Tough cermet and process for producing the same

摘要

A tough cermet made from 20-92 weight % of TiC and/or TiCN, 5-50 weight % of WC and 3-30 weight % of an iron-group metal. This tough cermet has a three phase grain microstructure consisting of a core phase rich in TiC and/or TiCN, an intermediate phase rich in WC and surrounding the core phase, and an outer phase made of (Ti,W)C and/or (Ti,W)CN and surrounding the intermediate phase. Because of this three-phase microstructure, the cermet has high toughness without sacrificing hardness. It is prepared by using WC powder of as fine as less than 3 mu m, without taking the course of forming a solid solution of TiC and/or TiCN and WC and pulverizing it.