# Cemented Carbides: Prospects for Future Development Trends

As the “teeth” of modern industry, cemented carbides—owing to their exceptional hardness, wear resistance, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance—have become core materials in fields such as machining, mineral extraction, and aerospace. Against the dual backdrop of the global manufacturing sector’s drive toward high-end transformation and increasingly stringent resource constraints, the cemented carbide industry is undergoing profound changes marked by technological iteration, supply-chain restructuring, and a reshaping of the market landscape. Over the next five years, the industry will be defined by three key trends: **technological breakthroughs propelling high-endization, scenario-specific customization redefining the industrial ecosystem, and accelerated global expansion intensifying industry consolidation.**

### I. Technological Breakthroughs: A Comprehensive Upgrade from Materials Innovation to Manufacturing Processes

The performance enhancement of cemented carbides has always been closely linked to advances in materials science. Currently, nanotechnology, coating technologies, and 3D printing are driving the industry into a new wave of technological revolution.

1. **Industrial Breakthrough in Nanoscale Cemented Carbides**

By controlling the grain size of tungsten carbide (WC) to the nanoscale (<200 nm), the hardness of cemented carbides can exceed 93 HRA, and their flexural strength can be increased to over 5,000 MPa. For example, the vacuum-pressure sintering technology developed by China National Materials Tungsten Industry has achieved a material density of 99.5%, with batch-to-batch variation kept within 0.5%. Customized cold-forging dies produced using this technology exhibit a service life three times longer than conventional products and have been successfully applied in the production of bolts for new-energy vehicles. Such ultrafine-grained alloys are gradually replacing high-speed steel and are becoming the mainstream material for high-end cutting tools.

2. **Iterative Upgrades in Coating Technology**

The integration of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) technologies has given rise to multilayer composite coatings and nanostructured coatings. Take Sandvik as an example: its newly launched TiAlN/Al₂O₃ multilayer-coated inserts deliver a 40% increase in cutting speed and more than fivefold longer tool life compared with conventional coatings. Coating technology not only extends tool life but also expands the application boundaries of cemented carbides in challenging materials such as heat-resistant steels and titanium alloys.

3. **3D Printing Technology Reshapes the Manufacturing Paradigm**

Selective laser melting (SLM) technology has enabled the direct fabrication of complex-structured cemented carbide tools. The Hybrid Additive Manufacturing system developed by DMG MORI in Germany can simultaneously perform metal deposition and milling, reducing mold manufacturing lead times by 70%. This technological breakthrough paves the way for the production of customized, freeform cutting tools in the aerospace industry.

### II. Scenario Customization: The Industrial Leap from General-Purpose Materials to Comprehensive Solutions

The downstream industries’ relentless pursuit of processing efficiency and precision is driving the transformation of cemented carbides from standardized products to scenario-specific solutions.

1. **Automotive Industry: The New Energy Revolution Fuels New Demand**

The machining of new-energy vehicle “three-electric” systems—batteries, electric motors, and electronic control units—places even higher demands on tool wear resistance and thermal stability. Data show that per-vehicle tool consumption has increased 2.5-fold compared with conventional internal-combustion vehicles. In response to this trend, Oukeyi has developed a dedicated CNC insert that, through optimized cobalt-phase distribution and grain orientation, achieves a 90% increase in chip-breakage rate and extends tool life to 8 hours in motor housing machining.

2. **3C Electronics: The Trend Toward Miniaturization Drives Material Innovation**

Precision machining of 5G smartphones, wearable devices, and other products demands tooling with dimensional accuracy at the micrometer level. Using ultra-precision cutting techniques, cemented carbide blanks can now achieve machining allowances as tight as 0.01 mm. For example, Huarui Precision has developed miniature drill bits for Apple’s supply chain that employ sub-micron WC grain sizes, enabling hole-diameter deviation to be controlled within ±1 μm during micro-hole drilling in PCBs.

3. **Energy Extraction: Performance Breakthroughs Under Extreme Operating Conditions**

In deep-earth oil and gas drilling, drill bits must withstand temperatures as high as 150°C and pressures up to 200 MPa. The gradient-structured cemented carbide developed by China Tungsten High-Tech, featuring a cobalt-enriched surface layer, increases impact toughness by 40%, enabling a single-trip penetration record of 3,200 meters in ultra-deep well operations in the Tarim Basin.

### III. Global Deployment: The Dual Game of Resource Constraints and Market Expansion

The scarcity of tungsten resources and geopolitical risks are reshaping the global cemented carbide industry landscape.

1. **Strengthened Resource Management to Enhance Supply Chain Security**

As the world’s largest holder of tungsten reserves, China has reduced its 2026 tungsten mining quota by 14% compared with 2024 and imposed export controls on 25 products, including ammonium paratungstate. This policy has driven tungsten carbide prices to surge to RMB 2,300 per kilogram this year, a 380% increase over the 2025 average. Leading companies have mitigated the risk of raw-material price volatility through vertical integration—for example, Xiamen Tungsten has built a fully integrated “tungsten ore–APT–tungsten carbide–cutting tools” value chain.

2. **Cross-border E-commerce Opens Up Emerging Markets**

The rise of manufacturing in Southeast Asia and the industrial upgrading in Europe are creating new opportunities for cemented carbide exports. Through Amazon Business, China National Materials Tungsten Co., Ltd. has begun exporting cold-forging dies to Vietnam and India, with overseas revenue accounting for 35% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2026. Its “72-hour rapid delivery plus failure analysis service” model has become a core competitive advantage for capturing overseas markets.

3. **Technical Standards Dominate International Discourse Power**

German DIN and U.S. ASTM standard systems have long dominated the high-end market. In recent years, China has, through the development of GB/T 34

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