Tungsten Machining for Shielding, Weights and High-Heat Parts
Send your drawing. We match it with shops that cut pure tungsten, heavy alloy and tungsten copper. Reply within 24 business hours.
Density, g/cm³
Does your part need tungsten, and which grade?
Tungsten costs more than steel and is harder to cut, so it should earn its place. Tick what your part has to do. The check suggests the grade most shops would quote.
Typical machined tungsten parts
- Collimators and shielding inserts
- Syringe and vial shields
- Aircraft balance weights
- Crankshaft and rotor counterweights
- Anti-vibration boring bar bodies
- Vacuum furnace heat shields
- EDM and welding electrodes
- Gamma logging tool shields
Most of these are turned or milled from tungsten heavy alloy. Pure tungsten shows up where heat matters more than toughness, and tungsten copper where a part has to carry current and resist arcing.
Pure tungsten, heavy alloy or tungsten copper?
All three are sold as tungsten. They behave very differently on the machine and in service, and the grade on your drawing decides which shops can quote it.
Pure tungsten
99.95% tungsten, pressed and sintered, sometimes forged or rolled.
- Highest density and melting point of the group
- Right for furnace hot zones, heat shields and crucibles
- Brittle when cold, so fewer shops take it and quotes run higher
Tungsten heavy alloy
90 to 97% tungsten with nickel and iron or nickel and copper as a binder.
- Tough enough to turn, mill, drill and tap like hard cast iron
- The usual choice for shielding and counterweights
- Ordered by ASTM B777 class, which sets tungsten content and density
Tungsten copper
A tungsten skeleton infiltrated with 10 to 30% copper.
- Conducts heat and current, resists arc erosion
- Used for EDM and welding electrodes, contacts and heat spreaders
- Cuts cleanly, so it is the easiest of the three to machine
Tungsten carbide is a different material again. It is ground or EDM cut rather than milled, and most carbide parts go to grinding shops.
Tungsten grades, density and tolerances
What to expect when you ask a shop to quote each grade. These are typical ranges, not promises. The shop that quotes you confirms what it can hold on your geometry.
| Grade | Typical density (g/cm³) | How it machines | Typical tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure tungsten (99.95% W) | 19.3 | Brittle at room temperature. Edges chip and thin walls crack. Fine features are often ground or cut by wire EDM. | ±0.025 mm milled, tighter by grinding |
| Heavy alloy W-Ni-Fe (ASTM B777 Class 1 to 4) | 17.0 to 18.5 | Machines much like hard cast iron. Turns and mills well with carbide. Slightly magnetic. | ±0.01 to ±0.025 mm is common |
| Heavy alloy W-Ni-Cu | 17.0 to 18.0 | Similar to W-Ni-Fe on the machine. Chosen when the part must be non-magnetic. | ±0.01 to ±0.025 mm is common |
| Tungsten copper (W70Cu30 to W90Cu10) | 14.0 to 17.0 | Cuts cleanly. Used for electrodes and heat spreaders where copper alone wears too fast. | ±0.01 to ±0.02 mm is common |
| Tungsten carbide (WC-Co) | 14.5 to 15.6 | Too hard to mill after sintering. Shaped by grinding and EDM, or machined before sintering. | ±0.005 mm or better by grinding |
Read the full datasheet for each grade Estimate your part's weight
How tungsten heavy alloy compares to lead and steel for shielding
Density is what does the shielding. A denser material blocks more radiation per millimeter, so the part gets smaller and lighter for the same protection.
| Material | Typical density (g/cm³) | Shielding note |
|---|---|---|
| Steel | 7.9 | Cheap and easy to machine, but needs roughly 2.3x the thickness of tungsten heavy alloy for the same shielding effect. |
| Lead | 11.3 | The traditional shielding material. Soft, toxic to machine as dust, and needs a support structure for anything load bearing. |
| Tungsten heavy alloy | 17.0 to 18.5 | Non-toxic, machinable, self-supporting. The usual upgrade from lead where space is tight. |
| Gold | 19.3 | Almost identical density to pure tungsten, which is why tungsten-cored bars have been used to fake gold bullion. Not a shielding material in practice, included here as a density reference. |
Where machined tungsten parts go
Each industry brings its own paperwork. Mention material certs, density tests or radiographic inspection in your RFQ so we match shops that already work that way.
Medical imaging and radiotherapy
Collimators, shielding inserts, syringe shields and source containers, often in heavy alloy.
Aerospace
Balance weights and counterweights for control surfaces, rotors and gyros.
Semiconductor and vacuum furnaces
Heat shields, crucibles, boats and hot-zone fixtures in pure tungsten.
Oil and gas
Gamma and density logging shields, sinker bars and downhole weights.
Motorsport and ballast
Crankshaft counterweights and dense ballast where every cubic centimeter counts.
Industrial radiography
Source holders, shielded containers and beam stops for NDT equipment.
How it works
One RFQ from you. A short list of shops that cut your grade. No bidding platform and no middleman on the order.
Send your RFQ
Upload a STEP file or PDF drawing and tell us the grade, quantity, tolerance and when you need it. Takes about three minutes.
We match up to 3 shops
We read the drawing and pick shops that cut that grade at that size and can source the blank. You hear from us within 24 business hours.
Shops quote you directly
Each shop contacts you with a quote. You compare, ask questions and place the order with the one you choose.
What drives the price of a tungsten part
Material is a bigger share of the price than on most machined parts. If a quote looks high, one of these is usually the reason, and some of them you can change on the drawing.
- Tungsten priceHeavy alloy costs many times more per kilo than steel, and a tungsten part weighs over twice as much as the same shape in steel.
- Blank formA pressed and sintered near-net blank leaves little to cut. Machining a part from solid bar turns expensive material into chips.
- Cutting methodHeavy alloy turns and mills. Pure tungsten and carbide often need grinding or wire EDM, which is slower.
- Tolerance and finishEvery step tighter than you need adds machine time and inspection. Only tolerance what matters.
- QuantitySetup spreads over more parts as quantity rises. Past a few dozen, a near-net blank often pays for its tooling.
- Certs and testingASTM B777 material certs, density tests and radiographic checks for shielding parts add cost and a few days.
Have a drawing ready?
Send the short version now. We will ask for anything missing, such as the ASTM B777 class or whether the part must be non-magnetic. For full details up front, use the full RFQ form.
Your files go only to the shops we match. Ask for an NDA and nothing is shared until it is signed.
Cut tungsten? Get RFQs that fit your shop.
Shops see a preview of each request before they take it and talk to the buyer directly. We take no commission on the order.
Questions buyers ask
Something else? Email .
Is this service free for buyers?
Yes. You pay nothing to send an RFQ or to receive quotes. Price, terms and delivery are agreed between you and the shop.
Who sees my drawing?
Shops first see a short preview with part type, grade, size, quantity and tolerance. It does not include your name, company or files. Your contact details and files go only to the shops we match, up to 3. If you ask for an NDA, we hold the files until it is signed.
Do you machine tungsten parts yourselves?
No. We are a matching service, not a machine shop. The shops that quote you run the machines, buy or accept the material and ship the parts. You place the order with them.
Can pure tungsten be CNC machined?
Yes, with limits. Pure tungsten is brittle at room temperature, so edges chip and thin walls crack if the setup is not rigid. Shops use carbide tooling, light finishing passes and often grinding or wire EDM for fine features. If your design allows it, tungsten heavy alloy machines far more easily and is the usual choice for shielding and weights.
Should I supply the tungsten material?
Either works. Most shops buy sintered blanks or bar from a tungsten mill and include it in the quote. If you have an approved material source or certified stock, say so in the RFQ and we match shops that accept customer supplied material.
Where are the shops located?
That depends on the part and on the region you pick on the RFQ form. You can ask for shops in North America, Europe, Japan, Korea or the rest of Asia, or leave it open and let us match on fit alone.
Guides for tungsten buyers
- Materials
Molybdenum Copper vs Tungsten Copper for Heat Spreaders
Compare molybdenum copper and tungsten copper heat spreaders: density, thermal conductivity, expansion, machining, plating and cost with a decision table.
- Sourcing
MIL-T-21014 vs ASTM B777: Old and New Heavy Alloy Specs
An old drawing calls MIL-T-21014 for tungsten heavy alloy. See how it maps to ASTM B777 classes, what to check before converting and how to word the callout.
- Process
Machining Thin Tungsten Plate and Foil Without Cracking
How shops machine thin tungsten plate and foil: workholding, grinding, cutting routes, warp control, tolerance and the drawing details that prevent scrap.