The present study proposed the fabrication of a WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni hard metal alloy using spark plasma sintering (SPS) as a potential alternative to the WC-Co hard metal. Fe-36%Ni powder (mean particle size 26.9 μm) was produced from Fe and Ni commercial powders via high energy milling and the effect was analyzed. WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni (alternative grade) and WC-Co (reference grade) were obtained from ultrafine WC powder (particle size 0.45) with 10%wt binder. SPS sintering of WC-6.4Fe3.6Ni was performed at 1100, 1200 and 1300 °C with a holding time of 5 min achieving 99.8% higher densification at 1300 °C and WC-Co was sintered at 1200 °C. The results show that increasing the sintering temperature enhanced the microstructure and hardness with a decrease in fracture toughness. The wettability of milled Fe-Ni binder during heating in the SPS process contributes to enhance densification and properties. The decrease in fracture toughness is attributed to a decrease in the binder mean free path. The XRD analysis showed that η phase was not detected for either composite grades. Studies of sintering kinetics were applied to determine the sintering mechanisms involved in the final stage of sintering, which can be elucidated by calculating the slope exponent (n) from the relationship between the shrinkage rate and sintering time. Slope exponent consistent with WC diffusion in the liquid phase was found for WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni sintered at 1300 °C. Good properties was found for WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni sintered at 1300 °C, showing higher hardness ~1633 HV30 and fracture toughness ~11 MPa m^0.5. WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni sintered at 1200 °C has superior hardness (1786 HV30) than WC-Co (1689 HV30). A comparison of these properties with results from similar grades in the literature shows that the WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni alternative grade has optimal properties and can be adopted as an alternative to WC-Co grades.

本研究提出使用放电等离子烧结 (SPS) 制造 WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni 硬质合金作为 WC-Co 硬质合金的潜在替代品。Fe-36%Ni 粉末（平均粒径 26.9 μm）是由 Fe 和 Ni 商业粉末通过高能研磨生产的，并分析了效果。WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni（替代品级）和 WC-Co（参考品级）是从含有 10%wt 粘合剂的超细 WC 粉末（粒度 0.45）中获得的。WC-6.4Fe3.6Ni 的 SPS 烧结在 1100、1200 和 1300 °C 下进行，保持时间为 5 分钟，在 1300 °C 下实现了 99.8% 的更高致密化，而 WC-Co 在 1200 °C 下烧结。结果表明，提高烧结温度可提高组织和硬度，同时降低断裂韧性。在 SPS 工艺中加热期间研磨的 Fe-Ni 粘合剂的润湿性有助于提高致密化和性能。断裂韧性的降低归因于粘合剂平均自由程的降低。XRD 分析表明，两种复合材料均未检测到 η 相。应用烧结动力学研究来确定参与烧结最后阶段的烧结机制，这可以通过计算斜率指数来阐明（n ) 来自收缩率和烧结时间的关系。WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni 在 1300 °C 下烧结，斜率指数与液相中的 WC 扩散一致。在 1300 °C 下烧结的 WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni 具有良好的性能，显示出更高的硬度 ~1633 HV30 和~11 MPa m ^0.5断裂韧性。WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni 在 1200 °C 下烧结的硬度 (1786 HV30) 比 WC-Co (1689 HV30) 更高。将这些性能与文献中类似牌号的结果进行比较表明，WC-6.4Fe-3.6Ni 替代牌号具有最佳性能，可用作 WC-Co 牌号的替代品。