Month: August 2021

Funding of between $20m and $200million is available, covering up to 33% of eligible project expenditure. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter said the Government will strategically invest in projects that will help manufacturers to scale up and create jobs, with investments targeted at projects within the six National Manufacturing Priority areas. “As a Government we plan to harness Australia’s manufacturing capability to drive job creation and spur private investment, especially as we chart our economic recovery from COVID-19 and build our future resilience,” Minister Porter said. “Through the Collaboration Stream, we are determined to co-invest in industry-led proposals that will transform our National Manufacturing Priority areas, by encouraging manufacturers to move up the value chain to higher value, higher margin activities, including drawing on our world class research. “This is at the heart of our $1.5bn Modern Manufacturing Strategy, which is all designed to support Australian manufacturers to scale-up, build resilience, become more competitive and create the jobs we need not only…

A joint venture between the Bionics Institute and The University of Melbourne, and located in St Vincent’s Hospital, Neo-Bionica actually already commenced operations in June this year. The purpose-built, highly specialised laboratory is equipped with the latest clean-room technology, cutting-edge robotic equipment, enhanced 3D printing and precision engineering tools that are needed to develop and manufacture prototype medical devices for clinical trials. The driving force behind the new facility, Bionics Institute’s CEO Robert Klupacs, advises that Neo-Bionica will provide Australia with the capability to build clinical-grade medical devices, increasing the speed from initial concept to clinical application. On a site tour of the facility, there’s a cabinet near the entrance displaying a range of medical devices developed by the Bionics Institute in collaboration with other organisations and now by Neo-Bionica researchers. Among the items on display, there are: an electrode designed to stimulate the vagus nerve, for use in the treatment…

Like many companies involved in supplying recreational equipment, AL-KO is benefitting from travel restrictions that are seeing Australians holidaying and staying in their own backyards. Sales of RVs and associated products have skyrocketed this year and AL-KO is riding that resurgence and the resultant interest in getting out on the road and exploring new destinations. The company is best known for its high-quality running gear range, which includes axles, brakes, and suspension products. AL-KO also offers a wide range of accessories, as well as supplying suspension and carriage components to various motorhome and caravan chassis manufacturers. Look under any of the leading RV, caravan and off-road camper trailer brands and chances are that AL-KO parts will be fitted. In addition to the RV market, it produces specialised axles for trailers for a diverse range of agricultural machinery such as transporting combine harvester headers and suspension and running gear for lighting and access towers. The company has a long and…

Originally planned to have taken place in February, the AVALON 2021 airshow had already been rescheduled to 26-28 November as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic had required the AVALON organising team to work through many challenges in respect of the 2021 event. However, recent developments as a consequence of the COVID-19 Delta strain have highlighted that the environment has become more unpredictable. “Delivering such a highly complex, hallmark event in these challenging circumstances would involve risks of uncertainty for attendees, participants, industry and the Australian public,” said AMDA Foundation Chief Executive Ian Honnery. “Therefore, in order to minimise uncertainty and disruption to attendees and participants, the difficult decision has been taken now that AIRSHOW 2021 will not go ahead. “It is deeply disappointing for the AMDA Foundation team, our stakeholders, exhibitors, participants and patrons that this signature industry trade show and public entertainment spectacular will not proceed. But public health and safety must be paramount and responsible levels of certainty must be achieved…

The Laser Genius+ (LG+) benefits from the 30 years of expert knowledge Prima Power has gained from the supply of over 10,000 laser systems to customers worldwide. The machine developments reduce installation time, increases serviceability, and make the overall user experience the best it can be, pushing the boundaries for the manufacturing industry. Built with ease of use and ease of service in mind, the LG+ has a single structure that holds the laser source, chillers, cutting table, and electrical cabinet. Prima Power is one of the only worldwide manufacturers to develop its own electrical components, cutting head, and laser sources. It does all of this from their facilities in Italy and the USA. It is also the only system manufacturer to make its own solid-state diode fiber lasers, with power from 3kW up to 15kW. The Prima Electro subsidiary develops CNC and electrical components, along with the software to drive the machines. wThe LG+ has any customer requirement covered, with various modular automation systems and…

The industry-led research project has been awarded $118,338 by the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) and Allegra Orthopaedics. The project will span over 12 months and is led by Swinburne’s Dr Andrew Ang and Allegra Orthopaedics’ Robert Bell. The manufacturing outcome for Allegra will be a robust coating process that manufactures a new product line of novel bioceramic coated orthopaedic implants. This unique coating can outperform the current hydroxyapatite-coated implants. It allows Allegra to develop a proprietary implant coating process that does not currently exist in the market. This project will catalyse the industry-university collaboration and establish a solid foundation for manufacturing functional bioceramic coatings for Allegra Orthopaedics. “This manufacturing system is the first of its kind in Australia and will be made available to Allegra for this project,” said Professor Christopher Berndt, SEAM Director. “It will change the way on how orthopaedic implants are coated.” Jenny Swain, CEO of Allegra Orthopaedics, added: “Together with our novel…

Australia is responsible for 74 million tonnes of waste on a yearly basis with a recycling rate of only 60%. However, as all levels of government and industry work together to implement projects and provide funding to manage waste and protect the environment, the way we approach the country’s waste crisis is constantly shifting. Outlined in the Federal Government’s 2021-22 Budget, there are a number of actions to drive a multi-million-dollar transformation of Australia’s waste and recycling industry under the National Waste Policy Action Plan, aiming to improve infrastructure, increase recycling rates, tackle food and organic waste, and support better waste management in larger sectors such as manufacturing. Returning as an in-person event at an important time in the industry, Waste Expo Australia is the country’s largest gathering of waste management and resource recovery professionals. This free-to-attend exhibition and conference will feature more than 100 leading suppliers, including Applied Machinery, Boss Attachments, Caterpillar, Garwood, HSR Southern Cross, Pact Group, KOR Equipment Solutions, Lincom Group, STG Global, Toro Waste Equipment and Tomra. With the…

“The writing was on the wall some years back that we would ultimately see a dramatic loss of our automotive business,” says Ron Miller, Managing Director of Conma Industries. “With this in mind we diversified our product range, which is now greater than ever. Whilst we have retained some automotive business our product range takes us into many different industries today such as viticulture, food, and the building trades.” Following on from the successful purchase of a Fanuc Robocut wire-cut electric discharge machine (EDM) from Okuma Australia in 2018, Conma Industries has recently invested in the latest Okuma CNC vertical machining centre. This is a positive step towards upgrading its tool room with highly accurate and advanced technologies, building a strong relationship with Okuma Australia as it moves into the future. Ben Miller from the tool room commented that the choice of the Okuma machine was a ‘no brainer’ given the…

“High-growth businesses spend more time and resources on technology,” said Gavan Ord, Senior Manager – Business Policy at CPA Australia. “Their choice of technology puts them even further ahead of their competitors. Our survey results suggest other businesses may improve their growth prospects by investing in the technologies used by high growth businesses.” CPA Australia surveyed 725 professionals in different industries in Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Respondents were asked about their businesses’ past and expected technology use and past and expected financial performance. “COVID-19 accelerated technology adoption by businesses, but not all businesses were equally placed when the pandemic hit,” Ord added. “High-growth businesses had already embraced technology enthusiastically. This helped them manage the disruption caused by COVID-19.” In 2020, high-growth businesses were significantly more likely to develop a long-term technology strategy, work with technology companies and increase their recruitment of technology staff than businesses whose growth was stagnant or shrank. “High growth businesses have been focusing on…

SEMMA is a peak industry group based in Dandenong South, Victoria, representing manufacturers located in Melbourne’s southeast region. The short course will equip participants to perform the work of “Class 2 Welders” – sufficient to meet over an estimated 70% of welding tasks required by manufacturers in south-east Melbourne. “As anyone who has operated in the engineering/sheet metal sector understands, Australian industry has suffered a severe shortage of suitably trained and skilled welders for more than 25 years,” said SEMMA CEO Vonda Fenwick. “The reality of Australia’s construction led COVID recovery and the increased defence focus over the coming years will increase demand for skilled welders exponentially.” The four-week course will help place job seekers into full-time, stable, long-term careers, while simultaneously addressing the urgent skill needs of manufacturers. Target participants include youth, female and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) cohorts, as well as individuals whose previous employment was impacted by COVID-19. The program aims to…

Open IIoT is an initiative founded with the mission of delivering valuable, efficient and easy-to-understand information on Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and other related topics to end-users and the broader manufacturing industry. Its membership includes some of Australia’s most prominent automation brands, including SMC Corporation, Beckhoff Automation, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS, Balluff and ZI-Argus. With the tagline ‘Industrial intelligence 4.0 beyond automation’, KUKA is a natural fit to join Open IIoT. Since its founding over a century ago, the company has stood for ideas and innovations, bringing industrial robotics solutions to more than 40 countries. In addition to being a leading supplier of automotive production systems, KUKA has established itself as a trailblazer in e-commerce, electronics, energy, consumer goods, metal, plastics, healthcare and the entertainment industry. Cameron Fisher, General Manager at KUKA Robotics Australia believes that the company’s vision aligns closely to that of the Open IIoT group: “For over 120 years, KUKA has stood for ideas and innovation. Joining IIoT gives us the opportunity to join fellow prominent brands in promoting the latest technical advances in smart…

Every manufactured product you can think of, from the coffee you have first thing in the morning and the cornflakes you eat for breakfast, to the computer you use at work, the train home in the evening and the car waiting at the station, and even to the couch you sit on to watch your television with a glass of wine – they are all made by machines that were made by machine tools. Think about that ... just the coffee beans alone require a coffee bean harvester, washing and screening equipment, dry processing, roasting, hulling, polishing, sorting and grading processes. Each one of these processes requires equipment that has significant machining and fabrication work to produce it. And that’s just the coffee beans. So if you have your coffee with milk and sugar, multiply all those processes by three and then include the machine that you have sitting in your kitchen that now allows you to push a button and the coffee is produced. Whilst we may take making a…

While Beihang University’s research highlights “the strong relationship among maintenance strategy, production planning and quality”, Sandvik Coromant is seeing a growing trend where machine tool manufacturers are incorporating process monitoring systems within modern CNC machines. The recent Digital Factories 2020 report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) recommends that “Companies must make smarter decisions using predictive analytics and machine learning”, while 98% of manufacturers surveyed in the report said they expect to increase their efficiency through use of predictive maintenance. Meanwhile, the global production monitoring market is expected to grow from $4.0bn in 2018 to $6.4bn by 2023, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8%, according to Markets and Markets. In line with these trends, predictability has also become increasingly important in the modern turning of steel components.…