Formation and evaluation of mechanical properties for WC-Ni thin film by wet plating

Abstract

Tungsten carbide (WC) has high hardness and wear resistance, and powder metallurgy method is applied to form products together with metallic powder, e.g. cobalt (Co), because its formativeness is poor. Recently, application of WC by coating forms has been watched from viewpoints of reduction of tungsten (W) / Co usage and arbitrarily of products design. The purpose of this study is establishment of brand-new formation process for WC-Ni hard coating materials, which is based on wet plating and is constructed with both carbon supplying and diffusion heat treatment. In the current report, influences of both the procedure of carbon supplying and the condition of heat treatment for microstructure of the coating were discussed. In addition, hardness of the film was evaluated by using a instrumented hardness tester.