Metal cutting tools are typically made from cemented tungsten carbide or another suitable material, such as PCD, PcBN, high speed steel and other cermets. Cemented tungsten carbide components are made by pressing or extruding blend of WC, Co and possibly other materials into a green shape. The green shape is then sintered to compact and fuse the powder together. Cemented carbides are metal-matrix composites comprising carbides of one or more of the transition metals as hard particles dispersed and cemented in a binder of, for example, cobalt, nickel, and/or iron (or alloys of these metals). In this manner, the hard particles form a dispersed phase and the binder forms a continuous phase. Cemented carbides offer attractive combinations of strength, toughness, and abrasion/erosion (i.e., wear) resistance for use as cutting tools, including, for example, turning inserts and milling inserts. Among the different possible hard particle combinations, cemented carbides comprising tungsten carbide as the hard particle and cobalt as the binder phase are common choices for cutting tools for metalworking operations on difficult to machine materials, such as, for example, titanium and titanium alloys, nickel and nickel alloys, superalloys, stainless steels, and ductile iron.
Press and sinter or extrude and sinter technology limits the design of the final component to only those geometries that can be pressed or extruded. This can lead to inferior or unnecessary features incorporated into cemented carbide components including more material. One unnecessary feature is often the use of more material than is needed to make the component. Cemented tungsten carbide is an expensive material. There is a continuous need to reduce its use without compromising cutting tool quality or performance.