Applications
Oil/Gas Components
General Carbide has various tungsten carbide grades in operation in oil/gas exploration applications, as well as in production and flow control operations and MWD (measurement while drilling) apparatus. We manufacture over 50 grades of material which will satisfy any oil/ gas wear application involving erosive wear from drilling mud, abrasive wear from rock formations and chemical/mechanical corrosive wear, including applications that involve impact.
Our application engineering staff has years of experience to reliably predict how successfully a grade will perform in a particular environment. Although high hardness is usually assumed to be the best physical property to resist wear, hardness is not the only property to consider. Grain size, type of binder and the overall operating environment also determine which grade will perform best. Our preform shaping skills ensure that stock allowances are kept to a minimum, or we can supply a finish ground component with our in-house grinding capabilities.
GenFixx™, a mechanical fastening technique for joining tungsten carbide and steel components to each other, is ideal for severe service valve assemblies which are subjected to harsh, erosive and corrosive conditions. Its advantages include superior tensile strength compared to brazing, higher shear strength and fracture toughness. Unlike a brazed joint, the integrity of GenFixx can be verified by visual inspection.