Markforged, headquartered in Massachusetts, now provides a rapid technique to produce metal parts for manufacturers in demanding industrial, automotive, medical and aerospace industries with its new metal 3D printer, the Metal X. At launch, the Metal X will print high-end stainless steels, such as 17-4 and 303. Tool Steel for injection molding applications and other metals are actively under development and will be available later in 2017.
Using the Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) technique, parts are printed, layer-by-layer, using a metal powder contained in a plastic binder. After printing, plastic binders are removed and the part sintered into customary engineering metals. By sintering the entire part at once, ADAM technology allows metal crystals to grow through the bonded layers.