Cutting element for a downhole tool

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9856702-B2
Application number	US-201414487942-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 16, 2014
Priority date	Sep 18, 2013
Publication date	Jan 2, 2018
Grant date	Jan 2, 2018

Abstract

A cutting element for a cutting tool. The cutting element may be at least partially made from a composite material including a carbide material, a binder material, and a plurality of diamond particles. The carbide material may be from 55 wt % to 97 wt % of a total weight of the composite material. The binder material may be from 3 wt % to 20 wt % of the total weight of the composite material. The plurality of diamond particles may be from 0.1% to 25% of the total weight of the composite material. The carbide material and the binder material may be combined and sintered together prior to being combined with the plurality of diamond particles, such that the carbide material and the binder material form a plurality of pellets having an average cross-sectional length from 10 μm to 250 μm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cutting element for a cutting tool, comprising:
a composite material, having:
a total weight of which 55 wt % to 97 wt % is made up of a carbide material, 3 wt % to 20 wt % is made up of a binder material, and 0.1 wt % to 25 wt % is made up of a plurality of diamond particles; and
a plurality of pellets formed of the carbide material and the binder material by a sintering process prior to being combined with the plurality of diamond particles, the plurality of pellets having an average cross-sectional length between 10 μm and 250 μm.

2. The cutting element of claim 1 , the average cross-sectional length of the pellets being between 20 μm and 180 μm.

3. The cutting element of claim 1 , the carbide material including at least one of tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, niobium carbide, or tantalum carbide.

4. The cutting element of claim 1 , the carbide material including a plurality of carbide particles having an average cross-sectional length between 0.5 μm and 5 μm.

5. The cutting element of claim 1 , the binder material including at least one of cobalt, nickel, or iron.

6. The cutting element of claim 1 , the plurality of diamond particles having an average cross-sectional length between 2 μm and 30 μm.

7. The cutting element of claim 1 , further comprising:
a coating on the composite material, the coating including at least one of titanium nitride, chromium nitride, titanium aluminum nitride, titanium carbide, titanium carbonitride, silicon carbide, or aluminum oxide.

8. The cutting element of claim 7 , a thickness of the coating being between 3 μm and 10 μm.

9. The cutting element of claim 1 , further comprising:
a substrate material coupled to the composite material, the substrate material including a carbide material and a metal binder, the carbide material including at least one of tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, niobium carbide, or tantalum carbide, and the metal binder including at least one of cobalt, nickel, or iron.

10. The cutting element of claim 1 , the cutting element being configured to be coupled to a window mill, a section mill, or a drill bit.

11. A method for making a cutting insert, comprising:
sintering a carbide material and a binder material together to form a plurality of pellets having an average cross-sectional length from 10 μm to 250 μm; and
sintering the plurality of pellets, a plurality of diamond particles, and a pre-mixed metal binder together to form a composite material, the carbide material making up from 55 wt % to 97 wt % of the composite material, the binder material making up from 3 wt % to 20 wt % of the composite material, and the plurality of diamond particles making up from 0.1 wt % to 25 wt % of the composite material.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
sintering the plurality of pellets, the plurality of diamond particles, and the pre-mixed metal binder at a temperature from 1300° C. to 1600° C. and a pressure from 4000 MPa to 6000 MPa.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
applying a coating to the composite material, the coating having a thickness between 3 μm and 10 μm and including at least one of titanium nitride, chromium nitride, titanium aluminum nitride, titanium carbide, titanium carbonitride, silicon carbide, or aluminum oxide.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
sintering the composite material to a substrate material, the substrate material including a metal binder and a combination of at least one of tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, niobium carbide, or tantalum carbide.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
brazing the cutting insert to a blade of window mill or section mill.

16. A cutting element for a cutting tool, comprising:
a composite material, having:
a total weight of which 55 wt % to 97 wt % is made up of a carbide material, 3 wt % to 20 wt % is made up of a binder material, and 0.1 wt % to 25 wt % is made up of a plurality of diamond particles; and
a plurality of pellets formed of the carbide material and the binder material by a sintering process prior to being combined with the plurality of diamond particles, the plurality of pellets having an average cross-sectional length between 10 μm and 250 μm, the plurality of pellets including at least one substantially spherical pellet surrounded by a diamond network that includes the plurality of diamond particles, such that the at least one substantially spherical pellet is not in contact with another one of the plurality of pellets.

17. The cutting element of claim 1 , a hardness of the composite material being between HV1200 and HV4000.

18. The cutting element of claim 1 , the plurality of pellets being dispersed in a diamond network including the plurality of diamond particles.

Assignees

• Smith International

Inventors

• Xia Sike
• Deng Xin

Classifications

• C22C2026/006

  with additional metal compounds being carbides · CPC title

• C22C29/06

  based on carbides, but not containing other metal compounds · CPC title

• C22C26/00

  Alloys containing diamond {or cubic or wurtzitic boron nitride, fullerenes or carbon nanotubes} · CPC title

• C04B2235/96

  Properties of ceramic products, e.g. mechanical properties such as strength, toughness, wear resistance · CPC title

• C04B2235/80

  Phases present in the sintered or melt-cast ceramic products other than the main phase · CPC title