The Virtual Foundry Blog: 3D Metal Printing Techniques, Tips & News
Our Filamet™ Printing Setup: How It Started vs. How It’s Going
Printing Filamet™ isn’t just about the filament—it’s about the entire setup. Over the years, we’ve refined our print space to better handle the unique needs of metal, ceramic, and glass-infused filaments. What started with a Printrbot Simple Wood on a basement...
Filamet: The Ultimate 3D Metal Printing Solution for Education and Community Spaces
3D metal printing has always been a fascinating yet cost-prohibitive technology. Schools, makerspaces, and Fab Labs often dreamt of incorporating metal printing into their projects, but the high cost and complexity of traditional systems were major barriers. Enter...
What is Filamet?
The Virtual Foundry's metal filaments represent a significant advancement in 3D printing technology, enabling the creation of high-quality, pure metal parts in a wide array of settings. Whether in a research laboratory, an educational institution, or a professional...
Venting Your Kiln
Understanding how to vent your kiln is important. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the requirements for venting your kiln to ensure a smooth and efficient operation
Bambu Lab Auto Calibration
Simplifying Metal 3D Printing: Bambu Lab's Flow Dynamics Calibration Revolutionizes Filamet™ Metal 3D Printing The advent of Filamet™, a groundbreaking filament from The Virtual Foundry, has revolutionized the landscape of 3D printing by enabling Pure Metal Printing...
Revolutionizing Metal 3D Printing
In the dynamic world of 3D printing, metal fabrication has long been confined to the realm of large-scale industrial operations, with exorbitant costs and intricate processes hindering its widespread adoption. However, The Virtual Foundry has emerged as a transformative force, democratizing metal 3D printing and making it accessible to a vast spectrum of users, from researchers and students to hobbyists and entrepreneurs.
Intro to FFF Metal 3D Printing
Filament-Based FFF Metal 3D Printing: The Gateway to Affordable Metal Prototyping In the realm of metal 3D printing, filament-based FFF (fused filament fabrication) technology has emerged as a game-changer, offering an accessible and cost-effective solution for...
UNR Aerospace Club
The University of Nevada, Reno Aerospace Club is using FFF Metal by The Virtual Foundry to build a solid rocket motor. Once successful, the club will then evaluate a potential liquid engine with internal channeling to take full advantage of additive metal...
What’s the Biggest Part I Can Make with FFF Metal?
Hello Partner Innovators! One of the questions you regularly ask us is: What's the biggest part I can make with FFF Metal by The Virtual Foundry?The awesome thing about FFF Metal with The Virtual Foundry is that you have total control over every step of the process....
Academic Research on TVF’s Tech
Academic Papers and other Research Building on The Virtual Foundry's FFF Metal 3D Printing Technology. The Virtual Foundry's metal-composite filaments and the methods for processing and sintering them are a truly foundational technology. A foundation that has people...
Printing Filamet™ with Ultimaker: Tips and Setup
Imagine combining the versatility of PLA with the strength and allure of metal, glass, or ceramic. Filamet™ 3D printing materials are ingeniously crafted, infusing regular PLA with metal, glass, or ceramic powder.Since the metal powder is held together with PLA, these...
Sintering Powders: What, Why and When?
Sintering Powders: What, Why and When?[Printable Version Here]Sintering Powders include two groups: Refractory Ballast and Sintering CarbonRefractory BallastThe purpose of Refractory Ballast materials is to support the part shape during debinding and sintering. It...
How Much Sintering Refractory Ballast Do You Need?
Introduction Sintering refractory ballast plays a crucial role in the debinding and sintering process of parts. When you are purchasing supplies for debinding and sintering parts made with Filamet™, it is essential to determine the right amount of ballast needed. In...
Getting Started with Filamet™: Tips for Debinding and Sintering Metal Filament
Introduction: 3D printing technology has revolutionized the manufacturing industry, allowing for the creation of complex and intricate designs with ease. The Virtual Foundry, a leading innovator in the field, manufactures Filamet™, a metal, glass, and ceramic 3D...
The Virtual Foundry invented #FFFmetal/Bound Metal/Metal Filament 3D Printing in 2014
The Virtual Foundry invented #FFFmetal
Getting Started with Filamet™: Tips for 3D Printing with Metal Filament
#fffmetal
Collaboration Agreement with the University of Pécs
The Virtual Foundry and University of Pécs sign Collaboration MOU Stoughton, Wisconsin and Pécs, Hungary: The Virtual Foundry today announced a new partnership with University of Pécs 3D Printing and Visualization Centre. This partnership will establish a long-term...
Forge Sintering 3D Prints
Forge Sintering Bronze Day 1: I'm in the shop today working on some new ways to sinter parts that have already been debound. We call them 'brown' at this stage. I'm working with bronze today. Our normal debind recipe for all of our materials is to: Ramp at 150f per...
FAQ: Can the Sintering Powders be Reused?
Two things need to happen during sintering:The part shape is supported, andOxygen is prevented from reaching the part We solve part shape support with Sintering Refractory Ballast - Al2O3 and Talc (for copper and bronze) or Steel Blend (for the steels).We solve for...
Bronze-Age Relic?
Bronze-Age Relic? or, was this pure bronze work of art 3D printed in someones basement just last week? Drumroll Please… It was 3D Printed with less than $3 worth of Filamet™, a bronze 3D printing filament that works with any of the millions of 3d printers that...
Design for Additive Manufacturing with Filamet™
Each metal additive manufacturing process has its own set of guidelines for ideal part size and shape - Design for Additive Manufacturing - and Filamet™ is no different. While the open-architecture process that Filamet™ allows gives you unlimited options, there are...
Microwave Sintering
Could it really be this simple? Early proof of concept is indicating YES! it is. TVF Partner Innovator Highball has done some great work with microwave sintering. It is still very new and in the developmental / experimental phase. But you should still know about it....
For Immediate Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10-5-22The Virtual Foundry, [email protected] 3D Print Metal on a Sample Scale with The Virtual Foundry’s Filamet™ Evaluation Kit The millions of inexpensive 3D printers sold over the past few years can now print...
3D Printed Titanium Breakthrough!
3D Printed Titanium Breakthrough! A newly published paper by David Alexander of the University of Texas at El Paso, Doctoral Program in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering details a method for using Filamet™ to create Fuel Cell components using low-cost commercial...
Why are Aluminum and Titanium Filamet™ “Untested”?
Why is Aluminum more difficult to sinter than the other materials we work with at The Virtual Foundry? It's actually a pretty interesting story, let's talk through it. In a word, Oxides. One of the things that makes Aluminum such a useful material is that it doesn't...
Liquid Phase Sintering
Since the beginning of The Virtual Foundry, I've been experimenting with nearly every variation, adaptation and enhancement for the most common methods of sintering for 3D Metal prints. One that we have not yet perfected but shows tremendous promise is Liquid Phase...
Make48 at Fab-Lab Stoughton
I just got back from a remarkable spectacle, Make48 at Fab-Lab Stoughton. -Sponsord by Trek (and Trek went all in!) Make48 Kickoff and Fab-Lab Stoughton. Make48 at Fab-Lab Stoughton - Here's the description from the Make48 website: Make48 is a nationwide,...
Beginner’s FFF Metal 3D Printing Guide
Roman Coliseum in Copper Let's take a look at FFF Metal 3D Printing. 3D printing used to be the stuff of sci-fi movies. Creating 3D structures in homes based on your own designs represents a significant advancement in technology. Nowadays, that old dream has become a...
The Filawarmer Overcomes Fragile Filament
The Filawarmer overcomes fragile filament. This article answers some of the questions Partner Innovators have about the Filawarmer and dive into exactly how to use it to get the best results. Who needs a Filawarmer? Anyone printing a filament that needs to be...
You’re going to make some beautiful things
In a recently published webinar about sintering Filamet™, our sintering partner, David Lawson of Sapphire3D, used the phrase “development-minded.” As in, you have to be development-minded in this process. What does that mean in the context of FFFMetal and The Virtual...
New plasma atomization reactor enables The Virtual Foundry to expand its range of exotic metals
As part of The Virtual Foundry’s continuing efforts to help its customers develop unique materials with exceptional physical properties for additive manufacturing, the advanced material science company has acquired a plasma atomization reactor. This device uses plasma...
The Virtual Foundry develops custom materials for additive manufacturing
Until recently, engineers and designers were limited in the materials they could use for additive manufacturing. That’s because the catalogs of the major 3D printer manufacturers tend to focus on the most popular, high-volume materials. These creators now have another...
The Virtual Foundry Awarded Patent for its FDM/FFF Metal 3D Printing System
The Virtual Foundry recently won a patent for its proprietary process for extruding metal, glass or ceramic powder with a thermoplastic binder into continuous filament suitable for use in fused filament 3D printers. Once an object is printed using this hybrid...
Copper Filamet™ Profile Added to the Cura Marketplace
A printer profile for our Copper Filamet™ was recently approved to appear in the Cura Marketplace, which makes it available to millions of users of Ultimaker 3D printers worldwide. This material is the first of its kind to be published in this well-respected...
We’re climbing a mountain and we want you to come with us!
THIS WHOLE JOURNEY STARTED WITH A QUEST TO PUT METAL 3D PRINTING IN EVERYONE'S HANDS. BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? There are lots of ways to make things out of metal - and each technology has its place. There are lots of companies with the kinds of budgets that allow...
The Virtual Foundry: We’re Changing The Way Work Is Done
Filamet™ is the highest metal content, sinterable FDM filament on the market and allows users to create high quality 100% metal prints. Filamet™ boasts a low cost entry point, unlimited value, and endless possibilities. With Filamet™ it is possible to create objects...
Virtual Foundry: Desktop 3D Metal Printing, Today
The Virtual Foundry, llc. is first to market with an inexpensive system for desktop 3D metal printing. The strategy leverages existing 3D printers and existing metal processing equipment to dramatically reduce the cost of metal 3D printing. The idea is simple,...
The Virtual Foundry’s Alternative to Costly Metal AM Systems: Open, Safe, Priced to Compete
The Virtual Foundry set out to make metal 3D printing realistic for everyone with an FDM printer. The dream comes true with Filamet™, their line of sinterable FDM metal filaments. Open: The Virtual Foundry prides itself on developing these filaments within an open...
Affordable 3D Metal Printing On The Desktop
Filamet™ Pure Stainless 316L printed with an Anet A8 (a sub $500, FFF 3d printer). The Virtual Foundry is first to market with an affordable metal 3d printing system that dramatically reduces the entry cost of Metal 3D Printing. Filamet™ from The Virtual Foundry makes...
Filamet™ in the Field… Ledwell Plastics: How does Filamet™ fit in to plastic injection molding?
Can 3D printed metal impact the plastic injection molding industry? The Virtual Foundry and Ledwell Plastics are working together to find out. Benn Simms of Ledwell Plastics writes, "After finding an article on The Virtual Foundry's Filamet™ I immediately saw the...