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Help with cutting and grinding carbide

septooth

Plastic
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Location
Illinois
What we usually use are 5/16 or 3/8 diameter M2 round blanks and grind our emboss shape on the tip of the punch and a flat on the side for a set screw to align. Now that we are hitting hardened steel, we are wanting to change to carbide instead for our punches.#1 What do you use to cut through carbide? #2 What type of grinding wheel will cut carbide and is able to have a radius dressed on it? #3 What do you use to dress the wheel? I have never worked with carbide before and need as much info as i can get on the whole procedure. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
Keep in mind carbide is very hard and brittle ,I would guess the first hit would send out bullet like projectiles in every direction.
 
Thin perhaps 1/32" surface grinder wheel running wet will cut 5/16 and 3/8 carbide rod very well. You set the wheel over and using down feed only cut right through at a down-feed rate that does not show the spindle. This will leave a small bug/burr at the bottom of the fall off portion owing to the slight radius that is likely to wear onto the wheel. Have a catch basket so the falling part does not damage you chuck surface.
Agree carbide is so hard and subject to fracture you need to have all facets well rounded and punch a soft material, wear safety glasses and have the work area well shielded.

Likely a cast iron C2 grade would be best, but chancy that it would work with not shattering.
 
You want to grind carbide with diamond wheels.
Available in and shape or rad you want or need,
The carbide is available in a in many grades also but punch work is either C-2 or C-10. Weird that the numbers are so far away while similar, one of these like impacts and is not the carbide you make lathe or mill cutting tools from.
I have very little idea of how to help without a pic of just what you want to hammer or stamp into the part.
Done wet with diamond I think you will find the grinding much easier than working in M2.
Bob
 
Have you considered other "stamping techniques", like electrolytical etching, or somehow rudimentary plunge EDM, or simple engraving? How deep do your punch marks need to be? How many items?
Yes, both electro-erosion techniques are fairly slow. But, at least the equipment for electrolytical etching is rather cheap and easy to multiplex.

Paolo
 
For what it's worth, we also grind Carbide here (cylindrical grinding) in the 3" up to 8" dia range. In the past few years a few jobs have trickled in that required profile/form grinding. We were able to dress and true corner rads via rotary dressing with yet another grinding dressing wheel. Expect much wear on the dresser wheel while dressing. But, this sounds like a different application.
 
Keep in mind carbide is very hard and brittle ,I would guess the first hit would send out bullet like projectiles in every direction.

Only if you pick the wrong tungsten carbide grade.
Yep, cutting tool carbide blends make for terrible hammers.
Large grain size and lots of cobalt are where you build pulverizing and recycling hammers.
Punches are application specific but the stuff you would make a endmill out of is maybe not a good choice.
But available cheaper and sometimes perfectly okay in light stamping of a logo or mark if the side angles and depth are good.

Perhaps all this confusing for the OP.
Bob
 








 
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