Member News

A common mistake by businesses is to treat inventory as a driver of business performance. The theory goes, reduced inventory leads to reduced working capital, which leads to improved return on capital. Unfortunately what usually happens is that reduced inventory leads to reduced customer service levels and increased firefighting in the supply chain, which then leads to lost business, increased costs and reduced profits! The problem with attacking inventory in isolation is that inventory levels are an outcome of how you run your business, not a driver! Good and bad inventory Of course all businesses have inventory they would rather not have. This “bad inventory” is made up of excess and obsolete inventory. Obsolete inventory is stock of products that you no longer make, while excess inventory is stock in excess of that required to maintain your target level of customer service (more about that later). Your business needs a process to manage excess and obsolete stock. The…

Demand for the parts is expanding as lifespans lengthen and aging results in arthritis and osteoporosis. Worldwide trends towards higher body weight and obesity put additional strain on skeletal joints. Changing lifestyles, from a lack physical activity for some to increased sports participation for others, further fuel demand for renewed body parts. Growth of emerging economies is giving greater numbers of people the resources to afford orthopedic devices. The Global Market Insights consulting group predicts that the global orthopaedic devices market will grow to €50bn by 2024. Competition prompts tooling development Orthopaedic devices include hip and knee replacement components, artificial elbow and ankle joints, trauma repair instruments, spinal bone plates and various repair pins, rods and fasteners. Joint reconstruction makes up over 40% of the market, with the majority of that in hip and knee…

Industry 4.0 is the latest phase in digitisation for the manufacturing sector. With increased productivity through intelligent, networked production systems, an Industry 4.0 marketplace means that machines offer their services and exchange information with products in real-time. Using internet or cloud-based platforms for businesses to connect to their machinery enables manufacturers to digitally connect to their own production line, machinery and supply chain. Access to the production control system via tablet or smartphone allows mobile productions planning. Cloud technology provides workers with an insight into the status of productions orders and the machines along with ease when adjusting information such as job orders or production quantities. Industry 4.0 has been driven by four disruptors: a rise in data volumes; increased computational power and connectivity; the emergence of analytics and business intelligence capabilities (for example, new forms of human-machine interaction such as touch interfaces and augmented-reality systems); and improvements in transferring digital…

The laser cutting and fabrication specialists service a diverse range of industries, including automotive, transport, aerospace and shop fitting, among others. With a strong focus on company culture, Laser 3D place high importance on attracting and retaining great staff, with an aim to build upon their knowledge and training where possible. Laser 3D’s CEO Bruce Thomas says that there are three main factors that contribute to the company’s success: technology, customer relationships, and dependable suppliers. Ten years ago, Laser 3D used four different machines from four different suppliers. The company now uses one supplier, Headland, and Trumpf machinery only. Consequently its processes are fully streamlined where possible as all staff members can operate all the machinery in the factory. Technology is critical to automating processes and ensuring quick turnaround times for customers. “We use technology wherever and whenever we can in order to streamline processes,” says Thomas. “We make sure that we fully understand each and every customer’s individual needs. We place high value in our customer relationships…

How does a manufacturer, once considered too small to be regarded as a competitor by larger businesses, become the only major cutting tool manufacturer in Australia, competing globally with the world’s best? The pursuit of excellence has paid off for Sutton Tools, a multi-award winning Australian manufacturing icon that now exports 50% of its Australian manufactured products globally and is the preferred brand for the IPH Group, France’s largest distributor of industrial tools. The company also supplies Rolls Royce in Romania, Triumph Motorcycles in Thailand, Moog Aerospace in the Philippines, and Foxconn in China. Sutton Tools is typical of successful Australian companies that understand the challenges faced when market demand or conditions change, or when opportunities are presented and decisive action is needed. The business is a textbook case for study by any manufacturing business that wants to stay ahead of the competition, while developing a…

AM refers to methods that generate three-dimensional structures layer by layer. Each AM technology is compatible with the specific form of the raw input material, which may be in liquid, powder and sheet form. AM processes are not subject to the constraints associated with traditional manufacturing methods and provide significant opportunities for the design of novel geometries and complex structures, such as cellular structures in particular. Cellular structures possess a number of properties compared to solid structures. For example, the design freedom offered by AM may be used to enhance the strength-to-weight ratio of structural components by transforming solid geometry into a cellular structure or space-filling hollow sections of the model with a cellular structure. The cellular structure within the model may be useful in distributing the loads evenly compared to a hollow model while conforming to the geometric boundaries of the object. This article discusses some of the basic concepts behind the metallic lattice structures manufactured using selective laser melting (SLM)…

Established in 1886, Varley is one of Australia’s oldest, most advanced engineering and manufacturing companies. The group manufactures and sells world-class custom emergency service, health, education and rescue vehicles; defence ambulances and arms storage facilities; and industrial and recreational electric vehicles. Its electric vehicles — sold under the EMC Electric Vehicles brand name — include golf carts, resort vehicles, industrial materials-handling vehicles, and utility carts, as well as parts and accessories for each vehicle type. Facing strong competition in the electric vehicle marketplace, Varley needed to find a way to differentiate its range of vehicles and related products. Following a market review that included researching competitors in the US, the company embarked on a digital transformation project — at the centre of which was the creation of an eCommerce option to help stay ahead of the competition. “Varley has five or six key competitors in Australia within the electric vehicle marketplace alone,” says Dean Wiggins, Marketing Coordinator at Varley Group. “So, it’s important to stay a step…

As a longstanding industry leader and innovator in the world of metalworking, Iscar has taken the IQ concept of machining intelligently even further by applying logical improvements to tool development. The result is the LogIQ range of tooling solutions that both predicts and fulfils customer needs. LogIQ represents a smart logical progression in a series of strategic moves to implement Industry 4.0 standards while ensuring continuity and stability. Industry 4.0 directives – to integrate interoperability, technical task assistance and decentralised decision-making into factory practices – challenge machining centres to review their operations and adopt procedures to meet these objectives. Machining logically responds to this need. Iscar provides the tools to make it happen. LogIQ applications have created new tool families, upgraded existing lines, and inspired innovative product ranges to maximise equipment utilisation and optimise performance. Listening to customer concerns and staying ahead of market developments, Iscar’s product managers, research & development (R&D) engineers and designers have combined their expertise and experience to develop highly effective and logical tool solutions that meet today’s machining centre demands. In an industry where…

In his best-selling 2000 book, Malcolm Gladwell defined ‘The Tipping Point’ as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point”. By that definition, direct metal printing (DMP) is standing on the precipice, as it moves rapidly from prototyping to production for mission-critical, risk-averse applications in defence and aerospace, where nothing is left to chance. An example of this mainstream acceptance is a long-term partnership between 3D Systems and Thales Alenia Space to leverage DMP for aerospace components. Based in Toulouse, France, Thales Alenia Space is one of the leading aerospace suppliers in the world, with revenues topping €2bn in 2014. The company has 7,500 employees in eight countries, specialising in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and orbital infrastructures. The collaboration between Thales Alenia Space and 3D Systems can be seen in the production of antenna brackets (190mm x 230mm x 290mm) for a geostationary telecommunications satellite. DMP is now qualified and fully available for Thales Alenia Space’s titanium aerospace applications. Today, for certain products like the satellites, 80%…

The new Lincoln Spirit 400 machine – now operating in the company’s 400sqm plate-processing facility – was specified to deliver industry-best standards of cut quality on standard and specialty steels, including stainless steels and heavy-duty chromium carbide protective plates up to 60mm thick. According to TW Woods’ Managing Director Tom Woods, high-quality, wear and impact-resistant materials are now in high demand as coal and mineral processing plants place new emphasis on long-life products that avoid delays and breakdowns as mines step up production. The same quality, traceability and accountability standards are being required by private and state organisations involved in the energy, marine, oil & gas and defence sectors, where safety and durability are paramount. The investment in state-of-the-art plasma cutting technology has also been complemented by the installation of a new Truflow spray booth and bake oven to deliver best-quality protective finishes for customers in industries including defence, energy, manufacturing, mining, minerals-processing, materials-handling, metals, process engineering, and water and…

In October Penguin Composites had a major win for the business and for Tasmanian manufacturing when it signed an three-year, $8m contract with Thales Australia to produce bonnets and other components for the Hawkei protected mobility vehicle. The deal represents the company’s first major defence related contract and it is expected to create around 15 jobs at its factory in the town of Penguin. Christopher Pyne, the Federal Minister for Defence Industry, congratulated Penguin Composites on the contract and said it would provide a significant boost to Tasmania’s share of the nation’s defence investment. “This contract will not only create new jobs in Tasmania, it will also involve the upskilling of existing personnel to help deliver this work,” said Minister Pyne. “This is a textbook example of how Australian small-to-medium enterprises are building their capabilities and contributing to our sovereign defence industry capability.” Thales signed a $1.3bn contract in October 2015 to supply 1,100 Hawkei vehicles and more than 1,000 trailers, and is now ramping up for low-rate production.…

In this report, certain generic words such as product and others are used. However it should always be understood that, while manufacturing terminology may be used, the ideas described are equally applicable to service organisations. They may also cover specific elements of a business process, rather than simply the whole business. Many people have the impression that mass customisation is about mass production, and through some magical process allows an unlimited number of variations to be offered to the customer. This is wrong. Mass customisation is about tailoring the offering to the customer, while retaining the lower costs per item that are offered by mass production. This allows SMEs to complete with larger enterprises. Mass customisation is also highly data-driven. Consequently, it is relevant to the ongoing developments in the field of Industry 4.0. From pull to push, and back again Before industrialisation, everything was craft production,…

Following many years working in the sheet metal industry, Jon Flynn founded Wildcat Industries around 10 years ago. Based in Dandenong, Victoria, the business now employs 20 people across four divisions: high-tolerance sheet metal work; architectural facade work; the manufacture of high-tech wood and gas flue systems; and most recently, Wildcat wood-fired pizza ovens. While the architectural division services clients throughout Australia, the sheet metal work is predominantly Melbourne-based. Wildcat offers custom perforated panels to the architectural, building, construction, interior design and landscaping industry. Flynn already had extensive experience dealing with Applied Machinery having, in his own words, “virtually bought every single piece of equipment to date” from them. “The Applied Machinery people look after me as though they are part of my business,” says Flynn. “The service, support and warranty are very important for me and Applied excel in this area. So the decision to buy a Yawei fibre laser from Applied Machinery was both a…