PULSED ELECTRICAL FIELD ASSISTED OR SPARK PLASMA SINTERED POLYCRYSTALLINE ULTRA HARD MATERIAL AND THERMALLY STABLE ULTRA HARD MATERIAL CUTTING ELEMENTS AND COMPACTS AND METHODS OF FORMING THE SAME

摘要

The present invention relates to ultra-hard cutting elements, and in particular cutting elements or compacts formed by a pulsed electrical field assisted HPHT sintering process or a spark plasma HPHT sintering process. In an embodiment, a method of forming a polycrystalline ultra-hard material includes providing a mixture of ultra-hard particles, placing the mixture of ultra-hard particles into an enclosure, placing the enclosure into a press cell assembly having a heater, applying a repeated high-energy pulse of direct current to the heater to heat the ultra-hard particles, and pressing the enclosure at sufficient pressure to form a polycrystalline ultra-hard material.