Patent ID: 6471734
Filing Date: 2002-10-29
Classification: C04B,F27B

Abstract:
A continuous process for the manufacture of a ceramic sintered cutting insert body wherein the process comprises the steps of:forming a green compact from a powder mixture comprising a first component comprising compounds which contain elements of silicon, aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen; and the powder mixture further comprising a second component comprising a compound of at least one element selected from the group consisting of yttrium, scandium, cerium, lanthanum and the metals of the lanthanide series, and the second component comprising between 0.1 and 10 weight percent of the powder mixture; heat treating the green compact wherein the heat treatment comprises continuously passing the green compact through at least one heating zone so as to produce the sintered cutting insert body, and wherein the one heating zone is at a temperature of greater than or equal to 1760 degrees Centigrade; and wherein the sintered cutting insert body comprising SiAlON grains and an intergranular phase disposed between the SiAlON grains wherein the intergranular phase comprising glass pockets having a uniform distribution.