Case Study: Team CoSTAR achieves rapid, rugged field repairs and lightweight production-grade parts with Markforged

How NASA JPL’s Team CoSTAR is pushing the limits of exploration with the Digital Forge

Team CoSTAR, a NASA JPL–led collaboration competing in DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge, needed impact-resistant, lightweight parts they could rapidly iterate and repair in the field. Their prior PLA printer and ad hoc wood/machined parts couldn’t withstand the rough, low-light and stair-filled terrains or protect critical sensors like a $7,000 lidar, so the team required a robust additive manufacturing solution — including reliable hardware and software — to produce production-ready components quickly.

Markforged supplied that solution: cloud-connected Eiger software and Markforged 3D printers using Onyx and continuous carbon fiber to produce strong, lightweight brackets, mounts and a protective lidar cage that outperformed aluminum counterparts and survived repeated knocks with no sensor damage. Team CoSTAR scaled from one to multiple Markforged printers (later sponsored by Markforged), printing overnight in hotels to support rapid design iterations; the result was dependable, production-quality parts that helped the team place second in the Tunnel Circuit and first in the Urban Circuit.

Team CoSTAR