Method and apparatus for manufacturing cutting elements particularly for deep drilling
AssigneeChristensen, Inc.
InventorsRoland Illerhaus, Rainer Jurgens
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A base powder mixture consisting of diamond material and solid support is inserted into the recess of a mold block for the manufacture of cutting elements for, in particular, deep drill bits, the mold block is then externally hermetically enclosed and hot isostatically pressed. The base powder mixture is, first of all, inserted directly into the recess, the mold block is then enclosed as a whole in a capsule and placed in a high pressure furnace in which pressure is applied to the mold block by a liquid or gaseous pressure medium and, finally, after cooling and lowering of the pressure, the capsule is removed and the finished cutting elements are taken out of the recess.
Claims19
A method for the manufacture of cutting elements containing diamond material bound in a metal matrix mass which comprises:
- (a) providing a mold block, said mold block having at least one recess;
- (b) providing a base powder mixture, said base power mixture containing components comprising solid particulate diamond material and solid particulate metal matrix carrier material;
- (c) inserting said base powder mixture into said recess in said mold block;
- (d) externally hermetically enclosing said mold block, after step (c), in a capsule enclosure, said capsule enclosure being composed of thin-walled, flexible, pressure-tight and temperature-resistant material, said capsule enclosure surrounding the outer surface of said mold block;
- (e) sintering the hermetically enclosed mold block of step (d) at elevated temperature and pressure so that said diamond material is closely bound to said metal matrix material in a metal matrix mass;
- (f) reducing the temperature and pressure about said hermetically enclosed mold block so that said mold block is cooled;
- (g) removing said capsule enclosure from about said mold block;
- and
- (h) removing at least one finished cutting element comprising said diamond material bound in said metal matrix mass from said recess in said mold block.
An apparatus for the manufacture of cutting elements containing diamond material bound in a metal matrix mass which comprises a mold block, said mold block being provided with at least one recess, said recess being conformed to receive a base powder mixture containing components comprising solid particulate diamond material and solid particulate metal matrix carrier material, capsule enclosure means, said capsule enclosure means comprising thin-walled, flexible, pressure-tight and temperature-resistant material, and means to externally hermetically enclose said mold block within said capsule enclosure means so that said capsule enclosure means surrounds the outer surface of said mold block, whereby said mold block, when hermetically enclosed in said capsule enclosure means, is inserted into a high pressure furnace or the like in order to sinter said hermetically enclosed mold block at elevated temperature and pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.