SMS Meer GmbH, formerly Mannesmann and today part of the SMS Group, has been building powder presses since the early 1950s. The patents developed here in this field have long since documented the pioneering work carried out for the PM industry. The paper focuses on the challenge of reconciling the contradictory demands in the production of highly complex and crack-free PM parts. The process employed with the patented Controlled Punch Adapter (CPA) [1] counters possible cracking reliably and directly at the source. In this way is it possible to develop new and highly complex parts to series production maturity in a minimum of time even without simulation of the press cycle [2]. The quality data achieved in the production series, almost 100% crack and micro crack-free green parts with optimum density distribution over all press levels is unrivalled and thus gives the user a clear lead over the competition.

This lecture introduces new press, adapter and control concepts to size multi-level sintered components. The essential thing here is that the advantages of the multi-plate technology have been applied to the sizing adapter concept. Thus, the new concept meets the demands for a modern P/M manufacture and offers sufficient potential to size any future, complex sintered components such as synchronizer hubs, oil pump wheels and VCT parts with highest precision. Furthermore, it outlines a new flexible concept for the parts transfer, including feeding, orientation and lubrication while responding to the high demands on process stability and short change-over times.

The research involves the development of a powder metallurgical route for producing good quality TiAl targets for making physical vapour deposition (PVD) coatings. Mixtures of elemental titanium and aluminium powders were mechanically milled using a novel discus milling technique under various conditions. Hot isotropic pressing (HIP) was then employed for consolidation of the mechanically alloyed powders. A cathodic arc vapour deposition process was applied to produce a TiAlN coating. Microstructural examination was conducted on the target material and PVD coatings, using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been found that combining mechanical alloying and HIP enable us to produce fairly good quality of TiAl based target. The PVD coatings obtained from the TiAl target showed very high microhardness values.

Premixes treated with a binder, such as in the FLOMET process, exhibit better flow, reduced dusting and segregation and improved productivity and part consistency compared to conventional premixes. The binder treatment is highly suitable for high performance P/M applications which often require premixes containing very fine alloying additives and excellent die filling characteristics. With this process, various binders and lubricants can be utilized in order to make premixes with unique properties. In this paper, the characteristics and performances of bonded premixes are reported.

Phosphoric acid-activated carbon WP's and zinc chloride-activated carbons WZ's were developed from wild cherry stones. The textural properties of the activated carbons were determined from nitrogen adsorption data at 77 K and the chemistry of the carbon surface, i.e. the surface carbon-oxygen groups (type and amount) was determined from the base and acid neutralization capacities (Boehm method). The adsorption of phenol, p-nitrophenol, p-chlorophenol, dinitrophenol and dichlorophenol was followed at 298 K. The activated carbons obtained were characterized by high surface area and large pore volumes as well as by high surface concentration of C-O groups. The investigated carbons exhibited high adsorption capacities towards phenols with these capacities increased with the increase of molecular weight and the decrease of the solubility of phenol in water. However, no general relationship could be observed between the adsorption capacities of carbons and any of their textural parameters or their surface chemistry. This may be attributed to the many factors controlling phenol adsorption and the different types and mechanisms of adsorption involved.

Major characteristics of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are sustaining of stemness and pluripotency by self-renewal. In this report, transcriptional profiles of the molecules in the developmentally important signaling pathways including Wnt, BMP4, TGF-β, RTK, Hh, Notch, and JAK/STAT signaling pathways were investigated to understand the self- renewal of mouse ESCs (mESCs), J1 line, and compared with the NIH3T3 cell line and mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells as controls. In the Wnt signaling pathway, the expression of Wnt3 was seen widely in mESCs, suggesting that the ligand may be an important regulator for self-renewal in mESCs. In the Hh signaling pathway, the expression of Gli and N-myc were observed extensively in mESCs, whereas the expression levels of in a Shh was low, suggesting that intracellular molecules may be essential for the self-renewal of mESCs. IGF-I, IGF-II, IGF-IR and IGF-IIR of RTK signaling showed a lower expression in mESCs, these molecules related to embryo development may be restrained in mESCs. The expression levels of the Delta and HES5 in Notch signaling were enriched in mESCs. The expression of the molecules related to BMP and JAK-STAT signaling pathways were similar or at a slightly lower level in mESCs compared to those in MEF and NIH3T3 cells. It is suggested that the observed differences in gene expression profiles among the signaling pathways may contribute to the self-renewal and differentiation of mESCs in a signaling-specific manner.

We report a species of the tribe Eucosmini belonging to the family Tortricidae for the first time from China: Semnostola magnifisa (Kuznetsov) and add four species for the Northeast Chinese fauna: Ancylis badiana (Denis et Schiffermüller), Blastethia turionella (Linnaeus), Eucosma aemulana (Schläger), and Sillybiphora devia Kuznetsov. Also Rhopalovalva grapholitana (Caradja) is recorded for the first time from the Province Heilongjiang. Adults and genital characteristics for species are redescribed and illustrated. All available information for their host plants and distributional ranges are given.

Behavior of stoichiometric and near-stoichiometric NiAl at plasma spray deposition, without and with a bond coat, for coating layers realization on a low alloyed steel substrate, has been investigated. In all variants, NiAl particle melting and subsequent welding at the impact with substrate were observed, forming a relatively compact and adherent coating layer with the NiAl stability maintaining - all assuring the coating layer oxidation and corrosion resistance. Good results from these points of view, also validated through corrosion tests, were obtained for 45:55 Ni:Al composition without a bond coat but adopting an Ar protective surrounding of plasma jet.

We report on the mechanical and structural properties of nanocrystalline 8% and 10% mol yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) obtained using mechanical alloying (MA). The as-milled powders show a body-centered cubic structure with grain sizes in the nanometer scale. After uniaxial pressing and sintering the compacts exhibit good mechanical properties. We discuss the correlation of these enhanced properties with the microstructural changes induced by heat treatment.