New Markforged production 3D printer on show at AMW2023
US metal and carbon fibre 3D printing company Markforged will showcase its newest production printer, the FX20, at Australian Manufacturing Week, 9-12 May in Melbourne. In recent years, Australian manufacturing factories have been embracing this technology and integrating it into their existing manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Since launching the FX20 in Australia, Markforged has seen Australian manufacturers adopt its technology into their existing workflows on shop floors. Six months after launching the FX20, Markforged has shipped and established a two-digit network of FX20s in Australia and New Zealand. The FX20 utilised Markforged’s Digital Forge, which uses the Eiger and Simulation software to develop parts quickly and easily.
One of the main advantages of additive manufacturing is its ability to produce highly customised parts and components. With traditional manufacturing methods, producing custom parts can be time-consuming and costly, requiring expensive tooling and specialised equipment. With 3D printing, however, the process is much simpler and more efficient. Manufacturers can simply design the part using computer-aided design (CAD) software and then print it on a 3D printer.
Many manufacturers around Australia have already recognised the contribution of Markforged industrial 3D printers in the improvement of their production processes. An award-winning WA company Avicena prints over 100 components of the Sentinel Biosecurity Platform (molecular diagnostic instrument) in-house, speeding the time to market and enjoying freedom of design. “In the early iterations of Sentinel, most small components were made of aluminium, and many were sourced as ready-made items. As we progressed, we redesigned many of the parts to improve functionality, and in many cases upgraded the materials we used to increase component strength,” said Avicena CEO, Tony Fitzgerald.
Over the last five years, Formero has invested in additive technologies that print production-grade materials for end-use parts. For them, the new FX20 industrial printer allows building faster and more precisely with its large build platform and speed, along with its number of choices for materials to print in. ANZ GM, James Sanders observes that “many of our Australian customers have been rapidly transitioning to high value, complex and lightweight products that we struggled to provide a solution for. The FX20 meets a market need with high strength, lightweight materials in a large format.”
SQP is another adopter of the FX20. David Miller, SQP’s owner, said “the FX20 will compliment SQP’s state-of-the-art workshop and increase our capabilities to take products from the R&D prototype stage through to mass production.”
To make the best of the AMW2023, visitors are encouraged to book an exclusive meeting with the Markforged Expert by using this link:
Markforged Expert will review your current traditional manufacturing process or presently used applications, then advise you on how to improve these by leveraging additive manufacturing, including the possibility of replacing metal components with continuous-fibre reinforced printed parts. You’ll get a full picture of your manufacturing process and new insights into how you can optimise your manufacturing processes and reduce costs, and print parts at the point of need.