As robotics, automation and AI reshape manufacturing globally, Australian companies are looking for ways to lift productivity and compete on the world stage. But small and medium-sized businesses may lack the scale, capital and infrastructure to innovate independently, says the report Ambitious Australia: Strategic Examination of Research and Development (R&D).
Prof Karen Reynolds, a Matthew Flinders distinguished professor in biomedical engineering and the director of Flinders University’s Factory of the Future, is clear on one point: Australia cannot compete on price alone.
“We’ve got to compete on productivity, innovation and quality,” she says. “We need to think about products that are more differentiated, higher value and more R&D-intensive.”
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Prof Karen Reynolds.
Based at the university, the Flinders Factory of the Future is an advanced manufacturing research hub that works directly with industry, bringing together researchers, technology and specialist expertise to solve practical problems and help manufacturers adapt and grow.
In late September, it will launch FORGE, an industry-led R&D program that builds on the university’s long-running Medical Device Partnering program. FORGE, which received grant funding from the Australian government, will help innovators navigate the transition from a working prototype to a quality-controlled limited production run. “It is very much aimed at supporting industry and innovators to move from concept through to clinical trial,” Reynolds says.
The initial focus of FORGE is on the fast-growing medical device field. It has a target of supporting the validation of at least 30 new ideas and progressing 17 technologies towards clinical trials. But Reynolds says her colleagues are also exploring ways the model can be applied to other highly regulated industries, such as defence, renewable energy and agricultural technology. “We’ll leverage the expertise that we already have at the university in these fields,” she says.
Solving problems on the factory floor
One of the key programs at the Factory of the Future is the Manufacturing Growth Accelerator program, supported by funding from the South Australian Department of State Development. It helps manufacturers in more traditional industries adopt new technologies and processes – from robotics and automation to digital twins and 3D printing – to boost productivity.
The challenges faced by these companies can be varied. For the satellite technology manufacturer Neumann Space, Factory of the Future developed a machine-learning inspection tool that increases both output and quality control. For the South Australian manufacturer Allin Towbars, the university’s researchers developed and tested a tailored cobot (collaborative robot) welding system aimed at streamlining labour-intensive processes and increasing productivity.
The support can also begin before a factory is built. Reynolds says manufacturers looking to expand can use digital twins to simulate a proposed facility, testing equipment layouts, workflows and potential bottlenecks before committing their capital. “It allows you to actually plan the new facility without having to go to the expense of building it and getting it wrong,” she says.
Reynolds says industry is identifying these problems, rather than university researchers looking for commercial applications. “It’s not a research push; it’s a market pull,” she says. “It’s industry coming to us and saying: ‘I need support.’”
The industry-first approach keeps the Factory of the Future focused on practical outcomes, whether that’s getting a new product closer to market or helping an established manufacturer keep up with growing demand.
* Flinders University’s Factory of the Future is supported by grant funding from the Australian government and funding from the South Australian government.
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