Developers of industrial additive manufacturing technologies have always taken care to give separate attention to the materials to be printed – different materials, different printing processes. Now, MARKFORGED HOLDINGS – exhibiting at IMTS 2024, booth 432305 – is crossing the streams by offering “the world’s first industrial 3D printer that can print both metal filaments and composites with continuous fiber reinforcement.”
“Customers no longer have to choose between a metal and a composite printer,” reported Shai Terem, CEO. “Years of R&D investment and field experience have come together to provide an all-in-one solution for 3D printing to provide immediate return on investment once installed on a factory floor.”
The FX10 Metal Kit matches with the FX10 printer introduced last November as a scaled-down version of Markforged’s FX20 printer, and designed with two printhead mounted optical sensors for quality control.
The developer emphasized that the FX10 was designed for versatility, allowing operators to gain value by adopting upgrades like the Metal Kit.
The FX10 Metal Kit involves a separate print engine that can be swapped into place on the FX10 machine, and includes a metal-specific print head, material feed tubes, routing back, and dual pre-extruders.
An FX10 machine can be switched from printing metal to composite, or vice versa, in about 15 minutes – and as frequently as necessary.
“We designed the FX10 to be a modular platform, so that we are able to release new innovations and upgrades without customers having to purchase a new printer every year,” Terem explained. “Along with new software capabilities we release regularly, the FX10 Metal Kit is poised to provide continuously growing value on factory floors for years to come.”
Markforged also introduced a new stainless steel filament (316L) to be used with the FX10 Metal Kit. Users will also be able to print in 17-4PH stainless, and additional Markforged metal filaments will be offered in the future.
Printing speed is among the selling points of Markforged’s fifth-generation CFR print system installed in the FX10, and the metal kit makes available the developer’s second-generation metal FFF engine.
In addition to printing metal faster, the FX10 offers a print volume that’s twice as large as Markforged’s prior industrial metal printers.
Metal prints are built from the metal filament and a ceramic release filament. The ceramic release is extruded as an interface between the part and supports for ease of separation and removal.
Completed metal prints must be washed and sintered in Markforged’s Wash-1 and Sinter-2 solutions. Markforged’s slicer and print management software, Eiger, automates production, including scaling parts to account for contraction.
The developer’s Digital Forge additive manufacturing suite is built into the FX10 system, and allows manufacturers to collect data and share part programs, as well as monitor performance across an organization.
The FX10 Metal Kit will be demonstrated at IMTS 2024, in booth 432305, where it will be printing parts in both continuous fiber reinforced composites and metal.