A super hard polycrystalline construction is disclosed as comprising a first region comprising a body of thermally stable polycrystalline diamond material comprising a plurality of intergrown grains of diamond material; a second region forming a substrate to the first region; and a third region interposed between the first and second regions. The third region extends across a surface of the second region along an interface. The interface comprises at least a portion having an uneven topology, and the third region comprises a diamond composite material including a first phase comprising a plurality of non-intergrown super hard grains, said super hard grains comprising diamond grains; and a matrix material. The superhard material and matrix material of the third region form a diamond composite material which is more acid resistant than polycrystalline diamond material having a binder-catalyst phase comprising cobalt, and/or more acid resistant than cemented tungsten carbide material.

Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride compact include a body having sintered microcrystalline cubic boron nitride in a matrix of binder material. The microcrystalline cubic boron nitride particles have a size ranging from 2 microns to 50 microns. The particles of microcrystalline cubic boron nitride include a plurality of sub-grains, each sub-grain having a size ranging from 0.1 micron to 2 microns. The compacts are manufactured in a high pressure—high temperature (HPHT) sintering process. The compacts exhibit intergranular defect formation following introduction of wear. The sub-grains promote crack propagation based on micro-chipping rather than on a cleavage mechanism and, in sintered bodies, cracks propagate intergranularly rather than intragranularly, resulting in increased toughness and improved wear characteristics as compared to monocrystalline cubic boron nitride. The compacts are suitable for use as abrasive tools.

Provided is an inorganic structure including a plurality of inorganic particles; and a binding part that covers a surface of each of the inorganic particles and binds the inorganic particles together, wherein the binding part contains: an amorphous compound containing silicon, oxygen, and one or more metallic elements; and fine particles having an average particle size of 100 nm or less. Also provided is a method for producing an inorganic structure including: a step for obtaining a mixture by mixing a plurality of inorganic particles, a plurality of amorphous silicon dioxide particles, and an aqueous solution containing a metallic element; and a step for pressurizing and heating the mixture under conditions of a pressure of 10 to 600 MPa and a temperature of 50 to 300° C.

A surface-coated boron nitride sintered body tool is provided, in which at least a cutting edge portion includes a cubic boron nitride sintered body and a coating film formed on a surface of the cubic boron nitride sintered body. The coating film includes an A layer and a B layer. The A layer is formed of columnar crystals each having a particle size of 10 nm or more and 400 nm or less. The B layer is formed of columnar crystals each having a particle size of 5 nm or more and 70 nm or less. The B layer is formed by alternately stacking two or more compound layers having different compositions. The compound layers each have a thickness of 0.5 nm or more and 300 nm or less.

A cBN sintered body has 40%-85% cBN by volume and 15% to 60% binder phase by volume. and inevitable impurities. The binder phase has an Al compound including Al and at least one element selected from N, O and B, and a Zr compound including Zr and at least one element selected from C, N, O and B. The Zr compound includes ZrO, or ZrO and ZrO.sub.2. In an X-ray diffraction, where a peak intensity of a (111) plane of the ZrO is I.sub.1, a peak intensity of a (101) plane of tetragonal ZrO.sub.2 is I.sub.2t and a peak intensity of a (111) plane of cubic ZrO.sub.2 is I.sub.2c, a ratio of the intensity of I.sub.1 to total intensities of I.sub.1, I.sub.2t and I.sub.2c is 0.6-1.0, and an average grain size of the Al compound is 80 nm-300 nm.

Multi-step milling processes to prepare cBN composite powder forms a first powder mixture by adding a binder and a first cBN component, mills the first powder mixture for a first time period, combines a second cBN component with the milled first powder mixture to form a second powder mixture, and mills the second powder mixture for a second time period (less than the first time period) to form the cBN composite powder. A ratio of the D50 value of the second cBN component to the D50 value of the first cBN component is at least 3.0. Two-step milling with different milling times for the two cBN component fractions controls the amount of mill debris in the cBN composite powder mixture. Further processing of the cBN composite powder under HPHT conditions forms a cBN-based ceramic with an average value of a cBN particle free diameter of less than 2.0 microns.

A method for improving the insulating character/and or penetration resistance of a surface comprising lining a surface of a lime kiln, a cement kiln, a roasting kiln, a thermal oxidizer, or a fluidized bed reactor that is subject to wear by an alkali environment and/or an alkaline environment with a refractory composition comprising a refractory aggregate consisting essentially of a calcium hexa aluminate clinker having the formula CA.sub.6, wherein C is equal to calcium oxide, wherein A is equal to aluminum oxide, and wherein the hexa aluminate clinker has from zero to less than about fifty weight percent C.sub.12A.sub.7, and wherein greater than 98 weight percent of the calcium hexa aluminate clinker having a particle size ranging from −20 microns to +3 millimeters, for forming a liner of the surface.

A method of fabricating a laminar composite article, includes steps of spreading a plurality of continuous fiber tows from a spool to form a first ply layer having a substantially consistent layer thickness, applying a binder to the spread plurality of continuous fiber tows, curing the plurality of continuous fiber tows and applied binder at a cure temperature less than a thermal decomposition temperature of the binder, and processing the cured plurality of continuous fiber tows at a post-cure temperature greater than the cure temperature.

A method of 3D printing in which a 3D product is built up layer by layer by jetting from print heads includes forming part of a 3D product by a functional binder jetting process; jetting one or more material in a 2D pattern to form a structure on said part; completing the formation of the 3D product by continuing the functional binder jetting process, so that said structure becomes embedded in said product. Functional binder jetting may include: providing a layer of a powder bed; jetting a functional binder onto selected parts of said layer, wherein said functional binder infiltrates into pores in the powder bed and locally fuses particles of the powder bed in situ; sequentially repeating applying a layer of powder on top and selectively jetting functional binder, multiple times, to provide a powder bed bonded at selected locations by printed functional binder.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a multicapillary packing for an exchange of material including the formation, by a 3D printing method, of a monolith having a porous mass through which a plurality of parallel channels passes, opening on an inlet face and an outlet face of the packing, the 3D printing method being chosen among: selective laser sintering, molten wire deposition, stereolithography, binder spraying and spraying of material, the porous mass being suitable for allowing the diffusion of material to be exchanged between the channels.