A retaining wall having a plurality of courses of retaining wall blocks including a first upper course and a second lower course. Each retaining wall block has opposed front and rear faces, opposed first and second side surfaces, and opposed and substantially parallel upper and lower surfaces, and at least one weight bearing pad extends from one of the upper and lower surfaces. The at least one weight bearing pad extends substantially from the rear face to the front face of the block. The weight bearing pads are the only areas of contact between the blocks in the first upper course and the blocks in the second lower course.

The invention relates to a blank of a ceramic material, wherein a first ceramic material and then a second ceramic material of different compositions are filled into a die and wherein the materials are pressed and after pressing are sintered. A layer of the first ceramic material is thereby filled into the die and a first cavity formed in the layer, the second ceramic material is then filled into the first open cavity and the materials pressed together and then heat-treated.

A retaining wall having a plurality of courses of retaining wall blocks including a first upper course and a second lower course. Each retaining wall block has opposed front and rear faces, opposed first and second side surfaces, and opposed and substantially parallel upper and lower surfaces, and at least one weight bearing pad extends from one of the upper and lower surfaces. The at least one weight bearing pad extends substantially from the rear face to the front face of the block. The weight bearing pads are the only areas of contact between the blocks in the first upper course and the blocks in the second lower course.

A device for producing concrete blocks, in particular concrete paving slabs, having a mold for filling with a concrete mixture, wherein the mold has at least one mold cavity for receiving the concrete mixture, and wherein the upwardly open mold cavity has walls as lateral boundaries, and wherein the at least one mold cavity can be filled with the concrete mixture by means of a filling device, and wherein the mold with the at least one mold cavity and the filling device are movable relative to one another in a filling axis. The filling axis is oriented obliquely to an axis of symmetry of the at least one mold cavity, with the result that preferably all of the walls of the mold cavity extend neither perpendicularly nor parallel to the filling axis, but at an angle.

The invention relates to a method for the preparation of a blank of a ceramic material, wherein a first ceramic material and then a second ceramic material of different compositions are filled into a die and wherein the materials are pressed and after pressing are sintered. A layer of the first ceramic material is thereby filled into the die and a first cavity formed in the layer, the second ceramic material is then filled into the first open cavity and the materials pressed together and then heat-treated.

Disclosed is a method for producing a metal or ceramic component having regions of differing porosities. The method includes subjecting powder or a presintered precursor to a pressure-assisted pressing and sintering step, using at least one punch for the pressing step. The at least one punch has a contact surface that is intended for making contact with the powder or the presintered precursor and that has a flat outer region and an inner region having a concave recess. After the sintering step, a component is obtained that has a flat outer compacted region having a first porosity and an inner porous region having a second porosity. The component has, on at least one side, a defined transition region between the outer region and the inner region.

A method for preparing a shell-bionic ceramic tool and a shell-bionic ceramic tool, wherein the shell-bionic ceramic tool includes alternating stacks of ceramic powders with different components, pressing a ceramic green body using a cold briquetting method, carrying out pre-pressing once using a graphite indenter on a working surface thereof after each layer of the ceramic powder being loaded, and pressing a last layer using a graphite rod, and then pressing a whole ceramic green body with a certain pressure to promote a bonding of the layers of ceramic powder, which in turn gives a complex shape to an interface between the layers, increases a bonding area between the layers, and plays the role of hindering crack expansion, extending the crack expansion path, and improving the bonding strength of the interface; after then, hot-pressed sintering is used to densify the ceramic green body to obtain the shell-bionic ceramic tool.

A block, block system and method of making a wall block. A block with multiple embodiments of a visually exposed surface having three dimensional shaped areas and three dimensional angular valleys or joints that can be used to construct a patio, wall, fence or the like; the multiple embodiments creating a more random and natural appearance. A mold box having a moveable liner and a stripper shoe that impart three dimensional shaped areas and three dimensional angular valleys or joints onto an exposed surface of a block. The moveable liner and stripper shoe also impart a parting line onto the exposed surface of the block.

Tooling assemblies and methods for using a tooling assembly to shape an article are provided. For example, a tooling assembly has a forward end and an aft end and comprises a first tool segment, a second tool segment, a forward cam portion near the forward end, and an aft cam portion near the aft end. The forward cam portion defines a follower surface, and at least a portion of the follower surface has a curvilinear profile. The aft cam portion defines a first surface extending at a first angle and a second surface extending at a second angle. The first and second tool segments define a cavity for shaping an article. An exemplary method comprises positioning an article preform within the cavity and inserting a fastener within the aft end of the tooling assembly until the fastener is fully inserted within the tooling assembly.

A punch unit is used in a powder press molding device that includes a die plate including a cavity in which a compacted powder pellet can be formed, the powder press molding device including a ram moving in a direction approaching the die plate and in a direction away from the die plate. The punch unit includes a punch inserted into the cavity of the die plate when the ram approaches the die plate, and a supporting portion supporting the punch reciprocatably, the punch unit being movable along a plane intersecting with the moving direction of the ram in a state where the punch is removed from the cavity. The punch unit is capable of shortening a distance in which the ram moves, and a cycle time can be shortened.