VBN Introduces Vibenite 500 Pure Tungsten for Electron Beam 3D Printing-3DPTimes

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VBN Introduces Vibenite 500 Pure Tungsten for Electron Beam 3D Printing

October 26, 2026 Materials 3DPTimes Editorial | Source: VBN Components company announcement, October 22, 2026. 8

The Swedish company’s October 22 announcement reports initial customer deliveries, over 99.7% relative density and potential shielding applications.

Archive: 120-gram conventionally sintered tungsten sample, October 24, 2009. Not Vibenite 500, a VBN component, feedstock powder or an additively manufactured specimen. Photo: Jurii. CC BY 3.0. Resized; content unchanged. Original: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tungsten.jpg | License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Swedish additive manufacturing specialist VBN Components has introduced Vibenite 500, a pure tungsten material for electron beam powder bed fusion, and says deliveries of parts to customers have begun. The company announced the material on October 22.

The development took fifteen months and received financial support from the Swedish Energy Agency, according to VBN. The company identifies radiation shielding and high-temperature protection as intended applications.

VBN reports relative density above 99.7% and hardness of approximately 400 HV2 for material produced through electron beam powder bed fusion. These are company-reported results rather than independently verified specifications.

In gamma-radiation testing, VBN says Vibenite 500 delivered a shielding factor 15% higher than the reference tungsten alloy B777 Grade 3. It attributes the difference to tungsten content and microstructure. The announcement does not provide the complete test conditions, so the comparison should not be extended to every radiation spectrum, geometry or shielding application.

The company says it can manufacture thin- and thick-walled components as well as relatively large parts. It has not named customers, disclosed delivery quantities or provided part dimensions in the announcement.

The material extends VBN’s range beyond products such as Vibenite 290 steel and Vibenite 480 cemented carbide. Its stated focus is producing complex tungsten geometries that are difficult to make through conventional processing because of the metal’s brittleness at room temperature.

Archive photograph: a 120-gram sample of conventionally sintered tungsten, photographed by Jurii on October 24, 2009. This illustrates the underlying metal; it is not Vibenite 500, a VBN component, feedstock powder or an additively manufactured test specimen. CC BY 3.0. Resized for display; content unchanged. Original: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tungsten.jpg . License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ .

Primary source: VBN Components, October 22, 2026: https://vbncomponents.com/vbn-components-introduces-pure-tungsten-vibenite-500-for-additive-manufacturing/