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.
As the name suggests, Aluminum Chromium Nitride is a chromium-based coating that was developed in the early part of the 2000’s. Since then, it has been found to be an excellent choice for coating machining tools based on its superior performance in just about every category that matters. This is due in part to the way the chromium atoms interact with the aluminum in the substance, forming a tough layer that gets even stronger as you add more chromium to the mix. The result is a light, silver-grey substance that contains some remarkable properties.
