Miko Plast produces custom products for the Norwegian Armed Forces (Forsvaret)

Norwegian companies

Laborel A / S in Oslo was tasked with creating a detection system for radioactivity. And Miko Plast A / S got the order to develop and produce assembly brackets and protective caps for the same equipment.
Laborell is located at Alnabru in Oslo. They specialize in the supply of electronic equipment, and are one of the country’s foremost specialist communities in the field. They provide tailor-made arrangements for both civil and military purposes. The company’s daily manager, Karsten Fredriksen, says that the company previously also delivered complex detection facilities, but that this was one of the more prestigious projects one has had.

Specialty Products

Miko Plast A / S resides on Nordstrand in Oslo. In addition to their series of production-oriented injection molding activities at Gardermoen, they have specialized in the development and production of plastic components, even in smaller quantities. They now deliver everything from engineering to finished product – both in large and small series. The CEO, Steinar Lein, says that the company now serves all types of production assignments within plastic components, and that the development and production of brackets and encapsulation for the defense detection system gave the company wind in its sails.

Durability

When Miko plastic got the order from Laborel, it was with a certain tension one went loose on the case. This even though one had previously developed and delivered plastic components with high demands for accuracy. Here, the requirements for mechanical and thermal durability were a demand, which Miko Plast knew they would be able to solve with today’s plastic material technology; It was just a matter of finding the right solutions.

Strict requirements

It is a well-known matter that the defense is one of the more demanding customers one can have, and when the equipment could be mounted at the top of a mast on a vessel which at one moment was in the Mediterranean so as to move to the south ocean, the requirements for thermal durability became essential. The case was not made easier by the fact that extended demands for mechanical strength were presented at a somewhat late stage. The product could withstand a pressure wave corresponding to an acceleration of 70 G. And this was to be verified through tests at Det Norske Veritas.

Necessary improvements

At this stage, Miko Plast A / S had already completed the construction and the first prototype. After a review, it was agreed to go back to the drawing board and especially review the durability of the brackets under extreme stress. This resulted in a new part having to be implemented; a vibration damping support plate was constructed and added to prototypes. The products were later tested at DNV under a certain tension that was triggered to satisfaction when the test was solidly passed – without comment.

The frigates are now in delivery, and at the top of the masts one can see the result of fresh, Norwegian industrial investment.