The Virtual Foundry, Inc.

The Virtual Foundry, Inc.

Democratizing Metal Additive Manufacturing

At The Virtual Foundry, based in Stoughton, Wisconsin, the mission is simple but transformative: make metal 3D printing accessible to everyone.

For decades, producing solid metal parts through additive manufacturing required multi-million-dollar equipment, highly specialized facilities, and closed proprietary systems. Metal 3D printing remained limited to large aerospace corporations, government laboratories, and elite industrial manufacturers.

The Virtual Foundry challenged that model.

Through years of material science research, the company developed Filamet™, a line of metal-infused 3D printing filaments that allow standard desktop FFF 3D printers to create solid metal parts. By embedding finely powdered metals into a proprietary polymer binder, the company eliminated the need for expensive laser-based metal printing systems.

Today, anyone with a conventional desktop 3D printer can print in materials such as stainless steel, copper, bronze, titanium, Inconel, aluminum, ceramics, and glass.

The Virtual Foundry is not simply manufacturing filament. It is redefining how the world approaches manufacturing, prototyping, education, and innovation.

From Basement Experiment to Industry Pioneer

The company began in 2014 when founder and CEO Bradley Woods asked a straightforward question: Why can’t metal printing be as simple as printing plastic?

At the time, consumer plastic 3D printers were rapidly becoming affordable, while metal printing remained inaccessible due to the extreme costs and complexity of technologies like Direct Metal Laser Sintering and Selective Laser Melting.

Working from his basement, Woods began experimenting with formulations that could behave like standard plastic filament while producing real metal parts after processing. Early development involved overcoming major material science challenges including brittleness, nozzle clogging, and inconsistent sintering.

Those efforts eventually led to the first successful prototypes of Filamet™.

A successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015 validated global demand for affordable metal additive manufacturing and helped transition the company from a home workshop into a dedicated Wisconsin manufacturing facility.

In 2019, The Virtual Foundry secured patents for its core technology and manufacturing methods, establishing itself as one of the leading innovators in bound metal extrusion.

The Problem with Traditional Metal Printing

Traditional metal additive manufacturing systems rely on powder bed fusion processes that use lasers or electron beams to melt metal powder layer by layer.

While effective, these systems come with significant limitations:

• Equipment often costs between $500,000 and $1 million
• Facilities require specialized ventilation and inert gas systems
• Fine metal powders create combustion and inhalation hazards
• Operators require advanced technical training
• Proprietary ecosystems lock users into expensive consumables

These barriers prevent schools, small businesses, startups, and independent inventors from accessing metal manufacturing technologies.

The Filamet™ Solution

The Virtual Foundry solves these challenges through Bound Metal Extrusion.

Filamet™ encapsulates metal powders inside a safe polymer binder, allowing the material to print like standard PLA or ABS filament. Because the metal is fully bound within the filament, there are no airborne powders, combustible dust risks, or hazardous operating requirements.

The material works with most open-architecture FFF 3D printers, from entry-level hobby printers to industrial extrusion systems.

Available material options include:

• Copper
• Bronze
• Stainless Steel, including 316L and 17-4PH
• Titanium
• Inconel
• High Carbon Steel
• Aluminum
• Zirconium Silicate
• Silicon Carbide
• Glass-compatible materials

This broad portfolio allows engineers, educators, artists, and manufacturers to work with industrial-grade materials using standard desktop hardware.

Understanding the Process: Print, Debind, Sinter

The Virtual Foundry’s workflow follows a streamlined three-stage process adapted from traditional Metal Injection Molding.

1. Print

Users print the object using standard slicing software and a typical FFF printer loaded with Filamet™.

The resulting green part contains the final geometry suspended within the polymer binder.

2. Debind

The binder is removed through thermal or chemical debinding, leaving behind a fragile brown part composed almost entirely of metal particles.

3. Sinter

The brown part is heated in a kiln to just below the melting point of the metal. During sintering, the particles fuse into a dense, solid metal component with the physical properties of traditionally manufactured metal.

The result is a true metal part produced without industrial laser systems.

Advanced Innovation: Rapid 3DShield

Beyond standard metal printing, The Virtual Foundry continues to expand the possibilities of additive manufacturing through advanced materials research.

One of its most important developments is Rapid 3DShield, a tungsten-based filament designed for radiation shielding applications.

Industries such as healthcare, nuclear energy, aerospace, and defense have historically relied on lead for radiation protection. However, lead is toxic, environmentally hazardous, and difficult to machine into complex geometries.

Rapid 3DShield replaces lead with tungsten, a denser, safer material that provides superior radiation attenuation.

This allows hospitals, research facilities, and defense contractors to rapidly produce customized shielding components directly from desktop printers while eliminating many of the hazards associated with lead manufacturing.

Aerospace and Lunar Manufacturing

The company’s innovations have attracted strong interest from the aerospace industry, where lightweight, high-strength materials are essential.

Using additive manufacturing with materials such as titanium and Inconel allows engineers to create highly optimized geometries, lightweight structures, and consolidated assemblies that reduce waste and improve performance.

The Virtual Foundry is also contributing to lunar manufacturing and In-Situ Resource Utilization research.

By adapting its binder technology for use with simulated lunar regolith, the company is helping researchers explore how astronauts may eventually manufacture tools, infrastructure, and replacement parts using materials found directly on the Moon or Mars.

Supporting Education, Research, and Industry

The Virtual Foundry’s technology is now used across a broad range of industries and institutions worldwide.

Notably, 12 of the 14 United States National Laboratories utilize the company’s materials for advanced research and testing applications.

Educational institutions have also embraced the technology because it allows students to gain practical experience with real metal additive manufacturing using affordable classroom equipment.

Applications include:

• Engineering and STEM education
• Architectural modeling
• Jewelry and artistic fabrication
• Rapid industrial prototyping
• Automotive component development
• Scientific research

The accessibility of the technology continues to expand opportunities for innovation across industries of all sizes.

Open Architecture and Community Innovation

Unlike many traditional additive manufacturing companies, The Virtual Foundry strongly supports open architecture and community-driven experimentation.

Users are not restricted to proprietary printers, software, or closed ecosystems. The company actively shares printing profiles, sintering schedules, and process data while encouraging users to contribute discoveries back to the broader community.

This collaborative philosophy reflects the open-source roots of the 3D printing movement and accelerates innovation worldwide.

Sustainability and Localized Manufacturing

The Virtual Foundry also addresses growing concerns surrounding supply chain resilience and environmental sustainability.

Traditional manufacturing often depends on complex international logistics networks and material-intensive subtractive processes that generate significant waste.

By enabling localized, on-demand metal manufacturing, The Virtual Foundry helps organizations:

• Reduce shipping and inventory requirements
• Shorten production timelines
• Minimize material waste
• Improve supply chain flexibility
• Manufacture replacement parts closer to the point of use

Additive manufacturing allows businesses to maintain digital inventories and produce components only when needed.

Conclusion

The Virtual Foundry has fundamentally changed what is possible in metal additive manufacturing.

From a basement experiment in 2014 to becoming a trusted supplier for national laboratories, educational institutions, and aerospace innovators, the company has remained focused on one goal: removing barriers to metal manufacturing.

Through Filamet™, The Virtual Foundry has proven that producing industrial-grade metal parts no longer requires million-dollar machinery or specialized industrial environments.

Whether enabling radiation shielding, supporting lunar construction research, or helping students print their first metal component, The Virtual Foundry continues to push manufacturing toward a more accessible, decentralized future.

The future of metal manufacturing is no longer confined to massive industrial facilities. It can now begin on a desktop.