A method of making a thermally stable polycrystalline super hard construction

摘要

A method of processing a body 10 of polycrystalline diamond (pcd) to form a cutting insert is performed by masking at least a portion of a side surface 42 of the body at its junction with a working surface 34 of the body and leaching catalyst/solvent material from the working surface 34 while the masking inhibits penetration of the leaching mixture into the side surface 42. Leaching forms a thermally stabilized pcd portion 51 of the body 10. It is preferred to also mask a portion of the working surface adjacent to the masked side surface before leaching. After leaching the body 10 is machined to form a chamfer 44 on the working surface 34 which extends to the side surface with the intersection of the chamfer 44 and the side surface defining a cutting edge 36. The resulting body has a leached depth Y & Y that is less adjacent to the side surface 42 than elsewhere.