Konica Minolta Australia has announced the availability of the large format FX20 3D printer through its partner, Markforged, creator of the integrated metal and carbon fibre additive manufacturing platform called the Digital Forge.

The FX20 is the biggest, fastest and most sophisticated 3D printer Markforged has ever produced. Together with Markforged's software and materials, the FX20 has transformed the Digital Forge into a next generation additive manufacturing platform capable of printing high-temperature thermoplastics, reinforced with continuous fibre, at the click of a button.

By printing high-strength, more accurate, and higher performance parts, the FX20 can now meet the needs of the most demanding and regulated industries including aerospace, defence, automotive, and oil and gas, the company states.

Matthew Hunter, National Manager Emerging Technology, Konica Minolta, says, “The FX20 brings the Digital Forge and continuous fibre reinforcement to a new sphere of parts, problems, and industries. It pairs size and throughput to make larger builds at incredible speeds, delivering the transformational benefits of the Digital Forge at a new scale.

"Built for everything from performance tooling and fixtures to flight-ready production parts, the large format 3D printer can also reinforce ULTEM 9085 Filament with continuous carbon fibre. With the addition of the FX20 to our portfolio, Konica Minolta is helping customers make it in Australia.”

Shai Terem, President and CEO, Markforged, says, “The FX20 is a beast of a machine and represents our commitment to providing innovative solutions to our customers to empower them to build anything they can imagine. The addition of the FX20 to the Digital Forge strengthens our leading position in the additive manufacturing market by enabling the robust production of lightweight, advanced composite parts.

"With this combination of hardware and software, our customers will be able to count on Markforged for production of the end-use, mission critical parts that are required to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing. This builds resilient and sustainable supply chains that extend directly to the point-of-need.”

Key features of the FX20 include:

• Production-grade printer: 5x larger build chamber than any other Markforged machine.
• Unmatched performance: Breakthrough reliability and high-speed printing without sacrificing quality.
• Large, heated build chamber: Massive heated build chamber contains a 525 mm x 400 mm x 400 mm build volume capable of printing at 200C.
• Range of materials: These include: plastic onyx; ULTEM 9085 Filament; Fibre - carbon fibre; fibreglass, Aramid fibre; Kevlar; and HSHT fibreglass.
• Ease of use: Start builds, monitor machine status, and perform maintenance all in one place through the Digital Forge platform.Large touchscreen. Connect to the Digital Forge platform through a 7 touchscreen.

Hunter says, “With the FX20, Konica Minolta is looking forward to helping customers re-shore their operations to Australia, transform to smart factories, open up new revenue streams with additive and subtractive manufacturing, and accelerate innovation with additive manufacturing.”