{"id":3603,"date":"2026-10-23T10:41:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hesperuswebdesign.com\/blog\/?p=3603"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:41:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:41:32","slug":"are-there-any-rare-materials-in-by-material-4e28-c105de","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hesperuswebdesign.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/23\/are-there-any-rare-materials-in-by-material-4e28-c105de\/","title":{"rendered":"Are there any rare materials in By Material?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey guys, it\u2019s Sam from the By Material supply team \u2013 I know a lot of you reach out specifically asking about rare materials when you\u2019re sourcing for custom projects, whether it\u2019s a high-performance component for aerospace, a specialized part for medical devices, or a prototype that needs something out of the ordinary. And I get it \u2013 when your design requires a material that\u2019s not in standard stock lists, you start wondering if By Material actually has anything worth chasing beyond the usual aluminum, steel, and PLA. Short answer? Yes, but with a bunch of context most supply folks won\u2019t tell you, and I\u2019m here to pull back the curtain on what\u2019s actually rare, how we source it, and what it means for your project. By Material<\/a><\/p>\n

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First off, let\u2019s define what we\u2019re even talking about when we say \u201crare materials\u201d here, because that word gets thrown around way too loosely lately. A lot of people think rare = super expensive or impossible to get, but I\u2019d break it down into two categories that matter for your work: there\u2019s geologically rare stuff \u2013 things that only exist in tiny quantities in specific parts of the planet, with limited mining capacity \u2013 and then there\u2019s technically rare stuff, which is materials that are hard to process consistently at scale, even if their base ingredients are actually pretty abundant. For By Material, both matter, and they sit in different parts of our catalog.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the geologically rare ones, because that\u2019s the stuff everyone first asks about. Rare earth elements (REEs) come up all the time, right? Neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium \u2013 those are the ones that go into permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and even high-end headphones. A few years back, most of the world\u2019s supply came from China, but geopolitics messed up a lot of chains, so we\u2019ve spent the last three years locking in secondary suppliers and processing partners that can get us the high-purity REE alloys we use for our magnetic components. Wait, but are these actually rare? Technically, REEs aren\u2019t super rare in the earth\u2019s crust \u2013 it\u2019s that they\u2019re rarely concentrated enough to mine economically, and processing them creates a ton of toxic waste, so regulators clamp down hard. That\u2019s why supply is tight, and for our clients building next-gen tech, we\u2019ve got certified REE alloys here that a lot of smaller supply houses can\u2019t reliably source because they don\u2019t have the same long-term contracts with miners.<\/p>\n

Another geologically rare one we get asked about is tungsten carbide cobalt (WC-Co) grades with ultra-high hardness for cutting tools and wear parts. Tungsten is one of the densest metals on earth, and high-purity tungsten ore is only mined in a handful of countries \u2013 Peru, Russia, and a few mines in Canada, mostly. The thing with WC-Co is that the grade we offer for custom tooling has a 94% tungsten carbide content, which is way higher than the standard 88-90% most places carry. That makes it way more resistant to abrasion, perfect for things like drill bits for oil and gas or surgical instruments, but because the raw tungsten powder is so expensive and the processing (sintering at 1,400\u00b0C, no less) has tight tolerances, it\u2019s not a stock item. We only produce it on demand for clients who specify that ultra-high performance, so if you\u2019re working on a project where a standard grade will wear out too fast, that\u2019s the rare stuff we\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n

Now, the technically rare materials \u2013 these are the ones that don\u2019t get talked about as much, but they\u2019re game-changing for prototypes and low-volume production. Let\u2019s take shape memory alloys (SMAs), like nitinol. Nitinol is a mix of nickel and titanium that remembers its original shape when heated, right? It\u2019s used in stents for medical devices, eyeglass frames that bend and pop back, and even aerospace components that adjust shape with temperature. Here\u2019s the thing: nickel and titanium are super abundant, but making nitinol that\u2019s consistent enough for use? If the ratio is off by even 0.5%, the shape memory effect doesn\u2019t work. Most supply houses can give you off-the-shelf nitinol wire, but it\u2019s not lab-tested for precision, so if you\u2019re building a medical device that needs FDA approval, you can\u2019t use that. We work directly with a metallurgy lab in Germany that does custom heat treatment for nitinol, so we can produce wire, sheet, and even custom machined parts with exact shape memory properties. That\u2019s the rare part \u2013 not the raw material, but the ability to process it reliably.<\/p>\n

Another technically rare one is high-entropy alloys (HEAs). These are a newer class of materials made from four or more elements in roughly equal proportions, so they have insane strength, corrosion resistance, and heat tolerance \u2013 way better than stainless steel or even titanium. Most people haven\u2019t heard of HEAs because they\u2019re so hard to process; if you try to machine them with standard tools, they\u2019ll tear and crack because of their unique atomic structure. We\u2019ve partnered with a 3D printing specialist here in the US that uses powder bed fusion to make HEA parts, because 3D printing avoids the extreme machining that ruins them. We\u2019ve used HEAs for rocket engine components that need to handle temperatures over 1,000\u00b0C, and for chemical processing parts that sit in corrosive acids for years without wearing out. Is HEA rare? If you\u2019re looking for a milled block, yes \u2013 no one does that at scale right now, but if you\u2019re open to additive manufacturing, we can get you custom HEA parts.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s be real here \u2013 I don\u2019t want to overhype this, because a lot of \u201crare materials\u201d out there are just fancy names for stuff you can get from a basic industrial supplier. A lot of people come to us thinking we\u2019ve got unobtanium or something, but the truth is, the rare materials that actually matter for real-world projects fall into two buckets: stuff that\u2019s hard to source reliably due to supply chain or geological constraints, and stuff that\u2019s hard to process consistently enough for your application. And we don\u2019t hoard these \u2013 we work with small startups and giant aerospace firms alike, because we think custom materials shouldn\u2019t be only for big budgets.<\/p>\n

I should also mention the stuff we don\u2019t<\/em> consider rare, to clear up confusion. Gold plating? Copper wire? Regular aluminum 6061? That\u2019s all standard, and we\u2019ve got that in spades. What we do have, though, is the ability to mix and match for clients who need something in between \u2013 like a composite material made of carbon fiber and a tiny amount of graphene to make it more conductive, without the weight penalty. Graphene is technically a 2D material, so processing it into a bulk composite that works for structural parts is rare, but we\u2019ve got a partner in Singapore that makes that possible, so we can offer it for small to medium runs.<\/p>\n

One thing I get asked all the time is about sustainability, especially with rare materials. A lot of folks assume that rare = unethical, but that\u2019s not always the case. For the REEs we source, we only work with mines that have ISO 14001 certification, meaning they limit toxic waste and use recycled ore from old electronics \u2013 that\u2019s a big one; we now get 30% of our REEs from e-waste recycling, which cuts down on new mining. For nitinol, all our nickel and titanium is from post-industrial recycled stock, so the material you get is just as good as virgin, with a lower carbon footprint. That\u2019s important because if you\u2019re building a product that needs to be eco-friendly, you don\u2019t have to sacrifice performance for ethics.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about how this works for you, if you\u2019re reading this and wondering if By Material has the rare stuff you need. First, don\u2019t be afraid to reach out if you\u2019ve got a spec that\u2019s not in our catalog. We update our stock every month, but we don\u2019t list every possible custom material because it would be overwhelming. If you\u2019ve got a project where you need something that\u2019s not standard, even if you think it\u2019s too rare, send us your specs \u2013 we\u2019ve got a network of metallurgists, miners, and process engineers that we\u2019ve built over the last 7 years, and 9 times out of 10, we can find a solution, even if it\u2019s not something you\u2019ve seen advertised.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s give a quick example of a recent project to make this real. A startup that builds portable water filtration systems came to us last year \u2013 they needed a filter housing that was light, strong, and resistant to both saltwater and chlorine, and they couldn\u2019t find a standard plastic or metal that did all three. We partnered with a polymer lab to make a custom blend of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and a small amount of fluoropolymer, processed with a specialized injection molding technique we use. That blend isn\u2019t listed anywhere, it\u2019s rare in the sense that no one else offers it for small runs, and it worked perfectly for their product \u2013 they just launched their first batch, and they\u2019re already talking about scaling with us. That\u2019s the stuff we do, right? Not just selling pre-made materials, but making rare ones that fit your exact need.<\/p>\n

I should also be transparent about the catch here. Rare materials, by their nature, usually come with longer lead times and higher minimum orders than standard stock. The tungsten carbide grade I mentioned earlier has a lead time of 2 weeks instead of 2 days, and minimum order of 50 pieces instead of 10. Nitinol parts have a lead time of 3 weeks because of the heat treatment process. That\u2019s not a gotcha \u2013 it\u2019s just how it works. If you need something tomorrow, we can\u2019t pull a rare material out of thin air, but if you\u2019ve got a timeline that makes sense, we can deliver. A lot of startups panic a little when they hear that, but trust me \u2013 it\u2019s worth the wait when your part doesn\u2019t fail in testing.<\/p>\n

So to wrap this up: yes, By Material does have rare materials, but they\u2019re not the flashy, unobtainium kind you see in sci-fi. They\u2019re the stuff that solves real problems \u2013 the REE alloys that keep electric motors efficient, the nitinol stents that save lives, the HEA parts that survive extreme heat, the custom polymer blends that make your product work better than anything on the market. The \u201crare\u201d part comes down to either supply chain constraints that make standard suppliers unreliable, or specialized processing that only a handful of teams can do well.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re working on a project right now where you can\u2019t find the right material, or you\u2019ve heard about something that sounds too good to be true but you\u2019re not sure where to get it, hit us up. We don\u2019t bite, we\u2019ll ask you a few basic questions about your specs, timeline, and application, and we\u2019ll tell you if we can source or make what you need, no pressure. No weird sales pitches, no hidden fees, just straight talk about materials.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t overcomplicate sourcing for your next project \u2013 sometimes the key is something a little rare, not the same old stuff every other supplier offers. Let\u2019s figure it out together.<\/p>\n

Commercial Roller Door<\/a> References:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024, U.S. Geological Survey<\/li>\n
  2. Shape Memory Alloys: Properties and Applications, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2022<\/li>\n
  3. High-Entropy Alloys: Processing, Properties, and Performance, Springer, 2023<\/li>\n
  4. ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Standard, International Organization for Standardization, 2015<\/li>\n
  5. Global Rare Earth Supply Chain Report 2023, International Energy Agency<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Hangzhou Shenborui Industry & Trade Co., Ltd.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Address:
    E-mail: markrod@163.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.markrod.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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