Month: April 2022

Australia’s manufacturing industry spent $5.3bn on electricity in 2019, more than the combined spend of mining, transport, utilities and construction. Of this consumption, 45% of energy consumed by manufacturing is derived from natural gas and 22% comes from coal, while renewables only account for 28%. The writing’s been on the wall for fossil fuels for a considerable time now. Continuing to rely on natural resources to maintain growth exposes a business to serious risks, not just to its public image, but also exposes its tangible and intangible value. If the environmental arguments alone aren’t rousing enough, the price of renewable energy now rivaling those of fossil fuels means that manufacturers can make huge financial savings by getting a handle on their energy usage. There are two ways manufacturers can go about saving with smarter energy use: they can switch to renewable energy; or they can find ways to cut down on the amount of energy…

Toolbox can also provide an innovative 3D unfolding service, whereby it can be fed full 3D schematics of a product and it will select precisely all the 2D sheet metal surfaces required to be cut by a laser workshop. It’s also possible to create the drawing without using any CAD software, using Toolbox’s Quick Part parametric parts library. Quick Part has a broad range of customisable parts, including brackets, flanges, gussets, and plates that can be adjusted to the specific needs of the user. “ToolBox is designed to put the tools in the hands of small laser cutting and fabrication workshops that are looking to grow their business,” says Felipe Lechuga, President of Tempus Tools. “It helps with cleaning drawings, part creation or extraction, and laser cutting calculations, so the business can quote more jobs and expand its operations. With the shift to Industry 4.0, slow quoting processes just aren’t competitive anymore, so job shops need new tools to get…

In harsh environments, for example where heavy rainfall or snowfall is likely, soldiers need the reassurance that their presence can remain concealed. Composite telescoping poles are chosen to support camouflage nets over alternative materials like aluminium because of several advantages such as lighter weight and speed of assembly. The composite tubes must therefore combine the strength and durability needed for support with the lightweight flexibility to be able to carry heavy loads. To achieve these properties, careful consideration goes into every stage of manufacturing, from choosing the reinforcing fibres to the manufacturing process itself. So, what are these considerations and how do they ensure the end product is fit for purpose? Choosing the composite material Early applications for fibreglass date back to World War II, where design engineers used it for…

The Australian Manufacturers’ Pavilion is a specially dedicated section of the Australian Manufacturing Week exhibition that spotlights Australia’s precision engineering and advanced manufacturing industry. Having first featured at the Austech 2013 exhibition, the Manufacturers’ Pavilion is now an integral part of AMW, with 12 manufacturing businesses signed up to exhibit this Aussie year. “We’ve worked very hard over the years to make the Manufacturers’ Pavilion a key feature of AMTIL’s exhibitions, and it’s been really satisfying to see it establish itself,” says Shane Infanti, CEO of AMTIL. “We see the Manufacturers’ Pavilion as an opportunity to showcase our industry as a whole, and we’ve got a really strong line-up of exciting, innovative manufacturing companies that have booked stands this year.” The Australian Manufacturers’ Pavilion showcases the capabilities of component manufacturers, precision engineering firms, toolmakers, advanced manufacturers and general engineering companies. For example, Marand Precision Engineering designs, manufactures and sustains complex and innovative equipment and products primarily for the defence, aerospace, mining, rail, and renewable energy industries, while Marsh Alliance is one of the most…