Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or just don’t care, 3D printers and what they can do have become some of the hottest technology topics I can remember. Although its potential has only begun to be realized, the technology has matured beyond the curiosity stage and is being embraced by a wide range of users with a wide range of budgets. Like anything else, you get what you pay for, and 3D printing is no exception. By that I mean, sure, you buy a 3D printer relatively inexpensively, but there are always limitations with regard to material choice, part quality etc.
That’s changing, though, based on a couple of new 3D printers that were introduced at this year’s SolidWorks World. The Partner Pavilion had a few less exhibitors than previous years, but the level of traffic was high. A lot of attention was paid to a couple of new 3D printers that really set themselves apart from competing multi-material machines — the MarkForged Mark One and the Stratasys Objet500 Connex3.
This time around, we’ll take a look at the MarkForged Mark One, and will examine the Stratasys Objet500 Connex3 in our next edition.
