Tantalum/Nobium
Tantalum/Niobium carbide makes great contributions toward improvements in oxidation resistance, hot-hardness and high temperature strength as well as resistance to crater wear in steel processing. Thanks to their thermal conductivity, they also increase resistance to thermal cracking, which can occur due to thermal shock effects during milling, for example.
TaC/Ta2C
ABOUT:
Tantalum carbide (TaC) is an extremely hard (Mohs hardess 9-10) refractory ceramic material. The hardness is only exceeded by diamond. It is a heavy, brown powder usually processed by sintering, and an important cermet material. It is sometimes used as a fine-crystalline additive to tungsten carbide alloys. Tantalum carbide has the distinction of being the stoichiometric binary compound with the highest known melting point, at 4150 K (3880°C). The substoichiometric compound TaC0.89 has a higher melting point, near 4270 K (4000°C).
GRADES:
FTaC-1, FTaC-2, FTaC2-1
APPEARANCE:
It is a heavy brownish powder with a metallic luster
APPLICATION:
• Tantalum carbide is often added to tungsten carbide/cobalt (WC/Co) powder attritions to enhance the physical properties of the sintered structure. It also acts as a grain growth inhibitors preventing the formation of large grains, thus producing a materials of optimal hardness.
• It is also used as a coating for steel moulds in the injection moulding of aluminum alloys. While providing a hard, wear resistant surface, it also provides a low friction mould surface.
• Tantalum carbide is also used in the production of sharp instruments with extreme mechanical resistance and hardness.
• It is also used in tool bits for cutting tools.
NbC/Nb2C
WHAT IS IT:
Niobium carbide is a frequent intentional product in microalloyed steels due to its extremely low solubility product in austenite, the lowest of all the refractory metal carbides. This means that micrometre-sized precipitates of NbC are virtually insoluble in steels at all processing temperatures and their location at grain boundaries helps prevent excessive grain growth in these steels. This is of enormous benefit, and the cornerstone of microalloyed steels, because it is their uniform, very fine grain size that ensures both toughness and strength. The only commonly occurring compound with a lower solubility and hence, greater potential for restricting the grain growth of steels is titanium nitride.
APPEARANCE:
APPLICATION:
• Niobium carbide is a frequent intentional product in microalloyed steels due to its extremely low solubility product in austenite, the lowest of all the refractory metal carbides
• Niobium carbide has an extremely low solubility product in austenite. When niobium carbide is added by micrometre-sized precipitates, it is virtually insoluble in steels at all temperatures. Niobium carbide’s location at ground boundaries prevents excessive gran growth.
• Niobium has many medical research applications. It is also alloyed to produce arc-welding rods and in corrosion-resistant steel.
TaNbC
WHAT IS IT:
Tantalum/Niobium carbide makes great contributions toward improvements in oxidation resistance, hot-hardness and high temperature strength as well as resistance to crater wear in steel processing. Thanks to their thermal conductivity, they also increase resistance to thermal cracking, which can occur due to thermal shock effects during milling, for example.
APPEARANCE:
APPLICATION:
• Increases the performance of hard metal cutting tools
• Used to produce chip cutting ductile products
• Great for the metalworking, automotive, and aerospace industries.
PROPERTIES:
It is twice as dense as steel and is highly ductile. It features both thermal and electrical conductivity. In addition, it is inert with respect to nearly all organic and an organic compounds, so it is characterized by high degree of stability and resistance.