Things You Should Know about Forming Agent

As we all know, tungsten carbide, also called cemented carbide, has to experience mixing, milling, pressing, and sintering before it becomes a hard and resistant material. During the pressing, factory workers always add some forming agent to help compact better. In this article, we are going to know some things you may not know about the important but hardly known material, forming agent.

Functions of Forming Agent

1. Increase the hardness of tungsten carbide.

The forming agent can become the forming agent film, covering powder particles, which can help to bond strongly. It can increase the hardness of tungsten carbide but also decrease the delamination and crack.

2. Improve the distribution of the tungsten carbide density.

Adding forming agents to the powder can turn to less toughness and better facilities, which can help shorten the hindrance during the powder’s moving. And forming agent has the function of lubrication, so it can generate less friction and improve the distribution of the tungsten carbide density.

3. Prevent the oxidation of powder.

The protection film produced by the forming agent can prevent the oxidation of powder.

How to Choose Forming Agent

1. The forming agent has to have a suitable viscosity, which can help to produce materials with better facilitate, suitable density, and necessary hardness.

2. The forming agent should have a lower melting point. It would be better to be liquid under room temperature, or it can be solved in some solution.

3. The forming agent needs to be put out easily so that it will not increase the amount of carbon or other materials in the tungsten carbide. 

Nowadays, many kinds of forming agents are applied in the production of tungsten carbide, like paraffin wax and synthesis rubber. They are different in many ways.

Paraffin wax can be used for fined powder and it is not easy to crack and have delamination during high-pressure pressing. And paraffin wax is not easy to age so it can be stored for a long time. It can also keep the tungsten carbide pure because it will not bring any other materials into the tungsten carbide. But it also has its shortcoming. Paraffin wax asks for a lower pressure than synthesis rubber in pressing.

Synthesis rubber has great elasticity, so it can endure higher pressure during pressing. It can be used to press at a higher speed and will not have cracks. But it is easy to age and difficult to store.

It is vital to choose a suitable forming agent so that it is possible to produce high-quality tungsten carbide.

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