Processing of Tungsten

I don't think Tungsten is ever formed into billets or rods. It is at room temp a brittle material. It is a very complex process and takes only 3000+ F in the process.

See if you can find in a library the Metals Handbook - it says a little about it. A better source is the industry itself perhaps.

I know the foundry in El Paso melted down many many tons of low grade ore that was brought up from Mexico in WWII days (Tungsten was a strategic material) and some time in the 60's or perhaps 70's it bid on the lot and won it. (it being miles from themselves really helped on that bid! )

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot"s Medal. NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.

SoCal wrote:

That's what I was told too.

Stuff made from pure-W is basically a P/M product.

If you (OP) can come up with something more dense that'll be cool as anything. :)

Alvin in AZ

The base billet is formed by by PM. The billet is forged in a protective environment to increase the density. Repeated forging and drawing steps are used in the production of ductile tungsten products. You can also produce ductile tungsten components through chemical vapor deposition on ceramic forms. As for more dense? What about depleted Uranium, or Osmium, or even something called Heavymetal?

WEL

I had a Tungsten heater coil I used in a research H tube X-Ray I built

100 years ago in school. It was a coil about the size of a large pencil and the wire itself was a bundle of strands(so it looked) of smaller wire making up something like 10 gauge wire.

I didn't need one that big, but it was the size in my bracket - no others fit within. It took 3-4 days (fuzzy memory) to out gas during pump down. Once pumped down, I brought up the current to the heater - and fell back a couple of days as the spongy metal expanded and opened up more stored gas.

As I recall from the time, it was somewhat dull with glistens here and there, perhaps from burnishing to shape or forming, heavy and a reasonable bundle as it held itself together - strength in numbers.

Martin

Mart>>>I don't think Tungsten is ever formed into billets or rods.