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Adelaide-based company Precise Advanced Manufacturing Group has secured the licence to commercialise and market a unique drilling tool developed by the Defence Science and Technology Group.
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The hole rework alignment tool drills accurate holes for aircraft repairs and has great potential for any application that demands precise hole tolerances or where the costs of rectification are high.
The Department of Defence has used the tool to complete modifications on the Hawk Lead-in Fighter as part of a full scale fatigue test of the aircraft. The aircraft manufacturer has subsequently recommended the tool to other international operators.
According to the DST Group, the fully adjustable tool is aligned precisely with the rework hole in terms of position and orientation, locked in place and then used to guide commercially available hand-held drills or reamers such that holes can be reliably drilled or reworked in very small increments and to precise tolerances.
The tool also has potential application outside the aircraft industry where fatigue or weight consideration demand precise hole tolerances or where the costs of rectification or repair are high, such as high performance land and sea vehicles and the space, power and nuclear industries.
Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne congratulated the company on securing the license.
"This is an excellent example of an enterprising Australian company taking up a Defence innovation to turn it into a marketable product," he said.
"Precise Advanced Manufacturing Group has a strong relationship with Defence and their business is a good fit for the commercialisation of this precision tool."
The license agreement was signed by the Chief Defence Scientist Dr Alex Zelinsky and chief executive officer of Precise Advanced Manufacturing Group Grant Tinney.
Precise Advanced Manufacturing Group was established in 1971 and has grown from a designer and manufacturer of small plastic injection molds to a vertically integrated group of advanced manufacturing businesses supplying molds and dies, automation, fabrications, precision machined components and assemblies to global clients.
