ABSTRACT
Natural diamond cutting tools are in use, but on a greatly reduced scale as a result of the development of synthesized mesh- size diamonds in the mid-1950’s that lead to the compacted diamond product in the early - 1970’s. This chapter discusses the cutting and wear applications of these diamonds, and of the new chemically vapor deposited diamond. Single-crystal diamonds have cleavage planes allowing them to fracture rather easily along these planes. Natural diamond or high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) manufactured diamonds as well as sintered HPHT polycrystalline diamond (PCD) are available only as simple three dimensional products. PCD drill bits are typically manufactured by brazing the PCD segments/shapes in the cast in or machined recesses of a prefabricated tungsten carbide/matrix body. PCD drilling tools have been very successful in the drilling industry, particularly in the soft to medium hard rock formations.
