US Patent 8974559 PDC made with low melting point catalyst

PDC is made using a solvent catalyst that has a melting point below that of the cobalt which is used to cement the tungsten carbide supporting substrate. The lower melting temperature allows control of the amount of catalyst that remains in the interstices after HPHT sintering since the process can be done without melting the cobalt in the substrate which would flow into and completely fill the pore volume of the diamond mass.