Cutting tool and method of manufacture

Abstract

A MAX-phase material is provided for a cutting tool and other applications.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cutting tool, comprising:
 a support substrate; and   a complex ceramic cutting surface laminate formed on the support substrate and including hard shards, a first row transition-metal element, an element from columns III-VI of the periodic table and carbon and/or nitrogen.   
     
     
         2 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the laminate has a polycrystalline structure or fully crystalline structure except for the hard shards. 
     
     
         3 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the laminate includes an M (n+1) AX n  (MAX) phase material; where M is the first row transition-metal element, where A is an element from columns III-VI of the periodic table and where X is carbon and/or nitrogen. 
     
     
         4 . The tool of  claim 3 , wherein the MAX-phase material has micro-Vickers hardness greater than 1 GPa. 
     
     
         5 . The tool of  claim 4 , wherein the MAX-phase material has micro-Vickers hardness greater than 4 GPa. 
     
     
         6 . The tool of  claim 3 , wherein the MAX-phase material further includes particles embedded within it that include carbon fiber, coated-carbon fiber, and/or aluminum nitride particles. 
     
     
         7 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the hard shards comprise diamond. 
     
     
         8 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a drill bit. 
     
     
         9 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the laminate is formed on the substrate by liquid chemical deposition of a colloidal solution of nanoparticles in dissolved metal-organic precursors. 
     
     
         10 . A MAX-phase material, comprising M (n+1) AX n  (MAX) phase material; where M is the first row transition-metal element, where A is an element from columns III-VI of the periodic table and where X is carbon and nitrogen. 
     
     
         11 . The material of  claim 10 , wherein the material has a atomic scale crystalline uniformity. 
     
     
         12 . The material of  claim 10 , further comprising hard material shards or carbon fibers, coated carbon fibers, or carbon nanoparticles. 
     
     
         13 . The material of  claim 10 , wherein the laminate is formed by liquid chemical deposition of a colloidal solution of nanoparticles in dissolved metal-organic precursors 
     
     
         14 . A method of forming a MAX-phase material, comprising the steps of:
 forming a stoichiometric colloidal suspension of metal-organic precursors in solution along with carbon, carbide and/or nitride nanoparticles;   spraying the colloidal suspension onto a heated substrate to deposit the suspension and to simultaneously decompose the precursors and leave an amorphous ceramic material with embedded carbon, carbide, and/or nitride nanoparticles on the substrate; and   rapid plasma annealing the amorphous ceramic material to create crystalline structure with carbon and/or nitrogen integrated from the carbon and/or nitride nanoparticles.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising the step of repeating the steps of spraying and rapid plasma annealing to form a MAX-phase material having multiple layers. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step of repeating the step of forming to create different compositional mixtures in two or more of the multiple layers. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the colloidal suspension includes a super-stoichiometric relationship of the carbon, carbide and/or nitride nanoparticles to A group elements for the MAX-phase material. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the colloidal suspension has a super stoichiometry of X group elements of 1.1× to 3× to A group elements 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the colloidal suspension also includes hard material shards, carbon nanoparticles, carbon fibers, coated carbon fibers, and/or nitride nanoparticles. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the shards are diamond.