ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) announces the publication of a new Technology Brief that demonstrates how portability in predictive maintenance tools offers new ways to optimize asset availability and reduce costs.
NCMS has been at the forefront of advancing predictive maintenance by leading many technology development initiatives that have brought together experts from industry, academia, and government. With this third in a series of four technology briefs on predictive maintenance, NCMS explores how two portable systems developed in NCMS initiatives have extended the reach of predictive maintenance benefits.
- The first, a portable fluid analysis device, provides comprehensive laboratory results of oil and other fluids on-site, in real time.
- The second, a portable maintenance support device, enables technicians to securely oversee vehicle health monitoring analysis while in the field.
An NCMS initiative partnered with AMETEK Spectro Scientific to advance the Portable Fluid Analyzer Plus (PFA+), a battery-operated, portable device that measures fuels, oils, and hydraulics at the push of a button. Consisting of a single, central interface, the system performs fluid inspection, at the point of use, for nearly any fluid of interest, with results available in 15 minutes.
Another NCMS initiative partnered with Detroit Defense, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Penn State University to advance a cybersecure, ruggedized laptop that provides maintenance professionals with secure connectivity to vehicle health sensors, diagnostic aids, and predictive maintenance capabilities. Developed for the US Army, the system connects to the Combat Support Automated Information System Interface (CAISI), a US Army wireless networking system that provides secure, encrypted data communications in tactical, deployed environments.
For more details on these technologies, read the Technology Brief: Predictive Maintenance Technology: Portable Devices Optimize Asset Availability, Reduce Costs. To see the rest of the predictive maintenance series, visit the NCMS Technology Brief archive: https://ncms.org/news/technology-briefs/.
About NCMS
NCMS is a cross-industry technology development consortium dedicated to improving the competitiveness and strength of the US industrial base for nearly four decades. NCMS leverages a network of industry, government, and university partners to develop, demonstrate, and transition innovative technologies efficiently, with less risk and lower cost. NCMS enables world-class companies to work effectively with other members on new opportunities—matching highly capable companies with the providers and end users who need their innovations and technology solutions. The NCMS network benefits from an accelerated progression of idea creation through execution. Learn more at https://www.ncms.org, at NCMS’s LinkedIn, and at @ncmsmfg.
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