Why use Tungsten Carbide Dies?

The simple answer to that question is hardness. Tungsten carbide is about three times harder than steel and it is denser than titanium. What this means for people who use dies is that a tungsten carbide die will have a much better rate of wear when compared to dies made out of other materials. When dies last longer that saves companies money in not having the cost of replacing them and in not having down time for machinery waiting for new dies to be installed.

Tungsten carbide has a Moh’s hardness rating between 8.5 and 9.0. Diamond has a hardness rating of 10, however, diamonds aren’t as versatile and are obviously a very expensive proposition for die material. Tungsten carbide is generally formed using diamond powders and grinding wheels however, as something harder than tungsten carbide is needed to cut, polish and shape carbide dies and tooling.

The tungsten carbide used for die making comes in a wide variety of grades; these different grades have different properties and therefor different applications. The amount of tungsten compared to the amount of carbide in these grades is what makes this difference. By adjusting the tungsten to carbide ratio, dies with better wear properties or greater resistance to impact can be manufactured.

In the end, superior hardness combined with the versatility of tungsten carbide result in its use in many industrial applications. Products produced using tungsten carbide dies include tubing, nails and nuts. Actually, a list of these products would be very, very long, and that’s where the versatility part of the equation comes in to play!