Markforged’s Precise PLA Expands Capabilities for Complete Product Life Cycle

Markforged has added Precise PLA to its materials portfolio for use with its Digital Forge integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing (AM) platform to enable more cost-effective design validation and rapid prototyping.

The company says using the new material on its platform enables users to address all stages of product design — from validation to strong, end-use applications which are reliant on the company’s carbon fiber-reinforced and metal printed parts.

Precise PLA is Markforged’s specialized version of Polylactic Acid (PLA), one of the most common prototyping materials in the AM industry, the company says. The material is available eight color options, including yellow, red, green, blue, orange, black, white and gray. The company says it has calibrated its platform through updates to Eiger software in order to print Precise PLA with excellent quality and repeatability.

With the release of Precise PLA, it is said users can make affordable designs on the same reliable, quality platform used to create mission-critical, end-use parts in demanding industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense and health care.

With the latest addition, the company now offers 28 materials, from plastics to continuous carbon fibers to metals. According to the company, these materials offer users versatility in capabilities, ranging from high stiffness, impact resistance, temperature resistance, surface finish and now affordability. From the initial phases of product development through production and even aftermarket repair, users can now use one simple platform to address their custom part needs, the company says.

Precise PLA is compatible with Mark Two (Gen 2) and Onyx Pro (Gen 2). The material is also scheduled to be available on all Markforged Industrial Series printers that are equipped with the latest A3648 extruder, including the X3, X5 and X7 in Q2 2022.