Abstract: In order to explore the high efficiency of fabricating nanocrystalline WC-Co composite powders, this paper presented a unique high energy ball milling process with variable rotation rate and repeatious circulation, by which nanocrystalline WC-10Co-0.8VC-0.2Cr3C2 (wt pct) composite powders with mean grain size of 25 nm were prepared in 32 min, and the quantity of the powders for a batch was as much as 800 grams. The as-prepared powders were analyzed and characterized by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results show that high energy ball milling with variable rotation rates and repeatious circulation could be used to produce nanocrystalline WC-Co powder composites with high efficiency. The compositions of the powders meet its specifications with low impurity content. The mean grain size decreases, lattice distortion and system energy increase with increasing the milling time. The morphology of nanocrystalline WC-Co particles displays dominantly sphere shape and their particle sizes are all lower than 80 nm. The eutectic temperature of the nanocrystalline WC-10Co-0.8VC-0.2Cr3C2 composites is about 1280℃.

Key words: Nanocrystalline material, WC-Co composite, High energy ball milling