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TECHNOLOGY 33
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boasts a number of advantages, including dimensional stability, PxHere
good strength characteristics, and resistance to temperature
and moisture fluctuations.
It is unfortunate that, in addition to wood in particle or

fibre form, binders, fillers and thinners, particleboard and
fibreboard also contain silica.
In the domain of material machining, particularly in the
context of milling processes, it is imperative to select the
optimal cutting tools to ensure superior machining quality,
process efficiency, and tool life.
The utilisation of WC-Co composites in the machining
of challenging materials is a common practice, owing to In conventional carbide technologies, VC, Cr3 C2
the composites’ elevated hardness, wear resistance, and inhibitors are incorporated into the sintering process with

dimensional stability. a view to constraining the growth of WC grains, which
Carbide tools are most commonly used for machining have been observed to expand when exposed to elevated
wood-based materials. Cutting tools are frequently exposed temperatures.
to elevated temperatures and high levels of intensity during In the work of “Sintering and microstructural development
operation. in WC/Co-based alloys made with superfine WC powder”
The application of transverse pressure has been demonstrated conducted by Carroll, D.F., WC-Co composites were prepared
to enhance the vulnerability of such tools to fracture at using the conventional sintering method with the incorporation

temperatures that exceed ambient levels. The durability of of inhibitors.
carbide tools is contingent upon the material properties that In the case of superfine WC-Co formulations containing
are exhibited at elevated temperatures. both vanadium carbide and chromium carbide, the admixture
of a grain growth inhibitor was equally effective.
Main Materials & Technology during Sintering Process The results indicate that the presence of VC has a tendency
Cemented carbides are constituted of a fine-grained metal to reduce the solubility of W in the Co alloy, thus inhibiting
carbide in a metal binder. The majority of cemented carbides WC dissolution and growth. It has been demonstrated that
are of the tungsten carbide variety, with a cobalt WC-Co binder. the hardness and strength of carbides improve as the WC
Carbides are conventionally manufactured through a process grain size decreases to nanometre levels.

involving the cold pressing of powder mixtures, followed by Consequently, ultrafine-grained carbide exhibits superior
sintering in the liquid phase within induction or resistance-heated mechanical properties in comparison with conventional alloys.
furnaces. The temperature of these furnaces is typically in the However, during the preparation of ultrafine-grained carbide,
range of 1300 to 1600 deg C, with the precise temperature crystalline grains exhibit a heightened propensity for growth
depending on the composition of the carbide mixture. during the sintering process.
Research has demonstrated that the sintering mechanism is This phenomenon can be attributed to the lower surface
contingent on the dimensions of WC particles and the quantity energy exhibited by nano-WC particles in comparison with

of binder that is dispersed across the particle boundaries of their ordinary WC counterparts. Consequently, the conventional
carbides. sintering method often proves ineffective in the production of