Wire-drawing dies and specimens of WC–Co cemented carbides containing TaNbC or Cr₃C₂ were fabricated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) at 1633 K in 40 MPa Ar and by annealing at 1593 K in vacuum. The lifetimes of steel cord wire-drawing dies were evaluated and their mechanical properties such as hardness, transverse rupture strength, and fracture toughness were examined. The lifetime of the drawing die was noted to have remarkably improved by annealing for WC–Co cemented carbides containing both TaNbC and Cr₃C₂. The alloys containing TaNbC had longer lifetimes than those containing Cr₃C₂. The lifetime of a drawing die was weakly related to its hardness but appeared to have no correlation with its strength or toughness. The remarkable improvement in the drawing die lifetime resulting from annealing treatment after HIP and the longer lifetime of TaNbC-containing alloys can be understood in terms of the adhesion strength between the WC and Co phases being affected by the alloy content and heat treatment of cemented carbides.

This Paper was Originally Published in Japanese in J. Jpn. Soc. Powder Powder Metallurgy 64 (2017) 17–22.