Metal and carbon fiber 3D printer manufacturer Markforged is offering pure copper for its Metal X system, the company announced in a press release.

This will allow users to produce geometrically complex copper with high electrical and thermal conductivity, said Markforged, adding it will give companies a consistent and cost-effective way to print pure copper parts, dropping production time from as long as 16 weeks by traditional machining down to a few days.

“Copper has traditionally been an expensive and challenging material to machine and incompatible for 3D printing in a pure form with other techniques,” said Markforged founder and CEO Greg Mark in the press release. “Now, we’ve made it easier and cheaper to produce. Markforged 3D printed copper will be a game-changer for the automotive and electronics industries, and it will open the door to innovation across many more.”

Copper is the latest metal to join the Markforged lineup of materials, which also includes aerospace superalloys like Inconel 625, 17-4 PH stainless steel, H13 tool steel, D2 tool steel, and A2 tool steel.

Read more about the new materials on Markforged’s blog, or view the materials specifications in a datasheet.

(Source / Lead image: Markforged)