Carbide cutting tools are 4 to 7 times faster than high-speed steel, and the tool life is 5 to 80 times higher. Manufacturing molds and measuring tools, the service life is 20 to 150 times higher than that of alloy tool steel. It can cut hard materials of about 50HRC.
However, cemented carbide is brittle and cannot be machined, and it is difficult to make integral tools with complex shapes. Therefore, blades of different shapes are often made, which are installed on the tool body or mold body by welding, bonding, mechanical clamping, etc.
