AML3D to establish R&D facility at Flinders ‘Factory of the Future’
Adelaide-based AML3D Limited will establish an R&D facility at the state-of-the-art ‘Factory of the Future’ under development by Flinders University and BAE Systems Maritime Australia at the Tonsley Innovation District in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.
AML3D Managing Director, Andrew Sales, said the establishment of an AML3D Arcemy® unit at the ‘Factory of the Future’ will form the basis of a formal additive manufacturing R&D facility at Tonsley. ARCEMY® is a medium to large scale metal 3D printer combining welding science, robotics automation, materials engineering and proprietary software to form AML3D’s patented WAM® – Wire Additive Manufacturing – process. ARCEMY® produces parts by depositing molten wire layer by layer, in a controlled manner.
“The trials and research projects to be undertaken at the facility in conjunction with BAE Systems Maritime Australia and Flinders University will enable AML3D to further develop its large-scale metal additive manufacturing capability through added features such as in process measurement, monitoring and adjustment that will improve quality,” Sales said.
Sharon Wilson, Continuous Naval Shipbuilding Strategy Director at BAE Systems Maritime Australia, said additive manufacturing would be a core element of the ‘Factory of the Future’ concept and testing and trials of metal additive manufacturing systems would soon be underway for the potential application in naval shipbuilding.
“The establishment of a permanent Line Zero facility will support the development of new manufacturing techniques and technologies within a factory-like environment that will ultimately be adapted to the state-of-the-art digital shipyard at Osborne, and beyond,” Sharon said, “This supports the growth of an enduring and uniquely Australian sovereign industrial capability that supports the nation’s continuous naval shipbuilding strategy for generations to come.”