Claims
- 1. A PCD element comprising a body of bonded diamonds integrally formed with a metallic substrate, the body having a working surface and at least an 85% by volume diamond density, wherein a first volume of the body remote from the working surface contains a catalyzing material, a second volume of the body adjacent to the working surface extends beneath the working surface and is substantially free of the catalyzing material.
- 2. The PCD element of claim 1 wherein the second volume extends beneath the working surface to a depth of at least an average diameter of the diamonds.
- 3. The PCD element of claim 1, wherein the second volume extends beneath the working surface to a depth at least about 0.1 mm.
- 4. The PCD element of claim 3, wherein the second volume extends beneath the working surface to a depth of between about 0.2 mm and about 0.3 mm.
- 5. The PCD element of claim 1, wherein the first volume of the body contacts the substrate and has an average thickness from the substrate of greater than 0.15 mm.
- 6. The PCD element of claim 1, wherein a majority of the catalyzing material remaining in the second volume of the body adheres to surfaces of the diamonds.
- 7. The PCD element of claim 1, wherein an amount of catalyzing material within the second volume of the body continuously decreases with distance from the first volume.
- 8. The PCD element of claim 1 wherein the first volume comprises more than 30% of the body remote from the working surface.
- 9. The PCD element of claim 7 wherein the substrate comprises tungsten carbide cemented with an iron group binder material.
- 10. The PCD element of claim 1 comprising a preform cutting element having a facing table and a cutting surface, wherein the working surface comprises a portion of the cutting surface.
- 11. The PCD element of claim 10, wherein the cutting element is mounted upon a cutting face of a fixed cutter rotary drill bit.
- 12. The PCD element of claim 10, wherein the cutting element is mounted upon a body of a rolling cutter drill bit.
- 13. The PCD element of claim 1, wherein the body comprises an interstitial matrix, a first portion of the interstitial matrix is within the first volume of the body and is also within a region of the body in contact with the substrate; the first portion of the interstitial matrix has an average thickness from the substrate of greater than 0.15 mm.
- 14. The PCD element of claim 13 wherein the second volume extends beneath the working surface to a depth of at least an average diameter of the diamonds.
- 15. The PCD element of claim 13, wherein the second volume extends beneath the working surface to a depth of at least about 0.1 mm.
- 16. The PCD element of claim 15, wherein the second volume extends beneath the working surface to a depth of between about 0.2 mm and about 0.3 mm.
- 17. The PCD element of claim 13 wherein the first volume comprises more than about 30% of the body remote from the working surface.
- 18. The PCD element of claim 13, wherein a majority of diamonds located within the second volume of the body have a surface which is substantially free of catalyzing material.
- 19. The PCD element of claim 13, wherein a majority of the catalyzing material remaining in the second volume of the body adheres to surfaces of the diamonds.
- 20. The PCD element of claim 13, wherein the diamonds in the second volume remote from the first volume have less catalyzing material adhering to their surfaces than the diamonds in the second volume which are adjacent to the first volume.
- 21. The PCD element of claim 13, wherein an amount of catalyzing material within the second volume of the body continuously decreases with distance from the first volume.
- 22. The PCD element of claim 13 comprising a preform cutting element having a facing table and a cutting surface, wherein the working surface comprises a portion of the cutting surface.
- 23. The PCD element of claim 22, wherein the cutting element is mounted upon a cutting face of a fixed cutter rotary drill bit.
- 24. The PCD element of claim 22, wherein the cutting element is mounted upon a body of a rolling cutter drill bit.
- 25. The PCD element of claim 13, comprising a cutting element with a cutting surface adapted for use as a cutting insert in a machining operation, wherein the working surface comprises a portion of the cutting surface.
- 26. The PCD element of claim 13, comprising a drawing die, wherein the working surface comprises a portion of the drawing die contact surface.
- 27. The PCD element of claim 13 wherein the substrate comprises tungsten carbide cemented with an iron group binder material.
- 28. A PCD element comprising a diamond containing body integrally formed with a metallic substrate, the body having at least an 85% by volume diamond density, a catalyzing material, and an interstitial matrix comprising a plurality of interstitial regions, wherein a first interstitial region adjacent to a working surface is substantially free of the catalyzing material and a second interstitial region in a portion of the body in contact with the substrate contains the catalyzing material, wherein the first interstitial region extends beneath the working surface and the second interstitial region has an average thickness from the substrate of greater than about 0.15 mm.
- 29. The PCD element of claim 28 wherein the first interstitial region extends beneath the working surface to a depth of at least an average diameter of the diamonds in the body.
- 30. The PCD element of claim 28, wherein the first interstitial region extends beneath the working surface to a depth of at least about 0.1 mm.
- 31. The PCD element of claim 30, wherein the first interstitial region extends beneath the working surface to a depth of between about 0.2 mm and about 0.3 mm.
- 32. The PCD element of claim 28, wherein the first interstitial region has a diamond density higher than elsewhere in the body.
- 33. The PCD element of claim 28, wherein a majority of the catalyzing material remaining in the first interstitial region adheres to surfaces of diamonds in the body.
- 34. The PCD element of claim 28, wherein an amount of catalyzing material within the first interstitial region continuously decreases with distance from the remaining interstitial matrix.
- 35. The PCD element of claim 28 comprising a preform cutting element having a facing table and a cutting surface, wherein the working surface comprises a portion of the cutting surface.
- 36. The PCD element of claim 35, wherein the cutting element is mounted upon a cutting face of a fixed cutter rotary drill bit.
- 37. The PCD element of claim 35, wherein the cutting element is mounted upon a body of a rolling cutter drill bit.
- 38. The PCD element of claim 35 wherein the substrate comprises tungsten carbide cemented with an iron group binder material.
- 39. A PCD element comprising a body integrally formed with a metallic substrate, the body comprising a catalyzing material, a working surface, and a plurality of bonded diamond crystals having surfaces, the body having at least an 85% by volume diamond density, wherein at least 30% of the diamond crystals in the body contact the catalyzing material and the surfaces of a majority of the remaining diamond crystals that extend beneath the working surface to a depth of at least about 0.1 mm are substantially free of the catalyzing material.
- 40. The PCD element of claim 39, wherein said majority of the diamond crystals in the body that extend beneath the working surface, extend to a depth between about 0.2 mm and about 0.3 mm.
- 41. The PCD element of claim 39 wherein the substrate comprises tungsten carbide cemented with an iron group binder material.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/682,419 filed on Aug. 30, 2001 hereby incorporated herein by reference, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/234,075 filed Sep. 20, 2000, and from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/281,054 filed Apr. 2, 2001
Provisional Applications (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60234075 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
|
60281054 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09682419 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Child |
09683386 |
Dec 2001 |
US |