Tungsten carbide / cobalt hardmetals are key applications for tungsten. They originate from a patent of the Osram Study Group, filed in 1923.  On the “Hardmetal Century Celebrtation”, hosted by OMCD Group in Italy in 2023, ITIA presented “The story of tungsten and hardmetal from discovery, development to challenges and opportunities” for these unique materials.

Tungsten, like all the elements having a higher atomic number than iron (Z>26), cannot be formed by nuclear fusion processes in stars, as is the case for those elements with a lower atomic number, but originates only by neutron or proton absorption of already existing bigger nuclei. These capture processes with extremely high fluxes of neutrons and protons which occur exclusively in massive stars (>8 times the solar mass) during the end of their life cycle. Massive stars end in a supernova explosion whereby certain amounts of their mass are distributed to the surrounding space, including also the tungsten atoms formed.

Several technical improvements, such as coating of the hardmetal with thin layers of aluminum oxide (1974), titanium carbide (1969), titanium nitride (1970) and diamond (since the 1980s) further improved the performance, as did optimisation of the tool geometry and the combination of all these (ie multilayercoating, material compounds etc).

The advent of electric lighting at the end of the 19th century, based on Thomas Alva Edison’s inventions in America and Werner Siemens’ work in Europe, offered another industrial opportunity for the element tungsten as filaments for light bulbs. Alexander Just and Franz Hanaman patented their manufacturing of “squirted” tungsten filaments in 1904 (BP: No. 23,899). Until 1911, most light bulbs in Europe and the USA were equipped with such filaments. The lamps produced significantly more light than the carbon filament lamps, with about a third of the energy required.

This led to the invention of a material combining the hardness of tungsten carbide with the toughness of cobalt in 1923. The German Osram Study Group filed the patent, which was the birth of a material, still today called cemented carbide or hardmetal. At this time, no-one, even the most optimistic, could imagine the enormous breakthrough for this material in the tooling industry.

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Thereafter, an increasing number of scientists explored the new chemical element and its compounds. However, the price for the metal was still very high and the time was not yet ripe for promising applications.

For more information on the discovery and evolution of tungsten, download a PDF excerpt from the 134 page Tungsten brochure, published in 2009. To receive a free copy of the printed brochure, contact the ITIA Secretariat (info@ita.info) and provide your postal address.

The real breakthrough came with William David Coolidge’s 1909 patent for General Electric in the US to produce ductile tungsten via a process called powder metallurgy today. Tungsten metal powder is pressed and sintered at high temperature to create solid tungsten bars, which could be swaged and hammered to smaller diameters and finally drawn to tungsten wire for use as filament in incandescent lamps. This allowed the production of big quantities of the highest quality.

At the same time in 1781/1782, the Spanish nobleman, Juan José de D´Elhuyar, studied metallurgical chemistry with Professor Bergman and gathered information about the work on the mineral tungsten.

To produce drawing dies with diamond-like hardness but improved toughness was the driving force for the development of cemented carbides in the 1920s.

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Main banner courtesy of NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). Historical company brochure images courtesy of Professor W D Schubert collection – original brochures copyright of respective companies.

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His discovery, jointly with his brother Fausto Jermin, was published in 1783 by the Royal Society of Friends of the Country in the City of Victoria (“Analysis quimico del volfram, y examen de un Nuevo metal, que entra en su composition por D Juan Joséf y Don Fausto de Luyart de la Real Sociedad Bascongada”).  The new metal was named volfram after the mineral used for analysis.

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Cover of Scheele’s publication from 1781; Images courtesy of the Library & Information Centre, Royal Society of Chemistry.

Back in Spain in 1783, Juan José analysed a wolfram species from a tin mine in Zinnwald/Saxony and showed it to be an iron and manganese salt of a new acid. He also concluded that wolfram contained the same acid as Scheele had gained from tungsten. He then reduced the oxide to the new metal by heating it with charcoal, as had been recommended by his teacher, Professor Bergman.

In the 18th century geology and mineralogy developed into popular science and stones were collected for inspection. Professor Axel Fredrik Cronstedt in Uppsala received heavy stones from all around Sweden. Heavy stone in Swedish is called “Tung-Sten”.

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Early 20th century advertising posters for light bulbs with tungsten filaments. Tungsram image Wikimedia Commons. Philips image Wikimedia Commons.

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No one could have imagined the enormous breakthrough for cemented carbide products in the tooling industry all over the world.

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Tungsten made steel the better tooling material and increased the performance dramatically, as early as 1900. Together with carbon, as tungsten carbide, tungsten is the main constituent in hardmetal or cemented carbide, which has been the tooling material of choice since its invention in 1923.

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The International Tungsten Industry Association (ITIA), a not-for-profit trade association, represents the industry worldwide, with a membership ranging from miners to converters to recyclers to traders.

The advent of electrical lighting offered another industrial opportunity for the element tungsten as filaments for light bulbs

Friedrich Krupp AG was the first company to market the new material as tool material in 1927, under the brand WIDIA, which means “like diamond” (WIe DIAmant). After World War 2, a huge market opened in the growing economies and cemented carbides contributed as tool materials and construction parts for their industrial development.

In 1847, a patent was granted to the engineer Robert Oxland (1820–1899). This included the preparation of sodium tungstate, formation of tungstic acid, and the reduction to the metallic form by oil, tar or charcoal.

Robert Forester Mushet (1811-1891), father of the self-hardening steel in 1868. Image courtesy Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust.

High speed steels, with tungsten additions up to 20%, were first exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and revolutionised engineering practice in the early 20th century. Such steels (Taylor- and White) are still used today in practically every machine shop in the world.

In the Middle Ages (16th century) tin miners in the Saxony-Bohemian Erzgebirge in Germany reported about a mineral which often accompanied tin ore (tinstone). From experience, it was known that the presence of this mineral reduced the tin yield during smelting. Today, we know that this mineral was wolframite, one of the commercially important minerals for tungsten production.

Georgius Agricola was the first to report about this new fossil (Spuma Lupi) in his book “De Natura Fossilium”, published in 1546. Foam appeared on the surface of the tin melt and a heavy deposit formed in the smelting stove, which retained the valuable tin. “It tears away the tin and devours it like a wolf devours a sheep”, a contemporary wrote in the symbolic language of those times. The miners gave this annoying ore German nicknames like “wolffram”, “wolform”, “wolfrumb” and “wolffshar” (because of its black colour and hairy appearance).

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Stars of more than eight times the solar mass have to end in a supernova explosion to create the conditions necessary for the formation of the element tungsten.

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Brothers Juan José Elhuyar (1745-1796) and Fausto Elhuyar (1755-1833) featured on a commemorative Spanish stamp. Copyright Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telégrafos, SA.

Professor Torbern Bergman in Uppsala suggested preparing the corresponding metal by charcoal reduction of the obtained tungstic acid. Being a famous professor, he himself was too busy with other things and did not perform the respective experiments.

In 1781, Carl Wilhelm Scheele managed to extract a still “unknown earth” from a heavy stone from the Bispberg iron mine, named Bispberg Tungsten. He called this new compound tungstic acid, and he is considered the discoverer of tungsten oxide. In recognition of his discovery, the other important mineral for tungsten production (besides wolframite) is called scheelite.