Voice of Korea

/ Culture - Science and Technology

Self-Respect Reflected in 100% (1)
Challenge

Crown is a tool badly needed for boring such as mineral, coal, water and geothermal prospecting, and diamond is used to make it. The quality of this tool is regarded as an important index comprehensively evaluating the level of diamond tool manufacture of a country.
The diamond crown developed by the Mechanical Engineering Research Institute under the State Academy of Sciences was registered as a high-tech product for the first time in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 2016.
Afterwards, its qualitative indices were further improved and it was registered as a high-tech product again in 2018 along with the diamond reamer.
Their main developer is Kim Pyong Ho, director of a branch institute.

He made long and painstaking efforts together with researchers to successfully manufacture the diamond crown, which is said to be made only in a few countries, by relying entirely on domestic raw and other materials and technology. Later, he developed different kinds of diamond tools used for various purposes in succession, including the diamond reamer, diamond saw for stone cutting and diamond grindstone.
What is the key to the success in developing those diamond tools through laborious research of development and creation, not imitation?
In the early 1980s, an important issue of a new drilling tool to be used for boring hard stratum was raised in the field of geological prospecting.
The State Academy of Sciences held a serious consultative meeting for long hours to solve the problem.
The meeting was attended by eminent experts in the field of tool materials including Kim Pyong Ho.

At that time, the discussion was focussed on whether they could make the core piece of equipment used for bonding diamond to metal by their own strength.
Some people said it should be imported and some others proposed making it with the help of foreign experts.
The man who refuted those opinions without hesitation was Kim Pyong Ho, a young scientist in his early 20s. He had no technical guarantee and special technique or experience.
His self-respect was impaired at the thought that if they took the easy way of importing that piece of equipment, they would never overtake others and the coming generations also buy things from foreign countries.
At the meeting, he said he would complete the diamond crown manufacturing technique by relying entirely on domestic raw and other materials and technology.
It was not merely a challenge to technology in general. It was a warning to those people who do not value theirs but admire only others'.
As a result, a development group was formed with him as the core and the untrodden path of research started.
Kim Pyong Ho and his research group challenged the established idea and method that artificial diamond crystal can be bonded to metal only at high temperature. He conceived a novel idea to synthesize diamond at low temperature and made the first stride for its materialization with confidence.