Engineering Focus Carbon fibre innovation for Australian manufacturing Defence contractor Thales Australia has entered into a collaboration with Deakin University and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre to develop a lightweight composite overwrap for gun barrels. Manufacturers’ Monthly speaks to the people behind the project.
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FTER establishing the Commonwealth in 1901, the Australian government faced responsibility for the country’s defence for the first time. To be free of complete dependence of British munitions and armament supplies, the decision was made to build a factory to manufacture small arms in the New South Wales town of Lithgow. In July 1914 – despite the centre only being in operation for two years – The Lithgow Small Arms Factory had to rise to a mighty challenge. During the first world war, over 1500 men worked at the facility, enduring cold winters and terrible living conditions to make almost 100,000 Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifles and accessories over the next five years. Graham Evenden, Thales Australia’s director integrated weapons & sensors, said from manufacturing the .303 and SLR to today’s Austeyr SA2 and the EF88, Lithgow has a unique heritage. “The factory was designed specifically with steam powered, belt driven machines,” he said. “They were able to manufacture that rifle in less than half the time of the same rifle which was being manufactured back in England.” Today, the facility designs new Australian weapons for military and civilian markets. Thales Australia recently invested $6.5 million in the first step to transform the factory into a modern manufacturing and integration hub for the design, development and precision manufacture of next generation weapons systems. At the forefront of this push is an exciting new six-month, $234,000
26 MAY 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly
The carbon fibre project hopes to advance in-country composite manufacturing capabilities. research and development (R&D) project to deliver a carbon fibre overwrap that will reduce the thickness of the gun barrel, resulting in a lighter product with increased precision. The research collaboration is a part of a wider R&D program for Thales and is in collaboration with
Deakin University and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), based around two fundamental factors: taking an in-demand product to market and securing an onshore supply of the raw material. “Weight reduction is critical,” Evenden said. “One of the key
contributing subsystems for any rifle is the barrel which is usually a fairly large chunk of steel. The lightweight carbon overwrap seems like an obvious solution for that.” The second, and for Evenden, most exciting reason behind the project is the opportunity to advance in-country composite manufacturing capabilities. “Currently, the intermediate modulus carbon fibres suited to the overwrap are only available from overseas supply chains that face frequent disruptions. By developing these fibres on Australian soil, Thales is establishing an innovative capability that can be applied to other small arms products across civil and defence sectors,” he noted. “In these times, localising material is so important.” Dr. Sarah Sharp heads Thales Australia’s integrated weapons and sensors business’ technology and engineering team, having been involved in the development and taking-to-market of new Australian products for many years. As part of Thales’ military rifle R&D program, Sharp has been looking for the right partners, which Deakin University fit perfectly. “Deakin is our materials research and development partner and the industrialisation of the product is where we’ll be taking the lead,” Evenden said. “They play an absolutely critical role from a materials perspective and how the material is presented will influence the design of the product. We will work hand in glove with Deakin to upskill staff at our Lithgow Arms facility to work with composites, further contributing to sustainable growth within Australia’s manufacturing sector.” manmonthly.com.au
