Patent ID: 6845710

Claim:
A process for compressing metallic powder into a compact comprising the steps of: providing a powder press comprising a die-plate having a die-bore, the die-bore having a bottom surfaced defined by a lower ram which is arranged to move vertically within the die-bore of the die-plate and the powder press further including an upper ram which is positioned above the die-plate and arranged to move vertically within the die-bore of the die-plate; moving the lower ram to a filling position; filling the die-bore with a volume of metallic powder; vibrating the lower ram while filling the die-bore with the volume of metallic powder; moving the lower ram to a proportioning position so that excess metallic powder extending above the die-plate may be removed; removing excess metallic powder which extends above the die-plate, leaving a predetermined volume of metallic powder in the die-bore; vibrating the lower ram while removing excess metallic powder; and compressing the metallic powder between the upper ram the lower ram.