Technology

Australia’s manufacturing sector has received a boost with the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) approving its first five industry-led CORE research projects, unlocking more than $11 million in combined investment aimed at advancing additive manufacturing capability across key industries.

A shift is occurring in the global industrial sector as manufacturers move away from small-scale experimentation and focus on deploying capabilities across entire operations, according to Rockwell Automation’s 11th annual “State of Smart Manufacturing” report.

Hydrix has signed a binding contract with NIOA Group to support the design, development and integration of a telemetry-capable inert proximity fuze and kinetic effector payload package for small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS), in a move aimed at strengthening Australia’s sovereign manufacturing and counter-drone Defence capability.

Archer Materials is transitioning its qubit development program from laboratory-scale work to wafer-scale manufacturing using semiconductor industry-standard processes.

BMW Group has formally extended its ongoing collaboration with Quantinuum to explore the use of quantum computing in developing advanced materials for next-generation vehicles.

A new development in manufacturing using wool as a renewable colour source for 3D printing has been launched in New Zealand, with two companies introducing what they describe as a world-first wool-coloured filament product.

X Square Robot, a technology company backed by industry giants Alibaba, ByteDance, Xiaomi, and Meituan, has introduced a new embodied AI foundation model designed for domestic use.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed an artificial intelligence-assisted workflow aimed at accelerating the discovery of next-generation semiconductor materials by replacing traditional trial-and-error methods with a targeted, data-driven approach, according to UNSW.

Advanced metal manufacturing company Titomic has joined TWI as an Industrial Member, in a move the company says will support broader collaboration and innovation in materials engineering and production.

Manufacturing activity within the additive manufacturing (AM) sector continued to expand in 2025, with the global 3D printing and AM market reaching $16.0 billion, according to Additive Manufacturing Research (AM Research), which said the industry is showing signs of renewed growth momentum across key manufacturing segments.