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technology | 3D printing


Right: The Mark Two version of MarkForged’s additive


manufacturing system offers faster build rates and


higher precision


quicker, a water temperature of 60°C was sufficient for cooling – reducing the energy needed. Costs were lowered through a 17% cut in cycle times for the plastic injection moulding process.


Below: Structural parts produced by Markforged using its continuous fibre reinforcement


Composite solutions Established three years ago, US company Markforged has recently introduced its second generation 3D printer – the Mark Two. The company’s standard printing material is polyamide and it is offering industrial strength 3D printing using carbon fibre, glass fibre and Kevlar continuous reinforcement. The company says the Mark Two offers a 40% faster fibre printing process and the ability to produce features 15 times smaller than the original model. According to founder and chief executive officer Greg Mark, a number of injection moulders are now using the company’s printers. “We work alongside injection moulders in the design cycle. 3D printing will continue to become much more ubiquitous, but we see it as an accelerant and not a replacement for injection moulding,” he says. “We are cost competitive with CNC machining, however, injection moulding is still cheaper. We see our printers meeting the need for prototypes or low volume production where perhaps only 10-100 parts are needed in a month. In addition, a lot of injection moulders have had success with the custom manu- facture of grippers needed to pick parts out of the mould, for example.” After making improve- ments to its 3D printing process,


Markforged is now looking at high temperature materials. The company has introduced a high-strength, high-temperature glass fibre material for aerospace and automotive applications. The new glass fibre grade is twice as strong as the company’s standard material and has a 30% higher heat deflection point (140°C). By reinforcing polyamide parts with continuous strands of the new glass fibre, the company says that the Mark Two system can print parts as strong as aluminium for prototyping, tooling and fixtures, and customised end-use parts.


Click on the links for more information: ❙ www.arburg.comwww.igus.dewww.stratasys.comwww.arad.co.ilwww.digitalengineering.uk.comwww.protolabs.co.ukwww.fit-prototyping.dewww.innomia.czwww.eos.infowww.markforged.com


3D Systems puts print in the design office


Additive manufacturing pioneer 3D Systems has introduced the ProJet MJP 2500 Series, the latest addition to its MultiJet Printing (MJP) line of 3D printers that is designed as a high productivity, in-office 3D printing solution. Key features of the machine include integration of the MJP EasyClean


System, which simplilfies part finishing, and the use of 3D Systems’ melt away wax support technology. The ProJet MJP 2500 Series is compatible with the robust and versatile VisiJet M2 materials, which are claimed to yield parts with exceptional surface finish that look and feel like injec- tion-moulded plastic and enable rigorous testing and functional use. The ProJet MJP 2500 Plus version of the machine offers the ability to


print flexible elastomeric resins in black and natural grades. ❙ www.3dsystems.com


20 INJECTION WORLD | May 2016 www.injectionworld.com


The Projet MJP 2500 Plus system from 3D Systems can print elastomeric resins in black and natural colours


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