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The company

RI Research Instruments GmbH is a medium-sized technology company and plant manufacturer based in Bergisch Gladbach.

For more than 30 years, it has been developing and manufacturing complex small series and special components for research institutions such as CERN, the semiconductor industry, and medical technology.

With 420 employees, RI Research Instruments has already produced technical components such as particle accelerators and high-frequency resonators for more than 200 companies.

The result at a glance

  • 100% capacity utilization

  • Former aluminum components are now printed

  • 24/7 unmanned production

  • Individual components can be manufactured economically

  • Low maintenance

Why turning and milling operating resources was no longer sufficient

Until now, RI Research Instruments has milled and turned its prototypes, tools, and production equipment for mechanical manufacturing exclusively from aluminum..

However, as customer requirements increased, so did the complexity of the components required. Despite state-of-the-art manufacturing, the company quickly reached the limits of machining technology..

1. Lack of flexibility

In order to respond quickly to customer requests, RI Research Instruments needs to be able to flexibly incorporate new features into production. However, due to manufacturing constraints , not all production equipment can be milled from aluminum, as this is too expensive and complex.

Insight into the machine shop

2. Very high costs

Machining is expensive for individual parts and small series.Not only because of tool wear and machining time, but also because of the often long setup times.

3D-printed fixture reinforced with carbon continuous fiber technology.

3. High material loss

Although only a small amount of aluminum is often required for the individual components, a lot of material ends up in the chip box during turning and milling..

“Produced” metal chips in the CNC shop.

4. Delays in production

CNC manufacturing often leads to interruptions in production, as the machine has to be retooled for each component and cannot be used for multiple tasks.

Component from a 3D printer with integrated functions and inserts.

5. Bottleneck in production equipment

Since machining aluminum is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, newly required operating resources are often not available quickly enough. This causes production to stall and significantly impairs workflows..

Component designations and item numbers can also be easily printed on.

Industrial 3D printing as a solution

RI Research Instruments was looking for a suitable solution to make production faster, more flexible, and more cost-effective. zu gestalten.
About four months ago, the company became aware of Mark3D and additive manufacturing with Markforged machines via LinkedIn and proactively signed up for a free initial consultation. After a 30-minute initial consultation, an appointment was made on site in Bergisch Gladbach to analyze the production conditions and specific applications in detail.

During the appointment, it quickly became clear that Markforged 3D printers would be a useful addition to mechanical manufacturing. .
RI Research Instruments decided to purchase the machine for these three reasons: entschied sich RI Research Instruments dazu, die Maschine zu kaufen:
• The production of prototypes, tools, and equipment is automated.
• Production costs are significantly reduced.
• The machine offers greater flexibility in the production of complex components.
er Fertigung komplexer Bauteile.
Just eight days later, the industrial printer, complete with software and materials, was installed in the company's production facility and was immediately ready for use.

Ferdinand Bunte (left, Mark3D) discusses a stamping die (thermoforming tool) for the manufacture of high-frequency resonators with Peter vom Stein (center) and Joël Grüne (right) from Ri Research Instruments.

"In the past, the embossing stamp was laboriously milled, reworked, and polished. Now, the Markeforged machine does everything in a single step, automatically and without human intervention.

What impresses us most? The fact that the stamp can withstand up to 35 tons."
– Joël Grüne, Design Engineer, RI Research Instruments GmbH

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Markforged is no ordinary industrial 3D printer

Conventional 3D printers use short fibers at most to manufacture components. But Markforged's 3D printers can do more:

With carbon continuous fiber technology, components can be printed that are stronger than aluminum. aufweisen.
How does RI Research Instruments benefit from this?
Read for yourself.

Stronger than aluminum

The carbon material reinforced with continuous carbon fiber is not only mechanically resilient and durable, but also enables the production of stable operating equipment. RI Research Instruments was able to use it to print an embossing stamp that can withstand up to 35 tons..

3D-printed thermoforming tool (embossing stamp) for niobium material with a wall thickness of 3 mm.

Function-based design

RI Research Instruments now designs and prints its production equipment and custom-made products on a function-based basis. This means that the form and complexity are determinedby the requirements of production.

Cross-section of a component in the Markforged Eiger software.

More agile production

Components are manufactured automatically, immediately or on schedule, and are available exactly when they are needed.This not only makes production more agile, but also eliminates dependence on suppliers.

Operating equipment made of aluminum and 3D printed.

More cost-effective components

Operating resources such as drilling jigs previously had to be milled from aluminum at great expense. With Markforged's industrial 3D printer, these can now be printed more cost-effectively
nun while maintaining the same strength.

3D-printed drilling jig.

Increased innovation capacity

The machine can print any component, thereby promoting RI Research Instruments' innovation capacity and enabling the company to respond quickly to new requirements and market conditions..

3D-printed sand casting mold.

Consistently high quality

Thanks to its plug-and-play system, the Markforged 3D industrial printer is easy to install, set up, and operate. With the integrated digital platform, once imported, molds can be printed at consistently high quality at the touch of a button , regardless of the number of pieces.

Peter vom Stein from RI and former Markforged CEO Shai Terem discuss 3D-printed internal mandrels for pipe end machining.

“The workflow from the model to the integrated software to the printed component runs smoothly and reliably.”

– Peter vom Stein, Senior Project Engineer, RI Research Instruments GmbH

More than 1,700 industrial companies trust Mark3D

On-time delivery

For us, good cooperation starts with shipping. We deliver your Markforged 3D industrial printer reliably within just 1–3 weeks.

Compatible complete solution

We want our customers to be able to start printing right away. That's why we provide you with a complete package of software, hardware, and materials. This saves you time and money on coordination and delivery.

Customer-oriented service

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us by phone or email.If you need replacement parts or have an urgent request, we will be happy to help you quickly.

Summary and outlook

Today, components printed with the Markforged machine are replacing numerous fixturesthat were previously milled from aluminum alloy. gedruckten Bauteile, zahlreiche Vorrichtungen, die zuvor aus einer Aluminiumlegierung gefräst wurden.
This has enabled RI Research Instruments to save significant production costs, which have been invested in the purchase of a larger Markforged 3D printer. But that's not all: in the future, the additive process is to be integrated even more closely into production.

Specifically, this means:
• Even more fixtures and tools are to be manufactured with the industrial 3D printer and used in production to supplement the mechanically manufactured components. in der
Fertigung eingesetzt werden.
• The proportion of operating resources printed with carbon continuous fiber technology is to be gradually increased. gedruckten Betriebsmittel soll schrittweise weiter erhöht werden.

1

Visiting Ri Research Instruments (from left): former Markforged CEO Shai Terem, Peter vom Stein from RI, Mark3D CEO Daniel Held, Markforged VP Sales EMEA Matteo Stagni, Joël Grüne from RI
Daniel Held, Markforged VP Sales EMEA Matteo Stagni, Joël Grüne von RI

Why Markforged?

Unlock the next level of precision and innovation in your company with 3D printing and print mechanically resilient components.

Markforged's innovations, such as continuous carbon fiber reinforcement, integrated laser scanning quality control, and part simulation software, have taken 3D printing from prototyping to the factory floor. Now you can print mechanically strong parts that replace uneconomical aluminum components.

Precise engineering printing hardware, advanced composite materials, and continuous carbon fiber reinforcement enable Markforged industrial 3D printers to consistently produce precise, industrial-grade parts with beautiful surface finishes.

Markforged offers tight integration of industrial 3D printer, materials, and intuitive software, making printing industrial-quality parts easy even for non-manufacturing experts.

Markforged's industrial 3D printers are known for their reliability. That's why more than 5,500 industrial companies worldwide rely on Markforged to keep their facilities running and their customers satisfied.

The Digital Forge is scalable and suitable for both small machine builders and large corporations. Whether you need just one machine or an entire fleet, the platform can be scaled to meet your production needs without the need for extensive retooling or facility changes.

Would you like a live demo, have questions or need a quote for a Markforged 3D printer?
Contact us now!

Mark3D GmbH
Rodenbacher Straße 15
35708 Haiger

Phone: 07361 63396 00
E-mail: markforged@mark3d.de

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