Markforged expands software offering with acquisition of Teton Simulation

Markforged (Watertown, Mass., U.S.), creator of the Digital Forge, an integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing (AM) platform, announced on April 5 the acquisition of Teton Simulation (Layramie, Wyo., U.S.). Teton is known for its SmartSlice technology which automates validation and optimizes part performance for AM applications.

Markforged will integrate Teton’s technology with its 3D printing software solution, Eiger, as a subscription add-on that will reportedly offer all manufacturing customers, including small- and medium-sized businesses, a streamlined workflow spanning part design, testing, optimization, validation and printing at the point of need, all on a single, cloud-based platform. The acquisition enhances Markforged’s lead in distributed manufacturing by extending its end-to-end platform with fast, automated validation of demanding end-use parts and applications.

The acquisition also adds strategic functionality to the Digital Forge, Markforged notes, to give its thousands of users confidence that printed parts will perform as intended, as well as enable them to replace more end-use metal parts with validated continuous fiber reinforcement. This addition to Markforged’s software offerings will also help customers take the guesswork out of configuring slicing parameters for end-use requirements, knowing they can estimate part performance without the wasteful and slow process of physical testing.

“Software is the core of Markforged’s solution and our competitive edge. The acquisition of Teton Simulation advances our industry leadership in using software to increase process automation and offers our customers an easy way to validate their parts on the same platform they use to print them. Adding this functionality enables our customers to utilize The Digital Forge deeper into their manufacturing operations,” says Shai Terem, president and CEO of Markforged. “I am excited to welcome the Teton team to Markforged, as we share the vision of leading the future of distributed manufacturing. Together, we continue to strengthen our team and enable our customers to produce mission-critical, end-use parts.”

Founded in 2016 in Wyoming, Teton is a specialist in software technology built to enable rapid validation and optimization of 3D print parameters to ensure that performance and manufacturing requirements are realized. Teton’s SmartSlice product integrates with slicer programs and replaces the typical print-break-repeat prototyping cycle which speeds up development and reduces the time and cost of production-quality parts. Teton’s team will join Markforged’s software organization to help expand the number of industrial problems that The Digital Forge solves.

“Our team believes in the potential of additive technologies to truly change how we manufacture things, and have worked tenaciously to design a software offering that enables broader adoption of additive,” adds Doug Kenik, CEO of Teton Simulation. “Joining Markforged integrates our technology into a state-of-the-art solution that will reach a broader customer base, and offer resources to scale it. We love the cultural fit with the Markforged team.”