Patent ID: 8377373

Claim:
A method comprising: disposing a powdered composition in a mold; the powdered composition comprising nickel and titanium; the titanium being present in an amount of about 38 to about 42 wt % and the nickel being present in an amount of about 58 to about 62 wt %; sintering the powdered composition to produce a sintered preform, wherein sintering the powdered composition is conducted at a first temperature of about 1800° F. to about 2200° F., a first pressure of about 3 Torr to about 5 Kg-f/cm 2 for a first time period of about 20 minutes to about 180 minutes; compacting the preform; machining the preform to form an article; heat treating the article; the heat treating being conducted at a temperature of about 1650° F. to about 1900° F. at a pressure of about 3 Torr to about 5 Kg-f/cm 2 for a time period of about 10 minutes to about 5 hours; and quenching the article.