SPEE3D plans 50 advanced manufacturing factories across Asia Pacific and has launched Phase One of the first, NodeZERO, in Darwin.
The Australian company launched Phase One on November 9. It calls the network CriticalSPEE3D. The idea is to make critical metal parts where they are used, instead of shipping them in from overseas.
The target customers are gas plants, mines, ports and defense bases. At sites like these, one missing or failed part can stall the whole operation. An overseas replacement can take months to arrive. ABB’s 2023 Value of Reliability survey puts unplanned downtime for a typical Australian industrial business at A$350,000 an hour.
Co-founder and CTO Steven Camilleri wants the factories small and everywhere. “Small, easily reached factories, the size of a basketball court, close to every base, mine and port,” he said. “Fifty factories to start, and the first one is right here in Northern Australia.”
At the launch, guests from industry, defense and government watched a metal part being made with SPEE3D’s Cold Spray Manufacturing process. It fires metal powder at up to three times the speed of sound, with no melting, moulds or lasers. Parts are ready in hours rather than days or weeks. The technology has been used in 70 deployments worldwide, in combat, maritime, desert and arctic conditions.
NodeZERO is planned as the network’s hub for training and qualification. The roles range from advanced manufacturing operators and trainees to CNC machining, quality assurance and application engineering. SPEE3D plans to fill them with Territory-based people trained on site. Training runs through partners such as Charles Darwin University and TAFE NT, including Indigenous recruitment and training.
Charles Darwin University already works with SPEE3D through the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance. Professor Steve Rogers, its Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Community Connection, sees a clear gap. “There’s a dire need to increase Australia’s advanced manufacturing capabilities, particularly in remote places like the Northern Territory,” he said.
Global CEO Bryan O’Connor put it in terms any site manager knows. “Every commander and every operations manager knows what it’s like to wait on one part,” he said. “Our technology has already shown it can end that wait in the field, with soldiers, in hours. CriticalSPEE3D puts that capability where the Asia Pacific region needs it, close to the bases, ports and industry that keep it running.”
NodeZERO Phase One is open now to founding members, meaning organizations that need critical parts in Northern Australia and beyond. They can register on SPEE3D’s CriticalSPEE3D page.
Source: SPEE3D
