A Deft and Skilful Collaboration of Sorts

Dexterous Technologies partners with Phillips Additive & Markforged for Manufacturing High Strength Non-Metallic parts

Industry : Machining | Tooling Application : Non-Functional Holding Parts | End-Use Parts

The Customer

Based in Coimbatore, the Dexterous Group was established in 1999. Backed by two decades of experience in selling CNC machines, machine elements, accessories and tool holders, the Dexterous Group is led by Mr. B. Muthukumar, a stalwart in handling machine tools. The Dexterous group is well known for providing high-quality services to its customers with its highly skilled team of designers and technician having a wide range of industry experience.

The Solution

The Dexterous Group has always been faced with the demand for quick turnaround parts and metal replacement parts for various applications. While Dexterous Technologies was able to provide for machines and larger products, they were missing out on business in the parts manufacturing industry. Seeking to provide solutions catering to industries interested in non-metallic parts but with similar or better strength to weight ratio, they started exploring the domain of 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology with Markforged printers and their technology. The resultant parts manufactured by the Mark Two printer came with amazing strength, thanks to the carbon fibre reinforcement, and were also able to be printed with continuous fibre material. One such project for a medical equipment manufacturer required a holding fixture which would be light in weight but at the same time, one that would be able to withstand the weight of the medical equipment effectively. Markforged printed part made in Onyx provided multiple advantages such as high temperature withstanding capacity of upto 145 degrees, as well as best chemical stability that helped to easily replace the metal holder with huge cost and time savings. With the possibilities of replacing aluminium parts with carbon fibre reinforcement for machined jaws, clamps, holders, grippers and several other metallic parts, this would result in reduced weight of the part and faster time to market.

About Phillips Machine Tools

Phillips Machine Tools India is a 100% owned subsidiary of Phillips Corporation, USA. For more than 60 years, the federal government, private sector industry, and education leaders have trusted the experts at Phillips to solve their most significant manufacturing challenges. Our mission is to create legendary value for the manufacturing community by unlocking solutions to propel capabilities, profitability, and productivity. Phillips represents a robust combination of equipment, applications expertise, and well-suited services to meet the growing range of present and future manufacturing applications requirements. Learn more about Phillips at www.phillipscorp.com.

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.