Month: May 2022

The Additive Manufacturing Pavilion will be an unmissable part of AMW 2022. The boom in interest in 3D printing continues to gain momentum, and AMW visitors will get a chance to see the latest innovations in this area first-hand. The Additive Manufacturing Pavilion will feature demonstrations of the latest 3D printers and services from a range of companies and organisations that lead the field of additive manufacturing. One highlight of the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion will be RAM3D. Based in Tauranga, New Zealand, RAM3D has been leading the way in metal 3D printing in the Southern Hemisphere for more than 10 years. From its high-tech manufacturing facility it creates parts for a variety of world-wide industries; from titanium knives used by the Team NZ Americas Cup crew, to customised handlebar extensions for the New Zealand Olympics Cycling team. It produces inconel and titanium parts for aerospace and defence customers, and can also print in Stainless Steel 15-5ph and 316L, Titanium 64, Inconel 718 (high temperature alloy) and Aluminium (AlSi10Mg). “Advances in 3D printing…

Western Sydney-based company Custom Denning has been awarded a contract to design, manufacture and assemble 79 new electric buses. Premier Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Transport and Veterans David Elliott toured the St Mary’s factory on 14 February to inspect the production line and meet workers. “This is a true Western Sydney success story and our government is proud to have played a part in this business producing the first locally-built electric bus,” Perrottet said. “Custom Denning employs 160 workers at their St Mary’s factory and this investment will now provide more jobs to ensure our buses are built to the highest standard. “Our government is getting closer to securing a cleaner, healthier future for the people of NSW and at the same time this electric bus transition will generate hundreds of local manufacturing jobs, which is an amazing outcome for our state.” Elliott added that the $70m investment takes the number of bus orders placed with Custom Denning past 100, which will help…

The message is clear: to be successful in a turbulent market, manufacturers must digitalise. However, collecting data alone isn’t enough. To gain true value from digitalisation, manufacturers must analyse the data collected. They can do this by calculating KPIs, which are measurable metrics that help businesses focus on what’s important. KPIs can track and analyse equipment performance to identify inefficiencies and improve future process runs.   Overall equipment effectiveness Arguably the most fundamental KPI to calculate, and therefore the best place to begin, is overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), which measures an asset’s level of productivity. Some KPIs can be a single measurement, but OEE is actually a combination of multiple measurements. It’s essentially three KPIs in one: availability (A), performance (P) and quality (Q). A × P × Q =…

Operations include the removal of surface layers of oxides, rolled contaminants and cracks caused by hot forging or rolling. This is mostly done in carbon steel, alloy steel for heat treating, tool steel, stainless steel and heat-resistant alloys. The advantages of peeling in comparison with turning are higher productivity, less consumption of inserts, excellent roughness quality and high dimensional accuracy. Bar peeling inserts are generally mounted in two ways, either using a screw through the centre hole of the indexable insert or via a top clamp mechanism. Using a screw through the insert distributes the forces in axial and radial directions at the same time, leaving more room for chip evacuation. Clamping from the top significantly reduces the time to flip the insert and is more user-friendly. This is because it only takes a few turns of the clamping screw to loosen it, allowing for faster indexing of the cutting edge. Dormer Pramet provides a range of cutting tools specifically for bar peeling applications. Its inserts, within the Pramet brand,…

US President Joe Biden announced in February that Brisbane-based EV charging company Tritium will build a manufacturing facility in Tennessee, while reiterating his commitment to electrify the US government's car fleet. The new plant will produce up to 30,000 EV chargers per year and create 500 local US jobs over the next five years. The facility is expected to house up to six production lines for Tritium’s DC fast chargers, including its award-winning RTM and PKM150 models. Production is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2022. Tritium CEO Jane Hunter appeared alongside Mr Biden at the White House and said Pres. Biden's policies "have contributed to enormous demand" for Tritium products in the US. This directly led us to pivot and change our global manufacturing strategy. Tritium’s investment in a US-based, cutting-edge facility for manufacturing is part of our strong push toward global growth in support of the e-mobility industry.  We are thrilled to work with the US Federal government and the State of Tennessee on this initiative. With the help of the hard-working residents of Tennessee, we expect to double…

Through long term framework agreements and preferred supplier relationships, this forms part of the company’s move towards achieving 100% onshoring of its manufacturing of batteries in Australia and contributes to 92% of components in their batteries sourced from Australian companies. Academy Sheetmetal, a family owned sheetmetal manufacturer in Newcastle, NSW, will supply the steel cabinetry that is used for the Renaissance superRack™ and superPak™. GPC Electronics, one of Australia’s largest contract electronics manufacturers in Penrith, NSW, will supply the printed circuit board assemblies that are used in the Battery Management Systems (BMS). B&C Plastics, an Australian plastic moulding injection manufacturer in Brisbane, QLD, will supply the plastic components that are used in the packs. Almost all of the 35 components that make up a superStorage™ battery are produced in Australia, validating Energy Renaissance’s commitment towards strengthening its local supply chain, creating local jobs and opportunities for all Australians. The running of electronics in Australia, and everywhere else, depends on future-proofing…

The Commonwealth Budget failed to take the crucial first step on the path to decarbonising and slashing household energy bills, because it prioritises subsidies for fossil fuels over renewable-powered electrification of our homes, according to Rewiring Australia. The 2022 Budget contained more than $10.5bn in fossil fuel subsidies, according to an Australia Institute analysis released this week, the vast bulk of which $8bn goes to the Fuel Tax Credits Scheme. “This budget was the perfect opportunity to start that process with a pilot program to electrify a suburb and a street. It’s disappointing to see taxpayer dollars directed to subsidising fossil fuels rather than investing for a cheaper, cleaner future,” said Rewiring Australia chief scientist, Dr Saul Griffith. The Budget should instead have directed money towards electrifying Australia’s homes and vehicles, replacing fossil-fuelled devices with solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, induction stoves, electric vehicles and household and community batteries. “This budget could have been underwriting electric vehicles that run on Australian sunshine and develop the zero-emission vehicle market, but instead is investing in dated technology and the…

Supporting the Electrification of Victoria’s Future Fleet is a major project bringing government, university and industry partners together around the expertise and infrastructure needed to support widespread adoption of electric vehicles in Victoria. The $5.2m funding was announced today by the Hon Gayle Tierney MLC under the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF). It marks an important step towards the state’s net zero targets, while boosting skills and employment for Melbourne’s pandemic recovery. With transport responsible for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in Victoria, Minister Tierney said electrification of transport was critical for tackling climate change, as well as creating new jobs in low-carbon industries. “This is an important project for the future of clean, green transport in Victoria but also for our plan to meet net zero emissions by 2050 through innovative research and the development of new technology,” said Minister Tierney. RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation and Vice-President, Professor Calum Drummond, said activity would focus around a new Electric Vehicle Living Lab with EV…

Toolholders were designed for mounting cutting tools reliably. They also facilitate the torque transmission from a machine spindle to a rotating tool. It has been a long time since we have heard of any significant changes in toolholding, which may suggest we are behind in innovation. Indeed, well-established tool clamping principles, the need for wide interchangeability and unification, and normalised designs of machine tool adaptations have resulted in well-defined standards, which specify detailed toolholder parameters. However, this doesn’t mean that new innovations and development is over. Time puts new demands on machining, which has transformed to new requirements for machine tools, and, consequently, to cutting tools and toolholders – both elements of a chain that enables recognition of machine tool capabilities possible when a machining part of a surface. The toolholder relates to the most “conservative” link of the chain and has undergone fewer revolutionary changes for the noted reasons. Nevertheless, the spirit of the time and modern trends in metal cutting has…

The OptiMAX is OMAX’s most advanced waterjet ever. The culmination of three decades of OMAX engineering expertise and real-world operator experience, it is designed for manufacturers in need of a versatile, easy-to-use cutting system. It offers OMAX’s intuitive software for optimised cutting capability and power, along with improved automation to maximise uptime. Companies can complete a greater range of work, more efficiently, and deliver finished products faster. New and improved features include: IntelliMAX premium software, designed for incredible ease of use and operation quickly following installation. Incorporating decades of proprietary waterjet cutting models, no other system can consistently produce parts as rapidly or capably. IntelliVISOR console with key metrics to optimise operations and complete system monitoring to avoid unplanned downtime. EnduroMAX pump that automatically sets the correct pressure and minimises fluctuations to improve component life, while offering the most efficient waterjet pump technology in the market. IntelliTRAX drive system with advanced motion control for further increased system robustness and reliability. Requires virtually no maintenance compared to more conventional ball screw…

Designed to set a new standard for the complete machining of rotationally symmetric solid carbide tools, the new VGrind 360S offers an impressive solution for manufacturing cutting tools for aerospace, medical, automotive and general subcontract manufacturing sectors. This new five-axis CNC grinding machine can be used productively to machine carbide tools with a diameter up to 25.4mm. Depending on the machine kinematics and the equipping of the grinding wheel packages, it can even be used for tools up to 150mm diameter. The VGrind 360S incorporates wear-free linear induction motors on the X, Y and Z-axes to lower maintenance costs for the machine while demonstrating higher surface quality for the tool and improved precision. The tried-and-tested vertical double-spindle concept from Vollmer now features an oriented spindle-stop for the first time. Also known as spindle indexing, this always stops the spindle at a specific position; the result is a reduction of axial run-out errors and concentricity issues, while offsetting wear in the HSK holding system. Another new…

Brisbane-based Ellume has developed COVID-19 rapid tests that are used in laboratories, doctors' offices and by consumers themselves. To meet the huge global demand, the diagnostics company, with the help of Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS), has been relying on automated production lines with 16 KR AGILUS from KUKA since 2020. Now Ellume is expanding its production capacity – with 144 more KUKA robots. Bosch's Australian division is expanding large-scale production for COVID-19 rapid tests at Ellume – following the already successful collaboration in 2020. The goal is 27 state-of-the-art automated assembly lines to increase production capacity. The 144 KUKA robots ordered for this purpose are from the KR AGILUS series and are designed for maximum operating speeds – crucial for the Ellume project, which has a capacity of nine parts per second. Three lines for the Brisbane plant have already been successfully installed and full production has begun. In addition, another completely new…

The new materials were designed by Scientia Professor Mat Santamouris, Anita Lawrence Chair in High Performance Architecture at the School of Built Environment, UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture. He says the new materials could be used worldwide in buildings to help better protect them from the elements. “This is a smart, intelligent building material that understands the urban temperature, and it is modulated according to the weather conditions,” Professor Santamouris says. “So it is ideal for cities that have issues with overheating in summer, but also have heating requirements during winter.” Professor Santamouris specialises in developing heat mitigation technologies and strategies that decrease urban temperatures in cities worldwide. Extreme urban heat is the most documented climate change phenomenon, affecting more than 450 cities worldwide. Higher urban temperatures significantly increase energy consumption needs and adverse impacts on health, including heat-related…