3D manufacturing plant opens in Melbourne

A $7 million manufacturing plant that uses only 3D printers has opened on the southern outskirts of Melbourne.

The 3D Central advanced manufacturing centre houses 15 printers, costing between $10,000 and $800,000 each. The printers can pump out anything from hairdryers to jewellery, custom car parts, dental splints and architectural models.

The facility is operated by Objective3D, whose clients include Holden, Ford, Boeing, BHP, Sunbeam and Breville.

For low-volume manufacturing, 3D printing is now cheaper than traditional volume-based production methods, putting customised design within reach.

Objective 3D Managing Director Matt Minio said producing a custom car part, for example, may cost “just $20 or $30” for “a small knob or a button”.

3D printers weigh hundreds of kilograms and work from 3D digital files to create products from a range of materials, mostly plastic based, although metals are also used.

The latest model of printer at 3D Central, the Objet500 Connex3, made by Stratasys, weighs 400 kg and prints ultrathin layers of acrylic liquid resin that are just 0.016 mm thick, in custom colours. A UV light cures the resin instantly into solid material, which can range from hard, to rubbery or silicon-like.

Other printers use different methods, such as extrusion printers, which use coils of spun plastic rather than liquid.

Minio said typical cost savings using 3D printers were between 50 and 80% compared to other production methods.