Markforged’s In‑House 3D‑Printed Tooling: Rapid Solutions for Everyday Shop Challenges

Markforged’s In‑House 3D‑Printed Tooling: Rapid Solutions for Everyday Shop Challenges

Our engineering team leverages the full power of Markforged printers to turn everyday manufacturing challenges into quickly produced, durable parts. From oil‑water separators to filter bases and extrusion jigs, we demonstrate how 3‑D printing delivers speed, reliability and cost savings that rival traditional machining.

Three Success Stories

• Skimmer reservoir – 8‑hour print, 10‑minute design
• Visi‑Mist filter base – 24‑hour print, $120 saved, 13 days faster
• Extruder clamp adapter – 5h24m print, carbon‑fiber reinforcement

1. Abanaki Lil Blue Portable Belt Skimmer Oil‑Water Separator

We use an Abanaki skimmer to improve the sump life on the CNC mill. The skimmer lives at the foot of the mill to keep the oil free from coolant and water.

Because the OEM unit lacks a reservoir, we designed a permanent replacement in SolidWorks and printed it on a Mark One. The part is made of nylon (no composite) and has been in service for over seven months, holding oil and water without leaks despite frequent emptying.

The eight‑hour print required less than ten minutes of design time—faster than searching for a comparable part online. The simple geometry reduces the number of tubes, clamps and plumbing, cutting maintenance effort.

• Replaced a broken oil skimmer reservoir
• 10‑minute design time
• 8‑hour print

2. Visi‑Mist Oil Mist Eliminator Base

The Visi‑Mist eliminates oil mist from vacuum pump exhaust, but its original base was too narrow to stay upright. A 3‑D printed nylon base with a wider support base keeps the filter level, preventing tip‑over and maintaining filtration performance.

Keith measured the filter, modeled the holder in under 20 minutes, and printed the part in 24 hours. The total time—25 hours—was almost 13 days faster than the shortest lead time from a local machine shop and saved about $120 compared to a one‑off machined part.

• Prevents filter tipping or kicking
• 20‑minute measurement and modeling
• 24‑hour print time
• Saved $120 versus machining

3. Mark One Nylon Extruder Clamp Adapter

This part was designed as a reactive solution during printer manufacturing. The extruder requires a 31‑pound force to keep open during nylon loading—a burden for staff handling multiple printers daily.

The clamp adapter—two caps mounted on a standard Irwin Quick Grip—holds the extruder open indefinitely. Reinforced with carbon fiber on both sides, it resists cracking under repeated load and survives the jostling of daily operations.

Each set prints in 5 hours and 24 minutes. The oldest jig has withstood thousands of cycles, proving durability.

• Designed in SolidWorks with iterative revisions
• Print time: 5h24m per set
• Thousand‑cycle durability

Download the Visi‑Mist Base Model

• STL download available for the Visi‑Mist Oil Mist Eliminator Base
• The geometry is ideal for first‑time printing—no supports needed and immediately functional in many machine shops