Month: July 2026

The establishment of the new Branch represents a significant investment in advocacy and government engagement, ensuring AMTIL members have a stronger voice in shaping the policies that will influence the future of manufacturing. A stronger voice for industry As part of AMTIL's strategic plan, the new Policy & Government Affairs Branch has been established to strengthen the organisation's advocacy capability and increase engagement with governments, industry and key stakeholders on the issues that matter most to Australia's advanced manufacturing sector. The Branch will work to ensure the industry's priorities are represented through evidence-based policy development, consultation and advocacy, helping to influence decisions that support innovation, investment, skills development, productivity and long-term industry growth. AMTIL's advocacy will be informed by member experiences, industry data, research, market insights and economic analysis, ensuring policy positions reflect the real opportunities and challenges facing manufacturers across Australia. Karen Parr appointed Director, Policy & Government Affairs Leading the new Branch is Karen Parr, who joins AMTIL as…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** This year’s exhibitors—from Emona Instruments, iO3D Printing, and Laserman Australia, through to the Additive Manufacturing CRC, 3D Solutions Australia, Shining3D Tech and RAM3D—gave visitors a close look at the materials, machines, services and research pathways helping manufacturers adopt AM with greater confidence. The tone was noticeably practical, with exhibitors focused on where AM delivers commercial value, how to match materials and processes to applications, and how to integrate the technology into existing workflows. The emphasis was less on AM as a standalone technology, and more on how it can support faster product development, short-run production, complex geometries, supply chain resilience and customised manufacturing. Emona Instruments’ focus was on helping Australian manufacturers identify the additive manufacturing technologies best suited to their applications, from polymers and composites through to metals and printed electronics. The company’s message was that AM is not simply about the machine itself, but about understanding the right process, material and workflow to move from experimentation…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** These individuals carry an irreplaceable mental library built across decades of hands-on observation. They possess an intuitive grasp of which surface irregularities signal serious risk and which are meaningless noise. As this generation of experts moves toward retirement, manufacturers across Australia are confronting a knowledge-preservation challenge that no standard training curriculum can solve. Vision Language Models (VLMs) are emerging as the technology capable of bridging that gap. A Fundamentally Different Kind of Machine Vision For decades, automated visual inspection relied on a simple and brittle model: define what a defect looks like, then search for its signature in every image. This rules-based approach performed adequately in highly controlled settings but required near-perfect consistency in lighting, material surface, and component presentation to operate reliably. The moment conditions deviated, conventional systems lost confidence rapidly. VLMs were designed from…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** A succession of global shocks – wars, pandemics and supply chain crises – has shown just how important those security and resilience objectives are. As the poet Dorothea Mackellar famously put it, we live in a sunburnt country. We are also, at times, a drought-prone country. Economic resilience means using water in a way that doesn’t put additional pressures on Australia’s water supply. Equally, it means building more energy for new industries and making modern manufacturing technologies more energy efficient. The data centre expectations that I announced earlier this year put strong emphasis on energy additionality and water efficiency. But traditional industries can advance the work of driving efficiency and economic resilience, too. Research and development is an essential part of that effort. Australia has world-class researchers in our universities, industries and national science agencies. We also have genuinely innovative…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** Scandium Market Dynamics Whilst Scandium is a unique strategic and critical rare earth metal, globally there are no mines where it is the primary metal being produced.  The U.S. Geological Survey estimated global production of scandium oxide was 60 tons in 2025 up 50% from 40 tons in 2024. Supply currently relies on low concentration by-product extraction from mines producing other metals primarily nickel and titanium. China dominates the global scandium market as the primary producer, with Beijing’s grip tightening further in April 2025, when the government imposed specific controls on metal, alloys, oxides and compounds. Though more recently in December 2025, this policy was revised with China beginning to issue general licences for rare earths to selected exporters. Scandium’s primary uses are in alloying with aluminium to make it lighter and stronger, solid oxide fuel cells and next generation 5G/6G networks.  Scandium-aluminium alloys provide exceptional strength-to-weight ratios which…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** With exhibitors including the likes of Queensland Government, Ronson Gears, Manufacturing Skills Queensland, the Australian Foundry Institute, PJ Bowers, BAC Systems, Capral, the Australian Made Campaign, City of Moreton Bay, Ipswich City Council and Shearform, the zone brought together manufacturers, industry bodies and government partners with a shared focus on Australian capability. The mix on display reflected the breadth of local manufacturing: precision gears, aluminium extrusion, engineered foam, sheet metal, storage systems, skills development, foundry capability, regional investment attraction and the Australian Made brand. It was a strong reminder that manufacturing strength is not built around one product or one region, but across a connected ecosystem of suppliers, makers, councils, training bodies and industry partners. Jason Kidd, Queensland’s Deputy Director-General, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development, said AMW provided an opportunity to showcase the state’s manufacturing depth, “Queensland offers a unique combination of advantages for manufacturing businesses and investment, including a skilled workforce, world-class infrastructure, proximity to the Asia-Pacific region and…