RMIT University’s Centre for Additive Manufacturing has a remarkable track record of transforming innovative research into world-class products.
Human beings come in many shapes and sizes but, until recently, medical implants did not.
That unfortunate fact has caused a lot of discomfort for the many people who have had to make the best of a brand-new body part that was cast to fit only a generic version of their unique self.
“In the past, implants would come in four or five categories of different shapes and sizes, and if you were lucky enough to fit one of those five, you might be okay. If you fell slightly outside the categories in any area, doctors would pick the one that was closest,” said Distinguished Professor Milan Brandt, Founding Director of the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing.
Then, the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing, working with industry partners, turned its attention to the problem and set about 3D-printing a customised spinal implant for a woman with a rare spinal defect.
The team designed a lattice spinal cage and 3D printed it from titanium powder. Today, 10 years after the spinal cage was implanted, the project stands as an Australian first and a marker of the ongoing influence the RMIT research group has had on Australia and the world. Brandt was acknowledged as a Centenary Hero by Engineers Australia for the work.
“We can now design implants specifically for patients,” Brandt said.
Innovation meets industry
This ability to connect innovation with industry has seen the Centre for Additive Manufacturing make a real difference throughout its history as a leading research institution.
“People come to us from Europe and the US wanting to collaborate because they recognise that we are a powerhouse in creating new ideas and delivering those ideas,” said Andrey Molotnikov, the Centre’s current director.
Being based at RMIT allows the Centre for Additive Manufacturing to draw upon sophisticated research, but its advanced facilities give it the capacity and capability to perform truly transformative work that translates readily to the commercial landscape.
“Our focus is very much on delivering and translating what we research into products or processes,” Brandt said.
“We’re not a factory, but we prototype components that then get transferred to our partners, who commercialise it themselves or arrange for a third party to do so.”
The approach allows them to work with small volumes of material, which is a strength that additive manufacturing holds over more traditional manufacturing based on casting.
“Additive manufacturing is also very agile; you can simply change the design on a computer, and print it ,” Brandt said.
“You can then change the design rapidly and print something totally different the following day.”
Based in Melbourne’s Inner North, at the Advanced Manufacturing Precinct, a $30 million facility, the Centre has access to the latest metal and polymer additive manufacturing technologies, high-end computer numerical control machines and 3D scanners.
“This separates us from other institutions where this equipment is not co-located in one location but distributed within organisation,” Molotnikov said.
“We also have a very advanced microscopy facility and a facility for mechanical testing as well as other types of testing, in close proximity to the Centre allowing for rapid testing and analysis of manufactured parts.
These facilities are regularly upgraded to generate output based on the research conducted by the Centre and its partners.
“We have recently acquired a wire arc deposition system and a powder bed system for multi-materials that’s unique in Australia,” Molotnikov said.
“This is technology that allows you to combine two different metal alloys l and build them up into large and complex 3D parts.
“Right now, we’re using the wire arc deposition technology to help large mining companies repair their expensive parts – rather than throw them away when worn out – which involves depositing new materials with similar or better properties to rebuild the part to its designed dimensions and then insert it into service.”
Brandt adds that the Centre was also among the earliest organisations to bring laser metal additive manufacturing to Australia.
Additive manufacturing is doing a great deal to expand Australia’s industrial capacities, and the Centre is focused on maintaining its position as a global leader servicing industries as diverse as medical, transportation, defence and aerospace.
“We work with multiple aerospace companies and for them, sometimes we’re designing new materials that perform differently and better in the environment,” said Molotnikov.
“Additive manufacturing really offers that ability to tailor the properties of these materials that isn’t possible using other manufacturing technologies. This is a space in which we’ve published a lot of great research but also translated that academic work into actual products.”
Advances have included materials that better resist heat or corrosion, for instance, or that take longer to wear away.
“We’re recognised globally as a leading centre in additive manufacturing,” Molotnikov added.
“That’s really important for Australia, because it attracts overseas companies and other institutions to come here and work with us in developing not only the new products and processes based on additive manufacturing but also train the next generation of engineers.”
For more information about how RMIT’s Centre for Additive Manufacturing is enabling a more innovative future, visit the website.
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