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Land Defence Australia National Industry Innovation Award – DMTC Wins

DMTC has won the Land Defence Australia National Industry Innovation Award. This award was presented at the Land Forces Conference 2014 in Brisbane and recognises companies who are leaders in technology and innovation in the land domain.

DMTC was presented the award for its work on Boron Carbide body armour production. From 2009 to 2012, the DMTC led a project consortium consisting of Australian Defence Apparel (ADA), CSIRO, VCAMM, DSTO and the University of Melbourne to develop a unique method of producing body armour plates out of Boron Carbide, the third hardest material on the planet and one third the density of steel. The unique production method was based upon two established techniques, Viscous Ceramic Processing and Pressureless Sintering. Alternative manufacturing processes require diamond grinding post-sintering or significant infrastructure investment in the form of hot pressing or high pressure casting equipment, so this process offers significant economic benefits over other ceramic armour forming processes. The key differential of this production process is the ability to form near-net shape, thin, highly shaped, curved ceramic armour plates. This key piece of innovation has enabled ADA to quickly and cost effectively respond to new customer requirements and produce armour plates that are effective against new and emerging threats.