AM company Markforged increases the scope of 3D printing applications with a new 3D printer and a new material: the FX20 3D printer and a flame-retardant, high-performance thermoplastic material with ULTEM™ 9085 filament.
Described as the “biggest, fastest, and smartest 3D printer” Markforged has ever produced, the FX20 has a heated build chamber capable of maintaining up to a 200°C temperature and the capacity to print parts up to 525 mm x 400 mm x 400 mm in size.
According to the company, it is up to eight times faster than the default print settings on Markforged’s existing line of composite printers and prints nearly five times larger builds than the X7.
The new production hardware brings the Digital Forge platform to the next level while allowing industrial-strength composite manufacturing for various industries such as aerospace, defense, automotive, and oil & gas.
Bringing together ULTEM™ 9085 filament with Markforged’s proprietary Continuous Fiber Reinforcement technology will help manufacturers move from augmenting manufacturing operations with composite 3D printing to replacing entire segments of the supply chain by bringing strong, accurate parts that solve demanding, end-use applications right where needed, a press release explains.
“The Digital Forge has given Vestas a powerful platform to circumvent expensive, multi-step, and time-consuming conventional manufacturing methodology,” said Jeremy Haight, Principal Engineer at Vestas Wind Systems A/S , an organization that delivers sustainable energy solutions and that plans to use the new FX20 to print high volume parts. “When you factor in design iterations, these conventional parts are obsolete in a year or two. With the FX20 and ULTEM™ 9085 [filament], we will be able to design and manufacture larger, stronger parts, press a button and take that part right off the print bed to use it immediately with the confidence that it is very durable and robust.”
Shai Terem, President and CEO of Markforged notes: “by helping move composites toward robust production, we’ll unlock more functional parts, made of stronger materials of even more impressive size, with applications from the factory floor to flight.”
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