The grain size of Ti (C, N) decreases with an increase in ball milling time. Ti (C, N) nanopowder was fabricated by high energy ball milling for 10 h. The rapid sintering of nanostuctured Ti (C, N) hard materials was investigated with pulsed current activated sintering via a heating sintering process. The advantage of this process is that it allows very quick densification to near theoretical density and prohibition of grain growth in nanostuctured materials. A dense nanostructured Ti (C, N) hard material with a relative density of up to 98% was produced with simultaneous application of 80 MPa pressure and a pulsed current of 2700 A within 3 minutes. The effect of ball milling time on the sintering behavior, grain size and mechanical properties of binderless Ti (C, N) was investigated.

Keywords: Rapid sintering, Nanomaterials, Mechanical properties, Milling.