Carbides
Tungsten Carbide
Tungsten Carbide, WC, is often found in cutting tools used for machining of metals. It is stiffer, harder and much denser than hardened steel.
Besides cutting tools, the material is employed in many different shapes and sizes as wear components and tools within the mining and construction industry.
Boron Carbide
Boron carbide, B4C, is a ceramic material known to be one of the world's hardest materials, ranking third behind diamond and cubic boron nitride. Furthermore, the material shows advantages such as very low density, high Young’s modulus, and chemical inertness to corrosive media.
These properties have been proven useful in a variety of applications like ballistic protection and wear-resistant components. Boron carbide is also employed in the nuclear energy industry, due to its excellent neutron absorption ability.
Silicon Carbide
Silicon carbide, SiC, is very hard and light. The ceramic maintains its properties at a wide spectrum of temperatures, making it suitable for high temperature applications such as abrasives, high performance car brakes and clutches. Due to its hardness, silicon carbide can also be used in ballistic protection.
