Abstract: A method of manufacturing a part, including providing a green body made of powder injection molding material and connected to a solid support member partially contained in the green body. The support member is engaged with a retaining fixture of a machine tool. While supporting the green body through the engagement between the support member and the retaining fixture, the green body is machined to obtain a machined green part. The machined green part is debound and sintered. A method of forming a powder injection molding part in a green state including machining a molded body using a machine tool while supporting the blank with a retaining fixture, and a machining blank having a green body and a solid support member including one locating feature of a pair of complementary locating features snuggly engageable with one another are also discussed.

Abstract: A method of making a cubic halide scintillator material includes pressing a powder mixture of cubic halide and at least one activator under conditions of pressure, temperature, residence time and particle size effective to provide a polycrystalline sintered cubic halide scintillator having a pulse height resolution of from about 7% to about 20%. The conditions include a temperature ranging from about ambient temperature up to about 90% of the melting point of the cubic halide, a pressure of from about 30,000 psi to about 200,000 psi, a pressing residence time of from about 5 minutes to about 120 minutes and an average cubic halide particle size of from about 60 micrometers to about 275 micrometers.