3D printing is increasingly becoming an integral part of manufacturing companies’ workflows. We have come to rely on our 3D printers to provide us with everything from prototypes to end-use parts. For that reason, printers need to be up and running 24/7, 365 days a year. Needless to say, service and support is a dealbreaker for any company that is looking in to using 3D printing in their organization.
Through a unique cooperation with sister company Ravema, PLM Group has over 50 field service engineers across the Nordics and Baltics. These men and women are our top troubleshooters and make sure your printer has the maximum uptime and print flawless parts.
Henrik Abildgaard is one of PLM Group’s senior field service engineers. We dare to say, he is one of the most AM-savvy professionals in the Nordics. I caught up with Henrik during a less hectic period. He’s usually travelling the region helping our customers with installations, maintenance and other issues.
Hi Henrik! Tell us a bit about yourself – how long have you worked for PLM Group?
“I started my career at PLM Group as a 3D print field service engineer (FSE) in beginning of 2019 and is part of a 3D print service team, of five FSEs in total. “
Minimize downtime on 3D printers
What are your areas of responsibility at PLM Group?
“My primary responsibility is to supply support and service to our customers, and to minimize downtime on their 3D print equipment in corporation with my team colleagues. We, as FSEs, are also responsible for keeping a good corporation with our sales, application engineer, and order management teams so we can act strong and precise, in our communication and be a trusted partner for our valued customers.”
“The 3D Print Service team are covering and providing, certified on-site service for our customers in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We are certified to service selected 3D printers, from HP, 3D Systems and Markforged and postprocessing equipment from DyeMansion.”
What is the most fun about working as a field service engineer?
“I feel I have great work pleasure in helping our customers installing new 3D printing equipment, or to help them getting it up and running in a reasonable time again after a breakdown. I wouldn’t use the word fun, but I find it very interesting to experience the different customer environments and 3D print purpose in their respective manufacturing workflows. Also, the “face to face” communication with the customer gives me a good relationship with them, and helps in a common professional and personal understanding, and in having a good cooperation in the future.”
3D printing service is a team effort
What is most challenging about your job?
“The most challenging is to schedule and manage the time, so every customer feels they get the service they request, and of course in the right time frame. It can be hard in some situations, and an example is when I am doing a bigger installation, which typically take a week to finish, and at the same time another 3D printer breaks down and requires a service visit. In these situations, my team helps in evaluating the urgency and in most cases, they can easily fly in from another Nordic country to help fix the problem.”
In your opinion – what qualities should a field service engineer have?
I believe a field service engineer should have the following qualities:
- Positive service mindset
- Good technical and troubleshooting skills
- Good communication skills
- Ready and eager to learn new things
- Ready to travel
- Ready to share and gain knowledge through vendors and internally as a part of a strong service team
In what ways can PLM Group help 3D printer users with our field service engineer organization?
“As a certified local partner with a certified engineer team, we can help customers by providing a local, professional, and stable support and service backup when they need it.”
“Our main goal is to give customers the optimum operator knowledge, and to minimize downtime on their 3D print equipment. When they experience this, they can focus on their profession and get the most out of their 3D printing solution.”
