Abstract: A cemented carbide body is 1-30% by mass of binder consisting of Co, Co/Ni, Co/Fe, Co/Ni/Fe or Ni/Fe and a hard material having a hexagonal WC phase and having a face-centered cubic phase of the form (M1, M2, M3)C or (M1, M2, M3)(C, N) or (M1, M2, M3)(O, C, N) where M1=Ti and/or Zr and M2=W and M3 optionally means none or one or a plurality of the elements Ta, Nb, Hf, Cr, Mo or V, wherein the proportion of the face-centered cubic phase based on the total mass is 2% to 97%, preferably 5 to 12% by mass, and the microstructure of the hexagonal phase and of the face-centered cubic phase has a mean grain size of between 0.2 ?m and 1 ?m, preferably ?0.9 ?m, and the mean grain sizes of the hexagonal phase and of the face-centered cubic phase differ at most by 30%.

Abstract: A hard metal or cermet body has a 2 to 100 ?m thick first layer having a binder metal proportion of 2 to 25 mass % and up to 25 volume % of a nitride or carbonitride of one or more metals of Group IVa of the periodic system or up to 10 volume % of a carbide or carbonitride of V, Nb, Ta or Cr, balance WC, whereby the amount of nitride, carbonitride or carbide of the afore-mentioned metals amounts to at least 0.01 volume %. Under the first layer is a 2 to 40 ?m thick second layer with an enhanced nitrogen proportion relative to the first layer, is disposed. Thereunder is a transition zone with a thickness of 2 to 100 ?m in which the composition gradually changes to a homogeneous composition in the inner core of the hard metal or cermet body.

Abstract: The invention relates to a hard metal or cermet body comprising a single or several adjoining surfaces. A first layer with a thickness of between 2-100 ?m is located beneath the single surface or at least one of the surfaces, said layer comprising an auxiliary metal fraction of between 2 and 25 mass % and up to 25 volume % nitrides or carbonitrides of one or more metals of the IVa group of the periodic table and/or up to 10 volume % carbides and/or carbonitrides of the elements V, Nb, Ta and/or Cr, with WC making up the residual amount.

Abstract: The invention relates to a sintered part consisting of a hard metal, in particular WC with Co, Ni and/or Fe binders-based hard metal, or cermet, in particular on the base of composition consisting of (Ti, W) (C, N) or (Ti, Mo) (C, N) with Co, Ni and/or Fe binders and to a method for producing such a sintered part. The inventive method consists in exposing a sintered part totally or partially to an active plasma gaseous phase at a maximum pressure of 3×104 Pa during heating, sintering or after sintering, at least during a certain time preferably during a time period ranging from 10 to 100 min.

Abstract: The invention relates to a hard metal substrate body consisting of a WC hard material phase and between 3 and 25 mass % of a binding phase containing at least one binding metal Fe, Co and/or Ni, and up to 15 mass % (in relation to the binding phase) of dissolved dopants from the group containing Al, Cr, Mo, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta. The invention also relates to a method for producing one such hard metal substrate body, using powder metallurgy followed by sintering. According to the invention, the percentage of all of the dopants in the hard metal is limited to a maximum of 4 mass %, the proportion of cubic phase in the hard metal is less than 4 vol. %, and the binding metal content in an edge region of the hard metal substrate body falls from up to 1 ?m, preferably up to 0.5 ?m, to less than half the binding agent content inside the substrate body.

Abstract: The invention relates to a hard metal or cermet cutting material for cutting chromium-alloy steel parts. Said cutting material comprises a hard phase containing carbides, nitrides and/or carbonitrides and a binder phase based on iron, cobalt and nickel. The aim of the invention is to prevent an agglomeration of the cutting material during cutting operations. For this purpose, the binder phase contains 10% by weight to 75% by weight of Co, 10% by weight to 75% by weight of Ni, 5% by weight to 30% by weight of Cr, ?20% by weight to 60% by weight of Fe, the total of Co, Ni, Cr and Fe not exceeding 100% by weight.

Abstract: The invention relates to a composite material, comprising a hard metal or cermet substrate body, coated with at least one diamond layer. According to the invention, the adhesion of the diamond layer on fine-grained hard metal or cermet substrate bodies may be improved, whereby the C content of the hard metal or cermet substrate body lies between 89% and 99%, preferably between 94% and 99% of the maximum possible content at which C porosity occurs, or, for hard metal substrate bodies with Co binder, the magnetic saturation polarisation is 89 to 99%, preferably 94 to 99% of the maximum saturation polarisation 4 &pgr; &sgr;max=2Co−2,2 Cr3C2, (Co and Cr3C2 each given in mass % and 4 &pgr; &sgr;max in &mgr;T.m3.kg−1).

Abstract: The invention relates to a hard metal or cermet body with a hard material phase consisting of WC and/or at least one carbide, nitride, carbonitride and/or oxicarbonitride of at least one of the elements from group IVa, Va, or VIa of the periodic table and a binding metal phase consisting of Fe, Co and/or Ni, said binding metal phase making up 3 to 25 mass %. In particular, WC crystallites should protrude beyond the hard metal or cermet surface of the by 2 to 20 &mgr;m in order to improve the adhesion of surface layers that are applied.

Abstract: A hard metal or cermet sintered body and a method of making it wherein a solid phase containing WC and a binder phase are formed together with WC platelets by direct microwave irradiation, utilizing reactive sintering to form the WC at least in part and to produce the platelets.

Abstract: The invention concerns a composite body consisting of a hard metal, cermet or ceramic substrate body and at least one layer of a mechanically resistant material, a ceramic substance, a diamond-like layer, amorphous carbon and/or hexagonal boron nitride. The invention also concerns a method of producing this composite body, wherein, when the green compact has been dewaxed, with its pores still open and whilst it continues to be heated as from a temperature of between 600° C. and 1100° C., it is acted upon by sublimable solids and/or reaction gases which are necessary for coating purposes. The temperature of the green compact is then further increased and the latter is fully compressed by sintering, before one or more layers of the above-mentioned type is/are applied.

Abstract: A composite body of a microwave sintered composition of a cermet or hard metal as a modified surface layer which can promote the microwave sintering and can be of a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm with a density gradually decreasingly inwardly or a thickness up to 1 mm and having locally distributed compacts therein or which can be a layer of a thickness of 1 to 10 mm of a substantially pure metal or which can have a binder metal removed to a depth of about half the grain thickness of a hard material such as WC.

Abstract: Disclosed are a composite body and the production and the use thereof. It consists of a substrate body with a single- or multilayer coating, containing either Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides and/or Ta and/or Al2O3 or ZrO2. In order to improve the characteristics of wear from chip removal or another form of abrasion, the invention suggests that a layer of Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta or Cr carbonitride be precipitated either directly upon a layer of Al2O3— or ZrO2— or upon a thin intermediate layer of ZrC or ZrN up to 0,5 &mgr;m, or upon a TiN layer up to 0.1 &mgr;m, or indirectly upon a layer of Al2O3— or ZrO2—.

Abstract: A cermet or hard metal body is formed from elemental metal, carbon and a nitrogen source such as a metal nitride or an organic nitrogen source by microwave sintering such that chemical reaction occurs with the formation of carbides and/or carbonitrides. The elemental metal, carbon and nitrogen source are mixed together and prepressed to form the green body which is subjected to the microwave radiation in reaction sintering.

Abstract: A hard metal or cermet body, especially as a cutting insert, has a WC content in the hard phase making up at least 10% and at most 96% thereof and three layers or zones between the interior of the body and the surface formed by the heat treatment to which the sinterable body is subjected. In the outermost layer hard material with limited binder content can be formed underlain by an intermediate layer of a substantially pure WC--Co composition, the innermost layer having a tungsten content falling to the value in the body interior and a binder phase and Group IVa and Group Va metal which increased progressively to the levels in the body interior.

Abstract: A cermet including a cermet core zone in which the content of a binder amounts to at most 90% by mass in relationship to a cermet hard phase is formed with a 0.01 to 3 um deep surface layer having an increased resistance to wear compare to the cermet core zone.

Abstract: In order to improve the toughness characteristics of a cermet alloy, while retaining high resistance to wear, a composition is disclosed which contains 30 to 60% by weight of Ti, 5 to 20% by weight of W, 5 to 15% by weight of Ta, in which up to 70% of the Ta can be replaced by Nb, and 5 to 25% by weight of Ni and/or Co binder with more than 80 mole %, relative to the above transition elements of carbon and nitrogen. The composition is prepared by grinding, compressing and sintering a solid, powder-form mixture containing (Ti,W,Ta,Nb)C powder, Ti(C,N) powder, and WC powder, each powder having a particle size <1.5 .mu.m, plus Ni powder and/or Co powder. The mixture includes the following ingredients: (a) (Ti,W,Ta,Nb)C with a mean particle size <1.5 .mu.m, this mixed carbide containing 20 to 50% by weight of TiC, 20 to 40% by weight of WC, and 20 to 40% by weight of (Ta, Nb)C; (b) Ti(C,N), with a mean particle size <1.5 .mu.m and an N/(C+N) ratio <0.7; WC with a mean particle size <1.5 .mu.

Abstract: A composite body includes 5 to 40% by mass of SiC whiskers and/or up to 80% by mass SiC lamellae and/or of up to 75% by mass SiC powder, 0.05 to 3% by mass of at least one component selected from the group of Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, SiO.sub.3, MgO, NiO and AlN and/or up to 40% by mass of at least one compound selected from the group of carbides, nitrides or carbonitrides of a metal from one of the Groups IVa, Va, Via of the Periodic Table of elements, and/or up to 40% by mass of at least one oxide of at least one metal selected from the group which consists of the metals of Group IVa of the Periodic Table of elements, 0.

Abstract: The invention relates to a composite hard metal body of hard material, a binder and embedded reinforcing material, as well as to a process for the production of the composite hard metal body by methods of powder metallurgy.In order to create a composite hard metal body with improved toughness under load, improved hardness and a lower fracture susceptibility, the invention proposes to build in monocrystalline, preferably needle-shaped and/or platelet-shaped reinforcing materials, coated with an inert layer with respect to the binder metal phase and consisting of borides and/or carbides, and/or nitrides and/or carbonitrides of the elements of Groups IVa or Va or mixtures thereof and/or coated monocrystalline reinforcing material of SiC, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, Si.sub.2 N.sub.2 O, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, ZrO.sub.2, AlN and/or BN.

Abstract: A compound body comprising a metallic basic body, an inner layer or layers of carbides and/or nitrides of Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Si, or B, and an outer layer or layers of a mixture of oxides and nitrides and/or oxynitrides of Cr, Al, Ca, Mg, Th, Sc, Y, La, Ti, Hf, V, Nb, or Ta. The compound body can be used as a part subject to wear, and for machining metallic materials.