Austal, Curtin University and the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) now join the growing list of organisations pushing the agenda for additive manufacturing in the maritime and defense supply chain in Australia.
Together, the three partners are launching a $600,000 collaborative research project to explore new additive manufacturing opportunities. Their focus is Australia’s maritime and defense supply chain.
Over the next 18 months, the project will develop a practical, industry-ready framework. It will provide a consistent methodology for assessing potentially thousands of components against operational, commercial, technical and regulatory requirements.
For Austal, the framework represents a shift from individual additive manufacturing use cases to a scalable, systematic approach. This therefore informs decisions on where additive manufacturing can reduce lead times, strengthen supply chains and support sovereign manufacturing capability.
What does each player bring to the table?
As part of this project, Austal will bring its expertise in designing and constructing customized commercial and defense solutions. The company supplies maritime vessels to ferry operators, navies and defense forces across the globe.
Meanwhile, Curtin University will lead the development and validation of the framework. It will work closely with industry and draw on real-world vessel and supply chain data. This aims to ensure practical and commercially relevant outcomes.
Austal Head of Research and Development, Sam Abbott, said the project will help embed additive manufacturing more strategically across the business.
Research Lead, Dr Karl Davidson, said the research will help provide clearer pathways from opportunity identification to implementation.
“By combining engineering, operational and commercial considerations into a single framework, we can help manufacturers make faster, more informed decisions about where additive manufacturing can deliver measurable benefits,” Research Lead, Dr Karl Davidson said.
The project also aligns with a broader effort to strengthen Australia’s advanced manufacturing capability and accelerate industry adoption of additive manufacturing.
Simon Marriott, AMCRC’s Managing Director, said the project addresses a critical barrier to wider additive manufacturing adoption by helping manufacturers identify and select components best suited to the technology, with potential application across both defence and civil supply chains.
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