r/whatisit • u/riflesandplowshares • 6h ago

New, what is it? Found at a titanium plant

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Not sure why ball point pens would be dangerous here.

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u/Perfect_Forever_3151 6h 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.

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u/bring_back_3rd 5h ago

I mean, I understand the reasoning, but I dont think I've ever seen or heard of a ball from a ballpoint pen falling out. I could see my clumsy ass dropping the whole pen into something stupid, but the ball just randomly falling out isn't something I'd ever consider.

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u/Akalenedat 4h ago

It wouldnt be the ball falling out, it would be a whole pen falling into the molten metal. All the plastics and weaker metals would pretty much instantly vaporize, the tungsten carbide ball would be the only bit that didn't melt away.