What is carbide and what does HSS stand for?
Carbides are alloys made of hard metallic materials and a binder metal. They are held together by a metal matrix and are harder than pure metals, alloys or hardened steel. However, this also makes them more fragile. Carbides are mainly used as a cutting material for tools. Their high temperature resistance allows cutting speeds three times higher than with HSS. Carbide is characterised by its very high resistance to wear. This means that components and tools have an excellent service life.
HSS stands for «high-speed steel». HSS is a high-alloy tool steel that, like carbide, is mainly used as a cutting material. Though it does not allow the same high cutting speeds as carbide, it is instead more resistant to shock and vibration.
Where are carbide and HSS used?
Carbide and high-speed steel are primarily used to produce tools like drills, turning tools, milling and broaching tools.
Recycling carbides and HSS
The base reusable materials in carbides and HSS are recycled using two different processes: the thermal zinc process for high carbide content and with very low use of chemicals, or the chemical process for powders or low carbide content, with low energy use.
