Materials & Manufacturing

3D Printing

UNSW has some of the most advanced 3D printed part production systems available on the market, facilitating work in metal, plastic, or ceramic. Our printers include a 3D Systems ProX DMP 300 and a ProJet 3500 HD MAX.

3DXLab

A multidisciplinary research lab that harnesses the power of immersive technologies to explore complex topics through 3D computer animation, data visualisation and virtual reality (VR) immersive design.

Acoustics & Vibration Lab

The lab offers measurement and analysis of air-borne or structure-borne noise and vibration, and wear and fault analysis. It’s equipped with sound level meters, multi-channel signal analysers, shakers, sound sources, accelerometers, microphones and multi-functional tribometers. 

Advanced Fluid Dynamics

Capabilities include biomedical fluid dynamics, with work relevant to arterial flows and haemodialysis, and the experimental area of laser fluid diagnostics. The lab has a four particle image velocimetry PIV) system and a Dantec three-component laser doppler anemometry (LDA) system.

Advanced Manufacturing Lab

The lab covers the processing of materials with lasers, laser-hybrids, water and air jets, mechanical machining, additive manufacturing, friction and wear.

Aerodynamics Lab

Focuses on the aerodynamics of subsonic and supersonic flows. The lab allows for testing of aeroplane, ship, train, car and truck models, roof ventilators and wind turbines. It also calibrates instrumentation, such as anemometers and pressure measuring devices.

Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF)

ANFF is a national network of open-access micro-and nano-fabrication labs. It is spread over 8 nodes, encompassing 20 universities and CSIRO, supported by 130 staff and maintains over 500 tools. ANFF-NSW focuses on developing devices and structures for quantum technologies, together with advanced electronics and photonics.

Automated Composites Laboratory

The lab contains Australia’s only automated fibre placement facility, along with material characterisation, design, analysis, lay-up and curing, and structural testing of large components with complex loading capabilities.

Energy Storage & Refrigeration

Offers advanced simulation modelling, electrochemical analysis and battery test equipment, climate-controlled chambers and a 30kW/130kWh commercial VRB system.

Engine Research Lab

The lab contains three sound-proofed engine test cells with a range of EC dynamometers, emission gas analysers, fuel injection rate meter and a single-cylinder small-bore diesel engine for performance tests.

Fire Safety & Material Science Laboratory

The lab allows partners to solve real-world fire engineering challenges and includes an advanced automatic interactive cone calorimeter, a thermalgravimetric analyser, a vertical and horizontal flame spread test, limited oxygen index and microscale cone calorimeter.

Gleeble 3500 Multifunctional Facility

Investigates the thermal and mechanical behaviour of metals, alloys, and metal-based composites. It enables physical simulation of industrial processes such as casting, extrusion, and forging; the systematic study of ambient-and-elevated-temperature material properties, including tensile strength, ductility, and creep; and exploration of fundamental phenomena such as solidification, recovery and recrystallisation, and precipitation reactions.

High Temperature Materials Fabrication Facilities

Equipment includes a high temperature carbon free hydrogen/vacuum furnace, 3D ceramic/metal printer (500W laser), hot isostatic press system AIP6-30H, spark plasma sintering (SPS) machine, radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering systems and the Gleeble 3500 Multifunctional Facility.

Indoor Robotics Test Facility

A large, netted area with a VICON motion capture system (MCS) allows indoor testing of drones and other robots, along with human motion studies and sensor calibrations. The MCS provides full 6-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) motion monitoring with sub-millimetre accuracy at up to 200Hz update rates.

Laboratory for Precision and Nano Processing Technologies

Specialising in multi-scale manufacturing, cross-disciplinary characterisation of advanced materials, and solid mechanics, the lab is equipped with a 5-axis high precision turning centre, a 7-axis ultra-precision polishing centre, nanoindenter, nanotribometer, microtribometer, high temperature tribometer and an X-ray stress analyser and material property analyser.

Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre (MWAC)

The Centre is made up of 17 labs and facilities, supported by scientific and technical research staff. It allows for the structure and composition of biological, chemical, and physical materials to be studied. MWAC includes a consulting arm that offers a problem-solving service for commercial customers. 

• Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry
• Biological Resources Imaging Lab
• Biospecimen Services 

• Cell Culture Facility 

• Chronos 14Carbon Cycle Facility
• Commercial & Consulting
• Electron Microscope Unit
• Flow Cytometry Facility
• Katharina Gaus Light Microscopy Facility
• Molecular Surface Interactions 

• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility
• Recombinant Products Facility
• Spectroscopy Lab
• Stats Central
• Structural Biology Facility
• X-ray & Chemical Analysis

Mechanics of Solids Lab

Dedicated to the structural testing and design of components and materials, lab capabilities include dynamic and quasistatic strength testing, fracture mechanics and fatigue crack growth testing, strain gauging, finite element stress analysis and testing of composite materials.

Mechatronics Lab

The lab has five robot manipulators equipped with vision systems, conveyor system and facilities to develop custom controllers. In addition, it offers mobile robotic platforms, two large-scale field vehicles with complete autonomous operational capability, four drones with 5kg payload and a helicopter with 10kg payload.

Michael Crouch Innovation Centre (MCIC)

The MCIC Makerspace specialises in prototyping for startup ideas. It comprises wood, metal, and digital fabrication zones. The Centre also offers event and ideation spaces.

Microfluids Lab

Conducts flow characterisation and temperature measurement on the micro-to-nano scale and includes an inverted epifluorescent microscope, microPIV system, Peltier cooled fluorescent camera, Nanosight LM14 with syringe pumps and various temperature and pressure sensors with data loggers.

National Facility for Human-Robot Interaction Research

Purpose-designed to host a variety of experiments investigating how people interact with technology devices, including robots.

Odour Laboratory

The lab performs chemical characterisation of odours through olfactory-gas chromatography analysis, gas chromatography mass spectrometry, sulphur and nitrogen analysis, and olfactometry analysis. It also has specialist capability to undertake field sampling from area and point source emissions using both flux chamber and wind tunnels.

Roll-to-Roll Printing/Nanoimprint Facility

The most advanced facility of its kind in Australia, this machine was tailor-made to fill the gap between fundamental research and high throughput manufacturing. It produces complex electronics on thin and flexible film and enables new types of manufacturing including circuits, sensors, supercapacitators, solar cells, energy storage and biomedical devices.

School of Materials Science & Engineering

The industrial processing labs include 3D laser printing, hot isostatic pressing, spark plasma sintering, hot and cold rolling, thermomechanical processing, wire drawing, heat treatment, and casting equipment.

Thin Film Fabrication Facilities

Equipment includes oxide and laser molecular beam epitaxy systems, scanning probe microscopy system, and radio frequency (RF) magnetron.

Trusted Autonomy Laboratory (TAL)

Conducts research and experiments on human-machine teaming. The lab is equipped with a continuous audio-video capture system, a variety of sensors and interaction devices, and a range of cognitive and data analysis software.