Abstract: Cold formed and sintered titanium diboride shapes of high density are prepared by grinding particulate carbothermic titanium diboride in a mill having non-contaminating grinding media in the presence of an inert, substantially oxygen-free liquid grinding aid to form finely-divided titanium diboride powder having a surface area of at least about 3 square meters per gram, cold forming the finely-divided titanium diboride powder into a desired shape and sintering the shape to produce a titanium diboride article having a density of at least 95 percent of the theoretical density of titanium diboride.

Abstract: Extrudable and injection-moldable blends of submicron refractory hard metal powders, i.e., carbides, borides, and nitrides of Groups III-V metals, with solid plasticizers, e.g., paraffin waxes or synthetic resins, are prepared by wetting the refractory powder with a solvent for the plasticizer, blending solvent-wetted powder with plasticizer at temperatures at which the resulting mixture is liquid, removing solvent from the mixture while blending is continued, and cooling the solvent-depleted mixture.