What is Tungsten Carbide

What is Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten carbide was invented in Germany in 1923. It is made from mainly WC (the powder combining with tungsten and carbon), and contain molten cobalt as a binder, and also includes TiC (Titanium-carbide) or TaC (Tantalum-carbide) as needed.

It is an optimal raw material for cutting tool: it has high hardness, high strength at high temperatures, so it is used in a high-temperature, high-speed environment thanks to those characteristics.

Tungsten Carbide's Micrograph : Typical Tungsten Carbide-Phase

Tungsten carbide characteristic

(comparing WC-Co7% tungsten carbide to high-speed steel)

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High wear-resistance High-hardness（Hv:15GPa） 2 times(than high speed steel)
Low elastic deformation High Young's modulus（E:620GPa） 3 times(than high speed steel)
Low plastic deformation High compressive strength（σ:5.3GPa） 2 times(than high speed steel)
Low thermal expansion coefficient Linear expansion coefficient（α:5×10-6/K） 1/2 times(than high speed steel)
High thermal diffusion High thermal conductivity（κ:80W/(m・K)） 5 times(than high speed steel)
High thermal transformation resistance High heat resistance
High corrosion resistance Possible to produce corrosion resistant alloy

Applications of Tungsten Carbide

The above characteristics are utilized in the cutting edges of tools, and die molds. In comparison with common heat-treated steel tools, tungsten carbide tools can withstand overwhelming machining speed and have longer tool-life than before, therefore the amount of tungsten carbide tools are increasing year on year. Tungsten carbide tools are utilized in various different fields, such as manufacturing of car engine, transmission, aircraft engine, generator, construction machine, die mold and other electronic devices.