Babcock Worldwide Group (Babcock), the protection firm and trusted accomplice of the British Military & UK MOD, is overcoming the long-standing business problem of half obsolescence with the assistance of Plastometrex, a sophisticated mechanical testing expertise supplier. Babcock has efficiently leveraged Plastometrex’s novel “PIP Testing” expertise to allow well timed and extremely knowledgeable reverse-engineering of out of date elements for Additive Manufacturing (AM) manufacturing, making mission-critical elements accessible for his or her clients in file time and with even greater assurances of half efficiency.

Many protection property depend on legacy elements which might be not accessible within the provide chain. With AM enabling fast manufacturing of small batches or one-off elements, it addresses the numerous challenge of half obsolescence confronted by the defence business. To reinforce their capabilities and keep pace by the AM half design and qualification course of, Babcock has fashioned a strategic partnership with Plastometrex, leveraging their modern Benchtop Plastometer for the mechanical testing of AM elements, carried out by Babcock companions, Additure.

Lewis Corbett, Design Engineer at Babcock commented: “Within the absence of design information, the Plastometer empowers us to analyse the unique mechanical properties of the half. As soon as the half has been additively manufactured, we will examine the properties in opposition to these of the unique half, guaranteeing our decision-making course of is very knowledgeable.”

Whereas conventional tensile testing of AM elements often depends on witness coupons, PIP (Profilometry-based Indentation Plastometry) testing allows customers to check straight on a 3D-printed half and in a number of areas, delivering a considerably extra detailed understanding of the mechanical properties of the half in a fraction of the time. Additional, the Benchtop Plastometer serves as an simply deployable answer that additionally eliminates the necessity for in depth machining functionality to hold out these exams.

The place out of date elements lack design information, Babcock will make the most of PIP to quickly construct up a complete understanding of every half’s mechanical properties, permitting them to reverse engineer and additively manufacture new elements which might be match for objective.

Dr. Max Burley, Chief {Hardware} Engineer at Plastometrex had this so as to add: “With this partnership between Babcock and Plastometrex, AM retrofits are not restricted by lengthy turnaround occasions or poor-quality assurance procedures. We’re extremely excited to play an element in revolutionizing how MRO providers are delivered throughout industries with unprecedented pace and precision.”

The potential that AM represents to the protection business is simple. By way of their collaboration, Babcock and Plastometrex at the moment are proving that this thrilling new expertise isn’t simply promising, however that the adoption of AM is each lifelike and achievable.