Other

Element Six Abrasives S.a.

Element Six (production) (pty) Ltd.

Moosa Mahomed Adia

Mehmet Serdar Ozbayraktar

Element Six Gmbh

Geoffrey John Davies

Geoffrey Alan Scarsbrook

Klaus Tank

John Robert Brandon

Johannes Lodewikus Myburgh

Lesley Kay Hedges

Aulette Stewart

Raymond Albert Chapman

Antionette Can

Anna Emela Mochubele

Iakovos Sigalas

Mathias Herrmann

Bronwyn Annette Roberts

Anine Hester Ras

Thembinkosi Shabalala

Rex J Keddy

Tom L Nam

Kaveshini Naidoo

Henry B Dyer

Robert Fries

Manfred Nebelung

David Christian Bowes

Clint Guy Smallman

Robert C Burns

James Wilbert Campbell

Gerrard Peters

Stuart H Robertson

A free standing PCD body comprises a PCD material formed of combination of intergrown diamond grains forming a diamond network and an interpenetrating metallic network, the PCD body not being attached to a second body or substrate formed of a different material. The diamond network is formed of diamond grains having a plurality of grain sizes, and comprises a grain size distribution having an average diamond grain size, wherein the largest component of the diamond grain size distribution is no greater than three times the average diamond grain size. The PCD material forming the free standing PCD body is homogeneous, such that the PCD body is spatially constant and invariant with respect to diamond network to metallic network volume ratio. The homogeneity is measured at a scale greater than ten times the average grain size and spans the dimension of the PCD body. The PCD material is also macroscopically residual stress free at said scale.

Superhard structure or body comprising a body of polycrystalline diamond containing material

Polycrystalline diamond abrasive elements made by incorporating low levels of at least one metal boride, the metal being selected from magnesium, calcium, aluminum, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, hafnium and chromium, and the rare earth metals, particularly cerium and lanthanum. The benefits of adding boron to polycrystalline diamond abrasive compacts are exploited together with simultaneously minimizing or eliminating the detrimental effects of the presence of oxygen.

Polycrystalline diamond abrasive element and method of its production

A cutter element for rock removal comprises a free standing PCD body () comprising one or more physical volumes (), the PCD material being invariant in terms of the diamond and metal network compositional ratio and metal elemental composition such that each physical volume does not differ to any other physical volume with respect to diamond and metal network compositional ratio and metal elemental composition. The PCD body has a functional working volume () forming in use the region which comes into contact with the rock. A functional support volume () extant in use and having a proximal free surface extends from the functional working volume. The PCD body has an aspect ratio such that the ratio of the length (ae) of the longest edge of the circumscribing rectangular parallelepiped of the overall PCD body to the largest width (ad) of the smallest rectangular face from which the functional working volume extends of the circumscribing rectangular parallelepiped, is greater than or equal to 1.0.

Cutter element for rock removal applications

A cutter element for rock removal comprises a free standing PCD body () comprising two or more physical volumes () within the boundary of the PCD body, wherein adjacent physical volumes differ in one or more of diamond and metal network compositional ratio, metal elemental composition and diamond grain size distribution, a functional working volume () distal to the PCD body, the functional working volume forming in use a region which comes into contact with the rock. A functional support volume () extant in use and having a proximal free surface extends from the functional working volume. The PCD body has a shape having an aspect ratio such that the ratio of the length (ae) of the longest edge of the circumscribing rectangular parallelepiped of the overall PCD body to the largest width (ad) of the smallest rectangular face from which the functional working volume extends of the circumscribing rectangular parallelepiped, is greater than or equal to 1.0, and one or more of the physical volumes forms at least part of one or other or both of the functional working volume and the functional support volume.

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.

Polycrystalline abrasive compacts

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 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.

Polycrystalline abrasive materials and method of manufacture

The invention relates to method of depositing refractory metal carbide onto part of a surface of a body comprising diamond, the method including adhering directly onto part of the surface a refractory precursor material comprising a compound including oxygen and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta and W; the refractory precursor material being reducible in the presence of carbon on the application of heat to form at least one compound comprising metal carbide or mixed metal carbide; and reducing the refractory precursor material by the application of heat. The invention further relates to a body comprising diamond, part of the surface of the body having directly adhered thereto a metal carbide and part of the surface of the body having directly adhered thereto a metallic material and the content of diamond being greater than 80 volume percent of a volume of the body.

Process for coating diamond with refractory metal carbide and metal

A superhard structure comprises a body of polycrystalline superhard material comprising a first region and a second region. The second region is adjacent an exposed surface of the superhard structure and comprises a diamond material or cubic boron nitride with a density greater than 3.4&#xd7;103 kilograms per cubic meter when the second region comprises diamond material. The material(s) forming the first and second regions have a difference in coefficient of thermal expansion, the first and second regions being arranged such that this difference induces compression in the second region adjacent the exposed surface. The first/a further region has the highest coefficient of thermal expansion of the polycrystalline body and is separated in part from a peripheral free surface of the body by the second region or one or more further regions formed of a material(s) of a lower coefficient of thermal expansion. The regions comprise a plurality of grains of polycrystalline superhard material. The second region is peripherally discontinuous with a gap therein through which a portion of the region formed of the material of highest coefficient of thermal expansion extends to the free surface of the superhard structure. There is also disclosed a method for making such a structure.

Superhard structure and method of making same

A method for making polycrystalline diamond material comprises providing a plurality of diamond particles or grains, coating the diamond particles or grains with a binder material comprising a non-metallic catalyst material for diamond, consolidating the coated diamond particles or grains to form a green body, and subjecting the green body to a temperature and pressure at which diamond is thermodynamically stable, sintering and forming polycrystalline diamond material.

Method of making polycrystalline diamond material

The invention relates to a method for manufacture of diamond, the method including the steps of providing a first coating of solvent metal or solvent metal alloy on a diamond seed to create a coated diamond seed, situating the coated diamond seed adjacent a catalyst system comprising a solvent metal and/or a source of carbon, and subjecting the coated diamond seed and catalyst system to increased temperature wherein the melting point of the first coating is at least 20 deg C. below that of the catalyst system. The invention further relates to a compact comprising a plurality of diamond seeds wherein at least one seed includes a first coating comprising a solvent metal and/or solvent metal based alloy, the compact further comprising a catalyst system comprising a solvent metal and/or a source of carbon wherein the melting point of the first coating is at least 20 deg C. below that of the catalyst system.

Method of cladding diamond seeds

A method of producing a PCD body includes the step of providing a region of coarser diamond particles between a source of binder phase and a region of fine grained diamond particles having a particle size less than 2 &#x3bc;m. The binder phase is caused to infiltrate the diamond mass through the region of coarser diamond particles under elevated temperature and pressure conditions suitable to produce PCD. The invention further provides for a PCD diamond composite manufactured by the method of the invention wherein the PCD body is substantially free of abnormal diamond growth.

Polycrystalline diamond composites

The invention provides for an ultra hard or hard composite material comprising a primary ultra hard or hard particulate material and at least one secondary ultra hard or hard particulate material dispersed in a matrix material. The primary ultra hard or hard particulate material has a thermal expansion coefficient lower than that of the matrix material and the at least one secondary ultra hard or hard particulate material has a thermal expansion coefficient greater than that of the matrix material.

Ultra hard/hard composite materials

A method of producing a boron suboxide composite material having improved fracture toughness.

Method of producing a boron suboxide material

A method of coating ultrahard abrasive particles having vitreophilic surfaces, or treated to render their surfaces vitreophilic, are coated with an oxide precursor material, which is then heat treated to dry and purify the coats. The heat treated, coated ultrahard abrasive particles are further treated to convert the coats to an oxide, nitride, carbide, oxynitride, oxycarbide, or carbonitride thereof, or an elemental form thereof, or a glass.

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Randburg, South Africa

Geoffrey John Davies