How Does Tungsten Carbide Work?
Tungsten carbide, generally known as just “carbide,” is usually a familiar material around the shop. This compound of tungsten and carbon has revolutionized the metal-cutting globe more than the decades, enabling improved speeds and feeds and supplying longer tool life. Tungsten carbide was first investigated as a cutting tool material in 1925, by Dr. Samuel Hoyt, a scientist at Basic Electric’s Lamp Division. Later GE opened the Carboloy division to generate tungsten carbide cutting tools. Inside the late 1930s, Philip M. McKenna, founder of Kennametal, discovered that adding a titanium compound towards the mix created the tools function much better at higher speeds. This started the march toward today’s lightning-fast cutting speeds. Tungsten carbide , a vital member with the class of inorganic compounds of carbon, used alone or with 6 to 20 % of other metals to impart hardness to cast iron, cutting edges of saws and drills, and penetrating cores of armor-piercing projectiles. “Cem