Patent ID: 7625522

Claim:
A method of forming a powder metal compact for sintering, comprising the steps of: providing a die set including a die having a cavity for receiving powder metal and containing said powder metal while it is being compacted into a compact, said die set including at least one punch movable into said die in a direction of compaction and out of said die in a direction of retraction along an axial direction, said die set being able to be opened to permit powder metal to be filled into said die and able to be closed when the powder metal previously filled into said die is compacted in said die, wherein when the die is closed, an interface surface of said punch that extends along said axial direction comes into sliding contact with another interface surface of an other member of said die set that extends along said axial direction at a face-to-face interface so as to create an absence of powder metal between said two surfaces at said face-to-face interface and create an opening through a wall of said compact in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, said opening being defined by said face-to-face interface of said punch and said other member of said die set; filling powder metal into said die; closing said die set so as to create said face-to-face interface; applying pressure to said powder metal within said die; retracting said punch from said die; and ejecting said compact from said die.