Patent ID: 9643334
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: B22F,B23B,B23C,B23P,B28B,C04B,C22C

Claim:
1. A method of making a construction comprising a polycrystalline super-hard structure joined to a side surface of an elongate substrate; the method including: providing a vessel configured for an ultra-high pressure of at least 4 GPa, high temperature furnace configured to reach a temperature of at least 1000° C., the vessel having an elongate cavity for containing a pre-sinter assembly and defining a longitudinal axis, the cavity having opposite ends connected by a cavity wall; the pre-sinter assembly comprising the substrate, an aggregation comprising a plurality of super-hard grains arranged over at least a part of the side surface of the substrate, and an annular spacer structure configured for spacing the substrate apart from the cavity wall; the spacer structure comprising material having a Young's modulus of at least 300 GPa; the method further including inserting the pre-sinter assembly into the cavity, the substrate being substantially longitudinally aligned and the spacer structure arranged between the side surface of the substrate and the cavity wall; applying a force to the pre-sinter assembly and heating it to a temperature, the force being sufficient to generate a pressure within the vessel for sintering the aggregation at the temperature, and providing the construction, wherein the spacer and the polycrystalline super-hard structure comprise different materials.