Renishaw and Plastometrex announce collaboration to improve efficiency in AM testing

Plastometrex, a provider of advanced mechanical testing solutions, has announced that it has supplied Renishaw with enhanced mechanical testing capabilities. The collaboration focuses on incorporating Plastometrex’s proprietary PIP (Profilometry-based Indentation Plastometry) technology and results into Renishaw’s testing processes, increasing the precision and efficiency of mechanical property analysis and part confidence in 3D printing.

Plastometrex says that tensile testing in the AM sector presents several challenges, first being the time and material required to produce tensile coupons take up significant chunks of project timelines and budgets, while the use of separately 3D printed tensile coupons can often fail to fully represent the mechanical properties of complex 3D printed parts, potentially affecting the reliability of data.

The company says that Renishaw’s adoption of Plastometrex’s PIP testing tackles these challenges head-on. The PLX-Benchtop facilitates rapid, direct testing on different sections of AM parts, delivering comprehensive stress-strain curves in minutes according to Plastometrex.

The company says this method provides a more precise evaluation of a part’s mechanical properties and complements Renishaw’s existing testing procedures.

Read more: Plastometrex declares successful independent verification of its pipeline material verification data

By enabling users to directly test a 3D printed part, and in several different locations, the PLX-Benchtop equips Renishaw with a more detailed understanding of the mechanical properties of a part while streamlining the testing process.

Plastometrex says the test itself is largely automated, taking under five minutes and requiring minimal sample prep. Through bypassing the need for coupons and associated material and machining, Renishaw is set to benefit from mechanical testing cost and time savings.

“We can now use cubes built for product development for additional testing, saving us time and money. Additionally, the PLX-Benchtop can generate mechanical data for a wider range of parameters,” said Benjamin Haigh, Materials Scientist at Renishaw.

Jed Robinson-Wall, Materials Scientist graduate added: “PIP technology is a fantastic complement to our existing mechanical testing regime. It gives us even greater insight into the quality of parts produced on our RenAM 500 series of metal additive manufacturing systems.”