Markforged
Markforged BattleBots
Markforged’s 3D printing technology has starred in the latest series of American TV show, BattleBots, working to replace damaged parts on-demand.
BattleBots is an offshoot of Robot Wars, a series which sees teams engineer their own remote-controlled robots from the ground up and place them into battle against one another. For the new season of BattleBots, Markforged played a neutral part, supplying 29 teams with more than 160 components across two weeks of filming.
Teams would utilise the on-site Mark Two desktop machines and Onyx carbon fibre-filled thermoplastic to repair damaged components and optimise design and improve performance ahead of future bouts. They also harnessed 3D printing for prototyping needs ahead of filming.
“Teams with broken bots were saved and able to fight again because of Markforged and their fantastic 3D printers,” commented Greg Munson, founder and executive producer of BattleBots Inc. “In addition, Markforged created custom shock mounts for many robots. This decreased the fail rate of motors that were poorly mounted and increased the reliability and the excitement level for the 2019 fights.”
Markforged Battlebots
The new series premiers this week, with the first episode featuring three of the most prevalent users of the technology, Valkyrie, HyperShock, and Quantum. Valkyrie, with 55 printed parts, is an ‘undercutter’ machine, designed to damage the undercarriage of its opponents. HyperShock, features a vertical disc spinner and is fitted with more than 30 printed parts. And Quantum, with 21 printed parts, prefers to crush its counterparts with 35,000 lbs of force.
“Creating Quantum was a very ambitious project,” commented James Cooper, captain of the Quantum team. “To make it happen it was imperative to design super lightweight parts while maintaining high strength in the critical areas. The Markforged Mark Two 3D printer helped make Quantum possible by replacing machined aluminium parts for continuous fibre printed parts. The reliability of the end prints also gave us peace of mind when working to impossible time restrictions.”
“Onyx parts provided us with cost savings, weight savings, and design flexibility you just can’t get with any other manufacturing process, all while maintaining the performance we need in the BattleBox. When we found weak points in our design during the competition, we printed improved parts onsite. Making your robot better on the fly is a major competitive advantage that can only be achieved with Markforged machines.”
The original concept from which BattleBots was derived, Robot Wars first hit screens in the UK back in the 90s, but on its return in recent years, has also leveraged the capabilities of 3D printing. In 2016, TCT went to take closer look.
