Steels, in particular hot work steels having high toughness even for high thickness, including steels having long durability combined with mechanical, tribological and thermal properties for highly demanding applications, and steels which can achieve a very good environmental resistance and resistance to certain aggressive media combined with other relevant properties, are described. These steels may also be obtained at low cost. A method for the manufacture of steels having high thickness and manufacturing methods to shape the materials of the invention through several steps, including an additive manufacturing step to manufacture at least apart of an intermediate mold, a mold or a model, a Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) step, the elimination of the mold and densification among other steps, are also described.

An ornamental component has an ornamental face, and includes a titanium nitride sintered body containing nickel and niobium, and the titanium nitride sintered body contains a compound including nickel, niobium and titanium.

An ornamental component has an ornamental face, and includes a titanium nitride sintered body containing nickel and niobium, and the titanium nitride sintered body contains a compound including nickel, niobium and titanium.

A method of manufacturing polycrystalline abrasive elements consisting of micron, sub-micron or nano-sized ultrahard abrasives dispersed in micron, sub-micron or nano-sized matrix materials. A plurality of ultrahard abrasive particles having vitreophilic surfaces are coated with a matrix precursor material in a refined colloidal process and then treated to render them suitable for sintering. The matrix precursor material can be converted to an oxide, nitride, carbide, oxynitride, oxycarbide, or carbonitride, or an elemental form thereof. The coated ultrahard abrasive particles are consolidated and sintered at a pressure and temperature at which they are crystallographically or thermodynamically stable.

A method of manufacturing polycrystalline abrasive elements consisting of micron, sub-micron or nano-sized ultrahard abrasives dispersed in micron, sub-micron or nano-sized matrix materials. A plurality of ultrahard abrasive particles having vitreophilic surfaces are coated with a matrix precursor material in a refined colloidal process and then treated to render them suitable for sintering. The matrix precursor material can be converted to an oxide, nitride, carbide, oxynitride, oxycarbide, or carbonitride, or an elemental form thereof. The coated ultrahard abrasive particles are consolidated and sintered at a pressure and temperature at which they are crystallographically or thermodynamically stable.

A method of making a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), material is provided. The matrix precursor powder comprises an aluminium compound. The method comprises mixing matrix precursor powder comprising particles having an average particle size no greater than 250 nm, with between 30 and 40 volume percent of cubic boron nitride (cBN) particles having an average particle size of at least 4 μm, and then spark plasma sintering the mixed particles. The spark plasma sintering occurs at a pressure of at least 500 MPa, a temperature of no less than 1050° C. and no more than 1500° C. and a time of no less than 1 minute and no more than 3 minutes.

A method of making a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), material is provided. The matrix precursor powder comprises an aluminium compound. The method comprises mixing matrix precursor powder comprising particles having an average particle size no greater than 250 nm, with between 30 and 40 volume percent of cubic boron nitride (cBN) particles having an average particle size of at least 4 μm, and then spark plasma sintering the mixed particles. The spark plasma sintering occurs at a pressure of at least 500 MPa, a temperature of no less than 1050° C. and no more than 1500° C. and a time of no less than 1 minute and no more than 3 minutes.

A cubic boron nitride sintered material includes: more than or equal to 85 volume % and less than 100 volume % of cubic boron nitride grains; and a remainder of a binder, wherein the binder includes WC, Co and an Al compound, and when a TEM-EDX is used to analyze an interface region including an interface at which the cubic boron nitride grains are adjacent to each other, oxygen exists on a whole or part of the interface, and a width D of a region in which the oxygen exists is more than or equal to 0.1 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm.

A cubic boron nitride sintered material includes: more than or equal to 85 volume % and less than 100 volume % of cubic boron nitride grains; and a remainder of a binder, wherein the binder includes WC, Co and an Al compound, and when a TEM-EDX is used to analyze an interface region including an interface at which the cubic boron nitride grains are adjacent to each other, oxygen exists on a whole or part of the interface, and a width D of a region in which the oxygen exists is more than or equal to 0.1 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm.

A cutting tool comprises a rake face and a flank face, the cutting tool being composed of a substrate made of a cubic boron nitride sintered material and a coating provided on the substrate, the coating including a MAlN layer, when a cross section of the MAlN layer is subjected to an electron backscattering diffraction image analysis to determine a crystal orientation of each of the crystal grains of the M.sub.xAl.sub.1−xN and a color map is created based thereon, then on the color map, the flank face having the MAlN layer occupied in area by 45% to 75% by crystal grains of the M.sub.xAl.sub.1−xN having a (111) plane with a normal thereto extending in a direction within 25 degrees with respect to a direction in which a normal to the flank face extends, the MAlN layer having a residual stress of −2 GPa to −0.1 GPa.