Application of a wax-based binder in PIM of WC–TiC–Co cemented carbides

Abstract A wax-based binder was developed for powder injection molding of WC–TiC–Co cemented carbides. The critical powder loading and the rheologic behavior of the feedstock were determined. It was found that the critical powder loading could achieve up to 62.5 vol% and the feedstock exhibited a pseudo-plastic flow behavior. The injection molding, debinding and sintering processes were studied. The dimensional deviation of the sintered samples could be controlled in the range of ±0.2% with the optimized processing parameters. The mechanical properties were better than or equivalent to those of the same alloy made by the conventional press-sintering process.