pressure may result in unacceptable surface finishes or a part with insufficient mechanical strength an alternate embodiment can provide additional variation in density through controlling the number size and shape of voids in the finished part without sacrificing mechanical properties this embodiment includes using a metal powder 58 made up of hollow or foamed particles as such the density of the finished part can have a greater density range than systems using solid particles alternately the density can be controlled by use of particles other than metal such as ceramic or glass for example inadequate adhesion of particles to one another with such alternate materials however can weaken the finished part an embodiment disclosed herein therefore addresses this concern by coating or plating the nonmetallic particles prior to use in the powdered metallurgy process one method of coating the particles is through chemical vapor deposition or cvd the chemical vapor deposition process can controllably grow a coating of a specific metal onto surfaces of the powdered material particles the metal coating can have excellent adhesion to the individual particles and provide an exterior surface on each particle susceptible to adhesion to other particles in the sintering process thereby providing greater strength in the finished part the use of nonmetallic powder material prior to the cvd process permits a greater range of density of the finished part as well as allowing for control of other properties such as electrical conductivity magnetic properties coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal conductivity for example referring to fig5 a cross sectional view of an.