21 Sep News in 3D Printing Australia
With 3D Printing in Australia doubling over the last few years as industries adapt and evolve using alternative ways of producing prototypes and getting them quicker to market.
The origins of 3D printing in Australia has turned to ‘Rapid Prototyping’ where it was founded on the principles of industrial prototyping as a means of speeding up the earliest stages of product development. With a quick and straightforward way of producing prototypes that allows for multiple iterations of a product to arrive more quickly and efficiently at an optimum solution. This saves time and money at the outset of the entire product development process and ensures confidence ahead of production tooling.
Prototyping is still probably the largest, even though sometimes overlooked, application of 3D printing today.
The developments and improvements of the process and the materials, saw the processes being taken up for applications further down the product development process chain. Tooling and casting applications were developed utilizing the advantages of the different processes. Again, these applications are increasingly being used and adopted across industrial sectors.
Some examples of the uses of 3D Printing in Australia have recently been out in the news.
According to 3dprintingindustry.com, the Australian Army has adopted 3D printing in Australia and carried out a series of field exercises over the past 12 months using additive manufacturing systems to produce metal end use components.
The Australian Army Soldiers were capable of printing real parts and solving real world problems in the field by using technology and 3D printing to rapidly produce customized equipment for it’s soldiers.
Using the 4,500kg WarpSPEE3D metal printer the Australian Army in Darwin, was able to print genuine military repair parts, tools, and prototypes using the worlds first large-format metal printer.
The printer is capable of printing large metal parts up to 40kgs at a record breaking speed of 100grams per minute.
Below is a prototype of a custom tool that has been produced using 3D printing in Australia
3D printing models can be designed by using CAD software, which is then often printed on plastics, in thin horizontal layers to build out a 3D model. At Castech 3D, we know that the 3D printing process can often lead to confusion, and can be difficult for the first timers learning the process and designing their models.
If you need assistance with your design and would like a professional business to help with your project or production of your industrial parts then contact Brad Walsh at Castech 3D at Wingfield.