New Material Expands Markforged Applications from Functional Carbon Fiber and Metal Parts to Cost-Effective Design Validation and Rapid Prototyping

WATERTOWN, Mass. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 8, 2022 — Markforged (NYSE: MKFG), creator of the integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing platform, The Digital Forge, today announced the addition of Precise PLA to its portfolio of materials. The new capability allows customers to product design and iterate in a cost-effective manner. The Digital Forge platform is now able to address all stages of product design - from validation, which relies on more affordable materials like Precise PLA, to strong, end-use applications reliant on Markforged’s carbon fiber reinforced and metal-printed parts.

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Markforged Precise PLA comes in eight colors. (Photo: Business Wire)

Precise PLA is Markforged’s specialized version of Polylactic Acid (PLA), one of the most common prototyping materials in the additive manufacturing industry. Markforged will offer Precise PLA in eight color options - yellow, red, green, blue, orange, black, white, and gray. The Digital Forge has been calibrated, through updates to Eiger™ software, to print Precise PLA with excellent quality and repeatability.

With the release of Precise PLA, users can now make affordable designs on the same reliable, quality platform used to create mission-critical, end use parts in demanding industries like aerospace, automotive, defense and healthcare. With Precise PLA, Markforged now offers 28 unique materials, from plastics to continuous carbon fibers to metals. Together, these materials offer users unparalleled versatility in capabilities, ranging from high stiffness, impact resistance, temperature resistance, surface finish, and now, affordability. From the initial phases of product development through production and even aftermarket repair, users can now use one simple platform to address their custom part needs.

With the availability of Precise PLA, Zero Tolerance LLC, an injection molding and machine shop, has now expanded its use of the Digital Forge to bring an end-use motorcycle display adapter from concept to final product.

“When using other 3D printers and PLA materials, the results were not as precise as required, even after multiple iterations. Printing parts to the size and quality we need, with the required functionality and at a great price point is critical for our business,” said Steve Michon, Zero Tolerance President and CEO. “Once design validation using Precise PLA is completed, we move to production with Markforged’s Onyx material for functional testing, followed by printing with continuous carbon fiber for added safety for our final, end-use part. With this new material, we can now utilize our Markforged printer to deliver great results repeatedly throughout the entire design and manufacturing process. This is the most reliable additive platform we’ve ever used. It just works.”

In addition to prototyping, Zero Tolerance also uses color-coded inserts printed in Precise PLA in conjunction with Markforged’s high-strength continuous fiber composite materials to make fiberglass-reinforced assembly tools. The colors help the operator quickly identify the correct tool, while relying on the fiberglass for strength and stiffness.

“An affordable material devoted to design validation was a top request from our customers to deliver a uniform and smooth print on the Digital Forge from the beginning to the end of the product life cycle,” said Shai Terem, Markforged President and CEO. “The growth and adoption of the Digital Forge depends upon our ability to address our customers’ requests and introduce new capabilities that grow our addressable market. This added dimension of versatility will expand the use cases our customers can address with the Digital Forge, and drive adoption in segments such as education and design services thanks in part to the lower cost of entry.”

Precise PLA will be available to order on March 15, and will be compatible with Mark Two (Gen 2) and Onyx Pro (Gen 2). The new material is also scheduled to be available on all Markforged Industrial Series printers that are equipped with the latest A3648 extruder, including the X3, X5, and X7, in Q2 of this year. To learn more about completing the product life cycle with Precise PLA, please register for our upcoming webinar on March 29 at 10 a.m. ET.

About Markforged

Markforged (NYSE: MKFG) is reimagining how humans build everything by leading a technology-driven transformation of manufacturing with solutions for enterprises and societies throughout the world. The Markforged Digital Forge brings the power and speed of agile software development to industrial manufacturing, combining hardware, software, and materials to solve supply chain problems right at the point-of-need. Engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world rely on Markforged metal and composite printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. Markforged is headquartered in Watertown, Mass., where it designs its products with over 350 employees worldwide. To learn more, visit www.markforged.com.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although Markforged believes that it has a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, Markforged cautions you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by it and its projections of the future, about which it cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the impact of the newly-announced Precise PLA on the manufacturing industry and Markforged, statements related to product development and innovation, and statements regarding the potential benefits to consumers of Markforged products including, but not limited to, Precise PLA. Markforged cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, general economic, political and business conditions and other factors discussed under the header "Risk Factors" in the in Markforged’s most recent registration statement on Form S-1, Markforged’s most recent periodic report on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that Markforged will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent Markforged’s views as of the date of this press release. Markforged anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Markforged may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Markforged has no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing Markforged’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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