Factory of the Future
Swinburne’s Factory of the Future (FoF) is a business-led engineering facility, which works with industry to co-create digital innovation journeys for our business partners and students. Factory of the Future is a key pillar of the Swinburne Innovation Studio and works in close collaboration with the Manufacturing Futures Research Platform and Swinburne’s PAVE.
The Factory of the Future represents our industry portal for advanced manufacturing at Swinburne in response to the evolving technological needs of industry and the education sector. Factory of the Future and the Industrial Digital Transformation Hub bring together industry and students to research, develop and apply the latest technologies in the automation of manufacturing. They work closely with industry to develop new products and methods of manufacturing, as well as more productive, value-added business models through digitisation.
At the Factory of the Future, our joint journey with industry starts with the development of the digital and Industry 4.0 strategy (the “why” of digital transformation), continuing with the engineering and training project arising from the strategy (the “What”) and culminates in research and development where necessary to create new business outcomes (the”How”). The state-of-the-art Factory of the Future facility here at Swinburne allows companies to learn digitalisation technologies and explore recent advances in automation of manufacturing.
Factory of the Future and Industry 4.0
The Factory of the Future represents our industry portal for Industry 4.0. For manufacturing businesses, who want to connect to global supply chain and innovate on business model, the Factory of the Future provides digital innovation journey through:
- Digital strategy co-creation through our Industrial Digital Transformation Hub
- Exploring how Industry 4.0 technologies enable business outcomes
- Innovation de-risking.
The Factory of the Future is a response to the evolving needs of industry and the education sector. Creating partnerships and working in collaboration with Design Factory Melbourne, the Manufacturing Futures Research Platform, and Swinburne’s PAVE, the Factory of the Future is a blueprint for modern innovation. Working collaboratively with the business, Swinburne can develop new products and methods of manufacturing, as well as more productive, value-added business models.
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Located on the ground floor of Swinburne’s A$100 million Advanced Manufacturing and Design Centre, this ground-breaking facility is made up of a cluster of specialist equipment with highly adaptive capacity. Cyber-physical factory and collaborative robots with autonomous vehicles allows optimising manufacturing operations, from symbiotic assembly cell to the entire value chain/network scheduling.
Using advanced visualisation and simulation tools, our industry partners have the resources to develop new factory layouts rapidly, create innovative products and research potential business models.
Equipped with plastic and metal 3D printers as well as high-precision scanners, the facility allows seamless transition between digital concepts and metal or plastic prototypes. Companies and engineers can test digital supply chain, added-value product business models as well as use 3D printed prototypes — all within the same space.
Factory of the Future’s Industry 4.0 Testlab
Factory of the Future’s Industry 4.0 Testlab is an open, re-configurable manufacturing facility.
The Industry 4.0 Testlab is a manufacturing line consisting of a fully automated assembly cell, a symbiotic cell in which a human and a robot can work together to carry out assembly operations, quality inspection cells as well as smart warehouses at the box and palette storage level and a flexible gantry system allowing for dynamic slotting etc.
The Industry 4.0 Testlab integrates all other FoF equipment into a reconfigurable workflow that manufacturers can explore to understand how Industry 4.0 technology enables new business outcomes — such as the ability to manufacture products of one for markets of one (mass customisation).
Our people
| Professor Prem Prakash Jayaraman | Director |
+61 3 9214 8587 |
| Vikram Sachdeva | Industrial Digital Transformation Hub Manager |
+61 407 423 538 |
| Vince Lorefice | Industry 4.0 Transformation Consultant |
+61 455 322 935 |
| Dr Sharad Menon | Director (Interim), Industry Engagement and Business Development, Innovation and Enterprise |
+61 411 450 879 |
Keep on exploring
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Industrial Digital Transformation Hub
Improve your productivity and quality, innovate your business model and create new revenue streams by connecting into global supply chains and enhancing your global competitiveness.
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Swinburne-CSIRO National Industry 4.0 Testlab
The Swinburne-CSIRO National Industry 4.0 Testlab conducts industrial scale multilayer 3D printing for near net composite manufacturing and solutions for automotive and aerospace parts, processes and systems.
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Manufacturing Futures Research Platform
The Manufacturing Futures Research Platform integrates advanced manufacturing in the global value chain to secure Australia’s industrial future.
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Our partners
We work with industry partners to solve key challenges through integration of innovative design platforms, advanced manufacturing technologies, digitalization and information systems. View our key strategic and industry partnership.
Explore our news
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- Technology
- Science
- Engineering
Creating safer, more accessible processed foods with innovative AI-powered digital twin system
A new initiative is applying AI to food processing, using digital twins to ensuring texture modified foods such as purees and soups are safe for vulnerable Australians.
Thursday 23 January 2025 -
- Technology
Swinburne enters the metaverse with Factory of Future digital twin
Swinburne University of Technology’s state-of-the-art Factory of the Future will be the latest space to enter the metaverse through a new partnership with tech leader CWX Technologies.
Wednesday 08 March 2023 -
- Engineering
- Aviation
Pioneering Markforged 3D printer makes Australian debut
Swinburne’s Factory of the Future will play host to the Markforged FX20 printer to support the creation of lighter, stronger and more resilient end-use parts.
Friday 28 October 2022 -
- Technology
- Engineering
5G garbage trucks driving the future of smart cities
A pioneering Swinburne partnership with Brimbank City Council will help identify roadside issues and slash maintenance costs, supported by the Federal Government.
Friday 04 February 2022 -
- University
Swinburne-Siemens partnership is building the workforce of the future
Swinburne’s partnership with Siemens is enabling our students to work with industry and researchers, developing and co-creating new technologies and practices.
Monday 24 August 2020 -
- University
Festo, TUM Asia and Swinburne focus on the future of Industry 4.0
Festo, the Technical University of Munich in Asia (TUM Asia) and Swinburne have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
Wednesday 22 July 2020
Contact the Factory of the Future
Contact us to enquire about solutions for your business, our projects and our initiatives. To engage with us across our Industry 4.0 capabilities, please contact Prem Prakash Jayaraman, Director, Factory of the Future on +61 3 9214 8587 or via pjayaraman@swinburne.edu.au to start a conversation.