BASF Ultrafuse 316L

BASF, one of the largest and most prestigious multinationals in the chemical sector, has committed to additive manufacturing through the Forward-AM brand and its Ultrasint, Ultrafuse and Ultracure lines. It currently has an extensive catalogue of materials for the main 3D printing technologies, including its excellent engineering resins based on urethane, or its metallic filaments.

Ultrafuse 316L is a filament composed of 90% by weight of sinterable 316L steel powder and 10% of binder polymers specifically developed to facilitate the extrusion of this material.

Image 1: Manifold made of Ultrafuse 316L. Source: BASF.

Grade 316 or marine grade steel is one of the most frequently used stainless steels thanks to its excellent resistance to oxidation and corrosion at high temperatures. It is precisely this latter property that makes it an optimum candidate for sintering. It is an austenitic steel alloyed with chromium, nickel and molybdenum and has several variants. The 316L (Low) variant has a low carbon content, which makes it more tolerant to welding and thus also to sintering processes.

Unlike other PLA-based metal filaments where the debinding process is performed thermally in conjunction with sintering, Ultrafuse 316L uses a specific binder polymer that requires a catalytic debinding process developed by BASF. This catalytic process has the advantage of being much cleaner than the calcining of PLA, reducing the waste present during sintering and resulting in a final part free of impurities and with properties closer to those of machined steel.

Video 1: Ultrafuse metal presentation. Source: BASF.

This filament has similar printing conditions to ABS, so it can be used in most FFF 3D printers. In addition, the binders used have been developed to minimise the brittleness characteristic of metallic filaments, which facilitates its use in both direct extruder and bowden printers and does not require heating prior to printing. It is available in 3 kg spools and in 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm diameters.

Ultrafuse 316L has been developed with the aim of simplifying and reducing costs in the 3D printing of metal parts. This is why BASF Ultrafuse metal filaments are complemented by a cost-effective debinding and sintering service provided by ELNIK. This service is based on the purchase of vouchers, where each voucher entitles the customer to post-process 1 kg of parts. Each voucher covers the debinding and sintering process as well as the shipping and return of the parts. The only factor to take into account is that the pieces must have dimensions of 100 x 100 x 100 x 100 mm or less.

Image 2: Complete process. Source: BASF.

For those users who have the means and want to carry out the debinding and sintering process, BASF provides the parameters and conditions for both processes which can be consulted in the tips for use tab or in the user guide available in the download tab.

BASF Ultrafuse metal filaments make it possible for anyone to 3D print high-quality parts in steel. All that is required is an FFF 3D printer capable of printing ABS and the purchase of a spool of filament and coupons. One spool of Ultrafuse 316L and three coupons are enough to produce up to 3 kg of parts.

Ultrafuse Support Layer, Ultrafuse 17-4 PH and Ultrafuse 316L can be 3D printed with great results on the Forge 1 metal 3D printer developed by Raise3D as part of the MetalFuse solution. MetalFuse consists of the Forge 1 3D printer, the D200-E debinding furnace and the S200-C sintering furnace, and allows for the in-house manufacturing of metal parts with the Ultrafuse metal filaments, resulting in a fully metallic part.