Is cemented carbide the same as tungsten steel? What is the difference between the two?

2025-06-06 11:01:11

For a long time, many people in the industry have believed that cemented CARBIDE is tungsten steel. Today we will talk about the difference between cemented carbide and tungsten steel. 1. Cemented carbide Cemented carbide is made of hard compounds of refractory metals and bonding metals through powder metallurgy. It is an alloy material with extremely high hardness. Tungsten carbide (WC) is the main component of cemented carbide, accounting for 70%-97% of the total composition; bonding metal is used to play a bonding role in the alloy, and the content is usually 3%-30%. During the sintering process, it can surround the tungsten carbide powder and bond it tightly together. After cooling, it becomes cemented carbide. Therefore, commonly used cemented carbides are divided into three categories according to composition and performance characteristics: tungsten-cobalt, tungsten-titanium-cobalt, and tungsten-titanium-tantalum (niobium). The most widely used cemented carbides in production are tungsten-cobalt and tungsten-titanium-cobalt cemented carbides. 2. Tungsten-cobalt cemented carbide The main COMPONENTS are tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt. The grade is represented by the code YG (the Chinese pinyin initials of the words "hard" and "cobalt"), followed by the percentage of the cobalt content. For example, YG6 represents a tungsten-cobalt cemented carbide with a cobalt content of 6% and a tungsten carbide content of 94%. 3. Tungsten-titanium-cobalt cemented carbide The main components are tungsten carbide (WC), titanium carbide (TiC) and cobalt. The grade is represented by the code YT (the Chinese pinyin initials of the words "hard" and "titanium"), followed by the percentage of the titanium carbide content. For example, YT15 represents a tungsten-titanium-cobalt cemented carbide with a titanium carbide content of 15%. 4. Tungsten-titanium-tantalum (niobium) cemented carbide This type of cemented carbide is also called general cemented carbide or universal cemented carbide. The main components are tungsten carbide (WC), titanium carbide (TiC), tantalum carbide (TaC) or niobium carbide (NbC) and cobalt. The brand number is represented by the code YW followed by a sequence number.