Cemented carbides are a class of hard materials used extensively for cutting tools, as well as in other industrial applications. It consists of fine particles of carbide cemented into a composite by a binder metal. Cemented carbides commonly use tungsten carbide (WC), titanium carbide (TiC), or tantalum carbide (TaC) as the aggregate. Mentions of "carbide" or "tungsten carbide" in industrial contexts usually refer to these cemented composites. The cobalt content could vary from 5% to 23% base on application. 8% to 12% are the most common for cutting tools. Ruthenium is used to replace cobalt as a perfered binder for the best cutting performance.
Titanium Carbo-Nitride (TiCN) has the highest lubricitiy of all the TiN coatings - making it an excellent choice as a dry film lubricant where improved hardness and wear resistance beyond standard Calico TiN is needed. TiCN is normally applied to steels, hardened steel, and stainless steel materials. TiCN is an excellent coating when working against bronze, brass and plastic, therefore, it a good choice for stamping, punching, and forming. Can be stripped and recoated.
