Month: November 2015

Guided factory tours were provided for invited guests, which included Dr Mike Nahan, who unveiled a plaque to mark the milestone in front of key customers, employees and stakeholders. The organised tours provided guests with glimpses of the behind-the-scene operations and a review of the cutting-edge technology and processes currently utilised at the transformer manufacturing plant. The 9,100sqm facility specialises in producing distribution transformers up to 10MVA and 33KV. “I congratulate ABB Australia on reaching the major milestone of 60 years of manufacturing transformers in Perth,” said Dr Nahan. “I am pleased this locally-based manufacturing capability has continued to provide an important contribution not only to the security of electricity supplies for the State, but also to the overall prosperity of WA.” "We were delighted to be celebrating this anniversary with so many of our longstanding customers, employees, suppliers and key stakeholders,” said Axel Kuhr, Managing Director for ABB in Australia. “Our Perth operation has proven itself a reliable technology partner for government, utilities and the resources sector and…

This past year the Board and our senior staff reconfirmed our role is to represent and promote the interests of manufacturing technology suppliers and their customers (the ecosystem). For our Manufacturing Technology Suppliers, our focus is on encouraging investment in technology. We do this through marketing and promotional opportunities, whether it be Austech, our AMT magazine, online offerings, talking to government about incentive schemes and other services. We want people buying machine tools, automation, robotics, software, cutting tools and ancillary equipment. We need to focus heavily on this area. For our Manufacturing Technology Users, our focus is on…

With 25 years of experience under their belt, the team at Hygrade have made a name for themselves producing quality work for all their customers. Michael White is the company’s Director and owner and has seen significant changes to the company over two decades. Michael and his team at Hygrade are determined to provide the very best quality laser cutting, robotic welding and metal bending services to their customers throughout New South Wales. The company doesn’t manufacture its own products – Michael describes the business as “just a job shop,” where they simply construct specific parts for their customer. “We don’t specialise in producing just one type of product, we are certainly flexible with what our customers require,” Michael says. “At Hygrade we are determined to produce products that are precise and that are at a high standard. If they are not up to scratch, they don’t go out.” Servicing an extensive range of industries encompassing everything from transport to architecture, Hygrade has been involved in a number of projects that has required the company to…

The attributes of a cutting process that are most often important from a metal fabricator or job shop perspective are as follows. Capital equipment cost. While each process requires sophisticated CNC motion control and fume control equipment, as well as CAD and CAM software to unlock the best potential, there are differences in these requirements for each process. As an example, motion control systems on a laser designed to cut thin steel at high speeds are required to have much greater accuracy than motion control for waterjet or oxy-fuel systems that operate at lower speeds. These requirements have a direct, often large effect on capital equipment cost differences. Cutting cost per part or per metre. This type of cost calculation must include consumables and utilities. In some cases, amortised capital equipment cost may also be included, as well as labour costs. It is necessary to ensure that the same type of inputs is used…

The effectiveness of an injection moulding cooling system is directly linked to productivity and part quality. Cooling efficiency is particularly dependent on cooling channel proximity to the mould cavity, as variation in the proximity can result in uneven heat dissipation, leading to: increased cycle time; part warping and sink marks; internal part stresses; and reduced tool life due to thermal stress. The design of conventional cooling channels in injection moulds is constrained by traditional manufacturing constraints such as the linear nature of the drilling process, limiting the ability to conform the channel to the contour of the mould. Hot spots are traditionally addressed by the inclusion of targeted bubblers or baffles that channel coolant to a specific location; however, these are not always feasible due to interference with other mould components. In particularly challenging cases, mould halves have to be sectioned, and…

The innovative technology, which can also treat major eye diseases including cataracts and glaucomas – the top cause of blindness globally – has boosted an Adelaide-based company to be the international leader in the niche field. Ellex Medical Lasers launched its newest product targeting age-related blindness in Barcelona in September. It is one example of a wave of modern medical advancements coming out of South Australia, as documented by Invest Adelaide. According to the 2015 Comprehensive Report on the Global Ophthalmic Laser Market (Market Scope), Ellex has 50% of the market share for glaucoma treatment lasers as of May 2015, up from 41% just 12 months earlier. It also places Ellex second for sales in the industry overall with 14.2% of the market share; just 0.3% behind the market leader, US company Lumenis. Ellex chief executive Tom Spurling said the report reinforced the company’s ‘positive momentum’ as an industry front-runner. “This demonstrates that Ellex’s investment in leading edge technology can successfully translate into increased sales and market share,” said Spurling. “And we intend to continue to build our pipeline…

The decision of many owners to approach a bank for new finance for their business can often be fraught with trepidation. Quite often the fear of outright rejection, cost, or even the amount of information required to be prepared can be enough to dissuade owners from obtaining the support of a bank for its business. However, it certainly does not have to be this way especially for the well-prepared business owner. Banks are finding it more difficult and expensive to raise funds, so the limited funds they do have are deployed, both to get the most bang for their buck in terms of return, but even more importantly in terms of credit quality. While a bank can increase its revenue by taking on higher risks and charge accordingly, preservation and protection of capital are more critical. Banks are already highly geared businesses and accordingly can ill afford further blows to their capital bases, besides higher margins never compensate for a bad debt. Although banks are restricted in the funds available…

AMT: Tell us about the REA Foundation and its aims. MM: It’s fundamentally about getting kids engaged with STEM. When I started, my background led me to be more focused on attracting students to engineering, but this expanded significantly as I grew to understand that, in attracting students to professions that build a nation, the problem was much broader. At the time there wasn’t much around that gave students much reason to be interested in STEM subjects. The education system really isn’t designed to get kids interested in careers; I don’t think the system’s at all attuned to the skills industry needs or wants. Our political system has over a long period of time facilitated the development of a set of educational silos. There’s Maths and English and History and Science etc, and they all have their own departments and a mentality based around defending their own space at…

The challenges of applying HPC as a performance enhancer in parting and grooving operations can today be overcome by a number of technology developments. Newly developed tooling for this area provides accurately aimed nozzles for coolant jets to impact the right places and to penetrate into spaces and grooves where it can make a real difference to machining and thereby minimise risks. Maintaining a parallel, laminar jet at pressure is critical once the coolant leaves the nozzle. The jet should have a positive effect on the contact length and shear-plane angle between chip and tool, have a cooling effect, and provide lubrication where it is needed. To achieve this, delivering the coolant at sufficiently high volume and pressure through all the machine, holder and tool…

The opportunities provided by collaborative robots differs significantly to traditional industrial robots – not only due to their flexibility and ease of use, but also because their collaborative nature enables them to work side by side with staff, while maintaining a safe environment. A new generation of automated technology is helping bridge the gap between robots and humans, acting not only as a collaborator but a job creator. Rather than replacing their human counterparts these devices work alongside people in manufacturing and processing to promote optimal efficiency. New studies have found that collaborative robotics can increase employment opportunities within businesses, as they bolster productivity and encourage upgraded skillsets. While a traditional robot works behind a cage and requires a specialised technician to operate it, lightweight robots can be operated by anyone on the factory floor, making it easier for staff to view it as a helpful tool rather than a piece…

The company, a market leading CNC tool grinder manufacturing business and longstanding member of AMTIL, will represent Victorian manufacturing at the Australian Export Awards on 27 November. ANCA has a history of achievement, having won ten GOVEA awards and two Australian Export awards previously. With a Melbourne headquarters the privately owned company turns over $200m annually and employs over 950 staff globally. Co-founder and Director Pat Boland commented: “We are very proud to be recognised by one of the most prestigious business awards for our innovation excellence and ongoing contribution to the Australian economy. ANCA is proof that an Australian company can successfully compete and prosper in a global market and I thank our amazing team whose hard work helps us retain our leadership position. “ANCA’s success has been in the development of world leading products that solve customer needs and supporting these products with advanced and lean factories and a global sales and service distribution system. Precision cutting tools are a fundamental component of advanced manufacturing and ANCA is immensely proud of its…

A painful hip that feels unstable and no longer has the same range of motion: for many patients, this means they need a prosthetic hip – something that happens to more than 200,000 people each year in Germany alone. Implant manufacturers face numerous challenges; for example, the artificial joints may eventually break. In addition, orthopaedic surgeons currently have no suitable method for precisely measuring leg length before the operation or for adjusting the implants accordingly. The result is that after the operation, the leg can actually be longer or shorter than it used to be. This leads to problems with the spine, which have to be resolved using shoe inserts. There’s a better solution on the horizon: with the completely new measuring technique developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for…

Ceramics are perfect for implant use. They provide much higher levels of strength, wear resistance, smoothness and biocompatibility when compared with metals and polymers. However, ceramics lack one very important quality - machinability. Mention ceramics, and most people visualise dinner plates or coffee mugs that easily shatter when dropped on a hard surface. This isn’t the case when it comes to industrial and medical ceramics. Those are much tougher, denser, and therefore not as brittle and, unfortunately, not that easy to machine using conventional methods. Thankfully though, laser beams may offer a remedy. Currently, a very select few of ceramic implants are being produced. They are simplistic in shape because they are produced using grinding machines with diamond wheels that have limited capabilities when it comes to accessing contours and pockets and other complex part shapes. The grinding process is also slow, making manufacturing costly and, in…