Cemented Carbide Production

Cemented carbides are composites of hard carbide particles bonded together by a metallic binder. The process for manufacturing carbide rods is as follows:

AFC Hartmetall carbide rod production.jpg

Starting materials for the most common cemented carbides are tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt (Co) powders. The process is as follows:

  • Ingredients are weighed
  • Ingredients are mixed/milled and dried
  • Mixed powder is inspected for quality control
  • Mixed powder is extruded or pressed/compacted into rods
  • Green (unsintered) rods can now be soft machined to your requirements
  • Green rods are then sintered (heated), giving the rods their strength
  • Sintered rods may also be machined to your requirements
  • Final quality control inspections.