The world's first carbon-fiber printer now exists!
Printer company Mark Forged unveiled the Mark One 3D printer, the world’s first 3D printer designed to print carbon fiber layer-by-layer, at SolidWorks World 2014 held in San Diego in late January.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight but extremely strong material used in the manufacturing of cars, bicycles, and aerospace equipment like shuttles and rockets.
According to an article on Extreme Tech, carbon fiber is among the most expensive materials to use because of the painstakingly tedious process of molding or winding it.
The Mark One can also print fiberglass, nylon, and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), a material used in normal 3D printing.
Mark Forged claims the 3D parts printed by Mark One are 20 times stiffer and five times stronger than ABS, another commonly 3D-printed material. This is because the printed objects are allegedly "packed with tens of thousands of full length, continuous carbon fiber strands."
This technology can be used from making medical prosthetics to hobbyist drone manufacturing, an article from Gizmodo said.
Mark One has a price tag of $5,000 and is available for pre-order starting February. The units will be shipped some time in the second half of the year. — Kim Luces/JDS, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
