Tungsten carbide products

We are able to provide kinds of tungsten carbide products, include tungsten carbide rod, tungsten carbide bar, tungsten carbide inserts, tungsten carbide plate and so on. Tungsten carbide is a material used for a number of industrial applications and it is characterised by its high strength, toughness and hardness. Its name derives from the Swedish for tung (heavy) and sten (stone) and it is mainly used in the form of cemented tungsten carbides. Cemented carbides (also known as hardmetals) are made by 'cementing' grains of tungsten carbide into a binder matrix of cobalt or/and nickel.
Tungsten carbide as a material can vary in carbide grain size (0.2 – 50 microns) and by binder contents (up to 30%), as well as by the addition of other carbides. By varying the grain size of the tungsten carbide and the binder content in the matrix, engineers have access to a class of materials whose properties can be tailored to a variety of engineering applications. This includes high-tech tools, wear parts and tools for the construction, mining and oil and gas sector.
Tungsten carbide products typically have a high resistance to wear and can be used at high temperatures, allowing tungsten carbide's combined hardness and toughness to significantly outperform its steel product equivalents.
Element Six tungsten carbide products
Our Hard Materials Division has been manufacturing tungsten carbide for over 60 years. We develop, produce and sell hardmetals and special tools for industries ranging from construction, mining and tunnelling, to oil and gas, textiles, automotive and agriculture. Our comprehensive unrivalled quality assurance programme ensures that all our inserts are certified to ISO 9001:2008 quality standards. For more information, please see our brochures.
As a company, we are focused on building business partnerships as our greatest strength is in developing customised solutions that create long-term advantages for our partners.

What is Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten carbide is an inorganic chemical composited by equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. In its most basic form, tungsten carbide is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery, cutting tools, abrasives, armor-piercing rounds, other tools and instruments, and jewelry. In its most basic form, it is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery, tools, abrasives, as well as men's jewelry.
The notable and rare combination of physical properties possessed by tungsten carbide makes it useful for a variety of applications. It is extremely strong and wear-resistant. There are only a few materials on earth that can be used to cut or engrave it, with industrial diamond abrasives being one of these. Its tensile strength is very high, but it is brittle under high pressures as a result. The melting point is also very high, at 5,200°F (2,870°C). To boil, it must be heated much further, to 10,382°F (6,000°C).
This compound can be made by reacting tungsten and carbon at temperatures of around 2,552 to 3,632°F (1,400 to 2,000°C). It is then often made into mills and cutting tools for industrial use, which are able to withstand heavy use and high temperatures. Military organizations also use it in armor-piercing ammunition as an alternative to depleted uranium because of its very high density and hardness level. Some sporting goods are made stronger and more durable by the addition of carbide. Trekking poles used by hikers, for instance, use carbide tips in order to gain traction on hard or rocky surfaces.
Several common consumer goods contain tungsten carbide, including razor blades and the rotating tips of ballpoint pens. It has also become increasingly common for it to be used in men's wedding bands. When used in this way, the bands have a dark hue that can be polished to a mirror-like shine. Due to the toughness of the material, these rings will remain shiny and scratch-free for decades.
Wedding bands made of carbide also contain other materials known as binders, usually metals such as nickel and cobalt. Cobalt has been known to cause allergic reactions on the skin of the wearer, so many manufacturers are turning toward substitute materials. Despite the common misconception that carbide rings cannot be removed in emergency situations, the jeweler's saws used in emergency rooms and jewelry shops can cut through any material that a ring might be made of.
It is important to note that tungsten carbide is made in nearly two dozen different grades that have different properties, depending on what each will be used for. They are almost all variations of just a few parameters: grain size, hardness, and the degree to which a binder is used. Generally, the higher the percentage of the finished product that is composed of binding materials like nickel, the softer it will be and the more it will wear. The size of the original powder grains makes slightly less difference, but can affect the amount of shock that the product will be able to withstand.

Conflict-free Tungsten Carbide in the Works

Conflict minerals is a term better known for tantalum and tin being sourced from conflict regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and other conflict areas. But it is important to note that tungsten, among other metals and minerals is also on the conflict mineral radar. On November 26, a joint conflict-free program was announced to help companies be more transparent in their sourcing of tungsten from conflict zones. The program is a collaboration between the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) and the Tungsten Industry Conflict Minerals Council (TI-CMC) and aims to help make it easier for companies to source conflict-free tungsten.
According to TI-CMC’s press release, by developing specialized framework members of the TI-CMC can opt to become validated as DRC conflict free tungsten smelters under the CFSI’s Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP). The initiative is the first time the organizations can provide information regarding conflict free tungsten smelters. The program can help companies sourcing DRC tantalum just in time for the U.S. reporting regulations for conflict minerals are slated to come into effect in 2014.
This week, Metal-Pages spoke with Robert Lederer, the executive director at the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), who explained that “Being able to provide companies with information about audit validated, conflict
free tungsten smelters is a real success for our initiative, companies, and crucially the people on the ground who are affected by conflict in central Africa.”
James R. Dale, vice President of Member and Industry Relations for the Metal Powder Industries Federation is pleased with the start of the program and the unified approach that is being taken to address the matter of conflict minerals. “The TI-CMC sees this collaboration as an efficient and practical way for tungsten smelters to provide confidence to their customers that their sourcing practices do not directly or indirectly support conflict in the Democratic REpublic of the COngo and adjoining countries,” Dale said in his statement.
TI-CMC compliant smelters can opt to undergo the Conflict-Free Smelter Program audit, and any compliant smelters will be publicly listed on the organizations’websites.

Sumitomo Electrics to Start Tungsten Carbide Recycling Operations

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., headquartered in Osaka, Japan, has started tungsten refining and scrap recycling operations in the United States. Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc., a subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric, and New York Tungsten LLC, a subsidiary of Buffalo Tungsten Inc., a tungsten powder producer in the United States, have established a joint venture company, Niagara Refining LLC (NIRE), to produce tungsten trioxide (WO3) from raw ore as well as from recycled material at NIRE’s facility in Depew, N.Y.
Operations are set to begin in March 2014.
Until now, A.L.M.T Corp., a subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric, has imported WO3 from China and other countries to produce tungsten carbide powder as a raw material for carbide tools. A.L.M.T. also has been engaged in tungsten scrap recycling at itsToyama, Japan, plant since 2011.
With the start of NIRE’s operations, Sumitomo Electric will produce raw materials for tungsten by both refining tungsten ore from tungsten mines and by recycling scrap collected from the market.
Sumitomo Electric says it will accelerate its activities to facilitate a stable supply of tungsten raw materials through using WO3 produced by NIRE and tungsten carbide powder production by A.L.M.T. This will allow Sumitomo Electric to control the supply chain from raw materials all the way to the finished product, which will further strengthen its competitiveness and achieve synergy through cooperation within the group, according to the company.