Carbide Die Maker Humor 2022!

 Welcome to the latest instalment of the Carbide Die Blog humor section. Share this must see stuff with your tool and die shop buddies and any machinist fan!

When someone crashes the new machine.

Every handyman needs one!

 For all those tight tolerance tool and die guys... you all have worked with him.

Tight Tolerance

Cats and dogs, night shift vs day shift... and of course machinist vs. engineer, these are the true rivals of the world!

Machinists vs the world.

Not machinists, but close enough. Just make the wrench calipers.

aka: Machinist School

And for all those of you who make carbide dies and tooling.. yet have to struggle explain it to the general public.

The Die Maker at a party.

When the die shop owner needs something.

Run all the machines please.

When your machines coolant lines are clogged have the new guy go grab the coolant snake!

Machine Snake

When you start thinking maybe carbide dies would last longer that the old steel dies.

Carbide Dies vs Steel Dies

There's always one of these guys in every machine shop!

Tungsten Carbide Tools

Not really tool and die, but funny as hell!

When you get your used wood chipper from Fargo.

We need one of these at the die shop!

Tool Dog!

Remember when they said we were all essential workers?

Tool or Die.

The machinist in its natural habitat.

Machinists Garage

Thank you everyone! Looks like we are going to make it through 2022! We will be back with more Tool & Die humor next year!

The History of Tungsten Carbide

Henri Moissan first synthesized tungsten carbide in the 1800's creating perhaps the most useful

Tungsten Carbide Bushings

 

substances for metal forming known to man. Tungsten carbide is almost as hard as diamond and can be produced at a fraction of the cost. Tungsten carbide is now used in a wide variety of metal forming applications, from carbide dies to long lasting cutting tools. Here's a quick look at its fascinating history!

After Henri Moissan discovered tungsten carbide it took two other men to make it useful in the field of metal forming. The Osram Lamp Works in Germany needed a cheaper alternative to diamond dies for drawing the wires to be used in their lamps. Karl Schroeter and Heinrich Baumhauer experimented with bonding carbide with other metals  as cobalt, and the tungsten carbide industry was born sine it provided the necessary toughness to be used in their metal drawing process.

After that the notorious industrialist and arms manufacturer Friedrich Krupp and his company purchased the patent and further developed the sintering process. In the US the General Electric Corporation formed licenced use of the patent from Krupp and formed the Carboloy Company in order to produce tungsten carbide in the United States. The Carboloy company branded their tungsten carbide as "Carboloy." Carboloy tools were tested in General Electric plants and came to public attention and offered to the publiaround 1928.

Soon other patents and advancements were put forth, for example Dr. Balke invented a tantalum carbide that was sintered with nickel, creating a superior steel cutting alloy. Dr. Balke's material, called Ramet, was resistant to the pitting while cutting steel that typical resulted in premature wearing of carboloy.

Other advancements were made throughout the 1930's in the USA as the metallurgist Philip McKenna of the Vanadium Alloy Steel Company improved upon the pitting issue and created a titanium carbide alloy. 

As development of tungsten carbide continued its price dropped considerably, going from extremely expensive (but nowhere near the cost of the diamonds it replaced!) to a standard in manufacturing across a wide varieties of industries. Originally carbide was used very sparingly due to its high cost of manufacturing, to save on tungsten carbide it would only be used on the tips of cutting tools for example through the use of brazing techniques. However, as the 19th century progressed and its cost decreased large carbide dies and tools have become common. 

Today carbide dies are used in the cold forming industry to make all sorts of nuts, bolts and millions of other forms. The mining industry makes frequent use of tungsten carbide in their drills, ammunitions manufacturers use them to form shell casings and even some ballistics. Honestly, this section of the article describing it's multiple uses across a wide variety of industries could balloon into a book. Tungsten Carbide in all its varieties will be a major part of production long into the future!

The Tungsten Carbide Industry, 2022

Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten Carbide is used to make a wide variety of goods. Things that you never see but that are incredibly necessary, literally and figuratively the nuts and bolts of our economy.What is the state of the Tungsten Carbide Industry in 2020? It's a bit shaky, but honestly could be a lot worse. Costs have risen considerably (5% to 30%) and lead times on deliveries have been stretched but at least supplies are still flowing and production of items like carbide dies, tooling and bushings have not been severely interrupted. Lets take a closer look at the current market for the ingredients of tungsten carbide, the elements of tungsten and cobalt.

Tungsten Supply 2020

In 2022 China produced the most tungsten by far, however, they are currently in a trade war with the US, increasing the cost of tungsten carbide imports. Also, notably high on the list is Russia who are currently being sanctioned by a large number of countries do to their invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, over 1200 companies have decided to quit doing business with Russia, sighting Russian war crimes and their predatory foreign policy. New mines are currently underway in South Africa and Vietnam. 

Tungsten Production by Country
(in metric tons)
China: 66,000
Vietnam: 4,500
Russia: 2,400
Bolivia: 1,400
Rwanda:  950
Austria: 900
Spain: 900
Portugal: 600
N. Korea: 400
All Other Countries: 1,200

Cobalt Supply 2020

The second ingredient to tungsten carbide is the binder, cobalt. This hard lustrous metal is a byproduct of mining nickel, lead and iron. In 2022 worldwide production came to 170,000 metric tons.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is by far the largest cobalt producers and makes up a larger proportion of the DRC's income from exports. They produce a full 2/3rds of global production and have both the largest mine and biggest reserves, estimated at 1.4 million metric tons.

Cobalt Production by Country
(in metric tons)

Democratic Republic of Congo: 100,000
Russia: 6,100
Australia: 5,100
Philippines: 4,600
Cuba: 3,500
Madagascar: 3,300
Papua New Guinea: 3,100
Canada: 3,000

Machinist Humor 2021 edition

 Ladies and gentlemen it that time again, here's you're 2021 Carbide Die Blog machinist humor!

This one is a bit to true :)

The End Mill to End All End Mills

First CNC machine. First crash.

LOL, please someone tell "them" about this.

It is great to see an artist that is a master of his craft to the point where he machines his own instrument! Bring back tool shop!

LOL!!! 

STFU.... Thanks boss!

Thanks for visiting this installment of Machine Shop Humor, check out our other installments on the menu to our left.

Now make some parts, not scrap!

-The Carbide Die Blog

What is Cemented Carbide?

 

Cemented carbide is an extremely hard material used in industrial applications, typically to

Cemented Carbide Dies

form metals like steel, aluminum and brass. Since carbide is so hard, it’s a very good material to fashion cutting tools as well, again, usually to cut metals, and is around three times harder and twice as dense as steel. Cemented carbide, also called tungsten carbide, is a chemical compound consisting of fine particles of carbide cemented by a binder metal, typically cobalt although titanium, tantalum and nickel can also be added to get different properties.

Cemented carbide is used to make superior products in high wear applications. Carbide Dies last many times longer than steal dies under heavy impact and heavy wear conditions. While carbide punches can stand up to a beating that would deform their steel counterparts. Another example is that carbide drill bushings typically last over ten times as long as steel bushings.

There are also advantages to working with a carbide cutter. Carbide cutters typically leave a better surface finish and allow for faster machining. 

For all cemented carbides additional strengths they do have a few down sides, for one,  carbide tools are more expensive due to additional effort the involved with forming the harder material. The most common way to shape cemented carbide is to use diamond grinding wheels. Cemented carbide tools are also more brittle than typical tools. To combat this, the cutting tip of the tool is often a small carbide insert mounted or soldered onto a steel shank or cutter. 

Cemented carbide has been used in a wide variety of industries due to its extreme wear properties, everything from medical to mining. For example cemented carbide is used extensively in the global steel industry. Since the 1960’s steel mills have used cemented carbide for the rolls of their mills. Other industrial applications of carbide include automotive components, drawing tools, rotary cutters, forming dies, rings, bushings and many more. 

 

History of Cemented Carbide
Cemented carbide was first developed in Germany during the 1920s, sintered tungsten carbide was developed by a group called the Osram Study Society for Electrical Lighting. However, since they didn’t have the equipment to take advantage of this material, Osram sold the license to the sinister Krupp Company in 1925. In 1926, carbide hit the market under the name WIDIA (like diamond) and was also known by the cool name of Wolfram. Since then cemented carbide, often called tungsten carbide (although this is a more specific term), has proliferated in many industries and as components in machinery. We can expect the uses and production of cemented carbide tooling to continue long into the future.

 

Types of Carbide Dies

Let's get back to the basics. The following carbide dies are used in a wide variety of industries to make everything from nuts and bolts to flutes and missiles. Tungsten carbide dies and tooling have become a major part of modern manufacturing, utilizing the strength of tungsten carbide to form metals and other hard materials into a vast array of shapes, parts and products!

Tungsten Carbide Cold Forming Dies
Cold forming, or cold heading, starts with a cold metal slug placed into a die that is hit with a

As Carbide Dies become more important,
you should know your carbide dies and tooling!

heavy strike to shape it into its desired form. The force from the strike causes the metal to flow
into the desired shape inside the carbide die by exceeding the metal’s yield strength. Modern cold
forming is commonly used for rapidly forming metal parts such as screws, bolts and many other
fasteners.

Tungsten Carbide Drawing Dies 
Drawing (Draw Dies) dies are typically used to shape wire, rod, bar, and tube. Commonly drawn materials include steel, aluminum, and copper.

Tungsten carbide has a high compression strength allowing it to handle extreme pressure; this
makes the material ideal for use in drawing dies. Most major manufacturers use carbide dies in
the drawing process. Drawn materials include mild steel, stainless steel and high carbon steel as
well as other steel alloys. Softer materials, like aluminum or brass, are frequently drawn
as well.

The wire drawing process involves drawing wire through a die to reduce the diameter of the wire
to the desired size while the volume remains the same. Wires are sized by
drawing them through a series of drawing dies, with each die having slightly smaller internal
diameter than the one preceding it to gradually reduce the width of the wire. The final die in the
series forms the wire to its target size.

Tube, or pipe, drawing dies are commonly round, hex or square, but can be made into any shape
desired by the manufacturer. The process of drawing tubing is similar to the wire drawing
process; however, a mandrel is used to form the inner dimensions of the tubing. The mandrel is
inside the tube, or pipe, and situated inside the die. As the tube is drawn through the die it is
being shaped on the inside by the mandrel, which establishes the wall thickness and inner
diameter. A properly formed mandrel will provide for a smooth surface on the inside of the tube or
pipe.

Bars and Rods are drawn in a similar fashion to wire however only they tend to be much thicker. A wide variety of metals are used in this application, including many steel and copper alloys. A cut-off
knife is used to size the rods and bars to length.

Carbide Extrusion Dies
Extrusion dies are typically used in a process where a slug is pushed through the die, forming the

desired cross sectional area. A mandrel is used in the process if the application is for tubing, or
pipes. Extrusion can be performed on a wide variety of materials and at various temperatures to
obtain the desired properties of the extruded product. Materials that can be formed with extrusion
dies include steel, copper, aluminum, tin, lead, nickel and even plastic. Products formed through
extrusion operations include pipe, wire, rods, bars, tubes, and welding electrodes.

 

For information about other types of carbide tooling, check out our comparison of carbide bushings to steel bushings. For information about carbide die suppliers see our recomended Carbide Dies suppliers page.

Machine Shop Humor - 2020 Edition

 Welcome to ye olde machine shoppe humor, Covid edition! We will start with machine shop tools 101...

Machine Shop Tools 101

Here's the world's largest drill bit... or a monument to all those shattered drill bits.

Carbide Drill Bushings Needed.

and if 2020 was a machine...

Lathe Down!

And when it's time for the repair work... 

Machinists and Electricity

and how manufacturing works!

Manufacturing

Happy 2020 machinists, carbide die makers and manufacturers.. Good luck and be safe out there!