Ultrafuse® 316L
Stainless Steel Composite Metal Filament for 3D Printers
Ultrafuse® 316L is an innovative filament to produce 316L grade stainless steel parts.
Material Details
- Product Leaflet
- Technical Data Sheet: EN
- User Guidelines
- Debinding Simulation Guidelines
- Process Guidelines
- Safety Data Sheet: EN, other languages
- Printing Profiles
Description
Ultrafuse® 316L is engineered for seamless use on conventional Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers, offering a cost-effective and straightforward solution for creating high-quality metal parts. This advanced filament combines design freedom with a lower total cost of ownership, making metal 3D printing faster, easier, and more affordable.
The final properties of printed parts, including hardness and strength, are achieved through a catalytic debinding and sintering process. This industry-standard process, initially developed and introduced by BASF, enables superior results while meeting Metal Injection Molding (MIM) standards.
Ultrafuse® 316L is designed to support a wide range of applications, such as tooling, jigs, fixtures, small series production, functional parts, prototypes, and even jewelry. The filament is a state-of-the-art metal-polymer composite containing approximately 90% highly-refined metal particles, combined with thermoplastic binders to ensure ease of handling.
Thanks to its non-slip surface, Ultrafuse® 316L is compatible with most Bowden or direct-drive extruders and can navigate complex filament paths with ease. Its high flexibility eliminates the need for additional drying, and the composite avoids the safety risks associated with handling fine metallic powders, ensuring an affordable, straightforward, and safe printing experience.
Benefits at a Glance
- Easy and affordable metal 3D printing
- Fast material exchange and easy handling
- For all open source FFF printers
- Produces parts of stainless-steel 316L metal
- Uniform particle distribution enhances mechanical properties
- High flexibility of filament enables successful printing in any FFF printers
- Compatible with both Bowden and direct drive extruders
Example Applications
- Tooling
- Jigs and fixtures
- Functional prototypes
- Small series production
Material Properties
- Excellent corrosive resistance
- Temperature stability
- Austenitic
- Non-magnetic
Use Cases and Whitepaper of Ultrafuse® 316L
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Process at a Glance
PRINTING
Following our Print Preparation Checklist, Recommended Printer Parameters, and 3D Modelling Guidelines ensures your FFF printer extrudes Ultrafuse® Metal Filament and Support Layer accurately, laying the foundation for successful metal parts.
GREEN PART
3D prints made with Ultrafuse® 316L and Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH are known as “green parts,” consisting of metallic powder and polymeric binder.
DEBINDING
Debinding is a crucial post-processing step that removes the polymer binder from green parts. This prevents deformation during sintering and improves sintering efficiency.
BROWN PART
After debinding, the parts are referred to as “brown parts.” At this stage, the polymer binder has been completely removed, leaving a porous structure of metallic powder.
SINTERING
Sintering, the final step, fuses the metallic particles together, resulting in a fully metallic part known as a “white part.”
METAL PART
The all-metal “white part” can then be post-processed just like any conventional metal part, offering the flexibility to meet various application requirements.
Utilize Our Trusted D&S Services
You can leverage the expertise of our trusted partners, DSH Technologies LLC and Elnik Systems GmbH, for debinding and sintering services. These leading partners provide reliable solutions to ensure high-quality results.
Which 3D printers should I use with Ultrafuse® 316L?
Designed for secure and easy handling on conventional, open-material Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printers, Ultrafuse® 316L comes with a wide processing window. To help you succeed in 3D printing metal parts we provide printer processing guidelines including Ultrafuse® 316L parameter sets. In addition, consultancy and on-site support are available to help ensure the material performs on your printer.
Next Steps
Printing Profiles
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Get in touch
Do you have questions about our materials, technologies or services? Get in touch now!
More Metal Filaments
Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH
The Filament Enabling Stainless Steel Parts for Applications that Require High Hardness and Mechanical Strength
Benefits at a Glance
- High mechanical strength and hardness
- Easy and affordable way of metal 3D printing
- Good corrosion resistance
- Fully hardened enables highest strength
- Wide range of post-processing options for green parts
Ultrafuse® Support Layer
Ultrafuse® Support Layer creates a barrier during sintering and facilitates the separation of support from the metal part
Benefits at a Glance
- Printable on any metal FFF printer
- Allows for a wider range of designs and complex geometries to be printed
- Excellent surface quality of supported areas of the part
- Minimize the distortion of the printed part during debinding and sintering