AMRF capabilities

The AMRF's on-site, laser-powder bed fusion platform is designed for large part development and production applications ideal for space, defence, toolmaking, oil and gas, and critical engineered environments.

Access to the G2, coupled with our computational design capabilities and additive expertise, will enable you to take advantage of:

• bespoke material development and qualification
• a wholistic approach to process optimisation incorporating design, post-processing, and inspection
• confidence in part performance for intended application
• part consolidation, BOM optimisation, lightweighting, re-design of castings and forgings, and other performance advantages of metal additive technology

How could this help your business?

• access to rapid part development with scale in mind, from design assessment to part validation
• computational design, coupled with real time build monitoring and in-process inspection capture, ensures certainty across part planning, build and compliance
• additive development at the AMRF offers you the opportunity to obtain application knowhow to internalise within your organisation

Filament winding offers advanced capabilities for manufacturing of reinforced composite structures.

Our filament winder specialises in wrapping parts with towpreg (carbon, E-glass, basalt etc), enabling precise and efficient production across a range of component geometries in a controlled environment. The configuration makes it ideal for winding types III, IV, and type V Carbon Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs).

 The benefits of accessing this equipment include:

• Validating towpreg winding process development without disrupting existing production
• Developing winding methodologies from simulation to proven application
• Testing traceability and inspection regimes before moving to production
• Production scale fixture development and testing
• Staff development in the application of filament winding and inspection

How could this benefit your business?

Developing filament winding methodologies is a capital-intensive undertaking. Our investment in an industry scale robotic system and expertise, will provide an opportunity for you to investigate and apply this advanced manufacturing technique to specific production applications in a low cost and low risk environment. Whether it’s small volume in-space or large format transport vessels, or something in between, the AMRF can support your application.

Compression moulding is a versatile process designed for forming composite parts using moulding techniques. Compression moulding offers a high quality finish in terms of part consolidation, dimensional accuracy and defect mitigation.

Our equipment is used for proving tooling performance and moulding processes, supporting high-quality, high-production-volume applications where curing of both thermoplastic, and thermoset composites is required.

Access to compression moulding at the AMRF will provide you the opportunity to experiment with composite ply compression applications, through to complete cured moulding techniques. Moulding capability coupled with other onsite composite equipment and expertise, will enable broad product development scope under one roof.

The benefits of accessing this equipment include:

• process development using controlled parameters, stepping through pressure, temperature and curing differentials
• moulding trials utilising temporary tooling developed on our moulding press and precision machining work cells
• product validation through process control and metrology equipment

How could this help your business?

Utilising this moulding press will provide you with an opportunity develop cost effective production methods. These benefits are available no matter whether you are a start-up pursuing an MVP, or a mature manufacturer looking to prove out a process before going into tooling production. The press is ideal for manufacturing everything from sheet- or bulk-moulding compound, high stress structural applications using prepreg fabrics, and components with detailed cosmetic finishes in high-volumes.

Our custom moulding press will provide the operational flexibility to break down composite moulding processes and develop the required knowledge to validate the outcomes when scaling production.

The Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) has the ability to utilise both contact and non-contact sensors, allowing for precise inspection of geometric features and intricate free-form surfaces to single micron accuracy and repeatability. The system employs various probe options, including touch trigger for high-accuracy measurements, continuous scanning for rapid data acquisition, and laser scanning for capturing intricate free-form geometric details with high point densitities.

Its industry configuration makes access suitable for many organisations as an entry point for exploring CMM capability in:

• situations where 100% precision inspection cannot be compromised
• production validation and digital recreation of obsolete or hard to source parts
• enabling tool path development for a range of other CMMs
• supporting informed design for manufacturing and technology decisions.

The benefits of accessing this equipment include:

• part geometric inspecting and reporting of prototype and production parts
• surface dimension and contour mapping of as-built parts for design comparison
• accurate surface finish measurement and reporting
• streamlining existing or future manufacturing value streams

How could this help your business?

The availability of our CMM capability in a supportive, non-production environment, provides you with the opportunity to develop coordinated measuring application knowledge. Testing the machine, styles and scanning function with your own parts provides relatable insights into precision measuring and the practical benefits of automated inspection.

Our confocal microscope is designed to deliver highly accurate 3D shape and surface roughness measurements at the submicron level. The software and controls support fast and efficient staging and microscopy workflows, enabling practical inspection activities and reporting outcomes with minimal training and microscopy expertise.

Accessible confocal microscopy at the AMRF provides you with the opportunity to apply this technology to manufacturing related inspection scenarios. 

The benefits of accessing this equipment include:

• material composition inspecting and reporting on prototype and production parts
• roughness inspection and contour mapping of surface finishing processes
• observation modelling and image generation to support quality control compliance requirements

How could this help your business?

Development of reliable parts can require a detailed inspection at the sub-micron level, to analyse a material’s surface or the outcomes of a manufacturing process. Accessing confocal microscopy at the AMRF takes the guess work out of refining a process by validating a material's response to processing.

Digital microscopes provide an intuitive entry point into industrial microscopy. Accessing the technology located in the AMRF will provide you with opportunity for a hands-on application using their parts.

The configuration of our digital microscope enables comprehensive capabilities, from quick inspection, to detailed analysis activities.

The equipment is designed to measure and record detail from component surface mapping to material microstructures. The heavy-duty staging capacity, coupled with multiple quick-change observation functions and a wide range of objectives, delivers a flexible platform to inspect and analyse a wide range of parts from electronic assemblies to composite matrix structures

Whether utilisation is for a quick examination of tool edge wear, or a detailed analysis of a fractured material underpinning product improvement. Access provides insight into how modern industrial microscopy is applied to enhance inspection and quality control.

The benefits of accessing this equipment include:

• inspection of finished parts or process valuation for compliance prior to production
• measuring physical features directly from a part and image capture of inspections
• comprehensive reporting of part conformance for meeting contract obligations

How could this help your business?

Digital microscopy connects manufacturers like you to an advanced quality assurance capability for part and assembly inspection, where reliability and compliance are needed to meet commercial obligations and mitigate production risks. Engagement with the digital microscope and our process control team can build relevant QA/QC technology awareness in your team. 

The mill-turn platform specialises in complex component machining where maximum rigidity and tooling flexibility is mandatory. With a direct-centre-of-gravity kinematic, the mill-turn maintains utmost precision with simultaneous multi-axis control in 8 independent axes, dual spindles, and live tooling on the turret.

Tooling flexibility and an advanced, speedy control prioritises production efficiency when coupled with advanced CAM programming expertise. Flexible fixturing, advanced technology cycles for gear cutting and maximum material removal, and tooling lifecycle analysis are all on offer with the mill-turn platform at the AMRF.

The AMRF performs development to increase material removal rates across a range of technical alloys, programming and tool path development with advanced CAM software, analyses machining economics with a total life cycle approach, and always pushes for complex geometries delivered with maximum productivity and precision.

Access to this equipment will offer you the opportunity to: 

• Optimise design for multi-axis precision mill-turn machining
• push tools and programs to the limit across a range of technical metals and alloys
• program gear cutting, y-axis turning, 3-axis turning, and double-sided lower turret live tooling cycles
• experiment with automated machine tending and integrated on-machine verification

How could this help your business?

Availability of an industry relevant mill-turn can provide you with an opportunity to explore modern multi axis machine tool programming and functionality, offline from your production environment.

By engaging with us through our precision machining and computational design teams, there is an opportunity to explore cost-effective CNC mill-turn options using your own parts.

The machining centre available at the AMRF features a novel head rotation to achieve 5-axes of control and an 800 rpm vertical turning table offering flexible, 5-axis precision machining capabilities required for intricate, but large-scale, part development and production. 

Accessing this machining centre, presents you with the opportunity to test component designs for machinability and programming development in your manufacturing setting.

Access to our equipment provides you with the opportunity to:

• test combine machining processes on a single platform
• develop know-how and confidence in applying advanced canned cycles
• develop and test fixture design, and integrated inspection
• production optimisation leveraging program simulation, rapid material removal, complex machining, precision finishing and automated tending

How could this help your business?

The option to experiment on a robust 5 axis machining centre through the entire precision machining scope - from bulk roughing cycles to gear cutting, threading, grinding and on machine measurement  - can provide you with a highly relevant development platform.

The presence of a wire EDM within the AMRF supports toolmaking, metal additive and machine tool development activities. The high precision cutting of intricate parts in both thick and hard materials make this machining capability an essential process in the manufacturing development environment of the AMRF.

The availability of wire EDM for development work supports application knowledge in both design and machining domains. Large scale EDM access provides opportunity for industry to apply in practice this niche cutting process, leveraging its accuracy and unique capabilities at a relevant scale for many industrial applications.

The benefits of access this piece of equipment include:

• addressing one off production challenges delivering a complex component proving capability and knowhow to and end user.
• learning programming, workpiece setup and process trouble shooting
• part design for EDM, opens new manufacturing possibilities and product form options in high strength materials

How could this help your business?

EDM is a specialised precision machining technology which limits access for product development and application knowhow, to those with access to the technology. Enabling large format EDM access through the AMRF supports the application opportunities of this established, yet critical machining technology.