Additive manufacturing or 3D printing has fundamentally transformed the way companies develop, build, and deliver products, fostering a universe of new possibilities. Not long ago, the process of prototyping was heavily labor-intensive and time-consuming. 3D printing is empowering companies to miraculously streamline their prototyping technology. The costs associated with 3D printing often stand in the way of its wide-scale adoption in production processes. Also, qualifying and validating parts is a major concern with 3Dprinting. Companies are often on the fence, deciding where 3D printing fits in their supply chain due to their limited knowledge of the technology. While there are numerous factors that deter companies from embracing additive manufacturing, P.M. Technologies is changing the game with a perfect blend of expertise and innovation. P.M. Technologies offers its expertise in additive manufacturing, design, and data analysis to a wide range of industries and provides companies with custom part design and manufacturing, product development, and additive manufacturing consulting services.

At the core, P.M. Technologies designs parts for 3D printing and either prints them in-house or outsources to manufacturing partners. The company is also integrating 3D printing with other technologies like robotics and data analytics to ensure consistency and better quality of products. “We’re highly focused on hybrid manufacturing. Rather than just directly printing parts for our clients, we also design tooling for casting or molding processes. We 3D print the tooling and then follow a conventional process. This saves a lot of time and money for our clients while developing a product and allows us to prototype and iterate faster at a lower cost relative to typical molding houses,” says Philip Morton, Founder and CEO of P.M. Technologies.

Backed by a team with vast knowledge and decades of experience in additive manufacturing, P.M. Technologies empowers its clients with highly economical and customized solutions. “Our expertise enables us to go far beyond what we practically do. We’re not limited to the machines and technologies we have in-house. Even if we do not support a particular technology, we can help our clients identify the best technology for their needs,” highlights Morton. P.M. Technologies has the skills and experience to take any 3D printing project from start to finish. From carrying out early consultations to learn about the project requirements to performing design iterations and prototyping, P.M. Technologies is at the forefront of optimizing manufacturing processes. Morton explains, “Apart from designing and 3D printing, we perform other conventional manufacturing operations. Depending on a client’s need, we can seamlessly transition from designing to low volume manufacturing, and transfer a project to a high-volume manufacturer.”

Depending on a client’s need, we can seamlessly transition from designing to low volume manufacturing, and transfer a project to a high-volume manufacturer

A proven instance of P.M. Technologies’ capabilities is its partnership with Ice Nine Labs—a provider of customized consumer goods. Ice Nine Labs was looking to sell mass customized silicone coasters. P.M. Technologies developed a manufacturing process and software algorithm that instantly creates a coaster design based on an image. P.M. Technologies’ automated design algorithm uses an image to create STL files of the product. With the help of P.M. Technologies and highly automated advanced manufacturing, Ice Nine Labs was able to deliver large quantities of customized coasters with a three-to-five-day turnaround time.

For the future, P.M. Technologies aims to conduct all production operations in-house, especially for production of mass customized parts at scale. The company is also looking to expand its manufacturing space in partnership with Horizon City EDC. In addition to its automated design software and 3D printing capabilities, P.M. Technologies will continue to enhance its backend technology by integrating robotics wherein a robot can pull the 3D printed part off the printer and carry out ancillary operations. “Our goal is to automate 90 percent of our agile manufacturing process. If a customer orders a part or product, we have the software to design it, printers to make it, and robots to handle it and repeat the process for any number of parts,” concludes Morton.