Patent ID: 8261767

Claim:
A sintered tubular inlay preform substantially symmetrical about an inlay preform longitudinal axis and comprising at least one metal carbide and at least one nonvolatile cement, said inlay preform having a preform first end spaced longitudinally apart from a preform second end, and said inlay preform further having a preform outer surface spaced radially apart from a preform inner surface, said preform first end extending a first radial distance between said preform outer surface and said preform inner surface, and said preform second end extending a second radial distance between said preform outer surface and said preform inner surface; wherein said inlay preform comprises between about 1% and about 3% voids; wherein said inlay preform comprises between about 70% and about 98% metal carbide; wherein said inlay preform has a preform modulus of elasticity greater than about 30×10 6 psi; wherein said inlay preform has a preform coefficient of thermal expansion less than about 11×10 −6 /K; and wherein said inlay preform has a preform thermal conductivity greater than about 55 W/mK.