Chopped glass fiber-filled nylon for color-coded tooling by Markforged
Last update on Jun 30, 2026
Manufacturing engineers and tooling designers working on color-coded fixtures, error-proofing systems, and safety indicators can now evaluate Onyx GF™, a chopped glass fiber-filled nylon material from Markforged. Available in six colors – red, yellow, blue, green, gray, and white – Onyx GF™ extends the Onyx™ family by integrating functional color directly into the material formulation, eliminating secondary painting, labeling, or post-processing steps.
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Requires no secondary surface treatment
In high-pace manufacturing environments, color serves as one of the fastest and most reliable visual signals for communicating critical operational information. It supports hazard warnings, part classification, and product line differentiation without reliance on operator memory or traditional signage.
Because the color is embedded within the material itself, Onyx GF™ requires no secondary surface treatment. Color-coded tooling produced with Onyx GF™ supports 5S and visual management frameworks, and allows operators to identify which tool belongs to a specific process, part revision, or manufacturing line at a glance.
"Bringing color to the factory floor is about far more than aesthetics; it is about unlocking a new level of operational velocity, safety, and error-proofing for our customers," said Jon Bond, general manager of FFF at Markforged. "Until now, manufacturers often had to choose between the industrial-grade performance of materials like Onyx or the use of brittle, weaker materials like ABS or PLA. With Onyx GF, we are removing that compromise entirely. We are delivering the same trusted mechanical foundation our users rely on every day, but with the immediate communication benefits that functional color provides. This allows teams to scale visual management seamlessly across their entire enterprise."
Application areas by sector
Onyx GF™ addresses color-coding requirements across several regulated and safety-critical manufacturing sectors:
Aerospace and automotive: For facilities operating Foreign Object Debris (FOD) prevention programs, high-contrast color-coded parts make foreign object detection faster, simpler, and more reliable.
Food & beverage and pharmaceuticals: In production environments governed by zone segregation protocols, color-coded fixtures support containment of tools within designated areas, reducing the risk of cross-contamination or cross-zone mix-ups.
Workplace safety: High-visibility red and yellow fixtures direct operator attention near hazardous machinery, robotic cells, or confined spaces, reducing reliance on traditional signage.
Continuous fiber reinforcement for aluminum strength performance
Onyx GF™ carries forward the mechanical properties established by the Onyx family: tensile strength, stiffness, surface finish, dimensional accuracy, and print reliability. For applications requiring higher structural performance, Onyx GF parts can be reinforced with Continuous Carbon Fiber using Markforged's Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) process, providing aluminum-strength performance where required. The material is naturally non-conductive, making it suitable for applications requiring electrical isolation.
For manufacturers already operating on Markforged platforms, Onyx GF™ integrates into existing production workflows without process modifications. Color-coded tooling that previously required external outsourcing, specialized painting, or secondary processing steps can be produced in-house. According to Markforged, this provides a consistent, lower-cost alternative that meets the quality standards required for demanding floor operations, delivering the same high-performance output in the specified color across production facilities globally.
You can access technical data for Onyx GF™ and compare materials in the Master Catalog of Plastics & Elastomers.
Image credits: Markforged