What is cemented carbide? What are the common cemented carbides used in mechanical seals?

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Metal carbides (such as tungsten carbide, etc.) possess many excellent properties, making them very suitable for manufacturing sealing rings. However, due to the very high melting points of these carbides, ordinary smelting methods are not feasible. It is usually produced by powder metallurgy: the carbides are turned into very fine powders, mixed with a metal with a lower melting point, compressed into a shape, and then sintered at high temperatures. The metal with the lower melting point melts, bonding the metal carbides together to form cemented carbide. Commonly used cemented carbides include tungsten carbide cemented carbides with diamond as the binder; corrosion-resistant cemented carbides with nickel and chromium as binders; steel-bonded cemented carbides with steel as the binder, as well as various cemented carbide electrodes for surfacing applications.