Brazing of Cemented Carbides at Lower Temperatures

Abstract

Cemented carbides have been widely used for cutting tools because of their high hardness and abrasion resistance. Since the cemented carbides are so expensive, it is desirable to reuse a tool shank made of cemented carbides. For the reason, so far, a new blade of a tool has been brazed to used shanks. However, when cemented carbides are heated for brazing, heating inevitably causes the deterioration in the mechanical properties. This study was carried out to braze the cemented carbides at lower temperatures for reducing the deterioration of the shank. First of all, authors developed a new Ag-based brazing filler metal with a low melting point of about 605°C, and investigated the effects of the new Ag filler metal on the properties of a brazed joint. Moreover, Co element or Ni element was added into the Ag filler metal to make the bending strength of a brazed joint improved. The addition of Co element increased the bending strength of a joint and the strength was equivalent to that of a joint brazed at 750°C using a conventional Ag filler metal, but the addition of Ni element decreased the bending strength of a brazed joint.