Dunlee, a Philips brand with over a century of experience in imaging components, has broadened its capabilities from early X-ray glass tubes to industrial additive manufacturing. Since 2007, the company has applied tungsten 3D printing to components used in computed tomography and other high-energy environments, where material density, thermal resilience, and precise radiation control are essential.
At the technical level, Dunlee relies on powder bed laser melting of pure tungsten in a controlled atmosphere. The process is tuned to achieve dense structures and consistent dimensional accuracy. Target geometries often include wall features around 100 microns and tight positional tolerances suitable for anti-scatter and shielding applications.
Industrialization required more than process tuning; Dunlee built iterative feedback cycles with CT system manufacturers and a supply chain tailored to tungsten powder handling, post-processing, and metrology. In production, these additive components integrate with the company’s tube technologies, including liquid-metal bearing designs introduced in 1989.
Current development work explores finer features, selected multi-material requests, and manufacturing windows that balance throughput with microstructure integrity. The objective is to align additive output with the performance expectations of modern imaging systems, while expanding design options for radiation-relevant hardware.
Interview with Fabiola Füzy
Fabiola Füzy, Business Development Manager at Dunlee, discusses in an interview with 3Druck.com how the company translates tungsten additive manufacturing into practical value for OEMs, from mindset shifts to collaborative workflows that enable reliable production. She sketches where tungsten 3D printing is heading at Dunlee, touching on new application requests, supply chain coordination, and precision gains.
Which key challenges and breakthroughs made it possible to bring additive manufacturing of tungsten to an industrial level?
Fabiola Füzy, Business Development Manager at Dunlee
First and foremost, it was about making the impossible possible — taking something once considered unworkable and learning to print tungsten in a controlled, repeatable way. Together with our 3D printing partner, we began by developing the initial parameters using steel, gradually refining the process until we achieved 100-micron wall thicknesses. From there, we transferred this expertise to tungsten, shaping it precisely to meet our customers’ design and performance needs.
On the organizational side, we had to undergo a fundamental shift — moving from a traditional manufacturing mindset to an additive one. Every step of our process had to evolve, from design and procurement to production and customer support. This transformation required rethinking how we integrate both the product and the process into our business operations.
How did you manage to transition from early prototypes to reliable high-volume serial production?
Our success was built on close collaboration — not only with our suppliers but also with our customers. Continuous feedback loops allowed us to iterate quickly and evaluate how each version performed in CT systems, ensuring that improvements were both data-driven and customer-focused.
Equally important was the strength of our team. Over time, they have accumulated deep expertise and hands-on experience, enabling them to provide effective, application-specific support to customers. This combination of partnership, feedback, and skilled teamwork was essential to turning our prototypes into a stable, scalable production process.
In which industries or application areas do you see the greatest potential for 3D printing with tungsten?
Tungsten has become a globally sought-after material. Various industries are already utilizing it, and since certain geopolitical events in recent years, demand has grown even further. In established sectors such as medical imaging — where Dunlee operates — we continue to see steady growth, driven by the need for high-precision, high-performance components.
Beyond healthcare, significant opportunities exist in emerging fields like nuclear fusion, where the pursuit of clean energy is advancing rapidly. In this context, 3D printing is viewed not only as a viable manufacturing method but also as a performance-enhancing technology for producing complex tungsten parts that can withstand extreme conditions.
What role will additive manufacturing play at Dunlee in the future, and which developments in the coming years do you find particularly exciting?
Additive manufacturing is taking on an increasingly prominent role at Dunlee. We regularly receive inquiries about multi-material solutions and new application areas, reflecting how dynamic and fast-evolving this field has become. One of the most exciting aspects is how the entire supply and value chain is evolving — different partners continuously collaborate to improve and optimize solutions. Every tungsten application or design may require its own dedicated value chain, involving unique expertise and processes. That complexity is exactly what makes this work so engaging.
From the perspective of 3D printing technology, I expect to see major advancements in laser precision and platform control, especially in relation to tungsten’s challenging material properties. At Dunlee, we will continue to push boundaries — for example, developing grids with wall thicknesses below 70 microns — as we strive to redefine what’s possible in additive manufacturing.
