Month: March 2015

Additive manufacturing has been adopted to some extent across the entire manufacturing spectrum. Its influence has been transformative, directly impacting on every sector of the industry, from initial ‘blue sky’ design concepts, through to personalised commercial end-use products. 3D printing now provides robust, high-resolution and – most importantly – functional prototypes and products, significantly reducing development times while allowing for more efficient design solutions to be developed. However, despite the ever-growing number of examples of the technology’s significant positive impact, the terms 3D printing and additive fabrication are still often greeted with a dismissive air of scepticism. It is possible that this attitude is a legacy of earlier 3D printed prototypes, from a time (not long ago) when 3D printers were only used to produce fragile demonstration models. The massive hype surrounding 3D printing has led consumers to think that it will solve all needs. A naïve one-machine-fits-all assumption often results in a would-be consumer’s disappointment with the entire technology. The truth is that 3D printers…

Located in Greenfields, South Australia, not far from the where many general automotive manufacturers used to operate, Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes (PPG) is a small business with big potential on the world stage. It was set up by Simon Pfitzner around 15 years ago, spun out of his father’s business - Pfitzner Performance Engineering - which machined industrial gears. Simon learnt his trade there, eventually seeing the opportunity to take his hobby – gear-cutting and machining for motorsports – and turn it into a profitable business. “That’s where we’re at today,” says Richard Sanders, PPG’s Business Development Manager. “PPG is probably now one of the leading manufacturers of quality gearbox components for motorsport vehicles such as Subaru and Nissan. The Tremec gearbox we’ve just started producing gear sets for will go in vehicles such as the Commodore, and a lot of American cars like Mustangs and Camaros.” That constitutes a growth area for PPG, because of the huge worldwide market in motorsports. The company’s gear…

This is the second consecutive year that CME, based in Bayswater, Vic, has received the award, in recognition of its ongoing commitment to providing high quality, lightweight composite components to the automotive industry. The Quality Excellence awards are determined by Metric Selection Criteria, where Tier 1 suppliers and their performance is measured against a table of 13 key requirements. At the same time, CME has expanded production of both materials and products to become Australia’s largest supplier of composite moulded products. It has been a long, gradual process, requiring multi-million dollar investment in new technologies and R&D with international collaborators, to develop and introduce composite components for Ford and GM Holden. “Few people, even in the industry, realise how much composites are in Australian cars today,” says CME Managing Director Brian Hughes. “We have had to compete on a commercial and technical basis, as well as demonstrate we can meet the high volume and other critical production-line requirements.” CME uses Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) and its own long glass-fibre propylene to press and punch out…

Founded in 1954, Miller has gone on to become a world leader in the specialist field of camera support equipment, providing support for the world’s leading camera operators. The company designs, manufactures and delivers professional fluid heads and tripods that are used by global news networks, international film production houses, corporate, educational, government institutions, and photography professionals in more than 65 countries. Miller’s advanced innovative designs are frequently used during electronic news gatherings (ENG), electronic field production (EFP), and digital video applications. Miller holds the first patent for fluid head design for film cameras, which it obtained in 1946. From its inception, the Miller fluid head revolutionised film-making by giving operators the freedom to shoot more creatively and at the same time reducing production costs of film that would have previously ended up on the cutting floor. Innovation, precision and quality of the highest standard have been the hallmark of the company with a string of exciting new products and industry awards throughout its six decades. These include such…

Did you know that the car assemblers aren’t the only automotive manufacturers in Australia? With the automotive industry effectively being kicked out of Australia, there has been a lot of mixed reporting on whether this was a good move or not. But what has been overlooked by most is what will be left. Up front, I need to declare an interest in this debate. I run a company that designs electronics-based products that are intended to be manufactured in Australia. Our clients are local manufacturers. I have a strong interest in manufacturing remaining alive and well in Australia. This article is written from the premise that making stuff here is good, and that we should keep doing it. Manufacturing has many benefits, including creating the fundamental value that the service industries need to leverage off, sharing wealth through the community more evenly than any other industry, creating new industries, and supporting…

Run by brothers Brad and Kim Jones, BJR has won ten national titles in five different categories in over 20 years of professional motorsport. Highlights include winning championships in Auscar (four times) and Nascar (once), before spending five years as the official Audi Australia factory team, during which time it won the driver’s championship and manufacturers crown twice. In 2001 BJR entered the world of V8 Supercars, and since then it has been building its business, and claiming countless race wins, pole positions and podium positions along the way. Recent years have seen the best results yet for the team, and the momentum continues to grow. V8 Supercar racing is big business, where the hunt is always on for the competitive edge and where there are no margins for error. Race weekends are where the cars are pushed to the absolute limits, with every component of the cars being tested and put through their…

Technological advancements, market shifts and innovation are disrupting many industries, and it’s no different for the automotive industry, or manufacturing in general. Amid recent announcements impacting future on-shore production, it is fair to say manufacturing in Australia is undergoing radical changes. In the face of such change, flexible, industry-oriented ERP can help manufacturers automate routine operations, reduce raw material and energy costs, and improve performance and customer satisfaction levels. The customer experience gap A recent IDC Manufacturing Insight white paper, Get Customers Inspired — A Call to Action for Metal Fabrication Manufacturers, revealed that there is a big gap between companies with a mature customer experience strategy and those with an immature strategy – a factor which directly influences their competitiveness. The white paper highlights that, while the majority of metal fabricators agree that improved customer experience is increasingly important to generating growth and boosting…

Founded by Len Harrop in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick in 1955, Harrop Engineering was a family business originating in specialist general engineering for the textile and general trucking/haulage industries. As the business grew, Len and Elsa Harrop’s son Ron joined after completing his boilermaker apprenticeship. Ron had a strong interest in modifying cars and motorsports, and this passion, combined with Len’s technical knowledge, evolved into a business venture for Harrop, opening the company to the world of automotive performance parts. It was on this foundation that Harrop is built. The production of performance parts continued to gain momentum through Ron’s car racing, with the iconic Harrop Howler, through to touring cars with the Holden Dealer Team (HDT), and then engineering Holden Racing Team Commodores. Harrop had enormous on-track success, accumulating a rich history of decisive roles in the design of precision performance products for racing teams over the past 30 years. In 2008, Harrop was acquired by Adrad Group, a family-owned conglomerate of companies from Adelaide. Established in…

In difficult economic times the typical fraudster is more easily able to rationalise their actions and are more motivated to engage in misconduct to maintain their own lifestyle requirements. Evidence shows the range and types of fraud committed are increasing, with the most common types including: Manipulation of source data, including pay rates, new suppliers or employees and bank accounts. Falsifying invoices and expense claims. Electronically transferring funds into personal accounts. Receiving ‘kickbacks’ from suppliers. Creating unauthorised accounting adjustments to the financial statements. Misappropriating company assets or inventories. So what can business do to counteract this growing trend? Those charged with governance can impact the level of opportunities available to employees to commit and engage in misconduct without the risk of being detected. Evidence tells us that the typical fraud is committed by trusted long-term employees who are acting alone, and the most significant factor in detecting committed fraud is the internal controls employed by an organisation. The internal control environment – and more specifically, segregation of duties among your employees – is the…

Domenic Di Giorgio, the founder of Darkly Labs, took an innovative approach to funding, designing and manufacturing the Emblaser, challenging the traditional methods of developing a product. This involved the use of crowd-sourcing and 3D printing to get to market faster and at a lower cost. The company utilised 3D printing to build most of the components for the Emblaser, as it was more cost effective for producing a low volume of laser cutters. It was also a great solution when it came to making prototypes as well as actual parts, because modifications to designs could be easily managed by the Darkly Labs’ team. Darkly Labs launched the Emblaser in 2014, selling over 800 units to hobbyists in the US, Asia, Australia and Europe. The product can be used to cut or engrave flat sheet materials such as paper, wood, plastic and fabric. Universities also use it for research and student projects in many departments. Creating…

The inexpensive, easy-to-use AccessPack technology significantly reduces both occupational health & safety (OHS) and business risk associated with industrial equipment use. First aimed at high-risk equipment, it is now being installed on a huge variety of equipment across a range of industries around the world due to its simplicity and versatility. Major existing users of AccessPack include companies such as Schlumberger, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, FMG, Weatherford, UGL, Komatsu, Hitachi, Disney, Rolls Royce and the Whiting Corporation. AccessPack, from Western Australian company CASWA, uses smart card technology to prevent unauthorised operators from using high-risk or critical equipment. This improves OHS outcomes by requiring users to have current and appropriate ‘tickets’, including qualifications, accreditation, training and/or inductions, in order to operate the equipment. It records who uses the equipment, which creates and maintains a culture of operator accountability and typically improves availability as authorised users instinctively take greater care. According to CASWA, it also provides HSE staff with access to information required for effective incident investigation and proactive training needs analysis. AccessPack is radically different from typical access control…

The Formula SAE-A competition has been held annually in Melbourne since 2000. The Formula program originated in the US in 1978, and has grown into an international program with events held each year in the UK, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Germany, USA, Austria, Hungary and Australia. It is the largest student engineering competition in the world, with approximately 400 university teams competing globally each year. The 2014 Formula SAE-A competition was held on the 11-14 December at Calder Park Raceway, in Melbourne. A total of 26 teams registered to compete, including seven international teams from Japan, New Zealand, India, South Korea and Poland. Monash Motorsport, from Monash University in Melbourne, achieved a stunning first place across six of the eight design and performance events, achieving a total score of 915.5 from a possible 1000. This was its second-highest score since joining the competition at its inception in 2000. Edith Cowan University (ECU) Racing placed second with 881 points, only 34.5 points behind the leader. Third place was awarded to The University of Auckland…

AMT: Let’s start with your professional background and how you came to your current role. Lily D’Ambrosio: Well, I’ve worked in a number of different workplaces over the years. I went to Melbourne University, where I did an Arts degree. I then worked in the union movement. I represented OHS needs through that work, but also a lot of employees in the manufacturing sector. Then I did some political work, party-political work for a number of years, and then electorate-office work. I did a lot of community engagement and helped a number of community members, organisations and individuals in terms of their particular needs and relationship with the government services and council services. And then I was elected into parliament in 2002. I served as a Minister in the last year of the previous Labour government – there was a vacancy in Community Development, and I had the opportunity to serve. I was very thankful for that, and I’m certainly thankful that there is another opportunity here now,…