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.

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