With nearly 300 years combined experience, the carbide tooling department at HDT is second to none. Our knowledge of the industry and attention to detail translates into the highest quality carbide products available.

HDT stocks a wide range of carbide grades and sizes which enables us to provide fast delivery of your tooling. Our expertise and equipment allow us to meet nearly any size requirement from .200” to 4.75”. With a full line of D60 and D70 carbide along with limited sizes of D50 and D40, HDT often has the needed material in stock, allowing us to start the job process immediately.

The carbide insert really is what makes the tool work. However with all the options, including over 20 different types of coating, the choice can seem overwhelming. The main purpose of coating is to increase hardness and lubricity. The combination of this and other factors allow coating to significantly improve wear-resistance, increase the life of the tool and also enable higher working speeds and feeds to be achieved. HDT offers a wide range of coatings to suite almost any manufacturing need you may have including titanium nitride (TiN), titanium carbonitride (TiCN), titanium carbide (TiC), titanium aluminum nitride (TiAIN) or aluminum titanium nitride (AITiN). These coatings can be applied individually or in combination by a physical deposition process (PVD) or a chemical deposition process (CVD).

Most toolmakers do not have the time or facilities to run evaluations and cutting parameter tests for each job to determine the best material for that particular job. Our industry is defined by shorter lead times and precision machining. HDT has the expertise to aid you in choosing the right material and coating to suit your needs. You can trust over 450 years of cumulative experience to answer your questions and guide you through the process from start to finish. HDT currently occupies a 40,000 square foot facility in Rockford, IL. We are outfitted with state-of-the-art machine and computer technology. We are committed to quality and continuous improvement and strive to exceed customer expectations at every turn.

BENEFITS OF TUNGSTEN CARBIDE IN TOOLING

Strength – Tungsten carbide has very high strength for a material and is extremely hard and rigid. Compressive strength is higher than almost all melted, cast, forged metals and alloys.

Rigidity – Tungsten carbide compositions range from (2) to (3) times as rigid as steel and (4) to (6) times as rigid as cast iron and brass. Young’s Modulus is up to 94,800,000 psi.

Heat Resistance – Tungsten Carbide is highly resistance to deformation and deflection and is very valuable in applications where a combination of minimum deflection and good ultimate strength is the first consideration.

Impact Resistant – For such a hard material with very high rigidity, the impact resistance is high.

Heat and oxidation resistance – Tungsten-base carbides perform well up to about 1000°F in oxidizing atmospheres and to 1500°F in non-oxidizing atmospheres

Low temperature resistance (cryogenic properties) – Tungsten carbide retains toughness and impact strength in the cryogenic temperature ranges. (-453°F.)

Thermal Conductivity – Tungsten carbide is in the range of twice that of tool steel and carbon steel.

Electrical Conductivity – Tungsten carbide is in the range equal to that of tool steel and carbon steel.

Specified Heat – Tungsten carbide ranges from about 50% to 70% as high as carbon steel.

Weight – The specific gravity of tungsten carbide is from 1-1/2 to 2 times that of carbon steel.

Hot Hardness – When temperature increases to 1400°F, tungsten carbide retains much of its room temperature hardness. At 1400°F, some grades equal the hardness of steels at room temperature.

Tolerances – Many surfaces or even complete parts can be used the way they come from the furnace, “as sintered”, such as mining or drilling compacts. In those parts requiring precision ground accuracy, such as stamping dies, close-tolerance preforms are provided for grinding or EDM.

Methods of Fastening – Tungsten carbide can be fastened to other materials by brazing, epoxy cementing or mechanical means. Tungsten carbide’s low thermal expansion rate must be carefully considered when preforms are provided for grinding or EDM.

Coefficient of Friction – Tungsten carbide compositions exhibit low dry coefficient of friction values as compared to steels.

Galling – Tungsten carbide compositions have exceptional resistance to galling and welding at the surface.

Corrosion-Wear Resistance – Specific grades are available with corrosion resistance approaching that of noble metals. Conventional grades have sufficient resistance to corrosion-wear conditions for many applications.

Wear-Resistance – Tungsten carbide wears up to 100 times longer than steel in conditions including abrasion, erosion and galling. Wear-resistance of tungsten carbide is better than that of wear-resistance tool steels.

Surface Finishes – Finish of an as-sintered part will be about 50 micro inches. Surface, cylindrical or internal grinding with diamond wheel will produce 18 micro inches or better and can produce as low as 4 to 8 micro inches. Diamond lapping and honing can produce 2 micro inches and with polishing as low as 1/2 micro inch.

Dimensional Stability – Tungsten carbide undergoes no phase changes during heating and cooling and retains its stability indefinitely. No heat treating is required.