Markforged
Markforged Digital Forge
Markforged has announced the launch of a cloud-based, artificial intelligence-powered software that brings all its 3D printing products together.
The Digital Forge represents Markforged’s second application of AI technology, following the release of its Blacksmith software last year, and is said to help enable the production of industrial parts cheaper, faster and with better properties. It offers these benefits, while also getting ‘smarter’ with every part that is printed.
Markforged has unveiled the Digital Forge platform to support its some 12,000 customers, including the likes of Siemens Energy, Porsche and Microsoft, who represent what the Boston-based company believes is the largest connected fleet of industrial 3D printers in the world. These users all contribute to the Digital Forge platform’s ability to keep learning, allowing the software to harness aspects of their data to enhance prints and ‘instantly course correct print jobs.’ Relevant to both Markforged’s carbon fibre and metal 3D printing offering, parts are said to be produced with more accuracy than with mechanical hardware alone, while the cloud-based nature of the software means access to regular updates and advancements.
According to Markforged, the Digital Forge is already being used by the ten biggest aerospace companies, 12 of the 14 largest automotive companies and five out of six US Armed Forces branches. With the platform, Markforged expects them to solve many of the deep supply chain issues made apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic by ‘developing the parts they need at the moment they need them.’
“We started Markforged with a cloud-first, software-first approach that was designed for the modern world, and now we are applying that approach to accomplish things people thought were still decades away from coming to market,” commented Greg Mark, Chairman of Markforged. “Through the Digital Forge, manufacturers can use our powerful software to easily fabricate strong, accurate, and durable metal and composite parts for orders of magnitude cheaper than they’ve traditionally been made — on demand and directly at the point of need.”
“Siemens Energy prides itself on delivering not only the world’s most advanced technology in the energy market, but also utilising the best technologies to achieve that,” said Pontus Johansson of Siemens Energy. “With the Markforged Digital Forge, the ability to create exceptional parts and put them to operational use is incredible. Our collaboration with Markforged enables us to continuously grow a better value chain capability. Additive manufacturing is an area where we are, and intend to stay at, the absolute forefront.”
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