A high pressure press assembly along with related methods and components for the press assembly are provided. In one embodiment, a press assembly includes a first press base having one or more tie bar receiving holes extending therethrough. A second press base may also include one or more tie bar receiving holes extending therethrough. A tie bar extends between the first press base and the second press base. A tensioning assembly is operatively coupled to the tie bar to place the tie bar in tension.

Polycrystalline diamond bodies having an annular region of diamond grains and a core region of diamond grains and methods of making the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, a polycrystalline diamond body includes an annular region of inter-bonded diamond grains having a first characteristic property and a core region of inter-bonded diamond grains bonded to the annular region and having a second characteristic property that differs from the first characteristic property. The annular region decreases in thickness from a perimeter surface of the polycrystalline diamond body towards a centerline axis.

Various embodiments of high pressure presses and related methods of manufacturing and operating such presses are described. In one embodiment, a cubic press is described having press bases with spacers disposed between adjacent press bases. Sets of two or more tie bars are also disposed between adjacent press bases. The tie bars are placed in a state of compression while the spacers are placed in a state of compression. During operation, the press bases may become displaced relative to one another such that additional tension is experience by the tie bars while the amount of compression experienced by the spacer is reduced. The tie bars exhibit a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to the cross-sectional area of the spacer.

A cartridge assembly having a chamber for containing hydraulic fluid, an intensifier element capable of reciprocating in the chamber and displacing the hydraulic fluid responsive to a drive system acting on the intensifier element, and a piston capable of reciprocating in the chamber and being displaceable responsive to a change in the pressure of the hydraulic fluid. The cartridge assembly is configured so that when the pressure in the fluid increases responsive to a first force being applied by the drive system on the intensifier, the hydraulic fluid will exert a second force on the piston, the second force being greater than the first force; the mass of the hydraulic fluid being substantially conserved within the cartridge assembly.

Polycrystalline diamond bodies having an annular region of diamond grains and a core region of diamond grains and methods of making the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, a polycrystalline diamond body includes an annular region of inter-bonded diamond grains having a first characteristic property and a core region of inter-bonded diamond grains bonded to the annular region and having a second characteristic property that differs from the first characteristic property. The annular region decreases in thickness from a perimeter surface of the polycrystalline diamond body towards a centerline axis.

Among all the materials available on earth, diamond has demonstrated outstanding properties for general-purpose applications. Nevertheless, due to the total lack of processability, artificial diamonds have never captured large industrial markets for the recognized performance. However, theoretical chemists recently paid attention to an old but highly efficient way of producing new facets on gem diamonds by manual self-abrasion. They found by using molecular dynamics calculations that the rate-determining step in the self-abrasion sp.sup.3-sp.sup.2 order-disorder transition on the crystal surface. The product of such a transition is an amorphous layer, which chemically decomposes to produce a new facet. Taking advantage of the self-abrasion mechanism thus found, we designed a novel spheroidization method and experimental apparatuses, wherein the self-abrasion works preferentially on mechanically weak portions like vertices and edges but hardly on stronger surfaces. Spherical diamonds lack self-aggregation properties, are resistant against shocks, have mechanically strong surface and offer a new material.

A capsule assembly for an ultra-high pressure furnace, comprising a containment tube defining a central longitudinal axis, a chamber suitable for accommodating a reaction assembly, a proximate and a distal end heater assembly, and a side heater assembly. When assembled, the chamber and the side heater assembly are contained within the containment tube and arranged longitudinally between the proximate and distal end heater assemblies. Each end heater assembly comprises a respective conduction volume forming a respective electrical path through the end heat assembly. The side heater assembly electrically connects the respective conducting volumes to each other, and heat is produced in the chamber in response to an electric current flowing through the side heater assembly and the conducting volumes. At least the proximate end heater assembly comprises a first insulation component including an outer insulation volume. The conducting volume of at least the proximate end heater assembly includes an inner conducting volume, and the inner conducting volume is laterally spaced apart from the containment tube by the outer insulation volume.

A pressure booster having two cylinders with two pistons, connected such that they operate simultaneously, which can be mounted in a multi-chamber containing simple pressure boosters nested that can be used to increase the pressure depending on the simple boosters being used is provided.

HPHT press system includes a thermal insulation layer. The thermal insulation layer includes CsCl, CsBr, CsI, or a combination thereof, and the thermal insulation layer is electrically insulating. The thermal insulation layer may include a thermal insulation sleeve and/or a thermal insulation button for an HPHT cell.

The invention relates to a powder press having preferably a plurality of stamps (11) which are movable for a transverse press in a feed housing (10), said stamps partially delimiting a hollow chamber of a matrix in the feed housing (10) and being able to be coupled to a press device (40) by one connector piece each. An adjustable positioning means, which is formed from a wedge arrangement (20) having a stop surface (22) and placed crosswise to the moving direction of the stamp (11) is allocated to the respective stamp (11) for determining the pressing position thereof. Said wedge arrangement (20) comprises at least one wedge (21), which is adjustable crosswise to the moving direction of the stamp (11) and has the stop surface (22), which contacts a stop surface (11) at the stamp (11). Such a wedge arrangement can achieve very accurate pressing positions of the stamp, first of all, and extremely stable positioning of the stamp to be pressed with high pressure, second of all.