A thick-film copper paste is made. A displacement reaction with low cost is used to precipitate nano-silver (Ag) to be grown on copper particles. Thus, the thick-film copper paste is made of the copper powder coated with nano-Ag. The paste can be sintered in the air and is increased in overall electrical conductivity. The copper inside is not oxidized. Its resistance on electromigration is good. Furthermore, the paste can be added with frit as a sintering aid to assist sintering the nano-Ag-coated copper paste. Furthermore, even in a high-temperature heat treatment, the powder of nano-Ag-coated copper is still antioxidant and can replace the silver paste used in the current market.

A thick-film copper paste is made. A displacement reaction with low cost is used to precipitate nano-silver (Ag) to be grown on copper particles. Thus, the thick-film copper paste is made of the copper powder coated with nano-Ag. The paste can be sintered in the air and is increased in overall electrical conductivity. The copper inside is not oxidized. Its resistance on electromigration is good. Furthermore, the paste can be added with frit as a sintering aid to assist sintering the nano-Ag-coated copper paste. Furthermore, even in a high-temperature heat treatment, the powder of nano-Ag-coated copper is still antioxidant and can replace the silver paste used in the current market.

A system for generating a user-adjustable furnace profile, comprises a user interface configured to receive one or more materials properties from a user, a processor, and a memory with computer code instructions stored thereon. The memory is operatively coupled to the processor such that, when executed by the processor, the computer code instructions cause the system to implement communicating with a furnace to ascertain one or more thermal processes associated with the furnace, identifying one or more object characteristics associated with an object to be processed by furnace, and determining a thermal processing parameter profile of at least one thermal processing parameter corresponding to each of the thermal processes, based on (i) the one or more part characteristics and (ii) the one or more materials properties, the thermal processing parameter profile characterizing a cycle of the one or more thermal processes.

A permanent magnet is expressed by a composition formula: R.sub.pFe.sub.qM.sub.rCu.sub.tCo.sub.100-p-q-r-t. The magnet comprises a metal structure including a main phase having a Th.sub.2Zn.sub.17 crystal phase and a grain boundary phase. The main phase includes a cell phase having the Th.sub.2Zn.sub.17 crystal phase and a Cu-rich phase. A section including a c-axis of the Th.sub.2Zn.sub.17 crystal phase has a first region in the crystal grain and a second region in the crystal grain, the first region is provided in the cell phase divided by the Cu-rich phase, the second region is provided within a range of not less than 50 nm nor more than 200 nm from the grain boundary phase in a direction perpendicular to an extension direction of the grain boundary phase, and a difference between a Cu concentration of the first region and a Cu concentration of the second region is 0.5 atomic percent or less.

A permanent magnet is expressed by a composition formula: R.sub.pFe.sub.qM.sub.rCu.sub.tCo.sub.100-p-q-r-t. The magnet comprises a metal structure including a main phase having a Th.sub.2Zn.sub.17 crystal phase and a grain boundary phase. The main phase includes a cell phase having the Th.sub.2Zn.sub.17 crystal phase and a Cu-rich phase. A section including a c-axis of the Th.sub.2Zn.sub.17 crystal phase has a first region in the crystal grain and a second region in the crystal grain, the first region is provided in the cell phase divided by the Cu-rich phase, the second region is provided within a range of not less than 50 nm nor more than 200 nm from the grain boundary phase in a direction perpendicular to an extension direction of the grain boundary phase, and a difference between a Cu concentration of the first region and a Cu concentration of the second region is 0.5 atomic percent or less.

A non-magnetic austenitic steel with good corrosion resistance and a high hardness is provided. The non-magnetic austenitic steel comprises less than 0.15 wt % of carbon, less than 1.5 wt % of titanium, from 19 wt % to 26 wt % of chromium, from 3.5 wt % to 7.0 wt % molybdenum, from 11 wt % to 20 wt % nickel, from 2.0 wt % to 7.0 wt % of manganese, less than 0.8 wt % of nitrogen, less than 0.5 wt % of niobium, less than 0.5 wt % of vanadium, less than 1.2 wt % of silicon, less than 4 wt % of copper, and less than 2 wt % of tungsten and the balance being iron.

A non-magnetic austenitic steel with good corrosion resistance and a high hardness is provided. The non-magnetic austenitic steel comprises less than 0.15 wt % of carbon, less than 1.5 wt % of titanium, from 19 wt % to 26 wt % of chromium, from 3.5 wt % to 7.0 wt % molybdenum, from 11 wt % to 20 wt % nickel, from 2.0 wt % to 7.0 wt % of manganese, less than 0.8 wt % of nitrogen, less than 0.5 wt % of niobium, less than 0.5 wt % of vanadium, less than 1.2 wt % of silicon, less than 4 wt % of copper, and less than 2 wt % of tungsten and the balance being iron.

A powder is supplied to a shaping chamber without interrupting processing of shaping a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object. A three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus includes a shaping chamber in which a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is shaped, a powder storage that stores a powder conveyed to the shaping chamber, an intermediate powder storage that is provided between the shaping chamber and the powder storage, is connected to the shaping chamber via a first valve, is connected to the powder storage via a second valve, and temporarily stores the powder, a valve controller that controls opening/closing of each of the first valve and the second valve, and an atmosphere controller that controls an atmosphere in the intermediate powder storage and an atmosphere in the shaping chamber.

A nickel and chromium alloy having a combined wt. % of nickel and chromium of at least 97 wt. %, wherein the chromium accounts for 33 to 50 wt. % of the alloy. The alloy may be provided in strip form and has adequate ductility for the manufacture of various products, such as sheaths for flux cored welding electrodes. A method of making the alloy strip includes forming a powder charge that is 97 to 100 wt. % of nickel and chromium combined and the chromium accounts for 33 to 50 wt. % of the charge, roll compacting the powder charge to form a green strip, sintering the green strip to form a sintered strip, and cold rolling and annealing the sintered strip to form the alloy strip.

A nickel and chromium alloy having a combined wt. % of nickel and chromium of at least 97 wt. %, wherein the chromium accounts for 33 to 50 wt. % of the alloy. The alloy may be provided in strip form and has adequate ductility for the manufacture of various products, such as sheaths for flux cored welding electrodes. A method of making the alloy strip includes forming a powder charge that is 97 to 100 wt. % of nickel and chromium combined and the chromium accounts for 33 to 50 wt. % of the charge, roll compacting the powder charge to form a green strip, sintering the green strip to form a sintered strip, and cold rolling and annealing the sintered strip to form the alloy strip.