Markforged
Markforged has announced the launch of a Precise PLA material for its second-generation Mark Two and Onyx Pro desktop 3D printing systems.
The material, which is the 28th in Markforged's portfolio, will also be made available on the X3, X5 and X7 Industrial Series printers in Q2 of this year.
Markforged has rolled out the Precise PLA material to allow users to iterate product designs with the same 3D printing technology that it is to deploy for the production of the part. Available in eight colour options, Markforged is said to have made updates to its Eiger software to ensure parts printed with Precise PLA offer ‘excellent quality and repeatability.’
One of Markforged’s users, injection moulding machine shop Zero Tolerance, has deployed the Precise PLA material in the development of an end-use motorcycle adapter. For this application, Zero Tolerance printed prototypes and colour-coded inserts (in conjunction with Markforged’s continuous fibre composite materials) with Precise PLA to produce fibreglass-reinforced assembly tools.
“When using other 3D printers and PLA materials, the results were not as precise as required, even after multiple iterations. Printing parts to the size and quality we need, with the required functionality and at a great price point is critical for our business,” commented Steve Michon, Zero Tolerance president and CEO. “Once design validation using Precise PLA is completed, we move to production with Markforged’s Onyx material for functional testing, followed by printing with continuous carbon fibre for added safety for our final, end-use part. With this new material, we can now utilise our Markforged printer to deliver great results repeatedly throughout the entire design and manufacturing process. This is the most reliable additive platform we’ve ever used. It just works.”
“An affordable material devoted to design validation was a top request from our customers to deliver a uniform and smooth print on the Digital Forge from the beginning to the end of the product life cycle.” said Shai Terem, Markforged President and CEO. “The growth and adoption of the Digital Forge depends upon our ability to address our customers’ requests and introduce new capabilities that grow our addressable market. This added dimension of versatility will expand the use cases our customers can address with the Digital Forge, and drive adoption in segments such as education and design services thanks in part to the lower cost of entry.”
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