The NSW Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility will become operational later this year. Brent Balinski speaks to David Fox from the AMRF – a sponsor of this title’s current Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign – about what it aims to achieve. Later this year, the First Building in Bradfield City Centre, containing stage one…
Boeing has begun construction at the Toowoomba site where it will build the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, the first first military combat aircraft to be designed and made in Australia in more than a half century. Queensland was selected as the state to host the build of the uncrewed plane in 2020, with Wellcamp Airport selected…
5B, a Sydney-headquartered designer of prefabricated, relocatable solar PV systems, is deploying a 26 megawatt solar farm using its Maverick blocks at Bellevue Gold’s gold mine in Western Australia, which will form part of an 89.7 megawatt hybrid power station. The off-grid facility includes 528 5B Maverick arrays, and the combined wind, solar, thermal generation…
The commissioning of a new multi metal 3D printer in Melbourne as part of the iLAuNCH Trailblazer initiative is set to make space missions more affordable and efficient by creating lighter, faster and more robust aerospace components. The Nikon SLM-280 (Selective Laser Melting) at CSIRO’s Lab22 facility will print metals side-by-side in one continuous print.…
Additive manufacturing machinery manufacturer Titomic has announced its largest-ever order for D523 cold spray metal printing systems to the Royal Netherlands Army, the Koninklijke Landmacht. The order comprises 10 units of the D523 low pressure system with a total sale value of $1.28 million, marking a significant milestone in Titomic’s expansion in the defence sector.…
Composites manufacturer Quickstep has launched Quickstep Engineering Solutions allowing companies to benefit from its product development and manufacturing skills. CEO and Managing Director Mark Burgess said the company was thrilled to have productised ‘our incredible engineering offering – product and process design/development, industrial automation and supporting capabilities’. Burgess said: “With over 20 years of expertise…
Australian space suit company Metakosmos has announced an agreement with Saudi Arabian engineering services company Al-Sanai, which the Sydney-based startup says is “a strategic move” to reach new markets. In a statement on Tuesday (Sydney time), Metakosmos CEO Kiriti Rambhatla said of the collaboration: “As a part of the Metakosmos global customer expansion plan, after…
Laser-based anti-drone system maker AIM Defence has been awarded a $4.9 million contract by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for a directed energy weapon prototype that will be used in field-based trials. AIM Defence says its counter-drone systems are able to achieve “millimetre target accuracy at a distance of 1 kilometre” and are a tenth…
Underground mining contractor RUC Mining has launched a regenerative energy storage solution for mine shaft hoists or winders. Winders are heavy machines used to raise and lower minerals and materials in a mine shaft, with energy expended especially as the hoists raise materials and people to the surface. RUC Mining’s innovation is to capture and…
Governments and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency are backing trials of two energy-dense battery types not seen on electric vehicles to test the feasibility of battery micro-grids to supply those living in off-grid communities. With $2.85 million each from ARENA and the Western Australian government, regional energy provider Horizon Power will pilot two battery technologies…
