High-energy ball milling of WC-10Co: Effect of the milling medium and speed on the mechanical properties

Abstract

Ball milling is a key step in the processing of tungsten carbide parts. It ensures a good distribution of the different powders and reduces the crystallite size in the nanometer range by “mechanical alloying”. The study of the influence of the rotation speed and the milling medium on the sinterability of the WC-Co composite is important. The optimization of milling was achieved by characterizing the porosity and the grain size distribution after sintering, and the mechanical properties. The samples have been sintered under vacuum at 1400 °C for 1 h. Optimized processing parameters were found to be 300 rpm in wet milling and 450 rpm in dry milling (average grain size of 760–800 nm, hardness of 1700–1720 HV30, and fracture toughness of 10.5–11.0 MPa√m for both cases).