The fastAlloy Lab at Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials is purpose-built to accelerate the discovery and development of new metal alloys.
Based at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus, this integrated rapid prototyping lab features a vacuum suction eight-station arc melting furnace guided by AI, enabling researchers to develop and test new alloys in weeks rather than months.
With the capacity to manufacture 16–24 alloys per day and extensive property testing methods, the fastAlloy Lab is a cornerstone for alloy development projects, supporting both research and industry innovation.
Driving Innovation and Impact
The fastAlloy Lab addresses the complex challenges facing metal production, including environmental and economic pressures.
By enabling the rapid creation and testing of high-quality metal ingots, the facility supports the development of longer-lasting, energy-saving alloys and innovative approaches to reclaiming and reusing scrap metal. These advancements are critical for enhancing Australia’s sovereign capabilities and reducing both energy consumption and landfill impact.
Our research technologies
- Metal 3D Printers – Two printers with different processes for testing metal powder behaviour, suitability, and mechanical properties of formed parts.
- Arc Casting Machines – Two manual and one automatic arc casting machines for melting, casting, and rapidly solidifying metal alloys under vacuum or inert gases.
- Induction Melting Furnace – For melting, casting, and rapidly solidifying alloys, with the ability to scale up quantities for specific testing.
- Cold Spray Machine – An additive manufacturing method using compressed gas to apply metal powders onto surfaces without melting.
- Dilatometer – For studying heat treatment of steels and alloys, identifying heating and quenching rates, and isothermal dwell times to achieve desired crystalline structures. Capable of compression and tension deformation.
- PLX-benchtop Plastometrex – A mechanical testing system that extracts fast, reliable stress-strain curves from metallic materials using automated indentation tests at temperatures up to 800°C.
Industry and research applications
- Advanced alloys development (high-entropy alloys, shape memory alloys, superalloys)
- Additive manufacturing of metals
- Thermo-mechanical behaviour of materials
- Powder metallurgy and solid-state sintering
- Metal matrix composites
Industries we work with
- Mining
- Aerospace and defense
- Automotive
- Tooling and manufacturing
Circularity for critical alloys
Deakin Distinguished Professor of Metallurgy Matthew Barnett is an ARC Laureate Fellow who is exploring how to take discarded high-performance alloys and turn them back into high-value advanced alloys.
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Advanced Alloys
