The WC-Co (Carbide) is the generic name for certain metal that is combined with a tungsten carbide (WC) and a cobalt (Co) which is a binder and sinters at a high temperature and produced.
Generally, it is considered to have the hardness next to the diamond, but it can be changed the ratio of WC and Co depending on some usages and can be changed the characteristic.
It can be changed a characteristic by adding Ni or the Cr, and the materials manufacturer develops various types of WC-Co (Carbide).
The WC-Co (Carbide) without Co is also developed.
The WC-Co (Carbide) is mainly used as materials of a field required the abrasion resistance and the impact resistance characteristics such as a cutting tool or the die. We would choose any type of WC-Co (carbide)
- Quite hard (HRA80 to 95)
- Although the WC-Co(Carbide) is a kind of brittle material which might be breakabke depending on the stress of adding load and/or power , but is tenacious for hardness
- By changing a particle size and quantity of Co, its hardness could be settled as sticky super hard.
- High Specific Gravity (13 to 15g/㎤)
- Very expensive than the dies steel and the HSS steel
- Because it is manufactured from powder, it can be easily produce even oneIt eliminated need for the hardening or the temperingThe sinker and wire cut electric discharge machining can be availableUsing the diamond tool for cutting work or grinding work
- The emeritus professor at Osaka University Kozo Osakada stated as follows.
“The WC-Co (Carbide) was developed as the materials for the drawing dies. It is not clear that when is the beginning age to use the WC-Co (Carbide) to the cold forging, but it is thought that it was used from very begining (about the year 1940) of developping the cold forging in Germany.
The tungsten carbide tool was known in Japan, but the dies steel (SKD11) was the majority in the 1960s. After the 1980s, it came to often use the high-speed steel (HSS) and the WC-Co (Carbide). The precision of the cold forging product comes to have much use of the WC-Co (Carbide) for the purpose of the product precision improvement recently to be influenced by the elastic deformation of the tool greatly ”
Above tendency is remarkable in the cold heading process, and there comes to a certain assessment that the WC-Co (carbide) is absolutely indispensable
Post time: Apr-14-2024
