Plastometrex
Babcock is utilising Plastometrex's Profilometry-based Indentation Plastometry (PIP) technology for the quick validation of components being additively manufactured for Project TAMPA.
Project TAMPA is the UK Ministry of Defence’s flagship initiative to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) in the defence supply chain.
Babcock is among the leading defence primes participating in Project TAMPA and was responsible for producing the first part to be recommended for adoption into defence inventory through the Project TAMPA AM accelerator program in November last year.
Babcock, a current Plastometrex customer, is set to coordinate the manufacture of laser powder bed additive parts and oversee the comparison of components produced by different suppliers. Their task is to demonstrate that distributed manufacturing can deliver equivalent, certifiable outcomes to those already approved, ensuring the MOD can maintain operational readiness even when conventional routes are disrupted. Work on these elements is expected to begin in early November.
The defence manufacturer has adopted PIP technology through its installation of a PLX-Benchtop system. PIP, which was last week validated by an ASTM standard, is a physics-based approach that extracts stress-strain curves from indentation test data using an inverse finite element method.
Babcock will deploy PIP technology to detect property changes through the height of an AM build that tensile testing often misses, identify differences between builds, and prove alignment with tensile results across a range of alloys produced via laser powder bed fusion.
Plastometrex believes the speed and non-destructive nature of PIP aligns well with the demands of the defence supply chain, suggesting it could become an essential capability for ensuring availability in critical defence programmes.
By enabling rapid, non-destructive validation of part performance, PIP makes it possible to compare and qualify parts at the speed digital supply chains demand - an essential capability for ensuring availability in critical defence programmes.
Dr Mike Coto, CCO at Plastometrex, said: “Project TAMPA is about more than advancing additive manufacturing; it’s about national resilience. The ability to securely share digital designs, manufacture parts where they are needed, and know with confidence that those parts will perform as expected is transformative for defence. PIP enables that confidence, reducing reliance on slow and destructive methods, and ensuring that the MOD can access the parts it needs, when it needs them.”
Kate Robinson, Managing Director, Through Life Equipment Support (TLES), Babcock, added: “We will develop solutions for complex parts across various platforms to ensure material availability, reduce obsolescence, and enhance the MOD’s defence capabilities. Our collaboration with Plastometrex is a terrific example of how innovation can accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing within the defence supply chain.”
