Markforged Inc. yesterday announced that its manufacturing facility in Billerica, Mass., has met the rigorous quality management and quality assurance standards of ISO 9001:2015 to obtain certification from TUV Rhineland of North America. The additive manufacturing company said the certification will help streamline the supplier audit process.
“Reliability is key for additive manufacturing. We're trying to help manufacturers meet traditional standards of quality, accuracy, strength, etc.,” Shai Terem, president and CEO of Markforged, told Robotics 24/7. “Without industry certification, that effort has been done application by application, one customer at a time.”
Markforged said its Digital Forge is designed to enable manufacturers of all sizes to create robust, end-use parts in both metal and composites on demand and at the point of need. The company recently added simulation features to its additive manufacturing software.
ISO standards enable trust in 3D-printed critical parts
The International Organization for Standardization published the ISO 9001:2015 quality management systems (QMS) standard in 2015. The standard requires organizations to demonstrate their ability to consistently provide products and services that meet and enhance customer satisfaction, as well as comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Markforged noted that it already has ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for information security management. The company said the certifications demonstrate its committment to providing high-quality 3D printing and secure digital services.
“Our certifications allow us to assure you, in good conscience, that our Digital Forge manufacturing platform will yield consistently stellar results — that customer data is safeguarded through recognized best practices for data management and information security,” Markforged noted in a blog post.
“With organizations holding sensitive, proprietary data in the cloud — and 3D-printed parts trusted to power critical systems and even carry payloads into outer space — how else would our customers sleep at night, knowing costly data leaks can cost millions, and critical part failures or quality lapses can bring down production lines?” it added.
Markforged Digital Forge to serve new applications
Watertown, Mass.-based Markforged opened its Billerica factory in 2019. The company doubled its production capacity at the time to meet demand for 3D printers. Markforged said that it has more than 10,000 customers in over 70 countries.
The company added that the certification will enable it to serve more business-critical and production applications because many regulated industries, such as aerospace, require vendors to comply with the ISO 9001:2015 standards.
“Achieving this latest certification is a true reflection of the great manufacturing culture that has been nurtured at our Billerica facility and the overall commitment to quality and reliability that runs deep in our company’s DNA,” said Scott Kaempfe, senior director of manufacturing at Markforged. “We are committed to building a world-class, scalable production facility that will deliver high-value and reliable performance for our customers now and in the future.”