Tungsten Carbide Coatings

Industrial Plating Company uses a wide range of tungsten carbide coatings to give our customers a way to protect their components and machinery from abrasive wear. Applied typically through HVOF spray technology, tungsten carbide is comprised typically of powdered tungsten and cobalt, and it has nearly twice the strength of steel. Tungsten carbide provides exceptional protection for tools and machinery subject to high abrasive wear environments.

Tungsten Carbide SEM Image

‍Tungsten Carbide Coating Benefits

During the HVOF spray tungsten carbide coating process, a combination of tungsten and cobalt bonds with the substrate material. The resulting coating excels at protecting various tools and equipment from wear and abrasion. The coating has a very high bond strength and will strongly adhere to many different materials. Industrial Plating Company’s team of experts helps to select the correct coating formulation to suit the customers unique application needs.

The benefits of tungsten carbide coatings applied with HVOF process include:

Related Services

Abrasive wear resistance
Smooth surface/ Low porosity
High bond strength

Tungsten Carbide Coating Applications

Tungsten Carbide coatings typically solve industrial challenges such as wear, abrasion, and erosion. For example, the tungsten carbide family of coatings can be applied to exhaust fans, steel rolls, and conveyor screws. By coating these components with tungsten carbide, manufacturers can add years of durability to their machines. Tungsten carbide coatings can be applied with several coating processes including HVOF, Plasma, and others. The HVOF coating process offers the lowest porosity and highest bond strength of the coating processes available.

Our coatings also greatly benefit components and equipment across many industrial processes. Process rolls that need good grip in the paper industry or impellers used in mixing equipment can greatly benefit from tungsten carbide-based coatings. A tungsten carbide coating provides the protection these parts require. Industrial Plating company has a variety of specialized HVOF thermal spray coating solutions to protect your important machine parts that meet your unique project needs.

Coating Technical Data
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The below data table highlights some typical tungsten carbide coating formulations. Tungsten carbide coatings exhibit very good abrasion resistant properties. However, they do not provide good corrosion resistance. If you have an application that requires corrosion resistance as well as abrasion resistance, chromium carbide coatings offer a better solution.
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Coating
Formulation

Max Service
Temp

Micro Hardness (HV0.3)

Macro Hardness (HR15N)

ASTM G65 B Wear Rate (cubic inches)

Tungsten Carbide 12 % Cobalt

930F

850 - 1400

> 90

< 0.0004

Tungsten Carbide 17 % Cobalt

930F

850 - 1300

> 88

< 0.0005

Tungsten Carbide 12 % Nickel

930F

1000 - 1250

> 90

< 0.0004

Tungsten carbide coating applications that require smooth surface finishes must be ground with diamond abrasives. Industrial Plating has cylindrical grinding and surface finishing capabilities and expertise to meet your requirements.

We have over 50 years of experience applying plating and coating on a vast range of industrial machinery and equipment. Contact Industrial Plating Company today, and learn about the options we have available.