Month: July 2019

There are many machinability issues with stainless steel (ISO M) and HRSA and titanium (ISO S) materials. With regard to ISO M materials, machinability often decreases with a higher alloy content. And while chip control is fair in ferritic/martensitic materials, it becomes more complex in austenitic and duplex types. Perhaps most troublesome of all is that machining these materials creates high cutting forces in combination with built-up edge and work-hardened surfaces. The combination of these factors serves to compromise tool life. In terms of ISO S materials, the physical properties and machining behaviour of each varies considerably, due…

Released in May by AMSI and CSIRO Data61’s student-employer matching platform, Ribit.net, ‘Advancing Australia’s Knowledge Economy – Who are the top PhD employers?’ shows over half of PhD students are hoping to work in industry. One of the biggest factors in this shift is the lack of university-based positions. PhD graduate numbers are overtaking academic demand, with annual completions soaring from under 4000 annually in the year 2000 to almost 10,000 today. This trend has seen some of Australia’s largest business employers emerge as leading PhD recruiters. Aligned with the nation’s growth sectors, medicine, pharmaceuticals, mining and finance join advanced manufacturing as top employers. There is also growing demand across emerging industries such as environmental services and media technology and services. This is good news for big business and SMEs looking for quantitative, analytical and research expertise to drive advanced and digital manufacturing innovation. The scope of roles for PhDs continues to broaden, with global competition driving many…

When we think of robots, we often think of either clunky metal frames that complete menial tasks, or something so human it is almost indistinguishable to the person standing next to you. Both appearances have their uses though, whether it’s for picking, packing and palletising in a manufacturing plant, or entertaining guests at an amusement park. Traditionally, robots have been large and noisy pieces of equipment, often posing potential safety risks to the workforce. A new breed of collaborative robots has changed this though, allowing machines to work side-by-side with human employees. This type of robot is now becoming increasingly commonplace on the plant floor, revolutionising the…

One customer is Anthony Machine, based in San Antonio, Texas. Since 1946, the job shop has served a variety of industries, including oil & gas, mining, transportation and power generation. With all that precision machining experience, there’s little that Anthony Machine can’t handle. However, after the company purchased a pair of NLX 3000 1250 universal turning centres from DMG MORI – the shop’s first Y-axis, live-tool lathes – Anthony Machine’s manufacturing team was challenged with making the most of that new investment. Kennametal Senior Sales Engineer Mark Davis was there to help. He explained to the team at Anthony Machine that the best way to reduce set-up times and maximise the new machines’ potential would be to equip them with Turret Adapted Clamping Units (TACUs) and KM quick-change toolholders. “The TACU system supports everything from KM32 up to KM63,” says Davis. “We offer blocks for both static and driven tools,…

Hadjar comes to the company with a wealth of international experience in product management, additive manufacturing and engineering, having spent more than 20 years in key leadership roles at US-company General Electric, with experience in the business units of GE Aviation, GE Oil & Gas, GE Power and GE Energy Management. SLM Solutions’ Supervisory Board strongly believes that Hadjar is ideally suited to lead the company as CEO, due to his breadth and depth of experience. With qualifications in the aerospace industry, Hadjar is keen to build on his experience in GE Aviation promoting the uptake of SLM Solutions systems in this sector. His background enables him to identify the limitations of traditional manufacturing in aerospace and aviation and the opportunities 3D metal printing presents. In a recent interview with 3D Printing Media Network, Hadjar discussed how the aerospace and aviation industries have been early adopters of the technology. Hadjar sees the role of SLM Solutions as building on the opportunities and advantages of additive manufacturing to this sector;…

For more than 35 years Austin has designed and engineered unique production and maintenance equipment including dump truck bodies, excavator buckets, water tanks and tyre handlers. Austin-designed equipment has given its customers significantly improved productivity and increased output through designs that have enhanced the operational efficiency and availability of site production equipment. The new dual-cell robotic welding system, as well as offering the obvious advantages of modern robotic welding technology, includes features to improve overall efficiency and product capabilities. A mobile gantry carrying two six-axis articulated arm robots, each interfaced with a digital pulse welding module, dominates the system. Mounted on rails, the double gantry provides 14m of longitudinal travel and 10m of lateral travel to service the two new side-by-side production cells. Vertical travel is 2m. The system includes both online and offline programming capabilities. Whereas the previous robot could only be programmed once the component was loaded into the cell, all necessary programming can…

As well as providing an array of personal protective gear and onsite materials, Bunzl also offers a selection of technical services that extends the business’s safety offering to deliver a complete, whole-of-site safety solution. It offers a range of options for businesses to confirm the safety of their sites, including equipment testing and servicing, site safety assessments and hands-on education courses to ensure that all staff are proficient in on-site safety. Bunzl Safety was acquired from Jeminex and had three separate companies which provided workwear, safety equipment, lifting and rigging products. All these three businesses were independent users of Pronto Xi business management solutions – leaving Bunzl Safety with the arduous task of running three distinct systems. This, combined with differing business rules and processes across the three divisions, created inefficiency,…

Now, digital technologies have put “agility” in the spotlight. The ability to react to volatility in the market place is critical. However, responding to change is not enough. Manufacturers must also anticipate future trends and strive to predict customer needs to properly prepare and adapt in advance. While modern technology supports this approach, the continuous rush of uncontrolled change can start to resemble a dog chasing its own tail. Strategy can’t be overlooked because without meaningful objectives, speed of change can be chaotic. As more manufacturers embark on digital journeys, now is the time to pause, consider the ongoing quest for speed and put it into perspective. A pause to consider Any seasoned veteran of manufacturing remembers the days of apprenticeships, training programs, and…

Printed in a 1m x 1m format, the Guide is designed to be displayed in a place that is accessible to all workers. In doing so it will help to aid in the promotion of health and safety and serve as a constant reminder to metal workers of potential hazards and threats that could jeopardise one’s safety in the workplace. This year’s Guide features select topics that have been considered to be of the most importance to metalworkers. The topics this year include: manual handling for transporting materials; welding fumes and their carcinogenic effects; tips for staying hydrated; industrial deafness; and workplace traffic management. One particularly exciting feature of the Guide is its use of augmented reality (AR) technology, allowing the printed guide to come to life through digital technology. By simply downloading the free Pro-Vis AR app, users can use their smart devices to scan over any AR-enabled content. In doing so, metalworkers can access further resources such as videos to…

Raymax Lasers in Sydney are pleased to announce their partner, SLM Solutions Group, Lübeck, Germany have supplied Rolls-Royce with SLM®500 quad-laser machines to help develop its Additive Layer Manufacture Capability. The machines will play an important role in helping Rolls-Royce in the competitive adoption of additive layer manufacturing for aerospace components. SLM Solutions focuses solely on metal additive manufacturing technology and pioneered multi-laser machines. This years-long experience mastering multi-laser optics, together with their patented bi-directional recoating mechanism makes selective laser melting systems the most productive on the market. With four lasers enabling build rates up to 171 cm3, the SLM®500 serves as the flagship metal 3D printer for high volume processes while offering automated, closed-loop material supply, recovery and sieving to minimize operator handling of metal powder. Speed and safety are common requirements, but aerospace is a challenging environment for manufacturing because of the rigorous certification process that requires a reliable, high standard of part quality. Rolls-Royce required multi-laser systems to meet both their productivity demands and maintain rigorous quality controls previously established. This also led them to adopt the four laser SLM®500, the first quad-laser machine introduced to the market in 2013. Essential to their selection of SLM…

The mild contraction in the Australian PMI in June (down 3.3 points to 49.4) brings to an end 33 consecutive months of stable or positive results (50 points or higher, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the decrease) since August 2016. Of the seven activity indexes in the Australian PMI, only production (up 0.7 points to 51.9) and exports (up 2.8 points to 53.1) remained in expansion in June. The employment (down 5.5 points to 50.1), new orders (down 2.5 points to 49.8) and sales (down 0.8 points to 50.8) indices were broadly stable, while supplier deliveries (down 6.5 points to 47.1) and finished stocks (down 6.8 points to 44.0) contracted – possibly due to end-of-financial-year stock clearances. “Australia’s manufacturers reported the weakest conditions in almost three years in June,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “While the pace of growth has eased over the past year, the combination of the housing construction downturn, a slowing in…