Cemented carbide phase diagrams: A review

One of the main topics of the actual research in the field of cemented carbides concerns the development of new composites, with partial or total substitution of the traditional cobalt binder by other more economic and less toxic materials. Composites with partial substitution of cobalt by nickel and iron are currently entering in industrial production. However, the total cobalt replacement is envisaged and Ni-Fe or Ni-Fe-Cr alloys are being currently investigated for such a purpose. The actual knowledge on phase diagrams for WC and different binders will be extremely useful and opportune regarding the need to choose initial compositions leading to a desired final phase composition and to select adequate sintering cycle conditions. In the present review, the existent phase diagrams of W-C-M with M = (Co, Fe, Ni, Fe-Ni, Fe-Al, Co-Fe-Ni, Cr and Cr-Fe) are presented and discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.