This morning marked a milestone in the journey towards the opening of Bradfield’s Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility (AMRF), a hub that accelerates innovation by providing businesses with advanced technology, expertise, training, and networks to grow faster, reduce risks, and compete globally.
The AMRF 2024 Showcase in Penrith, brought together industry leaders and innovators to discuss a facility that in the near future will be able to advance capabilities of NSW manufacturers with expertise in numerous areas.
These areas surround additive manufacturing, advanced composites, precision machinery, engineering design, factory digitisation, quality assurance, automation and metrology and inspection.
The facility itself specialises in advanced manufacturing from engineering design and quality testing to digital transformation with a project pipeline that spans industries like aerospace, defence, energy and medtech.
Located in Bradfield City, Sydney’s first new city in over 20 years, the AMRF is set to benefit from its strategic position in a growing metropolis set to feature a 24/7 airport.
“At the heart of a new metropolis is Bradfield. At the centre of this is the AMRF,” said CEO of Bradfield Department of Authority, Ken Morrison.
“The AMRF will play an important role in the manufacturing sector and create high value jobs.”
Following Morrison’s address, AMRF executive director Ben Kitcher, took to the stage to discuss the facility’s role in advancing manufacturing innovation and industry partnerships.
He began by highlighting the first building’s capabilities, showcasing how its advanced technology and systems enable the testing of industry ideas, support business scaling, and provide access to training and networks for growth.
“It’s a bit of a knockout… I can’t wait to get to January and move the equipment over. I am confident we are putting together something with global reach,” he said.
As part of Kitcher’s demonstration of the facility’s capabilities, he showcased a case study where it had already assisted a business despite not yet being fully operational. As the first business to complete a project with the AMRF, Marley Flow, a western Sydney cooling tower manufacturer, helped to improve its productivity in building composite fan blades by between 15 and 20 per cent. The case study was also discussed in a round table involving lead engineer of Composites Manufacturing, AMRF, Nathan Howell, associate director of Research and Technology, AMRF, David Fox and director of Marley Flow Control, Gareth Jones.
“This time study revealed a staggering potential sixfold increase in throughput, thanks to a combination of easily achievable process improvements and the innovative capabilities we proudly offer in house at the AMRF. This is a groundbreaking opportunity that would revolutionise the production of composite blades,” said Howell.
Kitcher also discussed two incredibly important facets linked to the AMRF, the AMRF Connect platform and the Industry Skills Accelerator, which are about connectivity and driving skills in these target areas.
“I’m excited about recognising wide manufacturing. To uplift this, we need to have connectivity, said Kitcher.
To finish, Kitcher announced a second building that is in its final stages of designing, something that would focus more on solar, additive, semiconductor, quantum and electronics manufacturing, amongst other areas.
