July 10, 2019
There are many machinability issues with stainless steel (ISO M) and HRSA and titanium (ISO S) materials. With regard to ISO M materials, machinability often decreases with a higher alloy content. And while chip control is fair in ferritic/martensitic materials, it becomes more complex in austenitic and duplex types. Perhaps most troublesome of all is that machining these materials creates high cutting forces in combination with built-up edge and work-hardened surfaces. The combination of these factors serves to compromise tool life. In terms of ISO S materials, the physical properties and machining behaviour of each varies considerably, due…
July 10, 2019
When we think of robots, we often think of either clunky metal frames that complete menial tasks, or something so human it is almost indistinguishable to the person standing next to you. Both appearances have their uses though, whether it’s for picking, packing and palletising in a manufacturing plant, or entertaining guests at an amusement park. Traditionally, robots have been large and noisy pieces of equipment, often posing potential safety risks to the workforce. A new breed of collaborative robots has changed this though, allowing machines to work side-by-side with human employees. This type of robot is now becoming increasingly commonplace on the plant floor, revolutionising the…
July 10, 2019
One customer is Anthony Machine, based in San Antonio, Texas. Since 1946, the job shop has served a variety of industries, including oil & gas, mining, transportation and power generation. With all that precision machining experience, there’s little that Anthony Machine can’t handle. However, after the company purchased a pair of NLX 3000 1250 universal turning centres from DMG MORI – the shop’s first Y-axis, live-tool lathes – Anthony Machine’s manufacturing team was challenged with making the most of that new investment. Kennametal Senior Sales Engineer Mark Davis was there to help. He explained to the team at Anthony Machine that the best way to reduce set-up times and maximise the new machines’ potential would be to equip them with Turret Adapted Clamping Units (TACUs) and KM quick-change toolholders. “The TACU system supports everything from KM32 up to KM63,” says Davis. “We offer blocks for both static and driven tools,…
July 10, 2019
Hadjar comes to the company with a wealth of international experience in product management, additive manufacturing and engineering, having spent more than 20 years in key leadership roles at US-company General Electric, with experience in the business units of GE Aviation, GE Oil & Gas, GE Power and GE Energy Management. SLM Solutions’ Supervisory Board strongly believes that Hadjar is ideally suited to lead the company as CEO, due to his breadth and depth of experience. With qualifications in the aerospace industry, Hadjar is keen to build on his experience in GE Aviation promoting the uptake of SLM Solutions systems in this sector. His background enables him to identify the limitations of traditional manufacturing in aerospace and aviation and the opportunities 3D metal printing presents. In a recent interview with 3D Printing Media Network, Hadjar discussed how the aerospace and aviation industries have been early adopters of the technology. Hadjar sees the role of SLM Solutions as building on the opportunities and advantages of additive manufacturing to this sector;…
July 4, 2019
For more than 35 years Austin has designed and engineered unique production and maintenance equipment including dump truck bodies, excavator buckets, water tanks and tyre handlers. Austin-designed equipment has given its customers significantly improved productivity and increased output through designs that have enhanced the operational efficiency and availability of site production equipment. The new dual-cell robotic welding system, as well as offering the obvious advantages of modern robotic welding technology, includes features to improve overall efficiency and product capabilities. A mobile gantry carrying two six-axis articulated arm robots, each interfaced with a digital pulse welding module, dominates the system. Mounted on rails, the double gantry provides 14m of longitudinal travel and 10m of lateral travel to service the two new side-by-side production cells. Vertical travel is 2m. The system includes both online and offline programming capabilities. Whereas the previous robot could only be programmed once the component was loaded into the cell, all necessary programming can…
July 4, 2019
As well as providing an array of personal protective gear and onsite materials, Bunzl also offers a selection of technical services that extends the business’s safety offering to deliver a complete, whole-of-site safety solution. It offers a range of options for businesses to confirm the safety of their sites, including equipment testing and servicing, site safety assessments and hands-on education courses to ensure that all staff are proficient in on-site safety. Bunzl Safety was acquired from Jeminex and had three separate companies which provided workwear, safety equipment, lifting and rigging products. All these three businesses were independent users of Pronto Xi business management solutions – leaving Bunzl Safety with the arduous task of running three distinct systems. This, combined with differing business rules and processes across the three divisions, created inefficiency,…
July 1, 2019
The mild contraction in the Australian PMI in June (down 3.3 points to 49.4) brings to an end 33 consecutive months of stable or positive results (50 points or higher, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the decrease) since August 2016. Of the seven activity indexes in the Australian PMI, only production (up 0.7 points to 51.9) and exports (up 2.8 points to 53.1) remained in expansion in June. The employment (down 5.5 points to 50.1), new orders (down 2.5 points to 49.8) and sales (down 0.8 points to 50.8) indices were broadly stable, while supplier deliveries (down 6.5 points to 47.1) and finished stocks (down 6.8 points to 44.0) contracted – possibly due to end-of-financial-year stock clearances. “Australia’s manufacturers reported the weakest conditions in almost three years in June,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “While the pace of growth has eased over the past year, the combination of the housing construction downturn, a slowing in…
June 27, 2019
Opportunity is dead. After being expected to survive for around 90 days, the Opportunity rover transmitted its last signal an incredible 14 years after it touched down on the Martian surface (a few weeks after its partner and identical twin, Spirit). Last contact with the iconic, 180kg vehicle was on 10 June 2018, before a global-level dust storm cut off its energy source (solar power) and telecommunications. On 13 February, John Callas, Manager of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in a press release that after over 1000 attempts to re-establish contact, it wasn’t feasible to continue. Opportunity now rests in state, having given us more scientific insight and inspirational images than we could hope for – not to mention the record for driving the farthest distance in a single day on another planet. Now, the quest for signs of life in the Solar System continues, and because Mars is only in our backyard in astronomical terms, we…
June 27, 2019
Founded in 2015, Orbex develops small satellite launch vehicles. The spaceflight company introduced Prime, its revolutionary, environmentally-friendly rocket at the grand opening of its new headquarters in Forres, Scotland. The novel Orbex launcher not only uses 100% renewable fuel to cut carbon emissions by 90%, and a novel zero-shock staging and payload separation resulting in zero orbital debris, but was also design-optimised for selective laser melting (SLM), helping to create a structure 30% lighter and 20% more efficient than any other launch vehicle in its category. Orbex aerospace engineers partnered closely with the applications engineering team at SLM Solutions’s headquarters in Lübeck, Germany, to ensure success transferring the design into SLM production – a feat that required the partnership of the equipment provider due to the complexity and size of the component. Applications specialist Lukas Pankiewicz headed the consulting team inside SLM Solutions to develop a unique set of parameters optimised for this particular geometry. Working closely with the design team at Orbex, Pankiewicz consulted on the various design features and…
June 27, 2019
Applications are now open until 14 July. BBM Innovation Scholars receive an $8,000 grant to go overseas for international industry experience in global innovation hotspots. “The 2019 focus is on sustainability and innovation,” says Melanie Stray, CEO of BBM Youth Support. “And we can’t wait to see the ideas and vision that our young industry talent will put forward.” This year, a total of 33 scholarships are on offer, and they are available for the most inspiring ideas from young people in vocational roles, including metal manufacturing, especially additive technology. Applicants must be between 17 and 23 years of age and at least in their last year of their Certificate III or higher in their chosen field. BBM’s Global Industry Scholarships exist to develop Australia’s talent base in agriculture, trades and performing arts through global experience, networking and opportunities. Past BBM Horticultural Scholars have visited industry trailblazers in Europe, the UK and Asia. They drew inspiration from new processes, materials and technology and have gone…
June 20, 2019
Based in Wingfield, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, Castech installed 368 solar panels rated at 270 watts on its factory roof-top last June and it has been progressively reducing its power bill by around $3,000 a month ever since. This could save the business up to $36,000 annually in energy costs. The panels are also providing a renewable energy feed of 14,000kWh to Castech’s foundry and Castech 3D, its additive manufacturing spin-off business. Recent increases in SA’s electricity pricing has had a large impact upon the state’s commercial businesses and Castech was faced with a 64% increase in supply charges, prior to installing the solar panels. To counteract these rising power costs, Castech’s Quality Manager Brad Walsh says that the panels were installed to cut the massive power bills that the foundry generates and to provide the plant with emission-free energy. “The panels will never provide the amount of power that we need to run the foundry’s induction furnaces from 7.30am to…
June 20, 2019
The digitalisation of manufacturing, a clear trend today, is one of the distinct technological breakthroughs stimulated by the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and the implementation of Industry 4.0 standards. The wind of change has already transformed even a relatively conservative industrial sector: metalworking. As machining remains an essential method in metalworking technology, cutting tool manufacturing, which provides tools for this method, has faced the necessity to meet new requirements. Consequently, the information that specifies the tools should be unified and digitised in the same manner. Information interoperability is the key to ensuring a relevant data exchange between different components of tomorrow’s smart manufacturing processes. The ISO 13399 standard specifies data representation for cutting tools and tool holders, in a manner that will ensure platform independence universally. The main target is to create a computer representation of the tools and the holders that is unified and understandable for various elements of metalworking technology,…
June 20, 2019
Our latest campaign had a similar contact threshold as last year, but also saw an unprecedented influx of paid members over the period of the census. At the start of the census AMTIL had a membership of 221, which rose to 282 by the end – a 27.6% increase. Of those 282 members, the total membership comprised 140 manufacturing technology suppliers (MTSs), 120 manufacturing technology users (MTUs), and 22 Industry Supporters (ISs). The rise in membership appeared to have an impact on the number of call backs. A total of 531 calls were made, but only 34.4% of these resulted in contact being made, significantly down on the 46% of last census. By the end of the census, 183 members had been successfully contacted – a disappointing figure at 65% of the membership. Nonetheless, the number of contacts was similar enough to the last census for comparisons to be made. The total turnover of the…