SPS sintering process of WC-6Co cemented carbide

WC-6Co cemented carbide were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at different sintering temperatures, holding times and sintering pressures with WC-6Co composite powders, whose average particle sizes are scaled about 30 μm and hollow spherical wall thickness 1.8 μm, as raw materials. The organization and properties of the alloy are characterized by SEM and cobalt magnetic. The results show that the density and hardness of the alloy increase with the rising sintering temperature. The density and hardness of the alloy increases with the prolonging holding time, and then tends to be stable. Sintering pressure has little effect on the properties of the alloy. The optimal sintering process is sintered at 1 250 ℃ for 5 min under 50 MPa. The density of the alloy prepared by the optimum sintering process is 14.69 g/cm³ and the fracture toughness is 12.23 MPa ·m^1/2 with fine and uniform microstructure.