Mar 27 2011
VCAMM and Deakin University, leaders in the Australian development of carbon fibre technology and expertise recently organised "Carbon Fibre - Future Directions", an international conference designed to position Australia as a power player in the carbon fibre composite materials market in the future. International experts shared their knowledge with Australian companies and researchers and helped to devise a path that would help Australia become integral to this high technology field.
Carbon fibre-based materials have been identified as key materials for the aerospace and automotive industries due to their excellent mechanical properties and light weight. This allows engineers and designers to produce structures and vehicles that are a fraction the weight of similar vehicles built using more traditional materials such as steel and aluminium. The weight savings result in reduced fuel and running costs for operators as well as improved performance, key factors operators must consider with volatile oil prices and bearing environmental concerns in mind.
Keynote Speakers/Delegates along with the Primary hosts of the Carbon Fibre – Future Directions Conference 2011 held in Geelong, Australia 2011.
The fully subscribed event held in Geelong earlier in March attracted both industry experts from high profile aerospace manufacturers and materials producers as well as members of academia who have had expensive involvement with the development and application of carbon fibre materials.
The Geelong location was chosen as it provided excellent access to local facilities as well as to the Avalon International Airshow. Of specific interest was the recently established Australian Carbon Fibre Research Facility or ACFRF (www.acfrf.com.au), a multimillion dollar carbon fibre production facility at Deakin University's Waurn Ponds Campus. The ACFRF will be the world's first open access carbon fibre production facility that will attract both international and local projects. The facility is supported by the Victorian Government, through its Victorian Science Agenda (VSA) Strategic Fund and represents a joint venture between the VCAMM Ltd and Deakin University.
After touring the ACFRF, Mr. Chris Wilkinson, Engineering Director for Spirit AeroSystems Europe commented: "This facility in Geelong will place the region, and indeed Australia at the forefront of carbon fibre research".
Brad Dunstan CEO of VCAMM, one of the organisations responsible for the event was extremely pleased with the outcome and said that, "It was an outstanding success with all the speakers and all the delegates agreeing that this region is well-placed to becoming a leader in developing new composite materials to meet the rapidly growing demands of the 21st Century".
Professor Lee Astheimer, Deakin University's Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) could also only see positives coming out of the event and that "this collaboration will see us working together on a range of projects that will take not just Australian Universities, but the whole carbon composite industry, along the road to creating a sustainable way of living in this century and beyond".
International visitors were impressed with what they saw and the potential for developing technological leadership. Although they came primarily to impart knowledge to Australia, many have also commenced international discussions with Australian companies and researchers that will no doubt see the potential for Australia to become more heavily involved in the carbon fibre industry of the future.
Carbon Fibre - Future Directions was sponsored by, VCAMM, Deakin University and the Victorian State Government.
Interviews with keynote speakers are also be available on the VCAMM Youtube Channel at www.youtube.com/vcammau