Tungsten Filament Wire Makes Incandescent Light Bulbs Safer and Brighter

Incandescent light bulbs have been making homes safer and brighter for over 100 years. After centuries of using fire, candles, oil lamps and gas, the invention of the incandescent light bulb transformed everyday life.

Tungsten is the material of choice for this innovation, emitting bright and long-lasting light.

In 1904, a Hungarian company produced the first tungsten wire, and then in 1906, General Electric managed to make a ductile tungsten wire. The wire made of tungsten is very fragile, which limits its use, but General Electric's William Coolidge was able to make it ductile by swaging and sintering. The malleable tungsten filament allows the wire to be coiled, extending the life of the bulb and making it glow brighter.

The first incandescent light bulbs were made of platinum wire. After experimenting with various materials, Thomas Edison developed the first commercial filament light bulb, which used carbon filament.

Over time, tungsten became the material of choice for filaments because they produced double the amount of light and lasted longer. With further exploration, the Edison-era tungsten light bulb was further developed, which was filled with an inert gas instead of being encased in a vacuum. This greatly reduces the black residue that forms inside the glass sphere due to its vacuum structure.

Old-fashioned Edison-era tungsten bulbs may not burn as brightly as the latest versions, but they are loved for their romantic warm glow, classic bulb shape, and most importantly, for their soft glowing aesthetic. Filament is appreciated.

Vintage light bulbs are used to create a relaxing atmosphere. They can still be used with carbon and tungsten filament wire, but older tungsten bulbs are more cost-effective to buy and more cost-effective in using electricity. They also stay clear longer than carbon filament bulbs.

Chinatungsten Online is a professional manufacturer of tungsten and molybdenum for more than two decades, and are good at producing tungsten filaments and wires. Please feel free to contact us if you have got the purchasing plans. 

If you have any inquiry of tungsten filament wire, please feel free to contact us:

Email: sales@chinatungsten.com/sales@xiamentungsten.com

Tel.: +86 592 5129696/+86 592 5129595

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The Latest Price of Tungsten Plate

The latest price of 345x144x5mm tungsten plate is 690.00 USD/PC on April 25, 2022, EXW XIAMEN, CHINA. 

Tungsten plates can be as thin as 0.01mm or as thick as 127mm, with widths typically ranging from 10mm to 800mm. They can be used in many different applications and is valued for its corrosion resistance, ability to withstand extremely high temperatures, and ability to create rigidity and hardness when combined with other metals in the alloy.

Tungsten is used in the aerospace, research, building materials and light bulb industries. It is the predominant metal in electric furnace heating elements, as well as in any assembly where high pressure/high temperature environments are expected. Plates made of tungsten are commonly used in furnace construction, but are also important for making parts for the electronics and semiconductor industries, and can be found in a variety of lighting, vacuum plating, electronic vacuums and shielding.

If you have any inquiry of tungsten plate, please feel free to contact us:
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The Latest Price of Lanthanated Tungsten Electrode (WL20)

The latest price of Ø3.2x150mm lanthanated tungsten electrode (WL20) is 1.60 USD/PC on April 25, 2022, EXW XIAMEN, CHINA. 

Wl20 electrodes contain at least 1.7% to 2.2% lanthanum for excellent arc starting, low burnout rate, good arc stability and excellent re-ignition characteristics. They are ideal if you want to optimize your welding capabilities. They can work well on either AC or DC electrode negatives with tips, or they can be used with AC sine wave power supplies. The tungsten electrode adding with rare earth element lanthanum holds sharp tips well, which is an advantage for welding steel and stainless steel on DC or AC from square wave power sources.

If you have any inquiry of tungsten electrodes, please feel free to contact us:

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Manufacturing Processes of Thoriated Tungsten Wire Used in Microwave Generator

Magnetron, also known as microwave generator, magnetron microwave tube, is a kind of electronic tube, mainly composed of two parts: tube core and magnet. The tube core is composed of a filament, a cathode, an anode and a microwave energy output device. The filament, made of thoriated tungsten wire (ThO2 wire) or pure tungsten wire wound into a spiral shape, is used to heat the cathode.

In order to improve the stability of magnetron emission, it is required to carbonize the magnetron wound with ThO2 wire. Carbonization is to place the magnetron that has been shaped and assembled in the vapor of hydrocarbons and heat it to 2200-2500°C. When the vapor of hydrocarbons is in contact with high-temperature tungsten, carbon and hydrogen are decomposed, and the carbon is attached to the thorium. The surface of the tungsten wire forms tungsten carbide with tungsten and diffuses into the tungsten.

Because the bonding force between thorium atoms and tungsten carbide is stronger than that of tungsten, the wire after carbonizing will reduce thorium oxide to thorium atoms at the working temperature, and thus a stable single-atom covering layer is formed on its surface to produces stable electron emission.

In order to prolong the service life of the magnetron, the quality of the wire is very important. Its manufacturing processes are as following:

1,Preparing thoriated tungsten powder. Thorium nitrate solution, potassium nitrate solution, aluminum silicate solution and blue tungsten powder are mixed and dried in a doping pot, and sent to a reduction furnace for reduction to obtain thorium tungsten powder containing trace potassium elements. The reduction adopts a five-stage temperature-controlled process, which are 550°C, 650°C, 750°C, 850°C, and 950°C. The holding time of each section is 60-80min, the loading capacity of the boat is 300-350g/boat, the reducing atmosphere is hydrogen, and the hydrogen flow rate is 3-5m3/h. 

2,High-energy ball milling. Put the thoriated tungsten powder into a ball mill jar containing a polyurethane lining for high-energy ball milling for 3-5 hours, and the ball milling medium is tungsten balls.

3,Press. Isostatic pressing is adopted, and the pressing force is 145-250 MPa to obtain thoriated tungsten bars with a unit weight of 1.5kg-2.5kg.

4,Temporary sintering and electrification sintering. Direct current sintering is adopted. The sintering process is that the current is increased from 0A to 900A in 2 minutes, increased to 3100A-3500A in 18 minutes, and finally increased to 4000A-4500A in 20 minutes to obtain sintered bars with 17.5-18g/cm3 density. 

5,Swaging. Using a rotary forging machine, the vertical melting bar is processed from about 17mm to a diameter of 3.3mm. During this process, a high-temperature annealing is performed on the vertical melting bar of 9mm and 5mm respectively. The annealing temperature is between 2000-2300℃, and the annealing speed is 0.5-2m/min.

6,Drawing. The doped thorium tungsten bar swaged into 3.3mm is drawn into the wire drawing machine, and the die sequence is 2.8-2.4-2.0-1.52-1.24-1.08-0.93-0.77-0.7-0.63-0.57-0.51mm, to obtain 0.51mm doped thorium tungsten wire with black surface. 

7,Cleaning. The black wire with a diameter of 0.51 mm is electropolished to 0.50 mm to obtain a thorium tungsten wire for winding a microwave oven magnetron.

In practical application, in order to improve the performance of thoriated tungsten wire, a small amount of precious metal rhenium can also be added in the first step, and the doping amount is about 0.3-0.5% to make thorium tungsten rhenium wire. After the magnetron coils for microwave ovens are carbonized at high temperature, the grains are not easy to grow, and the structure can be kept stable.

Headquartered in Xiamen, China, Chinatungsten Online/CTIA GROUP LTD is a manufacturer & supplier of refractory metals and provides customers with high-quality tungsten and molybdenum products at a very competitive price. 

If you have any inquiry of thoriated tungsten wire, please feel free to contact us:
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Will Russia-Ukraine War Make Yttrium Tungsten Electrode (WY20) Price Increase?

Yttrium is a lanthanide metal found in most rare earth minerals, especially yttrium tantalite. It can be used as the yttrium phosphor to produce the red color on television screens and monitors and used as a superconductor and as a component of X-ray filters and superalloys. When added to tungsten as a rare earth element, it can be used as a welding electrode.

Among the non-consumable electrodes, the yttrium tungsten electrode is the most consistent, so it is often used to weld steel structures and non-ferrous alloys such as carbon steel, low alloy steel, copper, titanium, stainless steel, etc. under direct current/DC. This type of electrode arc beam is slender and has a large degree of compression, and its penetration is the largest in medium and large currents. Thanks to these characteristics, it is especially popular in the military industry and aerospace industry.

Yttrium tungsten welding electrode contains 1.8-2.2% yttrium oxide, and the electron escape work is 2.8-3.2ev. They are marked WY-20 (navy blue) according to international marking. Among the components of the WY20 electrode, there are silicon, molybdenum, manganese, sulfur, carbon, and phosphorus. When the impact hardness is 100 J/cm2, the surfacing coefficient is 9.5 h/Ah. One of the characteristics of domestic electrodes is the need for short arc processing and pre-baking. The last is done in a dedicated furnace for an hour.

For tungsten electrodes, what is the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war?

As the world's second largest tungsten resource reserve country and the third largest tungsten producer, Russia's supply of tungsten resources to foreign countries (especially to European countries) will be affected by measures such as war and economic sanctions, which will stimulate international tungsten price to rise, and corresponding products prices will also increase.

Furthermore, shipping may not only be caused by wars and regional conflicts, maritime control and inspection and other factors, roadway blockages, cargo ships and cargo flights being affected by airspace control, no-fly zones, and increased war risks. The risk of delayed delivery, or even non-delivery, at the same time, even if some shipping routes can be lined up, the goods may face the risk of loss, damage and no one to take responsibility for the goods on the way.

Considering current market conditions, if you have got the purchasing plans for tungsten electrodes, it is better to place the order as soon as possible. 

If you have any inquiry of yttrium tungsten electrode, please feel free to contact us:

Email: sales@chinatungsten.com/sales@xiamentungsten.com

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Tungsten Filaments and Crucibles for Microprobe and Electron Beam Systems

Electron microscopes generate images by bombarding samples with electrons and then converting the results of this interaction into visual images. In order to form an image, the generated electrons need to be tightly controlled.

Electron beams come from filaments made of various materials. The most common is the tungsten hairpin gun, which is widely used in scanning electron microscopes, transmission electron microscopes, and microprobe systems. This filament is a tungsten ring that acts as a cathode. Apply voltage to the loop to heat it up. The anode, which is positive relative to the filament, forms a strong attraction to electrons. This causes electrons to be accelerated towards the anode. Some accelerate near the anode and down the column to the sample.

Tungsten wire, also known as cathode or electron emitter or electron source, is mainly made of high-quality tungsten. Of all pure metals, tungsten has the highest melting point (3422°C), the lowest vapor pressure at temperatures above 1650°C, and the highest tensile strength. Tungsten also has the lowest coefficient of thermal expansion of all pure metals. This combination of properties makes tungsten an ideal material.

Since the electrons emitted in the various types of guns are heated, their energy distribution is not a spike. Instead, they have a Boltzmann distribution that can vary widely depending on the type of filament. For a good microscope, you want ΔE/E to be as small as possible. Therefore, the filament type needs to be selected according to its own applicable needs.

Chinatungsten Online/CTIA GROUP is a professional tungsten manufacturer. The high-quality filaments we offer are manufactured to OEM specifications using special tools to guarantee the correct shape of the filament and produce the best possible electron beam. We can provide tungsten filaments and crucibles for electron beam systems. 

If you have any inquiry of tungsten filaments, please feel free to contact us:
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3D Printing Tungsten for Medical Radiation Shielding and Nuclear Imaging

Metal additive manufacturing is gaining popularity. Aluminum, bronze, chromium, stainless steel, iron and copper are just a few examples of the most commonly used metals. Some of these—often in the form of alloys—are already available for the additive manufacturing industry, and these elements are typically processed by laser powder bed melting or electron beam melting.

One special metal that shows great potential in the field of additive manufacturing, especially 3D printing for the automotive and aerospace industries, is tungsten because of its outstanding mechanical strength, high stiffness and high thermal load capacity.

Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal at about 6,152°F (3,400°C), making it ideal for energy and lighting technology, but also difficult to manufacture. In its current state, the biggest challenge with using tungsten in additive manufacturing is that printed parts are often prone to cracking, which greatly affects quality. This problem is especially prevalent in more complex, precise shapes with curves or holes that cannot be modeled using traditional crafting or machining techniques. But now there is a solution: 3D printing.

3D printing is the process of making three-dimensional solid objects from digital files, the creation of which is achieved through additive processes. In an additive process, objects are created by placing successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be viewed as a thin sliced cross-section of the object. 3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.

Depending on process conditions, tungsten has bulk and optically determined densities between 94% and 98%, but parts can experience microcracks and defects due to residual stresses on the micro and macro scales. Even so, the density and quality of the samples produced during the 3D printing process are high enough for applications such as medical radiation shielding and nuclear imaging, as well as other plasma-oriented environments. And the parameters of laser powder bed fusion can be tailored to produce relatively dense tungsten parts.

3D printing tungsten allows new applications for the material as it can produce parts with high precision and complexity. Other researchers have studied tungsten 3D printing before, and 3D printed tungsten components have even been commercialized. Despite the challenges, tungsten has proven itself to be a valuable 3D printing material. 

If you have any inquiry of tungsten products please feel free to contact us:

Email: sales@chinatungsten.com/sales@xiamentungsten.com

Tel.: +86 592 5129696/+86 592 5129595

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