Research themes

Designing the products of tomorrow

Design research at RMIT focuses on shape and topology algorithms that create functional additively manufactured parts. Our research has a strong basis in design for manufacturability, durability, and performance. The design work undertaken at RMIT interfaces with technology, and is oriented towards producing shapes that are optimised for process parameters that reduce manufacturing costs and translate to industry applications. The design team’s expertise crosses both metallic and polymer additive manufacturing technologies, including powder bed fusion, materials extrusion, material jetting, stereolithography, and directed energy deposition.

Theme Leader: Professor Martin Leary

Email: martin.leary@rmit.edu.au

Creating Industry 4.0 solutions

Modelling research at RMIT is used to aid the understanding of the complex physical phenomena that are produced by additive manufacturing technologies. The modelling theme encompasses the full range of processes, materials and structures. It incorporates process modelling, material microstructure evolution, and part performance. Our research is used to aid the integration of additive manufacturing technologies into Industry 4.0 practice by producing virtual models and simulating additive manufacturing processes. This approach leads to a more efficient and cost-effective adoption of additive manufacturing by reducing experimental cycles and providing assurance on part performance.

Theme Leader: Professor Raj Das

Email: raj.das@rmit.edu.au

Advancing human-centric materials

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology allows the production of complex structures with bio-mimicry features and has the potential to overcome the limitations of conventional fabrication methods. The Biomaterials theme at RMIT focuses on developing new biomaterials and medical devices using AM technologies such as material extrusion, powder bed fusion, material jetting, stereolithography, and directed energy deposition.

Our new biomaterials include metals and alloys, polymeric materials, and composite materials in their solid and porous forms. Our research covers biomaterials and medical devices with new chemical compositions, bio-design, microstructure-property relationships, surface modification, and their biological properties.

Theme Leader: Distinguished Professor Cuie Wen

Email: cuie.wen@rmit.edu.au

Formulating next-generation materials

The materials theme encompasses research on both metallic and non-metallic materials. Novel alloy development for additive manufacturing is a core focus of the theme, and supporting this effort is an integrated computational materials engineering approach to alloy design. Complementing novel alloys is a thorough understanding of metal powders characterisation, processing and behaviour.

Functional polymers and composites for engineering applications are also a research focus. All materials research efforts are focused on developing the next generation of competitive and high-performance materials for industrial applications.

Theme Leader: Distinguished Professor Ma Qian

Email: ma.qian@rmit.edu.au

Building the machines of the future

Additive Manufacturing is an enabling technology for numerous sectors including aerospace, automotive, medical, defence, mining, and energy. The Technology theme at RMIT focuses on addressing industry needs to increase the productivity and competitiveness, expand material selection, tailor material properties for a specific applications, develop technology for automated post-processing, enable multi-material printing, and advance closed loop quality control. Among core technologies, the team works on powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, materials extrusion, material jetting, and stereolithography. The technology theme works across all the additive manufacturing material systems of metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites.

Theme Leader: Associate Professor Andrey Molotnikov

Email: andrey.molotnikov@rmit.edu.au

Working with industry and the community

The RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing enjoys a longstanding reputation as a Centre that engages with the research community, industry, government, and the wider community. RMIT has a strong network of highly engaged research partners that range from small Australian businesses, mid-sized government entities, to large multi-national organisations. Much of the research at undertaken by RMIT has been profiled in the mainstream media by news organisations and media outlets.

Through our strong industry links, undergraduate and post-graduate students at RMIT have access to our extensive network of local and international manufacturing businesses ensuring access to real-world manufacturing challenges. The Centre runs multiple events, workshops and educational seminars throughout the year to promote the adoption of additive manufacturing.

Theme Leader: Alex Kingsbury

Email: alex.kingsbury@rmit.edu.au