Tungsten steel: The finished product contains about 18% tungsten alloy steel. Tungsten steel belongs to hard alloy, also known as tungsten-titanium alloy. The hardness is 10K Vickers, second only to diamond. Because of this, tungsten steel products (most common tungsten steel watches) have the characteristic of not being easily worn. It is often used in lathe tools, impact drill bits, glass cutter bits, tile cutters. It is strong and not afraid of annealing, but it is brittle.
Cemented carbide: belongs to the field of powder metallurgy. Cemented carbide, also known as metal ceramic, is a ceramic with certain properties of metal, which is made of metal carbides (WC, TaC, TiC, NbC, etc.) or metal oxides (such as Al2O3, ZrO2, etc.) as the main components, and an appropriate amount of metal powder (Co, Cr, Mo, Ni, Fe, etc.) is added through powder metallurgy. Cobalt (Co) is used to play a bonding effect in the alloy, that is, during the sintering process, it can surround the tungsten carbide (WC) powder and tightly bond together. After cooling, it becomes a cemented carbide. (The effect is equivalent to cement in concrete). The content is usually: 3%-30%. Tungsten carbide (WC) is the main component that determines some metal properties of this cemented carbide or cermet, accounting for 70%-97% of the total components (weight ratio). It is widely used in wear-resistant, high-temperature-resistant, corrosion-resistant parts or knives and tool heads in harsh working environments.
Tungsten steel belongs to cemented carbide, but cemented carbide is not necessarily tungsten steel. Nowadays, customers in Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries like to use the term tungsten steel. If you talk to them in detail, you will find that most of them still refer to cemented carbide.
The difference between tungsten steel and cemented carbide is that tungsten steel, also known as high-speed steel or tool steel, is made by adding tungsten iron as tungsten raw material to molten steel using steelmaking technology, also known as high-speed steel or tool steel, and its tungsten content is usually 15-25%; while cemented carbide is made by sintering tungsten carbide as the main body with cobalt or other bonding metals using powder metallurgy technology, and its tungsten content is usually above 80%. Simply put, anything with a hardness exceeding HRC65 as long as it is an alloy can be called cemented carbide, and tungsten steel is just a type of cemented carbide with a hardness between HRC85 and 92, and is often used to make knives.
Post time: Dec-17-2024
