A demonstration was made of manufacturing five Copperhead gyroscope components via titanium powder metallurgy techniques. Commercially pure titanium was used for one part; the remaining four parts were made of the Ti-6A1-4V alloy, which was produced through the heat treatment of a blend of master alloy powder with the titanium. Two parts were made by isostatic compaction techniques in urethane rubber bags; steel mandrels were used to precisely define the interior details. Three parts were made by die pressing followed by sintering. Of these, one was left as-sintered, one was hot forged, and one was subsequently HIP (hot isostatically pressed). Test bars representing the different material-process combinations were used to demonstrate that the chosen combination provided adequate mechanical properties for the intended applications.
NETL
