Flinders University signs up shipbuilders

Adelaide’s Flinders University has signed two agreements to provide research and advanced manufacturing technologies to the city’s expanding naval shipbuilders.

In the first agreement with BAE Systems Australia and its subsidiary, ASC Shipbuilding, the university will bring Industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing to the Hunter Class frigate programme.

The collaboration is part of BAE’s plans for a fully digital shipyard at Osborne (pictured) in Port Adelaide.

As reported in @AuManufacturing news, the federal government is investing $535 million expanding Osborne where BAE will build nine frigates.

At the same time a new Industry 4.0 partnership was signed between France’s Naval Group and Flinders focusing on advanced technologies in the Osborne shipyards.

Naval Group is to build the Attack Class submarines in Adelaide under a $50 billion contract.

In this partnership Flinders will conduct research on technologies that will provide assistive capabilities to improve worker health and safety.

This could include mobile machining robots and exoskeleton technologies.

Picture: Defence SA

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