Tungsten Carbide (WC) is a very hard compound that is synthesized from tungsten metal and a carbon source.  Its high hardness (it is a 9 on the Mohs Hardness Scale) makes it ideal for cutting and surgical tools, wear abrasion protection, traction enhancers, and jewelry.   In order to be formed into various shapes, the tungsten carbide is typically ground into a powder and then bound together with cobalt and/or nickel.

Hosokawa uses tungsten carbide in its milling and classification equipment as part of the wear protection options.  Hammers on the Mikro ACM® Air Classifying Mill  and on the Mikro Pulverizer® Hammer & Screen Mill  can be tipped with tungsten carbide plates for durable wear protection.  Hosokawa will also apply tungsten carbide coatings to classifier wheels and other parts, through a plasma coating process.

The Alpine AFG Fluidized Bed Opposed Jet Mil l is ideal for milling tungsten carbide into a fine powder.  In the milling chamber, opposed jets release compressed air into the chamber to form streams of gas at very high velocities (up to 500 m/s).  This air movement creates a fluidized bed and the particles impact into each other at the center of the chamber to break apart the brittle tungsten carbide particles.  Because the milling action is particle-to-particle impact (instead of particle-to-machine impact), the result is a high purity product with minimal wear to the equipment.  After milling, the air lifts the milled particles to an internal air classifier at controlled speed which removes the particles below the cut point (product) and sends the oversized particle back to the milling zone for additional milling.

Contact Hosokawa’s mineral applications department to learn more about Tungsten Carbide Milling.