Tasmanian fibreglass manufacturer Penguin Composites has teamed up with the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) to explore hybrid composite materials in defence manufacturing.
The move will see Penguin Composites join an existing DMTC project – which also involves Thales Australia, Imagine Intelligent Materials and research partners from University of Queensland, Swinburne University of Technology, Deakin University and RMIT – to advance platform-independent technologies that can be applied across supply chains including in the land, maritime, aerospace and space sectors.
In announcing the project, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said the partnership will explore the development of new compounds with unique characteristics that could potentially enhance the performance of military vehicles and reduce manufacturing costs.
“The involvement of both researchers and industry partners will allow the team to test new configurations and identify the differences in performance compared to conventional materials,” Minister Pyne said.
“With that deeper level of understanding, the team can then turn their attention to challenges in maximising efficiency and developing cost effective manufacturing solutions for these innovative material systems.”
“I’m pleased to see another industry partnership endeavouring to enhance Defence capabilities and boost Australia’s industrial knowledge base and capacity.”
