“What began as a quest for a non-toxic 3D-printable radiation shielding solution resulted in the creation of Rapid 3DShield Tungsten Filament”, developer of metal 3D printing filaments The Virtual Foundry said from the outset. Together with Vulcan Global Manufacturing Solutions, an expert in radiation shielding solutions, they created a joint venture named Rapid 3Dshield which ambitions to provide 3D printable radiation shielding materials to the industry. Their materials are sourced from the USA and manufactured on extrusion lines in Stoughton, WI.
The joint venture announces the release of Rapid 3DShield Tungsten Filament today, which is loaded at around 92% tungsten by mass. “It’s the most dense filament we manufacture, and we believe it’s the most dense FFF filament on the market, coming in at 7.51g/cc”, the Virtual Foundry said.
There is still little literature about the use of tungsten in additive manufacturing. However, one thing is certain, the material usually sinters at around 4000°C. In this case, Rapid 3Dshield has developed a material that does not need any debinding, nor sintering to get the radiation shielding benefit.
“You’ll print Rapid 3DShield Tungsten Filament the same way as all other Filamet™ materials. Rapid 3DShield Tungsten Filament is also well suited for other high-density applications, such as counter weight and anti-vibration in many technical applications. Rapid 3DShield can be printed on a traditional 3D printer using a hardened steel nozzle” they explain.
This filament comes in 1.75mm or 2.85mm diameter.
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