This disclosure relates to a high cBN content polycrystalline cubic boron nitride, PCBN, material. The binder matrix material comprises 19 to 50 wt. % chromium, or a compound thereof.

The invention concerns the field of hardmetal materials and relates to hardmetals such as those which can, for example, be used as cutting material for tools. The object of the present invention is to specify hardmetals which include a novel concept for the structural composition of the hardmetals. The object is attained with hardmetals which are at least made up of hard phases in particle form and metal binder arranged therebetween, wherein a high-entropy hard phase (HEH) is composed of at least four metals (Me) of the 4th and/or 5th and/or 6th subgroup of the PTE in the form of a solid solution of carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides, oxycarbides, and/or oxycarbonitrides of the metals, wherein the respective amounts of the metals in the HEH are essentially equal.

A cutting tool includes a cemented carbide substrate. The cemented carbide consists of hard constituents in a metallic binder. The hard constituents include WC. The WC content in the cemented carbide is 80-93 wt %. The cemented carbide has Ni and Al, and a Ni content of 3-13 wt %, a weight ratio of Co/Ni<0.33, a weight ratio of Fe/Ni<0.25, a weight ratio of Cr/Ni<0.25 and a weight ratio of 0.02<Al/(Ni+Co+Fe)<0.1. The crack resistance W is defined as the ratio of the load applied on a Vickers hardness indentation and the total crack length of the cracks formed at the corners of the Vickers hardness indentation. The product of the hardness H(rake) at the rake face and the crack resistance W(rake) at the rake face is H(rake)*W(rake)>5000 HV100*N/μm.

A cutting tool includes a substrate of cemented carbide having hard constituents in a metallic binder. The hard constituents include WC. The WC content in the cemented carbide is 80-95 wt %. The cemented carbide has a Fe+Ni+Co+Cr content of 3-13 wt %, an atomic ratio of 0.05<Fe/(Fe+Ni+Co+Cr)<0.35, an atomic ratio of 0.05<Ni/(Fe+Ni+Co+Cr)<0.35, an atomic ratio of 0.05<Co/(Fe+Ni+Co+Cr)<0.35 and an atomic ratio of 0.05<Cr/(Fe+Ni+Co+Cr)<0.35. The crack resistance W measured on the rake face of the cutting tool is at least 25% higher than the W measured on a cross section of the bulk area of the cutting tool.

A polycrystalline diamond construction has a body of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) material; and a cemented carbide substrate bonded to the body of polycrystalline material along an interface. The cemented carbide substrate has tungsten carbide particles bonded together by a binder material, the binder material comprising Co; and the tungsten carbide particles form at least around 70 weight percent and at most around 95 weight percent of the substrate. The cemented carbide substrate has a bulk volume, the bulk volume of the cemented carbide substrate having at least around 0.1 vol. % of inclusions of free carbon having a largest average size in any one or more dimensions of less than around 40 microns.

A method of making a cutting tool includes providing a first sintered cemented carbide body of a WC, a metallic binder phase and eta phase and wherein the substoichiometric carbon content in the cemented carbide is between −0.30 to −0.16 wt %. The first sintered cemented carbide body is subjected to a heat treatment at a temperature of between 500 to 830° C. for a time between 1 to 24 h. A cutting tool made according to the above method having an increased resistance against comb cracks is also provided.

A manufacturing method includes the steps of providing a mould containing a matrix material, providing an infiltrant material arranged so that, when molten, the infiltrant material will infiltrate into the matrix material, and heating the matrix material and the infiltrant material by induction heating using an induction heater. The induction heater includes a first coil and a second coil, wherein the first and second coils are energised independently of one another to allow increased control over the heating of different parts of the matrix material and infiltrant material within the mould.

A method of forming a cutting element comprises disposing diamond particles in a container and disposing a metal powder on a side of the diamond particles. The diamond particles and the metal powder are sintered so as to form a polycrystalline diamond material and a low-carbon steel material comprising less than 0.02 weight percent carbon and comprising an intermetallic precipitate on a side of the polycrystalline diamond material. Related cutting elements and earth-boring tools are also disclosed.

The present disclosure provides downhole tools, methods for three dimensional printing hardfacing on such downhole tools, and systems for implementing such methods.

A method for producing a metal cutting tool component and a metal cutting tool component. The method includes the step of producing a front module having a main body and a front module interface at a rear end thereof, providing an intermediate element and building, using an additive manufacturing process, the main body on the build surface of the intermediate element. Further, a rear module including a coupling part at a rear end thereof and a rear module interface at a front end thereof is provided, and mounting the front module on the rear module by immovably connecting the front module and rear module interfaces, after the front module has been mounted on the rear module, machining at least one surface of the main body, and heat treating the intermediate element with the built main body, wherein at least the main body is hardened.