Method for producing metal carbide grade powders

Abstract

A method is disclosed for producing metal carbide grade powders, which comprises forming a wax mixture consisting essentially of in percent by weight about 10 to 60 of an organic compound additive which is a solid at room temperature and contains a C.dbd.O group, about 5 to about 50 oils, and the balance paraffin, heating the wax mixture to a temperature above the melting point of the wax mixture and maintaining the temperature, forming a powder-wax mixture of metal carbide powder, a binder metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, nickel, and combinations thereof, and the wax mixture, while heating the carbide powder, binder metal and wax mixture to a temperature above the melting point of the wax mixture and maintaining the temperature, to result in a uniform distribution of the wax mixture on the carbide and binder metal particles, forming a slurry of the powder-wax mixture and water, attritor milling the slurry at a temperature below the melting point of the wax, and removing the water from the resulting attritor milled powder-wax mixture and agglomerating the mixture to produce the metal carbide grade powder wherein a densified article made therefrom exhibits essentially no pores that are greater than about 10 micrometers in diameter after sintering at about 1350.degree. C. to 1540.degree. C.