Abstract:
A method for applying cutting elements to a tool for cutting or milling a metal item in a well is disclosed, along with the cutting element used in the method. The tool can include one or more blades extending outwardly or downwardly from the tool for cutting a metal item such as the wall of a casing string, or for removing a predetermined length of a casing string in a cutting action. The blade or blades have cutting elements positioned on the leading faces of the blades to engage the casing string or other metal item in the bore hole. Each cutting element is composed of a plurality of effective cutting faces. Each cutting face can have a substantially triangular shape, or a substantially square shape, or some other geometric shape. The cutting elements can be arranged in a random pattern. Each cutting element can be oriented in a random orientation relative to the blade. The cutting elements are shaped so that, regardless of the positioning or orientation of a given cutting element, it will continually present a sharp cutting edge to the metal object being cut. Each cutting face of each cutting element can also have one or more surface irregularities to cause the metal chips cut from the casings to break off at short lengths.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This is a continuation-in-part patent application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/014,854, filed on Jan. 29, 1998, and entitled “Improved Cutting Matrix and Method of Applying the Same.” 
     
    
     
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    This invention relates generally to a new method for applying a plurality of cutting edges to a tool for cutting or milling downhole metal items, such as fixed casing strings in a well bore, and to a new type of cutting element used in this method.  
           [0004]    Heretofore, cutting tools for cutting metal items downhole, such as well casing or casing strings, have been provided with one of two types of cutting elements mounted on the cutting surfaces of the cutting tool. Generally, the two types of cutting elements which have been used are an aggregate of crushed tungsten carbide particles, or a pattern of whole cutting inserts. The cutting surfaces on which the aggregate or whole inserts are mounted have been fixed blades, swinging blades, or the tool body itself, depending upon the intended function of the tool.  
           [0005]    Generally, the whole insert type of cutting element has been made of cutting grade tungsten carbide, in the shape of discs, triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, or other shapes. These inserts have been bonded to the cutting tool, sometimes in a uniform pattern, and sometimes in a random pattern. The random pattern is easier and more economical to apply, but the uniform pattern has been more effective. Most of these whole inserts have had generally flat front faces, and generally flat rear faces, with the rear face being bonded to the cutting tool, and the front face being presented to the workpiece as a cutting face. Most of these inserts also have substantially parallel front and rear faces. One other known insert is a pyramid shape having four flat triangular sides.  
           [0006]    It is important to cut relatively short, thick, metal chips from the workpiece, to allow efficient removal of the chips from the well, via the flow of drilling fluid. If this is not done, long, thin, stringy metal chips can be formed. These long, thin chips can adhere together, in a “bird nesting” effect, which can clog the drilling fluid flow passages.  
           [0007]    In order to promote the cutting of relatively short metal chips from the workpiece with the whole cutting inserts, at least two types of features sometimes have been employed. One such feature has been the provision of a surface irregularity on the front face of each cutting insert, to curl each metal chip back toward the workpiece until it breaks off at a relatively short length.  
           [0008]    The second such chip breaking feature has been to tilt the front face of each insert at a non-orthogonal attack angle relative to the surface of the workpiece. In this context, the term “rake angle” has been used to refer to the condition where one portion of the front face of the insert is advanced ahead of another portion, in the direction of rotation of the cutting tool. The degree of advancement is usually small, with approximately 20° being the upper limit, resulting in an angle between the front face of the cutting insert and the surface of the workpiece of 70° to 90°. The rake angle can be “positive” or “negative”, depending upon which portion of the front face of the cutting insert is advanced. If the leading portion of the front face contacts the workpiece surface, a “positive” rake angle is said to exist. If the trailing portion of the front face contacts the workpiece surface, a “negative” rake angle is said to exist. The use of a rake angle can cause the front face of the insert to “drag” across the workpiece, or to “gouge” the workpiece, depending upon the particular type of rake angle employed, and depending upon the contour of the cutting portion of the insert. A negative rake angle is generally considered to achieve the best chip breaking effect.  
           [0009]    The front face of the insert can have a “radial” rake angle, where the front face lies in a plane which is parallel to the rotational axis of the cutting tool, but which extends non-radially from the cutting tool. Or, the front face of the insert can have an “axial” rake angle, where the front face lies in a plane which intersects, but does not contain, the rotational axis of the cutting tool. Or, the front face of the insert can have a “compound” rake angle having both radial and axial components.  
           [0010]    A rake angle on the front face of the cutting insert can be the result of an angle on the cutting tool surface on which the cutting insert is mounted, or an angle between the front face of the cutting insert and the rear face, or both.  
           [0011]    When tungsten carbide aggregate has been used as the cutting elements instead of whole cutting inserts, it has not been possible to employ either of the two chip breaking features discussed above. The tungsten carbide particles used as cutting elements in the aggregate are not uniform either in material or in conformation. They are typically made by crushing whole inserts or worn out tungsten carbide machine components, such as extrusion dies, rollers, or hammers. This produces a wide assortment of shapes and sizes of particles, or chunks, of varying formulations of tungsten carbide material. Some of these particles or chunks are not even “cutting grade” tungsten carbide, and some of the faces or edge profiles of these particles or chunks are not suitable for use on cutting elements. Even where surface irregularities are present on the crushed carbide particles, they are not uniformly distributed or optimally arranged on the front face of each cutting element, so their effect is greatly reduced or eliminated.  
           [0012]    The crushed aggregate is typically applied to the cutting tool in a more or less random pattern, and each particle is randomly oriented on the surface of the cutting tool. In one method, the crushed aggregate is formed into a solid bar by randomly suspending the particles in a matrix of brazing material, such as a nickel/brass matrix. The bar is then bonded to the cutting tool as a unit. In another method, the crushed aggregate is randomly suspended within a welding rod and then bonded directly to the cutting tool, by melting of the welding rod onto the cutting tool. In either method, it is impossible to control the orientation of each particle of tungsten carbide relative to the cutting tool. Therefore, it is impossible to control the angle at which the leading face or leading edge of each particle is ultimately presented to the workpiece. Further, it is difficult to arrange the particles in a uniform pattern on the cutting tool, since the particles are not of uniform size and shape. Even though the technician typically attempts to pack the crushed particles together for good coverage, some areas will have a higher concentration of smaller carbide particles, with few open spaces therebetween, while other areas will have a lower concentration of larger particles, with larger open spaces therebetween. Therefore, it is impossible to ensure that the various particles will achieve a uniform cutting pattern on the workpiece. The result is a relatively inefficient cutting tool.  
           [0013]    The flat sided pyramid cutting insert is not particularly well suited to this cutting tool application, because each pyramid insert will almost certainly rest on one flat face, projecting a single point in the direction of rotation of the cutting tool. In this orientation, the three exposed flat side faces would be oriented at less than optimum angles for achieving the chip breaking effect.  
           [0014]    Because of the relative inefficiency of the crushed tungsten carbide aggregate, the use of whole inserts arranged in a uniform pattern, with some type of chip breaking feature being employed, has come to be the industry standard for downhole milling and cutting. This efficiency has a price, however, in that the arrangement of cutting inserts in a uniform pattern, and the orientation of each insert at the optimum attack angle, add some expense and complexity to the cost of manufacturing the cutting tool. It is desirable to have a cutting element, and a method for applying cutting edges to a cutting tool, which will combine the simplicity of an aggregate cutting structure with the cutting efficiency of a uniform pattern of uniformly oriented identical cutting inserts.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0015]    The present invention can be summarized as a cutting element for use on a tool for cutting or milling metal items downhole, and a method of applying such cutting elements to such cutting tools. The cutting elements applied to a given cutting tool can be identically sized and shaped, and constructed of a uniform cutting grade material. Alternatively, a mixture of shapes can be employed, with each shape being designed to present an effective cutting contour to the workpiece. Each cutting element is composed completely of a plurality of faces, with each face having a basic geometric shape, such as an equilateral triangle, or a square. All of the faces of a given element can be identical. Throughout this application, the term “substantially” is used. In general, the term “substantially” should be understood to mean “essentially or completely, with only insignificant exceptions”. More specifically, the term is used herein to describe a cutting element which is “substantially” formed of a plurality of faces, with each such face having certain recited chip breaking characteristics. This means that all of the major faces are shaped to act as chip breakers. There could be very minor portions of the overall surface of the cutting element which are not thusly formed, but they are so minor that they do not alter the omnidirectional chip breaking function of the cutting element. Each face can be concave, in order to turn a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface and break it off at a short length. The cutting element can be cast of a high grade cutting formulation of tungsten carbide, or some other hard material. Alternatively, the cutting elements could conceivably be formed by other manufacturing processes. Each cutting element can have four, six, eight, or more concave faces. Each concave face of a cutting element can also have one or more surface irregularities therein, to act as additional chip breakers. These surface irregularities can be grooves, ridges, dimples, buttons, or other shapes capable of turning a metal chip back toward the surface of the workpiece.  
           [0016]    Each cutting element is shaped so that, regardless of which face is bonded to the cutting tool, and regardless of the angular orientation of the cutting element, an effective cutting edge will always be applied to the workpiece. Each element is shaped so that it will have one of its faces bonded to the cutting tool, while the remainder of its faces are exposed. It does not matter which face is bonded to the cutting tool, because an arrangement of effective cutting faces will always be left exposed. Furthermore, this arrangement of effective cutting faces is designed so that, regardless of the angular orientation of the cutting element, an effective cutting edge will always be presented to the workpiece. Several shapes of cutting elements have been found to satisfy this requirement.  
           [0017]    These cutting elements can be applied to the cutting tool in a substantially random fashion, such as the methods for application of the carbide particle aggregate discussed above, but the resulting pattern is far more uniform with the cutting elements of the present invention. This is because the cutting elements of the present invention are uniform in size and shape, so when tightly packed together, they tend to come to rest in a much more uniform pattern than would the varied assortment of crushed particles known in the prior art. Some of the cutting elements of the present invention are shaped such that several layers of the elements can be applied, in a relatively uniform fashion. Further, when the cutting elements of the present invention are applied to the cutting tool, the technician does not need to attempt to orient the individual cutting elements in any particular way. The cutting elements are designed so that, regardless of which face contacts the cutting tool, and regardless of how each cutting element is angularly oriented, an effective cutting edge will always be applied to the work piece.  
           [0018]    The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, will be best understood from the attached drawings, taken along with the following description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting element according to the present invention, having six identical square concave faces;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cutting element according to the present invention, having faces with buttons for chip breakers;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the element shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cutting element according to the present invention, having four identical triangular concave faces;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cutting element according to the present invention, having eight identical triangular concave faces;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cutting element according to the present invention, having corrugated sides and concave ends;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the element shown in FIG. 6;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is a top elevation view of the element shown in FIG. 6; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a section view of the element shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and  8 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]    As shown in FIG. 1, a first embodiment  10  of the cutting element of the present invention has six identical faces  12 . Each face  12  is concave, but its perimeter is substantially square. The concavity of each face  12  makes it suitable for bending a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface and breaking it off at a short length. The concavity of each face  12  also establishes an effective attack angle relative to the workpiece surface. Each face  12  is surrounded by four sharp, curved, cutting edges  14 . Optionally, each face  12  can have an integral surface irregularity  16 , which is shaped and located to aid in breaking off short chips from the workpiece. The surface irregularity shown in each face  12  in FIG. 1 is a groove with a rounded cross-section, but it could also be a ridge protruding from the face  12 . Alternatively, the surface irregularities  16  could be dimples, buttons, or any other irregularity suitable for turning a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface. Each of the four corners  18  of each face  12  can be sharp, as shown, or slightly rounded, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0029]    A plurality of the cutting elements  10  can be suspended in a nickel/brass matrix, in a bar (not shown). Then, the bar can be bonded onto the cutting tool (not shown) in one piece, by a process such as brazing. Similarly, a plurality of the cutting elements  10  can be suspended in a welding rod, and the welding rod can be melted onto the cutting tool. By either process, a plurality of the cutting elements  10  will be deposited on, and bonded to, the cutting tool. Virtually all of the cutting elements  10  will come to rest on the cutting tool on one of the faces  12 , with an axis A through this face  12  being essentially orthogonal to the surface of the cutting tool onto which the cutting element has been bonded. Since all of the cutting elements  10  are identically sized and shaped, they will each present the same five-faced contour protruding from the cutting tool. Since all of the cutting elements  10  are identically sized and shaped, they will also easily pack together in a relatively uniform pattern having a relatively constant distribution of cutting elements 10 per square inch of cutting tool surface. Because of the cubical shape of the cutting element  10 , several layers of the cutting element can be bonded to the cutting tool in a relatively uniform fashion.  
         [0030]    Once a given cutting element  10  is positioned with one face  12  against the cutting tool, there is only one degree of freedom remaining, that being the angular orientation about the axis A, as represented in FIG. 1 by the arrow AO. Regardless of the final angular orientation AO of the cutting element  10 , because of the uniformity of the six faces  12  and the concavity of each face  12 , an efficient cutting edge  14  or corner  18  will be presented to the workpiece surface. The concavity of the face  12  establishes a proper attack angle for cutting a metal chip from the workpiece, breaking the chip off at a relatively short length.  
         [0031]    The fact that each cutting element  10  constitutes an efficient cutting element, regardless of its positioning or orientation on the cutting tool, enables the placement of a plurality of the cutting elements  10  on the cutting tool in a substantially random fashion, such as the methods described above. Relatively rapid and economical placement of the cutting elements  10  is therefore possible, without detracting from the cutting efficiency of the resultant cutting tool.  
         [0032]    A second embodiment  10 ′, shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, has six faces  12 ′. Each face  12 ′ can be concave or flat, but its perimeter is substantially square. One or more faces can be slightly larger or smaller than the remaining faces. Where concave faces are used, the concavity of each face  12 ′ makes it suitable for bending a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface and breaking it off at a short length. The concavity of each face  12 ′ also establishes an effective attack angle relative to the workpiece surface. Each face  12 ′ is surrounded by four sharp, curved, cutting edges  14 ′. Optionally, either alternatively or additionally, each face  12 ′ can have an integral surface irregularity  16 ′, which is shaped and located to aid in breaking off short chips from the workpiece. The surface irregularities shown in each face  12 ′ in FIGS. 2 and 3 are buttons with rounded cross-sections protruding from the face  12 ′, but they could also be dimples recessed into the face  12 ′. Alternatively, the surface irregularities  16 ′ could be grooves, ridges, or any other irregularity suitable for turning a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface. Each of the four corners  18 ′ of each face  12 ′ can be sharp, as shown, or slightly rounded, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0033]    A plurality of the cutting elements  10 ′ can be suspended in a nickel/brass matrix, in a bar (not shown). Then, the bar can be bonded onto the cutting tool (not shown) in one piece, by a process such as brazing. Similarly, a plurality of the cutting elements  10 ′ can be suspended in a welding rod, and the welding rod can be melted onto the cutting tool. By either process, a plurality of the cutting elements  10 ′ will be deposited on, and bonded to, the cutting tool. Virtually all of the cutting elements  10 ′ will come to rest on the cutting tool on one of the faces  12 ′, with an axis A through this face  12 ′ being essentially orthogonal to the surface of the cutting tool onto which the cutting element has been bonded. All of the cutting elements  10 ′ are sized and shaped so that they will each present an effective five-faced cutting contour protruding from the cutting tool. Since the cutting elements  10 ′ are similarly sized and shaped, they will also easily pack together in a relatively uniform pattern having a relatively constant distribution of cutting elements  10 ′ per square inch of cutting tool surface. Because of the essentially cubical shape of the cutting element  10 ′, several layers of the cutting element can be bonded to the cutting tool in a relatively uniform fashion.  
         [0034]    Once a given cutting element  10 ′ is positioned with one face  12 ′ against the cutting tool, there is only one degree of freedom remaining, that being the angular orientation about an axis, similar to the axis A represented in FIG. 1. Regardless of the final angular orientation AO of the cutting element  10 ′, because all of the six faces  12 ′ constitute effective cutting contours, an efficient cutting edge  14 ′ or corner  18 ′ will be presented to the workpiece surface. The concavity of the face  12 ′ or the integrated chip breaker  16 ′ establishes a proper attack angle for cutting a metal chip from the workpiece, breaking the chip off at a relatively short length.  
         [0035]    The fact that each cutting element  10 ′ constitutes an efficient cutting element, regardless of its positioning or orientation on the cutting tool, enables the placement of a plurality of the cutting elements  10 ′ on the cutting tool in a substantially random fashion, such as the methods described above. Relatively rapid and economical placement of the cutting elements  10 ′ is therefore possible, without detracting from the cutting efficiency of the resultant cutting tool.  
         [0036]    A third embodiment  20  of the cutting element of the present invention, shown in FIG. 4, has four identical faces  22 . Each face  22  is concave, but its perimeter is substantially an equilateral triangle. The concavity of each face  22  makes it suitable for bending a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface and breaking it off at a short length. The concavity of each face  22  also establishes an effective attack angle relative to the workpiece surface. Each face  22  is surrounded by three sharp, curved, cutting edges  24 . Optionally, each face  22  can have an integral surface irregularity (not shown) similar to the surface irregularity  16  in FIG. 1 or surface irregularity  16 ′ in FIGS. 2 and 3, which is shaped and located to aid in breaking off short chips from the workpiece. The surface irregularity in each face  22  can be a groove, but it could also be a ridge protruding from the face  22 . Alternatively, the surface irregularities could be dimples, buttons as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, or any other irregularity suitable for turning a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface. Each of the three corners  28  of each face  22  can be sharp, as shown, or slightly rounded, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0037]    A plurality of the cutting elements  20  can be suspended in a nickel/brass matrix, in a bar (not shown). Then, the bar can be bonded onto the cutting tool (not shown) in one piece, by a process such as brazing. Similarly, a plurality of the cutting elements  20  can be suspended in a welding rod, and the welding rod can be melted onto the cutting tool. By either process, a plurality of the cutting elements  20  will be deposited on, and bonded to, the cutting tool. Virtually all of the cutting elements  20  will come to rest on the cutting tool on one of the faces  22 , with an axis A through this face  22  being essentially orthogonal to the surface of the cutting tool onto which the cutting element has been bonded. Since all of the cutting elements  20  are identically sized and shaped, they will each present the same three-faced contour protruding from the cutting tool. Since all of the cutting elements  20  are identically sized and shaped, they will also easily pack together in a relatively uniform pattern having a relatively constant distribution of cutting elements  20  per square inch of cutting tool surface.  
         [0038]    Once a given cutting element  20  is positioned with one face  22  against the cutting tool, there is only one degree of freedom remaining, that being the angular orientation about the axis A, as represented in FIG. 4 by the arrow AO. Regardless of the final angular orientation AO of the cutting element  20 , because of the uniformity of the four faces  22  and the concavity of each face  22 , an efficient cutting edge  24  or comer  28  will be presented to the workpiece surface. The concavity of the face  22  establishes a proper attack angle for cutting a metal chip from the workpiece, breaking the chip off at a relatively short length.  
         [0039]    The fact that each cutting element  20  constitutes an efficient cutting element, regardless of its positioning or orientation on the cutting tool, enables the placement of a plurality of the cutting elements  20  on the cutting tool in a substantially random fashion, such as the methods described above. Relatively rapid and economical placement of the cutting elements  20  is therefore possible, without detracting from the cutting efficiency of the resultant cutting tool.  
         [0040]    A fourth embodiment  30  of the cutting element of the present invention, shown in FIG. 5, has eight identical faces  32 . Each face  32  is concave, but its perimeter is substantially an equilateral triangle. The concavity of each face  32  makes it suitable for bending a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface and breaking it off at a short length. The concavity of each face  32  also establishes an effective attack angle relative to the workpiece surface. Each face  32  is surrounded by three sharp, curved, cutting edges  34 . Optionally, each face  32  can have an integral surface irregularity (not shown) similar to the surface irregularity  16  in FIG. 1 or surface irregularity  16 ′ in FIGS. 2 and 3, which is shaped and located to aid in breaking off short chips from the workpiece. The surface irregularity in each face  32  can be a groove, but it could also be a ridge protruding from the face  32 . Alternatively, the surface irregularities could be dimples, buttons as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, or any other irregularity suitable for turning a metal chip back toward the workpiece surface. Each of the three comers  38  of each face  32  can be sharp, as shown, or slightly rounded, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0041]    A plurality of the cutting elements  30  can be suspended in a nickel/brass matrix, in a bar (not shown). Then, the bar can be bonded onto the cutting tool (not shown) in one piece, by a process such as brazing. Similarly, a plurality of the cutting elements  30  can be suspended in a welding rod, and the welding rod can be melted onto the cutting tool. By either process, a plurality of the cutting elements  30  will be deposited on, and bonded to, the cutting tool. Virtually all of the cutting elements  30  will come to rest on the cutting tool on one of the faces  32 , with an axis A through this face  32  being essentially orthogonal to the surface of the cutting tool onto which the cutting element has been bonded. Since all of the cutting elements  30  are identically sized and shaped, they will each present the same seven-faced contour protruding from the cutting tool. Since all of the cutting elements  30  are identically sized and shaped, they will also easily pack together in a relatively uniform pattern having a relatively constant distribution of cutting elements  30  per square inch of cutting tool surface. Because each triangular face  32  of the cutting element  30  has an opposite parallel triangular face  32 , several layers of the cutting element  30  can be bonded to the cutting tool in a relatively uniform fashion.  
         [0042]    Once a given cutting element  30  is positioned with one face  32  against the cutting tool, there is only one degree of freedom remaining, that being the angular orientation about the axis A, as represented in FIG. 5 by the arrow AO. Regardless of the final angular orientation AO of the cutting element  30 , because of the uniformity of the eight faces  32  and the concavity of each face  32 , an efficient cutting edge  34  or corner  38  will be presented to the workpiece surface. The concavity of the face  32  establishes a proper attack angle for cutting a metal chip from the workpiece, breaking the chip off at a relatively short length.  
         [0043]    The fact that each cutting element  30  constitutes an efficient cutting element, regardless of its positioning or orientation on the cutting tool, enables the placement of a plurality of the cutting elements  30  on the cutting tool in a substantially random fashion, such as the methods described above. Relatively rapid and economical placement of the cutting elements  30  is therefore possible, without detracting from the cutting efficiency of the resultant cutting tool.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIGS. 6 through 9 show another embodiment of the cutting element  50 , having one or more corrugated sides  52  and one or more concave sides  54 . This type of element facilitates the use of known manufacturing methods to produce a cutting element in which all faces have chip breaking contours. Specifically, the die in which the carbide material is pressed can have contours much different from the contours of a punch which forms the other contours of the element. In the example shown, the cutting element  50  is made easy to eject from the die by forming essentially longitudinal corrugations along the peripheral surfaces  52 . That is, the cutting element  50  can easily be ejected from the die along the direction of the corrugations. By contrast, dimpled or concave surfaces  54  are formed on the ends of the cutting element  50  by top and bottom punches. Forming of these complex surfaces with the end punches does not interfere with removal of the cutting element  50  from the die. Alternatively, other complex chip breaking contours, such as the buttons shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, or the grooves shown in FIG. 1, could be formed in the ends of the cutting element  50 . The cutting elements  50  are unlikely to internest with adjacent cutting elements. This avoids the formation of an essentially monolithic carbide structure which would make the milling operation more difficult. Further, the cutting elements  50  exhibit an enhanced, complex, surface area for bonding together. This makes it more difficult to rip or tear the cutting element  50  from the bonded matrix.  
         [0045]    While the particular invention as herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended other than as described in the appended claims.