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My Tungsten Cube (2019)

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Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#201

Post by paulgerhardt »

daerhan wrote: post #189
paulgerhardt wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anyone knows where to get a tungsten cube I would be interested. I’ve wanted one since reading this post a few years ago but every vendor usually sells alloys.

This vendor sells cubes of various sizes that they claim to be 99.95% tungsten - https://luciteria.com/metal-cubes/tungsten-cube . I have one of the 1cc cubes and it seems to be of good quality. They also sell a lot of other exotic elements.

Perfect, thank you! Looking it seems they both have a kilo of pure tungsten in cube form measuring 38.1mm^3 or a kilo of tungsten carbide measuring 40mm^3.

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#202

Post by hutzlibu »

dvaun wrote: post #161
MgB2 wrote: post #129

I used to work with tungsten carbide cubes during my PhD thesis. They're used in multianvil high-pressure synthesis. With the right setup you can reach almost 20 GPa of pressure. Not as much as with diamond anvil cells, but you have more reasonable sample sizes (a few milligrams). And thats still like the pressure pretty deep into Earth's mantle. I also used the opportunity to snap a neat picture of a polished WC cub…

> They have the mean tendecy to explode into super sharp pieces when you're not expecting it, so wear goggles. Well, I guess I need to buy a new wedding ring at some point.

Your marriage yields the equivalent of 1000t pressure stress on your wedding ring?

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#204

Post by e12e »

MisterTea wrote: post #164

We use blocks like this in our electron beam welders to set the beam power, shape and focus on older machines (newer machines use a CPU/DSP controlled system). A small 25x25x50mm block sits on an adjustable height stand which is set to the height of the weld joint. You dial in the settings, hit the block with the beam and using the optics, visually check the focus and alignment. Then you move to the weld joint and st…

> Tungsten is the only metal you can reliably use as our machines have beam powers up to 15kW which can precisely deliver an enormous amount of heat into a pencil point sized area. Even at the common 1-3kW ranges the tungsten instantly liquefies when the beam turns on.

I'm sorry - is there an error here? As I understand the rest of your comment, you use Tungsten because it does not liquify?

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#205

Post by hutzlibu »

MisterTea wrote: post #164

We use blocks like this in our electron beam welders to set the beam power, shape and focus on older machines (newer machines use a CPU/DSP controlled system). A small 25x25x50mm block sits on an adjustable height stand which is set to the height of the weld joint. You dial in the settings, hit the block with the beam and using the optics, visually check the focus and alignment. Then you move to the weld joint and st…

What are you welding with that thing? And for research or production?

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#206

Post by sosuke »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #117
gfody wrote: post #105

I wish someone made a standard 608 (fidget spinner, skateboard, etc.) deep-groove ball bearing entirely out of Tungsten - it would be the ultimate desk trinket and I bet it would have the longest and most satisfying spins.

The tops look like fun: https://midwesttungsten.com/tungsten-shapes-toys/spinning-to...

LOL at the Pinewood Derby tungsten blocks. Feels like cheating no?

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#208

Post by e12e »

ISL wrote: post #142
BizarroLand wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I originally had a tungsten ring when I got married and managed to shatter both it and its replacement within a year. Terrible for rings, just go with silver if you want or need a cheap wedding ring.

My choice was titanium, which I used to make ours. It is (IMHO) among the finest of all materials for the job.

> among the finest of all materials for the job.

Titanium should also work great for forced amputation in the case of a broken finger I suppose...

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#210

Post by BizarroLand »

learc83 wrote: post #178
BizarroLand wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Titanium is a good choice, much harder to break than tungsten and cheaper than tungsten or silver, too.

I got a tantalum ring. It look a bit like tungsten or titanium but it's much softer.

The ones I saw from a quick search were nice looking but pretty pricey. Basic Gold rings were going for the same price as some of the fancier designs so I think that would be more of a design / aesthetic choice.

Titanium / Tungsten / Silver are for people who want an inexpensive ring.

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