# Understanding quality control of hard metals in industry -- A quantum mechanics approach

## TL;DR

This paper develops a quantum mechanics-based theoretical model to predict the magnetic saturation of hard metals, aiding quality control and enabling substitution of cobalt with alternative binder phases.

## Contribution

It introduces a first-principles approach to model magnetic saturation in WC-Co hard metals, aligning predictions with experimental data and extending applicability to other binder materials.

## Key findings

- Predicted magnetic saturation matches experimental results.
- Model successfully describes the effect of tungsten content.
- Framework can be extended to other binder phases.

## Abstract

For many decades, the magnetic saturation of, e.g. hard metals (HM) such as WC-Co-based cemented carbides, has been used as process and quality control in industry to ensure consistency of product properties. In an urge of replacing cobalt as a binder phase, a demand on understanding the magnetic response as a function of composition on the atomic scale is growing. In this paper, a theoretical description of the measured weight specific magnetic saturation of hard metals as a function of the tungsten weight fraction present in the cobalt binder phase, based on first-principle calculations, has been established for standard WC-Co. The predicted magnetic saturation agrees well with the experimental one. Furthermore, it is proposed that the theoretical description can be extended to alternative and more complex binder phases which allows to transfer the production control to those hard metals.