A solid-state additive manufacturing additive manufacturing system applicable to building up 3D structures, coating and functionalizing surfaces, joining structures, adding customized features to objects, compounding proprietary compositions and repairing various structures is disclosed. The solid-state additive manufacturing system enables deposition of different fillers, viz. metals, metal alloys, MMCs, polymers, plastics, composites, hybrids and gradient compositions, as well as controls the resulting deposit structures, e.g. specific nano-/micro-, gradient- and porous-material structures. The system accommodates various feeding-, spindle- and tool-designs for depositing different forms of filler materials, viz. rods, wires, granules, powders, powder-filled-tubes, scrap pieces or their combination, and a working platform with multiple access points. One or multiple motors, driving and monitoring units control the movement of the workpiece, spindle and tool and move the filler through the feeding system, which passageway is in communication with the passageways of the spindle and the tool.

An alloy produced by powder metallurgy including a non-amorphous matrix. The alloy consists of, in weight % (wt. %): C 0-0.15, Si 0-2.5, Mn 0-15, Cr 0-25, Mo 4-35, B 0.2-2.8, optional elements, balance Fe and/or Ni apart from impurities. The alloy comprises 3-35 volume % hard phase particles, the hard phase particles comprises at least one of borides, nitrides, carbides and/or combinations thereof, at least 90% of the hard phase particles have a size of less than 5 μm, and at least 50% of the hard phase particles have a size in the range of 0.3-3 μm.

A target for use in a physical vapor deposition process includes a matrix composed of a composite material selected from the group consisting of aluminum-based material, titanium-based material and chromium-based material and all combinations thereof. The matrix is doped with doping elements and the doping elements are embedded as constituents of ceramic compounds or aluminum alloys in the matrix. The doping elements are selected from the group of the lanthanides: La, Ce, Nb, Sm and Eu. A process for producing such a target and a use of such a target in a physical vapor deposition process are also provided.

The present invention provides a method for preparing an in-situ ternary nanoparticle-reinforced aluminum matrix composite (AMC). In this method, an in-situ reaction generation technique is used, and with a powder containing formation elements for producing reinforcing particles as a reactant, in conjunction with a low-frequency rotating magnetic field/ultrasonic field regulation technique, an aluminum-based composite material is prepared using nanoparticle intermediate alloy re-melting. An AA6016-based composite material reinforced by ternary nanoparticles has an average particle size of 65 nm, and has an obvious refinement phenomenon compared with unitary and dual-phase nanoparticles.

A ball bearing has an outer circumferential surface of an inner ring subjected to a surface treatment by laser cladding in a circumferential direction, forming an annular first build-up layer with which a plurality of balls 4 is brought into contact so that the balls are rolled in the circumferential direction (first build-up layer formation step). An inner circumferential surface of an outer ring is subjected to a surface treatment by laser cladding in a circumferential direction, thereby forming an annular second build-up layer with which the plurality of balls contacts so that the balls can be rolled in the circumferential direction (second build-up layer formation step).

A Ni—Cr—Mo—Nb alloy consists of, in mass %, C: not more than 0.020%, Si: 0.02 to 1.0%, Mn: 0.02 to 1.0%, P: not more than 0.03%, S: not more than 0.005%, Cr: 18.0 to 24.0%, Mo: 8.0 to 10.0%, Al: 0.005 to 0.4%, Ti: 0.1 to 1.0%, Fe: not more than 5.0%, Nb: 2.5 to 5.0%, N: 0.002 to 0.02%, and at least one of W: 0.02 to 0.3% and V: 0.02 to 0.3%, and Ni as a remainder and inevitable impurities, in which an freely selected cross section of alloy, sum of number of particles of NbC carbide and (Ti, Nb)N nitride is 100 to 1000 particles/mm.sup.2, number of particles of the NbC carbide is not more than 40 particles/mm.sup.2, and number of particles of the (Ti, Nb)N nitride is 100 to 1000 particles/mm.sup.2.

A method for forming tungsten-refractory metal alloy powders, and tungsten-refractory metal alloy powders formed by the method. The method includes mixing a majority portion by weight of a base tungsten powder with a minority portion by weight of a base refractory metal powder to form a mixture, which is then milled for a period of time sufficient to at least partially mechanically alloy the base tungsten powder and base refractory metal powder together to form at-least-partially-mechanically-alloyed particles, which are then heat treated to a temperature sufficient to promote diffusion between tungsten and the refractory metal and obtain agglomerations of particles having only a tungsten phase, which are then milled to break up the agglomerations of particles and obtain the tungsten-refractory metal alloy powder.

An embodiment relates to a material comprising a ceramic formed from an amorphous metal alloy (amorphous metal ceramic composite), wherein the composite exhibits a higher corrosion resistance than that of Haynes 230 when exposed to molten chlorides such as KCl or MgCl.sub.2 or combinations thereof at temperatures up to 750° C. Yet, another embodiment relates to a method comprising obtaining a substrate, forming a coating of an amorphous metal alloy, heating the coating, and transforming at least a portion the amorphous metal alloy into an amorphous metalceramic composite.

An additive manufacturing method of producing a metal alloy article may involve: Providing a supply of a metal alloy in powder form; providing a supply of a nucleant material, the nucleant material lowering the nucleation energy required to crystallize the metal alloy; blending the supply of metal alloy powder and nucleant material to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to raise the temperature of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of the metal alloy; allowing at least a portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the metal alloy to recrystallize; forming a second layer of the blended mixture on the first layer; and repeating the subjecting and allowing steps on the second layer to form an additional portion of the metal alloy article.

Disclosed are mixtures for use in additive manufacturing, wherein the powder mixture comprises first and second materials. The first material includes a metal alloy or a mixture of elemental precursors thereof, and is in powder form. The second material includes a reinforcement material comprising powder particles having a particle diameter of from 1 to less than 30 μm (as determined by laser scattering or laser diffraction). The inventive powder mixtures allows for the processing to three dimensions objects which are free of cracking and which thus have favourable mechanical characteristics. Further disclosed are processes for the preparation of corresponding powder mixtures and three dimensional objects, three dimensional objects prepared accordingly and devices for implementing processes for the preparation of such objects, as well as the use of a corresponding powder mixture to suppress crack formation in a three-dimensional object, which is prepared by additive manufacturing.