14 DAY TRIAL // In a realm where most 3D printers just use plastic filament or polymer resin to build things, MarkForged has created a truly unique additive manufacturing machine. Unique not in method but in materials.
Rather than normal plastics, the Mark One Carbon Fiber 3D printer uses, you got it, carbon fiber. And that is just one of the three unique materials supported by it.
The other two are kevlar and fiberglass, if you can believe it. Yes, the material used in bulletproof vests and the one found in the toughest plastic ever (glass fiber reinforces a plastic matrix).
Add to that nylon support and there is already more than enough to warrant a second and even third glance.
The Mark One Carbon Fiber 3D printer
Created by MarkForged, the printer has now gained the endorsement of Symmetry Solutions, which will market the product in North America.
The build volume of the printer is 320 x 132 x 160 mm / 12.60 x 5.19 x 6.30 inches and uses one nozzle to print plastic, while a second one prints the fiber.
The outcome is a very durable material not easily (or really, possible) to imitate through other means. All the while, production of any objects remains affordable.
This allows the Mark One 3D printer to create objects that are five times as strong as they otherwise would be.
The whole printer measures 14.2 x 22.6 x 12.7 inches / 360 x 574 x 322 mm and will open doors for new types of objects, especially in mechanics if we're reading things right.
Carbon fiber reinforcement will render any cogs or other machine components tough enough to survive more than one demo of, say, a bicycle or unicycle. Also, tools and fixtures will survive longer.
Future iterations
MarkForged hasn't spoken about what will come in the future of this niche technology, but we wouldn't be surprised if carbon fiber 3D printing eventually made it into space.
Made in Space may even establish a partnership with the Mark One's makers, to redesign it for zero gravity operation, so as to later send it to the International Space Station.
Even if space doesn't turn out to be the final frontier, the Mark One will surely see success planet-side. It's a niche market all on its own after all. See the video below for a demo of how the Mark One Carbon Fiber 3D Printer does its job. Pretty cool for something with such an unassuming design.
