Cemented carbide (Widia)
Carburo cementado (Widia)
- Date
- 1923-1926 · confidence high
- Place
- Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Credited to
- Karl Schröter (Osram); Krupp
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A hard material of tungsten carbide bonded with cobalt that holds its edge at cutting speeds well above those of high-speed steel. Schröter patented it in 1923 at Osram and Krupp marketed it in 1926 as Widia ('like diamond').
What it led to
- metal machining at very high speeds
- indexable inserts for lathes and milling cutters
- carbide masonry and mining bits