Please turn your device to portrait.
Offsite manufacturing innovation centre positioned to be built at Western Sydney University in collaboration with PT Blink.
Sydney-based PT Blink has been busy ramping-up activities in the almost 12 months since it secured a multi-million-dollar investment from the owners of US property developer/operator Holland Partner Group. Its latest move will see the company develop a manufacturing innovation centre in the heart of Western Sydney as it actively builds its manufacturing partner base. (main pic: PT Blink’s proposed offsite manufacturing Fitness Centre at WSU.)
The technology company is creating a software platform to coordinate an ecosystem and open manufacturer marketplace to deliver its unique Design – Manufacture – Integrate methodology.
The method has been commercialised through project work including The Fells Apartments in Queensland and aims to deliver total project time savings of around 40% in addition to greater safety, less waste and higher levels of precision.
Founder Murray Ellen stresses that manufacturing is the heart of the Blink DMI™ methodology which effectively manufactures buildings from a kit of configurable components rather than constructing them traditionally. “Advanced manufacturing through an open network of partners is what drives our unique methodology and it is our patented design algorithm and structural technology that coordinates the process and literally makes it ‘fit’ with complete dimensional accuracy,” says Ellen.
“We have been actively developing our manufacturer base and promoting cross-industry collaboration with the university sector including Western Sydney University (WSU) as an innovation hub.”
Built Offsite confirmed that PT Blink is in advanced discussions with Western Sydney University (WSU) to build a dedicated facility called a “Fitness Centre” on the university grounds to showcase the Blink DMI™ methodology and the various participating partners.
“Our platform is unique in that it combines a patented structure that enables users to design and manufacture any architecture and a catalogue of digital assets provided by an open manufacturer marketplace. So we want to be able to demonstrate physical ‘fit’ in the real world as well as receive approvals and provide a space for our partners to demonstrate how their solutions integrate with the structure.”
A governor of the Sydney University Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Murray Ellen explains that strong university partnerships are critical to transforming the construction industry through advanced manufacturing and knowledge sharing.
“The universities are creating the talent of tomorrow and by working together we can accelerate research and have the next generation of professionals shaping the built environment being fully literate in methods such as Blink DMI for the benefit of our society, economy and environment. We are also an active member of Stanford University’s Centre for Integrated Facility Engineering so we are putting energy into bridging international divides and achieving a scale of impact more quickly.”
The company has recently been in the US and Japan pursuing collaborative relationships and receiving significant interest. While details are yet to be released, locally the company will be hosting a manufacturer event before the end of the year to expand the partner base in Australia.
Manufacturers (facades, walls, structural systems, bathrooms, MEPF, stairs, doors, etc) interested in learning more, contact PT Blink COO Wayne Larsen at wayne.larsen@ptblink.com
See: https://ptblink.com/
