Automated Solutions Australia, based in Adelaide north, robot/ coating expertise opens defence possibilities
Hundreds of FANUC (Fuji Automatic NUmerical Control) industrial robots were installed overseas and in Australia by northern-Adelaide-based Automated Solutions Australia.
Image courtesy Automated Solutions Australia.
Automated Solutions Australia, a robotics company based at Elizabeth South in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, made a bigger step into defence industry work in 2022 as partner with United States partner Aerobotix.
Founded in 2002, Automated Solutions Australia’s designers and engineers specialising in FANUC (Fuji Automatic NUmerical Control) industrial robots, particularly those used to precisely apply paints and performance coatings. It also offered services in industrial engineering areas such as materials handling, shot blasting and robot palletisers.
Automated Solutions Australia’s clients spanned diverse industries including automotive, aerospace, medical, machined and fabricated metals, food and beverage, foundry, consumer goods and electronics, and energy in Korea, India, Thailand, China, Singapore, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, the United States of America and Canada.
But the specialist area of coating, with Aerobotix as pioneers, gave Automated Solutions Australia the chance to be deliver capability to the Australian defence sector. The high-temperature, high-performance coatings were very specialised.
Automated Solutions Australia general manager Nathan Jones said the Elizabeth South said expertise was needed for applications such as the maintenance of fighter aircraft and would be relevant to the expansion of the AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) submarine agreement to collaborate on developing hypersonic weapons. With hypersonic weapons travelling at more than Mach 5 (about 3300km/h), the coatings used on them needed to be perfectly uniform and able to withstand extremes of temperature.
Jones said it would take a very careful application of the material to get the maximum performance: “We're controlling the thickness of the material down to the micron level. We've got the capability with this partnership with Aerobotix to create this perfectly shaped component with the maximum performance from the thermal side of things.” Aerobotix would work with the United States state department for approval to transfer any technology to Automated Solutions Australia.
