Manufacture of cutting structures for rotary drill bits

Abstract

A cutting structure, for a rotary drill bit, is of the kind comprising a preform cutting element having a front cutting face formed of superhard material, such as polycrystalline diamond, and a rear face bonded to a carrier of less hard material, such as cemented tungsten carbide. The cutting element is bonded to the carrier by means of an alloy having the following composition: Ni about 30% to about 60% Pd about 30% to about 62% Si about 3% to about 15% wherein % is weight percent. An alternative alloy has the following composition: Cr about 4% to about 10% Fe about 1% to about 5% Si about 2% to about 7% C about 0.01% to about 0.10% B about 2% to about 5% Ni Balance wherein % is weight percent.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.