Composite body formation of consolidated powder metal part

The method of consolidating a powder material to form a part that includes:

• a) forming a pattern which is a scaled-up version of the part to be formed,
• b) employing said pattern to produce a flexible mold with interior conformation matching the pattern exterior,
• c) introducing a previously formed insert means into the mold,
• d) introducing consolidatable powder material into said mold,
• e) compacting said mold to thereby compress said previously formed insert means and the consolidatable powder into a preform which is to be consolidated,
• f) separating the preform from the mold,
• g) providing a bed of pressure transmission particles, and positioning said preform in said bed,
• h) compacting said preform in said bed of particles by transmission of pressure to the preform via said bed, to thereby consolidate said preform into a dense, desired shape part, and to bond said insert means to the consolidated powder material.