Member News

New demands have affected and influenced almost every element of a technology process: from planning and communication networks, to machinery – and even cutting tools, which are arguably the most conservative element in a manufacturing system. Cutting tool producers need to react appropriately and provide products according to these new requirements. Digitisation in the cutting tool field is characterised by two emerging trends. The first trend is to enable the cutting tool to communicate with advanced machinery and cyber-physical production systems in order to advise about variables such as tool wear, predictable tool life, total time of the tool involved in cutting, and so on. The second trend relates to the information about the tool that should be provided by a cutting tool manufacturer. Manufacturers are expected to supply data about their products, and catalogs and guides have long been an integral part of the product itself. The…

Plastool was established by Bert Down in the 1950s, originally operating out of Box Hill, Victoria. The company has undergone significant growth over the years, and now employs a staff of 14 at a purpose-built 1,600sqm facility in Mordialloc, in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. The business remains very much a family operation, with Bert’s sons Gary and Andrew now serving as Chief Executive Officer and Manufacturing Director respectively. Plastool provides high-precision 3D CNC machining, engineering and toolmaking solutions. This includes new tooling, repairs, and modifications to all types of moulds. The company’s primary focus is on the food packaging, aerospace, defence, automotive, housewares, medical, electronics, building and construction industries. It has now expanded into thin-wall plastic and composite tooling. According to Kieron Donoghue, Project Manager at Plastool, the secret to Plastool’s success has always been good leadership. “Gary and Andrew Down always research the future trends of the market and pursue them,” he explains. “They are willing to reinvest any profits back into the company. This includes investing in new machinery and…

AMT: You’ve been CEO at ANCA for about a year and a half now. How’s it gone so far? Christopher Hegarty: In general, very positive. It’s a great company, fantastic products. We have more recently faced some tough market conditions. That’s driven by the end of the smartphone boom; trade issues between China and the US aren’t helping, and Europe’s got its own struggles, so people are cautious. But we have some fantastic new products in the pipeline that will really grow our business, so I’m looking forward to the next upturn. ANCA is a machine tool manufacturer, we make tool and cutter grinders, automation systems and metal fabrication, but our customers have demand for more products than that: other machines, other process steps. There’s a lot we can do to help around integration and automation, delivering an end-to-end tool production system, with no manual operations at all. That’s the vision. That’s what we’re aiming for. And the beauty of that is it’s a much bigger market than just the machine part; it’s highly attractive for…

Australia is continuing to closely monitor the ongoing outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (COVID-19). Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. While the majority of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported from Mainland China, cases have been reported in many other countries and regions, including Iran, Italy and South Korea. Cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Australia. You can access the latest information on COVID-19 from the Australian Government Department of Health. Currently in Australia, people most at risk of contracting the virus are people who have either been in a high-risk country or region recently, or been in close contact with someone who is a confirmed case of coronavirus. Managing the risks from COVID-19 The model Work…

The revised Bill which will be considered by Parliament early this year (and if enacted expected to apply to all claims from 1 July 2019), could be a significant barrier for the growth of many companies such as the manufacturing sector that rely on government support like the R&D Tax Incentive for much-needed cash-injections. Disappointingly, the proposed R&D Tax Incentive changes could decrease the benefits available to manufacturing companies performing legitimate R&D activities in Australia. The most impacted would be companies with an aggregated turnover (i.e. which includes the turnover of all grouped entities) above $20m that will be subjected to a new more complicated R&D intensity test. This test, if it results in a low ‘R&D intensity’ score (‘R&D intensity’ measured by eligible R&D deductions divided by total company expenses) could…

In the packaging industry, floor space costs money; the wider the machine, the fewer lines you can operate. Triangle, a Chicago-based manufacturer of vertical form fill seal machines primarily for the food packaging industry, was presented a unique challenge by its salad industry customers. Triangle’s research with clients revealed they needed a high production rate on each line, but a lower machine speed to allow leafy greens to fall nicely in the bag. To answer that need, Triangle’s research & development team designed its new Compact Sanitary Bagger (CSB), which is narrow enough to install two machines per line in a twin configuration. Triangle knows the demands of the food packaging industry very well. A sanitary design is a necessity, so the Triangle team knew they’d build a solid stainless steel frame, fully welded, with round bars so…

Their 3D printing bureau offers services such as rapid prototyping, functional production items and short-run manufacturing. Due to customer demand they also offer reverse engineering, as well as 3D design, equipment hire and training. The business was established in Sydney in 2013. It was Australia’s first ever 3D printing retail shop and the fifth worldwide. The business expanded to Perth a year later, and then to Melbourne in 2017. In December, Howard and Stuart realised their vision to open a factory of the future where they specialise in mass personalisation – that is, functional items personalised for customers. Repeat short-run products can save customers large production set-up costs and cut down on waste with a just-in-time production approach. Howard and Stuart’s factory of the future vision was realised with a world-class additive manufacturing solution supplied by John Hart: an EOS P396 industrial 3D printer, capable of producing thousands of high-quality plastic parts per week. “We purchased the EOS because…

According to RAM3D, the world has, at long last, woken up to the benefits of additive manufacturing. For more than 10 years the company has been leading the way in metal 3D printing in the Southern Hemisphere, and prints parts for a range of industries worldwide. The sectors it serves include aerospace, defence, marine, food manufacturing, industrial and speciality. Many of the industries that it engages with have Non-Disclosure Agreements in place, meaning RAM3D can’t usually talk about its clients or the parts that it prints for them. However it has been allowed to discuss its working relationship with Oceania Defence. An early adopter of additive manufacturing technology, Oceania Defence has been able to secure patents on firearms suppressors made using metal 3D printing. The company supplies suppressors for defence and law enforcement clients all over the world. Health & safety regulations around the world are driving the demand for suppressors as regulators and firearm users look to reduce significant hearing risks to themselves and others. Oceania Defence has been working in collaboration with RAM3D…

Aurora developed and flew the first 3D-printed jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), capitalising on the strength of fused deposition modelling (FDM) ASA thermoplastic for the main wing and fuselage structures. The aircraft’s main purpose was to demonstrate the speed at which a design can go from concept to a flying aircraft. It also illustrates the validity of AM for flight-capable parts, beyond the traditional role of prototyping. While AM methods and applications may differ among these companies, the reason they use it is common: it provides multiple benefits that collectively improve their bottom line. That might come in the form of meeting delivery schedules, improving performance, reducing waste, optimising the supply chain, or a combination of the above. From rapid prototyping to flight parts Since its inception, a common use case for AM has been rapid prototyping, allowing aerospace companies to validate fit, form and function…

This is particularly true of solid carbide tools (round tools), which are primarily used for holemaking, milling and threading. Estimates calculated by tool specialists Walter indicates that these tools already make up around half of the machining applications in the automotive industry today. Depending on the characteristics of the component, drilling and threading work with round tools influences approximately 15% to 50% of the total costs per part. Being able to reduce costs once again here remains a key factor for success. All aspects of machining The transition from combustion engines to electric motors or other alternative drives, which is gaining momentum as a result of tighter environmental regulations, touches every area of the automotive industry – right up to every last detail in the production processes. Walter has been on hand to actively accompany the sector through these changes from the very start: the company presents car manufacturers and suppliers around the world with a comprehensive portfolio of tools and services, which is…

Headquartered near Barcelona, in the Catalonia region, Vilardell specialises in the production of precision parts with a high added value. The company comprises two divisions: the Medical Division and the Industrial Division. Jordi Roy Torras, Manager of the Industrial Division, says Vilardell has specialised in the production of highly complex parts for some time. “This is our core competence. Something we have developed year after year and part by part,” he explains. “We employ 165 staff and they are very important to us. Almost every day, we are faced with new challenges. Even with the best machines, we wouldn’t be able to tackle these challenges, if we didn’t have such a strong team! “Our customers know that they can count on us and on our expertise when it comes to meeting any machining challenge. We have to keep our minds open and focus on innovation as one of our key values. Each and every one of us has to remain innovative, irrespective of his or her position…

While the majority of Australian PMI respondents remain concerned about drought, weak demand from the construction sector and a general slowdown in the economy, coronavirus emerged as a concern for respondents for the first time in February, impacting negatively on the exports of Australian manufactured goods. “The manufacturing sector recorded a fourth consecutive month of contraction with the impacts of drought and the devastating bushfires continuing to be a drag on the sector,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “The disruptive effects of the coronavirus, including on supply chains, are deepening and adding to the slowdown that has been in train since the closing months of 2019. The large food & beverages sector was the only sector that expanded in February with all other sectors experiencing steeper falls than in January.” Six of the seven activity indices in the Australian PMI contracted in February, with employment the only index being…

Perth-based project development company Neometals has developed a patent-pending process that converts aluminosilicate residue – a waste material produced when extracting lithium from ore concentrates – into an advanced material know as synthetic zeolites. Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as molecular sieves, sorbents and catalysts in applications such as gas separation, water purification and green chemistry. Chris Reed, Managing Director of Neometals, explained that his company’s research has shown a gap in the market and high potential to add upstream value to the lithium production chain. “Australian mining companies involved in the lithium production chain have the opportunity to convert aluminosilicate residue to zeolites to offset production costs, add value to a waste material which is abundant in the mining sector, and at the same time mitigate issues with environmental responsibility,” said Reed. In partnership with QUT, Neometals plans to advance the proof-of-concept zeolite synthesis method, which has been successfully demonstrated at bench scale. Over the next two years, QUT will be establishing and road testing a digitalised…