The Virtual Foundry, inc.

What The Virtual Foundry, inc. does

The Virtual Foundry, Inc. is a privately held American manufacturer founded in 2015 by Bradley Woods and headquartered in Stoughton, Wisconsin. The company designs and distributes Filamet™, a proprietary line of 3D printing filament loaded with high percentages of metal (80-94%), glass (66-72%), or ceramic (48-69%) particles. Its core innovation is a print-debind-sinter workflow that enables users to produce pure metal, glass, or ceramic parts on standard, open-architecture FFF/FDM 3D printers (including Bambu Lab, Creality, and Prusa machines) using a 0.6mm hardened steel nozzle and PLA-like print settings, followed by thermal processing in a kiln to remove the binder and densify the part up to 99.98% theoretical density. Supporting hardware includes the FireX and FireX Max sintering kilns ($1,999.99 to $5,199.99), along with crucibles, sintering aids, and finishing consumables. A separate sub-brand, Rapid 3DShield, is operated as a joint venture with Vulcan GMS and offers high-density tungsten and boron carbide filaments for radiation shielding applications.

The company serves approximately 3,000 customers across aerospace and defense (NASA, US Navy, US Army, US Air Force), national research laboratories (Argonne, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, Oak Ridge), manufacturing (Siemens Mobility, ABC Manufacturing Solutions), healthcare, nuclear, education, automotive, art/jewelry, and hobbyist/maker segments. Its go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve Shopify storefront), community-led engagement (Discord server, YouTube tutorials, published research papers and whitepapers), and a global channel partner network including MatterHackers, Online Metals, Filament2Print (Spain), 3D Insumos (Argentina), Canadian Additive, and Amazon Marketplace. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time filament and consumable sales ranging from $87.99 to $716.99 per spool, bundled kits ($110.93 to $3,000), sintering kilns, and a custom Filamet™ materials development service priced at a $10,000 base fee. The company has not raised external capital beyond a 2019 gbeta accelerator participation and operates with 11-50 employees.

Name

The Virtual Foundry, inc.

Legal name

The Virtual Foundry, Inc.

Website

https://thevirtualfoundry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Virtual Foundry manufactures Filamet™, a proprietary metal, glass, and ceramic 3D printing filament that enables pure metal parts to be printed on standard FFF printers via a print-debind-sinter workflow, serving aerospace/defense, national labs, manufacturing, education, and maker customers through direct e-commerce and global resellers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial 3D Printing Materials

NAICS

Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (3252)

SIC

Plastics Products, Nec (3089)

akta.pro primary industry

Polymer Filaments (FDM/FFF) (IMAAABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Composite & Continuous-Fiber 3D Printers (IMAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Metal 3D printing filament
• Sintering kilns accessories
• FFF metal printing materials
• Radiation shielding filaments
• Ceramic 3D printing filament

Headquarters

HQ city

Stoughton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Filament and Materials Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling Filamet™ metal, glass, and ceramic filaments. Products include Bronze, Copper, 316L Stainless Steel, 17-4 Stainless Steel, Inconel 718, Aluminum 6061, M300 Tool Steel, High Carbon Iron, and specialty materials. Also includes Rapid 3DShield radiation shielding products.
2. Kit and Bundle Sales: Sale of bundled products including Getting Started Bundles, Print and Sinter Kits, and Evaluation Kits that include filament plus necessary accessories (Filawarmer, crucibles, sintering aids).
3. Sintering Kiln Sales: Sale of FireX and FireX Max sintering kilns designed specifically for debinding and sintering Filamet™ printed parts.
4. Custom Material Development: Custom Filamet™ materials manufacturing service with base fee of $10,000 plus material costs. Includes powder procurement, mixing, extrusion, test printing, and packaging.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Virtual Foundry manufactures and sells Filamet™, a proprietary line of 3D printing filament loaded with 80–94% metal, 66–72% glass, or 48–69% ceramic particles that prints on standard open-architecture FFF/FDM 3D printers. After printing, parts are debound in a kiln to remove the PLA binder and then sintered to fuse the particles into pure metal, glass, or ceramic components achieving up to 99.98% density. Supporting offerings include sintering kilns (FireX, FireX Max), starter/sinter kits, the Filawarmer dry-box accessory, and a custom Filamet™ material development service.

Product overview

The Virtual Foundry manufactures and distributes Filamet™—a comprehensive line of 3D printing filaments loaded with high percentages of metal, glass, or ceramic particles. The core offering consists of Filamet™ filaments (metal variants including Bronze, Copper, 316L Stainless Steel, 17-4 Stainless Steel, M300 Tool Steel, Inconel 718, Aluminum 6061, High Carbon Iron, and Tungsten; ceramic variants including Basalt Moon Dust, Porcelain, Silicon Carbide, Zirconium Silicate, and Boron Carbide; glass variants including Pyrex Borosilicate) and the Rapid 3DShield sub-brand for radiation shielding applications. Supporting products include Getting Started Bundles and Print-and-Sinter Kits (combining filament with Filawarmer, crucible, and sintering consumables), Evaluation Kits, sintering kilns (FireX and FireX Max), and 3D printing accessories. The company also offers custom Filamet™ material development as a service. The process workflow involves printing with standard FFF/FDM printers, debinding in a kiln to remove the PLA binder, and sintering to fuse particles into pure metal, glass, or ceramic parts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Filamet™: Revolutionary line of 3D printing filament loaded with high percentages of metal, glass, or ceramic particles. Compatible with any open-architecture 3D printer.
• Rapid 3DShield

Products and services

• Filamet™ Metal 3D Printing Filament Line of high metal-content (80–94%) 3D printing filaments (Bronze, Copper, 316L SS, 17-4 SS, M300 Tool Steel, Inconel 718, Aluminum 6061, High Carbon Iron, Titanium 64-23) printed on standard FFF/FDM printers and then debound and sintered into pure metal parts. For manufacturers, makers, national labs, defense, and educational buyers.
• Filamet™ Ceramic 3D Printing Filament Line of ceramic-loaded 3D printing filaments (Basalt Moon Dust, Porcelain, Silicon Carbide, Zirconium Silicate, Boron Carbide) with 48–69% ceramic loading that sinters into functional ceramic parts exceeding 98% density. For research, prototyping, and tooling applications.
• Filamet™ Glass 3D Printing Filament Pyrex (borosilicate) glass-loaded 3D printing filament with 66–72% glass content that prints like PLA and is used for jigs and shape-memory alloy development. For research and prototyping.
• Rapid 3DShield Tungsten Filament Pure tungsten filament (88–94% tungsten, 7.80–9.20 g/cc density) used as a lead replacement for X-ray, medical, security, and nuclear radiation shielding. Used in green state without sintering. For nuclear, medical, security, defense, and counterweight applications.
• Rapid 3DShield Boron Carbide Filament Boron carbide filament (50–60% loading, 1.30–1.50 g/cc) used in green state for neutron absorption in nuclear and security applications; sintering is not required because boron carbide sinters at ~1956°C.
• Filamet™ Print and Sinter Kits Bundled kits that combine a Filamet™ spool, Filawarmer, crucible, and the necessary sintering consumables for a specific material (Copper, 316L SS, 17-4 SS, M300 Tool Steel, Inconel 718, or Pyrex Glass) to take a customer from print through sintered part. For first-time users and lab managers standardizing workflows.
• Filamet™ 3D Metal Printing Evaluation Kit Entry-level evaluation kit (USD 110.93) with 100g of bronze filament, refractory samples, sintering aids, and a stainless steel crucible, allowing the buyer to print and sinter calibration rings twice. For new buyers evaluating metal 3D printing.
• Getting Started Bundle Complete starter bundle (from USD 501.94) pairing a Bronze Filamet spool with a Filawarmer, alumina crucible, Al2O3, magnesium silicate, and sintering carbon so a new user can complete a full metal print workflow. For individual hobbyists and first-time institutional buyers.
• Filawarmer Required dry-box accessory that prevents moisture absorption during printing of moisture-sensitive Filamet™ materials such as Stainless Steel 316L. For all Filamet™ users printing those materials.
• FireX Sintering Kiln Standard sintering kiln (from USD 1,999.99) for debinding and sintering Filamet™ printed parts. For small businesses, makers, and educational labs.
• FireX Max Sintering Kiln Larger-capacity sintering kiln (from USD 5,199.99) for higher-volume debinding and sintering operations. For manufacturers and institutional buyers with higher throughput.
• Sintering Accessories and Consumables Supporting consumables for the sintering step, including alumina and refractory-cement crucibles, sintering carbon, steel blend, alumina refractory ballast, magnesium silicate, sintering gloves, and kiln paper. For all Filamet™ users running the sintering workflow.
• Finishing Products Post-sintering surface-finishing consumables and equipment, including stainless steel tumbling media, pickling blend, tumbling liquid, and rotary tumbler. For users finishing sintered metal parts.
• Custom Filamet™ Materials Service Bespoke filament development service that turns a customer-supplied or company-procured powder (e.g., doped molybdenum telluride, piezoelectric materials, foundry sand, exotic metals) into a printable Filamet™, with a USD 10,000 base fee plus add-on fees (Exotic Material Evaluation USD 500, Powder Procurement USD 750 + cost, Hazardous Material USD 350, Rush Processing USD 2,000) and a 3–6 week lead time. For research labs, national labs, and specialty manufacturers needing custom materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• Metal parts achieve up to 99.98% density after sintering
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vulcan GMScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner for Rapid 3DShield radiation shielding products. The joint venture combines The Virtual Foundry's filament technology with Vulcan GMS expertise for developing and selling tungsten-based radiation shielding solutions.
• 3D InsumosminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized reseller in Argentina
• 3D PrintiverseminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized reseller for sintering filaments
• 3D UniverseminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized US reseller
• Canadian AdditiveminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized Canadian reseller
• Filament2PrintminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized reseller in Spain covering European market
• MatterHackersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor US 3D printing supplies reseller
• Online MetalsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized metals distributor with e-commerce presence

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stratasys: FDM heritage leader now offering metal AM via partnerships and direct systems. Broad incumbent with overlapping customer base in aerospace, automotive, and education, where TVF also competes for FFF metal filament adoption.
• 3D Systems: Broad 3D printing portfolio including metal AM systems (DMP, Direct Metal Printing) and materials. Competes for the same aerospace, defense, and medical customers that TVF serves with NASA, military, and medical imaging applications.
• AddUp: Industrial metal AM systems joint venture between Michelin and Fives, focused on LPBF and DED for aerospace and industrial customers. Represents the industrial alternative that competes against TVF's low-cost desktop approach for high-end metal parts.
• Velo3D: Industrial metal LPBF systems targeting aerospace and defense customers with no-support overhang parts. Competes for the same NASA/military budget allocations that TVF's filament-based approach also addresses.
• Desktop Metal: Broad metal AM portfolio including Studio System (bound metal deposition, similar workflow to Filamet), binder jetting, and LPBF systems. Larger incumbent addressing the same low-cost metal AM opportunity from a different angle.

Direct peers

• BASF Forward AM (Ultrafuse): BASF's additive manufacturing arm sells Ultrafuse metal filaments (316L, 17-4PH) for FFF printing using a similar print-debind-sinter workflow. Direct competitor in the metal filament category with significantly greater R&D and distribution resources.
• Markforged: Metal X system uses bound metal deposition with proprietary metal filaments, producing parts via print-wash-sinter workflow. Direct competitor serving overlapping industrial customer base with similar materials-science approach but requires Markforged's own printer hardware.
• Polymaker: High-end 3D printing filament manufacturer offering specialty materials including some metal-filled filaments. Direct competitor in the engineered filament category with similar distribution model through resellers and direct e-commerce.

Emerging players

• Xact Metal: Low-cost metal powder bed fusion systems priced for smaller businesses and research institutions. Emerging player pursuing the same low-cost metal AM positioning as TVF via a different technology path (LPBF vs. FFF+sinterng).
• One Click Metal: German manufacturer of entry-level metal LPBF systems (MPRINT) targeting small businesses and educational customers. Emerging competitor in the same accessible metal AM niche as TVF, with their own printing hardware.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xmobile.twitter.com/virtualfoundry
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@thevirtualfoundry
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheVirtualFoundry
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-virual-foundry-llc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/thevirtualfoundry
• TikToktiktok.com/@thevirtualfoundry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Virtual Foundry, inc.