3D printer uses metal

The Metal X 3D Printing System

An accessible end-to-end metal 3D printing solution for functional metal parts, next-day.

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The Metal X System is an accessible way to fabricate complex metal parts in a wide variety of advanced metals.

Simple, Yet Powerful

The Metal X is one of the most intuitive metal 3D printers available today. Print a wide range of materials from stainless steels to copper with minimal training on a closed workflow. Scaling up capacity is easy; just add printers.

Safe and Affordable

The Metal X is designed to be safe to use and accessible for all fabricators. It costs several times less than DMLS metal 3D printing systems and requires no dedicated operator, no powder management system, and minimal PPE.

Quality Parts, Fast

The Metal X is purpose-built for consistent part quality and a seamless user experience. Markforged combines superb software, materials research, and an advanced motion system to deliver industrial-grade parts quickly and reliably.

Specs

From design to fully functional
metal parts in as few as 28 hours.

Physical Dimensions

Build Volume

Printer primary Specs

Printing Process

Metal FFF

Z Layer Resolution

50 μm - 125 μm (Post-Sinter)

Printing Media

Bound Powder Filament

Internal Part Geometry

Closed Cell Infill (Triangular) or Solid Parts

Print Bed

Heated, Auto Leveling, Replaceable Print Sheets

Wash & Sinter

Wash-1

External Dimensions:

609 x 685 x 1,067 mm

Weight:

136 kg (300 lbs)

Washing Time:

12-72 hrs typical

Solvent:

Opteon SF-79

Working Volume:

356 x 254 x 203 mm

Sinter-2

External Dimensions:

1,200 x 700 x 1,500 mm

Weight:

350 kg (772 lbs)

Run Time:

17-31 hours

Sintering Volume:

18,356 cu cm

Peak Internal Temp. :

1,300° C / 2,372° F

Materials

Compatible Materials

Release Material

Ceramic — Becomes Powder During Sintering Process

Media (Spools)

Bound Powder Metal Filament

System Details

The Markforged Metal X is a new kind of metal printer. By printing metal powder bound in a plastic matrix, Markforged has eliminated many of the safety risks associated with traditional metal 3D printers. That means no loose powder, no lasers, and none of the traditional safety precautions. It’s safe to use in a shop environment with minimal facility upgrades.

In practice, the Metal X is essentially a very advanced FFF 3D printer. Featuring a precision machined gantry, a heated chamber and print bed, and advanced extrusion hardware, the Metal X is equipped to reliably print you durable parts. It is intentionally designed, with wear components and consumables — including print sheets, nozzles, and brushes — accessible and trivial to swap.

The Wash-1 is a solvent-based debinding system. It primarily uses Opteon SF-79, a high-performance fluid designed to offer superior cleaning power, higher efficiency, and safety in an environmentally sustainable way — Opteon SF-80 or Tergo Metal Cleaning Fluid can be substituted if needed.

The Wash-1 operates with simple ventilation and features an extremely simple user experience. It’s been tested and verified as a shop-safe system.

The Markforged Sinter-2 and Sinter-1 are highly optimized tube furnaces used for sintering 3D printed metal parts. They provide leading edge sintering reliability and run times and are equipped with advanced safety features. The Sinter-2 is more advanced than the Sinter-1 — featuring a larger working volume, more precise temperature control, and a mechanical door interlock.

The Sinter-1 and Sinter-2 typically have run times between 26 and 31 hours. However, the Sinter-2 can process small parts in express mode, where it can sinter up to 250g of parts in just 17 hours.

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Materials

From stainless steel to copper,
choose from a wide range of strong,
durable, and capable materials.

Desktop 3D Printers Designed for Professionals

Desktop 3D Printer Series

Professional desktop 3D printers built with the versatility to test design concepts and build strong end use parts. Our platform covers a wide range of applications - varying from flexible and elastic to strong and rigid.

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Drive innovation. Right from your desktop.

Compare Our Desktop 3D Printer Models.

Onyx One™

Our core desktop printer for functional plastic parts with stunning surface finish.

Materials

Plastic

Onyx™

Specs

+320 x 132 x 154 mm build volume

+100 µm - 200 µm layer height

+Precision ground composite print bed

MSRP

$4,990

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Onyx Pro™

Our enhanced desktop printer for stunning prototypes, tools, and production parts.

Materials

Plastic

Onyx™

Precise PLA

Smooth TPU

Continuous Fiber

Fiberglass™

Specs

+320 x 132 x 154 mm build volume

+100 µm - 200 µm layer height

+Precision ground composite print bed

MSRP

$9,600

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Mark Two™

The best desktop printer for stunning prototypes, tools, high performance end-use parts, and replacement parts.

Materials

Plastic

Onyx™

Nylon White™

Precise PLA

Smooth TPU

Continuous Fiber

Continuous Carbon Fiber™

Aramid Fiber (Kevlar®)*

Fiberglass™

HSHT Fiberglass™

Specs

+320 x 132 x 154 mm build volume

+100 µm - 200 µm layer height

+Precision ground composite print bed

MSRP

$19,900

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Dupont™ and Kevlar® are trademarks and registered trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

What can I build on a desktop 3D printer?

Micro carbon fiber filled nylon offers excellent heat resistance, surface finish, and chemical resistance

APPLICATIONS

• Functional Protos
• Production Covers
• Fit checks
• Job Aids

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Stiff, strong, and extremely light, carbon fiber reinforcement yields parts capable of replacing machined aluminum.

APPLICATIONS

• Custom production
• Bridge production
• High performance end-use parts
• High-strength tooling

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HSHT Fiberglass delivers the highest impact resistance and heat deflection temperature of our continuous fibers, and can be used for low-temp molds.

APPLICATIONS

• Welding fixtures
• Ruggedized enclosures
• Low-temp molds
• Forming tools

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Inexpensive and 11 times stiffer than ABS, this is the perfect entry level continuous fiber for 3D printing functional parts.

APPLICATIONS

• Workholding tools
• Functional Prototypes
• Moderate strength end-use parts

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Extremely durable and extremely resistant to catastrophic damage, Kevlar is an excellent choice for harsh environments.

APPLICATIONS

• Workholding tools
• Ruggedized enclosures
• Flexures

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Rubber-like material for high quality, flexible, impact-absorbent parts on demand.

APPLICATIONS

• Seals and gaskets
• Shock absorbers
• Wheels and treads
• Belts

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Colorful, cost-effective, and easy to print thermoplastic for design validation

APPLICATIONS

• Concept models
• Fit Checks
• Color-coded indicators

Learn more

Unmatched versatility

Our Desktop Series printers unlock production-grade performance and affordable prototypes, all on the same platform. Our most popular printing plastic, Onyx™, gives you a great start in material properties with excellent surface finish. Our selection of continuous fibers take our parts far beyond the mechanical and thermal properties of everyday FFF printing plastics, Smooth TPU 95A provides an efficient way to make high quality flexible parts in low-to-medium volumes, while Precise PLA delivers effective, reliable prototypes at an affordable price. No matter what properties you’re looking for, our desktop 3D printers have the right material for the job.

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Desktop expert

Let us put together an additive manufacturing solution to suit your needs.

technologies, equipment, materials and new opportunities

There is no hotter trend in 3D printing today than metal. We will talk about metal printing at home, how it is done on an industrial scale, about technologies, applications, printers, processes, prices and materials. Over the past few years, 3D metal printing has been actively gaining popularity. And this is quite natural: each material offers a unique combination of practical and aesthetic qualities, can be suitable for a wide range of products, prototypes, miniatures, decorations, functional details and even kitchen utensils. The reason metal 3D printing has become so popular is because the printed objects can be mass-produced.

In fact, some of the printed parts are just as good (if not better) than those made by traditional methods. In traditional production, working with plastic and metal can be quite wasteful - there is a lot of waste, a lot of excess material is used. When an aircraft manufacturer makes metal parts, up to 90% of the material is simply cut off. 3D printed metal parts require less energy and waste is reduced to a minimum. It is also important that the final 3D printed product is up to 60% lighter than a traditional part. Billions of dollars could be saved in the aviation industry alone—mainly through weight savings and fuel savings. So, what do we need to know about metal 3D printing?

3D printing with metal at home

If you want to make objects at home that will look like metal, your best bet is to look at metalized PLA filaments (Photo: colorFabb)

Where to start if you want to print metal objects at home? Given the extreme heat required for true metal 3D printing, a conventional FDM 3D printer will not be able to do this.

It is unlikely that in this decade it will be possible to print with liquid metal at home. Until 2020, you probably will not have a printer specialized for this purpose at home. But in a few years, as nanotechnology advances, we may see significant developments in new applications. This can be 3D printed with conductive silver, which will emit in much the same way as it does in 2D home printers. It will even be possible to mix different materials like plastic and metal in one object.

Materials for Metal 3D Printing at Home

Even though you can't print actual metal objects at home, you can turn to plastic filament that has metal powders added to it. Bestfilament, ColorFabb, ProtoPasta and TreeD Filaments offer interesting metal-PLA composite filaments. These filaments, containing a significant percentage of metal powders, remain pliable enough to be printed at low temperatures (200 to 300 Celsius) on virtually any 3D printer. At the same time, they contain enough metal to make the final object look, feel, and even weigh like metal. Iron-based filaments even rust under certain conditions.

But you can go further. Typically, up to 50 percent metal powder is added to 3D printing filament. Dutch company Formfutura says they have achieved 85 percent metal powder with 15 percent PLA. These filaments are called MetalFil Ancient Bronze and Metalfil Classic Copper. They can be printed even at "moderate" temperatures from 190 to 200 degrees Celsius.

Metal 3D Printing Filament Spools, in this case by SteelFill and CopperFill colorFabb (Steel and Bronze), Ancient Bronze by Formfutura

Here are the key points about metal printing at home

• Get a unique metal surface and look
• Ideal for jewelry, figurines, household utensils, replicas
• Durability
• Objects are not flexible (structural dependent)
• Objects do not dissolve
• Not considered food safe
• Typical print temperature: 195 - 220°C
• Extremely low shrinkage on cooling
• Table heating not required
• Printing complexity is high, requires fine tuning of nozzle temperature, feed rate, post-processing

Preparing Your Home Printer for Metal 3D Printing

Since getting metal 3D prints is more difficult than usual, you may need to upgrade your 3D printer nozzle, especially if you are an entry-level printer. The metal filament wears it out quickly. There are hard-wearing hot-ends (like the E3D V6) that are themselves made of metal. They can withstand high temperatures and fit most printers. Be prepared for the fact that the nozzles will have to be changed frequently, because the metal filament is very abrasive.

You will also need to take care of the final finishing of the surface (cleaning, grinding, oiling, waxing or priming) so that the printed metal object shines as it should.

How much is metal filament for 3D printing?

And what about metal filament for 3D printing? - you ask. Here are some examples:

• A 500-gram BFSteel and BFBronse coil from Bestfilament costs 1600–1800 ₽
• ColorFabb's 750 gram Bronzefill spool is $56.36
• ColorFabb's 750 gram Copperfill spool is $56.36
• Protopasta's Polishable Stainless Steel PLA Composite is $56 for 56 grams
• Protopasta's Rustable Magnetic Iron PLA Composite is $34.99 for 500 grams

Industrial Metal 3D Printing

But what if you want better results or even full metal 3D printing? Should a real "metal" 3D printer be purchased for business needs? We wouldn't recommend it - unless you're going to be doing it every day. A professional metal 3D printer is expensive: EOS or Stratasys devices will cost you 100-500 thousand dollars. In addition, the costs will be even greater, since you will have to hire an operator, a worker to maintain the machine, as well as to finalize the printouts (polishing, for example). Just a note: In 2016, an affordable metal 3D printer didn't exist.

Reducing Metal 3D Printing Costs

If you are not going to open a metal 3D printing business, but still need a professionally 3D printed metal part, it is better to contact the appropriate company that provides such services. 3D printing services like Shapeways, Sculpteo and iMaterialise offer direct metal printing. They currently work with the following metal materials in 3D printing:

• aluminum
• steel
• brass
• copper
• bronze
• sterling silver
• gold
• platinum
• titanium

If you are a jeweler, you can also order wax models for casting in precious metals. If we talk about wax models, then in most cases it is they (with subsequent melting) that are used when printing with metals (including gold and silver). Not all orders are carried out directly by these firms. They usually turn to other metal 3D printing companies to complete the order. However, the number of such services around the world is growing rapidly. In addition, metal 3D printing techniques are becoming more and more common in companies that offer such services.

The reason big companies love 3D printing so much is that it can be used to build fully automated lines that produce "topologically optimized" parts. This means that it is possible to fine-tune the raw materials and make the components thicker only if they must withstand heavy loads. In general, the mass of parts is significantly reduced, while their structural integrity is preserved. And this is not the only advantage of this technology. In some cases, the product turns out to be significantly cheaper and affordable for almost everyone.

Please note that metal 3D printing requires special CAD programs for modeling. It is worth paying attention to the recommendations of Shapeways - 3D printing metal guidelines. To delve further into the topic, check out Statasys’ information on related 3D printers and the nuances of metal 3D printing.

Here are some examples of Benchy test model prices for metal 3D printing:

• Metal plastic: $22.44 (former alumide, PLA with aluminum)
• Stainless steel: $83.75 (plated, polished)
• Bronze: $299.91 (solid, polished)
• Silver: $713.47 (solid, mirror polished)
• Gold: $87.75 (gold plated, polished)
• Gold: $12,540 (solid, 18K gold)
• Platinum: $27,314 (solid, polished)

As you might expect, solid metal 3D printing prices are quite high.

Metal 3D printing. Applications

GE LEAP aircraft engine parts 3D printed at Avio Aero (Photo: GE)

There are several industries that already use 3D printers to make everyday objects - you may not even know that these objects are printed.

• The most common case is surgical and dental implants, which in this design are now considered the best option for patients. Reason: they can be tailored to individual needs.
• Another industry is jewelry. Here, most manufacturers have abandoned resin 3D printing and wax casting, switching directly to metal 3D printing.
• In addition, the aerospace industry is becoming more and more dependent on 3D printed metal objects. The Italian company Ge-AvioAero was the first to do all-metal 3D printing. It manufactures components for LEAP aircraft engines.
• Another industry targeting metal 3D printing is the automotive industry. BMW, Audi, FCA are seriously considering this technology, not only for prototyping (3D printing has been used for this for quite some time), but also for making real parts.

Before metal 3D printing really takes off, however, there are some hurdles to overcome. And first of all, this is a high price, which cannot be made lower than during molding. Another problem is the low production speed.

3D metal printing.

Most metal 3D printing processes start with an “atomized” powder

You can talk a lot about “metal” 3D printers, but their main problems remain the same as any other 3D – printers: software and hardware limitations, material optimization and multimateriality. We won't talk too much about the software, we'll just say that most of the major specialized software companies, such as Autodesk, SolidWorks and solidThinking, try to emphasize as much as possible the fact that as a result of the 3D metal printing process, you can get any shape you want.

In general, printed metal parts can be as strong as parts made by traditional processes. Parts made using DMLS technology have mechanical properties equivalent to casting. In addition, the porosity of objects made on a good "metal" 3D printer can reach 99.5%. In fact, manufacturer Stratasys claims that 3D printed metal parts perform above industry standards when tested for density.

3D printed metal can have different resolutions. At the highest resolution, layer thickness is 0.0008 - 0.0012" and X/Y resolution is 0.012 - 0.016". The minimum hole diameter is 0.035 - 0.045″. Let's, however, consider what metal 3D printing technologies are.

Metal 3D Printing Process #1:

Powder Bed Fusion

The metal 3D printing process that most relevant large companies use today is called Powder Bed Fusion. This name indicates that some source of energy (a laser or other energy beam) melts an "atomized" powder (i.e., a metal powder that is carefully ground into spherical particles), resulting in layers of a printed object.

There are eight major manufacturers of metal 3D printers in the world that already use this technology; while we are talking here, there are more and more such companies. Most of them are in Germany. Their technologies are called SLM (Selective Laser Melting - selective laser fusion) or DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering - direct metal laser sintering).

Metal 3D printing process #2:

Binder Jetting