The volume content of diamond in the PCD layer of the polycrystalline diamond composite sheet should account for more than 98%, and the rest is the catalyst metal diffused and infiltrated from the cemented carbide base. Therefore, the quality of diamond powder plays a very important role in determining the final performance and consistency of the sintered product. Generally, the diamond powder used to produce PCD is a by-product produced in the process of industrial diamond powder synthesis. Diamond single crystals are mainly used in the stone cutting market, such as diamond saw blades and diamond grinding wheels.

There are two main types of catalysts for diamond synthesis: one is cobalt series and the other is iron-nickel alloy series.

The industrial diamond powder currently available on the market has an extremely wide quality range and is uneven. The fine powder used in the PCD sintering process is usually obtained by crushing the coarse-grained diamond single crystal, so the quality of the initial coarse-grained diamond single crystal will affect the quality of the PCD composite sheet. PCD coating removal tools are designed for concrete floor surface prep and coating removal. According to the pressure and temperature parameters of the diamond sintering process, the diamond particles may grow into various shapes, such as a cube instead of an octahedron. Moreover, if the diamond single crystal grows too fast in the catalyst bath, it is possible that metal inclusions may be found inside the crystal grains after the sintering is completed.

Other quality problems are related to the purification and cleaning process of diamond powder, mainly to clean and remove the solid alloy catalyst material that occurs during the diamond synthesis process. The usual cleaning process is to dissolve diamond powder in hot hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, and then clean and remove any remaining impurities. If the process is incomplete or incorrect, the surface of the diamond powder will be contaminated with impurities, and the sintering process will not be so effective, causing PCD performance and quality problems.