US Patent Issued on July 1 for "Polycrystalline diamond compact cutting elements, earth-boring tools including such cutting elements, and related methods of making and using same" (Texas Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,344,558, issued on July 1.

"Polycrystalline diamond compact cutting elements, earth-boring tools including such cutting elements, and related methods of making and using same" was invented by Andrew Robertson (The Woodlands, Texas) and Nicholas J. Lyons (Houston).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Methods of forming a cutting element include sintering diamond particles at a temperature of at least about 1400deg C. under a pressure of at least about 10 GPa in the absence of a metal solvent catalyst so as to form a polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC), providing a barrier material over at least a portion of the PDC, providing a carbide material...