This study focuses on the fabrication of a WC/Co composite powder from the oxide of WC/Co hardmetal scrap using solid carbon in a hydrogen gas atmosphere for the recycling of WC/Co hardmetal. Mixed powders are manufactured by mechanically milling the oxide powder of WC-13 wt% Co hardmetal scrap and carbon black with varying powder/ball weight ratios. The oxide powder of WC-13 wt% Co hardmetal scrap consists of WO3 and CoWO4. The mixed powder mechanically milled at a lower powder/ball weight ratio (high mechanical milling energy) has a more rapid carbothermal reduction reaction in the formation of WC and Co phases compared with that mechanically milled at a higher powder/ball weight ratio (lower mechanical milling energy). The WC/Co composite powder is fabricated at 900℃ for 6 h from the oxide of WC/Co hardmetal scrap using solid carbon in a hydrogen gas atmosphere. The fabricated WC/Co composite powder has a particle size of approximately 0.25-0.5 μm.

Ultrafine TiC-5%Co powders were synthesized by spray drying of aqueous solution of TiO slurry and cobalt nitrate, followed by calcination and carbothermal reaction. The oxide powders with carbon powder was reduced and carburized at under hydrogen atmosphere. During reduction, CO gas was mainly evolved by reducing reaction of oxides. Ultrafine TiC-5%Co powders were easily formed by carbothermal reaction at due to using ultrafine powders as raw materials. The ultrafine WC-TiC-Co alloy prepared by sintering of mixed powder of ultrafine WC-13%Co powder and ultrafine TiC-5%Co powder has higher sintered density and mechanical properties than WC-TiC-Co alloy prepared by commercial WC, TiC and Co powders

Direct reduction and carburization process was thought one of the best methods to make nano-sized WC powder. The oxide powders were mixed with graphite powder by ball milling in the compositions of WC-5,-10wt%Co. The mixture was heated at the temperatures of for 5 hours in Ar. The reaction time of the reduction and carburization was decreased as heating temperatures and cobalt content increased. The mean size of WC/Co composite powders was about 260 nm after the reactions. And the mean size of WC grains in WC/Co composite powders was about 38 nm after the reaction at for 5 hours.

This paper concerned with SPS (spark plasma sintering), hot pressing of sinter nanometer WC-Co powder and discussed the density, hardness, microstructures and grain sizes of the alloys sintered. The results showed that the two sintered techniques could produce high density alloys and play well on the grain growth, but SPS could lower the sintering temperature and shorten sintering time. Besides, the hardness of the sintered cemented alloys that was dependent on the grain size and densification could also be improved.

In the present study, the focus is on the analysis of carbothermal reduction of oxide powder prepared from waste WC/Co hardmetal by solid carbon under a stream of argon for the recycling of the WC/Co hard-metal. The oxide powder was prepared by the combination of the oxidation and crushing processes using the waste hardmetal as the raw material. This oxide powder was mixed with carbon black, and then this mixture was carbothermally reduced under a flowing argon atmosphere. The changes in the phase structure and gases discharge of the mixture during carbothermal reduction was analysed using XRD and gas analyzer. The oxide powder prepared from waste hardmetal has a mixture of . This oxide powder reduced at about , formed tungsten carbides at about , and then fully transformed to a mixed state of tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt at about by solid carbon under a stream of argon. The WC/Co composite powder synthesized at for 6 hours from oxide powder of waste hardmetal has an average particle size of .

The conventional debinding process in metal injection molding is very long time-consuming and unfriendly environmental method. Especially, in such a case of injection molded parts from hard and fine metal powder, such as WC-Co, an extremely long period of time is necessary in the conventional slow binder removal process. On the other hand, supercritical debinding is thought to be the effective method which is appropriate to eliminate the aforementioned inconvenience in the prior art. The supercritical fluid has high diffusivity and density, it can penetrate quickly into the inside of the green metal bodies, and extract the binder. In this paper, super-critical debinding is compared with wicking debinding process. Wax-based binder system is used in this study. The binder removal rate in supercritical have been measured at , 75 in the pressure range from 20 MPa to 28 MPa. Pores and cracks in silver bodies after sintering were observed using SEM When the super-critical debinding was carried out at 75, almost all the wax (about 70 wt% of binder) was removed in 2 hours under 28 MPa and 2.5 hours under 25 MPa.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the manufacturing feasibility of WC-Co milling inserts via Powder Injection Molding (PIM) process. WC-Co is used in a wide variety of cutting tools due to its high hardness, stiffness, compressive strength and wear resistance properties. WC-Co parts for a high stress application were conventionally produced by the press and sinter method, which were Iimited to 2 dimensional shapes. Manufacturing WC-Co parts for a high stress application by PIM implies that tool efficiency can be highly improved due to increased freedom is design. P30 grade WC powder (WC-Co-TiC-TaC system) was mixed with RIST-5B133 binder and injection molded into milling inserts (Taegu Tech. Model WCMX 06T 308). The mean grain size of the powder was about 0.8m. Injection molded specimens were debound by solvent extraction and thermal degradation method at various conditions. The specimens were sintered at 140 for 1 hr in vacuum. Carbon content, weight loss, dimensional change, and macro defects of the specimen were carefully monitored at each stage of the PIM process. PIMed WC-Co milling inserts reached 100% full density after sinteing. Its mechanical properties and micro-structures were comparable with the press and sintered milling insert. Carbon content of the sintered WC-Co insert was mainly determained by the atmosphere of thermal debinding. By controlling powder loading and injection molding condition, dimensional accuracy could be obtained within 0.4%. We confirm that PIM can not only be an alternative manufacturing method for WC-Co parts economically but also provide a design freedom for more effieient cutting tools.

본 연구에서는 용사용WC-17%Co 복합분말을 분무건조법으로 제조하고 열처리 온도(850˚C, 1000˚C, 1150˚C, 1300˚C)에 따른 조립분말의 미세구조, 입도분포, 유동도, 및 결정상변화를 고찰하였다. 분무건조상태의 입형은 구형이었으며, 입도분포, 평균입자크기, 유동성은 각각 20.6-51.7μm, 27.2μm, 0.26 sec/g 이었다. 열처리에 의하여 조립분말은 치밀화되어 1300˚C 열처리 후에는 입도분포와 평균입자크기가 각 각 6.9-37.9μm과 17.8μm로 감소하였으며, 유동성은 0.12 sec/g로 향상되었다. 열처리중에 WC와 Co의 상화확산에 의하여 Co6W6C및 Co3W3C이 생성되었으며, 두 상이 나타나는 임계온도는 1150˚C이었다.

The microstructure evolution during sintering of a compact being composed of three layers of (WC-15%Co)/Fe powder mixture with different Fe contents has been observed. The Fe contents in the respective (WC-15%Co)/Fe layers were varied by 20%. 50%, and 90% in sequence by volume from a top layer to a bot- tom layer. The sintering temperatures and times were varied from 110 to 125 and from 1 h to 4 h, The compact layer was not densified below 120 in 4 h. Appropriate sintering temperature and time conditions for making a multi-layered hard metal compact were determined as 125 and 3 h, respectively.

The effect of vacuum annealing on the oxidation behavior of milled WC-15%Co powder mixture has been studied. A cobalt component in the milled powder mixture was oxidized preferentially above 175 in air. The specimens showed a steady increase in weight at 175 but did constant weight followed by rapid increase in specimen weight at the beginning above 20. Oxidation of the milled powder mixture was significantly suppressed by vacuum annealing at 30 for 10 h. Suppression of oxidation by vacuum annealing and different oxidation behaviors of the milled powder mixture between 175 and 20, were attributed to removal of strain energy stored in the cobalt powder during vacuum annealing or oxidation treatment above 20. The role of stored strain energy on oxidation of milled WC-15%Co powder mixture was proved by X-ray diffraction method and differential thermal analysis.