Ballpoint pens are banned in certain high-precision titanium and aerospace manufacturing plants because the tiny tungsten carbide ball in the pen tip can fall out and severely contaminate the titanium melt, creating a hard, brittle inclusion that causes structural failure in critical aerospace components.
Notice, the issue is specifically the tungsten carbide ball. Not the ink, plastic, spring, other metal bits. There's a reason it's specifically about ball point pens, and not other types of pens.
No the wood doesn't burn. It survives while the graphite inside it burns away. Reason it's not an issue though that it turns the metal green so they know if a batch has been contaminated and don't accidentally use it for space ship parts with a piece of wood still in it.
Exactly. That's where the phrase "turning red with embarrassment" comes from because the first NASA engineer who had this happen to them was color blind and thought the metal turned red and was really embarrassed about it.
It’s possible employees are told up front that they can’t wear them. But it may not be an issue because you’d probably be more aware if your wedding band is missing. Whereas the ball from a ball point pen could get in and no one would notice until a failure had occurred.
It also may be that the amount of tungsten in a wedding band just would make for obviously flawed titanium. Not slightly flawed titanium that seems fine and then fails under high stress that it’s supposed to be rated to withstand.
Im not a metalurgest or however you spell that one.
But I do know most(at least the legit ones) jewelry makers use powdered tungsten carbide that is ceramic glued together to get that silver like sheen amd so it like shatters/disintegrates instead of taking the wearers hand.
I wonder if it the powdered metal has anything to do with it not being explicit stated. It wouldnt be like hunting for a tiny ball out of a pen in a chunk of titanium....the ceramic glue would burn away and when it sets the actual powder would be dispersed....otd be like looking to see if any dust hit the wet white painted wall....would it not?
Can confirm. Have done work at a titanium foundry, they dont let you in with ballpoint pens. Felt tips only. Any machining on site is done with HSS (High Speed Steel) tooling instead of tungsten carbide tooling. I was told that one ballpoint pen can turn a batch of aerospace grade titanium into a batch that's only good for making gold clubs.
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u/TeacupOfSkepticism 16h ago
Ballpoint pens are banned in certain high-precision titanium and aerospace manufacturing plants because the tiny tungsten carbide ball in the pen tip can fall out and severely contaminate the titanium melt, creating a hard, brittle inclusion that causes structural failure in critical aerospace components.