How additive manufacturing found a home in North Queensland

From aerospace suppliers and defence contractors to tabletop gamers and local manufacturers, customers come to Rising Sun FPV and Specialist 3D Products with one thing in common: a problem that needs solving.

Operating from Townsville, the two businesses have built successful niches in additive manufacturing while helping grow a thriving local innovation ecosystem. Both founders discovered 3D printing through personal passion projects, built their businesses from the ground up, and believe collaboration is as important as technology in driving growth.

Their stories show how additive manufacturing is creating opportunities well beyond Australia’s traditional manufacturing hubs.

From drone racing to business growth

When Zak Martin-Taylor started Rising Sun FPV in 2018, he was not planning to build one of Australia’s most unusual additive manufacturing businesses.

A former combat engineer and member of the Australian Army Drone Racing Team, Martin-Taylor initially turned to 3D printing to create replacement parts for racing drones that were difficult to source locally. Armed with $900, a garage workshop and plenty of determination, he began producing components for himself and others.

Today, Rising Sun operates from an 800-square-metre facility offering 3D printing, laser cutting, resin casting, silicone moulding, filament sales and advanced 3D scanning services.

The business has expanded well beyond manufacturing. STEM programs, maker workshops and community events now form part of its offering, creating an entry point for students, hobbyists and aspiring innovators.

Visitors are just as likely to encounter a pinball arcade operated with Empire Alternacade or a 3D printed battlebot competition as there are a bank of printers producing customer parts.

“We’ve evolved over time with 3D printing and laser cutting and silicone moulding and resin casting as well,” Martin-Taylor said.

Building a maker community

While customers include organisations across Defence, Space and Mining, Martin-Taylor sees value in serving a much broader audience.

Whether customers arrive looking for filament, a custom gaming miniature or engineering support, the aim is to introduce more people to the possibilities of additive manufacturing.

That approach has helped the company grow to seven employees and three contractors.

Like many advanced manufacturing businesses, however, attracting people with the right skills remains a challenge. As technologies continue to evolve, businesses must continually expand their capabilities to keep pace with new opportunities.

One recent example is 3D scanning, which has become an increasingly important part of the company’s design and manufacturing workflow.

“Now we’re using it as a tool within our design space,” Martin-Taylor said.

Turning curiosity into capability

Across town, Specialist 3D Products founder Scott Kerr followed a remarkably similar path.

Like Martin-Taylor, Kerr’s background is military. Like Rising Sun, his business grew from a fascination with 3D printing and a desire to solve practical problems.

Kerr first encountered the technology in 2014 while working as an aircraft maintenance engineer.

When a supervisor purchased a 3D printer that attracted little interest from colleagues, Kerr saw something different.

“I took it home for Christmas, and I immediately got the 3D printing bug,” he recalled.

That curiosity led him to teach himself CAD design and establish a side business importing and reselling Prusa printers.

After relocating to Townsville in 2019, Kerr helped introduce additive manufacturing into military aviation maintenance before leaving the Australian Army in 2021 to focus on Specialist 3D Products full time.

Solving problems others cannot

Today, Kerr’s business works across sectors including automotive, motorcycle servicing and manufacturing.

Many projects involve replacing obsolete parts, reverse engineering components no longer available and creating customised solutions for ageing equipment.

It is work that highlights one of additive manufacturing’s key advantages: producing low-volume, highly customised parts that are often difficult or uneconomic to manufacture through conventional methods.

“Primarily, we’re solving problems for industry,” Kerr said.

Stronger together

Despite operating in similar markets, Kerr and Martin-Taylor see little value in competing with one another.

Instead, the two businesses regularly share equipment, expertise and capacity, allowing projects to move faster while maximising the use of specialised machinery.

Together, they have created a local network of printers, scanners and advanced manufacturing equipment that would be difficult for many small businesses to maintain independently.

For Kerr, that collaborative approach reflects the broader additive manufacturing community.

“We’ve all got our own specialties, but essentially we work together to solve problems,” he said.

Their partnership highlights an important lesson for Australian manufacturing: capability grows fastest when businesses work together. In Townsville, that spirit of collaboration is helping build a regional additive manufacturing ecosystem that supports everyone from hobbyists and start-ups to advanced manufacturers and defence suppliers.