Equal amounts of tungsten and carbon atoms make up the chemical compound known as tungsten carbide, or WC. Tungsten carbide is a fine gray powder in its most basic form, but manufacturers press or shape it through sintering for use in jewelry, cutting tools, chisels, abrasives, industrial gear, and other products, including jewelry and armor-piercing shells. Read More…
Edgetech Industries provides pure tungsten (rod, bar, sheet, plate, foil, crucible, tubing, customized parts), tungsten composites (CuW, CuWC, AgW, AgWC), tungsten alloys (W-Ni-Fe & W-Ni-Cu heavy alloys used as bucking bar, weights, radiation shielding, and raw tungsten (powder, trioxide, carbide) and granules/flux. We also provide tailor-made non-ferrous metals & alloys, rare earth elements,...
Titan International, Inc. is a dedicated supplier of quality products to the metal finishing industry. Through our partnering with a wide base of suppliers, Titan International is able to provide a broad metal product line. In addition to supplying high purity metals and metal powders, we will buy and/or sell your bulk scrap metal, including tungsten, tungsten carbide, nickel, and other metals.
Since 1987 our tungsten metal products have made us a leader in the worldwide market. Buffalo Tungsten is a tungsten supplier of tungsten metal powder & tungsten carbide powder used in tungsten bar & rod. Our tungsten wire is used in filament in light bulbs, electrical contacts & sports equipment.
At Global Tungsten & Powders (GTP), we have experience manufacturing and marketing products such as tungsten chemicals, tungsten carbide, and semi-finished tungsten parts. Industries we serve include aerospace, automotive, construction, and defense. We have established a global footprint for the production of tungsten materials by providing our customers with security of supply and continuous...
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Properties of Tungsten Carbide Materials
Tungsten carbide is harder and more rigid than all known melted, cast, and forged metals and alloys. It also has higher compressive strength, very high impact resistance, high strength, high resistance to deflection and deformation, and the ability to withstand low temperatures while being heat and oxidation-resistant. Tungsten carbide also has dimensional stability without the need for heat treatment. Although there are numerous tungsten carbide grades, all of them share these fundamental characteristics. A few grades are able to attain corrosion resistance that is comparable to noble metals.
The tungsten carbide phase can be heated to high temperatures using plasma, then quenched in inert gas to produce another meta-stable tungsten and carbon combination. High-temperature thermal spraying can cause tungsten carbide to break down into tungsten and carbon at high temperatures.
Applications of Tungsten Carbide
Machine Tool Cutting Tools
Sintered tungsten carbide-cobalt cutting tools, which can tolerate higher temperatures than typical high-speed steel (HSS) tools, are made by manufacturers and are particularly resistant to abrasion. Carbide cutting surfaces are often used to cut through hard materials like carbon steel or stainless steel, or when steel tools would wear out quickly, like in high-volume, high-precision production.
Here are some machining uses for tungsten carbide:
- Drilling: Carbide is used to create drill bits and other tools that create cylinder-shaped holes in a variety of materials, including wood, metal, and plastic. These tools are especially helpful when working with doors, windows, hinges, and latches. They are also excellent for making machine components for automobiles and motorcycles.
- Milling: Carbide is used to create milling bits, end mills, and other material-removal equipment.
- Turning: Inserts and bits for turning are made of carbide. To improve the effectiveness and tool life of these cutting tools, manufactures can additionally use synthetic diamonds, polycrystalline diamond (PCD), and cubic boron nitride (CBN).
- Punch and die: Cutting tools for punch and die are occasionally made from carbide. Tungsten carbide is an excellent material for punches and dies because of its remarkable resistance to pressure, heat, and conduction.
Mining Machinery
Some tungsten carbide suppliers are experts in providing tungsten carbide for mining machinery. It is widely employed in mining in roller-cutters, long wall chisels, long wall shearer picks, raise boring reamers, and tunnel boring machines, in addition to top hammer rock drill bits, downhole hammers, and roller-cutters.
Additionally, it is employed in these applications for wear- and corrosion-resistant good screens, sub-assemblies, seal rings, and bushings that are typical in oil and gas drilling. It is typically used as a button insert, mounted in a steel matrix that surrounds it and makes up the bit's body. The weaker steel matrix that surrounds the tungsten carbide button likewise erodes as it is worn away, revealing an additional button insert.
Medical Equipment and Instruments
Additionally, suppliers of surgical equipment for laparoscopic surgery, such as graspers, scissors or cutters, and needle holders, supply these types of equipment, which are manufactured from tungsten carbide. They are far more expensive than their stainless-steel equivalents and need careful treatment, but they function better.
Tungsten Carbide Jewellery
Due to its exceptional hardness and strong resistance to scratching, tungsten carbide, commonly in the form of cemented carbide (carbide particles brazed together by metal), has become a prominent material in the bridal jewellery business. This exceptional hardness means that even with strong impact resistance, it can occasionally be broken under specific conditions. While precious metals would flatten and need to be cut, a blow would instantly break a tungsten ring, making it easy to take off.
Advantages of Tungsten Carbide
- High-temperature resistant: For steel cutters, overheating is a significant problem. Steel blades may experience a variety of issues due to excessive heat. To begin with, extreme temperatures may cause them to shift in shape. Steel tool deformations like that might make them useless. Choosing carbide blades is one technique to avoid thermal deformations, which is a typical problem. These tungsten carbide blades are strong and durable, and they can withstand a great deal of heat. They are able to sustain good performance even in the presence of extremely high temperatures. The effectiveness of cutting will increase due to these carbide tools' resilience to heat.
- Finished surfaces: Because it creates precise cuts, tungsten carbide is used by manufacturers of cutting instruments. However, the smoothness and cleanliness of the workpiece surface after machining are also critical. Cutting blades made of tungsten carbide are highly adept at doing those. These clean cuts also make it simpler to use the instruments, lowering the chance of harm.
- Keeps its edge longer: Because a tungsten carbide circular blade is more durable than steel, it can keep its edge longer and lose it less quickly than a steel knife. As a result, less time and effort will be required to sharpen it on a regular basis. On the other side, one hardly ever requires carbide blade sharpening. The tool has an exceptional ability to keep its edge. This adds to the tool's overall usability and convenience.
- Reparability: Manufacturers of tungsten carbide cutting tools consider its robust quality. Even if the carbide blades become dull, they are still simple to repair. To sharpen a fresh edge, operators merely need to utilize a grinding wheel.
Choosing the Correct Tungsten Carbide Supplier
To make sure you have the most positive outcome when purchasing tungsten carbide from a tungsten carbide supplier, it is important to compare at least 4 to 5 suppliers using our tungsten carbide directory. Each tungsten carbide supplier has a business profile page that highlights their areas of experience and capabilities and a contact form to directly communicate with the supplier for more information or request a quote. Review each tungsten carbide company website using our proprietary website previewer to get an idea of what each business specializes in, and then use our simple RFQ form to contact multiple tungsten carbide companies with the same message.
