Markforged Digital Forge – what is a comprehensive additive manufacturing management platform and how does it work?

Markforged – a leading manufacturer of industrial 3D printers based on polymers and metals, has created Digital Forge – a comprehensive platform for additive manufacturing, consisting of industrial 3D printers, software with tools to improve manufacturing processes and a wide range of industrial materials. The Markforged offer includes a number of 3D printers that produce parts from different, high-performance materials, so Digital Forge not only allows you to unify the entire work environment, but also helps you understand what they are, how they complement each other and how they differ from each other?

Markforged offers a patented and unique in the entire 3D printing industry process of continuous carbon fiber reinforcement of printed parts and their low-cost production. The Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) process allows the production of composite plastic parts with strength comparable to 6061 T6 aluminum. In addition, Markforged 3D printers are characterized by the possibility of long, continuous operation, accuracy of parts and low failure rate. 3D printers are equipped with sensors to monitor the condition of the machine and can run unattended. Customers report that 199 out of 200 prints are successful (99.5% success rate).

Markforged 3D printers are equipped with laser inspection, examining the accuracy of 3D prints with accuracy at the micron level. This allows for high-resolution 3D printing in both layer height (50 microns) and XY accuracy (50-120 microns). Thanks to this, the high efficiency and quality of the surface finish of the parts make Markforged 3D printers an ideal solution at every stage of the product life cycle. Leading manufacturers use Digital Forge to print parts for prototypes, tooling, end use and production.

The manufacturer provides cloud-enabled software for global enterprise use. Provides visibility to each of your networked 3D printers through fleet management, integrated BI dashboard, user provisioning and management, auditing and reporting. It supports MFA (multi-factor authentication) and SSO (single sign-on). It has an open API for systems integration. The cloud platform uses data from 10,000 connected 3D printers and over 10 million prints made, making them smarter with OTA (over-the-air) software updates. The Digital Forge platform has obtained ISO/IEC:27001 certification for information security and ISO:9001 certification confirming effective quality management in the delivery of 3D printers.

Markforged is the first company to create 3D printers capable of continuous fiber reinforcement (CFR) of printed parts. This means that composite parts can be printed that are strong enough to replace metal components. While the chopped carbon fibers found in traditional filaments are able to improve the mechanical properties of a part, continuous fibers enhance it even more.

Notwithstanding the above, Markforged offers a process for manufacturing metal parts by melting the filament (metal FFF). It allows 3D printing from a wide range of industrial metals – stainless steel, tool steel, pure copper and Inconel. Unlike other metal additive manufacturing processes, where metal powder is sintered with a laser beam, the use of plastic pellets mixed with metal powder makes the Markforged Metal X system safer and easier to operate.

In the summer of 2022, Markforged acquired Digital Metal – a manufacturer of 3D printers for metal, using Binder Jetting technology. The PX100 3D printer is a precise, reliable platform capable of producing thousands of complex end-use parts. It allows companies to introduce products to the market faster and cheaper, while having full control over their own means of production.

Traditional mass production technologies take months to prepare, introduce risks with third-party suppliers, and suffer from poor unit economics during start-up and lower production volumes. The PX100 unlocks large-scale metal production at the point of demand, giving companies a reliable, direct solution they can control. This means an increased speed of delivering new products to the market, as well as a reduction in the risk of supply chain breakdowns.

Eiger software makes configuring 3D printing settings and designing fiber reinforcement patterns for parts quick and easy. It allows you to store parts in the form of a digital warehouse and print them anywhere in your organization’s 3D printer network. Eiger has robust corporate-level user authentication and management processes.

Markforged is building the first fully integrated additive manufacturing system to fit the way you make parts today. Software innovations will enable integrations, including:

• MES integrations using open APIs.
• Import/export integration with CAD and FEA.
• Fleet performance tracking panels in the app and API.

The software tools available on The Digital Forge allow you to deliver parts faster, without additional labor resources or equipment. They allow you to test and verify part performance in Eiger before starting 3D printing using the smart function of the 3D printer simulator, or AI-powered part inspection to check part accuracy during 3D printing.

The distributor of Markforged in Poland is 3D Phoenix. Ask what can change in your business: [email protected].

Source: www.markforged.com