What are the characteristics of carbide cutting tools?

Carbide tools, especially indexable carbide tools, are the leading products of CNC machining tools. Since the 1980s, the variety of solid and indexable carbide tools, or inserts, has expanded to various processing field. Tools, use indexable carbide tools to expand from simple tools and face milling cutters to precision, complex, and forming tools. So, what are the characteristics of carbide tools?

1. High hardness: Cemented carbide Cutting Tools are made of carbide with high hardness and melting point (called hard phase) and metal binder (called bonding phase) by powder metallurgy method, and its hardness is 89~93HRA, Much higher than that of high-speed steel, at 5400C, the hardness can still reach 82-87HRA, which is the same as that of high-speed steel at room temperature (83-86HRA). The hardness of cemented carbide varies with the nature, quantity, grain size and content of metal binding phase, and generally decreases with the increase of metal binding phase content. With the same adhesive phase content, the hardness of YT alloy is higher than that of YG alloy, while the alloy containing TaC (NbC) has higher hardness at high temperature.

2. Bending strength and toughness: The bending strength of ordinary cemented carbide is in the range of 900-1500MPa. The higher the content of the metal binding phase, the higher the bending strength. When the binder content is the same, YG(WC-Co). The strength of the alloy is higher than that of the YT (WC-Tic-Co) alloy, and the strength decreases with the increase of TiC content. Cemented carbide is a brittle material, and its impact toughness at room temperature is only 1/30 to 1/8 of HSS.

3. Good wear resistance. The cutting speed of cemented carbide tools is 4~7 times higher than that of high-speed steel, and the tool life is 5~80 times higher. For the manufacture of molds and measuring tools, the service life is 20 to 150 times longer than that of alloy tool steel. It can cut hard materials of about 50HRC.

The use of carbide tools: carbide tools are generally used in CNC machining centers, CNC engraving machines. It can also be installed on an ordinary milling machine to process some relatively hard, uncomplicated heat-treated materials.

At present, the processing tools of composite materials, industrial plastics, plexiglass materials and non-ferrous metal materials on the market are all carbide tools, which have the characteristics of high hardness, wear resistance, good toughness, heat resistance and corrosion resistance. As well as a series of excellent properties, especially its high hardness and wear resistance, even if it remains basically unchanged at a temperature of 500 °C, it still has high hardness at 1000 °C.

Carbide is widely used as tool material, such as turning tools, milling cutters, planers, drills, boring tools, etc., for cutting cast iron, non-ferrous metals, plastics, chemical fibers, graphite, glass, stone, etc. Ordinary steel can also be used for cutting heat-resistant steel, stainless steel, high manganese steel, tool steel and other difficult-to-machine materials.