Article and process of forming the article from powdered metal

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING A DIE ELEMENT FROM POWDERED METAL COMPRISING THE FOLLOWING STEPS: PROVIDING A STATIONARY HOLDER HAVING A DIE CAVITY CONFIGURATED TO DELINEATE THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION OF THE DIE ELEMENT; PROVIDING AT LEAST ONE SHIFTABLE CORE ELEMENT WHICH IS CONFIGURATED TO SLIDABLY INTERFIT SAID DIE CAVITY; PLACING IN SAID DIE CAVITY A MEASURED QUANTITY OF MIXED POWDERED METAL SUFFICIENT TO FORM THE DIE ELEMENT AND CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF 90 TO 95 PERCENT BY WEIGHT POWDERED IRON, 4 TO 7 PERCENT POWDERED COPPER, AND 1 TO 3 PERCENT POWDERED CARBON; FORCING SAID CORE ELEMENTS INTO THE DIE CAVITY UNTIL A PRESSURE OF AT LEAST 50 TONS P.S.I. IS DEVELOPED, THEREBY TO COMPACT THE POWDERED METAL TO THE FORM OF A BRIQUETTE HAVING LESS THAN 100 PERCENT DENSITY, LEAVING 10 TO 15 PERCENT VOIDS IN THE MASS OF THE COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT; REMOVING SAID COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT FROM SAID DIE CAVITY; PLACING IN SAID DIE CAVITY A MEASURED QUANTITY OF POWDERED COPPER WHICH IS EQUAL TO FROM 20 TO 25 PERCENT OF THE QUANTITY OF POWDERED METAL WHICH FORMS THE COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT; FORCING THE DIE ELEMENT PROGRESSIVELY INTO THE DIE CAVITY UNTIL A PRESSURE OF AT LEAST 50 TONS P.S.I. IS DEVELOPED, THEREBY TO COMPACT THE POWDERED COPPER TO THE FORM OF A SUBSTANTIALLY SOLID COPPER SLUG HAVING AN EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION CORRESPONDING TO THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION OF THE COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT AND HAVING A THICKNESS EQUAL TO 20 TO 25 PERCENT OF THE THICKNESS OF THE COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT; SINTERING THE COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT IN A SINTERING FURNACE AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 2000*F. AND 2200* F. IN A HYDROGEN ATMOSPHERE; MAINTAINING THE COMPACTED DIE ELEMENT AT SAID TEMPERATURE FOR A PERIOD OF 1 TO 2 HOURS TO FUSE THE COMPACTED MIXTURE OF POWDERED METAL AND TO DISSIPATE THE CARBON, THEREBY TO FORM ADDITIONAL VOIDS IN THE MASS OF THE SINTERED DIE ELEMENT; COOLING THE SINTERED DIE ELEMENT GRADUALLY FOR A PERIOD OF 1 TO 2 HOURS; PLACING SAID COPPER SLUG UPON THE TOP SURFACE OF THE SINTERED AND COOLED DIE ELEMENT; HEATING THE SINTERED DIE ELEMENT WITH THE COPPER SLUG THEREON TO A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 1950*F. AND 2000*F. IN A HYDROGEN ATMOSPHERE; AND MAINTAINING THE DIE ELEMENT AT SAID TEMPERATURE FOR A PERIOD OF 1 TO 2 HOURS, WHEREBY THE COPPER SLUG IS MELTED AND CAUSED TO INFILTRATE UNIFORMLY THROUGHOUT THE MASS THE VOIDS PREVIOUSLY FORMED IN THE SINTERED DIE ELEMENT.