High-speed electron beam sintering of WC-8Co under controlled temperature conditions

In this study, we have firstly proposed a high-speed electron beam sintering technique for producing fully dense submicron-grained WC-8Co hardmetals. A distinctive feature of the sintering process is the controlled stress-strain state by varying thermal stresses during local electron beam heating at different rotation speed (0.1; 1.0; 2.5 mm/s) of a cylindrical powder compact. As a result, the sintering time of porous compacts to full density does not exceed 150 s. The experimental and calculated results indicate that the main requirement for obtaining well-sintered material is the shrinkage rate should be less or equal to the rate of thermal expansion of the sample segments subjected to repeated local heating. [Display omitted] •An electron beam sintering of fully dense WC-8Co composites with submicron grain size•Thermal stresses were used to intensify the consolidation of the porous body•The sintering time of the porous compact to full density does not exceed 150 s•The hardness of as fabricated hardmetals was in the range of 91–93 HRA