Onyx and Onyx FR are similar materials; they are both high-performance, engineered, composites from Markforged, manufactured from Nylon-6 & impregnated with chopped carbon microfibers. They have good strength and durability properties, making them suitable for a variety of industries. Despite these similarities they differ in one key aspect; Onyx FR is a fire-retardant variant of the Onyx.
The Onyx FR material is used for applications where parts must be non-flammable. The material has earned a “UL Blue Card” certification and is considered V-0; this essentially means that it is self-extinguishing at thicknesses 3mm and above. It is commonly used in a variety of applications where the non-flammable property, along with strength and durability of Onyx, is necessary. In addition, there is a variant of Onyx FR, called Onyx FR-A, with lot-level material traceability; this material is mostly utilised in Aerospace applications where material traceability is mandatory.
Some of the key applications for this material are welding fixtures, laser marking fixtures, electrical brackets, aerospace clips and aerospace brackets.
Remember however that Onyx can be printed on all Markforged printers while Onyx FR (and FR-A) can only be printed on the Industrial series printers and the FX20.
Overall, both these materials are great for functional parts and customers will utilise one over the other depending on the application at hand.
