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 all over the world developing new solutions to old problems, and even solutions that had never been …
Sintering Powders: What, Why and When? [Printable Version Here] Sintering Powders include two groups: Refractory Ballast and Sintering Carbon Refractory Ballast The purpose of Refractory Ballast materials is to support the part shape during debinding and sintering. It also helps the binder leave the print during debinding. Al2O3 is used during debind for Copper and …
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 this article, we will explore the factors involved in calculating the required quantity of …
How Much Sintering Refractory Ballast Do You Need? Read More »
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 printing filament line that enables the production of metal parts using desktop 3D printers. This article aims to …
Getting Started with Filamet™: Tips for Debinding and Sintering Metal Filament Read More »
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 currently print plastic. Combining Filamet™ with the most …
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 some parameters that, if followed, will make it easier for you to get the …
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. The future of microwave sintering is very bright. The …
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 materials and equipment. For the many people that are working with our Titanium Products, this …
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 corrode. But, here’s the catch, it does corrode. …
Why are Aluminum and Titanium Filamet™ “Untested”? Read More »
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 Sintering. This technique provides a method of producing a part of very low …
