As one of the main production raw materials of cemented carbide, the physical and chemical properties of tungsten carbide (WC) powder, such as particle shape, particle size, particle size distribution, oxygen content, carbon content, bulk density, etc., will directly affect the quality of alloy products. Today, with the gradual optimization of the production process of cemented carbide, the market demand for spherical tungsten carbide powder is also increasing.

1. The concept of spherical WC powder
It is mainly composed of refractory metal tungsten and non-metallic carbon, and contains a small amount of impurity elements such as Co, Cr, Ti, Ta, Nb, V, Mn, Ni, Mo, O, etc.

2. Properties of spherical WC powder
The appearance is black powder, the melting point is 2870℃, the boiling point is 6000℃, the density is 15.63g/cm3, the bulk density is greater than 7.0g/cm3, the tap density is greater than 7.5g/cm3, and the flow performance is less than 10.0s/50g. It has the characteristics of high hardness, low thermal expansion coefficient, high compressive strength, large elastic modulus and smooth surface. However, due to its high hardness, its processing performance is poor, so it is more suitable for 3D printing.

3. Production process of spherical WC powder
1) Melting method: The raw material powder (tungsten powder and carbon black or tungsten powder, carbon black and tungsten carbide) is melted into a liquid state, and the droplets will be in the centrifugal rotation method, rotary atomization method or gas atomization method. Spherical tungsten carbide is formed on the surface.

2) Modified irregular tungsten carbide: The irregular WC is melted into a liquid state, and then the spherical tungsten carbide powder is made by the plasma spheroidization method or the resistance heat spheroidization method.