Method of manufacturing PDC cutter with chambers or passages

A method for constructing a cutting element for a drill bit used in drilling subterranean formations, comprising:

• forming a substrate of a preselected hard material, the substrate having at least one internal cavity and an attachment surface, the attachment surface having an outer periphery;
• forming at least one channel in the attachment surface of the substrate, the at least one channel having an outlet and an inlet, the outlet being proximate the outer periphery of the attachment surface, and the inlet being in communication with the at least one internal cavity;
• filling the at least one internal cavity and the at least one channel with a substantially incompressible packed, particulate filler material to a level at least coincident with the attachment surface;
• forming a superabrasive table on the attachment surface of the substrate and over the substantially incompressible packed, particulate filler material at an elevated temperature of between about 1450 and 1600° C. and at a high pressure of at least about 50 kilobar while maintaining a presence of the at least one internal cavity and the at least one channel of the substrate with the substantially incompressible filler material;
• and
• removing the filler material from the at least one internal cavity and the at least one channel.