Medical device that includes a rhenium-chromium alloy

A method for forming component in the form of a rod, a tube, a green part, a near net part, or all or a portion of a medical device, and wherein said component is at least partially formed of a rhenium-chromium metal alloy;

• said method comprises:
• a. providing a metal powder;
• said metal powder has a particle size of an average particle size of metal particles used in said forming process is less than about 150 microns;
• said metal powder includes rhenium and chromium;
• b. pressing said metal powder together to form an intermediate component;
• said step of pressing includes one or more of cold isostatic pressing (CIP) and/or hot isostatic pressing (HIP);
• said step of pressing occurring at a pressure of 50-500 MPa;
• said step of pressing occurring in a hydrogen environment, argon environment, hydrogen and argon environment, or other type of non-oxidizing environment;
• c. sintering said intermediate component to form a sintered intermediate component;
• said step of sintering occurring at under a vacuum or under pressures exceeding 1 atm;
• said step of sintering occurring at a sintering temperature is 1550° C.-1850° C.;
• said step of sintering occurring for 2-40 hours;
• said step of sintering occurring in a non-oxidizing environment;
• d. swaging said sintered intermediate component to shape and/or reduce one or dimensions of said sintered intermediate component to partially or fully form said component;
• said step of swaging occurring at a temperature of 10° C.-400° C.;
• said step of swaging occurring in an inert or non-reducing environment;
• and
• wherein said rhenium-chromium metal alloy has a crystalline structure of body-centered cubic (BCC);
• and
• wherein said rhenium-chromium metal alloy comprises:
• A) at least 50 wt. % of said rhenium;
• at least 25 wt. % of said chromium;
• 0-25 wt. % alloying agent;
• a combined weight percent of said rhenium and said chromium is at least 75 wt. % of said rhenium-chromium metal alloy;
• a weight percent of said rhenium in said rhenium-chromium metal alloy is greater than a weight percent of said chromium in said rhenium-chromium metal alloy;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from a group consisting of molybdenum, bismuth, niobium, tantalum, titanium, vanadium, tungsten, manganese, zirconium, technetium, ruthenium, rhodium, hafnium, osmium, copper, yttrium, zirconium, and iridium;
• or
• B) less than 50 wt. % of said rhenium;
• 0.1-50 wt. % alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from a group consisting of molybdenum, bismuth, niobium, tantalum, titanium, vanadium, tungsten, manganese, zirconium, technetium, ruthenium, rhodium, hafnium, osmium, copper, yttrium, zirconium, and iridium;
• a weight percent of said chromium in said rhenium-chromium metal alloy is at least 25 wt. %;
• a combined weight percent of said rhenium and said chromium is at least 50 wt. % of said rhenium-chromium metal alloy;
• or
• C) 50-75 wt. % rhenium, 25-50 wt. % Cr, and 0.5-25 wt. % of said alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of bismuth, iridium, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, titanium, tungsten, yttrium, and zirconium;
• or
• D) 50-75 wt. % rhenium, 25-50 wt. % Cr, and 0.5-25 wt. % of said alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium;
• and said metal alloy includes 0-0.1 wt. % of secondary materials;
• said secondary materials are selected from the group consisting of a) metals other than rhenium, bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium, b) carbon, c) oxygen and d) nitrogen;
• or
• E) 55-75 wt. % rhenium, 25-45 wt. % Cr, and 0.5-25 wt. % of said alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium;
• and said metal alloy includes 0-0.1 wt. % of secondary materials;
• said secondary materials are selected from the group consisting of a) metals other than rhenium, bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium, b) carbon, c) oxygen and d) nitrogen;
• or
• F) 50-75 wt. % rhenium, 25-50 wt. % Cr, and 0.5-25 wt. % of said alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of bismuth, iridium, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, titanium, tungsten, yttrium, and zirconium;
• or
• G) 50-75 wt. % rhenium, 25-50 wt. % Cr, and 0.5-25 wt. % of said alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium;
• and said metal alloy includes 0-0.1 wt. % of secondary materials;
• said secondary materials are selected from the group consisting of a) metals other than rhenium, bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium, b) carbon, c) oxygen and d) nitrogen;
• or
• H) 55-75 wt. % rhenium, 25-45 wt. % Cr, and 0.5-25 wt. % of said alloying agent;
• said alloying agent includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium;
• and said metal alloy includes 0-0.1 wt. % of secondary materials;
• said secondary materials are selected from the group consisting of a) metals other than rhenium, bismuth, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium, b) carbon, c) oxygen and d) nitrogen;
• or
• I. 0.5-60 atomic weight percent (atw. %) Re and 0.5-70 awt. % chromium;
• and one or more of molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, titanium and zirconium;
• a combined atomic weight percent of rhenium and chromium is at least 60 awt. %.