Polycrystalline textured materials exhibiting heterogeneous templated grain growth, methods of forming the same, and related systems

A method to form a polycrystalline textured material exhibiting heterogeneous templated grain growth, the method comprising:

• providing a plurality of seeds that each exhibits an elongated shape, the elongated shape exhibiting a long axis, a medium axis, and a short axis, the plurality of seeds including a plurality of first seeds and at least one second seed, the plurality of first seeds exhibiting a first crystallographic orientation relative to a coordinate system of each of the plurality of first seeds, the at least one second seed exhibiting a second crystallographic orientation relative to a coordinate system of the at least one second seed, wherein the first crystallographic orientation is different than the second crystallographic orientation when the coordinate system of each of the plurality of first seeds and the coordinate system of the at least one second seed are aligned, wherein the coordinate system of the plurality of first seeds and the coordinate system of the at least one second seed are aligned with the long axis, the medium axis, and the short axis thereof;
• aligning at least some of the plurality of seeds so that:
• the long axes of the at least some of the plurality of seeds are substantially aligned with each other;
• the medium axes of the at least some of the plurality of seeds are substantially aligned with each other;
• and
• the short axes of the at least some of the plurality of seeds are substantially aligned with each other;
• positioning the plurality of seeds in a powder matrix;
• pressing the plurality of seeds and the powder matrix to form a green body;
• and
• sintering the green body at a temperature that is sufficient to grow a plurality of grains from corresponding ones of the plurality of seeds to form the polycrystalline textured material.

A machine to form a polycrystalline textured material exhibiting heterogeneous textured grain growth, the machine comprising:

• at least one aligner including:
• a loading portion that is configured to hold a plurality of seeds;
• an aligning portion extending from the loading portion to an outlet thereof;
• wherein the aligning portion includes a plurality of channels that are separated by walls, the plurality of channels exhibiting a first width at or near the loading portion and a second width at or near the outlet that is less than the first width;
• and
• a platform positioned to receive the plurality of seeds that are dispensed from the outlet of the at least one aligner.