On December 5, 2018, Markforged is expected to complete the shipment of each order for the Metal X system it received by December 17 by the end of this year.
As of March this year, the company has shipped more than 100 metal 3D printing systems, including printers, sintering systems and cleaning stations. Markforged's CEO and co-founder Greg Mark said. "You look at desktop-sized metal 3D printing and all the hype companies, and we are still the only one shipping. We are bringing Metal X to market at an unprecedented rate, which will change the way you make things."
Although Desktop Metal and Markforged have reached an agreement on intellectual property infringement, trade secret misappropriation and industrial espionage, it appears that the two companies remain highly competitive.
Markforged's Metal X 3D printer
Metal X 3D printer
The Metal X 3D printer, introduced at the 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show, is a revolutionary system that enables safe and efficient desktop metal additive manufacturing. At the time of the release, Mark commented, "If you can afford a metal printer worth $ 500,000 to $ 1 million, buy one."
Metal X can process a variety of metallic materials, some of which are not included in existing industrial machines. This includes 17-4 stainless steel, 303 stainless steel, 6061 aluminum (Beta), 7075 aluminum (Beta), A-2 tool steel (Beta), D-2 tool steel (Beta), IN alloy (Inconel) 625 (β) and Titanium Ti-6Al-4V (Beta).
3D printed titanium parts on Markforged Metal X
Markforged officially shipped the first Metal X systems to customers worldwide in April. Since then, Stanley Black & Decker, a manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware, has become the first company to install a Metal X system.
Metal X uses Markforged's proprietary Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) technology. This method mixes metal powder with a binder and then extrudes it onto a print bed, similar to FFF additive manufacturing. After completion, the parts are sintered in a kiln and washed to remove unwanted residue.
The quotation extends to all US orders received on or before December 17, and all UK and EU orders received on or before December 11.