Abstract: A process of forming a sintered article includes heating a green portion of a tape of polycrystalline ceramic and/or minerals in organic binder at a binder removal zone to a temperature sufficient to pyrolyze the binder; horizontally conveying the portion of tape with organic binder removed from the binder removal zone to a sintering zone; and sintering polycrystalline ceramic and/or minerals of the portion of tape at the sintering zone, wherein the tape simultaneously extends through the removal and sintering zones.

Abstract: A metering pump including adjacent valve and pump chambers, the valve chamber having inlet and outlet connections and a valve plug angularly shiftable in the valve chamber to communicate said connections with opposite sides of the plug upon angular shifting of the plug, and a reciprocatory piston in the pump chamber, there being fluid communication between opposite ends of the pump chamber and the valve chamber on opposite sides of the valve plug, so that piston reciprocation in both directions moves fluid in the inlet connection and out the outlet connection upon shifting of the valve plug.

Abstract: A metering device wherein a cylinder is provided with opposite end closures, a piston is shiftable in the cylinder between the end closures, a conduit extends centrally within the cylinder into a valve plug angularly shiftable within the cylinder and located adjacent to one end closure, the valve plug having angularly spaced passageways communicating respectively with opposite sides of the piston upon angular valve shifting, and a gasket extending in sealing relation about the plug and on opposite sides of the passageways to seal the latter from each other.