Solid Tungsten Carbide Components
The life of many parts used in high volume production or high wear applications that are made of hardened tool steel, can be improved by switching to tungsten carbide.
Solid carbide design considerations:
- While the cost of a solid carbide part can be relatively high, this can be offset by having non-critical part features machined to size prior to sintering.
- Part design can be simplified when making the part out of solid carbide when compared to inserting a carbide insert into a steel case. There are less surfaces that need to be machined, thus reducing machining costs.
- Invar inserts can be added to the part where threaded holes are required. The invar inserts are similar to low carbon steel and can be threaded using conventional drills and taps. The invar inserts are silver soldered to the tungsten carbide part.
- Tungsten carbide parts are about twice the weight of the same part made from steel. This weight increase and its effect on the machine design needs to be considered when switching from steel to tungsten carbide.
