The invention is concerned with the fields of cemented carbide materials and ceramic and/or powder-metallurgical process engineering and relates to a sintered cemented carbide granulate such as that which can, for example, be used for the production of wear parts or tools with cemented carbides, and to its use.

The object of the present invention is to specify a cemented carbide granulate with which cemented carbide green bodies and cemented carbide sintered bodies that exhibit a high green density and high green strength can be produced, and to specify the use thereof.

The object is attained with a sintered cemented carbide granulate which, for the majority of granules, has an inhomogeneous distribution of hard material and metallic binder in the individual granule, wherein the concentration of the metallic binder at the surface of the individual granule is, in total, at least 25% greater than in the interior of the granule.

The present invention relates to a powder mixture for three-dimensional (3D) printing of a cermet or a cemented carbide body. The powder mixture includes 65-85 wt % of porous cemented carbide or cermet particles of a median particle size (D50) of 10-35 m, and 15-35 wt % of a dense cemented carbide or cermet particles of a median particle size (D50) of 3-10 m. The present invention also relates to a method of making a cermet or cemented carbide body, the method including the steps of forming the powder mixture, 3D printing a body using the powder mixture and a printing binder and thereby forming a 3D printed cermet or cemented carbide green body and sintering the green body and to form a cermet or cemented carbide body.

A method of making a ready-to-print cermet or cemented carbide powder of sintered granules includes the step of sintering the granules in a carburizing atmosphere. Due to the carburizing atmosphere, the granules will have less binder phase on the surface and will not sinter together and will be easy to deagglomerate and the granules will maintain its spherical shape. A powder made according to the method, as well as the use of the powder in an additive manufacturing process is provided.

Cutting elements for earth-boring tools may include a superhard, polycrystalline material and a substrate adjacent to and secured to the superhard, polycrystalline material at an interface. The substrate may include a first region exhibiting a first coefficient of thermal expansion and a second region exhibiting a second, different coefficient of thermal expansion. The first region may be spaced from the superhard, polycrystalline material. The second region may extend from laterally adjacent to at least a portion of the first region to longitudinally between the first region and the superhard, polycrystalline material.

Cutting elements for earth-boring tools may include a superhard, polycrystalline material and a substrate adjacent to and secured to the superhard, polycrystalline material at an interface. The substrate may include a first region exhibiting a first coefficient of thermal expansion and a second region exhibiting a second, different coefficient of thermal expansion. The first region may be spaced from the superhard, polycrystalline material. The second region may extend from laterally adjacent to at least a portion of the first region to longitudinally between the first region and the superhard, polycrystalline material.

A metal matrix composite tool that includes a hard composite portion comprising a reinforcement material infiltrated with a binder material, wherein the reinforcement material comprises a refractory metal component dispersed with reinforcing particles, wherein a surface roughness of the reinforcing particles is at least two times greater than the refractory metal component, wherein the refractory metal component has a failure strain of at least 0.05 and a shear modulus of 200 GPa or less, and wherein the reinforcing particles have a failure strain of 0.01 or less but at least five times less than the failure strain of the refractory metal component, and the reinforcing particles have a shear modulus of greater than 200 GPa and at least two times greater than the shear modulus of the refractory metal component. The reinforcing particles may comprise an intermetallic, a boride, a carbide, a nitride, an oxide, a ceramic, and/or a diamond.

A metal matrix composite tool that includes a hard composite portion comprising a reinforcement material infiltrated with a binder material, wherein the reinforcement material comprises a refractory metal component dispersed with reinforcing particles, wherein a surface roughness of the reinforcing particles is at least two times greater than the refractory metal component, wherein the refractory metal component has a failure strain of at least 0.05 and a shear modulus of 200 GPa or less, and wherein the reinforcing particles have a failure strain of 0.01 or less but at least five times less than the failure strain of the refractory metal component, and the reinforcing particles have a shear modulus of greater than 200 GPa and at least two times greater than the shear modulus of the refractory metal component. The reinforcing particles may comprise an intermetallic, a boride, a carbide, a nitride, an oxide, a ceramic, and/or a diamond.

The invention relates to a PCD composite compact element comprising a PCD structure integrally bonded at an interface to a cemented carbide substrate; the PCD structure comprising coherently bonded diamond grains having a mean size no greater than 15 microns; the cemented carbide substrate comprising carbide particles dispersed in a metallic binder, the carbide particles comprising a carbide compound of a metal; wherein the ratio of the amount of metallic binder to the amount of the metal at points in the substrate deviates from a mean value by at most 20 percent of the mean value. The invention further relates to a method for making a PDC compact element comprising a PCD structure integrally bonded to a substrate formed of cemented carbide; the method including introducing a source of excess carbon to the substrate at a bonding surface of the substrate to form a carburised substrate; contacting an aggregated mass of diamond grains with the carburised substrate; and sintering the diamond grains in the presence of a solvent/catalyst material for diamond; wherein the mean size of the diamond grains in the aggregated mass is no greater than 30 microns.

The invention relates to a PCD composite compact element comprising a PCD structure integrally bonded at an interface to a cemented carbide substrate; the PCD structure comprising coherently bonded diamond grains having a mean size no greater than 15 microns; the cemented carbide substrate comprising carbide particles dispersed in a metallic binder, the carbide particles comprising a carbide compound of a metal; wherein the ratio of the amount of metallic binder to the amount of the metal at points in the substrate deviates from a mean value by at most 20 percent of the mean value. The invention further relates to a method for making a PDC compact element comprising a PCD structure integrally bonded to a substrate formed of cemented carbide; the method including introducing a source of excess carbon to the substrate at a bonding surface of the substrate to form a carburised substrate; contacting an aggregated mass of diamond grains with the carburised substrate; and sintering the diamond grains in the presence of a solvent/catalyst material for diamond; wherein the mean size of the diamond grains in the aggregated mass is no greater than 30 microns.

Polycrystalline diamond constructions comprises a diamond body attached to a metallic substrate, and having an engineered metal content. The body comprises bonded together diamond crystals with a metal material disposed interstitially between the crystals. A body working surface has metal content of 2 to 8 percent that increases moving away therefrom. A transition region between the body and substrate includes metal rich and metal depleted regions having controlled metal content that provides improved thermal expansion matching/reduced residual stress. A point in the body adjacent the metal rich zone has a metal content that is at least about 3 percent by weight greater than that at a body/substrate interface. The metal depleted zone metal content increases gradually moving from the body, and has a thickness greater than 1.25 mm. Metal depleted zone metal content changes less about 4 percent per millimeter moving along the substrate.