Rapid 3DShield Tungsten filament TVF

Rapid 3DShield Tungsten from The Virtual Foundry (TVF) is an innovative filament composed of 91-93 % metal and the rest by PLA. The Virtual Foundry is an American company formed by great experts in the sector of molten metal, which have been constantly working since 2014 to improve and grow its range of filaments and accessories for 3D FDM metal printing. Its products are oriented to solve and simplify problems through innovative metallic materials for 3D FDM printers of any kind.

Image 1: Collimator made of sintered tungsten. Source: The Virtual Foundry

Tungsten is a metal of high density, high hardness, with the highest melting point (3422 °C) of all metals and the highest boiling point (5930 °C) of all materials. This set of properties makes tungsten ideal for the manufacture of filaments of incandescent lamps, electrical resistors, welding electrodes and other elements subject to high operating temperatures. Thanks to its compact molecular structure (BCC), tungsten is ideal for the manufacture of shields, both rod-shaped and plate-shaped, against all types of radiation (gamma and neutron rays), with superior protection power to lead, without producing the typical toxicity released by this heavy metal. The military sector uses this material to a large extent since World War II due to its high density and hardness, ideal properties to manufacture armor for vehicles (land and air) and projectile points that are intended to attack tanks and airplanes. Its applications do not end here, tungsten alloys are commonly used in high-speed cutting tools, pen tips, fluorescent tubes, jewelry items and ceramic pastes.

Rapid 3DShield Tungsten has the highest density of all existing filaments, even higher than GMass™, allowing parts to be made up to 4 times heavier than with conventional materials (PLA or ABS). Tungsten, despite belonging to the group of heavy metals, such as lead, is completely safe and non-toxic, being able to use and store this filament normally, without the need for any special safety equipment.

A remarkable application of Rapid 3DShield Tungsten (without sintering) is the impression of radiation shielding vessels (150 kva). These types of containers are used to transport radioactive medications without having to resort to lead (toxic) containers. Thanks to the density of tungsten, 1.6 higher than lead, this filament is ideal for creating any type of replacement part made from lead.

As with all Filamet™ metallic filaments, when printing Rapid 3DShield Tungsten, the user must take into account that a stainless steel nozzle should be used, but due to the high density of tungsten, a nozzle diameter up to 0.3 mm that allows parts to be made in great detail, can be used.

The Virtual Foundry has been the pioneer in developing metallic filaments for 3D printing after many years of research and development. The great competitive advantage developed is that to obtain the pure metal parts it is only necessary to print the piece and sinter it in an oven. Other manufacturers that have tried to develop metallic filaments need to do one more process (prior to sintering in the furnace) which is the debinding that consists of a chemical process to separate the binder polymers from the metal. Therefore, it can be concluded that The Virtual Foundry is the pioneer and the benchmark in 3D metal FDM printing, obtaining a fairly simple process with results never seen so far in the world of metal fabrication.

Currently, a large list of industry sectors are using The Virtual Foundry filaments: 3D printer manufacturers, biomedical innovation, jet engine development, radiation shielding (150 kva), space exploration, nuclear energy, dental, artists or fashion design. A remarkable application is the manufacture of a drill with internal hot water heating, for drilling in the Antarctic. With the Filamet™ copper it has been manufactured very easily and at a low cost, a drill with an internal structure extremely difficult to machine or mold has been manufactured very easily and at a low cost.

Rapid 3DShield Tungsten is a filament formed by base metal and a biodegradable and ecological polymer (PLA). This material is free of exposed metal particles and volatile solvents that can be released during printing. Formed by 91-93 % tungsten and the rest by PLA, this material is extremely simple to print, since its printing properties are similar to those of the PLA, which allows any user of a FDM 3D printer create parts with this filament, without the need to buy expensive industrial 3D FDM metal printers. With Rapid 3DShield Tungsten properties similar to those possible with DMLS technology are achieved but with certain limitations. Due to the need to sinter the printed pieces with this filament, where the PLA is removed, the pieces have porosity, loss of volume and non-isotropy. DMLS 3D printers manage to print totally solid parts (similar to the foundry), in great detail, layer heights of 0.02 mm and without the need for post-processing, the only disadvantage compared to Filamet™ 3D FDM printing the cost of: material, manufacturing and the printers themselves.

Image 2: Precision part made of sintered Rapid 3DShield Tungsten. Source: The Virtual Foundry

Due to its large metal content (91-93 %), it is necessary to place the filament inlet as aligned as possible with the extruder. Once a piece is printed, it is necessary to carry out the sintering process, in an open environment or in a vacuum or inert environment, to eliminate the polymer (PLA), taking into account that sintering values must be adjusted depending on the geometry and oven model. The product that is obtained is totally metallic, with the real properties of the metal as electrical conductivity, post-processed by sanding and polishing or even welding union; but with a certain porosity and a reduction in volume due to the loss of PLA. To know more about the whole process of printing, sintering and post-processing you should visit the "Tips for Use" section.

Users who do not have an kiln with the necessary properties to sinter the printed parts with the Rapid 3DShield Tungsten and get the final properties of this metal, can contact us and we will assess its viability through our collaborators with ability to perform the post-processing necessary to obtain the desired final result.