REINFORCED ROLL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME
A method of making an article adapted for use as a wear resistant working surface of a roll includes positioning hard elements in predetermined positions on a bottom surface of a mold. The hard elements comprise a first end and an opposed second end. The second end of each hard element rests on the bottom surface, partially filling a void space and defining an unoccupied volume in the mold. Inorganic particles are added to the mold to at least partially fill the unoccupied volume and provide a remainder space. The hard elements and the inorganic particles are heated to an infiltrating temperature and infiltrated with a matrix material. The matrix material is cooled and solidified and binds the hard elements and the inorganic particles in the article.
1 . A method of making an article adapted for use as a wear resistant working surface of a roll, the method comprising:
positioning a plurality of hard elements in predetermined positions on a bottom surface of a mold;
wherein each of the hard elements comprises a first end and an opposed substantially equidistant second end,
wherein the second end of each of the hard elements rests on the bottom surface of the mold to partially fill a void space of the mold and define an unoccupied volume in the mold;
adding inorganic particles to the mold to at least partially fill the unoccupied volume and provide a remainder space between the inorganic particles and between the inorganic particles and the hard elements;
heating the plurality of hard elements and the inorganic particles to an infiltrating temperature;
infiltrating into the remainder space a molten matrix material comprising at least one of a molten metal and a molten metal alloy, the matrix material having a melting temperature that is less than a melting temperature of the inorganic particles; and
cooling the matrix material disposed in the remainder space to solidify the matrix material and bind the hard elements and the inorganic particles in the article.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold comprises a mold adapted to form one of a strip and a plate.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bottom surface of the mold comprises a curvature substantially equivalent to a curvature of the roll.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first end and the opposed second end of each of the hard elements are substantially planar and substantially parallel to each other.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein each of the plurality of hard elements comprises a cylindrical shape.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hard elements comprise at least one of a high hardness metal, a high hardness metal alloy, a sintered cemented carbide, and a ceramic.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the hard elements comprise a sintered cemented carbide comprising:
particles of at least one carbide of a Group IVB, a Group VB, or a Group VIB metal of the Periodic Table dispersed in a continuous binder comprising at least one of cobalt, a cobalt alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, iron, and an iron alloy.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic particles comprise at least one of a metal powder and a metal alloy powder.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the inorganic particles comprise at least one of tungsten, a tungsten alloy, tantalum, a tantalum alloy, molybdenum, a molybdenum alloy, niobium, a niobium alloy, iron, an iron alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, cobalt, and a cobalt alloy.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic particles comprise hard particles.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the hard particles comprise at least one of: a carbide of a metal selected from Groups IVB, VB, and VIB of the Periodic Table; tungsten carbide; and cast tungsten carbide.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the matrix material comprises at least one of copper, a copper alloy, aluminum, an aluminum alloy, iron, an iron alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, titanium, a titanium alloy, a bronze alloy, and a brass alloy.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the matrix material is a bronze alloy consisting essentially of 78 weight percent copper, 10 weight percent nickel, 6 weight percent tin, 6 weight percent manganese, and incidental impurities.
14 . The method of claim 12 , where the matrix material consists essentially of 53 weight percent copper, 24 weight percent manganese, 15 weight percent nickel, 8 weight percent zinc, and incidental impurities.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein positioning a plurality of hard elements on a bottom surface of mold in predetermined positions comprises positioning the hard elements in a predetermined pattern.
16 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to adding inorganic particles to the mold, positioning one or more machinable materials in the mold at predetermined positions.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more machinable materials comprise one or more solid metal pieces comprising at least one of iron, an iron alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, copper, a copper alloy, aluminum, an aluminum alloy, tantalum, and a tantalum alloy.
18 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a plurality of particles of at least one of a machinable metal and a machinable metal alloy to at least one void space in the mold, and thereby creating a second remainder space between the at least one of a machinable metal and a machinable metal alloy particles, and further comprising infiltrating the matrix material in the second remainder space.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the particles of the machinable metal and the machinable metal alloy comprise at least one of iron, an iron alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, cobalt, a cobalt alloy, copper, a copper alloy, aluminum, an aluminum alloy, tantalum, and a tantalum alloy.
20 . The method of claim 1 further comprising cleaning the article.
21 . The method of claim 1 further comprising machining an excess material off of the article.