Carbide
VHM, indexable inserts and HSS: the highest kilo price in the house, and why there is no stock exchange.
Tungsten carbide is a composite material and not a metal in the narrow sense: tungsten carbide grains, held together by a binder made of cobalt, sintered at well over a thousand degrees. This results in a density of 14 to 15 grams per cubic centimeter, almost twice as much as for high-speed steel with around 8.1 — and this also results in the value.
What matters is what happens in recycling. The so-called zinc process dissolves the cobalt binder without destroying the carbide grains; this directly turns into new carbide powder. This route is much cheaper than the detour via ore, but only works with varietal material. Each gram of steel, solder or HSS in the batch forces the recycler to the more complex chemical route.
There's a raw material theme behind it. Tungsten is one of the critical raw materials in the European Union, and there is hardly any significant primary production. Secondary tungsten from tool scrap is thus not a waste disposal issue, but one of the few domestic sources — the real reason for the kilo price you see nowhere else in the metal trade.
Why is there no stock listing for carbide?
Carbide itself is not traded on any stock exchange. The price comes from its components: tungsten runs as a concentrate and as an APT with a quotation published in the metal trade, the cobalt binder is listed on the London Metal Exchange. This includes the cobalt content of the grade and the cleanliness of the goods. Therefore, the table shows a purchase price per grade and not a stock exchange price.
How do I distinguish a VHM drill from a HSS drill?
At weight: solid carbide is almost twice as dense as high-speed steel, a VHM drill is remarkably heavy in the hand. The magnet attracts both, HSS strong, carbide only weakly over the cobalt binder. Clearly, the fracture sample is: carbide breaks brittle with fine grained, dark grey surface, HSS bends beforehand. HSS we run as our own kind.
What attachments are pulling down the price of carbide?
Steel in particular: brazed drills with steel shaft, carrier blades of carbide-tipped circular saws, basic bodies of milling cutters and clamp holders. In addition, cooling lubricant and emulsion, which weigh in grinding dust and chip containers, as well as wood and plastic residues of saw blades. Coatings such as TiN or TiAlN are very thin and do not matter.
Is there a minimum quantity of carbide from which it is worthwhile to send in?
There is no minimum quantity, only the minimum payment of 25 euros — which a bucket of indexable inserts quickly reaches because carbide is dense and highly valued. More of the same still brings more: Each grade has a set scale, from whose limit we pay a higher rate. Who's on the go Of a kind used in the manufacture of motor vehicles, better collect up to the barrel. Delivering goes without appointment in Ludwigshafen, send in Germany-wide by parcel.
Do I have to remove inserts from the steel cassettes?
Yeah, or the tape will weigh without being carbide. Loose plates from sorting boxes, trays and tool holders belong in a separate container, the holders themselves are steel scrap. The same applies to plates that still sit in milling heads: loosen screws, remove plates. A quarter of an hour on a box separates the best classification from a mixed one.
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