Freemelt has received a prototype order from a defense company with operations in Sweden as part of an agreement to conduct a feasibility study. The study concerns additive manufacturing of refractory metal components for defense applications and includes the production of several geometries for testing and evaluation.
The agreement aims to explore how additive manufacturing can be used to support the development and future production of qualified refractory metal components for selected defense-related applications. The study will evaluate how digital design, advanced materials and additive manufacturing can contribute to improved performance while creating a basis for scalable, efficient and resilient manufacturing where material performance, manufacturing quality and reliability are critical requirements.
"This feasibility study goes beyond evaluating whether existing components can be produced using additive manufacturing. It allows us to explore how digital design, advanced materials and additive manufacturing can be combined to optimise component performance, shorten development cycles and support scalable and resilient production of qualified components for demanding defense applications," says Daniel Gidlund, CEO of Freemelt.
The agreement further strengthens Freemelt's position within advanced applications of refractory metals and reflects the growing interest in additive manufacturing for critical industrial and defense-related applications. In September, Freemelt secured a major volume order from Fusion for Energy for the production of tungsten components for one of the world's most advanced fusion energy research facilities. This demonstrates the company's ability to support customers from early-stage design and process development through industrialisation to scalable manufacturing of qualified refractory metal components for the most demanding applications.