Industry News

In the first three months of this work year, 22 Australian workers had already been killed on the job. Australian businesses are being strongly urged to take responsibility for their own safety, value their wellbeing and positively pursue safety as a priority whist at work. Employers, business leaders and employees are particularly being urged to play a more active role in developing safer workplaces for all. Safety Leaders Group and myosh will be speaking at a series of free seminars at Safety in Action, expanding on how to empower staff to take ownership of safety and ways to measure and effectively develop the leadership practices that drive safety. They will be joined by safety experts who will share the latest research, discuss regulatory compliance issues and showcase technological innovations. “Creating a safety culture is an important part of the conversation at Safety in Action with an internal industry poll highlighting 87% of Australian workers believe their workplace could benefit from workplace safety improvements,” said Keith Barks at…

What if there was ONE parameter that on a daily basis describes comprehensively what happens, and is linked directly with the bottom line? Just one number sent to you wherever you are at that moment that means you know if the facility made or lost money. Well there is a measure, and it is called Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), based around the following factors. 1) The Total Available Time per year is 365 x 24 hours, and this is what the banks charge you interest on. Banks do not reduce your interest premiums if you only work one shift. 2) The Operating Time Planned is the manufacturing time planned, which could be one shift or whatever. The balance time not planned for is called Unplanned. 3) Actual Running Time is the time taken to produce the output. Output is zero during downtime. 4)…

Among the highlights of this year’s event is its demonstration program, featuring new robotics, safety, cleaning, welding and riveting solutions, giving visitors a first-hand experiences of how new technologies can work for their businesses. NMW 2016’s live demonstrations will take place at various locations on the expo floor, throughout the event. Visitors will see innovative technology, meet the revolutionary robot that carries out previously impractical-to-automate precision tasks, and observe fast 3D printing of working parts. Demonstration program highlights include: Wednesday 11 May 11:00am – Multicam Systems (Stand 1820). Showing how high-quality, high-performance, made-in-Australia Multicam CNC routing machines solve your CNC machine requirements. 11:45am – OMAX (Stand 1026). Demonstrating precision waterjet systems that cut virtually any material without any heat-affected zone, eliminating the need for secondary operations. 2:20pm – Kemppi Australia (Stand 1226). Kemppi will be welding with its new Pulse Mig welding package, with performance monitoring via its KAS3 online welding management system. 3:00pm – Konica Minolta (Stand 1402). Live demonstration of 3D printing solutions that help…

Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation, is already a prominent figure in US motorsports with the NASCAR team Haas CNC Racing. Having first confirmed his intent to launch a Formula One team in January 2014 – the first US team to enter the contest in nearly 30 years – it has been a long road to the start line, and the sense of anticipation was palpable at the HFO open house. “It’s very exciting. We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” said Frank Ramirez, International Business Manager for Haas. “Obviously we’re hoping to use the Formula One platform to grow our brand world-wide like we do in the US with Nascar. Today’s open-house event and we’ve had a very good turn-out, a lot of customers and a lot of upbeat optimism.” “The open house has been excellent,” added George Buhagiar, Director of HFO-Australia. “We’ve had a mix of existing customers…

One company at the forefront of these enormous changes has been Okuma, which has been a focal point with its leading-edge technology. Okuma’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Phil Hayes, recalls a study at the Ford Motor Company in Geelong some years back that identified that a part sat on a pallet for almost six hours before its next machining operation. With some quiet smugness he also recalls the successful transition from a line of eight machines, each machining two features of an oil pump body at one set-up, to two machines machining every feature at 64 units at one set-up, commenting at the time that the maths was not difficult. Hayes recalls that Ford implemented a huge number of efficient new processes and methods, but this did not save them from the short-sighted industrial climate of the time,…

There have been a number of developments, but at the forefront is China. Downward pressure on the Chinese economy remains high following the collapse in the stock market while the latest PMI data point to a further deceleration ahead. However, China’s slowdown is not limited to the domestic economy. Indeed, China is casting a major cloud over the rest of the world, denting regional and global trade and investment. It is expected that Chinese growth could fall below 6% in 2016. Moreover, despite interest rate cuts, the risks in China are on the downside given the slide in the stock market and the strength of the yuan over the last year. The move to weaken the yuan in August suggests that growth may be well under the published headline numbers, and be followed by further currency falls. Linked to the weakness in China, another development has…

Based in Mackay, Queensland, 3D Engineering in Mackay is one of the top mining suppliers of engineering solutions in Australia and manufactures heavy earthmoving equipment, buckets and truck bodies. With over 80 years combined experience in the management team in servicing the mining, agriculture and coal ports sector, 3D Engineering offers integrated engineering solutions for its customers by combining workshop facilities, on-site labour and support, site measurement and design/drafting capabilities, quality control and safe work practices. Mining customers include many large companies operating in the Bowen Basin, such as Rio Tinto, Thiess, Downer EDI, DBCT, BMA and BHP Billiton, along with local industries. BOC approached 3D Engineering to help increase efficiencies in its manufacturing workshop and improve the company’s ability to service customers after a slowdown of mining projects across Australia. According to Tony Muscat, Business Development Manager at 3D Engineering, a significant amount of time was being spent by the team to manually keep an…

The Inside 3D Printing Sydney conference program explores 3D innovation in Australia and beyond, covering additive manufacturing applications in medicine, manufacturing, research, product design, and more. The conference will run on 11-12 May, whereas the National Manufacturing Week exhibition will remain open 11-13 May. Confirmed keynote speakers include: Ian Gibson: Professor of Industrial Design, School of Engineering, Deakin University Fred Fischer: Director – Channel Development, Applications, Products, Stratasys Ltd Paul D’Urso: Neurosurgeon, Epworth Healthcare and Founder, Anatomics Gordon Wallace: Executive Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, University of Wollongong “Australia is approaching a stage that has been seen in other countries where there is an increasing enthusiasm and appreciation of the benefits of 3D printing in local industry,” said Gibson. “This conference aims to uncover this enthusiasm and discuss the platforms that are appropriate to this emerging market.” Session topics for Inside 3D Printing Sydney include: 3D Printing: International Trends and Markets Accelerating the Adoption of Industrial and Commercial Supply Chains The…

CoroMill 390 from Sandvik Coromant has for a long time been seen as the state-of-the-art square shoulder end mill, and now the company is extending this successful concept with the addition of the smaller 07 insert size. This becomes the first choice for small diameter, light cutting applications on low-powered machines, where it offers impressive levels of versatility and productivity. The objective for the Sandvik Coromant design and development team was clear: to create an extremely versatile cutter for productive milling in a wide range of operations and materials. The solution had to offer trouble-free, reliable milling performance, as well as easy-to-use insert clamping to increase process security. The result was CoroMill 390 tools with size 07 inserts, a product that has close synergies with two other Sandvik Coromant innovations: the Coromant EH modular system; and the…

Based in Ballarat, Albins is a key supplier for the Hawkei, a light protected mobility vehicle being designed and developed in Australia by Thales. When Thales Bendigo requested the prototype bracket, one option was to machine it. However, this would not have been representative of the cast production design – it would have created a different grain structure and material properties to a cast part. Significant quantities of waste material would also have been produced. Albins asked CSIRO to make a casting mould within two days. Working from a digital file of the bracket, CSIRO manufactured the mould over a weekend using its Voxel Jet VX1000 3D sand printer. The bracket was then cast using the mould, within the one-week deadline. Importantly, the part delivered had the same grain structure and material properties as the production design. Thales and Albins were pleased with both the product’s quality and the fast turnaround time. “This was a brilliant way to shortcut the prototype process…

National Manufacturing Week (NMW), Australia’s largest, longest-running manufacturing event, brings the industry together to see, touch and discuss solutions that open up new horizons for businesses. This year’s event will feature a strong Seminar Theatre program, with industry leaders including Dr McLean sharing their insights and expertise. Dr McLean comments that the CSIRO already works with more than 400 businesses each year, helping develop advanced materials, processes, prototypes and other advances that generate business growth. The agency has achieved successes for companies in a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, advanced manufacturing (especially solar and defence applications), biomedical, food and agribusiness, using a range of different partnership models. “Ultimately, CSIRO supports the take-up of transformational technology in Australia’s manufacturing industry, through the development of devices, integrated systems and new business models,” comments Dr McLean. “At NMW, I…

The Australian PMI expanded for a ninth straight month in March – the longest period of expansion since 2006 – rising 4.6 points to 58.1 (Readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity and the distance from 50 indicates the strength of the increase). Five of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded (that is, above 50 points in three-month moving averages) led by the largest sub-sector of food, beverages & tobacco (up 9.3 points to a record 71.0). Wood & paper products (up 8.0 points to 65.1) also expanded strongly while the large machinery & equipment sub-sector moved out of contraction for the first time since January 2012 (up 1.6 points to 50.9). The large metal products sub-sector fell again (down 2.3 points to 41.8), with respondents citing reduced demand, increasing input costs and an uncertain economic outlook as reasons for continuous contraction since September 2010. “Growth in manufacturing production, sales, employment, exports and new orders fueled a surge in the Australian…

Ronson was established in 1954 and has gone from a manual gear manufacturing and machining shop to a CNC production facility with a key focus on utomation. The company employs 37 personnel and is ISO9001 and AS9100C certified. With a growing aerospace and defence industry, Ronson Gears has focused on developing relationships with some of the world's largest manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in this field. To support its endeavours, it achieved AS9100C certification by enhancing and developing sophisticated manufacturing systems and verification processes. The company also sought out a machine that will enhance its competitive advantage. Investing in a Studer S145 internal and external cylindrical grinding machine from Headland Machinery, it is able to manufacture tight toleranced parts for any market. Gavin New, grandson to founder Ronald New, says the Studer has improved lead times and quality by bringing work back in-house. “Typically we subcontracted all of our grinding work,” he says. “But now with the Studer, bringing that work back…