A newly created material, said to be so sharp and tough that it can cut through cast iron and granite without wearing out, could make drilling, mining and machining safer, cheaper and more productive. Developed at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale by materials scientists Dale Wittmer and Peter Filip, the composite consists of a mixture of nickel, aluminum, metal carbide and industrial diamond powders processed at temperatures over 1,400 degrees C. Engineers at the Robert Bosch Tool Co., a manufacturing plant in Louisville, Ky., found this composite 800 times more wear resistant than the company's toughest carbide now used commercially in making drill bits, mining tools and other such tools.
“It's a material unlike any that have been used in the manufacture of cutting tools,” says Wittmer, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Processes.” It could be used in drilling, mining, machining metal, cutting rock or masonry. “It has numerous applications. With bits made from our material, maybe contractors could take on projects they'd shied away from before because it would have been too hard on their equipment. If the drill is going at 6,000 rpm and the tip comes flying off at that velocity, it could create a lot of damage,” notes Wittmer, also citing a reduction in the amount of dust produced. “It gets into everything - lungs, equipment - which relates to both safety and productivity.”