Cast collimator and method for making same

Abstract

There is a method of manufacturing a cast collimator that includes pre-heating a mold, filing the mold with material in a liquid phase, and simultaneously applying vacuum, heat and vibration to the mold until the material reaches a substantially solid phase.

1 . A method of manufacturing a high resolution casting comprising: 
 pre-heating a mold;    filing the mold with material in a liquid phase;    simultaneously applying vacuum, heat and vibration to the mold before the material reaches a substantially solid phase.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the pre-heating reaches a temperature that is within approximately 30° C. to approximately 80° C. of the material in the liquid phase.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the material is a mixture of gold and tin.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the material is selected from a group consisting of antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, gold, indium, lead, mercury, osmium, palladium, platinum, thallium, tin, tungsten, zinc and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       5 . The method of claim I wherein the material is a mixture of bismuth, tin, antimony and zinc.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the material comprises approximately 68 percent bismuth, approximately 20 percent tin, approximately 1.5 percent antimony and approximately 10.5 percent zinc.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the material comprises approximately 80 percent gold and approximately 10 percent tin.