1,913,373
Patented June 13, 1933
UNITED STATES
PATENT orrlca “A
ANTHONY G. DB GOLYER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
MATERIAL FOR MAKING TOOLS
Application ?led June 11, 1928. Serial No. 284,660.
Io Drawing.
My present invention relates to a new and wear resistant functions performed by the
vuseful metallic composition, and relates par- , boride crystals or
anules, and therefore, it
ticularly to a composite body comprising rel will be understoo that the principal func
atively hard cr stalline boride and a bond tion of the soft component of the composi
5 ing a ent, whic composition is suitable for tion is to. act as a binder for holding the 55
tools or abrading, cuttin , forming dies and hard component in a unitary body of de_
,
other articles for the mec anical working of sired form.
I
have
found
through
experiment
that
metals and other materials.
The metalloid boron enters into chemical a number of borides are suitable for use as
1° combination with a number of metals, as the essential hard component in the compo
well as with the metalloids carbon and sili sitions of my present invention such, for ex
con, to form borides, and such-compounds am 1e, as borides of aluminum, beryllium,
have a high de ree of hardness. Attempts car on, calcium, chromium, cobalt,'manga
have been ma e heretofore to utilize the
nese, magnesium, molybdenum, silicon, ti
it with the other element or elements com
boron, two or more of the above elements
15. hardenin effect of boron in various metals, tanium, tungsten, vanadium, uranium and “5
but in al of such attempts it was sought to zirconium, and for many purposes a chemi
dissolve the boron in, or otherwise combine cal \compound containing, in addition to
posing the balance of the article of manufac may be used as the hard component with sat~
.
99 ture. However, when such products contam isfactory results.
With the exception of cases in which car
more than 2% or 3% of boron they are 1_n
variably too brittle to be of commercial bon boride is employed as the hard com~ '
value, especially in operations for the me
chanical working of metals.
as I have found that by making a composi
, tion containin
ponent, the presence of more than 2 or 3%
of carbon is detrimental to the cutting,
abrading and other desirable properties of 75
b'oride crystals or granules, the boron compound. Thev boron com
characterized y a relatively high degree of ounds suitable for use in this invention
hardness, disseminated through a matrix, or orm well de?ned crystals, characterized by
bonding a out having an appreciably lower extreme hardness and sharp edges, and I
'0 de ree of ardness than the boride, that the have found that when a metal boride con- 3‘
va uable properties of boron may be utilized tains more than 3% of carbon combined
in full for the mechanical working of metals therewith, the crystal structure is altered
and other materials.
in such a manner that the cutting, abrading
- This invention comprises a manufactured and other r0 erties are, in general, adverse
3‘ product, or article containing two essential
ly affected). gl‘he presence of carbon also 85
components, namely, a substantially unoxi offers di?iculties in connection with the man
dized chemical compound of boron with one ufacture of compositions ofv this invention,
or more metals or metalloids, such chemical
compound or boride havin a de?nite crys
as will appear hereinafter. .
'
In the manufacture of compositions of
‘0 tal structure and being 0 such degree of this invention I have employed several dif
hardness as to scratch glass; and a bonding ferent bonding agents w1th satisfactory re
‘ agent inters rsed between the crystalsor sults, such, for illustration, as iron, iron ~
ride, and holding them in a alloys, nickel, copper, copper alloys, such as
“characterized by a lower degree of hardness per-beryllium, copper vanadium, copper
than the boride, i. e., the'bonding material aluminum and co per-tungsten; cobalt and
not being of su?icient hardness to scratch cobalt alloys; lea and lead alloys; rubber,
shellac and other organic compounds, such
lass.
g It is theobject of this invention to have as those derived from the vreaction of 'for-‘
'- “substantially all of‘ the cutting, abrading, or maldehyde and phenol. It will be apparent 1“
granules ofv
unitary, body, the bonding agent' being copper-nickel, copper-cobalt, copper-tin, cop
2
1,913,373
that selection of the binding agent will de ployed for a number of purposes; as illus- '
pend, in part, upon the use for which the tration, a composite body containing as the
composition is intended. As illustration, essential hard component small granules of
10
15
20
25
80
35
when the products of this invention are to tungsten boride bonded and held in a de
be used as abrading tools, as in grinding sired form b a copper-beryllium alloy, may 70
wheels, the hard component, such as tung be used as a iigh speed drill for metal work
sten boride, may be bonded with rubber; or ing; a composite body containing as the
when the roducts are to be used for a high essential hard component small granules of
speed cutting tool, the hard component, such molybdenum boride bonded and held in a
as chromium boride may be bonded with desired form by a copper cobalt alloy may 75
copper, or a copper alloy. I have found that
when such tools are operated in such a man
ner that heat is enerated rapidly at the
working face of t e tool it is desirable to
employ a bonding agent which acts as an
be used as a high speed cutting tool; a com
posite body containing as the essential hard
component calcium boride bonded and held
in a desired form by iron may be used as a
metal forming die, such as for wire drawing;
e?icient thermal conductor, and that copper a composite body containing as the essential
and copper alloys are of value for this pur hard component silicon boride bonded and
ose.
held in a desired form by shellac may be
P The compositions of the present invention used as a grinding wheel or disc.
can be manufactured by several different
The ratio of the essential hard component
methods. I have found, in general, that to the amount of the bonding component
when it is desired to have the size of the is in general, determined by the intended
boride granules reduced to a minimum and use of the article. When the articles of this
85
at the same time uniformly distributed invention are used for cutting or abrading
through the matrix or bonding agent it is the hard component can, for example, con
of advantage to effect the reduction of the stitute approximately 50% by weight of the
boride while it is in intimate contact with composite body, although smaller and larger '
and disseminated through such bonding percentages can be employed with satisfac
agent. As an illustration I give the follow tory results to suit the purposes for which
ing example for the production of a cutting intended. For example, drills, cutting or 95
tool: A. precipitate of chromium borate is abrading tools containing from 80 to 85%
prepared and if the recipitate is not of the of the hard component can be advantageous
desired ?neness it is further reduced by ly employed for many purposes. When the
grinding or other known means. A re articles are to be used for other purposes,
etermined quantity of such borate is t en such as for wire drawing dies, etc., I have 100
thoroughly intermixed with a predetermined found that satisfactory and economical re
amount of iron and nickel oxides and this sults may be obtained with a composite body
mechanical intermixture of oxides is then in which the hard element constitutes ap
pressed together, for which operation the proximately 10%.
use of a temporary binder is optional, into
The boride crystals, or granules should
the desired shape and the pressed mass is be distributed as uniformly as possible
then heated in a furnace and submitted to through the matrix, or bonding agent. The
the action of a reducing gas such as hydro ?neness of the granules should be reguluated
45
gen for the more or less simultaneous reduc
tion of all of the oxides.
As another example of the method of man
105
according to the particular object as, for
example, for coarse cutting or grinding rel~ 110
atively larger granules may be satisfactorily
ufacture, calcium boride may be prepared by used than for ?ner cutting, grinding or
60
55
the reduction of calcium borate; the calcium polishing. By varying the composition of
boride reduced to the desired degree of ?ne the borides within the scope of this inven
ness and a predetermined amount of this tion the hardness and degree of brittleness 116
material is then mechanically intermixed may be varied to meet di?‘erent require
with iron oxide and the intermixture is ments.
pressed or otherwise formed into the desired
The borides employed as the essential
shape; the pressed mass is then submitted to hard component in the compositions of this
reaction with a reducing gas and a tempera invention possess, in many instances, agreat 120
ture su?iciently high to fuse or frit the me er degree of hardness, with reference to the
talliciron is maintained in the reducing diamond, than any other chemical com
chamber. Following the operations for the pounds, and they combine highly advanta
production of the compositions the articles geous degrees of brittleness with the result
may be again heated to an elevated tempera
ture and sub'ected to forging or other me
chanical wor ing for the production of de
sired forms.
65
that when such borides are used for cutting, 125.
abrading, etc., the crystal edges are not
worn smooth during operation, but are
broken intermittently, thus presenting new
The articles comprised in this invention sharp edges along the working surface.
may be successfully, and advantageously em
1}.’ further distinctive advantage is that the
130
3.
1,918,873
borides employed in this invention are not
lower
decomposed
than 1500°
nor C.,
altered
and are
at not
temperatures
soluble in
many suitable bonding a ents, even under
conditions where the hon ing agent is mol
ten. This is of particular value where tools
or other articles are operated under condi
tions where elevated temperatures are pro
duced, as it is known that iron, nickel and
10
t_ion, and a binder containi
hum and. cobalt intersper
copper, beryl
therebetween.
In testimony, that I claim the invention
set forth above I have hereunto set my hand
this ?fth day of June, 1928.
many other metals readily absorb carbon,
carbides, silicon and silicides at elevated
temperatures, with the result that the entire
- ,
70
ANTHONY G. on GOLYER.
75
structure of the tool or other article is al
tered, and the e?iciency materially decreased.
15
These factors are of still further advantage
in connection with the manufacture of the '
articles of this invention when it is neces
sary or desirable to heat the tool or other
article to an elevated temperature for the
20
purpose of forging, or otherwise shaping
'85
the article, or for heat treatment to control
the grain structure of the bonding agent.
The combined advantageous properties of
25
the boride component, hardness, crystal
structure, insolubilit in the bonding agent
and resistance to ecomposition or other
chemical alteration at elevated temperatures,
together with the means of holding the
borides in a unitary form, make it possible
30
to satisfactorily and economically operate
95
tools and other articles included within the
present invention under conditions which
prohibit the successful operation of hereto
fore proposed tools and other articles for the
85
mechanical working of metals, in particular,
100
and other materials in general.
It will be understood from the foregoing
that the essential hard component of the
40
compositions of my present invention consist
principally of crystallized chemical com
105
pounds of boron and one ‘or more metals or
metalloids, however, such hard component
45
may contain small amounts of elements, not
in chemical combination with boron, in the
nature of impurities incidental to manu
facture.
‘
By the term granules used herein and in
the appended claims I intend an aggregate
of boride crystals.
60
110
By the term boride or metal boride in the
claims I intend either a boride of a single
116
metal or metalloid, or a mixture of metal
and/or metalloid borides, or a multiple bo-.
ride of several metals and /or metalloids.
55
I claim:
_
120
1. A metallic composition comprising a
mass of hard crystals of metal boride, said
metal boride constituting more than 50% of
the total weight of the metallic composition,
60
and a binder containing copper and berylli
um interspersed therebetween.
2. A metallic composition comprising a
mass of hard crystals of metal‘boricle, said
metal boride constituting more than v50%
65
of the total weight of the metallic composi
128