The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s chief science agency has started to print titanium tags to track swordfish, tuna and marlin populations that live near the Tasmanian coast.
Like most adopters of the technology, CSIRO sees that 3D printing allows them to be flexible in their design approach, testing multiple designs simultaneously.
According to John Barnes of CSIRO “The fast turnaround speeds up the design process – it’s very easy to incorporate amendments to designs. 3D printing enables very fast testing of new product designs, which is why it’s so attractive to manufacturers wanting to trial new products… Using our Arcam 3D printing machine, we’ve been able to re-design and make a series of modified tags within a week.”
CSIRO has chosen to use the Arcam machines because of their ability to create titanium parts through electron beam melting. Titanium is an ideal material for the agencies research as it resists corrosion and it’s biocompatible with fish’s tissue.
Images and Video Courtesy of PhysOrg