Cutting of polycrystalline superhard materials by jet methods

The authors study the intensity of cutting workpieces of hardmetals, polycrystalline cBN-based material and polycrystalline diamond-on-hardmetal compacts in the following operations: waterjet cutting, laser cutting, liquid-cooled laser cutting, and laser–jet cutting. Special features of cutting two-layered composites that comprise a polycrystalline diamond layer on a hardmetal substrate are analyzed. The paper demonstrates the efficiency of the hybrid machining process that combines the laser–jet and waterjet technologies and provides an effective cutting of workpieces to a required profile.