Cryogenic Treatment of Tungsten Carbide Tools: Review

The use of cryogenic treatment (CT) to improve tool life of tungsten carbide materials has been developed from few days. At the present period, the initial doubt about CT has been cleared and many papers about tungsten carbide material reporting laboratory tests results. The fine dispersed carbides precipitation has been widely observed and their effects on tool life have been measured. In addition, some recent studies have pointed out at application in machining process by cryogenically treated tungsten carbide tools. The present paper summarizes the state of art about CT of tungsten carbide material focusing on tungsten carbide, cryogenic treatment method, parameters, and results.