Member News

Austin is a leading designer and manufacturer of customised dump truck bodies, buckets and ancillary products used in the mining industry. With more than 30 years’ experience in the mining and manufacturing industry, the company is an expert at solving engineering challenges. As a complete service provider, it offers on and off-site repair and maintenance and heavy equipment lifting services to customers including miners, mining contractors and original equipment manufacturers. With a presence in some of the world’s principal mining regions, Austin provides high-quality, cost-effective solutions, delivered on-time and backed by through-life product support. With a significant amount of welding carried out every day and anywhere between 80-120 G-size cylinders used each week, Austin was keen to work with BOC to improve safety of its workers and reduce costs by upgrading its gas…

As an enabler of high-performance Industry 4.0 concepts, IO-Link has become indispensable in tool machine engineering and in production facilities. In addition, however, hydro power plants can be wired quickly and efficiently using IO-Link: at the Mount Coffee dam in Liberia an intelligent IO-Link installation connects dozens of sensors and actuators over long distances simply while saving time and cost. The power plant operator had already come to appreciate the typical IO-Link benefits when it came to diagnostics and maintenance. By December 2016 the time had finally come: after more than 20 years of interruption the first turbine was started up, and now all four turbines are feeding 22MW each into the power grid. The integrated wiring solution developed by project partners Balluff and Andritz Hydro has the potential to be utilised in future power plant projects as well. The origins of the Mount Coffee dam, which lies 30km north-east of the Liberian capital Monrovia, go far back: the former dam was finished in 1966, but was almost totally destroyed during the…

The irony is that one of the most productive of these solutions is far from new—in fact, it’s been a champion in the war on machine tool downtime for nearly three decades. It’s called KM Quick Change Tooling from Kennametal. Now, Kennametal has now launched an entirely new KM product line: Turret-Adapted Clamping Units. In addition, the company has partnered with global lathe tool specialist, EWS Tool Technologies, to manufacture and support this series of KM adapters. Together, the two companies plan to redefine how shops will tool up the turrets on their DMG MORI, Okuma, Mazak, Haas, Doosan, Nakamura, Hwacheon, and Hyundai lathes, with more to come. Embracing change Some companies have looked at quick-change tooling and decided not to invest, on the grounds that it is too expensive or not worth the hassle that comes with implementing any new technology. That might be why many…

Compact smart vending Big bulky machines have their place, but they will never be fully point-of-use or provide the smart manufacturing cell with its own autonomy. Some suppliers offer bench-top units that are compact in size but pack a punch well above their weight when it comes to features. They typically offer a full software suite and provide 100% control and accountability per bin or per individual item. This makes them ideal for the modern shopfloor, where the machining process and selection of cutting tools cannot be compromised. Mobility Mobility has been one of the catch words of the last decade or so. Today we take it for granted that our office, social activities and more sit in our pocket. Users expect to…

April marked a 19th consecutive month of expanding or stable conditions for the Australian PMI – the longest run of continuous expansion since 2005. Readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase . Six of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded in April (according to trend data), with four sub-sectors reaching record highs in trend terms: machinery & equipment (up 1.0 point to 61.2); petroleum, coal & chemicals (up 0.4 points to 67.6); metal products (up 1.6 points to 63.8); and textiles, clothing & furniture (up 5.6 points to 57.1). Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said: “The manufacturing sector extended its broad-based expansionary run in April. Growth was led by the machinery & equipment; metal products; coal, petroleum, chemical & rubber products; and non-metallic mineral product sub-sectors, all of which are enjoying strong demand from high levels of building and construction activity. The largest manufacturing sub-sector – food & beverages –…

The Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL) is the peak national body for the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector in Australia. Having a stand enables it to show its support for AMTIL members visiting or exhibiting at NMW, while also providing the opportunity to engage with Australian manufacturing businesses more generally and discuss the ways it can help them. For AMTIL members, ‘Happy Hour’ drinks will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday of the show (9 and 10 May) , from 4.00pm at the AMTIL stand. Any members at the show are invited to drop by the AMTIL stand for refreshments and a chat. AMTIL has a long-standing relationship with NMW, having co-located its own Austech exhibition with NMW for many years, and continuing to do so every second year in Melbourne. AMTIL’s participation in this…

Adding rotating tools to turning centres means you can combine several set-ups in a single machine for a more streamlined and productive machining process. To accomplish this, turn-mill machines were introduced in the 1990s. The initial idea was to enable driving a milling cutter, drill or threading tap on one or more tool positions in the turret to eliminate limitations of polar interpolation and other related programming difficulties. To improve reach, an extra set of ways was added to move the rotating tool across the spindle face. This was accomplished by mounting the tools on revolver sides or on its face, by installing the Y-axis ways on a slanted bed or by using an independent milling head. Both machine tool makers and manufacturers soon recognised the benefits of integrating both milling and turning operations. Today, the Y-axis option has become a…

In CNC systems, the design of a mechanical part and its manufacturing program is highly automated. The part’s mechanical dimensions are defined using computer-aided design (CAD) software, and then translated into manufacturing directives by computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. The resulting directives are transformed by post-processor software into the specific commands necessary for the chosen machine to produce the component. What that means, in simple terms, is that the days of “one man, one machine” are now a fast-fading memory. One programmer at a computer console can program, implement, and supervise machine work that would be the equivalent of several operators on lathes, grinders, routers, mills, and shapers in earlier times. Computer-controlled, automated machining methods can achieve reaches, holds, and other actions that human operators and conventional machines typically don’t do efficiently. Generally, lathes and machining centres have two axes, but more sophisticated models have more, allowing for more advanced jobs to be…

Broens began operations in Sydney’s south-west suburbs in 1979. Thriving as a manufacturer providing subcontract toolmaking and general engineering services, it soon diversified into sectors such as automotive, aerospace, medical, mining and heavy industry. In 2007, it took over two companies in Elizabeth, northern Adelaide – Static Engineering and Calbic Engineering – and consolidated them to form Broens SA. By then, Broens was a globally respected provider of design, manufacturing and engineering solutions, exporting to more than 16 countries and involved in projects such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the F35 Joint Strike Fighter. However, towards the end of 2016, the company was placed into liquidation. At that point Adelaide City Engineering Pty Ltd came into the story. Adelaide City Engineering was formed in 2003 by Timothy Lillie as a new venture. The aim of the business was to provide quality services with continual improvement to its customers while also providing a safe…

Using an innovative and progressive business model, Flow Power tackles the issue of price and environment with a unique offering. Its renewable power, sourced from Ararat Wind Farm, can be used in real time to offset grid electricity consumption, potentially saving thousands of dollars in energy costs. ANCA, a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines, will now buy its power from Ararat Wind Farm through a power purchasing agreement (PPA) to access fixed rates for long-term savings. While very common around the world, this deal is one of the first in Australia. The generation is offset against the business’s use, so that when ANCA uses more than what is generated in an interval, Flow Power sources additional electricity from the wholesale market to power the operation. When ANCA uses less, there is an option to selling the electricity back to Flow Power at an agreed price or back to the wholesale market. “At ANCA we are always looking for…

Australian advanced manufacturing is undergoing one of the most exciting transformations in its history. The advent of new technologies, such as 3D printing with metals, advanced materials such as composites and graphene, digitalisation and the Internet of Things, has meant that there is a great deal of education, support and promotion needed to highlight the benefits of these technologies. Austech runs every two years in Melbourne, and is the only show specifically targeted at the metalworking, machine tool and ancillary market - being held in Australia in 2019. The product sectors covered by Austech include CNC machine tools, sheet metal fabrication equipment, special purpose machines, laser cutting marking and engraving, additive manufacturing & 3D printing, digitalisation, inspection & measurement, automation & robotics and general engineering. National Manufacturing…

The collaborative project, ‘Repair Bot’, will employ robotics and 3D printing, along with complex materials, to enable an automated rapid repair service for plastic car parts. Inspiration for the project stemmed from the need for a technology-driven solution to overcome numerous issues facing the automotive repair industry. These issues range from material wastage, complex and restrictive design elements, the limited availability of skilled labour, and the long lead times and inventory holdings for replacement parts. Tradiebot Founder Mario Dimovski believes the project’s potential benefits go far beyond just the automotive collision industry. “The ability to repair previously non-repairable parts using world-first technology will reduce overall repair times and repair costs,” explains Dimovski. “It will also create real and significant export opportunities and has flow-on benefits for the environment by reducing land-fill. Tradiebot will also deliver new future skills to the industry as more processes become automated.” Research the key to unlocking…

Formula SAE is a competition organised by the Australian branch of the Society of Automotive Engineers in which teams of students produce a prototype for a single-seat racing car and present it to a hypothetical firm for manufacture. The cars compete in a series of track tests. In addition, the teams are judged on the design and cost-efficiency of the car, and on a marketing presentation about their project. Along with the practical experience gained, the programme gives students the opportunity to work together in a dedicated, multi-disciplinary team to produce an impressive vehicle for the competition. The skills of the team are pushed to the limit to ensure that the design and the manufacturing methods used are innovative and robust. The team from Swinburne is made up of students in…