January 9, 2020
Already examples are emerging, such as the 3D-printed titanium brake caliper for the Bugatti Chiron. Produced as a single unit from titanium through the layering process in the build chamber of an SLM 500 multi-laser machine, it features a tensile strength of 1,250 N/sqmm and a material density over 99.7%. On testing the parts, Bugatti found the 3D-printed components sustained strength and retained stiffness amid the high temperatures witnessed at the speeds of more than 375km/hour achieved by these high-performance sports cars. When BMW redesigned the folding mechanism of the BMW i8 Roadster and built it in the metal-powder bed fusion chamber of an SLM Solutions laser machine, it found the part to be 10 times stiffer than the plastic injection moulded counterpart. It was also 44% lighter as it was built from AlSi10Mg. Traditionally the folding mechanism of the i8 Roadster’s soft top is cumbersome, loading the car with unwanted additional weight, and taking up boot space. The new folding mechanism reduces all of…
January 9, 2020
The metalworking industry adopted high-speed machining (HSM) in the 1990s. This method was engrained in various industrial branches and caused significant changes in technology and machine tool engineering. The well-known advantages of HSM are repeatedly cited in various books, guides, magazines and other sources of information. Recently, there has been a significant interest in accurate HSM and, more specifically, in precision and other characteristics of cutting tools and toolholding devices intended for this purpose. Accurate (or precise) machining means maintaining repeatable strict tolerances during cutting operations. The level of such a “strictness” depends on the machining method – for example milling, turning, or drilling – and the type of operation: rough, semi-finish or…
January 9, 2020
Manufacturers and machinery engineers in these sectors are adopting engineering plastics* to maximise advantages in applications where outstanding hygiene, corrosion and deterioration resistance, low friction, automation and safety are critical, according to engineering plastics innovator Laurie Green, Managing Director of Cut To Size Plastics. “Australia and New Zealand are starting to catch up with pan-Asia and global trends towards the use of engineering plastics in expanding uses to which they are eminently suited,” says Green. “Metals are great for some applications, but manufacturers, operations managers, processors and infrastructure specifiers here are waking up to opportunities to optimise their low-maintenance infrastructure and automation applications with plastics.” Cut To Size has more than 40 years’ experience in engineering plastics applications throughout the Asia-Pacific, and distributes advanced materials from international leaders in plastics technology including Licharz, Gehr and Beck-Wefapress. The company has just launched a new website to help groups such as engineers, operations managers, safety managers and others to decide whether…
January 9, 2020
In agriculture, most production processes have gone from manual manufacturing to industrial production. Agricultural product that used to be processed with simple farm machinery is now undertaken using equipment that is often highly automated, in processes that have to be designed along rational lines. This applies to all areas of agriculture, from tractors to combine harvesters and driverless machines for many different applications, but also to comparatively small pieces of equipment and accessories. As a specialist in tube processing machines and systems, transfluid has already been delivering its solutions to this sector for many years. “The developments are very exciting and we are happy to continue to contribute to that”, says Stefanie Flaeper, Managing Director at transfluid. “When we look at the tube processing for the manufacturing of agricultural machinery we see two key types: heavy tubes and profiles, that are often used in the construction of frames; and on the other hand the large hydraulics systems.” Hydraulics is a method…
January 6, 2020
With new orders again in negative territory in December and trending down since March, the Ai Group believes that current weak conditions for manufacturers are likely to continue into the New Year, with the strong food & beverages sector a notable exception. Among the six manufacturing sectors in the Australian PMI, only food & beverages expanded in December (up 0.6 points to 61.8) while machinery & equipment (down 1.0 points to 50.4) and the chemicals sector (down 0.9 points to 49.3) were broadly stable. The metals products (up 0.6 points to 45.0), building materials, wood & other manufacturing (down 3.4 points to 38.1) and TCF, paper & printing (down 0.1 points to 41.6) sectors all contracted again in December (according to trend data). “2019 closed on a disappointing note for Australian manufacturing with production and employment both weaker in…
December 19, 2019
Harrington Industries was established in 1919, originally trading as GA & L Harrington, named after its founding brothers. George Arthur (affectionately known as GA) and Len Harrington set up a general engineering shop in Ultimo, New South Wales. The company’s centenary marks the culmination of four generations under the Harrington family: GA’s son George Harrington joined in the late 1920s, and his son John Harrington started in 1959 and is now the company’s Chairman & Director; Len’s grandson Mark Bennett (Engineering Director) came onboard in 1974; and John’s sons Trent (who is now the Managing Director) and Marshall (Purchasing Director). Four generations in one Australian company may possibly represent an unrivalled feat. ‘Trusted for 100 years’ is the company creed, and that trust has been forged and repeatedly proven over the century. Since its first product – a rabbit trap for farmers – the company has been an active participant in many of the landmarks of the last century of Australian history. In…
December 19, 2019
Now in its fourth generation, Brent & Warburton continues to build on more than 100 years of knowledge and capability in machining, manufacturing, fabrication and fitting. Its Tomago workshop boasts six CNC lathes, six CNC mills, as well as a number of manual machines, fabrication and fitting facilities, along with six overhead cranes. An important factor behind Brent & Warburton’s longevity is its tradition of constantly striving to be a world-class manufacturer. This is also one of the factors behind the business’ recent purchase of a Mazak FJV60/80, a high-precision, high-productivity, double-column vertical machining centre with enhanced performance, intelligent functions and rigid machine construction. The Mazak FJV60/80’s special design ensures extremely high-precision machining over extended periods of operation by eliminating the spindle overhang often seen in C-frame vertical machining centres. Furthermore, its ergonomic design ensures convenient loading and unloading of large workpieces and overall ease of operation. Darcy Currey, General Manager at Brent & Warburton, spoke to AMT about the…
December 19, 2019
The German government has set itself the objective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Germany by 55% by 2030. This has a considerable impact on the development of machining tools, as new fields of application are emerging and existing ones need to be adapted. Alternative drives, new, lighter materials and concepts that save energy and resources are now more in demand than ever before. Developers see great potential in design modifications to tools, new coatings, new machining strategies and digital solutions which respond to the existing framework conditions in real time. Ramping milling cutters increase tool life by up to 200% The current trend is for new, lightweight aluminium-lithium alloys. These materials quickly overwhelm conventional tools. This results in an increasing demand for high-performance tools specifically designed for this range of applications. For instance, aircraft components made of aluminium alloys often have machining volumes of up to 90%. Depending on the required component geometry, numerous bevels and cavities need to be…
December 18, 2019
Stavar brings an impressive track record of manufacturing industry experience, having spent more than 16 years as General Manager at Sheetmetal Machinery Australia, a leading supplier of innovative high-precision sheetmetal machinery, based in Ferntree Gully, Victoria. She has been a member of the AMTIL Board for six years, and succeeds Paul Fowler, Managing Director of Dimac Tooling, who is stepping down having served as President since 2013. “I look forward to continuing the great work AMTIL is involved with, representing our members interests and supporting the current initiatives such as the AM Hub, Export Hub and the Entrepreneurs Programme,” said Stavar. “The Australian manufacturing industry is undergoing change and to remain competitive we need to become innovative, adaptive and flexible; embrace the latest technologies; and improve efficiencies, training and education to be the best we can be in the global economy. The AMTIL Board will focus on developing and supporting strong networks in helping businesses grow within the manufacturing sector.” Together with the AMTIL Board, Stavar will be responsible for providing strategic leadership over AMTIL’s full…
December 16, 2019
The tour offered some excellent insights into the ways that others are engaging in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, some of the general practices being implemented, and ideas regarding the future of the technology. We visited three sites: Bosch, FIT, and Toolcraft. Bosch – Integrating 3D printing The Bosch facility was a modern mass production site that utilised CNC machines, robots, and people all working together to produce three main parts: high-pressure fuel pumps, gearbox solenoids, and drive-by-wire throttle systems. Currently the facility only uses “digital twin” for very small production runs and compares the real run to the simulated production run. They do not digitally trace their production components. Bosch uses three main pieces of software for monitoring and reporting of the facility – these are Nexeed MES, PowerBI, and Tableau. With these packages they can monitor machine outputs, variations and downtime, and plan maintenance. They are in the early stages of applying machine learning to solve production issues pre-emptively. In the last three years Bosch has expanded its facility by adding in some…
December 12, 2019
According to Oxford Economics, which has just released a report on this subject, current estimates of electric vehicle market penetration over the next decade is expected to have a negative impact on machine tool demand, but not catastrophic. Those countries that have made a significant push towards e-mobility impacted the most. The importance of the automotive industry to machine tool manufacturers is highlighted by the fact that the automotive and automotive supplier industries made up 48.2% of German machine tool demand in 2015. The remaining demand is made up from a range of industries, such as metal products, precision & optical instruments and aerospace. In the US, although only 4% of machine tool demand comes directly from the automotive sector, 14% of demand comes from machine shops and nuts & bolts manufacturers with considerable secondary…
December 12, 2019
LaserBond is a specialist surface engineering company founded in 1992 that focuses on the development and application of materials, technologies and methodologies to increase the operating performance and wear life of capital-intensive machinery components. The company operates from facilities in New South Wales and South Australia. The exceptional growth of the company has been built on its pursuit of innovation and technology leadership in three fields of surface engineering: the tribology of wear and the performance of heavy industrial components; metallurgy and the science of high-performance materials; plus the optimisation of a wide range of materials and application methodologies. Tribology can be further defined as the science of rubbing interfacing surfaces in relative motion. It concentrates on contact mechanics of moving interfaces that generally involve energy dissipation and encompasses the study and application of friction,…
December 12, 2019
Meeting production requirements can often make it tough to schedule in downtime for essential compressed air system maintenance. However, following the maintenance schedule prescribed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is essential in order to ensure that a compressed air system continues to reliably produce high-quality compressed air. Failure to do so could lead to costly and unplanned downtime as well as premature wear of components and consumables. And together this could also have a negative impact on the expected life of the compressed air equipment. However, even if you follow the prescribed maintenance schedule, there will of course be larger maintenance jobs that need to be completed which take longer to do. The festive season often presents the ideal time. Holiday shutdown The festive season is one of the longest periods of time in the year when most manufacturers…