Fieldmade, a provider of mobile and deployable additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, increasingly positions itself as a strong partner for defense organizations. Backed by Equinor, the company joined forces last year with 1000 Kelvin to improve the immediate deployment of 3D printing at the front lines.
The company will now collaborate with Plastometrex, a provider of non-destructive mechanical testing technology, to bring quality assurance to on-demand metal AM.
Plastometrex develops a PIP technology which aims to address the current limitations of conventional testing methods (like tensile testing) which come with significant time and cost implications.
Testing within the NOMAD micro factories
As part of this collaboration, Plastometrex’s PLX-Benchtop is now offered within Fieldmade’s NOMAD® micro factory series. For the first time, customers are presented with a portable, end-to-end metal AM solution with built-in mechanical testing capabilities.
The PLX-Benchtop is powered by Plastometrex’s proprietary PIP testing method (Profilometry-based Indentation Plastometry) and delivers accurate, non-destructive stress-strain curves. The system’s intuitive interface eliminates the need for specialised expertise. Operators can therefore confidently perform testing with minimal training and without complicated sample preparation or equipment.
“Plastometrex’s solutions represent a paradigm shift for in-field testing” said Fieldmade Head of Quality, Tobias Rønneberg. “Our customers work in remote environments where parts are urgently needed and access to expertise can be limited. The ease of use, the speed of testing and compact size of the PLX-Benchtop, makes it highly suitable for use in expeditionary manufacturing.
By integrating Plastometrex’s PLX-Benchtop into our NOMAD® systems, our end-users can rapidly assess the quality of the additively manufactured parts on-the-fly, ensuring the safety and performance of critical components.”
Quality assurance at the point of production
Fieldmade’s deployable NOMAD® systems, built for on-site AM, now enable immediate validation of the mechanical integrity of 3D-printed metal parts for critical applications. By integrating Plastometrex’s compact PLX-Benchtop system, customers can perform quality assurance directly at the point of production, gaining confidence in part performance within minutes, even in demanding environments.
Plastometrex CCO, Mike Coto, comments, “This partnership marks an exciting turning point for deployable production. Traditional testing methods are too slow and inflexible for effective use in deployable settings. By integrating the PLX-Benchtop into the NOMAD® systems, Fieldmade and Plastometrex are jointly enabling customers to manufacture and test components at the point of need.”
Participants at the Military Additive Manufacturing Summit in Tampa, Florida, 11-12 February 2025, could learn more about this collaboration in stand 415.
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