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ACS is a premier provider of industrial automation, control systems and services in Australia. The company provides industry-leading value-add engineering services with expertise in power control, electrical installation, safety, network studies, packaging and power conditioning that meets critical measures for operational excellence, application knowledge and customer satisfaction. ACS has a well-established competency in motor control and software to help customers understand and implement these intelligent capabilities in a way to help generate value for their organisations. The MCC is destined for an explosives manufacturing plant in Eastern Europe and features the complete Rockwell Automation Connected Components range, including E300 Electronic Overloads and PowerFlex 525 and 753 drives all on an Ethernet backbone. “Customers’ requirements are changing and they are looking for motor control solutions that can integrate with their existing systems and provide advanced diagnostic capabilities,” explained Andrew Taylor, Engineering & Operations Manager at ACS. “The Centerline 2500 meets these requirements and provides an efficient and effective solution.”…

This is the view of Dr Michael Myers OAM, and I agree with him. There are very few real STEM activities available to schools today which can deliver long-term and lasting STEM educational outcomes. Dr Myers established Re-Engineering Australia (or REA as it is more commonly referred to) 20 years ago because, as an engineer himself, he saw the education system wasn’t delivering enough students with the appropriate skills to become engineers. Last year, the Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO, warned that: “The enemy of our future prosperity is complacency. Past investments in skills development have underpinned our strong economy and enviable lifestyle, which in turn have diminished our sense of urgency. While our school system remains above average among…

These variables are anything but inconsequential to the flavour, colour and body of the wine, and can be fascinating to learn about. Yet short of walking through a vineyard with surveying poles and kneeling to rub earth between your fingers, it can be challenging to get a comprehensive picture of terroir to fully appreciate the nuances at play in your glass. This was a problem for Ten Minutes by Tractor, a winery on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, that wanted to give its patrons a deeper understanding of its wines. Ten Minutes by Tractor is made up of three vineyards located ten minutes apart, with widely different environmental characteristics that deliver vastly distinctive wines. The winery’s goal is to add value to its wine tour experience wherever possible by sharing its knowledge of wine making with its visitors. Yet verbally explaining the…

Manufacturers today live in a very competitive, price-sensitive and crowded world. Companies that operate in developed economies can no longer compete on cost alone and are looking at how to achieve a more stable revenue forecast. The need to differentiate from competitors is also a key priority. One way this can be done is to look at servitisation (the shift from selling just a product to selling a product and a service) as a way to provide a complete solution to customers. Many of the companies I speak to are investing in disruption and innovation, and they aren’t doing it merely from a new product development perspective but something far more advanced. They are going from a ‘make and sell’ business model and evolving it into one that increasingly adopts and embraces services, which in turn helps build long-lasting customer relationships. Why manufacturers are servitising their businesses The main benefit for companies adopting servitisation…

Despite being born with cerebral palsy and a number of ongoing health issues, Tim began learning to swim at the age of four, and began swimming competitively when he was 10. Contests and medals culminated in his selection for the Australian Paralympics team at the Rio games in 2016. Tim came away with three medals, including gold in the S9 100m freestyle. The success story continued at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, where he won the gold medal in S9 100m freestyle and Gold in SB8 100m breaststroke. In 2017 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Now Tim has the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in his sights, and he is being supported BY one of AMTIL’s CEO Groups as sponsors. New Touch is one of the members of that CEO Group, and Tim’s visit was a chance to have a look round the factory and get an understanding of what the company does. “It was great to have Tim…

May marked the longest run of expanding or stable conditions for the Australian PMI since 2005, with the longest positive run being 50 continuous months from July 2001 to July 2005. Five of the seven activity sub-indexes in the Australian PMI expanded in May. New orders edged up 0.8 points to 62.4, indicating healthy demand and a strong likelihood of further near-term growth, while sales levels were stable (down 12.1 points to 50.4). Seven of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded in May (based on trend data), with the wood & paper products sub-sector’s stable conditions the only exception (down 0.6 points to 49.4). Sub-sectors providing manufactured goods for large transport projects and the construction sector continue to report very strong levels of activity: petroleum, coal & chemicals (down 0.9 points to 64.2); metal products (down 0.2 points to 61.4); machinery & equipment (down 0.3…

Budget papers released on 8 May reveal that R&D Tax Incentive claimants including SMEs and the start-up sector may be faced with additional compliance burdens. Under the new measures, which come into effect on 1 July, there will be additional funding for enforcement activity allocated to the Tax Office and AusIndustry. Jack Qi, Director of Tax Services and R&D specialist at William Buck, says that while at first glance SMEs and start-ups may have been spared the brunt of the tightening of the R&D Tax Incentive, compliance changes could have the biggest impact. “Given that such activity has already ramped up in recent years, any further focus will mean it’s more important than ever to prepare robust R&D claims and quality, contemporaneous internal documentation that will withstand scrutiny,” says Qi. “From a cash flow perspective, we anticipate potential delays in companies receiving their R&D refunds until any review is finalised.” Qi warns the Government against making any more changes to the R&D Tax…

Kennewell CNC Machining Based in Murray Bridge, 76kms east of Adelaide, Kennewell CNC Machining is a precision engineering company that has successfully launched a project supported by the Government of South Australia’s Regional Development Fund, integrating a Fanuc Robot with an Okuma Genos M560V vertical machining centre, and also purchasing an Okuma LB3000EX-II-MYWx800 multi-axis CNC lathe with OSP-P300L Control. Established in 1995, Kennewell had already been an important Okuma customer for many years. The company’s Managing Director Brett Kennewell had served his apprenticeship on Okuma machines more than 25 years ago. “The Okuma machines are robustly built for stability and precision - as an example our 11 year-old machine, is still operating and is as accurate today as it was on installation,” says Brett. “Okuma personnel do everything they can to assist us with technical advice and support which is readily available locally and remotely. The ongoing training is a key factor in the relationship with this partner as we strive…

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 –…