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Carbide is a composite material that responds to cryogenic processing. It is essentially carbide particles that are held together with a cobalt alloy binder. We believe that cryogenic processing is actually affecting the binder and its durability.

The pictures below show carbide inserts that were on the same milling cutter.  You are looking straight at the cutting corner as if you are the metal being cut. Notice the difference in the wear.  The dark area near the top of the insert is the wear. This is a very rugged test because the treated insert had to take up the slack as the untreated one wore out.

A recent doctorial thesis¹ explored the use of cryogenics on carbide.  The research indicates that cryogenic treatment significantly alters the microstructure of tungsten carbide, causing the β-phase particles to increase in size and quantity, while the η-phase and γ-phase show a corresponding decrease.  It also found that cryogenic treatment increases the hardness of the tungsten carbide tools about 7%.  It noted that keeping the carbide cool is important to maintaining the wear resistance created by the treatment. 

We process many types of carbide cutters, end mills, drills, and other cutting tools.

There are a lot of different carbide companies out there making a lot of different carbides. It may take several tries to find the best processing parameters for any one item as we usually have no indication as to the makeup of the carbide. Work with us and we will find the right combination.

By the way, if you see these pictures on our competitors' web sites, be advised that we did the photography.

 

1.  Cryogenic Treatment of Cutting Tools, Andrew Yong, National University of Singapor, 2006