Month: January 2021

Proudly owned and operated by AMTIL, Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW) is Australia’s premier manufacturing solutions event. Co-located with Austech, AMTIL’s longstanding advanced manufacturing and machine tool expo, the inaugural edition of AMW will take place at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 8-11 March 2022. As the largest event covering manufacturing and engineering scheduled to be held in this country, AMW 2022 promises to be an unmissable highlight of next year’s Australian manufacturing industry calendar. With significant advanced interest from industry since AMW was first announced last July, the opening of bookings marks a major milestone in preparations for the show. Organisations considering participating are strongly advised to contact AMTIL promptly to secure their place. “We are excited to announce that Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW) is now open for stand bookings,” said Kim Banks, AMW Exhibition Manager and Head of Events at AMTIL. “With a strict cap on available space for 2022, exhibitors may find themselves jostling for a position as the postponement of several exhibitions in…

JC Butko was set up 44 years ago by John and Carolyn Butko. Born to Ukrainian immigrant parents, John Butko serves his apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in Melbourne before returning to Wodonga and joining Milos Metrol & Sons. In 1972, he was named as Albury & Wodonga’s top apprentice. Soon afterwards, John rented a small shed in Kendall Street, Wodonga, and began investing heavily in machinery, including a lathe, guillotine and a set of rollers. The rest is history. Now employing 128 tradespersons and 30 contractors, the team at JC Butko consists of boilermakers, sheet metal workers, pipe welders, fitter/machinists and apprentices. The management team comprises project managers, mechanical engineers, certifying engineers, project supervisors, estimators, drafting personnel, quality assurance, health, safety & wellness, and administration. A significant part of JC Butko’s recent growth…

The Member of the Order of Australia is awarded to an individual who has contributed to service worthy of specific recognition. Over more than 25 years, Matthews has dedicated his career at RUAG Australia to researching and developing innovative aerospace component repair technology solutions. “Today, we congratulate Neil on his outstanding achievement of being appointed a Member of the Order of Australia,” said Terry Miles, General Manager RUAG Australia. “Leading the way in component repair and coating technologies and making them accessible on behalf of our Defence Industry customers is a mission Neil and RUAG have followed consistently and continue to share. We are pleased to have Neil’s work recognised for the valuable contribution it creates for our customers.” Matthews holds an aeronautical engineering degree and a Master of Science in Aircraft Design. He has been involved in Military Aircraft Engineering support for over 45 years, both as a serving air force officer and then in the commercial and military…

Following the success of its Port Pirie venture, Bentley’s Cabin Parks will soon be opening its new fully self-contained accommodation park at Port Augusta. Part of the Bentley Group, the cabin park division was first set up in 1995 when Hayden Bentley, founder and Managing Director, set up four cabins inspired by his travels around Australia with his family. Bentley Group is a diversified business that is involved in farming, hospitality and construction. The new cabins for the Port Augusta site are being built at the company-owned construction yards based in South Australia. To transport those cabins, Hayden recently invested in a new Freighter Drop Deck Semi with ramps, from MaxiTRANS. “We have bought aluminium tippers from MaxiTRANS previously and in February we picked up a new multi-purpose Freighter Drop Deck Semi trailer,” said…

Persist and you will succeed, we are told. But how true is this? Does persistence really win in the end? I have always lived by a saying I coined many years ago: “Persistence is an important element of success; Persistence is an essential element of failure.” The underlying thinking here is that if the idea is fundamentally bad, no amount of persistence will make it good. Worse still, many are so enamoured with their ideas that they invest heavily in patents only to then fail and go broke at the same time. Persistence needs to be moderated with a high degree of common sense and objectivity, and the ability to let go and know when to stop. It’s not a failure if you stop before it’s too late. It is a failure if you persist beyond the point of sensibility. Having said that, capturing and holding the nub of a good…

Carel and Muriel Leussink founded Leussink in 1977, initially operating out of a humble home garage in Unanderra, New South Wales. Today it is a second-generation family business offering complete design, fabrication and machining services and solutions for clients over a wide spectrum of industries. It prides itself on delivering world-leading after-sales service, maintaining close client liaison to ensure expectations are met or exceeded on each job. It is equally renowned for machining bespoke components, fabrication or projects manufactured to turnkey operational level, leveraging years of skills and experience. “At Leussink we genuinely believe in local manufacturing,” says Jason Leussink, the company’s Managing Director. “Of course, in our industry, it is not always possible to buy 100% Australian made materials, but where we can, we do buy Australian and support other organisations that have the same philosophy.” The company’s boasts a wide range of capabilities including CNC machining, milling and turning, wire cutting, surface grinding, design, metal fabrication,…

The National Circular Economy Roadmap found innovation is crucial to realising Australia’s largest economic gains, which will come from designing new products and materials, including through advanced manufacturing, and in embracing new business models that will create domestic and export markets for waste streams. This could more than triple job creation from resource recovery in Australia, where the recycling sector currently generates 9.2 jobs per 10,000 tonnes of waste, compared with only 2.8 jobs for the same amount of waste sent to landfill. Increasing Australia’s recovery rate by just 5% would add an estimated $1bn to GDP. The Australian Government’s ban on the export of waste last year creates an opportunity for a new circular economy strategy that turns landfill into economic returns. CSIRO Chief Executive, Dr Larry Marshall, said science and technology can drive Australia’s next wave of economic opportunities. “Australia is among the world’s best in advanced manufacturing and environmental research, and that unique science can turn industry and…

According to power and automation company ABB, the addition of a VSD can reduce energy consumption by as much as 60%. This means that, if a 90kW motor in continuous operation is combined with a VSD, financial savings can amass to over $16,000 per year. A VSD can help achieve these savings by better catering for the needs of a specific application. Traditionally, induction motors run at fixed speeds and are suited to applications that require a constant motor output speed, such as in pumps or fans. Yet sometimes, varying motor output speeds are preferable to meet the changing requirements of the load, such as in fans, pumps and precision tools. Also known as a frequency converter or adjustable speed drive, a VSD is able to control the speed and torque of the motor to better match the process requirements of the machine it is driving. It is the…

Scientists from UNSW Sydney have developed a ceramic-based ink that may allow surgeons in the future to 3D-print bone parts complete with living cells that could be used to repair damaged bone tissue. Using a 3D-printer that deploys a special ink made up of calcium phosphate, the scientists developed a new technique, known as 'ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions' (COBICS), enabling them to print bone-like structures that harden in a matter of minutes when placed in water. While the idea of 3D-printing bone-mimicking structures is not new, this is the first time such material can be created at room temperature – complete with living cells – and without harsh chemicals or radiation, says Dr Iman Roohani from UNSW’s School of Chemistry. “This is a unique technology that can produce structures that closely mimic bone tissue,” he says. “It could be used in clinical applications where there is a large demand for in situ repair of bone defects such as those caused by trauma, cancer, or where a big chunk…

Precise, fully automated, easily adjustable and endless dosing is the prerequisite. Purely volumetric dispensing systems like ViscoTec dispensers enable exactly that: continuous, repeatable, material-friendly dispensing of TIMs, gap fillers, sealing materials and adhesives – regardless of their viscosity. A specially developed rotor in the ViscoTec dispensers ensures long service life, even when using highly abrasive materials. For example, a long-term test with a two-component gap filler, with aluminium-oxide fillers, showed a nine-fold service life compared to the standard rotor. By using a special coating on the rotors or more specifically by using a ceramic rotor, customers can achieve even greater process stability due to a much longer lifetime of the dispenser components. Battery cell assembly The thermal connection of the electronic modules or battery modules to the heat sink is crucial to dissipate the generated heat via the heat sink and therefore prevent overheating. For this purpose, heat-conducting pastes and adhesives with increasingly higher thermal conductivities are used to eliminate the air…

AMT: What is iMOVE Australia? How long have you been in operation and what are the organisation’s objectives? Ian Christensen: iMOVE Australia is Australia’s national centre for R&D in transport and mobility. We run the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre (iMOVECRC), which is funded through the Federal Government’s CRC program. It was set up in 2017 to tackle major challenges and harness opportunities in areas such as congestion, supply chain optimisation, journey planning, and a whole range of diverse transport-related tasks, all of which could benefit from the evolving tech. The CRC Program approach is an interesting way of doing this; it has a strong track record of delivery over many years by strenghthening connections between research and business and harnessing national research capability to business challenges. As iMOVE operates nationally we are in the fortunate position of working with many different partners in government, industry and academia. Most of Australia’s state government transport departments are conducting some form of research through the centre, as is the Federal Department of Infrastructure. AMT: Can you give some examples of the projects you’re…

Line Zero is a purpose-built facility for industrial-scale testing of new technologies and processes ahead of their use in the advanced manufacturing or shipbuilding industry. Line Zero, which is the first research and testing facility of its kind in Australia, is a joint initiative of Flinders University and BAE Systems Australia, supported by the Innovative Manufacturing Collaborative Research Centre and state and federal government funding. Premier Steven Marshall said it’s critical South Australia has the skilled workforce to meet the needs of the booming defence industry. “South Australia is the defence state and this partnership between Government, Flinders University and BAE Systems Australia is helping to deliver the defence workforce of the future,” said Marshall. “The $90bn pipeline of work from the Commonwealth is creating thousands of jobs – and will continue to do so for decades to come. “It’s crucial we have the skilled workforce to meet the needs of the…

Melvelle has built an enviable reputation in the rail industry, here in Australia and overseas, for the unique rail track maintenance equipment they design and manufacture locally. Recently, to satisfy the demands of the rail industry, Melvelle has developed battery-operated equipment to replace some internal combustion-powered units. One of these products is the “Trackpack” system, which is a modular platform with multiple capabilities designed to reduce initial capital outlay and overall maintenance costs. The Trackpack is a complete hydraulic power unit with a boom arm and rail trolley, designed to allow the use of multiple hydraulic work heads without the need for numerous power supplies. A quick-change boom allows easy change over from one head to another, with adjustable counterbalance positioning so the weight on the operator handles never exceeds 3-5 kg. The system is powered by two lithium battery cells, and can be coupled with nine different work heads or other hydraulic hand tools. Traditionally, petrol or diesel-powered engines would drive the heads hydraulically. Now with the battery cells, the…