Abstract: Near net shape refractory material is made in combustion driven compaction. The gas mixture is combusted, driving a piston or ram into a die containing refractory material powder, compressing the powder into a near net shape. As the chamber is filled with gas, the piston or ram is allowed to rest on the powder, pre-compressing the powder and removing trapped air. During compression, forces reach 150 tsi or more. Loading occurs within several hundred milliseconds. After compression, the shaped refractory part is sintered in a hydrogen environment. This process creates near net shape components with little scrap metal. The apparatus used to perform this process is about the size of a telephone booth and can be moved with a standard forklift. The powder may include a combination of Mo—Re, Re, W—Re, HfC and Hf of a fineness dictated by desired shrinkage, resulting in a material suitable for high-stress, high-temperature applications.

Abstract: A neo magnet is constructed by mixing a neo magnet powder with about 1% added two-part electrical insulating resin powder. The mixed powders are placed in a die and precompacted under about 20 tsi when filling a combustion chamber with a pressurized combustible gas and air mixture. The gas is ignited and rapidly drives a punch in to the die forming a solid magnet having a density of 6.1 g/cm3 or more. The solid magnet is heat treated to cure the resin and is coated with a polymer, zinc, aluminum or gold. Before precompacting a lubricated core rod in place in the die producing a thin-walled, neo ring magnet having a length to wall thickness aspect ratio.

Abstract: New net shape strength retaining high temperature alloy parts are formed from fine metallurgical powders by mechanically blending the powders and placing them in die, placing a piston in the die, extending the piston into a driving chamber, filling the chamber with CH4 and air and compressing the powders with the filling pressure. Igniting gas in the chamber drives the piston into the cavity, producing pressures of about 85 to 150 tsi, compacting the powders into a near net shape alloy part, ready for sintering at 2300° C. without shrinking. The alloy parts are Re, Mo—Re, W—Re, Re—Hf—HfC, Re—Ta—Hf—HfC, Re—Mo—Hf—HfC, Mo—Re—Ta, Mo—Re-f-HfC, W—Re—Hf—HfC, W—Re—Ta—Hf—HfC or W—Re—Mo—Hf alloys.

Abstract: A chamber is pressurized with a natural gas and air mixture. The pressure moves a piston and die to compress material to be formed into a part. The pressurized gas and air mixture is ignited with a laser beam focused with a lens or collimator into a point or fine line in a center of the chamber. Rapid combustion of the gas and air mixture drives the piston and die, compacting the part into a net shape. The focused laser beam centrally ignites pressurized gas and air mixture providing controlled combustion in the chamber and preventing damaging detonation. The focused point beam is used in chambers having length to diameter L/D aspect ratio of 2 or less than 2. The collimated thin beam is used in chambers having L/D greater than 2.