CUTTING OF ULTRA-HARD MATERIALS

Abstract: The invention provides the use of a slab laser beam for the cutting of an ultra-hard material such as PCD or PCBN.

Description: CUTTING OF ULTRA-HARD MATERIALS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the cutting of ultra-hard materials Ultra-hard materials are those which themselves have a high hardness, e g particles which have a hardness of about 10 or more on the MOHS hardness scale, or materials which contain such particles and have a similar hardness Particular examples are natural or synthetic diamond and cubic boron nitride, or polycrystalhne diamond (PCD) or polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) Ultra-hard materials, particularly those of synthetic nature, can be produced in relatively large sizes and need to be cut for various applications For example, PCD can be produced in the form of a large disc and this disc needs to be cut into smaller pieces, such pieces having application, for example, as drill or cutting inserts Further, diamond plates produced by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) are cut into smaller pieces for use as heat sinks for semiconductor devices or in mechanical applications Various methods have been used in the past for cutting ultra-hard materials Examples of such methods are spark erosion and laser cutting Laser cutting has traditionally used rod lasers which have the disadvantage that damage to the ultra-hard material generally occurs This damaged material has to be subsequently removed This removal adds to the expense of producing a product from the ultra-hard material and is wasteful of the material itself SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention a method of cutting an ultra-hard material includes the steps of using a slab laser beam to effect the cut By "ultra-hard material" as used herein and in the claims is meant a particle which has a hardness of about 10 or more on the MOHS hardness scale, or a material which contains such particles and has a similar hardness Particular examples of such materials are natural or synthetic diamond and cubic boron nitride polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The invention uses a slab laser A slab laser may comprise a slab of material having parallel, elongate faces and end faces which are each cut to define a brewster angle The laser beam enters and exists across the brewster angle end faces and undergoes total internal reflections on the two parallel, elongate faces This reduces the thermal distortion and lensing effect leading to reduced beam divergence Restricting the laser to oscillate in TEM 0 o mode only further reduces the beam divergence This results in a 'sharper' more parallel beam with greater depth of focus which is beneficial to precision laser cutting of ultra-hard materials In addition, the greatly reduced beam divergence means that a smaller spot size (focussed spot) is possible It has been found that the use of a slab laser improves cutting efficiency and reduces damage to the ultra-hard material Thus, a higher yield of smaller products or pieces from the material is possible than when using a rod laser A slab laser further allows for better heat distribution and lower power use The use of a slab laser has application in any ultra-hard material particularly a backed or an unbacked PCD or PCBN A backed PCD or PCBN comprises a layer of PCD or PCBN bonded to a substrate or support which is generally a cemented carbide The cemented carbide may be any known in the art such as cemented tungsten carbide cemented titanium carbide or cemented tantalum carbide In use, the slab laser may be used to produce a cut completely through the ultra-hard material producing two or more separate pieces Alternatively, the cut may be only partially through the material, from one or both sides The invention has particular application to the cutting of backed or unbacked PCD or PCBN It has been found that the slab laser on cutting through the PCD or PCBN allows for weak graphite or hexagonal boron nitride bonds, as the case may be, to be formed leaving a weakly bonded structure With carbide backed PCD or PCBN, weak carbide bonds are also formed in the carbide backing Further damage to the PCD, PCBN and carbide backing is less with slab laser cutting when compared with rod laser cutting In an example of the invention, a carbide backed PCD product sold under the trade mark Syndite® was cut both by a rod laser and by a slab laser The conditions used are set out in Table I TABLE 1 The laser damage created by both forms of cutting was compared and the results thereof are set out in Table II: TABLE II The difference in damage between slab and rod laser cut Syndite® pieces can be assessed in other ways. First, the destructive or permanent damage when using a rod laser results in the PCD layer being very susceptible to cracking. Cracking can render the cut piece commercially useless. The type of cracking created by rod laser is almost certainly caused by thermal stress which puts the surface of the PCD in tension on cooling. In contrast, slab laser cutting uses a much lower level of power which results in reduced thermal stress and no observable cracking in the cut pieces. Second, another type of damage is surface and sub-surface damage, i.e. damage which can be removed but reduces cutting yield and increases the cost of tool fabrication. With rod and slab laser cutting, there is a clear difference in the carbide substrate after a 0,05mm edge grind. In the pieces cut using a slab laser, the carbide substrate is clear and free of damage. In contrast, pieces cut using a rod laser exhibit a "crocodile skin" effect in the carbide substrate. A "crocodile skin" effect is a heat phase cracking and is a hard brittle skin on the carbide that has to be removed before the piece can be used to fabricate a tool. It is estimated that using a rod laser the effect extends back 0 1 to 0,15mm from the cutting edge With a slab laser, the effect, if at all, extends back less than 0,05mm The use of a slab laser beam also has several advantages over conventional wire EDM cutting of backed and unbacked polycrystalline products For example, there is less damage to the polycrystalline products and support or substrate, there is a significant increase in the cut product, the necessity for post-cutting treatment to restore edge quality is reduced, there is less leaching of metal from the support and less edge undercutting

Claims: CLAIMS 1 A method of cutting an ultra-hard material includes the steps of using a slab laser beam to effect the cut 2 A method according to claim 1 wherein the ultra-hard material is PCD or PCBN 3 A method according to claim 2 wherein the PCD or PCBN is bonded to a substrate 4 A method according to claim 3 wherein the substrate is a cemented carbide substrate 5 A method according to claim 4 wherein the damage to the carbide caused by the laser cut is less than 50μm 6 A method according to claim 1 and substantially as herein described

Inventors: CULLEN BARRY JAMES, CULLEN, BARRY, JAMES
Applicants: CULLEN BARRY JAMES, DE BEERS IND DIAMOND, CULLEN, BARRY, JAMES, DE BEERS INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND DIVISION (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B23K26
IPC codes: B23K26, B28D1, B28D5