Defense Prototype Delivered
First dual-use component produced for point-of-need manufacturing evaluation program.
ForgeNest has delivered its first dual-use component as part of a point-of-need manufacturing evaluation program. The part — a structural bracket with complex internal geometry — was produced entirely on our Agility Forge system from raw billet to finished form.
The evaluation program, conducted in partnership with a defense logistics agency, aims to assess the viability of deploying compact forging systems to forward operating locations. Traditional supply chains for forged metal components can span weeks or months; the goal is to compress that timeline to hours.
Our submission demonstrated several critical capabilities:
- --Cold-start to finished part in under 4 hours
- --Material properties meeting or exceeding MIL-SPEC requirements
- --Dimensional accuracy within tolerance without secondary machining
- --Complete digital thread from design file to as-built inspection data
The component was produced using 4140 steel alloy, a workhorse material in defense applications. Post-forging metallurgical analysis confirmed grain refinement consistent with superior fatigue performance compared to cast alternatives.
This delivery validates our thesis that software-defined forging can serve as a viable manufacturing modality for expeditionary and austere environments where traditional machine shops are unavailable.