Case Study: Markforged achieves sub-50‑micron accuracy and under-six-month product development with SOLIDWORKS

Innovating continuous carbon fiber 3D printing technology with SOLIDWORKS solutions

Markforged, a pioneer in continuous carbon fiber 3D printing, needed to invent and scale a disruptive printer technology that delivers production‑quality, high‑strength parts more affordably than metal at low volumes. To accelerate hardware development and support rapid prototyping, Markforged adopted the SolidWorks 3D design environment and related tools.

Markforged implemented SolidWorks design, SolidWorks Premium (design and analysis), and SolidWorks PDM to manage data and workflows; using these tools the company cut new product development cycles to less than six months, improved printed part accuracy to within 50 microns, and enabled rapid iterative prototyping (often multiple iterations per day). SolidWorks simulation also helped optimize larger components—doubling a build platform’s size while keeping deflection under three microns and maintaining weight—and supported the explosive growth Markforged experienced in its early years.

Markforged

Greg Mark

Founder and Chief Executive Officer