The Government of South Australia is providing a AU$1.4
million grant to the University of Adelaide to establish
the Additive Manufacturing Applied Research Network. Additive manufacturing is
commonly known as 3D-printing.
The University of Adelaide’s Institute for Photonics and
Advanced Sensing and Optofab Australian National Fabrication Facility, together
with the Stretton Centre in northern Adelaide and CSIRO’s Lab 22 additive
manufacturing centre will establish the applied research network as a
state-of-the-art, metal additive manufacturing facility.
The new facility will
enable many advanced manufacturing projects in defence, medical devices, dental
prostheses and injection moulding to be undertaken in Adelaide.
The metal 3D printing facility is being supported through
the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research
Centre, which aims to assist manufacturers to transition from low cost
manufacturing to advanced manufacturing based on modern technologies and
models.
The facility will be based in Northern Adelaide. It will
house three printers – one of which will be solely used and accredited for
medical device manufacturing. The network will also involve the establishment
of a plastics 3D printing facility at the City of Playford’s Stretton Centre,
Munno Para.
The facility will be the only metal additive manufacturing
centre in Australia that’s available to companies on a commercial basis. Access
to the world-leading technology will remove significant cost pressures and
barriers for local manufacturers. It will provide businesses with a new tool to
undertake research, product development and validation testing. Several local
companies have already sought access to the new facility.
Manufacturing and
Innovation Minister, Kyam Maher, said, “The success of
transforming the South Australian economy depends on our ability to adapt to
new ways of doing things and establish advanced technologies to build globally
competitive, high-value firms. Having the University of Adelaide support
innovation in industries such as defence and health allows for better
collaboration and fresh thinking and really helps promote our state as a
world-leader in advanced and additive manufacturing.”
“This facility has been born out of three years’ work by the
University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and the Optofab
Australian National Fabrication Facility. Clients who use our current small 3D
metal printing facility have had to go overseas to get access to larger printers
for manufacture of products,” added Professor
Julie Owens, the University of Adelaide Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Research).
IMCRC Managing
Director and CEO, David Chuter, said, “We work with manufacturing
businesses, research organisations and government, and invest in partnerships
that support innovation – globally competitive and sustainable products and
manufacturing processes – to ensure Australian industry can meet the challenges
and opportunities of the global economy.”
While CSIRO Deputy
Director Manufacturing, Dr. Cathy Foley commented, “Additive
manufacturing, or 3D printing, creates enormous opportunities for innovative
products to be developed, creating new business models and jobs growth in
Australia. In addition to improving lives with next generation medical
implants, the success of CSIRO’s Lab 22 has shown that making metal additive
manufacturing more accessible for industry provides them with the tools to
differentiate themselves, grow and get ahead of global competitors.”
Featured
image: Bram Souffreau/ CC BY-SA 2.0
