Tungsten Carbide

Cutting, Machining, and Drilling Tools (The Largest Segment)

WC is the backbone of the metalworking, mining, and construction industries.

• Indexable Inserts & Tool Bits: Used in CNC machining (turning, milling, drilling) of steel, cast iron, superalloys, and composites. Grades are tailored for specific materials and cutting speeds.

• Mining & Drilling Tools: Drill bits, roof bolters, and cutting picks for oil/gas exploration, mining (coal, hard rock), and tunneling.

• Woodworking Tools: Saw blades, router bits, and planer knives where edge retention is critical.

Wherever two surfaces slide or impact under pressure, WC is used to prevent wear.

• Industrial: Seal rings, valve components, pump sleeves, nozzles for abrasive slurries.

• Agriculture: Plow shares, combine harvester blades, fertilizer sprayer nozzles.

• Material Processing: Wear plates, guide rolls, crusher liners, and shot blasting equipment.

• Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing): Binder jetting and direct energy deposition of WC-Co for complex, custom wear parts.

• Micro-tools: For PCB drilling, micro-milling, and medical device fabrication.

• Semiconductor Industry: Critical parts in wafer processing equipment.

• Wire Drawing Dies: The standard for drawing copper, steel, and other metals into fine wires. Superior to diamond for ferrous metals.

• Cold Forming Dies: For stamping, forging, and extrusion of metals.

• Can Tooling: Tools for the high-speed production of beverage and food cans.

WC particles are embedded in a weld overlay or sprayed as a coating to impart wear resistance to less expensive or tougher substrates.

• Applications: Aircraft landing gear, turbine blade shrouds, agricultural equipment, and oilfield tool joints.

• Precision Instruments: High-end watch cases, bracelets, and surgical tools (scalpels, dental drills).

• Sporting Goods: Golf shoe spikes, trekking pole tips, and the core of high-performance golf club drivers ("tungsten weights").

• Jewelry: Durable, scratch-resistant wedding bands and luxury watches.

• Ballistic Applications: Armor-piercing ammunition cores (where permitted by law).