WALTHAM, Massachusetts. – Markforged Holding Corporation (NYSE: MKFG), the company empowering manufacturing flexibility by enabling industrial production at the point of need, today announced the FX10 Metal Kit, a print engine that adds metal printing capabilities to the FX10. This kit makes the FX10 the world's first industrial 3D printer capable of printing both metal filament and continuous fiber-reinforced composite materials.

"Customers no longer have to choose between a metal and a composite printer. Years of R&D investment and field experience have been combined to provide an all-in-one 3D printing solution that delivers an immediate return on investment once installed on a factory floor," said Shai Terem, CEO of Markforged. "With the FX10, other equipment on the factory floor can be better utilized and operated more efficiently, increasing productivity and reducing potential production downtime."

Launching in November 2023 as a dedicated composite printer, the FX10 was designed to be the most versatile tool on the factory floor and has received excellent feedback from early customers. With its modular architecture, upgrades like the Metal Kit allow FX10 customers to gain additional value from the machine after purchase.

Markforged also announced a new 316L stainless steel filament for use with the FX10 Metal Kit. Users will also be able to print with 17-4PH, with other metal filaments being supported by Markforged in the future.

"We designed the FX10 as a modular platform, allowing us to release new innovations and upgrades without requiring customers to purchase a new printer every year," says Terem. "Combined with the new software features we regularly release, the FX10 Metal Kit is designed to provide ever-increasing value on the factory floor for years to come."

The FX10 Metal Kit consists of an interchangeable print unit that includes a metal-specific print head, material feed tubes, a recirculation system, and two pre-extruders. An FX10 can be swapped between metal and composite as often as required, and the swap takes approximately 15 minutes.

Similar to the 5th-generation CFR (Continuous Fiber Reinforcement) printing system in the FX10, which prints nearly twice as fast as previous composite printers, the 2nd-generation metal FFF engine, built on Markforged's years of metal printing expertise, prints significantly faster than previous Markforged metal systems. The FX10 combines higher print speeds with twice the print volume of previous Markforged industrial metal printers.

Metal prints are created from the metal filament and a ceramic release filament. The ceramic release agent is extruded as an interface between the part and the supports to facilitate separation and removal. Once the metal prints are complete, they must be washed and sintered using Markforged's Wash 1 and Sinter 2 solutions. Eiger, Markforged's slicer and print management software, automates the process, including scaling the parts to account for shrinkage during sintering.

The Digital Forge is the additive manufacturing platform that enables every aspect of the FX10 and is specifically designed for integration into existing manufacturing systems. With the Digital Forge, users can share parts within their organization and monitor fleet performance from a central location.

Markforged will showcase the FX10 Metal Kit at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago, Illinois, from September 9-14, at booth 432305, where it will print both continuous fiber-reinforced composites and metal.