Cast WC-Co alloy-based tool manufacturing using a polymeric mold prepared via digital light processing 3D printing

Tungsten carbide-Cobalt (WC-Co), also known as cemented carbide, is a widely used alloy to manufacture high-performance tools for mining, drilling, cutting, and machining applications. Due to the high melting point of WC, it is challenging to cast it to manufacture products. Therefore, in this study, we investigated a method for manufacturing cutting tools from WC-Co alloy using high-precision digital light processing-based three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. The high refractive index of WC renders it difficult to directly apply it to photocurable 3D printing. Therefore, a polymer mold was fabricated via 3D printing to obtain a WC-Co slurry cast. Rheological studies were performed to optimize the slurry composition. After slurry casting and drying, a green body was formed, which was sintered at 1400 °C to obtain a defect-free sample with a shape identical to that of the 3D model. The cast sample exhibited identical characteristics (microstructure, hardness, and fracture toughness) to those of conventional press-molded sample. The results of this study confirm that complex cutting tool manufacturing is possible without using expensive metal molds. The presented approach is expected to significantly reduce the cost and time incurred during the product development stage involving multiple designs.