Is 3D printing the key to bringing composites to automotive applications?
Carbon fiber composites have been around for decades, but they’re still relatively rare in manufacturing outside of a few key industries, such as aerospace, sporting goods and high-end automotive racing. Despite carbon fiber’s obvious advantages, its high cost and slow production time have held the material back from wide adoption in places where it could be most beneficial, such as the automotive industry.
This is why carbon fiber 3D printing could be the key to unlocking the material’s full potential in mass production. Additive manufacturing has the potential to lower both the costs and production time of carbon fiber composites, which explains why 3D printing companies are starting to consider how to manufacture with these materials on an industrial scale.
Industrial-Scale Carbon Fiber 3D Printing
An example of this approach comes from Markforged, which recently announced the launch of its fiber composite 3D printer, the Mark X.
In addition to a large print volume, the Mark X introduces new print capabilities that include in-process laser inspection as well as a fine (50-micron) surface finish. According to Markforged, the printer enables measurable and beneficial breakthroughs in manufacturing, design and the supply chain by printing precise, fully usable and remarkably strong reinforced parts with innovative materials.
The Mark X
With new in-process inspection for dimensional accuracy, the Mark X is intended to allow engineers and designers to ensure their printed parts are exactly as designed. A laser sensor affixed to the print head will scan parts at any layer designated in order to measure whether the most critical tolerances are met.
In addition, the Mark X includes a precision build plate, encoders on the print head for high accuracy, silent stepper motors and a high-stiffness Z-axis motor.
According to Markforged, the Mark X can be used to print strong and precise parts for robotics, automotive parts, molds, prosthetics, athletic equipment and other industrial applications. The build volume is 13 in x 9.8 in x 7.9 in (330 mm x 250 mm x 200 mm) with a footprint of 22.6 in x 18.4 in x 36.5 in (575 mm x 467 mm x 928 mm).
The networked printers use Eiger software—a Google Chrome–based cloud solution—to allow operations managers to oversee and monitor multiple printers concurrently.
“We have taken a different path from most of the 3D printing industry with innovation that will create a new bottom line benefit for many manufacturers,” said Greg Mark, CEO and founder of Markforged. 
“We already had success with the breakthrough strength and light weight of continuous carbon fiber in our Mark Two printer—now we’ve added in-process inspection for exact dimensional accuracy, high-resolution beautiful surface finish and scale to open entirely new segments of the industry to efficiencies of what printing can accomplish,” Mark added.
The Mark X will ship in Q4 of this year at a retail price of USD$69,000, though the company is also running
