Page 15 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2021

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING STRENGTHENS SOVEREIGN CAPABILITY FOR DEFENCE
The Australian Army’s trial of advanced manufacturing technology has proven it can provide a cost-efficient solution to manufacture parts in the field in a very short time.
Defence is facing significant risks with increased supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, challenges which technology can help to solve. The adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies is supporting transformation and innovation for Defence to save time, costs and reduce supply chain risks in a post-pandemic world that has witnessed logistical impacts on a global scale.
Additive manufacturing, a type of advanced manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is already being used by Defence and proving to be incredibly effective in strengthening sovereign capability.
How Autodesk’s design and make technology is supporting Defence
The digitalisation of the manufacturing sector is helping Defence to drive supply chain resilience, improve sustainability and create an empowered workforce, leading to increased productivity and reduced risk.
In a recent trial undertaken by Defence, the Australian Army leveraged additive manufacturing technology for metal 3D printing in the field – proving that this type of innovation can strengthen Australia’s sovereign capability.
Image courtesy of SPEE3D
As an example, with additive manufacturing, metal parts of mission- critical equipment such as military vehicles and tools can be custom made, printed, heat treated, machined, tested and used in the field.
The ability to 3D print metal parts and repair damaged equipment in real time in a deployed environment is cost effective and can significantly reduce the Army’s risk footprint by enabling them to resume activity and return to more pressing priorities.
During the trial, the Army team easily replaced the metal part of a specialised multitool with a version they designed and printed themselves using additive manufacturing. The version was produced using 3D metal printing in under an hour and with a material cost of approximately $100. In the future, the Army sees this technology being deployed on demand in the field, allowing them to make the parts where and when they need them at a fraction of the cost.
Autodesk customer, SPEE3D enables fast 3D metal printing using advanced manufacturing
Australian company SPEE3D, using Autodesk Fusion 360, has been working with the Australian Army to test and validate metal 3D printing as a military capability.
Fusion 360 is a cloud-based 3D modeling, CAD, CAM, CAE, and PCB software platform for product design and manufacturing. It enables customers to design and engineer products to ensure aesthetics, form, fit, and function while reducing the impact of design and engineering changes to ensure efficient manufacturability.
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The results of the Australian Army’s trial are extraordinary. The SPEE3D process complemented by Autodesk technology is 100 to 1000 times faster than traditional 3D metal printing. The Army deployed the machines out in the field, so soldiers can print replacement parts of mission-critical equipment on-site instead of waiting for supplies to be deployed to them.
The benefits of adopting this advanced manufacturing technology represents a significant innovation opportunity for Defence. Parts can be custom made locally in Australia, reducing production time and cost, minimising supply chain risk, or directly in the field irrespective of the global location, which can be anywhere in the world.
“SPEE3D brings a paradigm shift to metal additive manufacturing, providing dramatic reductions in production times that will be revolutionary for Defence as it seeks more innovative approaches to build up sovereign defence capability within Australia. It is exciting to see how Autodesk solutions are enabling practical outcomes in the field,” said Mr Godfrey.
Prior to using additive manufacturing technology, Co-Founder and CTO of SPEE3D Steve Camilleri says that 3D printing was “too slow and expensive”.
Image courtesy of SPEE3D
“The integration of Fusion 360 in SPEE3D is really unique. We are excited to see how it drives our complementary technologies in our platform stack by providing value to the entire ADF and industry while it seeks to innovate, respond quickly, augment supply chains and minimise supply chain risks in a post-COVID world,” said Mr Camilleri.
Find out more about Autodesk, visit boards.autodesk.com/defence
“Autodesk’s design and manufacturing platform exists to provide users the power to create anything, in any environment”
James Godfrey,
Autodesk Australia Account Director for Defence.