Filamet™ tungsten pellets

The Virtual Foundry's Filamet™ tungsten pellets are small cylinders composed of PLA with a tungsten metal filler. These pellets are composed of 92-95% metal and the rest PLA.

PLA (polylactic acid) is a biodegradable plastic obtained from natural resources such as starch extracted from corn, sugar beet and wheat. PLA is one of the most widely used materials in 3D printing today because it does not give off harmful gases and is easy to print.

Tungsten is a metal of high density, high hardness, with the highest melting point (3422 ºC) of all metals and the highest boiling point (5930 ºC) of all materials. These properties make tungsten ideal for the manufacture of filaments for incandescent lamps, electrical resistors, welding electrodes and other elements subjected to high operating temperatures. The military sector has made extensive use of this material since the Second World War due to its high density and hardness, ideal properties for making armour for vehicles (land and air) and projectile tips that are used to attack tanks and aircraft. Its applications do not end there; tungsten alloys are commonly used in high-speed cutting tools, pen tips, fluorescent tubes, jewellery and ceramic pastes.

In addition to the intrinsic properties of tungsten, The Virtual Foundry's (TVF) Filamet™ tungsten pellets are perfect for 3D printing, achieving high print quality, and stand out from other metal-filled materials by allowing the user to obtain fully metallic parts after a sintering process.

Image 1. Piece printed with Filamet™ tungsten pellets. Source: The Virtual Foundry

During the sintering process of 3D printed parts with these pellets, the PLA is removed, resulting in all-metal parts with the real properties of metal, but with some porosity and a reduction in volume due to the loss of PLA.

Filamet™ tungsten pellets are free of exposed metal particles and volatile solvents that may be released during the 3D printing process, resulting in a safe material for 3D printing. In addition, due to their PLA content, they are very easy to process. There are several methods for using pellets in 3D printing:

• Filamet™ tungsten pellets can be used to make filament for FDM 3D printers using Filastruder or any other filament extruder.
• It is possible to use a pellet extruder directly.

When using Filamet™ tungsten pellets to make filament with a filament extruder such as Filastruder or using a pellet extruder for direct 3D printing, it should be noted that the extrusion temperature must be regulated in relation to the extrusion speed used. For optimal results, it is recommended to read the product's usage tips.