Good and Bad Carbide

[tomwalz]

There is lots of room for improvement in the methodology but I thought it might be interesting anyway.

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Carbide is a composite product, comprising particles of WC in a binder.
One such binder is Co; I'm guessing there are others.

Can you comment on the respective particle sizes and binders in the pictured articles?





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[macmet]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

 

[tomwalz]

Dear MikeHalloran:

Excellent question.

C2 - HC25
C4 – KCr06

Here are the properties the two grades of carbide are supposed to have. However they were sold under the C-2 and C-4 designations which means that the supplier has deemed them suitable for use as C-2 General Purpose and C-4 Precision work in cast iron, non-ferrous and non-metallic materials.

HC25
K20 ISO, C2 ANSI, 7 % Co, 93 % WC, 14.9 Density, 1530 HV30, 91.5 HRA 2600 TRS (Mpa), 377,000 TRS (PSI), 1.3 - 2.5 Grain

KCR06
3% Co, 97 % WC, 15.25 Density, 1910 HV30, 93.6 HRA, 2300 TRS (Mpa), 334,000 TRS (PSI), 0.8 - 1.3 Grain

(Note: I was once given these values but they appear to be no longer available.)

The carbide companies that sold as these parts used to have a truly excellent operation in South Carolina. Then they hired a new company president who was living in Pennsylvania. The new company president bought a company in Pennsylvania and moved the South Carolina company to Pennsylvania.

The employees in South Carolina were extremely unhappy to be losing their jobs and none of them transferred to Pennsylvania.

In the two years or so they were in Pennsylvania we never saw the kind of quality they produced in South Carolina.

A year or so ago they move the entire production operation to Michigan and, again, none of the plant people went with them.

Again, the people in Pennsylvania were extremely unhappy to be losing their jobs.

Up till about six months ago we were being offered tens of millions of assorted carbide saw tips in different sizes and grades at a pretty good discount. We were assured that most of these tips would work pretty well.

The C-2 tips showed a huge amount of breakage. This should not happen before with C-2 tips from the same supplier to the same manufacturer for the same end-user.

Conclusion:
Under the C system, the C-2 were good tips because the manufacturer said they were and that is the way that system works. Personally I think that material should be sold either by objective standards for a suitable for the intended use.

Also, I am incredibly biased in this instance, because I sold a batch of carbide to a very good customer who had horrible results.

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[MikeHalloran]

I've been through a couple of 'factory moves'.

They might as well have just burned the businesses to the ground.

I have never seen good, never mind acceptable, never mind mediocre, results, from such a move.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[tomwalz]

Especially combined with a "Plant Monkey" attitude as in "You can teach a monkey to push buttons and pull levers".

Two thoughts
1. If there is an extremely good technical, as well as people sensitive manager, it is possible if they are allowed to do it. If the company is silly enough to move for the convenience of the new president then a truly good manager will shortly become an outcast since he is much too far culturally from the center of power.
2. One of the best things that ever happened to me was having to work as a plant monkey to put myself though school. One of my tests is still to see if someone thinks two different operators can get different results out of fully automatic equipment.

Tom


Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[btrueblood]

"One of my tests is still to see if someone thinks two different operators can get different results out of fully automatic equipment."

Well, if one of them is dumb enough to trip on the power cord and yank it out of the wall...

 

[tomwalz]

True.

I was thinking more about Goldratt, prestaging, dedicated operators and spqc but tripping over the cord certainly qualifies.

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[blacksmith37]

Sounds like a job for "quality man"! It is hard to imagine a mfg today without an ISO /ANSI/ASQC certification. I suggest hiring a consultant of quality systems (that knows what he is doing) and audit the manufacturer; including review of their latest ISO 9003(?) /ANSI survey.
With a good QA QC system any qualified operator should produce the same product.
Co is the primary binder but Ni and blends are also used. Also other carbides like Ti are used; so carbides with a very wide range of properties are available.

 

[dgallup]

Quality systems just document the good or bad quality, they don't make a good part.

 

[blacksmith37]

Quality program will lead to consistant products /services. If the design /specification is "good" , the quality system will assure all products are "good".
Japanese MANAGEMENT endorsed "quality" (In the 60's, with Deming, Juran, etc) , then as their designs improved, they outperformed auto, electronics, steel ,etc makers worldwide by about the 80's.
For example, when a Jap pipe mill flaw inspection unit "alarms" on a pipe, they put the pipe in scrap. An american mill sends the pipe to "prove-up" because they don't know exactly what the flaw is - and maybe they they can sneak the pipe through , or trim a bad section and ship the balance of the pipe where the imperfections are smaller.