Multi award winning 3D printer OEM Markforged and Carahsoft Technology Corp, a government IT solutions provider, have announced a partnership to provide Markforged’s industrial additive manufacturing technologies to the U.S. Government.
Under the partnership, Carahsoft will act as Markforged’s master government aggregator and distributor, meaning it will make the OEM’s metal and carbon 3D printers available to Federal agencies and reseller partners. Markforged is looking to enter the public sector with the alliance, providing its technology to partners of Carahsoft that are looking to bypass supply chains using additive manufacturing.
“For decades, Federal agencies have used lengthy and complex supply chains to send new or replacement parts to the field,” explained Brian Houle, Markforged Vice President of Global Channel Sales.
“Markforged is excited to work with Carahsoft and our value-added resellers to eliminate that burden with 3D printing technologies that produce custom tools and end-use parts in real time.”
Additive manufacturing for federal agencies
Based in Virginia, Carahsoft aims to develop and support an ecosystem of manufacturers, value-added resellers, system integrators and consulting partners in order to help government agencies select their IT solutions. The company currently markets, sells and delivers solutions from a variety of organizations, including Autodesk, as well as Dell, Adobe, Amazon and Google.
Carahsoft is also a NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V contract holder, which is how the company will be providing Marforged’s additive manufacturing technologies to the U.S. Government. NASA SEWP is a government wide acquisition contract for the United States, allowing all federal agencies to purchase IT equipment and services from SEWP-authorized contract holders.
“Being able to produce tools and parts independent of existing supply chains gives field teams the ability to adapt to changing mission needs,” commented Lacey Wean, Manager of the Markforged team at Carahsoft. “We look forward to partnering with Markforged and our reseller partners to offer Federal agencies the ability to deploy their own 3D printers and avoid the traditional costs and delays associated with external vendors.”
Expanding into the public sector
With its introduction into the public sector, Markforged is continuing to expand the reach of its additive manufacturing operations. The company recently opened its first office outside of the U.S.. Located in Dublin, Ireland this new site will serve as Markforged’s European headquarters. Its establishment came after the company closed a Series D funding round with a value of $82 million in March 2019, with contributions from Porsche, Microsoft and Siemens. As well as increasing its global reach, the company has also used the funding to release new products, like its Onyx FR 3D printing nylon, a flame-retardant composite material designed to be used in the aerospace, automotive, and defense industries.
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Featured image shows sintering a 3D printed 17-4 stainless steel sprocket 3D printed on the Metal X. Image via Markforged.
