Markforged presented its latest industrial 3D printer – FX10 at the Formnext trade fair in Frankfurt am Main. The machine has been designed to increase productivity and profitability in production lines. FX10 enables users to print the right part when and where it is needed, reducing costs and reducing turnaround time from months to days compared to traditional manufacturing methods.
“We designed FX10 to be the ultimate tool for the shop floor,” said Shai Terem, CEO of Markforged. “FX10 allows manufacturers to reduce original part replacement costs compared to traditional manufacturing methods and keep production lines running without having to worry about supply chain or spare parts inventory issues. The FX10 3D printer can accelerate the digitization of the factory floor, increasing the use of digital inventory to build supply chain resilience. Our customers now have the potential to save even more capital by reducing physical inventory and increasing production efficiency while lowering operating costs.”
Built for flexibility, modular 3D printer systems can be expanded and enhanced with additional capabilities. The FX10 is designed to include an integrated printhead vision module to capture detailed part images and data to further ensure part quality and optimize part performance. The fifth generation Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) 3D printing system delivers high-quality part production in a heated chamber, enabling almost twice the speed and twice the print size of previous Markforged industrial printers in the series. The machine also allows you to replace metal parts with printed, equally durable parts made of plastic composites.
“FX10 is another important milestone in our mission to customize industrial production. It enables our customers to realize even more industrial applications with a clear return on investment. Combined with our Digital Source platform, we are truly starting to realize the vision of distributed manufacturing,” said Terem. “The FX10 has a full automation suite designed to simplify the use of the 3D printer and increase its utilization. When a line is down or a special tool is needed, FX10 users can simply press the ‘Print’ button.
FX10 ensures easy implementation on the production floor, starting with the first-line operator. A simple touchscreen interface combined with new automation and quality assurance technologies enables users to produce more parts with less operator interaction before and during printing. Optical sensors mounted on the print head automatically verify part dimensional accuracy during operation to ensure consistency and reliability, and assess machine health and performance. The laser micrometer in the FX10 scans parts during 3D printing and helps to automatically calibrate the machine. Inspection software interprets sensor data for dimensional verification, providing users with quality assurance right after work is completed.
The FX10’s material drawer includes built-in, individually sealed compartments for up to four 800cc spools. The 3D printer is able to automatically switch spools between filament storage locations during operation, and users can reload empty spool chambers without disrupting the 3D printing.
Digital Forge is an additive manufacturing platform for modern manufacturers that supports every aspect of FX10 work. It is a complete additive manufacturing platform consisting of 3D printers, cloud-based software with process improvement tools and a wide range of industrial materials. The platform integrates with existing manufacturing ecosystems, so users can share parts across the organization and monitor fleet performance from a central location.