SA’s innovative 3D printers boosting growth in advanced manufacturing
The 3D printing facility is the most advanced in the southern hemisphere.
Cutting-edge 3D metal printers are keeping South Australian advanced manufacturing in the game with the innovative technology already attracting some 100 companies to the Playford region of Adelaide.
In February, the Australian Advanced Materials Manufacturing facility (AAMM), backed by the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, opened its doors in Edinburgh North. Three of the state-of-the-art printers are creating complex products made from aluminium, titanium and stainless steel, in what is being lauded as the southern hemisphere’s most advanced metal 3D printing facility.
Manager Piers Lincoln said the new facility would boost growth in the defence, medical device and engineering sectors with numerous projects already completed since it opened for business in April.
Work included confidential defence jobs along with work for innovative Adelaide health device company Austofix, that makes a range of specialist plates used in surgery for bone injuries.
“We’ve even had classic car enthusiasts coming with their Bay to Birdwood gems, desperately needing a part that’s no longer found and we’ve been able to make them,” Piers says.