Month: March 2022

Advanced Composite Structures Australia (ACS Australia) is a key participant of the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (Blue Economy CRC), bringing critical composites engineering design and manufacturing capabilities to major renewable energy projects in the aquaculture space. The most recent projects to be announced involve the design and manufacture of renewable energy devices taking advantage of advanced composites technologies. In partnership with the Blue Economy CRC, headquartered in Launceston, Tasmania, Carnegie Clean Energy and other industry experts, ACS Australia is progressing the development of two major projects: the MoorPower Scaled Demonstrator project; and a Mooring Tensioner for wave energy converters. MoorPower Scaled Demonstrator project Global aquaculture is moving operations further offshore, presenting a challenge to access clean renewable and reliable offshore energy. Moored feeding barge facilities rely on diesel fuel generators for power out at sea, leading to high operating costs and carbon emissions. The MoorPower project aims…

With this in mind, the compressed air specialist has converted its DS-2 refrigerant dryer in the lower power range to refrigerant R 513A. This has much lower global warming potential than the refrigerant previously used but does not compromise on performance in any way. The result: an extremely energy-efficient dryer series with the lowest CO2 footprint on the market. Meeting the climate objectives means finding solutions that are environmentally-friendly and, most importantly, reduce greenhouse gases. This applies to the compressed air industry too. In order to optimise the CO2 footprint of its refrigerant dryers, BOGE has begun using a new refrigerant, R 513A, instead of R134a for its DS-2 series in the power range up to 10 cubic metres per minute. This reduces the GWP value (Global Warming Potential) by around 60%: from 1,430 to 573. The CO2 equivalent, ie. the impact the substance has on the climate compared to carbon dioxide, also decreases accordingly. The greenhouse effect of the new refrigerant over the 100-year period studied is much lower…

The implementation of Closed-Loop Manufacturing (CLM) across its manufacturing capability using Siemens’ Manufacturing Execution System (MES) will enable HeliMods to achieve development and production of high-complexity, high-value, scalable solutions using a single digital thread across the entire product lifecycle. The implementation of the software was enabled by a $350,000 co-investment grant from the AMGC and will support HeliMods’ global and local growth trajectory in aerospace, defence, air ambulance and other key industries. In total, the project will see an investment of $808,543 from combined AMGC, industry and in-kind contributions. The announcement was made at HeliMods’ premises in Sunshine Coast by Federal MP Andrew Wallace “Thanks to this project, HeliMods is now the only Australian business with Defence Production Approval that is using such a Closed Loop Manufacturing system, offering Australia a unique new sovereign defence industry capability-based right here on the Coast,”…

When drilling holes in most aerospace components, manufacturers have three chances of getting the hole correct – after which, it will be impossible to rework the hole within the required design specifications. If just one hole misses those three chances, by diameter, surface finish or delamination, the entire component will need to be scrapped. Given the enormous value of aeroplane components, holemaking is a risky business. That applies especially when drilling composite materials, which place new demands on machining. Holemaking has emerged as one of the most common machining processes when working with composites. Machining composite materials – which combine two or more materials with different physical and chemical properties – involves cutting, or fracturing, of the fibre part of the material. If this is done incorrectly then layers of the composite material peel away from where they belong. This is known as delamination, and according to…

Between 2000 and 2019, AMTIL operated Austech, Australia’s premier advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition. The event was historically co-located with the National Manufacturing Week (NMW) exhibition, run by Reed Exhibitions. When Reed decided in 2020 to cease the operation of NMW, AMTIL saw an opportunity to create AMW, a more extensive event demonstrating the full scope and diversity of the manufacturing industry in Australia today. Austech has now been incorporated into AMW as a specialist zone showcasing the latest metalworking, machine tools and ancillary equipment. The Austech zone will cover a vast spectrum of advanced manufacturing products and processes, including: CNC Machinery, Lathes, Mills. Contract Manufacturing/Precision Machining. Cutting Tools, Tooling & Tool Holding. Forming & Fabricating Machines. Plasma, Laser, Waterjet & Ultrasonic Machines. Ancillary equipment suppliers. A diverse range of companies will be exhibiting within the Austech section of AMW. Founded in 1952, ISCAR has grown from its origins as a small blades factory to one of the world’s leading manufacturers of metalworking tools, and will be showcasing its vast range of innovative cutting tools for…

AMT: Tell us about the Clean Energy Council? How long have you been in operation, how many members do you have, and what kinds of companies make up your membership? Kane Thornton: The genesis of the Clean Energy Council (CEC) can be traced back to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) which first established renewable energy industry accreditation in 1993. In 2002, another industry association merger took place with the Australian Eco-Generation Association (AEA) to form the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE). By this time, industry regulation had been established, with Australian Standards for the renewable energy industry in place and conformance with these standards a requirement for all design and installation work in the industry. In 2007, a decision was made by members of the BCSE and the Australian Wind Energy Association (AusWind) to merge. It was decided that there were too many competing voices and that the industry needed one strong, united voice. The two organisations became the Clean Energy Council, and we’re the peak body for the industry. We represent and work with…

What many readers will find surprising is that those wind towers were not made in Australia at Keppel Prince in Portland, but rather imported from overseas and delivered by boat to Portland docks for unloading. It is always disappointing to see anything imported from overseas when it can be made right here by Australian workers, using Australian steel. What is perhaps even more galling is that those wind towers were being installed at a wind farm that is being underwritten by a long-term power purchase agreement from the Federal Government’s Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme. When I found out about the plans to import wind towers for a project funded by the federal government, I got in touch with the Minister and the local member – Dan Tehan. There was still time…

The pandemic has upended the manufacturing sector and put the spotlight on Australia’s reliance on global supply chains. Lockdowns made it impossible for many manufacturers to access the staff, sites and equipment necessary for maintaining operations and filling orders, according to the Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre. At the same time, the pandemic highlights the need to build a local manufacturing sector as the nation looks toward COVID-19 recovery. So much so, that one in two manufacturers intend to bring operations back to Australia within the next three years. Following market volatility caused by COVID-19, reshoring is a step in the right direction for Australia’s manufacturing sector. However, four in five (82%) senior employees in the sector are underprepared to compete in a digital economy. Businesses need to fast-track e-commerce channels to overcome competition from imports and online sources. Leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and digital selling is one way…

Airspeeder’s comms requirements are taken care of by sports industry comms specialists D2N. Jason Owen, Managing Director of D2N, explains: “Airspeeder and the engineering team at sister company Alauda Aeronatics reached out to us as they knew of our reputation in the sports industry and were looking for a comms solution for their new race program. They were developing a flying racing car series and were in the test and development stage. This in turn called for a communication system between the pilot, who flies the aircraft remotely, the engineers and the flight test director.” Alauda’s engineers initially wanted a comms system to cover two applications for the forthcoming EXA remotely piloted racing series and the Airspeeder crewed electric flying cars races. These were firstly the research & development (R&D) of the vehicles with a pilot, and secondly a number of engineers who all communicate as a group. The second application was…

“People are drawn to places,” says Ethan Bligh. “We have a natural connection with some and not others, a bit like friends. Some of us are born in the places we are meant to be. From these places the things we do, the things we create, make a difference around the world.” Ethan was born on the North West Coast of Tasmania, in family with a history in the region. Like most kids around him, he spent a lot of time on the beach. He camped. “I lived outside, and I want to give this opportunity to my kids,” he says. “Living here on the coast I can do that. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” Not long ago, the North West Coast of Tasmania was one of Australia’s industrial heartlands. The people of the region mined, grew, processed, and made a lot of commodities and commercial products and shipped…

DMTC Limited is working together with Australian defence manufacturers assisting in their capacity and technology development in digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) – including smart factories. Spanning an 11-year career at DMTC, Deepak Ganga is currently Head of Program Management, where he leads the Enterprise Program Management office, responsible for business transformation and the strategic alignment of DMTC’s programs. “We have expanded a lot recently,” says Ganga. “As well as traditional defence R&D projects, we are also working on technologies with applications in related areas like health sciences, AI, robotics, IoT and Industry 4.0. During the last two years, we’ve been working behind the scenes on our program governance framework and to standardise processes. We’re now developing more software to digitalise project management tasks, as well as automating the reporting that we need to continue to do to demonstrate the value we provide to our…

As a result, businesses continue to collect sensitive information about employees, contractors and other visitors to the workplace, including vaccination status information and medical certificates. Information about a person’s vaccination status and medical certificates are ‘personal information’ which must be collected, used and disclosed according to Australian privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and associated Australian Privacy Principles. The following outlines the key principles to be aware of and considered regarding privacy obligations when collecting this type of information. In what circumstances can businesses collect vaccination status information about employees, labour hire workers, contractors, volunteers, candidates and other visitors? Vaccination status information is ‘sensitive information’ about an individual and is afforded higher protection under the Privacy Act. This means, generally speaking, a person’s vaccination status must only be collected if: the information is necessary for one or more of the business’ functions or activities; and the individual has consented. Businesses may need to collect vaccination status information to prevent and manage…

The broad aim of the team is to redefine sustainable transport. However, they are probably better known for their success at competing in the World Solar Challenges. Since 1996 the teams of students and academics have built six solar-powered vehicles to enter these challenges – and most recently have been hard at work on the development and manufacture of car number seven. With some 45 people in the Sunswift team all contributing in different ways, the primary aim is to show the world that innovative technology is available today, not in years to come, and they are setting about to demonstrate their ideas and applications. Sub-teams make up the construction sections of the car-building group, comprising mechanical, electrical, computer science, photovoltaics – in other words, solar cells – and systems engineering. Each of these groups has a defined task that also provides them with opportunities to develop skills that they can use in future work environments. For example, the…