Charles Darwin University

Charles Darwin University carries out advanced research in additive manufacturing in cold spray technologies. This research achieved new impetus under the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance with SPEE3D which has the most advanced high speed cold spray additive manufacturing technologies. With SPEE3D R&D unit situated in Charles Darwin University (CDU), CDU does advanced research in additive manufacturing of metals in following areas:

• Development of new alloys not possible with other additive manufacturing processes.

• Heat Treatment Effects on Bulk Cold Sprayed Components

• Manufacturing Innovation: Barriers to Adoption and Sustainability

• Application Testing and Formal Compliance Pathways for 3D Printed Components

• Residual Stress and Defect Distribution in Bulk Cold Sprayed Components

• Material Combinations, Gradients and Interfaces for Components made from Supersonic 3D Deposition

• Shape Conformation and Optimization for Items Produced Using Supersonic 3D Deposition

• Comparative Environmental, Economic and Manufacturing Footprint of Manufacturing Techniques (e.g. embedded energy)

• Metal Trades Apprentice

• Design and production of portable, modular fabrication and testing facilities

• Machine Learning approaches to predicting quality in additive manufacturing

• Corrosion research on additive manufactured metals

• Development of anti-microbial resistant alloys.

CDU has the SPEE3D’s Lightspeed machine for conducting cold spray additive manufacturing. It has excellent corrosion testing facilities and expertise. CDU has facilities to carry out mechanical testing and microbial testing. There are basic facilities to carry out electron and optical microscopies.