Eiger Software Update: Internal Concentric Fiber Reinforcement

You asked and we delivered: with our latest Eiger update we introduce internal feature reinforcement for Concentric Fill. This feature both gives users more versatility in reinforcement and reduces fiber usage, so we’ll go into how it can be used efficiently below. If you’re unfamiliar with how Concentric Rings affect your part, check out our Effective Fiber Routing blog post.

Reinforcement Options

Eiger now gives you 3 different reinforcement options when “Use Fiber” and “Concentric Fill” are selected that you’ll see in the “Walls to Reinforce” dropdown:

Outer Shell Only: Outer Shell Reinforcement only adds concentric rings to reinforce the outer perimeter of the part. This option is carried over from the original Concentric Fill: giving the part strength in bending around the Z axis by reinforcing the walls with parallel strands of fiber.

Inner Holes Only: Inner Hole Reinforcement adds concentric rings around all internal features of the part. It is an easy and material-efficient method to reinforce holes, cavities, and any other internal features.

All Walls: This setting adds the specified number of concentric rings to both the perimeter of the part and all internal features. This default setting combines the reinforcement strength of both Outer Shell and Inner Hole Reinforcement.

Applications of New Concentric Options

These three new reinforcement options can be used only with Concentric Reinforcement – during Isotropic Reinforcement all walls are automatically reinforced with parallel fibers to ensure a smooth external surface. The additional options can save print time and fiber usage because in certain applications so that isotropic fiber reinforcement is no longer needed.

Reinforcing Internal Cavities

The Inner Hole Reinforcement option gives you the capability to easily reinforce internal cavities in your parts. One application of this feature includes strengthening bolt holes against torsion perpendicular to the bolt axis. Concentric rings around the cavities reinforce the hole walls to prevent deformation, so the option provides a cost-effective and fiber-saving method for reinforcement in this way.

Backing Up Fasteners and Embedded Components

As we’ve shown in earlier posts, we make it easy to embed components into parts printed on our printer. With the fiber reinforcement capabilities of Markforged printers, you can reinforce the walls around embedded components like nuts for a stronger fastener connection. Again, this saves fiber usage while maintaining strength where it is important.

More Fiber Routing Control

In general, this new fiber routing option gives you more control over how you choose to reinforce your part, and how much fiber you are using in your part. With these new features, we are enabling you to make more efficient fiber routing decisions, so can focus your designs on their structure and function without worrying about fiber consumption.

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