Fieldmade microfactories will 3D print Stealth Keys on-location and on-demand

Norwegian Defense Research spinoff Fieldmade and the Swiss security company Urban Alps are cooperating to 3D print high-security Stealth Keys anywhere and anytime. Customers in the military or energy sector can order Stealth Keys on demand and have them delivered within a day, via remote Fieldmade microfactories.

Using Fieldmades microfactories, Urban Alps can cut the delivery time of Stealth Keys down to just one day. “This collaboration marks the beginning of a new industrial era, where high-security mechanical keys are shipped digitally and turned into physical products at the customer’s location, no matter how remote the location – no shipping costs, no customs, immediately, and safe from unauthorized duplication”, explained Urban Alps founder and CEO Alejandro Ojeda. CAD and IP security are ensured by using proprietary software for remote 3D printing without sending any CAD file.

All high security keys available today are made at a handful of large factories. Orders may take weeks to be delivered, depending on how remote the location of the buyer is. The second issue is the threat of key duplication. Unauthorized duplicates of most classic “security keys” can be made quite easily by using a smartphone, an app and a cheap plastic printer.

Fieldmade microfactories anywhere

To meet the demand for increased security Swiss company Urban Alps AG leveraged 3D printing processes to develop the Stealth Key, a patent-protected mechanical key that has completely invisible security features, thus offering ultimate key copy protection. This turns out to be a perfect match for Fieldmade’s business models, which focuses on offering manufacturing solutions for deployed use.

“Fieldmade’s aim is to find innovative ways to bring more value to the customer, not just a revolutionary key but the benefits that novel additive manufacturing entails, for instance, a digital supply chain”, said Fieldmade founder and CEO Christian Duun Norberg. “This cooperation is the perfect example of how two innovative companies can complement each other to deliver truly secure products in a matter of hours to customers with high security and time sensitive needs”, adds Ojeda. Fieldmade is both a future producer and current customer of the Stealth Key system, as they picked Stealth Technology as their lock system of choice for their microfactories.