日经报道住友电工等扩大低钨/无钨刀具，富士模具称低钨合金供不应求

TOKYO -- Japan's Sumitomo Electric Industries is broadening its lineup of ultrahard tools with reduced tungsten content as Chinese export curbs on the critical metal push manufacturers toward alternative materials.
Tools made of tungsten carbide -- among the hardest materials behind diamond -- typically consist of around 90% tungsten and are used to cut and drill parts for autos and aircraft.
China, which produces roughly 80% of the world's tungsten, has restricted exports, making the metal more difficult to source.
Toolmakers have spotlighted products made with tungsten alternatives at the Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF), which kicked off Monday in Tokyo. Sumitomo Electric's offerings at the event include items made mainly from a titanium compound, with 80% less tungsten content than typical carbide tools.
Tools made with alternative materials tend to be more prone to breakage during cutting. Sumitomo Electric tripled the resilience of its tools by increasing the density of the base material.
With China's tungsten export curbs fueling interest in such alternatives, the company plans to release more products in November.
Increased demand for tungsten alternatives also has spurred cooperation within the industry. Japan's Fuji Die and Dijet announced a tie-up in June under which they will supply alloys to each other and share sales networks. They will propose products to meet customers' machining needs.
At JIMTOF, Fuji Die unveiled a fracture-resistant tungsten-free material slated for release next spring. The company also has seen higher demand for an alloy with 90% less tungsten content that came out last year.
"Our supply hasn't kept up," President Masanobu Tsuda said.
Dijet, a pioneer in the field, has come out with a titanium alloy for tools that does not use tungsten. It also sells tools that contain tungsten only on the edge of the cutting surface.
Tool manufacturers began working on products using tungsten alternatives around 2010 as concern mounted about reliance on China for critical minerals, but they have not been adopted widely due to lower performance.
China's export curbs have brought attention to the technologies developed over the ensuing years. Market prices for tungsten have surged ninefold since the start of 2024, leading to a string of price hikes by toolmakers.
Some tools made with alternative materials that "cost half as much as carbide products," said Yuichi Furubayashi, a director at Dijet. "There's growing interest from customers looking for less expensive products."
With the outlook for tungsten procurement still uncertain, companies are exploring other options such as recovering tungsten from discarded carbide tools and sharpening tools to reuse them.