Apparatus for forming a sinterable compact of a powder

An apparatus for forming a sinterable compact of a powder comprising:

• a support;
• a die on said support for receiving a mass of powder to be compacted;
• respective rams juxtaposed with said mass on opposite sides thereof and displaceable relative to said die to compact said mass between them;
• respective plates on opposite sides of said die each carrying a respective one of said rams;
• respective pairs of pneumatic cylinders interposed between said support and each of said plates, said cylinders being pressurizable to displace said plates away from said support;
• respective shafts displaceable on said support toward and away from said die, each of said shafts being engageable with a respective one of said plates to entrain the same toward said mass upon displacement of the respective shafts;
• respective flat coils carried by said shafts and lying in planes parallel to but spaced from the respective plates, said coils being impulsively electrically energizable to electrodynamically repel the respective plates and drive said rams at a high speed against said mass;
• and
• respective cam means for displacing said shafts toward said die to precompact the mass by entrainment of the plates and the rams with said shafts for compaction of said mass to a low density whereby said pneumatic cylinders thereupon move said plates away from said die and into proximity of said coils for electrodynamic displacement thereby.