Can Beam produce a skimmer from a refractory material?
Beam sourced a supplier who would form tungsten cones for us, but at a very high cost. In addition, although our machinist has experience working with tungsten, there is no certainty that sharp enough orifice edges could be produced. Thus we would undertake the production of a tungsten skimmer only if the process were fully funded by the customer, despite the results. We have not and likely will not explore ceramics, molybdenum or any other materials.
