Tungsten Carbide VS HSS （2）

The material ingredients' difference

Tungsten carbide

The cemented carbide has a main component of a metal high hardness refractory carbide with WC powder, cobalt (CO) or nickel (Ni), and molybdenum (MO) as the binder. It is a powder metallurgical product sintered in a vacuum furnace or hydrogen reduction furnace.

HSS

High-speed steel is complex steel, with a carbon content generally between 0.70% and 1.65%, 18.91% Tungsten content, 5.47% Chloroprene rubber content, a 0.11% Manganese content.

The production process difference

Tungsten carbide

The manufacturing of cemented carbide is mixing tungsten carbide and cobalt in a certain proportion, pressurizing them into various shapes, and then semi-sintering. This sintering process is usually carried out in a vacuum furnace. It is placed in a vacuum oven to complete the sintering, and at this time, the temperature is approximately 1300°C and 1,500°C. The sintered tungsten carbide forming has pressed the powder into a blank and then is heated to a certain degree in the sintering furnace. It needs to keep the temperature for a certain time and then cool down, thereby obtaining the desired carbide material.

HSS

The heat treatment process of HSS is more complicated than cemented carbide, which must be quenched and tempered. The quenching, due to the poor thermal conductivity, is generally divided into two stages. Preheat first at 800 ~ 850 °C, so as not to cause large thermal stress, then quickly heat to the quenching temperature of 1190°C to 1290 °C which is distinguished when the different grades in the actual use. Then cool down by oil cooling, air cooling, or gas-filled cooling.

The applications of Tungsten carbide tools and HSS tools 

Tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide can also be used as rock-drilling tools, mining tools, drilling tools, measuring tools, carbide wear parts, cylinder liners, precision bearings, nozzles, hardware molds such as wire drawing dies, bolt dies, nut dies, and various fastener dies, which have excellent performance, gradually replacing the previous steel mold.

HSS

HSS has good process performance with a good combination of strength and toughness, therefore mainly used to manufacture metal cutting tools with complex thin edges and good impact-resistant, high-temperature bearings and cold extrusion molds.

Summary

The tungsten carbide tool will be the best choice for most typical metal processing. The cemented carbide has a better performance than HSS, with high cutting speed, long service life, and excellent wear resistance. High-speed steel is more suitable for tools with complex shapes.