Study on Properties of Heat-treated WC-6Co with Different Wt. % of TiC Powder

Abstract

The WC-6Co cemented carbide with different composition of Titanium Carbide (TiC) powder (0.5 wt. %, 0.75 wt. %, 1.0 wt. %) were fabricated by powder compaction method. The effect of different heat treatment holding time and TiC addition on the properties of the treated sample of WC-6Co were studied. WC-6Co metal powder were mixed together with the TiC powder using ball mill mixer before proceeding with the hydraulic compression process to produce a green body. The compacted sample then being sintered at 378ºC with a different holding time (15 min, 30 min and 45 min). Based on the result obtained, it was concluded that the optimal sintering holding time is 30 min. At 30 min, WC-0.75TiC-6Co produced the best properties as the value of density, hardness and grain size were 10.2185 g/cm3, 102.3966 HV and 33.61 ?m respectively. The TiC addition appeared to be beneficial up to 0.75 wt. %.