gluing pump delivers the PVC sealant through the pipeline to a part to be coated or sealed of the automobile. The complex flow tube may be combined with the metal 3D printing technology, so that the manufactured complex flow tube has the advantages of being convenient to use, simple in structure, high in strength, not liable to break, etc.

In an example of a 3D printing method, build material particles are applied to form a layer. Each build material particle includes a metal core and a metal oxide outer shell. The layer is patterned by selectively applying a reactive chemical on at least a portion of the layer to initiate a redox reaction with the metal oxide outer shells of the build material particles in contact with the reactive chemical, which reduces the metal oxide outer shells of the build material particles in contact with the reactive chemical and exposes the metal cores of the build material particles in contact with the reactive chemical. The patterned layer is exposed to rapid thermal processing to sinter the exposed metal cores to form a part layer. Any intact build material particles remain unsintered.

A system and a method for fabrication of bulk nanocrystal alloys is provided. The method may include subjecting powders of at least one material to an ultrasonic vibration at a first amplitude. The method may also include heating the powders in response to the ultrasonic vibration at a first temperature elevating rate corresponding to the first amplitude, and treating the powders in a temperature range corresponding to the first temperature elevating rate. The method may further include obtaining a bulk material composed of a plurality of crystal grains, the plurality of crystal grains having an average linear dimension equal to or larger than 10 nm. The method may further include obtaining a bulk material with amorphous structure with sufficient temperature cooling rate.

Provided is a method for preparing a reduced titanium powder by a multistage deep reduction, including the following steps of: uniformly mixing a dried titanium dioxide powder with a magnesium powder to obtain a mixture, adding the mixture in a self-propagating reaction furnace, triggering a self-propagating reaction, obtaining an intermediate product of which low-valence titanium oxides Ti.sub.xO are dispersed in an MgO matrix, leaching the intermediate product with a hydrochloric acid as a leaching solution, performing filtering, washing and vacuum drying to obtain a low-valence titanium oxide Ti.sub.xO precursor, uniformly mixing the low-valence titanium oxide Ti.sub.xO precursor with a calcium powder, performing a pressing to obtain semi-finished products, placing the semi-finished products in a vacuum reduction furnace for a second-time deep reduction, and leaching a deep reduction product with a hydrochloric acid as a leaching solution so as to obtain the reduced titanium powder.

A method for metal powder injection molding includes injecting a first metal powder of a TiAl-based intermetallic compound into a mold, and molding the first metal powder through use of an injection molding machine; injecting a second metal powder of a TiAl-based intermetallic compound having a same constituent as the first metal powder and having a different average particle diameter from the first metal powder into a mold, and molding the second metal powder through use of the injection molding machine; and sintering molded articles obtained by molding the first metal powder and the second metal powder, and producing a mixed sintered compact in which a first sintered compact of the molded article obtained by molding the first metal powder and a second sintered compact of the molded article obtained by molding the second metal powder are integrated.

A method of preparation of titanium and titanium alloy powder for 3D printing is based on a fluidized bed jet milling technique. Hydride-dehydrate titanium powder and titanium alloy powder are used as main raw material powder, jet milling and shaping are carried out in shielding atmosphere of nitrogen or argon, and finally high-performance titanium and titanium alloy powder meeting the requirements of 3D printing process is obtained. The titanium and titanium alloy powder prepared using this method has a narrow particle size distribution, approximately spherical shape, and controllable oxygen content.

An additive manufacturing method according to at least one embodiment includes a step of forming a first layer by melting and solidifying powder of a first metal, and a step of forming a second layer on the first layer by melting and solidifying powder of a second metal of a different type from the first metal. The first metal and the second metal are, if the first metal is added to the second metal, a combination capable of forming a solid solution, or if the first metal is added to the second metal, a combination raising a melting point as an additive amount of the first metal increases.

The present invention discloses a method for manufacturing a thin-walled metal component by three-dimensional (3D) printing and hot gas bulging. The present invention uses 3D printing to obtain a complex thin-walled preform, which reduces a deformation during subsequent hot gas bulging. The present invention avoids local bulging thinning and cracking, undercuts at the parting during die closing, and wrinkles due to the uneven distribution of cross-sectional materials, etc. The present invention obtains a high accuracy in the form and dimension through hot gas bulging. After a desired shape is obtained by hot gas bulging, a die is closed to keep the component under high temperature and high pressure for a period of time, so that a grain and a phase of the material are transformed to form a desired microstructure.