Powder injection molding and infiltration process

A powder injection and infiltration process comprising the steps of:

• A) making a sintered part comprising interconnected voids, the steps for making said sintered part comprising:
• i) mixing powder of a first skeleton material with a composite binder comprised of at least two binder materials to form a first mold mixture,
• ii) molding the mold mixture into a desired shape in a mold device to produce a first molded part,
• iii) sintering the first molded part to produce said sintered part, and
• iv) removing the composite binder to produce interconnected voids in said sintered part,
• B) making a sintered heavy part comprising interconnected voids, the steps for making said heavy part comprising:
• i) mixing powder of a second skeleton material with a composite binder comprised of at least two binder materials to form a second mold mixture, wherein said second skeleton material is heavier in relation to said first skeleton material,
• ii) molding the mold mixture into a desired shape in a mold device to produce a heavy part,
• iii) sintering said heavy part to produce said sintered heavy part, and
• iv) removing the composite binder to produce interconnected voids in said sintered heavy part,
• C) making a non-sintered third part comprising interconnected voids, the steps for making said non-sintered third part comprising:
• i) mixing powder of a third skeleton material with a composite binder comprised of at least two binder materials to form a third mold mixture,
• ii) molding the mold mixture into a desired shape in a mold device to produce a non-sintered third part,
• iii) removing the composite binder to produce interconnected voids in said non-sintered third part,
• D) inserting said sintered part, said sintered heavy part and said non-sintered third part into a mold cavity,
• E) pressing said sintered part, said sintered heavy part and said non-sintered third part together inside said mold cavity, and
• F) at least substantially filling the interconnected voids in said final molded part with an infiltrant comprised of an infiltrant material having a relatively low melting point to produce a composite molded part.

A powder injection and infiltration process to produce a molded product containing a first sintered part and a heavy sintered part comprising the steps of:

• A) making a first sintered part comprising interconnected voids, the steps for making said first sintered part comprising:
• i) mixing powder of a first skeleton material with a composite binder comprised of at least two binder materials to form a first mold mixture,
• ii) molding the mold mixture into a desired shape in a mold device to produce a first molded part,
• iii) sintering the first molded part to produce said first sintered part, and
• iv) removing the composite binder to produce interconnected voids in said first sintered part,
• B) making a sintered heavy part comprising interconnected voids, the steps for making said heavy part comprising:
• i) mixing powder of a second skeleton material with a composite binder comprised of at least two binder materials to form a second mold mixture, wherein said second skeleton material is heavier in relation to said first skeleton material,
• ii) molding the mold mixture into a desired shape in a mold device to produce a heavy part,
• iii) sintering said heavy part to produce said sintered heavy part, and
• iv) removing the composite binder to produce interconnected voids in said sintered heavy part,
• C) inserting said first sintered part and said sintered heavy part into a mold cavity, and
• D) molding around said first sintered part and said sintered heavy part, said steps for said molding comprising:
• i) mixing powder of a third skeleton material with a composite binder comprised of at least two binder materials to form third mold mixture, wherein said second skeleton material is heavier in relation to said third skeleton material,
• ii) molding said third mold mixture into a desired shape by inserting said third mold mixture into a mold device comprising said mold cavity to produce a final molded part comprising said third mold mixture, said first sintered part and said sintered heavy part,
• iii) removing the composite binder in said third mold mixture to produce interconnected voids in said third mold mixture, and
• iv) at least substantially filling the interconnected voids in said final molded part with an infiltrant comprised of an infiltrant material having a relatively low melting point to produce a composite molded part.