Why Is Carbide Used For Cutting Tools?

In modern processing, many users encounter a problem: Why can’t ordinary steel knives meet the daily processing requirements? The cutting tools wear out quickly and the cutting efficiency is low, especially when processing metals and aluminum materials, these problems are more prominent. Faced with such troubles, cemented carbide cutting tools have become the choice of an increasing number of enterprises and factories. So, why can tungsten carbide solve these problems and what are its advantages?

The Advantages Of Tungsten Carbide

Solid carbide cutting tools are formed by sintering tungsten carbide and metal binders at high temperatures. Cemented carbide cutting tools perform well in metal processing mainly due to their material properties and structural design:

High hardness and wear resistance

Cemented carbide is mainly formed by sintering tungsten carbide particles with metal binders at high temperatures, and its hardness is much higher than that of high-speed steel knives. High hardness enables the cutting tool to remain sharp for a long time during the cutting process, reducing wear. For difficult-to-machine materials such as high-hardness steel or stainless steel, tungsten carbide tools do not chipping as quickly as high-speed steel tools, thus ensuring continuous processing and stable dimensional accuracy.

Good thermal hardness, high temperature cutting resistance

In high-speed cutting or deep hole processing, the cutting edge generates a large amount of heat. cemented carbide cutting tools have excellent thermal hardness. Even when the temperature rises, they can maintain their strength and hardness and will not soften or fail due to heat. This means that under high-speed processing conditions, the cutting tool can maintain a stable cutting force, improve processing efficiency, and at the same time avoid workpiece scrapping caused by tool chipping.

Strong impact resistance

Cemented carbide cutting tools have a composite strength of the interaction between particles and binders in their microstructure, which can resist the impact and vibration generated during processing. When performing continuous or intermittent cutting, the tool is less likely to experience chipping or cracking, thereby increasing the tool’s lifespan and ensuring the quality of the machined surface at the same time.

Stable cutting performance and good chip control

Cemented carbide cutting tools have sharp cutting edges and their geometric shapes can optimize the chip flow direction, making the cutting force distribution uniform. Smooth chip discharge reduces the friction between the cutting edge and the workpiece, lowers the processing temperature and tool load. This feature is particularly evident when processing light metals such as aluminium and copper, as it can prevent the tool from sticking or burrs and enhance the surface finish.

Strong adaptability to multiple materials

Cemented carbide cutting tools can cut various metals such as steel, aluminum, stainless steel and copper, and are even suitable for some alloy materials with relatively high hardness. This wide adaptability means that users do not have to frequently change tools for different materials, reducing the pressure of tool inventory and simplifying the production process at the same time.

So, the material properties and structural design of tungsten carbide tools make them perform outstandingly in terms of wear resistance, high-temperature resistance, impact resistance and cutting stability, fundamentally solving the problems of tool wear, chipping and unstable processing that traditional tools encounter when processing high-hardness metals or high-speed cutting.

Can Tungsten Carbide Cutting Tools Cut Aluminum And Other Metals?

Many users are concerned about the applicability of tungsten carbide cutting tools, especially for light metals and high-hardness metals. cemented carbide cutting tools can process a variety of metal materials, including steel, copper, stainless steel and aluminum, etc.

• Aluminum cutting: Cemented carbide tools remain sharp, the cutting process is smooth, the surface of the finished product is clean and free of burrs, and there is almost no sticking phenomenon. This is particularly important for high-precision aluminum processing
• Cutting steel or stainless steel: The cutting tools are durable and are not prone to wear or chipping even under high-speed cutting conditions, ensuring a continuous and stable processing process. They are suitable for batch production and high-precision processing

Therefore, whether processing light metals or high-hardness metals, tungsten carbide tools can provide reliable cutting performance, meet various production requirements, and simultaneously enhance processing efficiency and quality.

Improve Efficiency And Reduce Costs When Using Tungsten Carbide Cutting Tools

The use of tungsten carbide cutting tools can effectively address the core pain points in production and bring economic benefits at the same time:

• Improving processing efficiency: cemented carbide tools can operate at higher cutting speeds, shortening the production cycle and enhancing the overall efficiency of the production line
• Cost reduction: Long tool life, low maintenance and replacement frequency, reducing downtime and procurement costs
• Ensure processing quality: Stable cutting force, high surface quality, and reduced rework rate and defective product rate

Tungsten carbide cutting tools not only enhance production efficiency but also help enterprises achieve lean management, ensuring that every processed product meets quality standards while reducing overall operating costs.

How To Choose Appropriate Carbide Cutting Tools?

When choosing cutting tools, factors such as the material to be processed, cutting speed and processing depth should be taken into consideration

• Coating type: Different coatings can enhance wear resistance and high-temperature resistance. Select the most suitable coating based on processing conditions
• Tool geometry: The design of the tool tip and the Angle of the cutting edge directly affect the cutting force, chip removal and machining stability

By rationally choosing the type and parameters of cutting tools, the advantages of tungsten carbide can be fully exploited, achieving the best processing efficiency and quality, and also making the investment in cutting tools more economically valuable.

Final Words

Tungsten carbide cutting tools have solved the problems of low efficiency, short service life and unstable processing quality of traditional cutting tools. It is wear-resistant and heat-resistant, and can stably cut various metal materials, including aluminum and steel.

The use of Tungsten carbide cutting tools not only enhances production efficiency and reduces overall costs, but also ensures processing quality and consistency. In modern metal processing, tungsten carbide cutting tools have become indispensable tools, bringing stable and reliable processing experiences and long-term economic benefits to enterprises.

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