MOR-05 – The hardest and most cost-effective metal for the ceramics industry (II)

MORTE and Tungsten Carbide

The first contact MORTE had with this material was in 1977 when, being aware of its existence and its special characteristics, the company made the firm decision to include it in the manufacturing process of its extrusion Dies. This was despite the initial misgivings of some ceramists who weighed the fragility of the material rather more than its excellent wear resistance and did not trust it.

Nevertheless, the result obtained was very successful and MORTE became the first Spanish company to incorporate this carbide into its ceramic extrusion Dies. From that point onwards, a large number of dies were manufactured using tungsten carbide cores and frames.

As a result of the construction boom, in the mid-90s, the Spanish ceramists increased their production and extrusion speed. This undoubtedly meant a need for greater performance from tungsten carbide, despite having already showed itself to be more cost-effective than other materials traditionally used in the ceramics industry, such as treated steel, alumina and chrome coating.

This new challenge for the Spanish ceramics industry led MORTE, alongside with a tungsten carbide manufacturer, to opt to develop various lines of research oriented towards improving the formulations, applying different variations regarding, among other things, grain size, percentage of alloying material, etc. The aim was to achieve an ‘ad hoc’ tungsten carbide to be used specifically and exclusively in MORTE Dies for the ceramics industry.

The result of this research was a whole range of different qualities, from MOR-01 up to MOR-05, trade name for the quality of the tungsten carbide that belongs exclusively to MORTE. This material, that as has been tested around the world, is extraordinarily wear-resistant for ceramic extrusion – to a degree that never has been surpassed by any other extrusion Dies manufacturer. This is a feature of MORTE dies that is highly valued by users, as it gives them greater profitability than any other Die.