March 5, 2020
This is particularly true of solid carbide tools (round tools), which are primarily used for holemaking, milling and threading. Estimates calculated by tool specialists Walter indicates that these tools already make up around half of the machining applications in the automotive industry today. Depending on the characteristics of the component, drilling and threading work with round tools influences approximately 15% to 50% of the total costs per part. Being able to reduce costs once again here remains a key factor for success. All aspects of machining The transition from combustion engines to electric motors or other alternative drives, which is gaining momentum as a result of tighter environmental regulations, touches every area of the automotive industry – right up to every last detail in the production processes. Walter has been on hand to actively accompany the sector through these changes from the very start: the company presents car manufacturers and suppliers around the world with a comprehensive portfolio of tools and services, which is…
March 5, 2020
Australian businesses in the manufacturing, transport and logistics industry are seeking new ways to connect processes to more accurately capture analytics and use data insights to improve workflow from the factory floor to the store shelf. One way to harness the connected network is through the Internet of Things (IoT), and connecting existing physical hardware to an edge computing system to collect and analyse data. The nuts and bolts of IoT IoT isn’t one plug-and-play solution. It’s an interconnected network of sensors and data collection that helps make the most of company-owned devices. Installing IoT sensors into your business can drastically change the way your hardware works. For instance, if you have a production centre, its primary purpose would be to create products. But with the right IoT implementation, every machine in the centre can have a secondary purpose – to feed you data, and improve your business. Businesses across industries such as construction, manufacturing, healthcare, mining and agriculture are already using IoT sensors to measure and…
March 5, 2020
Headquartered near Barcelona, in the Catalonia region, Vilardell specialises in the production of precision parts with a high added value. The company comprises two divisions: the Medical Division and the Industrial Division. Jordi Roy Torras, Manager of the Industrial Division, says Vilardell has specialised in the production of highly complex parts for some time. “This is our core competence. Something we have developed year after year and part by part,” he explains. “We employ 165 staff and they are very important to us. Almost every day, we are faced with new challenges. Even with the best machines, we wouldn’t be able to tackle these challenges, if we didn’t have such a strong team! “Our customers know that they can count on us and on our expertise when it comes to meeting any machining challenge. We have to keep our minds open and focus on innovation as one of our key values. Each and every one of us has to remain innovative, irrespective of his or her position…
March 5, 2020
4D printing is a subset of 3D printing where the printed object can transform its shape in response to certain conditions.Repairing and reusing plastics and delivering cancer drugs more effectively are just two potential applications for the new 3D/4D printing technology, based on a research collaboration between UNSW Sydney and the University of Auckland that successfully merges 3D/4D printing and photo-controlled/living polymerisation – a chemical process to create polymers. The new controlled polymerisation method, where the researchers used visible light to create an environmentally friendly “living” plastic or polymer, opens a new world of possibilities for the manufacture of advanced solid materials. Polymers can be synthetic, such as plastic, as well as biological, for example, DNA. The research built upon the UNSW Sydney Boyer Lab’s 2014 discovery of PET-RAFT polymerisation (Photoinduced Electron/energy Transfer-Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer polymerisation), a new way to make controlled polymers using visible light, using the Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerisation technique discovered by the CSIRO (Graeme Moad, San Thang…
March 2, 2020
While the majority of Australian PMI respondents remain concerned about drought, weak demand from the construction sector and a general slowdown in the economy, coronavirus emerged as a concern for respondents for the first time in February, impacting negatively on the exports of Australian manufactured goods. “The manufacturing sector recorded a fourth consecutive month of contraction with the impacts of drought and the devastating bushfires continuing to be a drag on the sector,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “The disruptive effects of the coronavirus, including on supply chains, are deepening and adding to the slowdown that has been in train since the closing months of 2019. The large food & beverages sector was the only sector that expanded in February with all other sectors experiencing steeper falls than in January.” Six of the seven activity indices in the Australian PMI contracted in February, with employment the only index being…
February 27, 2020
Ignite Digi was co-founded by cinematographer Tom Waugh and Chris Fox, an aeronautical engineer with 10 years experience in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The company started out as a drone and camera operating team, hiring out their services to film and television productions. However, they found their creativity and vision were being limited by the capabilities of accessories available at the time – so they invented their own. Self-taught, Fox began producing carbon-fibre camera attachments with a 600mm x 900mm CNC router, before progressing to aluminium. Before long, other people in the industry began noticing their time-saving components via social media and began asking the pair to manufacture parts for them, so they began milling custom orders in Chris’ garage. Today, while Ignite Digi remains involved in the film and television industry, its core business…
February 27, 2020
Targeted at inspiring future growth in advanced manufacturing processes and production, the Advanced Manufacturing Expo 2020 conference and exhibition will be held 13-15 May at the Sydney Showgrounds and is free to attend for manufacturing industry professionals, engineers and industrial tertiary students. With an annual contribution to Australia’s GDP of more than $100bn, and supporting 1.27 million jobs, the Australian manufacturing industry has the potential to increase its national value by between $25.3bn and $34.6bn by 2026, if manufacturers continue to adopt more sophisticated processes, take advantage of cutting-edge technologies, implement robust business models and invest in highly skilled staff or high value services. Advanced Manufacturing Expo has been developed to inspire the Australian manufacturing industry to maintain its status as a source of economic strength and innovation and increase its global competitiveness by adopting advanced state-of-the-art technology, R&D and design processes, and emphasising value creation. The exhibition and conference will also highlight the opportunities available to the nation’s manufacturers if they take full advantage…
February 27, 2020
Founded in 1994 and with its headquarters in the town of Pfullingen in Baden-Württemberg, to the south of Stuttgart, Germany, Tibo today is one of the leading suppliers of single-spindle and multi-spindle gun-drilling and BTA deep hole drilling machines for a broad range of applications. Embedded into a medium-sized group consisting of 14 companies and more than 1,000 employees, its customers benefit from quick turnaround in all aspects of their deep hole drilling requirements, with many applications tailored to customers’ individual requirements. As a German machine tool builder, Tibo manufactures exclusively in its own plant in Pfullingen. And a predominantly local supply chain means it can proudly claim that its machines are made in Germany. Whether it’s gun drilling or the BTA method, or whether it’s a single or multi-spindle system, Tibo deep hole drilling machines boast impressive precision, speed, quality and durability, as well as a unique design consisting of modular sub-assemblies that are well proven in harsh and demanding applications.…
February 27, 2020
Perth-based project development company Neometals has developed a patent-pending process that converts aluminosilicate residue – a waste material produced when extracting lithium from ore concentrates – into an advanced material know as synthetic zeolites. Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as molecular sieves, sorbents and catalysts in applications such as gas separation, water purification and green chemistry. Chris Reed, Managing Director of Neometals, explained that his company’s research has shown a gap in the market and high potential to add upstream value to the lithium production chain. “Australian mining companies involved in the lithium production chain have the opportunity to convert aluminosilicate residue to zeolites to offset production costs, add value to a waste material which is abundant in the mining sector, and at the same time mitigate issues with environmental responsibility,” said Reed. In partnership with QUT, Neometals plans to advance the proof-of-concept zeolite synthesis method, which has been successfully demonstrated at bench scale. Over the next two years, QUT will be establishing and road testing a digitalised…
February 27, 2020
Called HARP (high-area rapid printing), the new technology enables a record-breaking throughput that can manufacture products on demand. Over the last 30 years, most efforts in 3D printing have been aimed at pushing the limits of legacy technologies. Often, the pursuit of larger parts has come at the cost of speed, throughput and resolution. With HARP technology, this compromise is unnecessary, enabling it to compete with both the resolution and throughput of traditional manufacturing techniques. The prototype HARP technology is 13 feet tall with a 2.5 square-foot print bed and can print about half a yard in an hour — a record throughput for the 3D printing field. This means it can print single, large parts or many different small parts at once. Professor Chad A Mirkin, who led the product’s development along with researchers David Walker and James Hedrick, predicts that HARP will be available commercially in the next 18 months. “3D printing is conceptually…
February 21, 2020
On 3 December 2019, the Australian Space Agency (ASA) signed a Statement of Strategic Intent and Co-operation with defence and space giant Thales, strengthening Australia’s international space connections to create new local jobs. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the agreement was an important step in the Federal Government’s plan to create opportunities for Australian industry and new local jobs in the burgeoning space sector. “Engaging with big international players like Thales will allow Australian businesses, including our advanced manufacturers, to carve out a place in the international space supply chain,” said Andrews. “Space is very much an international game and for Australia to succeed we need to play to our strengths and have our businesses and researchers working co-operatively. This statement is designed to mutually identify key areas of investment as well as potential research, development and commercial opportunities.” The agreement with Thales was the latest in a string of recent announcements by…
February 21, 2020
Once constrained to a few specialist tasks due to limitations in force sensing and machine vision, today’s manufacturing environment sees a broad range of applications, from trimming flashing from plastic and aluminium mouldings, removing moulding flash and edging material from carbon fibre products, polishing moulds and dies, and deburring edges following machining. While previously these applications relied solely on compliant tools, more recent developments such as force sensing control and vision have created the ability to handle variability in the position and size of the material that has to be removed. Force sensing provides greater control over cutting loads and the direction of the applied force, leading to more consistent and cleaner edges. In more recent times, the robot is used to articulate the part itself over the tool, versus the traditional method of a robot mounted tool. Whichever approach is used, the accuracy and path repeatability of the robot provides less variability across the substrate, irrespective of the die or machine they were manufactured in, overcoming one of the major hurdles for manufacturers…
February 21, 2020
Regardless of your goals, reviewing the efficiency of energy consumption is becoming increasingly commonplace as it makes better business sense. It’s therefore unsurprising that more industry and government initiatives have become accessible to support business efficiency practices. Some key resources include: gov.au/business is a national joint initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments administered by the Department of the Environment and Energy. The website supports the implementation of energy efficiency practices and shares best-practice information on energy efficiency, case studies and resource materials. AIG’s (Australian Industry Group) website is full of resources that feature information on energy efficiency, optimisation and management as well as an environment and energy toolkit and energy efficiency checklist. NSW’s Energy Saver program helps businesses identify energy saving opportunities, access funding and assists with project management and training. The Victorian Energy Upgrades Program is designed to make energy efficiency improvements more affordable, contribute…
