Making thin foil from iridium powder - by continuous process of compaction, sintering and local melting

摘要

Hard-to-form metals, such as Ir, are compacted between two layers of filter paper, sintered under protective atmos., and then subjected to local melting by means of a laser beam or gas flame, so that fusion takes placed to form a smooth-surfaced button of 100% dense material. The operation is continuous and the speed is determined by the time in the sintering furnace, which is about 5h.