DEW's binder jetting process hits 58% green density for tungsten-nickel-iron parts, rated to 1250°C for silicon carbide components

DEW has put a self-developed binder jetting (BJ) hardware and debinding-sintering line into production, now turning out 93WNiFe and 95WNiFe tungsten-nickel-iron heavy alloy parts alongside reaction-bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) components rated for continuous use at 1250 degrees Celsius. The company reports green density above 58% on the tungsten alloy prints, with no post-sinter compositional segregation and mechanical and radiation-shielding performance matching traditional press-and-sinter metallurgy. Production runs on the DEW-S350 printer, sized to cover both lab samples and industrial-scale builds such as large SiC mirrors and metallurgical heating plates. Target applications span satellite counterweights and lattice mass-tuning structures, radar housings, rocket and engine components, nuclear shielding enclosures, weapon fragmentation parts, and lead-free medical radiotherapy shielding modules.

Binder jetting addresses a specific limitation in tungsten heavy alloy manufacturing: the material's hardness makes post-sinter machining difficult, and pressing long-aspect-ratio parts tends to create density gradients that warp during sintering. Because BJ deposits binder across a uniform powder bed, the green part carries even density throughout, removing that gradient defect and allowing complex, hollow, or lattice geometries to be built in one shot without tooling or welded seams, a detail that matters for nuclear shielding housings where seams are a radiation-leak path. DEW cites a 60% cost reduction on small-batch fragmentation part trials versus machined production, since no mold is required. On the ceramic side, RBSC parts skip the silicon infiltration step and hold up under thermal cycling, positioning the process as a tooling-free alternative to segmented ceramic assemblies in furnace and production-line hardware. The company also lists compatibility with TC4 titanium, pure copper, WC-Co, tungsten-copper composite, aluminum-based SiC, copper-diamond, and silicon nitride.

The density, thermal-rating, and cost figures are vendor-reported, with no third-party qualification data or named customers attached to the aerospace, satellite, or nuclear use cases described. Buyers in defense and nuclear supply chains will need independent verification of shielding equivalence and thermal-cycle life before qualifying BJ-printed parts as drop-in replacements for pressed or machined originals. The broader materials list signals platform ambitions beyond the two headline systems, but production evidence so far is limited to WNiFe and RBSC.