Perth, Australia – CADDS Group, a leading name in the mining industry, is proud to announce its strategic partnership with Core Additive and Markforged, the pioneers in industrial 3D printing technology. This collaboration expands CADDS Group's ongoing commitment to embracing innovative solutions while contributing to a more sustainable future within the mining sector.
“Diversification of services has always been a key focus in our business to ensure we continue providing relevant, efficient, high-quality support to our clients.”, said Darren Clark, Managing Director at CADDS. “Additive manufacturing is another step in this journey, offering pertinent solutions to current industry challenges of lead times, availability, and standardised designs.”
By teaming up with Core Additive and Markforged, and leveraging industrial 3D additive manufacturing capabilities with their existing engineering and design services, CADDS is uniquely positioned to guide clients through the optimisation process for 3D printing solutions.
“This partnership presents a substantial opportunity to impact the mining industry, going beyond the supply of 3D printing services,” added Darren. “Together with Markforged, we can proactively enable our clients to take full advantage of additive manufacturing technology, where it benefits them.”
Additive manufacturing is quickly gaining momentum within the mining sector due to various drivers. These include innovation advantages through customised and rapid prototyping, faster lead times compared to traditional manufacturing, the convenience of printing spare parts and rotables as needed to minimise operational downtime, the ability to create complex geometrics and reduce weight without compromising strength through optimal designs, cost savings from more efficient solutions that reduce material waste and a smaller environmental footprint.
Importantly, the capability to print on demand and in-house from their Perth head office provides CADDS with the flexibility to bypass many supply chain limitations and availability issues faced by the industry.
Markforged’s unique Digital Forge ecosystem enables printer networking and cloud connectivity which makes remote operation, management and monitoring from Pilbara sites viable. This, coupled with integrated Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on their proprietary slicing module, Eiger, allowed Markforged’s offer to stand out against the competition. Their industrial-grade 3D printers offer unique capabilities, including the ability to print parts and tools with high-yield strength and precision using advanced materials like continuous carbon fibre, stainless steel, copper and tool steels. This technology will enable CADDS to produce high-performance parts and componentry on-site, reducing lead times, minimising downtime, and improving overall operational efficiency.
The introduction of additive manufacturing is not a change in CADDS’ business direction. Rather, it is a capability that compliments and adds to the Group’s established service offering, aligning with their end-to-end business strategy. By undertaking all design through to production services in-house, CADDS ensures continuity and quality consultancy support for clients, fostering a steady and reliable working environment. Consequently, this feeds back a stable economic return for both WA and local economies.
Markforged Senior Director, Richard Elving, also commented on the partnership, saying, “We are excited to work with CADDS Group, a company known for its dedication to excellence and innovation in mining. Our 3D printing technology is perfectly suited to address the unique challenges of the industry, and we are confident that this collaboration will yield outstanding results.”
The alliance between CADDS, Core Additive and Markforged is set to transform the mining industry’s approach to equipment production. It underscores all three companies’ commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in mining technology.
About CADDS Group:
CADDS Group was founded in 1993 by sole owner, Alan Moody, offering site-based contract drafting services at Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo mine site. Over the past 30 years, the Group has grown to nearly 200 employees across 6 service streams with numerous specialist disciplines, contributing to almost every industry in WA from 7 office locations in 2 countries. With dedicated teams across engineering, surveying, building design, sustainability, product design, additive manufacturing and fabrication, CADDS offers a seamless integration of expert knowledge in-house to service a whole project lifecycle. Remaining proudly WA-owned, CADDS Groups purposely merges multiple disciplines to develop holistic and collaborative solutions not possible elsewhere.
About Markforged:
Markforged (NYSE:MKFG) is making manufacturing more resilient and flexible by bringing on-demand industrial production to the point of need. The Markforged Digital Forge – the reliable, intelligent and easy-to-use additive manufacturing platform – empowers any manufacturer to create strong and accurate end-use parts repeatedly in both metal and composites anywhere and anytime. Over 10,000 customers across 70+ countries use The Digital Forge to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing while strengthening their supply chains. Markforged is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, where it designs the hardware, software and materials that power its platform. To learn more, visit www.markforged.com.
About Core Additive:
James Staples, CEO, founded Core Additive in 2018 as an official reseller for Markforged. James envisions that the clients are at the forefront of everything we do, believing in doing the right thing for our customers and providing cutting-edge technology to drive growth and innovation. With that vision, Core Additive doesn’t just sell technology, but more importantly offers partnerships that bring together the dedication to the customers’ success through providing education and cutting-edge technology, alongside unwavering support at every step of the process.
