Method of making a drill blank

Abstract: A method of making a drill blank (38) which is elongate and has a vein (40) of an abrasive layer located in an end surface (42) thereof. The method includes the steps of: (i) providing a cemented carbide body (10) having a recess (18) formed in a surface (12) thereof, (ii) placing a layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive or a mass (24) of ultra-hard abrasive particles on a surface (22) of the recess (18), (iii) inserting a cemented carbide piece (16) having the same shape and cross-sectional size as the recess (18), into the recess (18), (iv) subjecting the cemented carbide body (10) to conditions of elevated temperature and pressure suitable to form an abrasive compact of the abrasive particles, when used, and bond such compact or the layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive to the carbide, and (v) severing the cemented carbide body (10) through the abrasive compact layer (24) or layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive to produce one or more drill blanks (38).

Description: This invention relates to a method of making a drill blank and more particularly a micro-drill blank. In the manufacture of various products, particularly printed circuit boards, it is necessary to form a plurality of small holes therein. These holes are generally formed by means of a small diameter twist drill or micro-drill. Since such boards are abrasive, for example made of fibre reinforced plastic, it has been found that drill bits tipped with diamond abrasive compact are particularly suitable. Various methods have been described in the literature for producing micro drills. EP 0 206 652 describes a method of producing a blank for a drill bit comprising providing a composite abrasive compact having a diamond or cubic boron nitride compact bonded to a cemented carbide backing and having major surfaces on each of opposite sides thereof, severing the composite abrasive compact along planes perpendicular to the flat surfaces and from one flat surface to the other to produce a plurality of sticks polygonally-shaped end-on, each severed plane defining side surfaces of adjacent sticks and longitudinally rounding each stick to produce from it a blank for a drill bit which is round end-on. The drills may be made by fluting the rounded stick. EP 0 223 474 describes a method of making a drill blank comprising a cylindrical carbide body having a vein of abrasive compact embedded in a groove at one end thereof and bonded to the carbide. The method includes the steps of providing a solid, cylindrical body of cemented carbide having end surfaces joined by a side surface, forming a series of grooves in one end surface, placing compact-forming material in the grooves, exposing the cylindrical body to temperature and pressure conditions suitable to produce an abrasive compact of the material in the grooves and severing the cylindrical body longitudinally from one end surface to the opposite end surface to produce a plurality of drill blanks. The drills are again produced from such blanks by fluting. Other methods of making micro drill bits are known. Some of these methods, e.g. that described in EP 0 132 652, involve various bonding steps which again adds to the cost. The bonded regions also introduce a potential zone of weakness. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a method of making a drill blank, particularly a blank for a micro drill, includes the steps of: (i) providing a cemented carbide body having a recess formed in a surface thereof, (ii) placing a layer of ultra-hard abrasive or a mass of ultra-hard abrasive particles on a surface of the recess, (iii) inserting a cemented carbide piece having the same shape and cross-sectional size as the recess, into the recess, (iv) subjecting the cemented carbide body to conditions of elevated temperature and pressure suitable to form an abrasive compact of the abrasive particles, when used, and bond such compact or the layer of ultra-hard abrasive to the carbide, and (v) severing the cemented carbide body through the abrasive compact layer or layer of ultra-hard abrasive to produce one or more drill blanks. Severing of the cemented carbide body in step (v) takes place in such a manner that the abrasive compact layer, or layer of ultra-hard abrasive, in each drill blank, defines a vein generally located in an end surface of the blank. Each drill blank will generally be elongate in shape and may have a circular, rectangular, square, elliptical or hexagonal or other cross-section. The cemented carbide body will generally have a surface in which the recess is formed and an opposite surface, and severing in step (v) will generally include severing from the one surface to the other surface along first spaced lines, one of which passes through the abrasive layer, and along spaced parallel lines between first spaced lines. The first spaced lines will generally be parallel. Further, the spaced parallel lines will generally be at right angles to the first spaced lines. The recess may take the form of a cut-out at an edge surface of the cemented carbide body. When the edge surface is a curved surface, the recess may be formed by cutting a segment from that surface. The cemented carbide body may be disc or elliptical in shape. Other shapes of cemented carbide bodies may also be used in the practice of the invention. A plurality of recesses may be formed, at least some of which are wholly within the periphery, i.e. the outer peripheral surface, of the cemented carbide body. These recesses may be provided as two spaced banks of recesses. The recesses in one bank are preferably staggered relative to those in the other bank. In this case, severing in step (v) preferably includes severing along a first line passing through the recesses in one bank, along a second line passing through the recesses in the other bank, and along spaced parallel lines between the first and second lines. At least some of the plurality of recesses may be circular or elongate in plan. When the recesses are elongate in plan, they may be essentially elliptical. The layer of ultra-hard abrasive may be a layer of diamond produced by chemical vapour deposition. The mass of ultra-hard abrasive particles will generally be a mass of diamond or cubic boron nitride particles, with or without binder, and is suitable to produce an abrasive compact when subjected to elevated temperature and pressure. The conditions of abrasive compact manufacture are well known in the art. Diamond abrasive compacts are also known as PCD, and cubic boron nitride compacts also known as PCBN. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cemented carbide body suitable for use in the method of the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of a portion of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1 showing the manner in which the cemented carbide body may be severed, Figure 4 is a view in the direction of arrow A of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a drill blank produced by an embodiment of the invention, Figure 6 is a plan view of a second embodiment of a cemented carbide body suitable for use in the method of the invention, Figure 7 is a section along the line 7-7 of Figure 6, Figure 8 is a plan view of Figure 6 showing the manner in which the cemented carbide body may be severed, Figure 9 is a view in the direction of arrow A of Figure 8, Figure 10 is a perspective view of a drill blank produced by an embodiment of the invention, Figure 11 is a plan view of a third embodiment of a cemented carbide body suitable for use in the method of the invention, and Figure 12 is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of a cemented carbide body suitable for use in the method of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings. Referring to these drawings, Figure 1 shows a disc-shaped cemented carbide body 10 having top and bottom flat surfaces 12, 14 and a segment 16 cut out from an edge of the body. The cut-out segment 16 leaves a recess 18 defined by surfaces 20, 22 in the cemented carbide body 10. A layer 24 of diamond particles is placed on the surface 22. Thereafter, the segment 16 is placed in the recess 18, as shown by Figure 2. It will be noted from this figure that the surface 20 is at an obtuse angle to the surface 22. This ensures that the segment 16 fits snugly back into the recess. The cemented carbide body is thereafter placed in a reaction capsule which itself is placed in the reaction zone of a conventional high temperature/high pressure apparatus. The contents of the capsule are subjected to diamond synthesis conditions which are typically a pressure of 50 to 70 kilobars (5 to 7 GPa) and a temperature of 1400 to 1600°C. The conditions are maintained for a period suitable to produce a diamond abrasive compact of the layer 24 and bond this layer to the carbide body 10 and segment 16. Typically, this period is 10 to 15 minutes. The cemented carbide body, after sintering, may be recovered from the reaction capsule using known methods. A plurality of micro-drill blanks may now be produced from the sintered cemented carbide body in the manner shown by Figures 3 and 4. The cemented carbide body is first severed from one flat surface 12 to the opposite flat surface 14 along parallel lines 26, 28 and the cut-off pieces 32, 34 removed. Thereafter, a plurality of drill blanks are produced by severing the cemented carbide body 10 in the manner shown by parallel lines 36 in Figures 3 and 4. The micro-drill blanks thus produced are illustrated by Figure 5. Referring to this figure, the micro-drill blank comprises an elongate cylindrical stick 38 having a vein of diamond abrasive compact 40 formed in end 42. A second embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 6 to 10. Referring to these drawings, Figures 6 and 7 show a disc-shaped cemented carbide body 50 having top and bottom flat surfaces 52, 54. Two banks of circular recesses 56 are produced in the body 50. The recesses extend from flat surface 52 into the body 50, but do not extend all the way through the body to the other surface 54. The recesses 56 in one bank 58 are staggered relative to the recesses 56 in the opposite bank 60. A layer 62 of diamond particles is placed on the base surface 64 of each recess. Thereafter, a disc-shaped insert 66, having a shape and cross-sectional size the same as the recess, is inserted into each recess, as shown by Figure 7. It will be noted from Figure 7 that the insert extends beyond the surface 52 the thickness of the layer 62. The cemented carbide body is thereafter placed in a reaction capsule which itself is placed in the reaction zone of a conventional high temperature/high pressure apparatus. The contents of the capsule are subjected to diamond synthesis conditions which are typically a pressure of 50 to 70 kilobars (5 to 7 GPa) and a temperature of 1400 to 1600°C. The conditions are maintained for a period suitable to produce a diamond abrasive compact of the layer 62 and bond this layer to the carbide body 50 and insert 66. Typically, this period is 10 to 15 minutes. The cemented carbide body, after sintering, may be recovered from the reaction capsule using known methods. A plurality of micro-drill blanks may now be produced from the sintered cemented carbide body in the manner shown by Figures 8 and 9. The cemented carbide body 50 is first severed from surface 52 to surface 54 along parallel lines 70, 72 through the banks 58, 60, respectively. Thereafter, a plurality of drill blanks are produced by severing the cemented carbide body 50 in the manner shown by the parallel lines 74 in Figures 8 and 9. The micro-drill blanks thus produced are illustrated by Figure 10. Referring to this figure, the micro-drill blank comprises an elongate cylindrical stick 76 having a vein of diamond abrasive compact 78 formed in an end 80 thereof. Figures 11 and 12 show further embodiments of cemented carbide bodies suitable for use in the method of the invention. Referring to these drawings, the cemented carbide body 82 is the same as the cemented carbide body 50. In these embodiments, elongate recesses 84 are provided. These recesses are filled with abrasive particles and inserts in the same manner as that described for the embodiment of Figures 6 to 10. After sintering, the bodies may be severed in a similar manner to that of the embodiment of Figures 6 to 10 to produce a plurality of drill blanks. The drill blanks of Figures 5 and 10 can, of course, have other cross-sections, e.g. hexagonal.

Claims: A method of making a drill blank (38) includes the steps of: (i) providing a cemented carbide body (10) having a recess (18) formed in a surface (12) thereof, (ii) placing a layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive or a mass (24) of ultra-hard abrasive particles on a surface (22) of the recess (18), (iii) inserting a cemented carbide piece (16) having the same shape and cross-sectional size as the recess (18), into the recess (18), (iv) subjecting the cemented carbide body (10) to conditions of elevated temperature and pressure suitable to form an abrasive compact of the abrasive particles, when used, and bond such compact or the layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive to the carbide, and (v) severing the cemented carbide body (10) through the abrasive compact layer (24) or layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive to produce one or more drill blanks (38). A method according to claim 1 wherein severing of the cemented carbide body (10) in step (v) takes place in such manner that the abrasive compact layer (24) or layer (24) of ultra-hard abrasive, in each drill blank (38), defines a vein (40) located in an end surface (42) of the blank (38). A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the cemented carbide body (10) has a surface (12) in which the recess (18) is formed and an opposite surface (14), and severing in step (v) includes severing from the one surface (12) to the other surface (14) along first spaced lines (26, 28), one (26) of which passes through the abrasive layer (24), and along spaced parallel lines (36) between the first spaced lines (26, 28). A method according to claim 3 wherein the first spaced lines (26, 28) are parallel. A method according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the spaced parallel lines (36) are at right angles to the first spaced lines (26, 28). A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the recess (18) forms a cut-out at an edge surface of the cemented carbide body (10). A method according to claim 6 wherein the edge surface is a curved surface and the recess (18) is formed by cutting a segment (16) from that surface. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cemented carbide body (10) is disc or elliptical in shape. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a plurality of recesses (56) are formed, at least some of which are wholly within the periphery of the cemented carbide body (10). A method according to claim 9 wherein two spaced banks (58, 60) of recesses (56) are formed. A method according to claim 10 wherein the recesses (56) in one bank (58) are staggered relative to those (56) in the other bank (60). A method according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein severing in step (v) includes severing along a first line (70) passing through the recesses (56) in one bank (60), along a second line (72) passing through the recesses (56) in the other bank (58), and along spaced parallel lines (74) between the first and second lines (70, 72). A method according to any one of claims 9 to 12 wherein at least some of the recesses (56) are circular in plan. A method according to any one of claims 9 to 13 wherein at least some of the recesses (84) are elongate in plan. A method according to claim 14 wherein the elongate recesses (84) are essentially elliptical in plan. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the drill blank or blanks (38, 76) are elongate in shape having a vein (40, 78) of the abrasive compact or layer of ultra-hard abrasive located in an end surface (42, 80) thereof. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the drill blank (38, 76) has a circular, rectangular, square, elliptical or hexagonal cross section. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the abrasive layer (24) is diamond produced by chemical vapour deposition. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the abrasive compact is selected from diamond and cubic boron nitride compacts.

Inventors: TANK KLAUS, TANK, KLAUS
Applicants: BEERS IND DIAMONDS PTY LTD DE, DE BEERS INDUSTRIAL DIAMONDS (PTY) LTD
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B22F7
IPC codes: B22F5, B22F7, B23P15, E21B10, B23B27, B23B51