New centre boosts Australian manufacturing

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, has launched the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AusAMRC), established to design and develop ground breaking technologies for aerospace and related manufacturing industries.

This project is the product of a successful partnership between Swinburne University of Technology and aerospace industry leader Boeing. The new centre will raise Australia’s global standing in manufacturing excellence.

“This centre, with its combination of new technologies and new skills, promises to make participating Australian aerospace suppliers some of the most innovative and competitive in the world,” Senator Carr said.

“It shows how we can build our own domestic capacity for invention and discovery by attracting international innovators to Australia.

“The centre will build on Boeing’s expertise in aerospace technology while encouraging new initiatives in partnership with Australian manufacturers.”

Located at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus, AusAMRC will focus on the development of:

• high-speed machining of titanium and aluminium alloys;
• hybrid metal-composite components; and
• advanced tooling for integrated composite structures.

“The technologies that this centre will pursue are those that we are counting on to take Australian industry to the next level,” Senator Carr said.

“Collaboration between public sector researchers and private industry is crucial in boosting our innovative capacity, yet historically Australia has not fared well.

“This centre is a great example of why such public/private collaboration is so important and something that we must vigorously pursue,” Senator Carr said.