Выделить слова:


Патент США №	8221517
Автор(ы)	Mirchandani и др.
Дата выдачи	17 июля 2012 г.

Cemented carbide--metallic alloy composites

РЕФЕРАТ

A macroscopic composite sintered powder metal article including a first region including cemented hard particles, for example, cemented carbide. The article includes a second region including one of a metal and a metallic alloy selected from the group consisting of a steel, nickel, a nickel alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, tungsten, and a tungsten alloy. The first region is metallurgically bonded to the second region, and the second region has a thickness of greater than 100 microns. A method of making a macroscopic composite sintered powder metal article is also disclosed, herein. The method includes co-press and sintering a first metal powder including hard particles and a powder binder and a second metal powder including the metal or metal alloy.

Авторы:	Prakash K. Mirchandani (Houston, TX), Morris E. Chandler (Santa Fe, TX), Eric W. Olsen (Cypress, TX)
Заявитель:	TDY Industries, LLC (Pittsburgh, PA)
ID семейства патентов	41278446
Номер заявки:	12/476,738
Дата регистрации:	02 июня 2009 г.

Prior Publication Data


	Document Identifier	Publication Date
	US 20090293672 A1	Dec 3, 2009

Отсылочные патентные документы США


Application Number	Filing Date	Patent Number	Issue Date
61057885	Jun 2, 2008

Класс патентной классификации США:	75/246; 75/247
Класс совместной патентной классификации:	C22C 29/00 (20130101); C22C 29/08 (20130101); C22C 27/04 (20130101); B22F 2998/00 (20130101); B22F 2998/10 (20130101); B22F 2999/00 (20130101); B22F 2998/00 (20130101); C22C 32/00 (20130101); B22F 2998/10 (20130101); B22F 3/02 (20130101); B22F 3/10 (20130101); B22F 2999/00 (20130101); B22F 3/10 (20130101); B22F 2201/013 (20130101); B22F 2201/20 (20130101)
Класс международной патентной классификации (МПК):	B22F 9/00 (20060101)
Область поиска:	;75/246,247

Использованные источники

[Referenced By]

Патентные документы США


1509438	September 1924	Miller
1530293	March 1925	Breitenstein
1808138	June 1931	Hogg et al.
1811802	June 1931	Newman
1912298	May 1933	Newman
2054028	September 1936	Benninghoff
2093507	September 1937	Bartek
2093742	September 1937	Staples
2093986	September 1937	Staples
2240840	May 1941	Fischer
2246237	June 1941	Benninghoff
2283280	May 1942	Nell
2299207	October 1942	Bevillard
2351827	June 1944	McAllister
2422994	June 1947	Taylor
2819958	January 1958	Abkowitz et al.
2819959	January 1958	Abkowitz et al.
2906654	September 1959	Abkowitz
2954570	October 1960	Couch
3041641	July 1962	Hradek et al.
3093850	June 1963	Kelso
3368881	February 1968	Abkowitz et al.
3471921	October 1969	Feenstra
3490901	January 1970	Hachisuka et al.
3581835	June 1971	Stebley
3629887	December 1971	Urbanic
3660050	May 1972	Iler et al.
3757879	September 1973	Wilder et al.
3776655	December 1973	Urbanic
3782848	January 1974	Pfeifer
3806270	April 1974	Tanner et al.
3812548	May 1974	Theuerkaue
RE28645	December 1975	Aoki et al.
3942954	March 1976	Frehn
3987859	October 1976	Lichte
4009027	February 1977	Naidich et al.
4017480	April 1977	Baum
4047828	September 1977	Makely
4094709	June 1978	Rozmus
4097180	June 1978	Kwieraga
4097275	June 1978	Horvath
4106382	August 1978	Salje et al.
4126652	November 1978	Oohara et al.
4128136	December 1978	Generoux
4170499	October 1979	Thomas et al.
4198233	April 1980	Frehn
4221270	September 1980	Vezirian
4229638	October 1980	Lichte
4233720	November 1980	Rozmus
4255165	March 1981	Dennis et al.
4270952	June 1981	Kobayashi
4277106	July 1981	Sahley
4306139	December 1981	Shinozaki et al.
4311490	January 1982	Bovenkerk et al.
4325994	April 1982	Kitashima et al.
4327156	April 1982	Dillon et al.
4340327	July 1982	Martins
4341557	July 1982	Lizenby
4396321	August 1983	Holmes
4398952	August 1983	Drake
4478297	October 1984	Radtke
4499048	February 1985	Hanejko
4499795	February 1985	Radtke
4526748	July 1985	Rozmus
4547104	October 1985	Holmes
4547337	October 1985	Rozmus
4550532	November 1985	Fletcher, Jr. et al.
4552232	November 1985	Frear
4553615	November 1985	Grainger
4554130	November 1985	Ecer
4562990	January 1986	Rose
4574011	March 1986	Bonjour et al.
4587174	May 1986	Yoshimura et al.
4592685	June 1986	Beere
4596694	June 1986	Rozmus
4597730	July 1986	Rozmus
4604106	August 1986	Hall
4605343	August 1986	Hibbs, Jr. et al.
4609577	September 1986	Long
4630693	December 1986	Goodfellow
4642003	February 1987	Yoshimura
4649086	March 1987	Johnson
4656002	April 1987	Lizenby et al.
4662461	May 1987	Garrett
4667756	May 1987	King et al.
4686080	August 1987	Hara et al.
4686156	August 1987	Baldoni, II et al.
4694919	September 1987	Barr
4708542	November 1987	Emanuelli
4722405	February 1988	Langford
4729789	March 1988	Ide et al.
4734339	March 1988	Schachner et al.
4743515	May 1988	Fischer et al.
4744943	May 1988	Timm
4749053	June 1988	Hollingshead
4752159	June 1988	Howlett
4752164	June 1988	Leonard, Jr.
4779440	October 1988	Cleve et al.
4809903	March 1989	Eylon et al.
4813823	March 1989	Bieneck
4838366	June 1989	Jones
4861350	August 1989	Phaal et al.
4871377	October 1989	Frushour
4881431	November 1989	Bieneck
4884477	December 1989	Smith et al.
4889017	December 1989	Fuller et al.
4899838	February 1990	Sullivan et al.
4919013	April 1990	Smith et al.
4923512	May 1990	Timm et al.
4956012	September 1990	Jacobs et al.
4968348	November 1990	Abkowitz et al.
4971485	November 1990	Nomura et al.
4991670	February 1991	Fuller et al.
5000273	March 1991	Horton et al.
5030598	July 1991	Hsieh
5032352	July 1991	Meeks et al.
5041261	August 1991	Buljan et al.
5049450	September 1991	Dorfman et al.
RE33753	November 1991	Vacchiano et al.
5067860	November 1991	Kobayashi et al.
5090491	February 1992	Tibbitts et al.
5092412	March 1992	Walk
5094571	March 1992	Ekerot
5098232	March 1992	Benson
5110687	May 1992	Abe et al.
5112162	May 1992	Hartford et al.
5112168	May 1992	Glimpel
5116659	May 1992	Glatzle et al.
5126206	June 1992	Garg et al.
5127776	July 1992	Glimpel
5161898	November 1992	Drake
5174700	December 1992	Sgarbi et al.
5179772	January 1993	Braun et al.
5186739	February 1993	Isobe et al.
5203513	April 1993	Keller et al.
5203932	April 1993	Kato et al.
5232522	August 1993	Doktycz et al.
5266415	November 1993	Newkirk et al.
5273380	December 1993	Musacchia
5281260	January 1994	Kumar et al.
5286685	February 1994	Schoennahl et al.
5305840	April 1994	Liang et al.
5311958	May 1994	Isbell et al.
5326196	July 1994	Noll
5333520	August 1994	Fischer et al.
5348806	September 1994	Kojo et al.
5359772	November 1994	Carlsson et al.
5373907	December 1994	Weaver
5376329	December 1994	Morgan et al.
5423899	June 1995	Krall et al.
5433280	July 1995	Smith
5438858	August 1995	Friedrichs
5443337	August 1995	Katayama
5452771	September 1995	Blackman et al.
5467669	November 1995	Stroud
5479997	January 1996	Scott et al.
5480272	January 1996	Jorgensen et al.
5482670	January 1996	Hong
5484468	January 1996	Ostlund et al.
5487626	January 1996	Von Holst et al.
5496137	March 1996	Ochayon et al.
5505748	April 1996	Tank et al.
5506055	April 1996	Dorfman et al.
5518077	May 1996	Blackman et al.
5525134	June 1996	Mehrotra et al.
5541006	July 1996	Conley
5543235	August 1996	Mirchandani et al.
5544550	August 1996	Smith
5560440	October 1996	Tibbitts
5570978	November 1996	Rees et al.
5580666	December 1996	Dubensky et al.
5586612	December 1996	Isbell et al.
5590729	January 1997	Cooley et al.
5593474	January 1997	Keshavan et al.
5601857	February 1997	Friedrichs
5603075	February 1997	Stoll et al.
5609447	March 1997	Britzke et al.
5611251	March 1997	Katayama
5612264	March 1997	Nilsson et al.
5628837	May 1997	Britzke et al.
RE35538	June 1997	Akesson et al.
5635247	June 1997	Ruppi
5641251	June 1997	Leins et al.
5641921	June 1997	Dennis et al.
5662183	September 1997	Fang
5665431	September 1997	Narasimhan
5666864	September 1997	Tibbitts
5677042	October 1997	Massa et al.
5679445	October 1997	Massa et al.
5686119	November 1997	McNaughton, Jr.
5697042	December 1997	Massa et al.
5697046	December 1997	Conley
5697462	December 1997	Grimes et al.
5718948	February 1998	Ederyd et al.
5732783	March 1998	Truax et al.
5733649	March 1998	Kelley et al.
5733664	March 1998	Kelley et al.
5750247	May 1998	Bryant et al.
5753160	May 1998	Takeuchi et al.
5755033	May 1998	Gunter et al.
5762843	June 1998	Massa et al.
5765095	June 1998	Flak et al.
5776593	July 1998	Massa et al.
5778301	July 1998	Hong
5789686	August 1998	Massa et al.
5792403	August 1998	Massa et al.
5806934	September 1998	Massa et al.
5830256	November 1998	Northrop et al.
5851094	December 1998	Stand et al.
5856626	January 1999	Fischer et al.
5863640	January 1999	Ljungberg et al.
5865571	February 1999	Tankala et al.
5873684	February 1999	Flolo
5880382	March 1999	Fang et al.
5890852	April 1999	Gress
5897830	April 1999	Abkowitz et al.
5947660	September 1999	Karlsson et al.
5957006	September 1999	Smith
5963775	October 1999	Fang
5964555	October 1999	Strand
5967249	October 1999	Butcher
5971670	October 1999	Pantzar et al.
5976707	November 1999	Grab et al.
5988953	November 1999	Berglund et al.
6007909	December 1999	Rolander et al.
6022175	February 2000	Heinrich et al.
6029544	February 2000	Katayama
6051171	April 2000	Takeuchi et al.
6063333	May 2000	Dennis
6068070	May 2000	Scott
6073518	June 2000	Chow et al.
6076999	June 2000	Hedberg et al.
6086003	July 2000	Gunter et al.
6086980	July 2000	Foster et al.
6089123	July 2000	Chow et al.
6148936	November 2000	Evans et al.
6200514	March 2001	Meister
6209420	April 2001	Butcher et al.
6214134	April 2001	Eylon et al.
6214247	April 2001	Leverenz et al.
6214287	April 2001	Waldenstrom
6217992	April 2001	Grab
6220117	April 2001	Butcher
6227188	May 2001	Tankala et al.
6228139	May 2001	Oskarsson
6241036	June 2001	Lovato et al.
6248277	June 2001	Friedrichs
6254658	July 2001	Taniuchi et al.
6287360	September 2001	Kembaiyan et al.
6290438	September 2001	Papajewski
6293986	September 2001	Rodiger et al.
6299658	October 2001	Moriguchi et al.
6353771	March 2002	Southland
6372346	April 2002	Toth
6374932	April 2002	Brady
6375706	April 2002	Kembaiyan et al.
6386954	May 2002	Sawabe et al.
6395108	May 2002	Eberle et al.
6402439	June 2002	Puide et al.
6425716	July 2002	Cook
6450739	September 2002	Puide et al.
6453899	September 2002	Tselesin
6454025	September 2002	Runquist et al.
6454028	September 2002	Evans
6454030	September 2002	Findley et al.
6458471	October 2002	Lovato et al.
6461401	October 2002	Kembaiyan et al.
6474425	November 2002	Truax et al.
6499917	December 2002	Parker et al.
6499920	December 2002	Sawabe
6500226	December 2002	Dennis
6502623	January 2003	Schmitt
6511265	January 2003	Mirchandani et al.
6544308	April 2003	Griffin et al.
6551035	April 2003	Bruhn et al.
6554548	April 2003	Grab et al.
6562462	May 2003	Griffin et al.
6576182	June 2003	Ravagni et al.
6585064	July 2003	Griffin et al.
6589640	July 2003	Griffin et al.
6599467	July 2003	Yamaguchi et al.
6607693	August 2003	Saito et al.
6620375	September 2003	Tank et al.
6638609	October 2003	Nordgren et al.
6655481	December 2003	Findley et al.
6676863	January 2004	Christiaens et al.
6685880	February 2004	Engstrom et al.
6688988	February 2004	McClure
6695551	February 2004	Silver
6706327	March 2004	Blomstedt et al.
6716388	April 2004	Bruhn et al.
6719074	April 2004	Tsuda et al.
6723389	April 2004	Kobayashi et al.
6737178	May 2004	Ota et al.
6742608	June 2004	Murdoch
6742611	June 2004	Illerhaus et al.
6756009	June 2004	Sim et al.
6764555	July 2004	Hiramatsu et al.
6766870	July 2004	Overstreet
6808821	October 2004	Fujita et al.
6844085	January 2005	Takayama et al.
6848521	February 2005	Lockstedt et al.
6849231	February 2005	Kojima et al.
6884496	April 2005	Westphal et al.
6892793	May 2005	Liu et al.
6899495	May 2005	Hansson et al.
6918942	July 2005	Hatta et al.
6948890	September 2005	Svensson et al.
6949148	September 2005	Sugiyama et al.
6955233	October 2005	Crowe et al.
6958099	October 2005	Nakamura et al.
7014719	March 2006	Suzuki et al.
7014720	March 2006	Iseda
7044243	May 2006	Kembaiyan et al.
7048081	May 2006	Smith et al.
7070666	July 2006	Druschitz et al.
7090731	August 2006	Kashima et al.
7101128	September 2006	Hansson
7101446	September 2006	Takeda et al.
7112143	September 2006	Muller
7125207	October 2006	Blomstedt et al.
7128773	October 2006	Liang et al.
7147413	December 2006	Henderer et al.
7175404	February 2007	Kondo et al.
7207750	April 2007	Annanolli et al.
7238414	July 2007	Benitsch et al.
7244519	July 2007	Festeau et al.
7250069	July 2007	Kembaiyan et al.
7261782	August 2007	Hwang et al.
7267543	September 2007	Freidhoff et al.
7270679	September 2007	Istephanous et al.
7296497	November 2007	Kugelberg et al.
7381283	June 2008	Lee et al.
7384413	June 2008	Gross et al.
7384443	June 2008	Mirchandani et al.
7410610	August 2008	Woodfield et al.
7497396	March 2009	Splinter et al.
7513320	April 2009	Mirchandani et al.
7625157	December 2009	Prichard et al.
7687156	March 2010	Fang
7846551	December 2010	Fang et al.
8007922	August 2011	Mirchandani et al.
8025112	September 2011	Mirchandani et al.
2002/0004105	January 2002	Kunze et al.
2003/0010409	January 2003	Kunze et al.
2003/0041922	March 2003	Hirose et al.
2003/0219605	November 2003	Molian et al.
2004/0013558	January 2004	Kondoh et al.
2004/0105730	June 2004	Nakajima
2004/0228695	November 2004	Clauson
2004/0234820	November 2004	Majagi
2004/0245022	December 2004	Izaguirre et al.
2004/0245024	December 2004	Kembaiyan
2005/0008524	January 2005	Testani
2005/0025928	February 2005	Annanolli et al.
2005/0084407	April 2005	Myrick
2005/0103404	May 2005	Hsieh et al.
2005/0117984	June 2005	Eason et al.
2005/0126334	June 2005	Mirchandani
2005/0194073	September 2005	Hamano et al.
2005/0211475	September 2005	Mirchandani et al.
2005/0247491	November 2005	Mirchandani et al.
2005/0268746	December 2005	Abkowitz et al.
2006/0016521	January 2006	Hanusiak et al.
2006/0032677	February 2006	Azar et al.
2006/0043648	March 2006	Takeuchi et al.
2006/0060392	March 2006	Eyre
2006/0286410	December 2006	Ahigren et al.
2006/0288820	December 2006	Mirchandani et al.
2007/0042217	February 2007	Fang et al.
2007/0082229	April 2007	Mirchandani et al.
2007/0102198	May 2007	Oxford et al.
2007/0102199	May 2007	Smith et al.
2007/0102200	May 2007	Choe et al.
2007/0102202	May 2007	Choe et al.
2007/0108650	May 2007	Mirchandani et al.
2007/0126334	June 2007	Nakamura et al.
2007/0163679	July 2007	Fujisawa et al.
2007/0193782	August 2007	Fang et al.
2007/0251732	November 2007	Mirchandani et al.
2008/0011519	January 2008	Smith et al.
2008/0101977	May 2008	Eason et al.
2008/0145686	June 2008	Michandani et al.
2008/0163723	July 2008	Mirchandani et al.
2008/0196318	August 2008	Bost et al.
2008/0302576	December 2008	Michandani et al.
2009/0041612	February 2009	Fang et al.
2009/0136308	May 2009	Newitt
2009/0180915	July 2009	Mirchandani et al.
2010/0044114	February 2010	Mirchandani et al.
2010/0044115	February 2010	Mirchandani et al.
2010/0278603	November 2010	Fang et al.
2010/0290849	November 2010	Mirchandani et al.
2010/0303566	December 2010	Fang et al.
2011/0011965	January 2011	Mirchandani et al.

Зарубежные патентные документы


695583	Feb 1998	AU
2212197	Oct 2000	CA
0157625	Oct 1985	EP
0264674	Apr 1988	EP
0453428	Oct 1991	EP
0641620	Feb 1998	EP
0995876	Apr 2000	EP
1065021	Jan 2001	EP
1077783	Feb 2001	EP
1106706	Jun 2001	EP
0759480	Jan 2002	EP
1244531	Oct 2004	EP
1686193	Aug 2006	EP
1198609	Oct 2007	EP
2627541	Aug 1989	FR
622041	Apr 1949	GB
945227	Dec 1963	GB
1082568	Sep 1967	GB
1309634	Mar 1973	GB
1420906	Jan 1976	GB
1491044	Nov 1977	GB
2158744	Nov 1985	GB
2218931	Nov 1989	GB
2324752	Nov 1998	GB
2352727	Feb 2001	GB
2385350	Aug 2003	GB
2393449	Mar 2004	GB
2397832	Aug 2004	GB
2435476	Aug 2007	GB
51-124876	Oct 1976	JP
59-169707	Sep 1984	JP
59-175912	Oct 1984	JP
60-48207	Mar 1985	JP
60-172403	Sep 1985	JP
61-243103	Oct 1986	JP
62-34710	Feb 1987	JP
62-063005	Mar 1987	JP
62-218010	Sep 1987	JP
2-95506	Apr 1990	JP
2-269515	Nov 1990	JP
3-43112	Feb 1991	JP
3-73210	Mar 1991	JP
5-50314	Mar 1993	JP
5-92329	Apr 1993	JP
H05-64288	Aug 1993	JP
H03-119090	Jun 1995	JP
8-120308	May 1996	JP
H8-209284	Aug 1996	JP
10219385	Aug 1998	JP
11-300516	Nov 1999	JP
2000-355725	Dec 2000	JP
2002-097885	Apr 2002	JP
2002-166326	Jun 2002	JP
02254144	Sep 2002	JP
2002-317596	Oct 2002	JP
2003-306739	Oct 2003	JP
2004-160591	Jun 2004	JP
2004-181604	Jul 2004	JP
2004-190034	Jul 2004	JP
2005-111581	Apr 2005	JP
2135328	Aug 1999	RU
1269922	Nov 1986	SU
1292917	Feb 1987	SU
1350322	Nov 1987	SU
WO 92/05009	Apr 1992	WO
WO 92/22390	Dec 1992	WO
WO 98/28455	Jul 1998	WO
WO 99/13121	Mar 1999	WO
WO 00/43628	Jul 2000	WO
WO 00/52217	Sep 2000	WO
WO 00/73532	Dec 2000	WO
WO 03/010350	Feb 2003	WO
WO 03/011508	Feb 2003	WO
WO 03/049889	Jun 2003	WO
WO 2004/053197	Jun 2004	WO
WO 2005/045082	May 2005	WO
WO 2005/054530	Jun 2005	WO
WO 2005/061746	Jul 2005	WO
WO 2005/106183	Nov 2005	WO
WO 2006/071192	Jul 2006	WO
WO 2006/104004	Oct 2006	WO
WO 2007/001870	Jan 2007	WO
WO 2007/030707	Mar 2007	WO
WO 2007/044791	Apr 2007	WO
WO 2008/098636	Aug 2008	WO
WO 2008/115703	Sep 2008	WO
WO 2011/008439	Jan 2011	WO

Другие источники

US 4,966,627, 10/1990, Keshavan et al. (withdrawn) cited by other .
ProKon Version 8.6 by The Calculation Companion. Properties for W, Ti, Mo, Co, Ni, and Fe. Copyright 1997-1998. cited by examiner .
TIBTECH "Properties table of Stainless steel, Metals and other Conductive materials". http://www.tibtech.com/conductivity.php downloaded Aug. 19, 2011. cited by examiner .
MEMSnet, "Material: Tungsten Carbide (WC), bulk". http://www.memsnet.org/material/tungstencarbidebidewbulk/ Dowloaded Aug. 19, 2011. cited by examiner .
"The Thermal Conductivity of some common Materials and Gases". From the website "The Engineering ToolBox" http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d.sub.--429.html downloaded Dec. 15, 2011. cited by examiner .
Advisory Action mailed Jun. 29, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
ASM Materials Engineering Dictionary, J. R. Davis, Ed., ASM International, Fifth printing (Jan. 2006), p. 98. cited by other .
Coyle, T.W. and A. Bahrami, "Structure and Adhesion of Ni and Ni-WC Plasma Spray Coatings," Thermal Spray, Surface Engineering via Applied Research, Proceedings of the 1st International Thermal Spray Conference, May 8-11, 2000, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2000, pp. 251-254. cited by other .
Deng, X. et al., "Mechanical Properties of a Hybrid Cemented Carbide Composite," International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, Elsevier Science Ltd., vol. 19, 2001, pp. 547-552. cited by other .
Gurland, J. Quantitative Microscopy, R.T. DeHoff and F.N. Rhines, eds., McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1968, pp. 279-290. cited by other .
Gurland, Joseph, "Application of Quantitative Microscopy to Cemented Carbides," Practical Applications of Quantitative Matellography, ASTM Special Technical Publication 839, ASTM 1984, pp. 65-84. cited by other .
Hayden, Matthew and Lyndon Scott Stephens, "Experimental Results for a Heat-Sink Mechanical Seal," Tribology Transactions, 48, 2005, pp. 352-361. cited by other .
Metals Handbook, vol. 16 Machining, "Tapping" (ASM International 1989), pp. 255-267. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance issued on Jan. 27, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/116,752. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed Oct. 21, 2002 in U.S. Appl. No. 09/460,540. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance issued on Nov. 30, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/206,368. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance issued on Jan. 26, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/116,752. cited by other .
Office Action (Advisory Action) mailed Mar. 15, 2002 in U.S. Appl. No. 09/460,540. cited by other .
Office Action (final) mailed Dec. 1, 2001 in U.S. Appl. No. 09/460,540. cited by other .
Office Action (non-final) mailed Jun. 1, 2001 in U.S. Appl. No. 09/460,540. cited by other .
Office Action (non-final) mailed Jun. 18, 2002 in U.S. Appl. No. 09/460,540. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Aug. 12, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/116,752. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Jul. 9, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/116,752. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Aug. 31, 2007 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/206,368. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Feb. 28, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/206,368. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Jan. 15, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/116,752. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Jan. 16, 2007 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/013,842. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Jan. 24, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/848,437. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Jul. 16, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/013,842. cited by other .
Office Action issued on Jul. 30, 2007 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/013,842. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Apr. 30, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/206,368. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 31, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Apr. 17, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Peterman, Walter, "Heat-Sink Compound Protects the Unprotected," Welding Design and Fabrication, Sep. 2003, pp. 20-22. cited by other .
Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Decision issued on May 14, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/848,437. cited by other .
Pre-Appeal Conference Decision issued on Jun. 19, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/206,368. cited by other .
Restriction Requirement issued on Sep. 8, 2006 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/848,437. cited by other .
Sriram, et al., "Effect of Cerium Addition on Microstructures of Carbon-Alloyed Iron Aluminides," Bull. Mater. Sci., vol. 28, No. 6, Oct. 2005, pp. 547-554. cited by other .
Tracey et al., "Development of Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt-Ruthenium Cutting Tools for Machining Steels" Proceedings Annual Microprogramming Workshop, vol. 14, 1981, pp. 281-292. cited by other .
Underwood, Quantitative Stereology, pp. 23-108 (1970). cited by other .
U.S. Appl. No. 12/464,607, filed May 12, 2009. cited by other .
U.S. Appl. No. 12/502,277, filed Jul. 14, 2009. cited by other .
Metals Handbook, vol. 16 Machining, "Cemented Carbides" (ASM International 1939), pp. 71-89. cited by other .
Shi et al., "Composite Ductility--The Role of Reinforcement and Matrix", TMS Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, Feb. 12-16, 1995, 10 pages. cited by other .
Vander Vort, "Introduction to Quantitative Metallography", Tech Notes, vol. 1, Issue 5, published by Buehler, Ltd. 1997, 6 pages. cited by other .
You Tube, "The Story Behind Kennametal's Beyond Blast", dated Sep. 14, 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8.sub.--A-bYVwmU8 (3 pages) accessed on Oct. 14, 2010. cited by other .
Kennametal press release on Jun. 10, 2010, http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/Kennametal-Launches-Beyond-BLAST-T- M-at-IMTS-2010-Booth-W-1522-833445 (2 pages) accessed on Oct. 14, 2010. cited by other .
Pages from Kennametal site, https://www.kennametal.com/en-US/promotions/Beyond.sub.--Blast.jhtml (7 pages) accessed on Oct. 14, 2010. cited by other .
Childs et al., "Metal Machining", 2000, Elsevier, p. 111. cited by other .
Brookes, Kenneth J. A., "World Directory and Handbook of Hardmetals and Hard Materials", International Carbide Data, U.K. 1996, Sixth Edition, p. 42. cited by other .
Firth Sterling grade chart, Allegheny Technologies; attached to Declaration of Prakash Mirchandani, Ph.D. as filed in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993 on Sep. 9, 2009. cited by other .
Metals Handbook Desk Edition, definition of `wear`, 2nd Ed., J.R. Davis, Editor, ASM International 1998, p. 62. cited by other .
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th Edition, Sybil P. Parker, Editor in Chief, 1993, pp. 799, 800, 1933, and 2047. cited by other .
Williams, Wendell S., "The Thermal Conductivity of Metallic Ceramics", JOM, Jun. 1998, pp. 62-66. cited by other .
Brookes, Kenneth J. A., "World Directory and Handbook of Hardmetals and Hard Materials", International Carbide Data, U.K. 1996, Sixth Edition, pp. D182-D184. cited by other .
Thermal Conductivity of Metals, The Engineering ToolBox, printed from http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-metals-d.sub.--858- .html on Oct. 27, 2011, 3 pages. cited by other .
Shing et al., "The effect of ruthenium additions on hardness, toughness and grain size of WC-Co." Int. J. of Refractory Metals & Hard Materials, vol. 19, pp. 41-44. 2001. cited by other .
Biernat, "Coating can greatly enhance carbide tool life and performance, but only if they stay in place," Cutting Tool Engineering, 47(2), Mar. 1995. cited by other .
Brooks, World Dictionary and Handbook of Hardmetals and Hard Materials, International Carbide Data, Sixth edition, 1996, p. D194. cited by other .
Tonshoff et al., "Surface treatment of cutting tool substrates," Int. J. Tools Manufacturing. 38(5-6), 1998, 469-476. cited by other .
Bouzakis et al., "Improvement of PVD Coated Inserts Cutting Performance Through Appropriate Mechanical Treatments of Substrate and Coating Surface", Surface and Coatings Technology, 2001, 146-174; pp. 443-490. cited by other .
Destefani, "Cutting tools 101. Coatings," Manufacturing Engineering, 129(4), 2002, 5 pages. cited by other .
Santhanam, et al., "Comparison of the Steel-Milling Performance of Carbide Inserts with MTCVD and PVD TiCN Coatings", Int. J. of Refractory Metals & Hard Materials, vol. 14, 1996, pp. 31-40. cited by other .
Wolfe et al., "The Role of Hard Coating in Carbide Milling Tools", J. Vacuum Science Technology, vol. 4, No. 6, Nov./Dec. 1986, pp. 2747-2754. cited by other .
Quinto, "Mechanical Property and Structure Relationships in Hard Coatings for Cutting Tools", J. Vacuum Science Technology vol. 6, No. 3, May/Jun. 1988, pp. 2149-2157. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Mar. 12, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/585,408. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Sep. 22, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/585,408. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Sep. 7, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/585,408. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Feb. 16, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/585,408. cited by other .
Advisory Action mailed May 3, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/585,408. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Aug. 17, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/585,408. cited by other .
Restriction Requirement mailed Jul. 24, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 21, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Final Office Action mailed Jun. 12, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Aug. 28, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Mar. 2, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Aug. 19, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Advisory Action Before the Filing of an Appeal Brief mailed May 12, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Feb. 3, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Advisory Action mailed May 11, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Jul. 22, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/167,811. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Mar. 19, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Jun. 3, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Dec. 9, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Feb. 24, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Jun. 29, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Advisory Action Before the Filing of an Appeal Brief mailed Sep. 9, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Pre-Brief Appeal Conference Decision mailed Nov. 22, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Apr. 20, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Aug. 3, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 11, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/737,993. cited by other .
Restriction Requirement mailed Sep. 17, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/397,597. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Nov. 15, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/397,597. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Jun. 7, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/397,597. cited by other .
Advisory Action Before the Filing of an Appeal Brief mailed Aug. 31, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/397,597. cited by other .
Office Action mailed May 3, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/924,273. cited by other .
Office Action maled Oct. 14, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/924,273. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Feb. 2, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/924,273. cited by other .
Interview Summary mailed Feb. 16, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/924,273. cited by other .
Interview Summary mailed May 9, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/924,273. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed Jun. 24, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/924,273. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Dec. 29, 2005 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Sep. 29, 2006 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Mar. 27, 2007 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Sep. 26, 2007 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Offce Action mailed Jan. 16, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Examiner's Answer mailed Aug. 17, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/903,198. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Apr. 22, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,951. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 29, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,951. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Apr. 12, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,951. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 19, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,951. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 13, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/179,999. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Sep. 2, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/850,003. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed Nov. 15, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/850,003. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Nov. 14, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/502,277. cited by other .
U.S. Appl. No. 13/207,478, filed Aug. 11, 2011. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 31, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/207,478. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed Nov. 26, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/013,842. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 13, 2006 in U.S. Appl. No. 10/922,750. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed May 21, 2007 for U.S. Appl. No. 10/922,750. cited by other .
Supplemental Notice of Allowability mailed Jul. 3, 2007 for U.S. Appl. No. 10/922,750. cited by other .
Office Action mailed May 14, 2009 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/687,343. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Jan. 21, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/687,343. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed May 18, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/687,343. cited by other .
Restriction Requirement mailed Aug. 4, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,815. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Oct. 27, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,815. cited by other .
Office Action mailed Nov. 17, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,815. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed Jan. 27, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,815. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed May 16, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/196,815. cited by other .
Notice of Allowance mailed Nov. 13, 2008 in U.S. Appl. No. 11/206,368. cited by other.

Главный эксперт: Wyszomierski; George
Assistant Examiner: McGuthry Banks; Tima M
Уполномоченный, доверенный или фирма: K & L Gates LLP Viccaro; Patrick J. Grosselin, III; John E.

Текст решения-прецедента

ПЕРЕКРЕСТНАЯ ССЫЛКА НА РОДСТВЕННУЮ ЗАЯВКУ

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/057,885, filed Jun. 2, 2008.

ФОРМУЛА ИЗОБРЕТЕНИЯ

What is claimed is:

1. A composite sintered powder metal article, comprising: a first region comprising at least 60 percent by volume cemented hard particles; and a second region comprising one of a metal and a metallic alloy selected from a steel, nickel, a nickel alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, tungsten, and a tungsten alloy, and from 0 up to 30 percent by volume of hard particles; wherein the first region is metallurgically bonded to the second region and each of the first region and the second region has a thickness greater than 100 microns.

2. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a thermal conductivity less than a thermal conductivity of the cemented hard particles.

3. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 2, wherein the metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a thermal conductivity less than 100 W/mK.

4. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a melting point greater than 1200.degree. C.

5. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the metal or metallic alloy of the second region comprises up to 30 percent by volume of one or more hard particles selected from a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions thereof.

6. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the second region comprises up to 30 percent by volume of tungsten carbide particles.

7. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the cemented hard particles comprise hard particles dispersed in a continuous binder phase.

8. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 7, wherein the hard particles comprise one or more particles selected from a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions thereof, and the binder phase comprises at least one of cobalt, a cobalt alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, iron, and an iron alloy.

9. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 7, wherein the hard particles comprise carbide particles of at least one transition metal selected from titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, and tungsten.

10. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 7, wherein the binder phase comprises cobalt.

11. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the cemented hard particles comprise tungsten carbide particles.

12. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 11, wherein the tungsten carbide particles have an average grain size of 0.3 to 10 .mu.m.

13. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the cemented hard particles comprise from 2 to 40 volume percent of a continuous binder phase and from 60 to 98 volume percent of hard particles dispersed in the continuous binder phase.

14. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 1, wherein the cemented hard particles comprise particles of a hybrid cemented carbide.

15. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 14, wherein the hybrid cemented carbide particles comprise: a cemented carbide continuous phase; and a cemented carbide dispersed phase dispersed in the cemented carbide continuous phase, wherein the contiguity ratio of the cemented carbide dispersed phase in the hybrid cemented carbide particles is less than or equal to 0.48.

16. The composite sintered powder metal article of claim 14, wherein a volume fraction of the cemented carbide dispersed phase in the hybrid cemented carbide particles is less than 50 volume percent and a contiguity ratio of the cemented carbide dispersed phase in the hybrid cemented carbide phase is less than or equal to 1.5 times a volume fraction of the dispersed phase in the hybrid cemented carbide particles.

ОПИСАНИЕ

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates to improved articles including cemented hard particles and methods of making such articles.

УРОВЕНЬ ТЕХНИКИ

Materials composed of cemented hard particles are technologically and commercially important. Cemented hard particles include a discontinuous dispersed phase of hard metallic (i.e., metal-containing) and/or ceramic particles embedded in a continuous metallic binder phase. Many such materials possess unique combinations of abrasion and wear resistance, strength, and fracture toughness.

Terms used herein have the following meanings. "Strength" is the stress at which a material ruptures or fails. "Fracture toughness" is the ability of a material to absorb energy and deform plastically before fracturing. "Toughness" is proportional to the area under the stress-strain curve from the origin to the breaking point. See McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (5th ed. 1994). "Wear resistance" is the ability of a material to withstand damage to its surface. "Wear" generally involves progressive loss of material due to a relative motion between a material and a contacting surface or substance. See Metals Handbook Desk Edition (2d ed. 1998).

The dispersed hard particle phase typically includes grains of, for example, one or more of a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions of any of these types of compounds. Hard particles commonly used in cemented hard particle materials are metal carbides such as tungsten carbide and, thus, these materials are often referred to generically as "cemented carbides." The continuous binder phase, which binds or "cements" the hard particles together, generally includes, for example, at least one of cobalt, cobalt alloy, nickel, nickel alloy, iron and iron alloy. Additionally, alloying elements such as, for example, chromium, molybdenum, ruthenium, boron, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, and niobium may be included in the binder phase to enhance particular properties. The various commercially available cemented carbide grades differ in terms of at least one property such as, for example, composition, grain size, or volume fractions of the discontinuous and/or continuous phases.

For certain applications parts formed from cemented hard particles may need to be attached to parts formed of different materials such as, for example, steels, nonferrous metallic alloys, and plastics. Techniques that have been used to attach such parts include metallurgical techniques such as, for example, brazing, welding, and soldering, and mechanical techniques such as, for example, press or shrink fitting, application of epoxy and other adhesives, and mating of mechanical features such as threaded coupling and keyway arrangements.

Problems are encountered when attaching cemented hard particle parts to parts formed of steels or nonferrous alloys using conventional metallurgical or mechanical techniques. The difference in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between cemented carbide materials and most steels (as well as most nonferrous alloys) is significant. For example, the CTE of steel ranges from about 10.times.10.sup.-6 in/in/.degree. K to 15.times.10.sup.-6 in/in/.degree. K, which is about twice the range of about 5.times.10.sup.-6 in/in/.degree. K to 7.times.10.sup.-6 in/in/.degree. K CTE for a cemented carbide. The CTE of certain nonferrous alloys exceeds that of steel, resulting in an even more significant CTE mismatch. If metallurgical bonding techniques such as brazing or welding are employed to attach a cemented carbide part to a steel part, for example, enormous stresses may develop at the interface between the parts during cooling due to differences in rates of part contraction. These stresses often result in the development of cracks at and near the interface of the parts. These defects weaken the bond between the cemented hard particle region and the metal or metallic region, and also the attached regions of the parts themselves.

In general, it is usually not practical to mechanically attach cemented hard particle parts to steel or other metallic parts using threads, keyways or other mechanical features because the fracture toughness of cemented carbides is low relative to steel and other metals and metallic alloys. Moreover, cemented carbides, for example, are highly notch-sensitive and susceptible to premature crack formation at sharp corners. Comers are difficult to avoid including in parts when designing mechanical features such as threads and keyways on the parts. Thus, the cemented hard particle parts can prematurely fracture in the areas incorporating the mechanical features.

The technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,772 to Carlsson et al. attempts to overcome certain difficulties encountered in forming composite articles having a cemented carbide region attached to a metal region. Carlsson teaches a technique of spin-casting iron onto pre-formed cemented carbide rings. Carlsson asserts that the technique forms a "metallurgical bond" between the iron and the cemented carbide. The composition of the cast iron in Carlsson must be carefully controlled such that a portion of the austenite forms bainite in order to relieve the stresses caused by differential shrinkage between the cemented carbide and the cast iron during cooling from the casting temperature. However, this transition occurs during a heat treating step after the composite is formed, to relieve stress that already exists. Thus, the bond formed between the cast iron and the cemented carbide in the method of Carlsson may already suffer from stress damage. Further, a bonding technique as described in Carlsson has limited utility and will only potentially be effective when using spin casting and cast iron, and would not be effective with other metals or metal alloys.

The difficulties associated with the attachment of cemented hard particle parts to parts of dissimilar materials, and particularly metallic parts, have posed substantial challenges to design engineers and have limited the applications for cemented hard particle parts. As such, there is a need for improved cemented hard particle-metallic and related materials, methods, and designs.

СУЩНОСТЬ

One non-limiting embodiment according to the present disclosure is directed to a composite sintered powder metal article that includes a first region including cemented hard particles and a second region including at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy. The metal or metallic alloy is selected from a steel, nickel, a nickel alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, tungsten, and a tungsten alloy. The first region is metallurgically bonded to the second region, and the second region has a thickness greater than 100 microns.

Another non-limiting embodiment according to the present disclosure is directed to a method of making a composite sintered powder metal article. The method includes providing a first powder in a first region of a mold, and providing a second powder in a second region of the mold, wherein the second powder contacts the first powder. The first powder includes hard particles and a powdered binder. The second powder includes at least one of a metal powder and a metallic alloy powder selected from a steel powder, a nickel powder, a nickel alloy powder, a molybdenum powder, a molybdenum alloy powder, a titanium powder, a titanium alloy powder, a cobalt powder, a cobalt alloy powder, a tungsten powder, and a tungsten alloy powder. The method further includes consolidating the first powder and the second powder in the mold to provide a green compact. The green compact is sintered to provide a composite sintered powder metal article including a first region metallurgically bonded to a second region. The first region includes a cemented hard particle material formed on sintering the first powder. The second region includes a metal or metallic alloy formed on sintering the second powder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Features and advantages of the subject matter described herein may be better understood by reference to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates non-limiting embodiments of composite sintered powder metal articles according to the present disclosure including a cemented carbide region metallurgically bonded to a nickel region, wherein the article depicted on the left includes threads machined into the nickel region.

FIG. 1B is a photomicrograph of a cross-section of the metallurgical bond region of one non-limiting embodiment of a cemented carbide-nickel composite article according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates one non-limiting embodiment of a three-layer composite sintered powder metal article according to the present disclosure, wherein the composite includes a cemented carbide region, a nickel region, and a steel region.

FIG. 3 is a photomicrograph of a cross-section of a region of a composite sintered powder metal article according to the present disclosure, wherein the composite includes a cemented carbide region and a tungsten alloy region, and wherein the figure depicts the metallurgical bond region of the composite. The grains visible in the tungsten alloy portion are grains of pure tungsten. The grains visible in the cemented carbide region are grains of cemented carbide.

ПОДРОБНОЕ ОПИСАНИЕ

In the present description of non-limiting embodiments and in the claims, other than in the operating examples or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities or characteristics of ingredients and products, processing conditions, and the like are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about". Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, any numerical parameters set forth in the following description and the attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties one seeks to obtain in the subject matter described in the present disclosure. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

Certain embodiments according to the present disclosure are directed to composite sintered powder metal articles. A composite article is an object that comprises at least two regions, each region composed of a different material. Composite sintered powder metal articles according to the present disclosure include at least a first region, which includes cemented hard particles, metallurgically bonded to a second region, which includes at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy. Two non-limiting examples of composite articles according to the present disclosure are shown in FIG. 1A. Sintered powder metal article 100 includes a first region in the form of a cemented carbide region 110 metallurgically bonded to a second region in the form of a nickel region 112. Sintered powder metal article 200 includes a first region in the form of a cemented carbide region 210 metallurgically bonded to a second region in the form of a threaded nickel region 212.

As it is known in the art sintered powder metal material is produced by pressing and sintering masses of metallurgical powders. In a conventional press-and-sinter process, a metallurgical powder blend is placed in a void of a mold and compressed to form a "green compact." The green compact is sintered, which densifies the compact and metallurgically bonds together the individual powder particles. In certain instances, the compact may be consolidated during sintering to full or near-full theoretical density.

In composite articles according to the present disclosure, the cemented hard particles of the first region are a composite including a discontinuous phase of hard particles dispersed in a continuous binder phase. The metal and/or metallic alloy included in the second region is one or more selected from a steel, nickel, a nickel alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, tungsten, and a tungsten alloy. The two regions are formed from metallurgical powders that are pressed and sintered together. During sintering, a metallurgical bond forms between the first and second regions, for example, at the interface between the cemented hard particles in the first region and the metal and/or metallic alloy in the second region.

The present inventors determined that the metallurgical bond that forms between the first region (including cemented hard particles) and the second region (including at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy) during sintering is surprisingly and unexpectedly strong. In various embodiments produced according to the present disclosure, the metallurgical bond between the first and second regions is free from significant defects, including cracks and brittle secondary phases. Such bond defects commonly are present when conventional techniques are used to bond a cemented hard particle material to a metal or metallic alloy. The metallurgical bond formed according to the present disclosure forms directly between the first and second regions at the microstructural level and is significantly stronger than bonds formed by prior art techniques used to bind together cemented carbides and metal or metallic alloys, such as, for example, the casting technique discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,772 to Carlsson. The method of Carlsson involving casting a molten iron onto cemented hard particles does not form a strong bond. Molten iron reacts with cemented carbides by chemically reacting with the tungsten carbide particles and forming a brittle phase commonly referred to as eta-phase. The interface is thus weak and brittle. The bond formed by the technique described in Carlsson is limited to the relatively weak bond that can be formed between a relatively low-melting molten cast iron and a pre-formed cemented carbide. Further, this technique only applies to cast iron as it relies on an austenite to bainite transition to relieve stress at the bond area.

The metallurgical bond formed by the present press and sinter technique using the materials recited herein avoids the stresses and cracking experienced with other bonding techniques. The strong bond formed according to the present disclosure effectively counteracts stresses resulting from differences in thermal expansion properties of the bonded materials, such that no cracks form in the interface between the first and second regions of the composite articles. This is believed to be at least partially a result of the nature of the unexpectedly strong metallurgical bond formed by the technique of the present disclosure, and also is a result of the compatibility of the materials discovered in the present technique. It has been discovered that not all metals and metallic alloys can be sintered to cemented hard particles such as cemented carbide.

In certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the first region comprising cemented hard particles has a thickness greater than 100 microns. Also, in certain embodiments, the first region has a thickness greater than that of a coating.

In certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the first and second regions each have a thickness greater than 100 microns. In certain other embodiments, each of the first and second regions has a thickness greater than 0.1 centimeters. In still other embodiments, the first and second regions each have a thickness greater than 0.5 centimeters. Certain other embodiments according to the present disclosure include first and second regions having a thickness of greater than 1 centimeter. Still other embodiments comprise first and second regions having a thickness greater than 5 centimeters. Also, in certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, at least the second region or another region of the composite sintered powder metal article has a thickness sufficient for the region to include mechanical attachment features such as, for example, threads or keyways, so that the composite article can be attached to another article via the mechanical attachment features.

The embodiments described herein achieve an unexpectedly and surprisingly strong metallurgical bond between the first region (including cemented hard particles) and the second region (including at least one of metal and a metallic alloy) of the composite article. In certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the formation of the superior bond between the first and second regions is combined with incorporating advantageous mechanical features, such as threads or keyways, on the second region of the composite to provide a strong and durable composite article that may be used in a variety of applications or adapted for connection to other articles for use in specialized applications.

In other embodiments according to the present disclosure, a metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a thermal conductivity less than a thermal conductivity of the cemented hard particle material of the first region, wherein both thermal conductivities are evaluated at room temperature (20.degree. C.). Without being limited to any specific theory, it is believed that the metal or metallic alloy of the second region must have a thermal conductivity that is less than a thermal conductivity of the cemented hard particle material of the first region in order to form a metallurgical bond between the first and second regions having sufficient strength for certain demanding applications of cemented hard particle materials. In certain embodiments, only metals or metallic alloys having thermal conductivity less than a cemented carbide may be used in the second region. In certain embodiments, the second region or any metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a thermal conductivity less than 100 W/mK. In other embodiments, the second region or any metal or metallic alloy of the second region may have a thermal conductivity less than 90 W/mK.

In certain other embodiments according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article has a melting point greater than 1200.degree. C. Without being limited to any specific theory, it is believed that the metal or metallic alloy of the second region must have a melting point greater than 1200.degree. C. so as to form a metallurgical bond with the cemented hard particle material of the first region with bond strength sufficient for certain demanding applications of cemented hard particle materials. In other embodiments, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article has a melting point greater than 1275.degree. C. In some embodiments, the melting point of the metal or metallic alloy of the second region is greater than a cast iron.

According to the present disclosure, the cemented hard particle material included in the first region must include at least 60 percent by volume dispersed hard particles. If the cemented hard particle material includes less than 60 percent by volume of hard particles, the cemented hard particle material will lack the required combination of abrasion and wear resistance, strength, and fracture toughness needed for applications in which cemented hard particle materials are used. See Kenneth J. A. Brookes, Handbook of Hardmetals and Hard Materials (International Carbide Data, 1992). Accordingly, as used herein, "cemented hard particles" and "cemented hard particle material" refer to a composite material comprising a discontinuous phase of hard particles dispersed in a continuous binder material, and wherein the composite material includes at least 60 volume percent of the hard particle discontinuous phase.

In certain embodiments of the composite article according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region may include from 0 up to 50 volume percent of hard particles (based on the volume of the metal or metallic alloy). The presence of certain concentrations of such particles in the metal or metallic alloy may enhance wear resistance of the metal or alloy relative to the same material lacking such hard particles, but without significantly adversely affecting machineability of the metal or metallic alloy. Obviously, the presence of up to 50 volume percent of such particles in the metallic alloy does not result in a cemented hard particle material, as defined herein, for at least the reason that the hard particle volume fraction is significantly less than in a cemented hard particle material. In addition, it has been discovered that in certain composite articles according to the present disclosure, the presence of hard particles in the metal or metallic alloy of the second region may modify the shrinkage characteristics of the region so as to more closely approximate the shrinkage characteristics of the first region. In this way, the CTE of the second region may be adjusted to better ensure compatibility with the CTE of the first region to prevent formation of stresses in the metallurgical bond region that could result in cracking.

Thus, in certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article includes from 0 up to 50 percent by volume, and preferably no more than 20 to 30 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. The minimum amount of hard particles in the metal or metallic alloy region that would affect the wear resistance and/or shrinkage properties of the metal or metallic alloy is believed to be about 2 to 5 percent by volume. Thus, in certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article includes from 2 to 50 percent by volume, and preferably from 2 to 30 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. Other embodiments may include from 5 to 50 percent hard particles, or from 5 to 30 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. Still other embodiments may comprise from 2 to 20, or from 5 to 20 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. Certain other embodiments may comprise from 20 to 30 percent by volume hard particles by volume dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy.

The hard particles included in the first region and, optionally, the second region may be selected from, for example, the group consisting of a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and mixtures and solid solutions thereof. In one embodiment, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region includes up to 50 percent by volume of dispersed tungsten carbide particles.

In certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the dispersed hard particle phase of the cemented hard particle material of the first region may include one or more hard particles selected from a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions thereof. In certain embodiments, the hard particles may include carbide particles of at least one transition metal selected from titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, and tungsten. In still other embodiments, the continuous binder phase of the cemented hard particle material of the first region includes at least one of cobalt, a cobalt alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, iron, and an iron alloy. The binder also may include, for example, one or more elements selected from tungsten, chromium, titanium, tantalum, vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, zirconium, hafnium, and carbon, up to the solubility limits of these elements in the binder. Additionally, the binder may include up to 5 weight percent of one or more elements selected from copper, manganese, silver, aluminum, and ruthenium. One skilled in the art will recognize that any or all of the constituents of the cemented hard particle material may be introduced into the metallurgical powder from which the cemented hard particle material is formed in elemental form, as compounds, and/or as master alloys.

The properties of cemented hard particle materials, such as cemented carbides, depend on parameters including the average hard particle grain size and the weight fraction or volume fraction of the hard particles and/or binder. In general, the hardness and wear resistance increases as the grain size decreases and/or the binder content decreases. On the other hand, fracture toughness increases as the grain size increases and/or the binder content increases. Thus, there is a trade-off between wear resistance and fracture toughness when selecting a cemented hard particle material grade for any application. As wear resistance increases, fracture toughness typically decreases, and vice versa.

Certain other embodiments of the articles of the present disclosure include hard particles comprising carbide particles of at least one transition metal selected from titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, and tungsten. In certain other embodiments, the hard particles include tungsten carbide particles. In still other embodiments, the tungsten carbide particles may have an average grain size of from 0.3 to 10 .mu.m.

The hard particles of the cemented hard particle material in the first region preferably comprise from about 60 to about 98 volume percent of the total volume of the cemented hard particle material. The hard particles are dispersed within a matrix of a binder that preferably constitutes from about 2 to about 40 volume percent of the total volume of the cemented hard particle material.

Embodiments of the composite articles according to the present disclosure may also include hybrid cemented carbides such as, for example, any of the hybrid cemented carbides described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/735,379, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,384,443, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. For example, an article according to the present disclosure may comprise at least a first region including a hybrid cemented carbide metallurgically bonded to a second region comprising one of a metal and a metallic alloy. Certain other articles may comprise at least a first region including cemented hard particles, a second region including at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy, and a third region including a hybrid cemented carbide material, wherein the first and third regions are metallurgically bonded to the second region.

Generally, a hybrid cemented carbide is a material comprising particles of at least one cemented carbide grade dispersed throughout a second cemented carbide continuous phase, thereby forming a microscopic composite of cemented carbides. The hybrid cemented carbides of application Ser. No. 10/735,379 have low dispersed phase particle contiguity ratios and improved properties relative to certain other hybrid cemented carbides. Preferably, the contiguity ratio of the dispersed phase of a hybrid cemented carbide included in embodiments according to the present disclosure is less than or equal to 0.48. Also, a hybrid cemented carbide included in the embodiments according to the present disclosure preferably comprises a dispersed phase having a hardness greater than a hardness of the continuous phase of the hybrid cemented carbide. For example, in certain embodiments of hybrid cemented carbides included in one or more regions of the composite articles according to the present disclosure, the hardness of the dispersed phase in the hybrid cemented carbide is preferably greater than or equal to 88 Rockwell A Hardness (HRA) and less than or equal to 95 HRA, and the hardness of the continuous phase in the hybrid carbide is greater than or equal to 78 HRA and less than or equal to 91 HRA.

Additional embodiments of the articles according to the present disclosure may include hybrid cemented carbide in one or more regions of the articles wherein a volume fraction of the dispersed cemented carbide phase is less than 50 volume percent of the hybrid cemented carbide, and wherein the contiguity ratio of the dispersed cemented carbide phase is less than or equal to 1.5 times the volume fraction of the dispersed cemented carbide phase in the hybrid cemented carbide.

Certain embodiments of articles according to the present disclosure include a second region comprising at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy wherein the region includes at least one mechanical attachment feature or other mechanical feature. A mechanical attachment feature, as used herein, enables certain articles according to the present disclosure to be connected to certain other articles and function as part of a larger device. Mechanical attachment features may include, for example, threads, slots, keyways, teeth or cogs, steps, bevels, bores, pins, and arms. It has not previously been possible to successfully include such mechanical attachment features on articles formed solely from cemented hard particles for certain demanding applications because of the limited tensile strength and notch sensitivity of cemented hard particle materials. Prior art articles have included a metal or metallic alloy region including one or more mechanical attachment features that were coupled to a cemented hard particle region by means other than co-pressing and sintering. Such prior art articles suffered from a relatively weak bond between the metal or metallic alloy region and the cemented hard particle region, severely limiting the possible applications of the articles.

The process for manufacturing cemented hard particle parts typically comprises blending or mixing powdered ingredients including hard particles and a powdered binder to form a metallurgical powder blend. The metallurgical powder blend may be consolidated or pressed to form a green compact. The green compact is then sintered to form the article or a portion of the article. According to one process, the metallurgical powder blend is consolidated by mechanically or isostatically compressing to form the green compact, typically at pressures between 10,000 and 60,000 psi. In certain cases, the green compact may be pre-sintered at a temperature between about 400.degree. C. and 1200.degree. C. to form a "brown" compact. The green or brown compact is subsequently sintered to autogenously bond together the metallurgical powder particles and further densify the compact. In certain embodiments the powder compact may be sintered in vacuum or in hydrogen. In certain embodiments the compact is over pressure sintered at 300-2000 psi and at a temperature of 1350-1500.degree. C. Subsequent to sintering, the article may be appropriately machined to form the desired shape or other features of the particular geometry of the article.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include methods of making a composite sintered powder metal composite article. One such method includes placing a first metallurgical powder into a first region of a void of a mold, wherein the first powder includes hard particles and a powdered binder. A second metallurgical powder blend is placed into a second region of the void of the mold. The second powder may include at least one of a metal powder and a metal alloy powder selected from the group consisting of a steel powder, a nickel powder, a nickel alloy powder, a molybdenum powder, a molybdenum alloy powder, a titanium powder, a titanium alloy powder, a cobalt powder, a cobalt alloy powder, a tungsten powder, and a tungsten alloy powder. The second powder may contact the first powder, or initially may be separated from the first powder in the mold by a separating means. Depending on the number of cemented hard particle and metal or metal alloy regions desired in the composite article, the mold may be partitioned into additional regions in which additional metallurgical powder blends may be disposed. For example, the mold may be segregated into regions by placing one or more physical partitions in the void of the mold to define the several regions and/or by merely filling regions of the mold with different powders without providing partitions between adjacent powders. The metallurgical powders are chosen to achieve the desired properties of the corresponding regions of the article as described herein. The materials used in the embodiments of the methods of this disclosure may comprise any of the materials discussed herein, but in powdered form, such that they can be pressed and sintered. Once the powders are loaded into the mold, any partitions are removed and the powders within the mold are then consolidated to form a green compact. The powders may be consolidated, for example, by mechanical or isostatic compression. The green compact may then be sintered to provide a composite sintered powder metal article including a cemented hard particle region formed from the first powder and metallurgically bonded to a second region formed from the second metal or metallic alloy powder. For example, sintering may be performed at a temperature suitable to autogenously bond the powder particles and suitably densify the article, such as at temperatures up to 1500.degree. C.

The conventional methods of preparing a sintered powder metal article may be used to provide sintered articles of various shapes and including various geometric features. Such conventional methods will be readily known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Those persons, after considering the present disclosure, may readily adapt the conventional methods to produce composites articles according to the present disclosure.

A further embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure comprises consolidating a first metallurgical powder in a mold forming a first green compact and placing the first green compact in a second mold, wherein the first green compact fills a portion of the second mold. The second mold may be at least partially filled with a second metallurgical powder. The second metallurgical powder and the first green compact may be consolidated to form a second green compact. Finally, the second green compact is sintered to further densify the compact and to form a metallurgical bond between the region of the first metallurgical powder and the region of the second metallurgical powder. If necessary, the first green compact may be presintered up to a temperature of about 1200.degree. C. to provide additional strength to the first green compact. Such embodiments of methods according to the present disclosure provide increased flexibility in design of the different regions of the composite article, for particular applications. The first green compact may be designed in any desired shape from any desired powder metal material according to the embodiments herein. In addition, the process may be repeated as many times as desired, preferably prior to sintering. For example, after consolidating to form the second green compact, the second green compact may be placed in a third mold with a third metallurgical powder and consolidated to form a third green compact. By such a repetitive process, more complex shapes may be formed. Articles including multiple clearly defined regions of differing properties may be formed. For example, a composite article of the present disclosure may include cemented hard particle materials where increased wear resistance properties, for example, are desired, and a metal or metallic alloy in article regions at which it is desired to provide mechanical attachment features.

Certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure are directed to composite sintered powder metal articles. As used herein, a composite article is an object that comprises at least two regions, each region composed of a different material. Composite sintered powder metal articles according to the present disclosure include at least a first region, which includes cemented hard particles, metallurgically bonded to a second region, which includes at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy. Two non-limiting examples of composite articles according to the present disclosure are shown in FIG. 1A. Sintered powder metal article 100 includes a first region in the form of cemented carbide region 110 metallurgically bonded to a nickel region 112. Sintered powder metal article 200 includes a first region in the form of a cemented carbide region 210 metallurgically bonded to a second region in the form of a threaded nickel region 212.

In composite articles according to the present disclosure, the cemented hard particles of the first region are a composite including a discontinuous phase of hard particles dispersed in a continuous binder phase. The metal and/or metallic alloy included in the second region is one or more selected from a steel, nickel, a nickel alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, tungsten, and a tungsten alloy. The two regions are formed from metallurgical powders that are pressed and sintered together. During sintering, a metallurgical bond forms between the first and second regions, for example, at the interface between the cemented hard particles in the first region and the metal or metallic alloy in the second region.

In the embodiments of the methods of the present disclosure, the present inventors determined that the metallurgical bond that forms between the first region (including cemented hard particles) and the second region (including at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy) during sintering is surprisingly and unexpectedly strong. In various embodiments produced according to the present disclosure, the metallurgical bond between the first and second regions is free from significant defects, including cracks. Such bond defects commonly are present when conventional techniques are used to bond a cemented hard particle material to a metal or metallic alloy. The metallurgical bond formed according to the present disclosure forms directly between the first and second regions at the microstructural level and is significantly stronger than bonds formed by prior art techniques used to bind together cemented carbides and metal or metallic alloys, such as the casting technique discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,772 to Carlsson, which is described above. The metallurgical bond formed by the press and sinter technique using the materials recited herein avoids the stresses and cracking experienced with other bonding techniques. This is believed to be at least partially a result of the nature of the strong metallurgical bond formed by the technique of the present disclosure, and also is a result of the compatibility of the materials used in the present technique. It has been discovered that not all metals and metallic alloys can be sintered to cemented hard particles such as cemented carbide. Also, the strong bond formed according to the present disclosure effectively counteracts stresses resulting from differences in thermal expansion properties of the bonded materials, such that no cracks form in the interface between the first and second regions of the composite articles.

In certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, the first region comprising cemented hard particles has a thickness greater than 100 microns. Also, in certain embodiments, the first region has a thickness greater than that of a coating.

The embodiments of the methods described herein achieve an unexpectedly and surprisingly strong metallurgical bond between the first region (including cemented hard particles) and the second region (including at least one of metal and a metallic alloy) of the composite article. In certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, the formation of the superior bond between the first and second regions is combined with the step of incorporating advantageous mechanical features, such as threads or keyways, on the second region of the composite to provide a strong and durable composite article that may be used in a variety of applications or adapted for connection to other articles for use in specialized applications.

In certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, the first and second regions each have a thickness greater than 100 microns. In certain other embodiments, each of the first and second regions has a thickness greater than 0.1 centimeters. In still other embodiments, the first and second regions each have a thickness greater than 0.5 centimeters. Certain other embodiments according to the present disclosure include first and second regions having a thickness of greater than 1 centimeter. Still other embodiments comprise first and second regions having a thickness greater than 5 centimeters. Also, in certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, at least the second region or another region of the composite sintered powder metal article has a thickness sufficient for the region to include mechanical attachment features such as, for example, threads or keyways, so that the composite article can be attached to another article via the mechanical attachment features.

In other embodiments according to the methods of the present disclosure, a metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a thermal conductivity less than a thermal conductivity of the cemented hard particle material of the first region, wherein both thermal conductivities are evaluated at room temperature (20.degree. C.). Without being limited to any specific theory, it is believed that the metal or metallic alloy of the second region must have a thermal conductivity that is less than a thermal conductivity of the cemented hard particle material of the first region in order to form a metallurgical bond between the first and second regions having sufficient strength for certain demanding applications of cemented hard particle materials. In certain embodiments, only metals or metallic alloys having thermal conductivity less than a cemented carbide may be used in the second region. In certain embodiments, the second region or any metal or metallic alloy of the second region has a thermal conductivity less than 100 W/mK. In other embodiments, the second region or any metal or metallic alloy of the second region may have a thermal conductivity less than 90 W/mK.

In certain other embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article has a melting point greater than 1200.degree. C. Without being limited to any specific theory, it is believed that the metal or metallic alloy of the second region must have a melting point greater than 1200.degree. C. so as to form a metallurgical bond with the cemented hard particle material of the first region with bond strength sufficient for certain demanding applications of cemented hard particle materials. In other embodiments, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article has a melting point greater than 1275.degree. C. In some embodiments, the melting point of the metal or metallic alloy of the second region is greater than a cast iron.

According to the present disclosure, the cemented hard particle material included in the first region must include at least 60 percent by volume dispersed hard particles. If the cemented hard particle material includes less than 60 percent by volume of hard particles, the cemented hard particle material will lack the required combination of abrasion and wear resistance, strength, and fracture toughness needed for applications in which cemented hard particle materials are used. Accordingly, as used herein, "cemented hard particles" and "cemented hard particle material" refer to a composite material comprising a discontinuous phase of hard particles dispersed in a continuous binder material, and wherein the composite material includes at least 60 volume percent of the hard particle discontinuous phase.

In certain embodiments of the methods of making the composite articles according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region may include from 0 up to 50 volume percent of hard particles (based on the volume of the metal or metallic alloy). The presence of certain concentrations of such particles in the metal or metallic alloy may enhance wear resistance of the metal or alloy relative to the same material lacking such hard particles, but without significantly adversely affecting machineability of the metal or metallic alloy. Obviously, the presence of up to 50 volume percent of such particles in the metallic alloy does not result in a cemented hard particle material, as defined herein, for at least the reason that the hard particle volume fraction is significantly less than in a cemented hard particle material. In addition, it has been discovered that in certain composite articles according to the present disclosure, the presence of hard particles in the metal or metallic alloy of the second region may modify the shrinkage characteristics of the region so as to more closely approximate the shrinkage characteristics of the first region. In this way, the CTE of the second region may be adjusted to better ensure compatibility with the CTE of the first region to prevent formation of stresses in the metallurgical bond region that could result in cracking.

Thus, in certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article includes from 0 up to 50 percent by volume, and preferably no more than 20 to 30 percent by volume, hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. The minimum amount of hard particles in the metal or metallic alloy region that would affect the wear resistance and/or shrinkage properties of the metal or metallic alloy is believed to be about 2 to 5 percent by volume. Thus, in certain embodiments according to the present disclosure, the metallic alloy of the second region of the composite article includes from 2 to 50 percent by volume, and preferably from 2 to 30 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. Other embodiments may include from 5 to 50 percent hard particles, or from 5 to 30 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. Still other embodiments may comprise from 2 to 20, or from 5 to 20 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy. Certain other embodiments may comprise from 20 to 30 percent by volume hard particles dispersed in the metal or metallic alloy.

The hard particles included in the first region and, optionally, the second region may be selected from, for example, the group consisting of a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and mixtures and solid solutions thereof. In one embodiment, the metal or metallic alloy of the second region includes up to 50 percent by volume of dispersed tungsten carbide particles.

In certain embodiments of the methods according to the present disclosure, the dispersed hard particle phase of the cemented hard particle material of the first region may include one or more hard particles selected from a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions thereof. In certain embodiments, the hard particles may include carbide particles of at least one transition metal selected from titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, and tungsten. In still other embodiments, the continuous binder phase of the cemented hard particle material of the first region includes at least one of cobalt, a cobalt alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, iron, and an iron alloy. The binder also may include, for example, one or more elements selected from tungsten, chromium, titanium, tantalum, vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, zirconium, hafnium, and carbon, up to the solubility limits of these elements in the binder. Additionally, the binder may include up to 5 weight percent of one of more elements selected from copper, manganese, silver, aluminum, and ruthenium. One skilled in the art will recognize that any or all of the constituents of the cemented hard particle material may be introduced into the metallurgical powder from which the cemented hard particle material is formed in elemental form, as compounds, and/or as master alloys.

The properties of cemented hard particle materials, such as cemented carbides, depend on parameters including the average hard particle grain size and the weight fraction or volume fraction of the hard particles and/or binder. In general, the hardness and wear resistance increases as the grain size decreases and/or the binder content decreases. On the other hand, fracture toughness increases as the grain size increases and/or the binder content increases. Thus, there is a trade-off between wear resistance and fracture toughness when selecting a cemented hard particle material grade for any application. As wear resistance increases, fracture toughness typically decreases, and vice versa.

Certain other embodiments of the methods to make the articles of the present disclosure include hard particles comprising carbide particles of at least one transition metal selected from titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, and tungsten. In certain other embodiments, the hard particles include tungsten carbide particles. In still other embodiments, the tungsten carbide particles may have an average grain size of from 0.3 to 10 .mu.m.

The hard particles of the cemented hard particle material in the first region preferably comprise from about 60 to about 98 volume percent of the total volume of the cemented hard particle material. The hard particles are dispersed within a matrix of a binder that preferably constitutes from about 2 to about 40 volume percent of the total volume of the cemented hard particle material.

Embodiments of the methods to make the composite articles according to the present disclosure may also include hybrid cemented carbides such as, for example, any of the hybrid cemented carbides described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/735,379, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. For example, an article according to the present disclosure may comprise at least a first region including hybrid cemented carbide metallurgically bonded to a second region comprising one of a metal and a metallic alloy. Certain other articles may comprise at least a first region including cemented hard particles, a second region including at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy, and a third region including a hybrid cemented carbide material, wherein the first and third regions are metallurgically bonded to the second region.

Generally, a hybrid cemented carbide is a material comprising particles of at least one cemented carbide grade dispersed throughout a second cemented carbide continuous phase, thereby forming a microscopic composite of cemented carbides. The hybrid cemented of application Ser. No. 10/735,379 have low dispersed phase particle contiguity ratios and improved properties relative to certain other hybrid cemented carbides. Preferably, the contiguity ratio of the dispersed phase of a hybrid cemented carbide included in embodiments according to the present disclosure is less than or equal to 0.48. Also, a hybrid cemented carbide included in the embodiments according to the present disclosure preferably comprises a dispersed phase having a hardness greater than a hardness of the continuous phase of the hybrid cemented carbide. For example, in certain embodiments of hybrid cemented carbides included in one or more regions of the composite articles according to the present disclosure, the hardness of the dispersed phase in the hybrid cemented carbide is preferably greater than or equal to 88 Rockwell A Hardness (HRA) and less than or equal to 95 HRA, and the hardness of the continuous phase in the hybrid carbide is greater than or equal to 78 HRA and less than or equal to 91 HRA.

Additional embodiments of the methods to make the articles according to the present disclosure may include hybrid cemented carbide in one or more regions of the articles wherein a volume fraction of the dispersed cemented carbide phase is less than 50 volume percent of the hybrid cemented carbide, and wherein the contiguity ratio of the dispersed cemented carbide phase is less than or equal to 1.5 times the volume fraction of the dispersed cemented carbide phase in the hybrid cemented carbide.

Certain embodiments of the methods to make the articles according to the present disclosure include forming a mechanical attachment feature or other mechanical feature on at least the second region comprising at least one of a metal and a metallic alloy. A mechanical attachment feature, as used herein, enables certain articles according to the present disclosure to be connected to certain other articles and function as part of a larger device. Mechanical attachment features may include, for example, threads, slots, keyways, teeth or cogs, steps, bevels, bores, pins, and arms. It has not previously been possible to successfully include such mechanical attachment features on articles formed solely from cemented hard particles for certain demanding applications because of the limited tensile strength and notch sensitivity of cemented hard particle materials. Prior art articles have included a metal or metallic alloy region including one or more mechanical attachment features that were attached by means other than co-pressing and sintering to a cemented hard particle region. Such prior art articles suffered from a relatively weak bond between the metal or metallic alloy region and the cemented hard particle region, severely limiting the possible applications of the articles.

EXAMPLE 1

FIG. 1A shows cemented carbide-metallic composite articles 100, 200 consisting of a cemented carbide portion 110, 210 metallurgically bonded to a nickel portion 112, 212 that were fabricated using the following method according to the present disclosure. A layer of cemented carbide powder (available commercially as FL30.TM. powder, from ATI Firth Sterling, Madison, Ala., USA) consisting of 70% tungsten carbide, 18% cobalt, and 12% nickel was placed in a mold in contact with a layer of nickel powder (available commercially as Inco Type 123 high purity nickel from Inco Special Products, Wyckoff, N.J., USA) and co-pressed to form a single green compact consisting of two distinct layers of consolidated powder materials. The pressing (or consolidation) was performed in a 100 ton hydraulic press employing a pressing pressure of approximately 20,000 psi. The resulting green compact was a cylinder approximately 1.5 inches in diameter and approximately 2 inches long. The cemented carbide layer was approximately 0.7 inches long, and the nickel layer was approximately 1.3 inches long. Following pressing, the composite compact was sintered in a vacuum furnace at 1380.degree. C. During sintering the compact's linear shrinkage was approximately 18% along any direction. The composite sintered articles were ground on the outside diameter, and threads were machined in the nickel portion 212 of one of the articles. FIG. 1B is a photomicrograph showing the microstructure of articles 100 and 200 at the interface of the cemented carbide material 300 and nickel material 301. FIG. 1B clearly shows the cemented carbide and nickel portions metallurgically bonded together at interface region 302. No cracks were apparent in the interface region.

EXAMPLE 2

FIG. 2 shows a cemented carbide-metallic alloy composite article 400 that was fabricated by powder metal pressing and sintering techniques according to the present disclosure and included three separate layers. The first layer 401 consisted of cemented carbide formed from FL30.TM. (see above). The second layer 402 consisted of nickel formed from nickel powder, and the third layer 403 consisted of steel formed from a steel powder. The method employed for fabricating the composite was essentially identical to the method employed in Example 1 except that three layers of powders were co-pressed together to form the green compact, instead of two layers. The three layers appeared uniformly metallurgically bonded together to form the composite article. No cracks were apparent on the exterior of the sintered article in the vicinity of the interface between the cemented carbide and nickel regions.

EXAMPLE 3

A composite article consisting of a cemented carbide portion and a tungsten alloy portion was fabricated according to the present disclosure using the following method. A layer of cemented carbide powder (FL30.TM. powder) was disposed in a mold in contact with a layer of tungsten alloy powder (consisting of 70% tungsten, 24% nickel, and 6% copper) and co-pressed to form a single composite green compact consisting of two distinct layers of consolidated powders. The pressing (or consolidation) was performed in a 100 ton hydraulic press employing a pressing pressure of approximately 20,000 psi. The green compact was a cylinder approximately 1.5 inches in diameter and approximately 2 inches long. The cemented carbide layer was approximately 1.0 inches long and the tungsten alloy layer was also approximately 1.0 inches long. Following pressing, the composite compact was sintered at 1400.degree. C. in hydrogen, which minimizes or eliminates oxidation when sintering tungsten alloys. During sintering, the compact's linear shrinkage was approximately 18% along any direction. FIG. 3 illustrates the microstructure which clearly shows the cemented carbide 502 and tungsten alloy 500 portions metallurgically bonded together at the interface 501. No cracking was apparent in the interface region.

Although the foregoing description has necessarily presented only a limited number of embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will appreciate that various changes in the subject matter and other details of the examples that have been described and illustrated herein may be made by those skilled in the art, and all such modifications will remain within the principle and scope of the present disclosure as expressed herein and in the appended claims. For example, although the present disclosure has necessarily only presented a limited number of embodiments of rotary burrs constructed according to the present disclosure, it will be understood that the present disclosure and associated claims are not so limited. Those having ordinary skill will readily identify additional rotary burr designs and may design and build additional rotary burrs along the lines and within the spirit of the necessarily limited number of embodiments discussed herein. It is understood, therefore, that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed or incorporated herein, but is intended to cover modifications that are within the principle and scope of the invention, as defined by the claims. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof.

* * * * *

2014, Патинформбюро. Русификация заголовков и переформатирование исходного htm-описания патентов: В.И. Карнышев

Патент США №

Автор(ы)

Дата выдачи

Cemented carbide--metallic alloy composites

РЕФЕРАТ

Авторы:

Заявитель:

ID семейства патентов

Номер заявки:

Дата регистрации:

Отсылочные патентные документы США

Класс патентной классификации США:

Класс совместной патентной классификации:

Класс международной патентной классификации (МПК):

Область поиска: