A research collaboration between the University of Technology’s Rapido prototyping unit, Downer’s Mineral Technologies and Cambridge’s Innovative Manufacturing Collaborative Research Centre (IMCRC) has reached multiple milestones it set. The milestones include the development of technologies, including 3D printers, for precision-engineered mineral separation and mining equipment. The project has come a long way in its first year, with multiple initiatives looking at industry 4.0 applications.
Although the project looks at a range of technologies, it has a particular interest in bespoke 3D printing technologies. Currently, the companies have achieved a green light in budget, innovation, collaboration and safety reviews. The main goal of the collaboration is to allow mineral technology production to move into on-site printing in real time.
As a result, companies will be able to produce separation spirals by sending designs directly to a 3D printer setup. This has obvious commercial benefits, as it boosts efficiency for equipment manufacturing and inventory costs. Shifting the production to 3D printed mining products also decreases the consumption of environmentally hazardous chemicals and reduces air contamination.
“In the first year, we designed a small printer and machinery code and printed a scaled version of our selected spiral model. We are now into the cost and wear testing comparisons and in parallel we are building the full-scale bespoke prototype printer,” said Alex de Andrade, Associate Professor with UTS, and Mineral Technologies Global Manager, Sales.
Industry 4.0 & Mining Equipment
The project is looking to bring mining equipment production into the industry 4.0 realm. This also includes IoT sensors and connectivity, with a patent pending for these applications. As the scope growth has increased, so has the funding by the IMRC.
Hervé Harvard, Director at UTS Rapido and ProtoSpace said: “The project is a world class innovation in the area of Industry 4.0, particularly Additive Manufacturing and IoT sensing, in regard to what the project has achieved. Working with such an innovative team at Mineral Technologies is refreshing and shows that Australia can be a leader in adopting Industry 4.0 principles for global impact.”
While the project has only been around for a year, it has already begun bearing fruit. Aside from the patent-pending technologies, they have also 3D printed a version of their selected spiral model. The project also won a 2019 NSW iAwards for a rotational additive manufacturing system. So far, the future for 3D printed mining products and equipment looks like it will advance much further.
Featured image courtesy of UTS Rapido.