Digital Forge leverages ML to make production-grade parts and solve supply-chain issues.

The manufacturing industry is transforming gradually. 3D printing has contributed significantly to this transformation. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing involves the creation of three-dimensional objects using a digital file. The process involves laying down thinly sliced successive cross-sectional layers of material until the object is created. It reduces the time and cost of finished products. Due to its flexible nature, the design teams can make more complex, agile, and innovative structures. Additionally, 3D printing produces the prototype of the product, which is cheaper, faster, and reduces the cost of manufacturing. The global 3D printing market size is estimated to reach from US$9.9 billion to US$34.8 billion by 2024.

To revolutionize 3D-printing further, Markforged has launched its product, The Digital Forge. It is a cloud-based platform that manufactures production-grade parts on demand. The Digital Forge leverages machine learning to create parts cheaper, faster, and often with better properties than traditional manufacturing methods. This enables companies to manufacture and deliver quality parts and solve supply chain issues. Its cloud-based platform receives continuous over-the-air updates, thus making it industrial capital equipment that is time-effective.

Currently, the platform has 12000+fleet printers, which can be used to instantly course-correct print jobs. The parts manufactured due to the digital forge are more accurate and can be achieved from mechanical hardware alone. And because the platform itself is cloud-based, it can be constantly updated and enhanced so that customers can always leverage new advancements.

The Digital Forge can print continuous carbon fiber reinforced parts and metal safely and accessible from a single browser tab. This aids manufacturers to print production-grade, strong parts at the point-of-need to respond to supply chain disruption and take advantage of the market opportunity in an agile way. Currently, the digital forge is adopted by ten biggest aerospace companies, 12 of the 14 largest automotive companies, and five of six US Armed Forces branches. The digital forge enables the company to rapidly develop the parts that are in high demand at a particular location or market. It also assists companies with efficient business operations. The Digital Forge acts as a manufacturing engineer's toolbelt.

Greg Mark, Chairman of the Markforged, states "We started Markforged with a cloud-first, software-first approach that was designed for the modern world, and now we are applying that approach to accomplish things people thought were still decades away from coming to market. Through the Digital Forge, manufacturers can use our powerful software to fabricate strong, accurate, easily, and durable metal and composite parts for orders of magnitude cheaper than they're-dimensionally been made — on-demand and directly at the point of need."

Knowing Markforged

Markforged is a leading provider of metal and carbon fiber and 3D printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. The company transforms manufacturing with 3D metal and carbon fiber printers, which are capable of producing parts tough enough for the factory floor. Founded in 2013 and based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Markforged has about 300 employees globally, with $137 million in both strategic and venture capital. Markforged was recently recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list and listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500.