Understanding Cemented Carbide Production Process

Introduction

Cemented carbide is produced through a powder metallurgy process that transforms tungsten carbide powder and cobalt binder into extremely hard tooling material. Understanding this process helps buyers specify the right product.

Powder Preparation

Tungsten carbide powder is milled with cobalt powder in ball mills for up to 48 hours. This ensures uniform distribution of binder particles. The powder is then dried and granulated for pressing.

Pressing

The powder is pressed into compacts using steel dies or isostatic presses. Die pressing produces simple shapes with tight tolerances, while isostatic pressing handles complex geometries. Green compacts are fragile before sintering.

Sintering

Compacts are sintered in vacuum furnaces at temperatures above 1400 degrees Celsius. During sintering, cobalt melts and binds the carbide particles, resulting in a dense, hard material with significant shrinkage.

Finishing Operations

Sintered blanks are then machined through grinding, EDM, and polishing to achieve final dimensions and surface finish. Diamond grinding wheels are required because carbide is too hard for conventional cutting tools.

Quality Control

Every batch is tested for hardness, density, transverse rupture strength, and grain structure. Material certifications trace each batch from powder to finished product.

Conclusion

The cemented carbide production process combines precision powder metallurgy with advanced sintering technology. This explains why carbide products offer such exceptional hardness and wear resistance.

References

GB/T 7714: GUPTA R, SONG J. Powder metallurgy processing and mechanical properties of cemented tungsten carbide composites[J]. International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, 2020, 91: 105246.

APA 7th: Gupta, R., & Song, J. (2020). Powder metallurgy processing and mechanical properties of cemented tungsten carbide composites.

MLA 9th: Gupta, R., and J. Song. "Powder Metallurgy Processing and Mechanical Properties of Cemented Tungsten Carbide Composites."