Industry News

Komatsu’s Australian engineers have devised a way to maintain radiator efficiency in conditions which would otherwise cause machines to shut down for lengthy time-consuming cleaning. The ingenious system of modifications has brought relief to operators as well as engine and transmission components, contributing to reduction in fatigue on long shifts at the controls. Local Komatsu engineers have spent several years examining and changing airflow patterns over the radiators of their machines, particularly in applications where high-fibre debris has the potential to clog radiators. New wider-core radiator vanes allow debris to find its way past and through the radiator without the same propensity to clog. The system, the result of substantial trials, has given Komatsu a decided edge in the burgeoning feedlot industry, which this year is expected to exceed $4.6bn in contribution to the economy, and to service more than 1.5m head of cattle. More than 60% of Australia’s 400 accredited feedlots are located in the comparatively high temperature regions of Queensland. “Our brief from customers was to be able…

Today’s commercial aircraft are typically manufactured in sections, often in different locations — wings at one factory, fuselage sections at another, tail components somewhere else — and then flown to a central plant in huge cargo planes for final assembly. But what if the final assembly was the only assembly, with the whole plane built out of a large array of tiny identical pieces, all put together by an army of tiny robots? That’s the vision that graduate student Benjamin Jenett, working with Professor Neil Gershenfeld in the Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, has been pursuing as his doctoral thesis work. It’s now reached the point that prototype versions of such robots can assemble small structures and even work together as a team to build up a larger assemblies. “What’s at the heart of this is a new kind of robotics, that we call relative robots,” Gershenfeld says. Historically, he explains, there have been two broad categories of robotics — ones made out of expensive custom components that are carefully…

Already examples are emerging, such as the 3D-printed titanium brake caliper for the Bugatti Chiron. Produced as a single unit from titanium through the layering process in the build chamber of an SLM 500 multi-laser machine, it features a tensile strength of 1,250 N/sqmm and a material density over 99.7%. On testing the parts, Bugatti found the 3D-printed components sustained strength and  retained stiffness amid the high temperatures witnessed at the speeds of more than 375km/hour achieved by these high-performance sports cars. When BMW redesigned the folding mechanism of the BMW i8 Roadster and built it in the metal-powder bed fusion chamber of an SLM Solutions laser machine, it found the part to be 10 times stiffer than the plastic injection moulded counterpart. It was also 44% lighter as it was built from AlSi10Mg. Traditionally the folding mechanism of the i8 Roadster’s soft top is cumbersome, loading the car with unwanted additional weight, and taking up boot space. The new folding mechanism reduces all of these…

The affordable desktop 3D printer has composite-ready performance and an efficiently small footprint to fit easily on any desktop. Packed with the latest technology, the Ultimaker S3 offers disruptive businesses a cost-effective way to adopt and drive in-house 3D printing. The new Ultimaker S3 seamlessly integrates into Ultimaker’s open ecosystem. The feeder wheels are made of hardened steel and together with the CC print core, users can print with almost any 2.85mm filament – such as PLA, ABS, Nylon, third-party materials and abrasive materials. Engineers can design, test, and produce models and custom end-use parts with the widest range of materials for their manufacturing needs. The wider nozzle coverage ensures that no space is wasted, which offers an increased build-volume-to-size ratio. The Ultimaker S3 contains an award-winning touch interface and predefined print settings that facilitate more precise 3D printing as part of any workflow. A heated build plate, advanced active levelling, a stiffer build platform and accurate stepper drivers result in the highest print quality…

AMT: Engineers Australia is celebrating its centenary this year. Tell us a bit about the organisation, its history, and its current position. Bronwyn Evans: Engineers Australia is the peak body and “voice” of the engineering profession. Established in 1919, and constituted by Royal Charter in 1938, our purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineering plays a critical role in the lives of all Australians, and Engineers Australia has used the centenary celebrations to highlight the value of engineering to the community and to focus on emerging technologies and the future of the profession. Our Centenary culminated in November with the World Engineers Convention, which was being held in Australia for the first time. The event, co-hosted by Engineers Australia and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, was an opportunity for attendees to build networks with leaders in global engineering practice,…

An ideal complement to the company’s existing infrastructure, Paul Hughes, Managing Director at Integra, explains that one of the biggest advantages the P2 delivers is a boost to his business’ design capabilities. “Most of our customers want something that’s functional but also aesthetically pleasing,” Paul expounds. “Sometimes, though, you’re compromised with sheet metal work in what you can actually achieve in terms of aesthetics because of the limitations of what you can fold. Essentially, we needed a lot more capacity in metal folding, because that’s a critical part of what we do, and we wanted something that was different to what we already had in terms of conventional CNC press brakes. “Most of our jobs now require design and prototyping. The P2 also needed…

Since expanding overseas, Sutton Tools has been able to continue to manufacture high-end tools here in Australia because we have access to global markets. As a family business founded in 1917, that is important to us, as it is to our many local customers. It also means we’re competing with global tool manufacturers on their own turf – so we need to hold our own and prove it as well. This is why we put extensive time and effort into testing our tools in our R&D Lab. To compete, our products must offer a technical advantage over their competitors: longer tool life, faster cutting speeds, smoother loads or another measure of value to manufacturers. An example is our range of tapping solutions for automotive applications. Our taps for forming threads in steel forgings are used in components such as crank shafts, cam shafts, connecting rods, steering and suspension parts for both through and blind holes. We have engineered these taps for high-volume thread production, so they need…

A recent report by Sage, CFO 3.0 - digital transformation beyond financial management on the evolving role of the finance function, highlights that 93% of finance professionals believe their role has changed in the past five years, with 67% stating they now perceive themselves as strategic advisers rather than leaders responsible for compliance and accounting. Over half attributed this change to the digitalisation of the industry creating a new era of customer expectations. The report found that while cloud adoption is high in Australia, CFOs are not fully leveraging the capabilities of financial management technology. As CFOs face a more automated future, they have a new opportunity to propel digital transformation into the wider business. Becoming an agent of change is a big leap from the traditional role of the CFO. But…

The fully electric vehicle is based on the Landcruiser 79 series platform and promises a range of up to 350km. The pickup was developed in Adelaide, South Australia, over the past year by Dave Mitchell and Tim Possingham, who both have extensive experience in motorsport and original equipment manufacturing (OEM). They set up Zero Automotive to address the growing demand and fleet targets for zero emission vehicles, especially in the mining and agribusiness industries. Possingham said they didn’t plan to mass-produce the ZED70 but would rather supply commissioned vehicles that met specific industry needs. “This vehicle is a bespoke vehicle that we designed to suit the application whether it be mining, agribusiness, or local and state governmental agencies,” he said. The South Australian company specifically worked with mining and energy companies to understand their vehicle fleet needs, such as zero emissions in underground mines and the elimination of diesel fuel on sites. “It’s a priority for those types of clients to reduce their emissions and also clean up the environment that…

Already examples are emerging, such as the 3D-printed titanium brake caliper for the Bugatti Chiron. Produced as a single unit from titanium through the layering process in the build chamber of an SLM 500 multi-laser machine, it features a tensile strength of 1,250 N/sqmm and a material density over 99.7%. On testing the parts, Bugatti found the 3D-printed components sustained strength and  retained stiffness amid the high temperatures witnessed at the speeds of more than 375km/hour achieved by these high-performance sports cars. When BMW redesigned the folding mechanism of the BMW i8 Roadster and built it in the metal-powder bed fusion chamber of an SLM Solutions laser machine, it found the part to be 10 times stiffer than the plastic injection moulded counterpart. It was also 44% lighter as it was built from AlSi10Mg. Traditionally the folding mechanism of the i8 Roadster’s soft top is cumbersome, loading the car with unwanted additional weight, and taking up boot space. The new folding mechanism reduces all of…

The metalworking industry adopted high-speed machining (HSM) in the 1990s. This method was engrained in various industrial branches and caused significant changes in technology and machine tool engineering. The well-known advantages of HSM are repeatedly cited in various books, guides, magazines and other sources of information. Recently, there has been a significant interest in accurate HSM and, more specifically, in precision and other characteristics of cutting tools and toolholding devices intended for this purpose. Accurate (or precise) machining means maintaining repeatable strict tolerances during cutting operations. The level of such a “strictness” depends on the machining method – for example milling, turning, or drilling – and the type of operation: rough, semi-finish or…

Manufacturers and machinery engineers in these sectors are adopting engineering plastics* to maximise advantages in applications where outstanding hygiene, corrosion and deterioration resistance, low friction, automation and safety are critical, according to engineering plastics innovator Laurie Green, Managing Director of Cut To Size Plastics. “Australia and New Zealand are starting to catch up with pan-Asia and global trends towards the use of engineering plastics in expanding uses to which they are eminently suited,” says Green. “Metals are great for some applications, but manufacturers, operations managers, processors and infrastructure specifiers here are waking up to opportunities to optimise their low-maintenance infrastructure and automation applications with plastics.” Cut To Size has more than 40 years’ experience in engineering plastics applications throughout the Asia-Pacific, and distributes advanced materials from international leaders in plastics technology including Licharz, Gehr and Beck-Wefapress. The company has just launched a new website to help groups such as engineers, operations managers, safety managers and others to decide whether…