Carbide Balls

Tungsten Carbide Balls for Sizing, Gauging and Valves

REDHILL supplies precision tungsten carbide balls for hole sizing, gauges and valve assemblies. Cemented carbide combines hard tungsten carbide grains with a metal binder, usually cobalt or nickel. As a result, it offers high hardness, stiffness and resistance to abrasive wear.

In addition, the choice of carbide grade allows engineers to match the material to the load, fluid and working conditions.

Applications of Tungsten Carbide Balls

Ball Sizing

Ball sizing, also called ballizing, finishes a hole by pushing a slightly oversized ball through it. The ball smooths the bore surface and helps control the hole size. As a result, the process can improve surface finish and roundness in suitable workpiece materials. In addition, carbide resists tool wear over repeated cycles.

Gauging and Measuring Instruments

Carbide balls provide hard contact surfaces for gauges, measuring fixtures and inspection tools. For example, engineers use them as gauge contacts, reference spheres and ball plug gauges. In addition, high stiffness helps limit deformation under the measuring load. As a result, the material suits tools that need wear-resistant contact points.

Valves and Pumps

Tungsten carbide balls work with matching seats in check valves and pumps. Their hard surfaces resist wear from sand and other particles. As a result, engineers use them in oilfield pumps and other systems that handle abrasive fluids.

However, corrosion resistance depends on the binder and the fluid. For example, selected nickel-binder carbide grades can offer better corrosion resistance than standard cobalt grades. Therefore, choose the carbide grade to match the fluid, temperature and pressure.