Because that tungsten has unique physical and chemical characteristics, it has become one of the indispensible materials in the field of modern industry, national defense and science and technology. Tungsten material industry is a branch of non-ferrous metals industry whose industrial chain includes exploration, mining, smelting, tungsten material processing, marketing and other aspects of wolfram. From a worldwide perspective, currently, it is mainly applied in carbide, steel and alloys, tungsten processing materials, chemicals and others.

China is one of the largest tungsten reserves countries in the world, and its tungsten reserves is 5.2 million tons. What’s more, its production and export volume rank the first position in the world. After years of rapid development, The scale of the production of wolfram of China mining is continuously enlarge, technology development capability, competitiveness of the market has reached a certain level. However, because tungsten is non-renewable resources, cheap, and the irrational exploitation by domestic factories, in addition, the cost of wolfram mining is continuously rising, coupled with the domestic industrial market still keep depressed condition, the domestic sales of wolfram raw material is still tight, so rising price of wolfram material has become a hot trend, and the price of related products of wolfram also continued increases.

Among them, in terms of tungsten concentrate, price of 65% wolframite is 7.9 yuan / ton, compared with the average price of last week it rose 1000 yuan / ton. Price of 65% scheelite concentrate is 7.7 yuan / ton, compared with the average price of last week it rose 1000 yuan / ton.

For the ammonium paratungstate (APT), its price  is 12.8 yuan / ton, compared to the average price of last week, it rose 3,000 yuan / ton.

In the aspect of powder, the price of medium-sized particles of tungsten carbide powder is 192 yuan / kg, the price of tungsten powder is 194 yuan / kg, compared with the average price to the last weekend, and it rose 5 yuan / kg.

For # 1 tungsten rod (≥99.95%), the price is 245 yuan / kg, compared to the average price over the last weekend it rose 5 yuan / kg. Influenced by the global steel overcapacity, the price of steel in the last month has a continuous fall, which has shock many iron and steel businesses.

With the rapid development of technology and the wide application of radiation technology, the harm of radiation gradually aroused people's concern. In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles（such as alpha particles, beta articles）through space or through a material medium. It is generally divided into ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation depending upon the energy of the radiated particles and can cause harm to humans. Long-term radiation exposure will cause the body unwell, serious can damage human body organs and systems, causing various diseases (such as leukemia, cancer, aplastic anemia, retinal disease, reproductive system disease, premature aging, etc.). The main methods of radiation protection include protection of time, distance and shielding protection. Wherein the shielding protection is to place a shielding which can effectively absorb radiation between the radiation source and the human body. The common used shielding materials are lead, tungsten alloy and boron carbide.

Boron carbide (chemical formula approximately B4C) is an extremely hard boron–carbon ceramic, and covalent material used in tank armor, bulletproof vests, engine sabotage powders, as well as multitudinous industrial applications. The ability of boron carbide to absorb neutrons without forming long-lived radionuclide makes it attractive as an absorbent for neutron radiation arising in nuclear power plants and from anti-personnel neutron bombs. Lead is a soft, malleable and heavy post-transition metal. It is used in building construction, lead-acid batteries, bullets and shot, weights, as part of solders, fusible alloys, and as a radiation shielding. However，if ingested or inhaled, lead and its compounds are poisonous to animals and humans. Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates both in soft tissues and the bones, damaging the nervous system and causing brain disorders.

Compared to lead and boron carbide radiation shielding materials, tungsten alloy radiation shielding provides excellent density with small capacity. At the same weights greater density tungsten alloy can provide the same energy absorption as lead using 1/3 less material. When the weight is certain, greater density, and the thickness would be thinner. Tungsten alloy radiation could be made with thinner thickness but high absorption of radiation in great density. That is why tungsten alloy material is suitable for tungsten alloy radiation shielding.

Some new technology has gradually developed, which has more practical and operational effects are:

4. Injection molding: the process is suitable for the manufacturing of parts with complex structure and a smaller volume, which prepared a uniform structure, precise size, but the control of process parameters is more complex, and higher production cost of the mold;

5. Coated powder process: based on Cu cladded by W powder, which will be an oxide, a compound or compound solution both doped together, dried calcined powder coated after the reduction.

In addition, vacuum sintering, microwave sintering, activated sintering, plasma arc welding sintering process all have own advantages and application scope. Here we mainly introduce the coated powder process by thermal chemical method.

Take tungsten copper W-25Cu electrode as example, raw materials for the tungsten trioxide and copper oxide, both of the powders were uniformly mixed by a certain percentage, sieved and calcined in the calciner 2h, coated powder obtained after the reduction. Finally, under a certain pressure is press-molded and sintered to send a muffle furnace. In the process of detecting, the density measured by Archimedes method; alloy powder and fracture morphology was observed with a scanning electron microscope; tensile strength measured; the electrical conductivity measured by bridge method; use the X-ray spectrum analyze its composition; particle size distribution by laser transmission.

In the process of calcination, the two oxides react chemically, W and Cu atoms in atomic cooperation with key generation copper tungstate (CuWO4). From the microscopic point of view, Cu restored deposit with W atom, and form tungsten copper-clad with fine grains, which has close particle size. The surface of the fine particles can be conducted to promote densification. Judging from the fracture surface, compared with tungsten copper electrode by other processes only intergranular fracture phenomenon, its natural tensile fracture showed significant transgranular fracture phenomenon. This is due to the particle surface tungsten powder sintering occurs when welded to each other and rearranged, and the more complete crystallization, thereby forming a solid tungsten skeleton with network , which greatly enhance the structural strength of tungsten copper alloy electrodes inside the organization. For tungsten copper electrode, tensile strength or flexural strength and electrical conductivity are two important characterizations. Tungsten copper-clad composite powder compacts during sintering may be uniform tungsten and copper two-phase distribution, and uniform organization facilitates the electrified process effectively increase conduction average speed of electrons, thereby significantly enhanced conductivity of tungsten copper electrodes performance.

With the rapid development of EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) industry, it has higher and higher requirements for the used electrode. Both tungsten copper with high content of W (mass fraction of W reaches 50%-90%) and tungsten copper with high content of Cu (mass fraction of Cu reaches 60%-90%), the most widely used are mixing method and infiltration method. Theoretically, the mixing method has simple operations and can fabricate tungsten copper products with any ratio of W and Cu. But the powder grain of raw material by this kind of conventional process is too large and the density distribution is uneven, which is difficult to fabricate tungsten copper electrode with compact structure after pressing and sintering process.

While the infiltration process is suitable to fabricate tungsten copper with 8%-40% content of Cu, tungsten skeleton infiltrated by copper in molten state to obtain the densification. Although the infiltration process is the most widely used in tungsten copper electrode now and it has stable working properties, it also has some problems, such as many controlling parameters, difficulties in porosity controlling, difficulties in porosity distribution and so on. So the relevant scholars and researches have further explosion surrounding the raw material preparation and molding process in recent years. Some new technology has gradually developed, which is more practical and operational effects are:

1. Pre-alloying: Its powder refinement and even micro-alloying, so as to achieve increased activity and split the purpose of promoting densification by mechanical and high energy ball milling;

2. Ultrafine particle / nano powder: By the addition of grain growth inhibitors, high-energy ball milling, adding elements and changing the material of the powder form and other methods to refine, even to the nanometer level;

3. Thermoforming: it is pre-loaded with a good blend in the mold cavity, rapid molding under heat and pressure to achieve integration and briquettes pressed sintered compact so as to achieve the densification effect;