In mechanical processing, the commonly used cutting tool material, stamping die material is mainly high-speed steel and carbide, understand high-speed steel cutting tools and carbide cutting tools, first from understanding the two different materials.
High-speed steel
High-speed steel (HSS) is a high-carbon high-alloy steel, high-speed steel can be divided into tungsten high-speed steel, tungsten-molybdenum high-speed steel, high molybdenum high-speed steel, vanadium high-speed steel, cobalt high-speed steel; according to the cutting performance is divided into ordinary high-speed steel, high-performance high-speed steel.
High-speed steel must be strengthened by heat treatment. In the quenched state, high-speed steel in the iron, chromium, part of the tungsten and carbon to form a very hard carbide, can improve the wear resistance of steel (hardness up to HRC64-68). Another part of tungsten fused to the matrix, increasing the steel’s red hardness.
Features: The red hardness of HSS can reach 650 degrees. High-speed steel has good process performance, good strength, toughness, sharp cutting edge after sharpening, stable quality, generally used to manufacture complex thin-edged and impact-resistant metal cutting tools, but also to manufacture high-temperature bearings and cold extrusion dies, etc.
Cemented Carbide
Cemented carbide (WC + Co / Ni) is a micron-level refractory high hardness tungsten metal carbide powder, with cobalt, nickel and other binders, through the powder metallurgical process of pressing and then fired at high temperatures (1500 ℃) under high pressure. Carbide high-temperature carbide content far more than high-speed steel, hardness (HRC75-80), excellent wear resistance. It has high hardness, strength, wear resistance and corrosion resistance.
Features.
Cemented carbide red hardness can reach 800-1000 degrees. Carbide cutting speed is 4-7 times higher than HSS with high cutting rate. The disadvantages are low flexural strength, poor impact toughness, brittleness, and low ability to withstand impact and vibration.
