Australian Institute for Innovative Materials(AIIM)

This week included something outside the Dottori lab when Mirella and I visited the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials  (AIIM) at the Innovation Campus: https://www.uow.edu.au/research-and-innovation/our-research/research-institutes-and-facilities/australian-institute-for-innovative-materials/about-us/

This exciting opportunity all began with a chance meeting between myself and the Executive Director: Professor Will Price, which involved a conversation about the possibilities of incorporating 3D components into my future artworks. Will subsequently set up an exploratory visit to the 3D workshop with the Associate Dean of Research (AIIM), Professor Peter Innis.

Equipped with high end machines of various types this facility is arguably the most advanced of its kind in Australia.

A large printer in action

The image below shows some examples of the variety of outcomes that these machines can produce

Examples of the wide variety of materials and objects that can be produced

As can be seen from the image above the complexity and variety of custom made objects seems almost limitless.

The large metal printer

There are also machines that can print custom made metal forms. For example, we saw specially tailored objects requested by a surgeon. The precision and accuracy of these components was breathtaking.

Obviously this was a fascinating experience and one that will, hopefully, prove fruitful when creating artistic outcomes for this project.

Leave a Reply