August 8, 2019
The alfred AI solution, powered by Microsoft Azure, helps the company analyse and process more than two million orders per year and better serve its 250,000 global customers. alfred is already helping tkMX optimise its logistics network – allocating materials to the right location much faster, minimising transport volume and enhancing usage of the company’s transport capacity. Axel Berger, Head of Digital Transformation at tkMX, discussed how alfred is changing the business. AMT: Tell us about alfred and why tkMX developed it. What business challenges were you facing? Axel Berger: We are a wholesaler, so data insights and data algorithms are possibly one of the strongest levers we have to improve our business. We had a lot of data that we weren’t using before, for three main reasons. First, we didn’t really have the expertise to work on specific data science topics – we had…
August 1, 2019
Four of the seven activity indexes in the Australian PMI expanded in July (readings below 50 points indicate contraction in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the decrease). Despite falls in sales (down 8.1 points to 42.7) and production (down 3.6 points to 48.3), a return to positive territory for supplier deliveries (up 4.8 points to 51.9) and a stronger new orders index (up 3.2 points to 53.0) suggest manufacturers are gearing up for more production in coming months. The exports index improved again in July (up 1.5 points to 54.6), with strong overseas demand for Australian consumable manufacturing products such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, vitamins and cosmetics. Three of the six manufacturing sectors expanded in July (according to trend data), with the gap between the expanding and contracting sectors growing in recent months. Food & beverages (down 0.7 points to 59.2) and building materials, wood & furniture (up 1.3 points to 63.7) led…
August 1, 2019
Despite businesses in Australia having a legal requirement to comply with their State’s workplace health & safety (WHS) laws, more than 100,000 serious workplace injuries still occur every year. These range from mental stress, to trips and falls, to collisions with objects. A leading auditing and training organisation in occupational health & safety is alerting organisations to commonly overlooked workplace practices that are risking the health and safety of their employees. SAI Global is a global risk management provider that has audited and trained thousands of organisations seeking to meet the ISO 45001 international standard for WHS, in addition to the workplace health & safety acts and regulations in their own state. SAI Global recently released a list of the seven workplace hazards commonly overlooked by employers: Heavy workloads…
August 1, 2019
This is the third-generation version of Creaform’s patented metrology-grade scanner. Its launch marks more than 15 years of innovation in technology to meet the evolving needs of the manufacturing and engineering industries. The HandySCAN BLACK has been designed for professionals who need an effective and reliable tool to capture accurate dimensional measurements of physical objects. HandySCAN BLACK combines high-performance 3D scanning with a sleek, ergonomic design. Its distinctive simplicity and portability advantages are a staple of Creaform’s product line. As the company’s flagship portable metrology-grade 3D scanner, the HandySCAN BLACK sets the standard for measurement, regardless of size, material or complexity, within seconds anywhere. Features include: 4X resolution: Fine details and large volumes are captured thanks to the unique and versatile combination of improved high-performance optics and multiple blue laser technology. 3X faster measurement speed and instant mesh: The larger scanning area features 11 blue laser crosses that take up to 1,300,000 measurements per second, ultimately cutting down the time between…
August 1, 2019
Registrations for Asia-Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) 2019 edition are now open, with more than 6,000 mining industry professionals and an additional 2,000 exhibitor personnel set to take over Sydney’s Showgrounds across three days from 27-29 August. More than 500 exhibitors are expected take part, with the likes of Contitech, ESS Engineering Services, Alfagomma, Cummins, Hitachi and Volkswagen already signing up to participate in an event that brings together mining industry leaders and decision-makers from across the world. Steve Cummins, South Pacific Director of Mining, Oil and Gas Business, will be taking part with one of those exhibitors: global technology leader Cummins. He believes involvement in AIMEX during Cummins’ own 100th anniversary year was very important and that they are proud to be involved in the exhibition as a major player in the mining industry around the world. “A pioneer in power systems technology for 100 years, Cummins has the total power solution for the mining industry,” he added. “High horsepower Quantum engines to…
August 1, 2019
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the roundtable demonstrated the Government’s commitment to manufacturing and willingness to work with all stakeholders to grow the economy and create more jobs. “Australia’s manufacturing industries are a vital element of our economy, they’re a big employer and producer of products and services,” Minister Andrews said. “Manufacturing creates value across the economy through its demand for research and development, design and engineering services, production, logistics and after sales service. “The Morrison Government is determined to build on our strengths, grasp new opportunities, and create high value jobs for Australians.” The meeting discussed ways to enable the transformation of Australia’s traditional and emerging manufacturing industries, to build the industry’s competitive advantage, and help Australian manufacturers thrive in global markets and value chains. Improving the uptake of technology, developing the skills of the workforce, increasing manuacturers’ export focus and enhancing productivity were also key points of consideration. The…
July 25, 2019
South Australia is home to major defence companies such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Saab Australia, as well as several emerging space start-ups, including Fleet Space Technologies, Inovor Technologies and Myriota. The state capital Adelaide is home to the Air Warfare Destroyer project and the Future Submarines project, which promises to deliver 12 Attack Class submarines to the Australian Navy to replace its Collins Class fleet. Satellite research centre to advance Aussie space industry The Australian space industry has received a $245m injection with the launch of the Cooperative Research Centre for Smart Satellite Technologies and Analytics, headquartered at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. The national SmartSat CRC will bring together a $190m cash and in-kind investment from 82 industry and research partners with a $55m pledge from the Federal Government over seven years. The $245m in funding for advanced telecommunications and intelligent satellite systems makes the SmartSat CRC the biggest space industry research collaboration in Australian history. Bid…
July 25, 2019
Dumping occurs when an exporter sells goods to Australia at a price that is below the normal value of the goods and undercutting Australian providers. ABF officers have recently executed warrants on four solar entities across Sydney and Brisbane, and issued the duty demands in response to that. Related operational activity has also occurred on vessels arriving into Fremantle in Western Australia. ABF Assistant Commissioner Erin Dale said the ABF was committed to protecting Australian businesses by ensuring the integrity of duty measures was not undermined by dumping activity. “Customs and trade enforcement are key priorities for the Australian Border Force, and we work closely with our national and international counterparts,” said Dale. “This investigation aims to detect and deter the dumping of aluminium extrusions into the Australian market, undercutting Australian providers.” As a result of the ABF’s ongoing operation, more than 60 containers have…
July 25, 2019
The history of the German compressed air specialist Kaeser Kompressoren truly is a remarkable story. Although many a company gets to celebrate its centenary, they cannot all boast such sustained and continuously positive development. While the Kaeser product range can be found in action all over the world, the general public rarely come face to face with the compressed air specialist’s products. Only the portable compressors catch the eye, with their black and yellow livery, when used for road construction work. Compressed air stations tend to be hidden away in outbuildings. Nonetheless, Kaeser compressors are just as likely to be found in power stations in Australia as in Peruvian gold mines, used by aerospace engineers in the US, fish farms in Norway, car manufacturers in Germany, at the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland, on ski pistes in Austria, on Arabian oil fields or the weaving mills in Asia. Often considered the fourth utility, compressed air…
July 25, 2019
Many types of heat exchangers are used in industry. In the case of recuperators, two liquid or gaseous media with different temperatures are pumped into separate circuits. A heat exchange takes place without mixing the media. Recuperators include bundle heat exchangers, which are usually made of metal and consist of a tube bundle that conducts a medium, and an orifice baffle with a front tube plate through which a second medium flows. Depending on the size of the heat exchanger, the front tube plate has a large number of bores. To ensure that the medium does not escape at this component transition, high requirements are set at the bores with regard to position accuracy and dimensional accuracy. The triple-edge replaceable head drill TTD-Tritan from Mapal has been tested in the petrochemical industry and produced convincing results when machining a tube plate. On the TTD-Tritan, the tool head and tool holder are joined by Hirth serration. This connection is easy…
July 25, 2019
Intellectual property is a broad term that covers a range of intangible assets resulting from creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary works or videos. In a business context, IP arises from the creativity of employees and/or owners, such as text and images on websites, manuals and other documents, inventive processes, products or brand names – just to name a few. IP can be registrable and non-registrable, and both types have their uses and their place in managing a business. Examples of non-registrable IP may include copyright, circuit layout rights, trade secrets and confidential information, while registrable IP encompasses patents, registered designs, trade marks and plant breeder’s rights. The following list provides a brief description of the main IP types: Patents are registrable rights that protect the functionality of a product or process, i.e. the way it works, such as the working of an…
July 25, 2019
An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an integral part of operations, but your requirements of this system would be different whether you are operating a tin can factory in Toronto or manufacturing stereo equipment in Sydney. This means that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t take into consideration the industry nuances at play, nor embrace the individuality of your business that ultimately enables your competitive edge. The reality is the choices you make right now will affect your competitive advantage and your ability to remain relevant in a rapidly changing business environment. The aspect of choice should be extended to the selection of elements that make-up the solution whilst also addressing your immediate business priorities as well as offer the potential to extend…
July 17, 2019
RAM3D is a metal 3D printing facility and high-tech manufacturing company producing parts for a diverse array of industries world-wide. The technology has greatly advanced over the past five years and RAM3D has seen a shift from prototyping to include full production work. This is possibly a result of the early adopters of the technology starting to move their projects increasingly through the project stage. The two key drivers to this transition are: Designers have recognised that the technology opens different design avenues. They can look at the areas of function and load and only place material where it is needed. This design freedom results in a highly optimised part in both functionality and cost. The cost of production by 3D printing has reduced. RAM3D operates four machines; they have been able to cover their overheads and apply the lessons they have learned over time to refine the process and ultimately bring benefits to companies having parts made. Throughout most of the world, two of the early…