Carbide Tool Makers Know When To Choose The Best Tool For The Job

In the machinery industry today, two cutting tool material choices dominate among professional technicians. One is high speed steel (HSS). The other are tools made from carbide. Although both have their place and proper use, it’s not surprising that carbide cutting tools manufacturers like to point to the advantages of super-hard carbide.

However, some of the best design configurations for cutting tools are a combination of both steel and carbide.

A cutting tool can be made of solid carbide or be steel that is carbide tipped. Carbide-tipped tools tend to be less expensive than solid carbide tools. They also happen to be more durable. That’s because solid carbide is subject to cracking at points of hardness within their structure. Incorrect feed rates and nonsufficient holding can also cause a solid carbide tool to break.

Another advantage of a carbide-tipped tool is that they can be selected entirely on cutting and wear characteristics. This eliminates the need to compensate for the overall strength of a solid carbide instrument. Not only that, certain jobs needed for aggressive machining into tough alloys are not available in solid carbide form.

Carbide-tipped tools are also a good choice when working materials that are highly abrasive.

As we said, carbide is a more costly raw material than steel. But using steel tools with carbide tips is a way around the need for higher volumes of carbide.

Carbide cutting tools manufacturers have vast experience in helping machinists choose exactly the right cutting tool for a specific job. In many cases HHS will get the project done. Other tasks are best handled with solid carbide tools while carbide-tipped instruments are clearly called for in special cases.

Using the correct structural configuration of a tool for the task at hand is key to getting the job done right.
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