Tungsten Carbide in Aerospace and Defense

A key factor for success in the aerospace industry is weight reduction. Passenger aircraft must become lighter and more efficient. The materials used in aircraft building provide tooling with new challenges. Twenty years ago the aviation industry was largely invested in using aluminum alloys. With the next generation of aircrafts such as the Airbus A320neo and A350, or the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 737 MAX, a new range of materials were needed to machine composite stacks. They involve titanium alloys and complex composite materials such as Ti / SFRP or Ti / CFRP / Al.

When machining these difficult composites you require a tool made of high-quality tungsten carbide due to the vast difference in the properties of the different materials. This requires optimally designed tool geometry for machining, then if needed, a suitable coating. However, to get the best results, the base material – the tungsten carbide substrate – is a key factor for success. Due to years of cooperation with many partners in aircraft manufacturing, we were able to gain extensive knowledge in this area.