What is Tungsten Carbide?

If you have heard a lot about tungsten carbide but are unsure of what it is or what benefits it could bring to your or your business, stick around. Tungsten carbide should be viewed as a chemical compound, formed in an inorganic way, which hosts the same number of tungsten atoms and carbon. It some ways, this helps to explain the name, being a balanced mix of tungsten and of carbon but many people will just refer to tungsten carbide and carbide.
 
Tungsten carbide has a great number of uses but taken at its simplest level, it is available in a powder, grey in colour. However, this powder can be taken and pressed which is then processed into a variety of shapes. These shapes can provide the foundation for many products including male jewellery, tools, abrasives and even industrial machines.
 
The fact that tungsten carbide is such a versatile compound means that it carries a great number of benefits and uses. The physical elements brought together and maintained by tungsten combined are quite rare but this only helps to make it a better foundation for so many products. Some of the biggest strengths of tungsten carbide lies in the fact that it is very durable and can resist wear and tear. With respect to tungsten carbide being cut or engraved, this means that there is just a limited number of materials available that can do the job. If you are looking to engrave or professionally cut tungsten carbide, a diamond or a diamond abrasive will be one of the best ways to get the job in an efficient and effective manner.
 
Tungsten carbide holds a high tensile strength but this means that it can become fragile or unreliable under extreme pressure. Anyone interested in tungsten carbide’s point of melting should note that it comes out at 2,870 °C which is equivalent to 5,200°F. In order to be able to boil tungsten carbide, the temperature levels have to be even higher, which means you would be looking at a heat of around 6,000 °C or 10,382 °F.
 
One of the most ways to create this compound is done by reacting carbon and tungsten at a temperature level of between 1,400 to 2,000 °C which is the equivalent of 2,552 to 3,632 °F. One of the major uses of tungsten carbide comes with industrial use with tools for cutting and even mills being made of the material.
 
 
Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Molybdenum News & Molybdenum Price: http://news.molybdenum.com.cn

 

Tungsten Carbide Powder Typical Applications

1) Machine tools
 
Carbide cutting surfaces are often used for machining through materials such as carbon or stainless steel, as well as in situations where other tools would wear away, such as high-quantity production runs. Most of the time, carbide will leave a better finish on the part, and allow faster machining. Carbide tools can also withstand higher temperatures than standard high speed steel tools. The material is usually called cemented carbide, hardmetal or tungsten-carbide cobalt: it is a metal matrix composite where tungsten carbide particles are the aggregate and metallic cobalt serves as the matrix.
 
2)  Military
 
a) Tungsten carbide is often used in armor-piercing ammunition, especially where depleted uranium is not available or not politically acceptable. The first use of W2C projectiles occurred in German Luftwaffe tank-hunter squadrons, which used 37 mm autocannon equipped Junkers Ju 87G dive bomber aircraft to destroy Soviet T-34 tanks in World War II. Owing to the limited German reserves of tungsten, W2C material was reserved for making machine tools and small numbers of projectiles for the most elite combat pilots, like Hans-Ulrich Rudel. It is an effective penetrator due to its high hardness value combined with a very high density.
 
b) Tungsten carbide ammunition can be of the sabot type (a large arrow surrounded by a discarding push cylinder) or a subcaliber ammunition, where copper or other relatively soft material is used to encase the hard penetrating core, the two parts being separated only on impact. The latter is more common in small-caliber arms, while sabots are usually reserved for artillery use.
 
c) Tungsten carbide is also an effective neutron reflector and as such was used during early investigations into nuclear chain reactions, particularly for weapons. A criticality accident occurred at Los Alamos National Laboratory on 21 August 1945 when Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium sphere, causing the sub-critical mass to go critical with the reflected neutrons.
 
3) Sports
 
a) Hard carbides, especially tungsten carbide, are used by athletes, generally on poles which impact hard surfaces. Trekking poles, used by many hikers for balance and to reduce pressure on leg joints, generally use carbide tips in order to gain traction when placed on hard surfaces (like rock); such carbide tips last much longer than other types of tips.
 
b) While ski pole tips are generally not made of carbide, since they do not need to be especially hard even to break through layers of ice, rollerski tips usually are. Roller skiing emulates cross country skiing and is used by many skiers to train during warm weather months.
 
c) Sharpened carbide tipped spikes (known as studs) can be inserted into the drive tracks of snowmobiles. These studs enhance traction on icy surfaces. Longer v-shaped segments fit into grooved rods called wear rods under each snowmobile ski. The relatively sharp carbide edges enhance steering on harder icy surfaces. The carbide tips and segments reduce wear encountered when the snowmobile must cross roads and other abrasive surfaces.
 
d) Some tire manufacturers, such as Nokian and Schwalbe, offer bicycle tires with tungsten carbide studs for better traction on ice. These are generally preferred over steel studs because of their wear resistance.
 
4) Domestic
 
a) Tungsten carbide is sometimes used as the rotating ball in the tips of ballpoint pens to disperse ink during writing.
 
b) Tungsten carbide can now be found in the inventory of some jewelers, most notably as the primary material in men's wedding bands. When used in this application the bands appear with a lustrous dark hue often buffed to a mirror finish. The color is more similar to that of hematite than to that of platinum. The finish is highly resistant to scratches and scuffs, holding its mirror-like shine for years, although many jewelers are now able to inlay precious metals, woods, and other materials into tungsten carbide rings, which may not be as scratch-resistant as the tungsten carbide portions of the jewelry.
 
c) A common misconception held concerning tungsten carbide rings is they cannot be removed in the course of emergency medical treatment, requiring the finger to be removed instead. Emergency rooms and many full-service jewelry repair shops are equipped with jewelers' saws that can cut through tungsten carbide rings without injuring the hand or finger. An easier way to remove tungsten carbide rings is to use a tool such as vice grip style locking pliers.
 
d) Many manufacturers of this emerging jewelry material state that the use of a cobalt binder may cause unwanted reactions between the cobalt and the natural oils on human skin. Skin oils cause the cobalt to leach from the material. This is said to cause possible irritation of the skin and permanent staining of the jewelry itself. Many manufacturers now advertise that their jewelry is "cobalt free". This is achieved by replacing the cobalt with nickel as a binder. 
 
 
Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Molybdenum News & Molybdenum Price: http://news.molybdenum.com.cn

 

Tungsten Bank Fishing Sinkers

Tungsten bank fishing sinkers also known as reef sinkers resemble seeding leaves or egg fishing sinkers but the bank sinkers do not have a brass loop to hold the line. The bank reef fishing sinkers have a lead-mold eye, just like peduncle of seeding leaves.

These seeding leaves-shaped and tapered-shaped sinkers feature for hexagon sides other than smooth round surface, and the flat sides of the bank fishing sinkers contribute to preventing the sinkers from rolling in current and the tapered shape prevent the fishing sinkers from snagging in rocks.

Tungsten bank fishing sinkersare widely used in the past and of course it is commonly adopted by many anglers now as it works well and its bulbous shape prevents it from hanging up on the rocks.

Tungsten alloy is widely used to be the materials for fishing sinkers, contributing its environment friendly which the traditional material lead can not reach. What is more, it’s the good corrosion resistance property which makes the tungsten bank fishing sinkers more widely used.

Bank-fishing-sinkers


Tungsten Alloy Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-alloy.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, WML Version: http://m.chinatungsten.com

What Are the Different Types of Tungsten Wire?

Tungsten wire can vary according to its size, use, and appearance. The most common application of this wire is for lighting lamps, because tungsten is very tolerant of heat. Halogen, fluorescent, and incandescent lights use the thinnest type, usually with a diameter of .001 inches (.0254 millimeters) to .1 inches (2.54 millimeters).
 
Pure tungsten wire can be classified as either a Type 1A or a Type 1B. Type 1A wire has non-sagging properties, typically used in hospital devices such as LEEP electrodes, thermionic emitters, and corona generation. The Type 1B can be used for products that use glass-to-metal seals, such as vacuum tubes, reed switches, and incandescent light bulbs; these wires are usually 99.95-percent pure and are excellent heat and electrical conductors. Wires of pure tungsten are usually more than .20 inches (5.08 millimeters) thick in diameter. They are so resistant to heat that some manufactured tungsten wires can have a melting point of about 6,150° Fahrenheit (3,400° Celsius).
 
Another type of tungsten wire is the doped wire. This means some elements have been added to somehow modify its strength and resistance. Doping also alters its chemical structure, and the wire will have an interlocking composition that makes it stronger. Three elements are commonly used in doping tungsten: potassium, aluminum, and silicon. This type of wire ranges from .001 inches (.0254 millimeters) to .250 inches (6.35 millimeters) in thickness and is used for wire and lamp filaments.
 
Another chemical called thoria can also be mixed in with tungsten to produce a specialized wire. Type 2A is the thoriated filament wire with just 1-percent of thoria, while the Type 2B has 2 percent. These wires can be manufactured into thread-like thinness and used for microwave ovens and plasma wielding. This type of tungsten wire is said to be 50 percent more effective as an electric conductor.
 
Tungsten wire can also be mixed in with another element called rhenium. Tungsten and rhenium can effectively create efficient metal alloys because both have very high melting points of 6,192°F (3,422°C) and 5,767°F (3,186°C), respectively. This type of wire is used for when very high heat is required, such as in thermocoupling. Tungsten-rhenium wires are categorized based on the percentage of rhenium included. WR30 has 3 percent rhenium, WR200 has 20 percent, while WR250 has 25 percent. All these types are highly resilient, strong, and resistant to corrosion.
 
 
Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Molybdenum News & Molybdenum Price: http://news.molybdenum.com.cn

 

Tungsten’s Military Applications

Tungsten, in military applications, is used as a hardening agent to produce  armor penetrating rounds in bullets,. It is also used for fragmentation to create a devastating effect as its hardness remains intact as it shreds through targets. Tungsten is also used in cube and ball form in anti-personnel ordnance, ranging from grenades, to mines and rockets, these added tungsten cubes and balls are highly destructive due to their retention of their hard features, solid shapes as they impact. Tungsten alloys are also used in defensive plating, due to their hardness and strength. Tungsten carbide and other alloys are also used to make penetrators for weaponry, to enhance their effectiveness.

Another widely used application of tungsten in defense is the various weighting applications used in helicopters and other aircraft and armored vehicles. Helicopters use this tungsten to weight their rotors, noses, and skids. Tungsten alloys is widely used in these applications because of its hardness and size to weight ratio it is a perfect material for weighting and protection.

Companies around the world are also using tungsten in their production of military ammunitions, due to its environmentally friendly composition, as compared to lead, which has been proven in several ways to be increasingly destructive of the environment. Tungsten carbide, and other alloys have all been proven to be “clean” metals, which makes them an ideal choice internationally as we move towards grTungsten’s Military Applications
eener technologies.



Tungsten Alloy Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-alloy.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Molybdenum News & Molybdenum Price: http://news.molybdenum.com.cn

 

WeChat