Properties of cemented carbides with different types of binder after boronising – POSTER
The paper deals with the possibility of thermochemical treatment of cemented carbides (CC) by boronising. Three different CC grades with a very fine tungsten carbide grain fraction (WC) were selected for the experiment. The structures of the CCs varied in the chemical composition of the binder. Two CC grades had a binder consisting of pure cobalt and nickel respectively. The third grade of CC had a complex binder based on Fe-Co-Cr. The binder volume was the same for all CC grades, namely 8 wt. %. The grain size of the WC ranged between 0.5-0.8 µm. Samples were taken from the different CC grades. Some of them were boronised using several different regimes. The untreated samples were used as reference samples. The aim of the experiment was to determine how the process of boronising affects the final CC and its structure. X-ray diffraction, light and electron microscopy techniques were used to evaluate the structural changes. Hardness measurements and a Ball on Disk test were used to evaluate the changes in the mechanical properties and wear resistance.