Biodegradable metals have an extremely important part to play in healthcare since they are designed to dissolve in vivo, and without eliciting a negative response in the host. Magnesium is a very useful candidates for such applications since it is already an essential trace element and has a very low thrombogenicity and well-known biocompatibility. Continue reading →

Inert gas soldering can be classified as a system which uses a controlled nitrogen blanket atmosphere and an entry vacuum oxygen/nitrogen exchange chamber. Some of the main benefits of using inert gas soldering include very low oxide formation, flexibility around flux selection and elimination of post cleaning requirements. Continue reading →

Rapid slurry formation (RSF) is a novel semi-solid metal forming technique which allows complex geometries to be formed in a single operation. Advantages of RSF include a much reduced suspension preparation time and cost and most importantly the ability to achieve a globular structure and high fluidity of suspension at the same time. Continue reading →

As a thermos chemical process used for surface hardening boriding or boronizing entails heating a material to between 700-1000°C for 1 to 12 hours using a boronaceous solid powder, paste, liquid or gaseous medium. Some key advantages include obvious and large gains in surface hardness of the treated material as well as a reduction in friction coefficient meaning surface wear is significantly reduced. Continue reading →