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In the process of purchasing industrial blades, many customers will have this question: “The same carbide blades, why is the price of A product so much more expensive than B product? The price difference is even more than double in some cases.
This kind of doubt not only appears in the end user, but also plagued part of the procurement staff – obviously the name, size, use are the same, but the price difference is quite large. Many people’s first reaction is “is not the business in the price”, but the fact is not so. In the carbide blade industry, the price difference is often caused by a combination of factors, which are related to the service life of the blade, the cutting effect and the overall cost-effective.
This article will systematically analyze the core reasons for price differences from seven aspects: raw material grade, manufacturing process, precision control, surface treatment and coating, difference between virgin and recycled materials, misunderstanding of weight and quality, and production batch and customized demand, to help you make a more rational and professional judgment in purchasing.
1. Different Material Grades: Alloy Grade And Cobalt Content
The primary factor in the price difference of cemented carbide blades is the grade of the raw material. Two common grades, YG6 and YG12, belong to the same cemented carbide family, but differ significantly in their compositional ratios and performance.
YG6: Containing about 6% cobalt, high hardness, good wear resistance, but relatively low toughness, suitable for cutting hard and brittle materials, such as wood, ceramics, non-ferrous metals.
YG12: Containing about 12% cobalt, stronger toughness, good impact resistance, but slightly lower wear resistance, more suitable for cutting materials with impact loads, such as steel, stainless steel, alloys and so on.
Cobalt Price And Performance Role
Cobalt, as the key binder metal of cemented carbide, has a large fluctuation in its market price, and blades with high cobalt content naturally cost more in raw material. At the same time, the proportion of cobalt directly determines the toughness and life of the blade, in some high-impact cutting conditions, high cobalt blades can significantly reduce the chance of chipping, to extend the life cycle.
The Invisible Difference In Raw Material Grades
Even for the same YG6 or YG12, the source and purity of the powder raw materials purchased by different manufacturers are not the same. The tungsten carbide powder from large international manufacturers (e.g. Kennametal, Sandvik) has a more uniform particle size distribution, lower impurity content, denser organization after pressing and sintering, and more stable wear resistance and toughness, which will be reflected in the price.
2. Differences In Manufacturing Processes: Every Step From Powder To Finished Product
The production of carbide blades includes powder proportioning, press molding, sintering, and fine grinding, and the technology and equipment invested in each step affects the final cost.
Powder Proportioning And Mixing
- High-end manufacturing utilizes multi-stage ball milling and precise control of powder size distribution and moisture content to ensure uniform billet density.
- Low-end processes may directly use coarse-grained powder with short mixing times, resulting in more internal porosity and reduced strength of the blade.
Compression Molding Technology
- Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) ensures uniform density and reduces sintering distortion.
- Ordinary unidirectional pressing, on the other hand, may have differences in thickness and density, leading to increased post-processing allowance or insufficient strength.
Sintering Technology
- Vacuum sintering and pressure sintering can effectively reduce porosity and improve tissue density and strength.
- Low-cost production lines may use conventional sintering furnaces, resulting in grain growth and unstable properties.
Precision Grinding Process
- High-precision blades will use five-axis CNC grinding machines and diamond grinding wheels to carry out multi-process fine grinding, with dimensional accuracy of ±0.002mm.
- Low-end blades may only undergo one rough grinding, and the machining precision and edge sharpness are obviously insufficient.
A high level of manufacturing process not only means higher equipment and labor costs, but also requires a longer processing cycle, which will be reflected in the price.
3. Differences In Precision Control Standards: Tolerance And Conformance
When comparing prices, many buyers only look at blade type and blade size, but ignore tolerance standards.
High-end blades are manufactured to tight tolerances on thickness, parallelism, perpendicularity, and other parameters to ensure stability and consistency in multi-piece installations.
Low-precision blades may have tolerances that are several times wider, which can easily lead to cutting size drift, tool vibration and even equipment damage at high cutting speeds or on automated production lines.
For example, if the outer diameter deviation of a batch of slitting blades is controlled within ±0.005mm, then the cutting seam remains consistent in high-speed slitting, with a flat kerf and a low scrap rate; while the low-priced blades with a deviation of ±0.05mm may have fluctuations in the cutting line or even pull hair.
Therefore, different standards of accuracy is another key factor affecting the price difference.
4. Surface Treatment And Coating Technologies: Performance Beneath The Look
Surface treatments and coatings are not just for looks, they are also an effective means of improving blade performance.
Mirror polishing: Reduces cutting resistance and prevents material adhesion, especially for cutting sticky materials (e.g. adhesive products, plastic films, etc.).
Coating (PVD, CVD): It can enhance the wear resistance and heat resistance of the blade and prolong its life. For example, TiN coating enhances the hardness and TiAlN coating has good high temperature resistance.
Anti-corrosion treatment: Prevents blade surface oxidation in wet or corrosive environments.
Coating equipment investment costs are high, the process control is complex, the coating quality of different manufacturers vary greatly, but also directly affect the selling price of the blade.
5. Virgin Vs. Recycled Raw Materials: The Unseen Quality Hazards
In the production of tungsten carbide blades, the source of the raw material has a huge impact on the performance of the final product. The two commonly used powder materials in the industry are virgin tungsten carbide powder and recycled tungsten carbide powder, and there are obvious differences in cost, quality and stability between the two.
Virgin Powder
Virgin Powder is made by refining tungsten ore, refining tungsten carbide, accurately proportioning cobalt powder and other metal powders, and the whole production process does not go through any recycling process.
High grain integrity: The grain morphology of virgin powder is regular, the particle size distribution is controllable, and the microstructure is uniform, which ensures dense organization and high strength after the blade is sintered.
Low impurity content: The extremely low content of oxides, metallic impurities and non-metallic inclusions in the virgin material reduces the risk of micro-cracks and chipping of the blade in high load cutting.
Stable performance: Whether it is wear resistance, toughness or high temperature stability, the batch fluctuation of virgin material blades is small, which is suitable for automated production lines or precision cutting processes that require high tool stability.
Higher cost: The price of virgin powder is usually 20%-50% higher than recycled powder, which is directly reflected in the selling price of the blade.
Recycled Powder
Recycled Powder is made from end-of-life tungsten carbide blades, scrap powder, etc. through recycling, crushing, chemical decomposition, reduction and other processes to make tungsten carbide powder again.
Low cost: The production cost of recycled powder is significantly lower than virgin powder, which is the main source of raw material for many low-priced blades.
Damaged grains: The crushing and chemical treatment in the recycling process will damage the original grain morphology, resulting in irregular grain edges or even cracks. Micropores or weak bonding zones may exist in the microstructure of the sintered blade.
High proportion of impurities: Recycled materials may contain oxides, iron, nickel and other impurities, which can easily become a source of cracks in high-temperature cutting, accelerating the failure of the blade.
Large performance fluctuations: Due to the complexity of the source of recycled materials, the purity and particle size of different batches of powder varies greatly, the stability of blade performance is poor, which may result in inconsistent cutting quality in mass production.
Importance Of Purity And Mixing Ratio
Some manufacturers will mix virgin and recycled materials in order to balance cost and performance, for example, using a formula of 70% virgin + 30% recycled powder. This practice reduces cost and retains the performance advantage to a certain extent. However, if the mixing ratio is not properly controlled (e.g. more than 50% recycled material), the wear resistance and toughness of the blade will be significantly reduced.
Verification And Recognition Methods
For the purchaser, you can judge the quality of raw materials by the following ways:
- Checking the raw material supply chain proof: Regular manufacturers will provide powder sources and test reports.
- Microstructure testing: Observe grain morphology and porosity through metallurgical microscope.
- Performance testing: Comparing life and chipping under the same cutting conditions.
While the use of recycled material can significantly reduce blade costs, the stability and longevity of virgin material is a clear advantage in high-precision, high-load cutting environments. If the production task requires extremely high cut quality and downtime is costly, prioritizing all virgin blades is the more cost-effective long-term solution.
6. Weight Does Not Equal Quality: The Effects Of Component Ratio, Density And Impurities
In industrial tool procurement, many people have a habitual judgment – “the heavier the blade is in the hand, the better the quality”. This intuition may have some reference value in some low-tech products, but in the field of cemented carbide blades, this way of judging is not scientific, and may even lead to purchasing misjudgment.
Weight Depends On Density, Which Is Determined By The Proportion Of Components
The density of cemented carbide is mainly determined by the ratio of tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt (Co):
- Tungsten carbide has a high density (approx. 15.6 g/cm³) and mainly provides the hardness and wear resistance of the blade;
- Cobalt has a low density (approx. 8.9 g/cm³) and mainly provides toughness and impact resistance.
When the proportion of tungsten carbide in the blade is high, the weight will increase accordingly, but the toughness may be reduced and prone to chipping; whereas, when the proportion of cobalt is high, the weight will be reduced, but the impact resistance is better.
Therefore, weight change is not directly equivalent to quality, the key lies in the performance to match the use of the scene.
Impurities Can Inflate Weight
In order to save costs, some low-quality blade manufacturers mix high-density impurities (e.g., iron filings, scrap metal particles) into the powder, which are even denser than cobalt and can make the blade appear “heavier” to the touch.
But the problem is that these impurities do not improve the performance of the blade, but instead become a source of cracks, accelerating the chipping or breaking of the blade during the cutting process.
This weight deception is especially common in low-priced blades with a high percentage of recycled material.
Impact Of Structural Density On Performance
Even if the composition ratio is the same, if the sintering process is not in place, the internal structure of the blade will be microporous or loose, which will reduce the actual density and make the blade “lighter”, as well as reduce wear resistance and strength.
High-end blades through the vacuum sintering and pressure sintering, the internal structure of dense, high strength, even if the weight is slightly lighter, its performance is still better than the poor quality of the “heavy blade”.
Low-end blades, even if mixed with high-density impurities to become heavier, can not make up for the performance defects brought about by the loose structure.
How To Scientifically Assess Quality Instead Of Weight
In purchasing and using, to avoid judging whether the blades are good or bad based on feel alone, the following methods can be used:
- Composition testing: Use X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) to test the ratio of WC to Co and the content of impurities.
- Microstructure analysis: Observe grain uniformity and porosity to judge the sintering quality.
- Cutting performance comparison: Test the life and cutting quality under the same working conditions.
In tungsten carbide blades, weight is only a physical property and does not directly represent quality. The real quality should be reflected in the composition of the scientific ratio, organizational density, precision control and actual cutting performance.
A blade that is light, sharp and densely structured is likely to be far better and more durable than a bulky, low-quality blade. Procurement should be guided by data and test results, not by intuitive judgment based solely on weight.
7. Production Lot And Customization Requirements
In industrial blade manufacturing, small customized lots or special specifications (non-standard sizes, special geometries, exotic structures) often require the reopening of molds, the adjustment of process parameters, and even the additional procurement of specific raw materials.
- Small-lot production: Higher fixed costs spread over each blade.
- Special specifications: Processing difficulty, low pass rate, will also push up the cost.
For example, if a batch of standard slitting blades produces 10,000 blades, the equipment and management cost per blade may only be a few dollars; while the batch of customized shaped blades is only 200 blades, the cost apportioned may be several times that of standard blades.
The difference in price between A and B products is not due to a single factor, but rather to a combination of raw material grades, manufacturing processes, precision standards, surface treatments, virgin/recycled material ratios, and the need for production batches and customization. Higher prices often mean more stable performance, longer service life and lower long-term cost.
As a buyer or user, you should compare prices and gain a deeper understanding of the blade’s material source, production process, precision standards and coating treatment, rather than simply judging by weight or price. Only in this way can we really choose the most cost-effective and productive industrial blades.
