Strength & Classic Finish: Markforged Releases Onyx 3D Printer Series

Within the 3D printing industry, just the name Markforged invokes that of strength—and metal. Arriving onto the scene in 2014 with their original Mark One 3D printer, the innovative company quickly became known for creating hardware that 3D printed with continuous strands of fiber-based materials. We then saw the industrial Mark Two hit the market, offering even higher performance for creating strong parts, and very quickly.

Now, they are announcing the Onyx One, a new 3D printer that prints plastics, featuring the Onyx material, now being made available to the public affordably. Onyx was already introduced by Markforged earlier in the year, and it quickly become popular; in fact, it is their best-selling material. The 3D printing filament is comprised of both carbon fibers and nylon. This combination allows for double the strength and rigidity, as well as a classic looking black finish.

“Our belief is that every designer and engineer should have broad access to strong, elegant parts from a reliable printer they love to use.” says Greg Mark, CEO of Markforged. “With the Onyx One, we provide our customers with superior parts in a seamless integrated system of hardware, material and software to deliver a quality experience at an accessible price point.”

The company has created what is a new series, with the Onyx 3D printers being made ‘from the ground up’ and with the same attention to quality—as well as integrated software—as we have seen with the other 3D printers from Markforged.

The Onyx Pro is also now available in this 3D printer series. Featuring two print heads and continuous fiberglass reinforcement, it is available in the US for $7,000. This should prove to be an appealing machine for those who are looking for even greater strength and speed, offering parts that are up to five times stronger. This is all, of course, in comparison with the Mark Two 3D printer, retailing at $13,500 and producing metal parts reinforced with their famous carbon fiber—up to ten times stronger than what is manufactured in plastic form.

The Mark X 3D printer

“Buyers of the Onyx One can upgrade their printer in the field to an Onyx Pro when they’re ready for the extra advanced fiberglass composite parts,” says Mark. “We purposefully designed the entry point Onyx One with an easy path to higher strength for our customers without requiring them to purchase a different printer. Or, they can trade up to the Mark Two for continuous carbon fiber reinforcement, for amazingly strong parts in addition to the impact-resistant Kevlar and high-strength, high temperature fiberglass.”

These printers offer superior quality in machinery, software, and materials, with cloud enablement, as well as continual improvements and updates. Markforged states that as the Onyx series launches, they will also be offering a Turbo Print speed option.

Markforged also offers their Mark X industrial-scale printer, retailing at $69,000. This new hardware was released last month and features a host of precision capabilities to include a laser micrometer and a larger build size too. While the Onyx series is only available in North America at the moment, it will be accessible to the rest of the world in the first quarter of 2017. All other Markforged 3D printers can be purchased through resellers offering support in 50 different countries. Discuss in the Onyx forum at 3DPB.com.