Carbide rods are cylindrical bars made from composite material. These can consist of tungsten carbide and cobalt or another type of sintered binder to offer superior strength, hardness, and resistance to wear.
Ultra-Met offers some of the best and most reliable custom carbide rods, press-to-size inserts, and toolmaker blanks currently available on the market. Our solid carbide rod is a perfect blank for specialty or off-the-shelf carbide tooling, with different rod types depending on what each application requires.
Carbide Rod Types and Applications
Whether for manufacturing, mining, machining, or another application, customers can choose from different types of carbide rods based on their specific needs.
Rod Types
Three main types of carbide rods we provide include:
- Solid carbide rods. These rods consist entirely of tungsten carbide for excellent durability and wear resistance, which is why they commonly appear in cutting tools for manufacturing, including drill bits, end mills, and reamers.
- Straight coolant carbide rods. Another option is solid carbide rods containing straight coolant holes through their center. These facilitate cooling and chip evacuation when in use and are suitable for applications requiring chip removal and efficient operational cooling.
- Helical coolant carbide rods. An alternative to rods with straight coolant holes, these carbide rods include spiral coolant holes to allow for efficient heat dissipation and coolant flow. The increased efficiency makes these rods ideal for high-speed machining operations requiring rapid cooling.
Applications
The different carbide rod types we offer have diverse potential applications, including:
- Cutting tools. Tungsten carbide rods from Ultra-Met can be used in cutting tool fabrication for reamers, end mills, carbide rotary burrs, fiberglass routers, and drill bits.
- Mining and construction tools. Carbide rods from Ultra-Met can also be used in manufacturing drill bits for oil and gas, mining, and construction operations.
- Wear parts. We can provide carbide rods for nozzles, valves, bearings, and other wear parts that require sufficient wear, corrosion, and abrasion resistance.
- Stamping and measuring tools. Carbide rods from Ultra-Met can also be utilized as punches and dies for forming screws, bolts, and other metal parts.
- Medical tools. Different types of medical tools rely on carbide rods for optimized durability and precision, from dental drills and rotary burrs to various of surgical instruments.
Ultra-Met’s Solid Carbide Rod Program
At Ultra-Met, we have a comprehensive solid carbide rod program with most items in stock for same-day delivery. We ensure our rods adhere to the highest standards for performance, inspecting each rod to meet or exceed all relevant physical and metallurgical specifications. In addition to the off-the-shelf options we offer, we can also provide parts with custom diameters, lengths, grades, and shapes. We maintain our extensive inventory in Urbana, OH, giving our customers easy access to top-quality products.
Contact Ultra-Met
Ultra-Met has everything you need in one place. We have more than 50 years of experience with tungsten carbide to set us apart from competitors, and we have gained the expertise, resources, and technology required to help our customers overcome nearly any type of manufacturing challenge. Whether you require specialty or off-the-shelf carbide tooling, we’ll work with you to develop a fully customized solution that’s best for your application.
Our experience extends to multiple industries served, with the ability to provide top-quality solutions for:
- Metalworking
- Aerospace
- Manufacturing
- Automotive
- Energy
- Medical
- Engineering
With our solid carbide rod program and extensive product catalog, you can get access to solutions that truly work for your application.
Want to learn more about our solutions or find the right one for your needs? Contact us to speak with a member of our team or request a quote for a custom product.