Patent ID: 8187660

Claim:
A method of fabricating a medical implant component, said method comprising the steps of: producing a substrate from a first material, said substrate having a bearing portion; spraying particles of a second material onto the bearing portion of the substrate in accordance with a predetermined spraying technique to provide a coating thereon; and subjecting the coated bearing portion to a sintering process in a pressure controlled atmosphere, wherein in the sintering process a first pressure is maintained for a first portion of the sintering process and a second pressure is maintained for a second portion of the sintering process to obtain a predetermined inter-diffusion zone of the first material and the second material, the second pressure exceeding the first pressure and the first portion preceding the second portion in the sintering process, wherein, upon completion of the fabrication, the bearing portion is a bearing surface which is operable to articulate with a portion of a member or another medical implant component.