High quality specialist Tasmanian company Ignite Digi manufactures and sells premium camera and gimbal accessories to many of the world’s biggest film and television productions including Disney’s Mulan, Deadpool 2, Marvel’s Venom, A Star is Born, HBO’s True Detective and many film, television and Netflix programs.

Crafted by industry professionals for industry professionals, Ignite Digi’s products work in tandem with leading professional level cameras to unlock their full potential with enormous time saving benefits for users throughout the world.

The entire accessory and cable range is designed, manufactured and assembled in a state-of-the art facility in Hobart, Tasmania with exports representing more than 95% of the company’s sales.

Established in 2013 by Cinematographer Tom Waugh and Aeronautical Engineer / Gimbal Operator Chris Fox, Ignite Digi was originally formed to provide aerial cinematography services including building UAV’s and camera support systems for camera setups to enhance footage and productivity on set.

With the introduction of cheaper UAV’s (drones) into the market, the founders realised they were no longer competitive in building UAV’s and concentrated their development skills into the design and advanced development of a range of gimbal and high end camera cables and accessories which have been developed from a gimbal and camera operator’s perspective.

The founders combined skills with Chris’s experience in engineering and camera movement complements his role as Chief Engineer and machinist whilst Tom’s advanced knowledge in cinematography and problem solving is ideal for his role as managing Ignite Digi’s sales, customer service and solving complex questions to ensure the right tools are on hand for the task.

From the outset the company has had a strong relationship with Okuma and has just commissioned it’s third Okuma CNC Machining Centre with a second Model MB4000H as the company expands and diversifies into further precision components to service local markets.  Now with two Okuma MB-4000H horizontal machining centres each with 10 pallet pool (Automatic Pallet Changer) APC and 146 tool magazines.

“We have always found Okuma great to deal with from their original recommendations to today. They have worked closely with us and their installations and training have been exceptional even under COVID-19 restrictions” said Chris Fox. “Today our entire product line is produced on Okuma machines which are working 24 hours 7 days per week and are stable and precise, consistently producing accurate parts,” he said.

Ignite Digi was the winner of the Advanced Manufacturing Award for Tasmania in 2019. Recently with hospitals and front line workers requiring high levels of support with COVID protective gear, the company modified an open source design for protective face shields from Europe and modified this for injection moulding for high volume production. Ignite Digi has now produced 20,000 protective shields donating more than half to hospitals in Tasmania.

The company remains at the forefront of advanced manufacturing in Tasmania with the latest manufacturing capabilities in the state and recently hosted a delegation from the Tasmanian Minerals, Manufacturing and Energy Council (TMEC) whose mission is to ‘promote a globally competitive minerals, manufacturing and energy sector to enable sustainable operations in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.’

Okuma Branch Manager- Victoria and Tasmania, Mark Richards said, “Okuma offers a high level of support to all Tasmanian manufacturing customers with the provision of our standard 12 months unlimited application support for all new Okuma machine installations. We also host special Okuma training seminars in Tasmania which will be initiated once again, post COVID-19 restrictions,” he said.

“The skills and dedication of this small team at Ignite Digi is exceptional and has undoubtedly led to its success internationally in a high technology business sector. Okuma is proud to have been part of this success as we work together to advance engineering capabilities of Australian and Tasmanian companies,” said Okuma Australia’s Managing Director, Dean McCarroll.