TECHNIQUES FOR FORMING POLYCRYSTALLINE, SUPERABRASIVE MATERIALS, AND RELATED METHODS, MATERIALS, CUTTING ELEMENTS. AND EARTH-BORING TOOLS

摘要

Methods of making cutting elements for earth-boring tools may involve intermixing discrete particles of superabrasive material with a binder material in a solvent to form a slurry. The slurry may be vacuum dried or spray dried to disaggregate individual precursor agglomerates including a group of discrete particles suspended in a discrete quantity of the binder material from one another. The precursor agglomerates may be sintered while exposing the precursor agglomerates to a quantity of catalyst material to form agglomerates including discrete quantities of poly crystalline, superabrasive material while inhibiting formation of inter-granular bonds among the agglomerates themselves. The agglomerates may subsequently be sintered while exposing the agglomerates to another quantity of catalyst material to form a table for the cutting element including inter-granular bonds among adjacent grains of the agglomerates.