Month: June 2025

Students from across five Monash region schools stepped into the future of work at the Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW2025) Industry Immersion, hosted by AMTIL at AMW, in collaboration with Monash Tech School. The event, dubbed Future Solutions, provided a rare and powerful opportunity for secondary students to engage directly with cutting-edge technology, training providers, and industry professionals in the heart of Australia's advanced manufacturing sector. Held at AMW2025, the immersive experience gave 61 students a firsthand look at the innovation driving the sector, with hands-on exposure to emerging technologies and career pathways. Participating schools included Ashwood High School, Brentwood Secondary College, Highvale Secondary College, Mazenod College, and Wheelers Hill Secondary College. “It’s one thing to see this kind of work online,” said a teacher from a partner school. “But it’s quite another to walk the floor and speak directly to the people shaping Australia’s industrial future.” Students didn’t just observe — they engaged. They asked questions, explored training options, and imagined themselves in roles they may never have considered before. Survey results from the day highlight the event’s significant…

When it comes to manufacturing, Australia operates in a high-cost business environment, much like Germany. This means we’re not the ideal place for producing low-grade, low-value, and easily replicated products. This is especially true in the electronics sector. So, if you can’t compete on raw transactional costs, what can you compete on? Eighteen months ago, we relocated to a larger design office and a separate electronics manufacturing factory in Dandenong South. Now, we have an SMT pick and place line, enabling us to produce higher volumes of products at a reduced unit cost. However, we are not aiming to become a Contract Electronics Manufacturer (CEM), and we still collaborate with established Australian CEMs such as Precision Electronic Technologies, Duet Electronics, and Entech Electronics. We are not looking to compete with them in volume manufacturing; instead, we specialise in high-quality, high-mix, low-volume manufacturing for prototypes, field trial units, and niche opportunities. While this is not the core business for the CEMs, it represents a critical area for startups…

A versatile new family of safety and efficiency-focused medium frequency induction heaters is being introduced to Australasia by the global motion technology company Schaeffler, providing shorter heating times and reducing bearing mounting and dismounting times by half. The new generation medium frequency technology (MFT) heaters enhance safety during bearing mounting and dismounting by eliminating the need for traditional heating methods that involve open flames, such as gas burners or oil baths, ensuring more controlled and stress-free heating of machinery components. Crucially, unlike conventional heaters suitable only for mounting, MFT heaters offer a large thermal capacity and flexible installation methods that enable safe and efficient bearing dismounting. This minimises the risk of damage to both the bearing and the shaft, thereby allowing for quick dismantling and rebuilding times. The productivity gains of the energy-conserving MFT heaters – including nine models ranging from 1.2kW to 45kW – dramatically reduce maintenance costs, even for heavy workpieces such as gear wheels, gear drives, bearings, and couplings. The ‘HEATER’ series of induction…