Member News

With 2020 dominated by COVID-19 lockdowns, AMTIL’s events calendar has been confined to online gatherings, with our Virtual Meeting webinar series proving a great success. However, as Australia begins to open up with the virus largely contained, it has now become possible to resume holding social events such as the AMTIL Golf Day and networking sessions. “Like everyone, we had to adapt quickly when the pandemic hit, and we got really nice feedback for things like the webinars we ran,” said Kim Banks, Events Manager at AMTIL. “But face-to-face social gatherings are very important to AMTIL, so we’re thrilled to be able to start running these events again. And we’re looking forward to catching up with our members too.” With the pandemic still highly active overseas, appropriate measures will be in place at all upcoming AMTIL events to ensure they are are conducted safely. Moreover, with the ongoing possibility of further outbreaks in Australia for the foreseeable future, AMTIL may be forced to make changes…

As COVID-19 infection rates drop dramatically, Victorians welcome back normality. Or something close to it. Since 11:59pm, 8 November, metropolitan Melbourne entered the third stage of reopening, in line with regional Victoria. Manufacturers, like all employers, must be vigilant in managing COVID risks before re-opening the doors. Manufacturing workers cannot work from home, and the layout of a factory may make physical distancing difficult to achieve. So, what should a business do? Get a COVIDSafe Plan! Every Victorian workplace must have a COVIDSafe Plan based on six key principles: Physical distancing, where work is performed 1.5m apart, and the 4sqm rule is applied. Continue to work from home, if possible. Wear face masks with the provision of face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE). An employee must wear face masks. Good hygiene practices by supplying effective sanitiser, ensuring frequent surface cleaning. Keep records of all people (workers, visitors, customers, suppliers) who enter the workplace. Avoid interaction in enclosed spaces, and where possible enhance air flow. Create workforce bubbles to minimise cross-infection between the workforce, staggering work…

AMT: How long has Hargo been in business? FG: My dad Heinz Gogol started the business in 1976. Dad came from a watchmaking background in Germany, and he started the business as an engineering shop specialising in small components. I joined in 1991 after I completed my apprenticeship in electrical fitting with Siemens, manufacturing high and low-voltage switchboards. AMT: How has the business grown over the years? FG: Like a lot of family businesses, Hargo has grown conservatively over the years. When I joined in 1991 Hargo employed around eight people including the family, and by 2015 we had grown to 20 staff. In 2015 Hargo established an advisory board to help with expansion and direction of the business and has since doubled in size, in both turnover and staff. Up until 1995, Hargo’s machinery still consisted of sliding head cam autos. The purchase of our first CNC, a Start SR16, was made, the benefits…

Since 1992, Milltech has progressively grown to become Australia’s leading engineering bar processor, now employing in excess of 80 technicians, production and administrative staff located across four manufacturing plants around Australia. Producing more than 30,000 tonnes of engineering bars per annum, the company offers a comprehensive range of steel processing and engineering services using world leading processing technologies. Through ongoing investment in world-class advanced technology such as the Superquench continuous heat treatment line for bars up to 150mm, as well as state-of-the-art Marcrome continuous chrome plating lines, Milltech has achieved leading edge manufacturing status. However, the company did not have an ERP system to match its automation project. “We wanted a modern, flexible system that would capture information in real time, to support us as we move forward with Industry 4.0 to provide further efficiencies,” says Andrew Wilson, Business Manager at Milltech. “SYSPRO will assist us in not only retaining our position as the market leader, but will help us to increase the gap…

The COVID-19 and the Australian Industrial Workplace survey, conducted by Nirovision late this year, reveals that while only half of manufacturers (54%) conduct regular temperature measurements of employees, 67% of those who measure temperatures check these twice a day or more, mainly through a thermal gun (82%). The survey finds that a COVID-19 outbreak would have either a significant or very significant impact on the operations of 64% of manufacturers. Around half of respondents indicated that their greatest personal concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic were getting sick from COVID personally (58%), the probability that they would pass COVID-19 on to others (51%), and impacts to or loss of business (49%). The provision of hand sanitiser/wipes (63%), encouragement of face mask use (60%), and social distancing (58%) are the most implemented procedures to combat a potential COVID-19 outbreak amongst those surveyed. “Most manufacturers have done a really good job tackling COVID, although naturally the best plans devised by government and management groups usually have a degree of…

Ampcontrol Burn Brite Pty Ltd (Burn Brite) is a member company of Ampcontrol Pty Ltd. Based in Ringwood in Melbourne’s east, Burn Brite is a designer and integrated manufacturer of lighting and power supply systems. It supplies to the underground coal, tunneling and infrastructure markets throughout Australia and South-East Asia. Employing 40 people, Burn Brite has been in operation for 63 years. Burn Brite’s operation is a classic manufacturing operation. From raw materials such as polymers, metal sheeting and electronic components, Burn Brite processes, fabricates and assembles to detailed in-house designs that require strict Group 1 and 2 certification compliance. Most of these products are safety-critical in their application. Burn Brite is essentially an independent operation, providing sales, R&D and manufacturing functions. As Burn Brite’s products have been designed in-house, the role of R&D is critical to the ongoing success of the business. The challenge Burn Bite planned to design and develop new integrated safety…

As the country’s leading producer of recreational vehicles (RVs) and caravans, Jayco is is an iconic Australian manufacturing business. Since commencing operations in 1975, the company has built more than 200,000 RVs, all manufactured in Victoria. Still a locally-owned family business, Jayco today employs 900 staff, most of them at its manufacturing base in Dandenong South, Victoria. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Australia early in 2020, official measures aimed at containing its spread had a significant impact on Jayco’s operations. There was also understandable concern among staff about the risks posed by the virus, both for their safety and that of their dependants. The situation worsened in August, as a second wave of infections surged in Victoria. With the State Government imposing Stage Four restrictions to combat the outbreak, Jayco was forced to close down its manufacturing plant for eight weeks. “Stage Four restrictions were pretty tough,” says Gerry Ryan OAM, Jayco Australia’s owner, founder and…

After receiving the highest ever ranking for an additive manufacturer on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies, GoProto has capitalised on this momentum by expanding even further into the digital manufacturing landscape. The acquisition of 3D Systems’ Australian facility, the largest digital manufacturing service bureau in the region, coupled with the earlier acquisition of WYSIWYG 3D, sees GoProto become the largest digital manufacturer in the Australian market. Further emphasising its global reach, GoProto’s North American facility in San Diego, California, has also installed two new HP 5210 Multi Jet Fusion printers. Adding these two high-productivity 3D printers to its existing six 4200 MJF printers increases GoProto’s production capacity at that location by approximately 50%. As of 1 December, GoProto acquired 3D Systems’ Australian on-demand manufacturing facility, the largest 3D digital manufacturer in the APAC region. Located in Melbourne and commissioned just two years ago, the state-of-the-art facility houses a full range of 3D Systems production-ready 3D printers and a highly experienced management and…

The Mazak VARIAXIS C-600, which is the successor machine to the highly successful Mazak VARIAXIS j-600/5X, is being marketed at an attractive price point to provide a high-performance and cost-effective five-axis solution. The VARIAXIS C-600 is characterised by its highly agile performance, with no compromise on rigidity. The compact machine, capable of machining workpieces up to 730mm in diameter x 450mm in height and 500kg in weight, has been designed with a large machining envelope and a high-rigidity structure, featuring a 600mm fully-supported trunnion table, with roller gear cam on the B- and C-axes. Exceptional high-speed performance is delivered with 42 metres/min rapid traverse rates in the X-,Y- and Z-axes, and a chip-to-chip time of just 4.5 seconds to reduce non-cutting time for faster cycle times. Most importantly, the new Mazak VARIAXIS C-600 comes with a class-leading range of specification options, enabling users to configure the CNC machine tool to match their specific application. The machine’s high-rigidity spindle can perform heavy-duty cutting of steel,…

The $200m investment, leveraging cash and other contributions from industry, research organisations and the Federal and State Governments, has financed more than 40 transformative and industry-led projects that will help increase the global competitiveness of the Australian manufacturing industry and incentivise others to similarly invest. Of the 40 projects commenced, six projects have been completed so far, allowing the businesses to evolve and strengthen their positions in their markets: SPEE3D “Machine vision for Industry 4.0 high-speed 3D printing” as well as the follow-on project “Automated part repair using 3D scanning and supersonic 3D deposition” SuperCool “Smart electric compressor for refrigeration and air conditioning on electric vehicles” BluGlass “High performance normally OFF GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT)” RUAG Australia “Application of additive metal technology to operational aircraft” Mineral Technologies “Revolutionising Mineral Separation using Additive Manufacturing” IMCRC also acted as a catalyst for broader sector spin out investments including the $18m Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing…

SHOC is an Australian-owned and operated business that provides sports industry after-market polycarbonate helmet visors for American football and lacrosse. The company has been providing its products for just over five years. The challenge SHOC’s 2.0 Lightning Visor football-helmet visor was suffering some fitting issues, which were causing premature cracking of the visor. The reason for this was that the 2.0 Lightning product was designed as a one-size-fits-all visor. While it fitted most helmets okay, on one helmet, the Riddell Speedflex, it had to be bent to fit the mask. This was a major issue because the Speedflex is the most popular helmet in the sport currently, meaning failure issues for the visor were exacerbated. SHOC pulled the 2.0 Lightning visor after several issues arose and the company did not want to risk any further problems for its end customers. The solution SHOC engaged the team at product design and development specialists ONEPOINTSIX in late 2018 to begin the redesign…

All seven activity indices in the Australian PMI declined from the October results, but four remained in expansion in November (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with higher results indicating a faster rate of expansion). Finished stocks fell into contraction (down 6.9 points to 44.3) while exports were largely stable across most manufacturing sectors (down 2.7 points to 50.0). Four of the six manufacturing sectors in the Australian PMI expanded in November, but the building materials, wood, furniture & other products sector (down 11.7 points to 43.8) and the large food & beverages sector (down 20.8 points to 43.1) slid steeply into contraction – the latter’s large decline due to various factors including falling supermarket sales, low demand in tourism regions and flat export markets. “The manufacturing sector was broadly stable in November after a return to positive territory in October,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “Growth was strongest in the diverse textiles, clothing, footwear, paper & printing group, the…

“Stainless” and “corrosion” steel are generally used synonymously, along with other terms such as rust-resistant steel, inox steel, and non-corrosive steel. Stainless, originally meaning “free of red rust stains”, was developed as a result of iron oxidising. Corrosion is caused by chemical and physical-chemical reactions. There are different types of corrosion. Stainless steel can be divided into the following groups, according to their main functional features: Corrosion-resistant steel: resistant to corrosion under normal conditions. Oxidation or rust-resistant steel: resistant to corrosion under high temperatures in aggressive environments. Heat-resistant or high-temperature steel that does not change its strength under high temperature stress. Therefore, corrosion-resistant steel can be considered a type of stainless steel. The functional features of these stainless-steel groups determine the choice of a steel grade as a material for cutting tool design. For a manufacturer involved in machining stainless steel, the key…