Best Carbide Grades for Extrusion Dies: Hardness Matters

In extrusion applications, where material is continuously forced through a die opening, friction and heat are constant challenges. Hardness and wear resistance take priority over impact strength.

Fine-grain carbide grades (K05–K20) with lower cobalt content provide excellent performance in extrusion dies, maintaining sharp edges and surface quality even under intense thermal and abrasive conditions. For long production runs or highly abrasive materials, ultra-fine carbide grades offer even greater wear resistance, helping you maintain dimensional consistency and avoid costly die erosion.

 

While cold form dies require toughness to resist cracking and chipping, extrusion dies depend on hardness and wear stability to withstand continuous material flow. Understanding these distinctions is key to selecting the right carbide grade for your process.

 

We work with manufacturers to fine-tune carbide selection for each application—whether it’s cold form dies or extrusion tooling. From material choice to final finishing, our dies are designed to deliver precision, consistency, and longevity under the toughest manufacturing conditions.

 

Contact Raven Carbide Die today to discuss your tooling needs or request a quote. Our team can help you choose the best carbide grade for your cold forming or extrusion operation—ensuring maximum performance, durability, and value.

 

Choosing the Right Carbide Grade for Cold Form Dies

Cold forming is a process that subjects dies to tremendous stress through compression. For manufacturers, selecting the right carbide grade is key to preventing cracking, chipping, and premature wear.

Medium to coarse-grain carbide grades (typically in the K20–K40 range) with higher cobalt content are best suited for Cold Form Dies. These grades provide the toughness needed to withstand repeated impact while maintaining consistent performance and dimensional accuracy.

 

Submicron carbide grades are another excellent choice for smaller, high-precision parts where superior finish and tight tolerances are critical. By using the optimal carbide composition, you can significantly extend die life and reduce downtime, ensuring maximum productivity across production runs. Read more about choosing the right carbide grade for cold form dies in our latest article.

 

We specialize in matching carbide materials to your forming process. Our precision engineering ensures your dies deliver lasting performance under even the most demanding conditions. 

 

Contact Raven Carbide Die today to discuss your tooling needs or request a quote. Our experienced team can help you choose the best carbide grade for your cold forming or extrusion operation—ensuring maximum performance, durability, and value.

Avoiding Chipping and Cracking in Carbide Dies

While carbide dies are built to withstand high pressure and heavy use, they can fail when subjected to improper handling or extreme conditions. Two of the most damaging issues are chipping and cracking.

Chipping

 

Chipping occurs when small pieces of carbide break off the die surface, often caused by misalignment, excessive shock loads, or rough handling.

 

Prevention tips:

• Handle and store dies carefully.
• Ensure proper alignment in tooling.
• Avoid sudden impacts or loads beyond capacity. 

Cracking & Breakage

Cracks develop when a carbide die is exposed to severe stress, thermal shock, or improper installation. Once cracks form, the die becomes unsafe.

 

Prevention tips:

• Prevent sudden temperature changes.
• Install with proper fits and mounting techniques.
• Stay within recommended operating limits.

 

Proactive maintenance and correct handling practices can help avoid these costly failures. Learn more about common carbide die failures and how to avoid them here.

 

👉 Ensure durability and precision in every application—contact us today to learn about long-lasting carbide die solutions.

How to Prevent Wear in Your Carbide Dies

Carbide dies are known for their exceptional hardness and durability, but like any tool, they aren’t indestructible. One of the most common causes of carbide die failure is wear. Over time, constant contact with hard or abrasive materials gradually erodes the die’s working surface. This increases clearances, reduces precision, and leads to inconsistent product quality.

 

How to Prevent Wear in Carbide Dies

 

• Use proper lubrication to minimize friction and protect against surface damage.
• Match die grade to the application so the die can handle the hardness and abrasiveness of the material.
• Inspect regularly and recondition before wear becomes critical.

 

By identifying wear early and following these best practices, manufacturers can extend carbide die life and improve production efficiency. Learn more about common carbide die failures and how to avoid them here.

 

👉 Stop failures before they start—contact us today for custom carbide dies engineered to deliver long-lasting performance.

Carbide Die Blog Presents - Machinist Humor 2024!

 Welcome to the latest and greatest instalment of shop humor from the carbide dies blog. Humor has long stopped murders on the shop floors across our great planet... please find the latest selection and let us know of any we missed!

And you thought ChinA was bad... wait till you hear about this!

LOL... wait until they hear about tungsten carbide.

I'm not sure if this is more funny or true!

This impressive canyon is what a crack in steel looks like!

The guy we all worked with, if not, this is probably you.

Heading home from the shop on Friday for date night.

The allen wrench selection in the shops general tool box.

Thank you one and all! Be sure to check out the other instalments we have posted over the last 10 years if you can believe that!

 H.B. Carbide, a provider of carbide blanks and pre-forms, has been named 2023 Supplier of the Year by Raven Carbide Die, New Boston, Michigan. This is in recognition of H.B.’s customer service and consistent on-time delivery of high-quality pre-forms, which has played a significant role in Raven Carbide Die’s operations and success.

“This recognition means a lot to the entire H.B. Carbide team,” said Jon Wyniemko, H.B. Carbide global sales director. “It is truly rewarding to know that our efforts pay off in helping our customers achieve and exceed their goals.”

“H.B. Carbide’s role as a collaborating partner has been a key factor in enhancing our competitiveness and allowing us to manufacturer premium carbide dies and tooling, as well as helping us better serve our customers,” said Dan Raven, owner of Raven Carbide Die. “In light of this achievement, we look forward to further strengthening our partnership.”
H.B. Carbide has partnered with Raven Carbide Die since 2017, supplying the company with carbide die blanks used in the design and manufacture of cold forming dies, stamping dies and extrusion dies.

From Left to Right: Terry Raven (Owner), Jared Bielby, (Product Specialist) Dan Raven (Owner), Renee Raven.

RAVEN CARBIDE DIE (RCD)
RCD was founded in 2010 specializing in precision carbide dies for cold heading, cold forming and impact extruding applications. It offers dies made to any carbide grade and partners with customers to help in choosing a grade that provides the most efficiency for each application.  Its commitment to customers is to supply long-lasting dies and highly competitive rates.

The Tungsten Carbide Industry: A Hard Look

 The tungsten carbide industry has emerged as an important factor in modern manufacturing and

engineering sectors. Tungsten carbide, known for its exceptional hardness and wear resistance is utilized to form a wide variety of metals and powders. Tungsten is used in anything from cutting tools and industrial machinery to electronics and jewelry, however it is probably best known for its use in carbide dies and tooling. Since it is harder than steel it can be used to form anything from nuts and bolts to rods and complex shapes.

Tungsten carbide is a compound of tungsten (W) and carbon (C), synthesized through a high-temperature process known as sintering. It is known for its extreme hardness, ranking only second to diamonds and a few other synthetic materials. This unique property makes it a preferred material for creating high-performance dies, tools and components that endure harsh working conditions and wear.

Over the years, the demand for tungsten carbide has grown due to its remarkable performance and versatility. Its applications span a wide range of industries, including:

Metal Forming: Tungsten carbide is highly valued for forming metal slugs, sizing tubing and in stamping operations. Carbide dies are particularly desired in the cold forming/cold heading industries for their precise and rapid ability to form metals into such things as fasteners.

Cutting/Mining Tools: Tungsten carbide's superior hardness and abrasion resistance make it an ideal material for cutting tools used in metalworking, tunneling and drilling.

Industrial Machinery: Many industries rely heavily on tungsten carbide for creating wear-resistant parts. Examples include pumps, valves, carbide bushings, and high pressure nozzles like sand blasting nozzles. 

Electronics: The microelectronics industry employs tungsten carbide in chip substrates and circuitry due to its excellent thermal conductivity and electrical resistance.

Jewelry: The jewelry sector benefits from tungsten carbide's scratch-resistant nature, creating durable and long-lasting accessories.

Tungsten carbide was first discovered early in the 20th century (See The History of Tungsten Carbide)  however advancements in tungsten carbide technology continue to this day. Engineers and scientists have been successful in creating nanostructured and composite tungsten carbide materials that can improve its performance characteristics.

These advancements have led to the development of cutting-edge tools that can operate at higher temperatures, increased speeds, and with improved precision. Additionally, the integration of tungsten carbide into 3D printing technology has opened new possibilities for complex and customized parts.

The future of the tungsten carbide industry looks promising. As technology continues to advance, tungsten carbide will play a critical role in shaping various sectors. Potential areas of growth include the aerospace and defense, renewable energy and medical industries. However, challenges include ethical and environmentally sound mining and continuing the high rates of recycling in the industry.

The tungsten carbide industry has come a long way since its inception, revolutionizing manufacturing processes across various sectors. Its unique properties have enabled the development of cutting-edge tools and components, driving progress and innovation. As sustainable practices and technological advancements continue to shape the industry, tungsten carbide will undoubtedly remain a pivotal material in business and manufacturing.

For more information and a list of suppliers go to Carbide Die Suppliers.