Brazed diamond tools and methods for making the same

Abstract

Superabrasive tools and methods for the making thereof are disclosed and described. In one aspect, superabrasive particles are chemically bonded to a matrix support material according to a predetermined pattern by a braze alloy. The brazing alloy may be provided as a powder, thin sheet, or sheet of amorphous alloy. A template having a plurality of apertures arranged in a predetermined pattern may be used to place the superabrasive particles on a given substrate or matrix support material.

Description

PRIORITY INFORMATION [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 259,168, filed on Sept. 27, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 935,204, filed Aug. 22, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 399,573, filed Sep. 20, 1999, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,498, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 835,117, filed Apr. 4, 1997, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,641, and of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 832,852, filed Apr. 4, 1997, now abandoned, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. [0002] This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 109,531, filed Mar. 27, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 588,582, filed Apr. 26, 2000, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,198, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 447,620,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a method for making diamond tools with a customized pattern of individual grit placement. This method involves brazing diamond particles onto a substrate in a predetermined pattern using a brazing alloy. The brazing alloy is applied to the substrate and the diamond particles are distributed on the substrate in the desired pattern. The brazing alloy is heated to a temperature which causes the diamond particles to bond to the substrate. The brazing alloy can be applied to the substrate before or after the diamond particles are distributed on it. The arrangement of the diamond particles can be facilitated by using a template with a plurality of apertures in the desired pattern. The superabrasive particles can also be affixed to a transfer plate and transferred to the substrate. The brazing alloy can be formed as a sheet or a powder and applied to the substrate or matrix support material. The method allows for the efficient use of superabrasive particles and reduces the overall cost of making the tools."

Problems solved by technology

If diamond tools were not used, many such industries would be economically infeasible.

Despite their prevailing use, diamond tools generally suffer from several significant limitations, which place unnecessary limits on their useful life.

As a result, the abrasive particles are not positioned to maximize efficiency for cutting, drilling, grinding, polishing, etc.

Improper spacing of the diamond or CBN abrasive particles typically leads to premature failure of the abrasive surface or structure.

Thus, if the diamond / CBN abrasive particles are too close to one another, some of the particles are redundant and provide little or no assistance in cutting or grinding.

In addition, excess particles add to the expense of production due the high cost of diamond and cubic boron nitride.

Moreover, these non-performing diamond or CBN particles can block the passage of debris, thereby reducing the cutting efficiency.

Thus, having abrasive particles disposed too close to one another adds to the cost, while decreasing the useful life of the tool.

On the other hand, if abrasive particles are spaced too far apart, the workload (e.g., the impact force exerted by the work piece) for each particle becomes excessive.

The damaged or missing abrasive particles are unable to fully assist in the workload.

The failure of each abrasive particle causes a chain reaction which soon renders the tool ineffective to cut, drill, grind, etc.

However, because diamond or cubic boron nitride is much larger than the matrix powder (300 times in the above example for making saw segments), and it is much lighter than the latter (about ⅓ in density for making saw segments), it is very difficult to mix the two to achieve uniformity.

Moreover, even when the mixing is thorough, diamond particles can still segregate from metal powder in the subsequent treatments such as pouring the mixture into a mold, or when the mixture is subjected to vibration.

The distribution problem is particularly troublesome for making diamond tools when diamond is mixed in the metal support matrix.

There is yet another limitation associated with the many methods of positioning diamond grits in a tool.

For example, saw segments tend to wear faster on the edge or front than the middle.

These higher concentration / smaller size segments (i.e. “sandwich” segments) are difficult to fabricate by mixing diamond particles with metal powder.

Thus, despite the known advantages of having varied diamond grit sizes and concentration levels, such configurations are seldom used because of the lack of a practical method of making thereof.

Another drawback of many diamond tools is that the abrasive particles, or “grits” are insufficiently attached to the tool substrate, or matrix support material, to maximize useful life of the cutting, drilling, polishing, etc., body.

As a result, diamond grits are often knocked off or pulled out prematurely.

Moreover, the grit may receive inadequate mechanical support from the loosely bonded matrix under work conditions.

Hence, the diamond particles may be shattered by the impact of the tool against the workpiece to which the abrasive is applied.

The remainder is wasted by either being leftover when the tool's useful life has expired, or by being pulled-out or broken during use due to poor attachment and inadequate support.

As a result, the protrusion of the diamond particles above the tool surface is generally less than desirable.

Low grit protrusion limits the cutting height for breaking the material to be cut.

As a result, friction increases and limits the cutting speed and life of the cutting tool.

However, diamond may be degraded when exposed to a temperature above about 1,000° C. The degradation is due to either the reaction with the matrix material or the development of micro-cracks around metal inclusions inside the crystal.

Most carbide formers are refractory metals so they may not be consolidated below a temperature of about 1,200° C. Hence, refractory carbide formers are not suitable as the main constituent of the matrix support material.

However, these carbide formers may have other undesirable properties that prohibit them from being used as the primary constituent of the matrix support material.

The back conversion is the main cause of diamond degradation at high temperature.

However, the melting point of aluminum can be approached when diamond grit is cutting aggressively.

Hence, aluminum may become too soft to support the diamond grit during the cutting operation.

Hence, aluminum typically is not a suitable carbide former to bond diamond in a matrix.

Therefore, by adding a carbide former as a minor matrix constituent, the improvement of diamond attachment is marginal at best.

As a result, these infiltrants cannot improve the bonding of diamond.

A problem with maintaining the top of the pad is caused by an accumulation of polishing debris coming from the work piece, abrasive slurry, and polishing disk.

This accumulation causes a “glazing” or hardening of the top of the pad, and significantly decreases the pad's overall polishing performance.

Dressing disks made by conventional methods share several problems with other superabrasive tools, made by conventional methods.

However, such issues may have a much greater impact on the CMP process.

For example, poor superabrasive grit retention may lead to scratching and ruining of the work piece.

Uneven work loading of the superabrasive grits resulting from clustered or unevenly spaced particle groups may cause overdressing of certain pad areas and under dressing of others, which results in unsuitable work piece polishing.

In addition to the above-recited issues with particle retention and distribution, the CMP pad dressing process itself creates additional issues that make uncontrolled superabrasive particle placement unacceptable.

Warping of the pad dresser working surface during the brazing process also often causes abrasive particles to dislodge.

Exposure to this extreme heat can cause the working surface of the pad dresser to warp, thus compromising the smoothness and planarity of the pad dresser's working surface.

As a result, the braze portion of the working surface will be rough, having high and low spots.

Such spots are undesirable, as they may cause the braze to begin flaking off, and making micro-scratches on the polished surface of the work piece.

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