Carbide Production Process
Powder preparation
The tungsten carbide is mixed with the binder metal cobalt, nickel or iron, grain growth inhibitors and special alloys as well as materials which promote compaction by wet grinding to create a homogeneous suspension. Afterwards, the suspension is dried to produce a granulate with good flow characteristics. This granulate represents the basis for all forming processes.
Forming / Pressing
The objective of the forming process is to obtain a compacted sample. There are several ways for the pressing of carbide blanks:
Sintering
The sintering is the process which converts the blank after pressing into a homogeneous and dense cemented carbide with a high level of hardness by heat. The material is sintered at temperatures between 1300 and 1500°C (liquid phase sintering for tungsten carbide) and sometimes also at high pressure.
Finishing-Grinding
In order to achieve the final requirements of surface finish and dimension tolerances, carbide parts can undergo a series of finishing processes such as grinding, polishing, spark erosion and coating.