Month: March 2024

AMW2024 will begin with all Seven Zones open and active, all 271 Exhibitors enthused and ready to show their best manufacturing technology at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. The first day of AMW2024 will be full throttle. Don’t miss out!    REGISTER NOW The Seven Zones in AMW2024, each with a particular focus, speciality and technology, are: Austech Machine Tools, sponsored by finlease; Additive Manufacturing Zone; Australian Manufacturers Zone; Manufacturing Solutions Zone, sponsored by The Execution Factor; Robotics & Automation Zone; sponsored by IFS Weld and Air Solutions Zone; and the Plastic Technology Zone. The Future Solutions Speaker Program has proven to be a major attraction at AMW shows. These Sessions will also be focusing on these Opportunities as well as Managing Change, featuring experts from various organisations presenting insights on manufacturing opportunities, including ANSTO, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Rigby Cooke Lawyers, the Defence Department, and CSIRO. The huge Sydney event will showcase home-grown advanced manufacturing technology. The event will be a celebration of manufacturing in Australia, highlighting innovation and networking opportunities within the…

If you know anything about motorsport, you will know that Formula 1 is the pinnacle. If you manufacture performance automotive parts, you would be justified in thinking that you have made it, if your parts are on board one of the F1 cars. How impressed would you be with a company that doesn’t just supply one team, but works with the entire field? What if I was to tell you, this same company was also the primary supplier for NASCAR, MotoGP and pretty much every other high-end motorsport category, including our very own V8 Supercars? Would you be surprised to hear that such a company does exist, and they are based in Australia? The company in question is PWR Advanced Cooling Technology, based on the Gold Coast. Originally a side business started by father and son team Kees and Paul Weel after various forays into motorsport categories, including the aforementioned V8 Supercars (or a previous incarnation thereof), they identified a need in the marketplace to design and manufacture high-performance, lightweight cooling systems to meet their exacting…

Pharmaceuticals, foodstuff, healthcare, chemicals and other specialised engineering applications have especially high demands when it comes to compressed air quality. For these sensitive processes, Kaeser Australia has released the latest class 0 oil-free compressor. Recently launched in Australia, the new CSG.1 rotary screw compressors have air flow rates ranging from four to 15 m³/min and pressures up to 11 bar. Customers are offered the choice of air- or water-cooling, and can select an optional integrated refrigeration dryer or an i.HOC (Heat of Compression) dryer. The CSG.1 can be specified as a fixed speed, fixed flow rated machine or, for applications with fluctuating compressed air demand, variable speed controlled “SFC” versions are available with IE5 Ultra-Premium Efficiency synchronous reluctance motors. The risk of potential product contamination by oil from the rotary screw compressor is evaluated and minimised by means of an HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) analysis. Process validation is made easier for the customer, as KAESER’s diligence is confirmed by the TÜV Rheinland in the form of a residual oil class 0 certificate in accordance with ISO…

Australia's landscape is vast and rugged. As a nation thriving on development and progression, Australians demand portable, durable, efficient, and innovative solutions. Enter Sureweld, the country's leading aluminium loading ramps and plant trailers manufacturer and a company synonymous with quality and resilience. Focused on keeping Australian commercial contractors moving, Sureweld has grown exponentially since it was founded in 1976. Its ramps and trailers are 100% Australian-made, using locally extruded aluminium sourced from Capral and manufactured in Wangaratta, in northern Victoria. Sureweld sales manager Gareth Hansen joined his father, Sureweld managing director Carl Hansen, in the business when he left school. He has advanced from dispatch and welding to driving sales and supply relationships. “We manufacture the strongest and lightest weight ramps on the Australian market, on a strength-to-weight ratio,” Hansen says. This isn't just a claim. The company has consistently outperformed its competitors. “We have a ramp with a six-tonne capacity that weighs a little over 50kgs; others on the market weigh 70- to 80kgs,” Hansen points out, emphasising the immense value their products provide to operators who…

Tasmania-based Ignite Digi first opened its doors in 2014, established by Tom Waugh as in-house cinematographer, and Aeronautical Engineer/Gimbal Operator Chris Fox operating and engineering the drone camera platforms. Originally forming as an Aerial Cinematography duo, they built Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones, and modified gimbal and camera setups to enhance their business offering. Today their products have been used on some of the biggest film and television productions around the world: Including Disney's Mulan, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Marvel's Venom, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and many other film, television and Netflix programs. Ignite Digi bought their first CNC machine back in 2017, from OKUMA. “Having just come off a big government job, we were making our own small widgets in our bench to help our jobs along,” explained Waugh. Chris Fox is an aeronautical engineer by training. He self-taught himself the CNC system and the CADCAM process. “We…

Like many people, Lena Risse didn’t know what career to pursue when she entered young adulthood in 2017. Now she’s won ANCA’s inaugural Female Machinist of the Year contest. Lena studied media technology at university for a time and began a related apprenticeship in supporting trade fairs and concerts, but it didn’t suit her. Then at 19, she decided to give tool grinding a try, an option that seemed simultaneously obvious and crazy. Her father Horst Risse was running a one-man tool grinding company with such love and dedication that he routinely says he’ll be standing at a machine when he’s 85. And crazy because to this day, Lena finds so few females in the field, though she’ll convincingly explain why that should not be the case. Lena had helped out at Risse Werkzeugtechnik GmbH (Risse Tool Technology GmbH) in Erkrath, Germany as a teenager, doing things like packaging and laser marking. But she’d never touched the tool grinders. That changed as she started her apprenticeship in 2018. She took immediately to…

What would be better than having a mobile App on your phone with you on the AMW2024 show floor with all your selected companies, their stands, where they are, and what they are showing this week?  The AMW2024 Mobile App is now available to download from your preferred App store, completely redesigned from the ground up, and ready for our big show. Registrations are now open for Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW2024), held at the Sydney International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. Organised and run by the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL), AMW2024 will occupy more than 6,570 square metres of exhibition space at the ICC, with over 250 organisations taking stands to showcase the latest manufacturing technologies, processes, and support services. Don’t miss out!  REGISTER ONLINE NOW at australianmanufacturingweek.com.au First of all, Download the AMW Expo mobile app for your device from your preferred store, and log in using the same details you used to create your MyShowPlanner profile as the show approaches. You can now log in to the App and everything will be there for you on…

Randa Ibrahim’s Internship at Sutton Tools was about embracing a culture of knowledge sharing, cultivating a nurturing work environment, and staying open to fresh, innovative ideas. Randa has now finished her internship with the company and shares her experience as an intern testifying to the transformative power of Sutton Tools. One of her lecturers, Professor Suresh Palanisamy, who Randa calls her unofficial ‘guidance counsellor’, encouraged her to apply for an internship opportunity with Swinburne’s industry partner Sutton Tools, a leading manufacturer of cutting tools. After the internship, Randa completed her thesis in conjunction with Sutton Tools and was offered a full-time graduate position with the company. “My specialisation is manufacturing so in my role I work a lot with the machines as a service engineer,” she says. Randa also works on special projects to help Sutton Tools stay across changes in advanced manufacturing technologies, known as Industry 4.0. “I’m interested in Industry 4.0, which I would describe as everything becoming smarter, more connected, and automated. This means less room for human error and…

Space Machines Company, the leading Australian in-space servicing organisation, and U.S.-based Orbit Fab, the leading global provider of on-orbit refuelling services, have entered into a partnership combining their expertise to advance in-space servicing capabilities and establish a sustainable space ecosystem. These integrated technologies will enhance space sustainability through reduced debris and extended satellite lifespans. The partnership brings together two industry leaders from opposite sides of the globe and is defined by the joining of innovative technologies, most notably the installation of Orbit Fab’s space fiducial alignment markers on Space Machine Company’s Orbital Servicing Vehicle, Optimus. These markers will act like QR Codes in space, allowing Space Machines Company to work collaboratively with an approaching vehicle by using the markers to provide valuable position and orientation data, ensuring safe and reliable on-orbit operations. Optimus will provide on-orbit, transportation and other in-space services following its launch on the SpaceX Transporter-10 in early 2024. The success and sustainability of Optimus’ launch will be supported by the attachment of the two ‘fiducial’ markers developed by Orbit Fab. These fiducials, which are…

Since 2010, Davi has supplied four different rolling machines for the Schlam Group, which is based in Welshpool, WA. These include Plate Roll Machines (four rolls) and an MCP Angle Roll Machine. The latest MCB, Model R30 is currently the largest machine ever to be sold in Australia and boasts a rolling capacity of 3000x96mm. Australia’s mining sector is strong and along with this growth are the demands for mining products and services required for companies to reach their true potential. The thickness of what needs to be rolled in this industry is less than the capacity of the MCB R30, however, heavy-duty Plate Rolls are required because the materials used are very resistant. In fact, even though the thickness of the plates doesn’t exceed 40mm, the nominal rolling capacity goes up to 90mm, for example the use of Hardox®, Xar® and Dillidur® products which are very common in this sector. Among these heavy applications, there are excavator buckets and dump truck bodies, with Schlam considered as…

Sustainability topics have continued to rise to near the top of the agenda for many manufacturing CEOs. More and more we are seeing their commitments published along with their investment in delivering environmentally sustainable business. But how well are companies doing, what else can be done, and who’s setting the example? Following SPS 2023 earlier this month, the annual gathering of the manufacturing industry, Alex West, Senior Principal Analyst in Omdia’s Manufacturing Technology practice takes a closer look at sustainable manufacturing in his latest analyst commentary. According to a recent Omdia survey 30% of manufacturers describe themselves as having implemented an environmental strategy with a long-term road map, and this is estimated to increase to 42% over the next 12 months. Companies are allocating additional budget to support these such projects. Target setting is also on the up. In the first six months of 2023, the number of manufacturers having committed to Science Based Targets (SBT) for emissions reduction increased by 40%. However, whilst the focus is fixed and intentions are intensifying, the reality of the…

State-of-the-art printed flexible solar cell technology developed by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, was successfully launched into space today aboard Australia’s largest private satellite, Optimus-1, on Space X’s Transporter-10 mission. CSIRO Space Program Director Dr Kimberley Clayfield said a major challenge in the development of spacecraft is low-mass, high-efficiency power systems. “CSIRO’s printed flexible solar cells could provide a reliable, lightweight energy solution for future space operations and exploration,” Dr Clayfield said. “If the space flight test reveals similar performance as we’ve shown in the lab, this technology offers significant advantages over traditional silicon-based solar. “Yet another example of CSIRO’s terrestrial expertise being applied to solve challenges in the space domain.” CSIRO Renewable Energy Systems Group Leader Dr Anthony Chesman said eight mini-modules of CSIRO's Australian-made printed flexible solar cells were attached to the surface of Space Machine Company’s Optimus-1 satellite. “CSIRO researchers have been working for many years to improve our solar cell performance using perovskite – an advanced material that is highly efficient in…

A course run by TAFE NSW Mt Druitt introducing participants to precision machining is being hailed as a success, having achieved a 90% employment rate with local Western Sydney manufacturing companies who supply a range of precision manufacturing parts including for satellites, medical devices and defence aircraft. Machine manufacturing is booming in Australia, the Government’s Labour Market Insights shows a projected increase of 10% of jobs to 2026.  Despite this, awareness of the opportunities available was not as high as demand. The Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL) -  the peak national body in Australia representing the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector – set about bringing together industry and training experts to create solutions. “The role of the program, called Skill Up and Placement Program (SUPP), is simple.  In NSW, AMTIL approached TAFE NSW to pilot a course for people looking to explore new career paths and give them insight, training, and support to become a computerised machine operator,” said Greg Chalker, Corporate Services Manager for AMTIL. “Once the participants see what they can do,…