March 28, 2019
The partnership will allow Vestas to bring its wind turbine assembly and testing capabilities to Victoria, thereby supporting and expanding the Victorian renewable energy sector. Located at the former Ford manufacturing site on the Princes Highway in Geelong, the facility is part of the Vestas Renewable Energy Hub, a multi-disciplinary industry development initiative designed to support the Victorian Renewable Energy Target and Victoria’s New Energy Technologies strategy. The facility will be responsible for making 4MW drivetrains and hubs and component testing for the Dundonnell Wind Farm and Berrybank Wind Farm projects, both of which were successful in the first auction under the Victorian Renewable Energy Target. The facility will also support future wind projects in Australia. “Vestas is committed to building new skills in the local workforce in Geelong, and with our wind turbine component assembly and testing capability, we are helping build on Geelong’s background as a heavy manufacturing hub and use that to establish a renewable energy hub”, said Clive Turton, Vestas Asia Pacific President. “In Marand,…
March 21, 2019
“The speed of the new machine is unbelievable with a time reduction of 1.5 hours on one complex part alone to just nine minutes fully finished,” said Jason Cameron, Production Manager at Elphinstone. “The new machine complements another recent Okuma machine, a CNC lathe model LB3000EX, also with Okuma’s own CNC OSP Control, allowing us to meet strong demand and drastically reduce production delays, and at the same time bringing work back in-house. The latest machine will also be used for fast prototyping and product development.” The Elphinstone story is a long one, commencing with Graeme Elphinstone moving from Burnie to Triabunna in 1971. Graeme had been a logger and started welding and chainsaw repairs before purchasing a two-hectare block of land in Triabunna and establishing Elphinstone Saw Centre. Graeme’s specialist knowledge of the logging industry led the company to import Australia’s first on-board weighing system fitted to a logging truck. Further developments followed, with a special folding pole tandem…
March 21, 2019
Fraisa is a family-owned business that offers its customers a complete range of solid round tools with endmills, drills and taps, with a full service offering encompassing logistics, customised tooling, regrinding and recycling of tools. Headquartered in Switzerland, Fraisa has a strong position in Europe and has entered the US and Chinese markets in the last ten years as it capitalises on a tap market predicted to reach $699m globally by 2020. “I think opportunities in the tool and cutter market are significant,” says Josef Maushart, CEO and President of Fraisa. “I expect a further growth of 2-3% a year and see especially high growth in solid round tools. To meet this demand, we are moving into a complete renewal of our tap production. “We knew that providing taps was a unique selling proposition for us as most of our competitors only manufacture endmills and drills. However, with high labour costs in Switzerland we needed to incorporate automation into the manufacturing process and that took us to the edge of technology as far as cutting…
March 21, 2019
The materials were launched at Formnext 2018, the leading trade show for additive manufacturing technologies, in Frankfurt in November. Henkel was appearing at Formnext for the first time ever, presenting a variety of differentiated new engineering resin platforms: General Purpose, Flexible, High Temperature, Durable High Impact, Ultra Clear and Silicone Elastomeric. The company showcased its growing solution portfolio for end-to-end-processes. As an enabler for the resins, Henkel also introduced its new Loctite 3D Printer and equipment for functional prototyping applications at an entry-level. For small-run production and industrial manufacturing of final parts the company is collaborating with technology leaders such as HP and others. Henkel also launched its first General Bonding Kit for 3D Printing applications. The kit consists of Loctite 3D Printing Universal Bonder and the Loctite 3D Printing Instant Bonder, as well as activators, primers and cleaning products. The kit aims to easily support customers in bonding prototyping parts for the most-known 3D printing technologies. Henkel also offers bonding solutions for the industrial series production of 3D-printed parts.…
March 14, 2019
Konstantinos Bountolas, Product Data Solutions Manager at Walter, summarises the company’s data philosophy as follows: “Product data that is ready to use enables our users to find, choose and assemble tools more quickly when it comes to designing, planning, NC programming and purchasing, as well as on the shop floor.” Walter’s strategy of focusing on its customers is also geared towards the customers’ procurement preferences. “We leave it to our customers to choose where they would like to access the product data for our tools,” Bountolas explains. “Everyone has their own preferred channels for obtaining this data. All that matters is making sure that we provide our data exactly where our customers are looking for it.” Walter mainly relies on the “channels” of MachiningCloud, the e-catalogue for TDM, and Tools United. Walter on MachiningCloud Customers around the world can access more than 40,000 Walter tool elements on MachiningCloud.…
March 14, 2019
The launch of the Export Hub was announced at an event on 13 March at the headquarters of Volgren in Dandenong, south-east Melbourne. The event was attended by Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC – a partner organisation in the Export Hub), and Paul Fowler, President of AMTIL. AMTIL will receive $1.5m from the Federal Government’s Small and Medium Enterprise Export Hubs Initiative to run the Export Hub. Export hubs are business networks that help SMEs harness opportunities in international markets, particularly where the Federal Government has signed free-trade agreements – including China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. Minister Andrews said the funding will boost the economy by helping more businesses to gain access to new and bigger markets, to increase sales, and create more Australian jobs. “The funding for this Hub is integral to helping Australian businesses grow and will ultimately…
March 7, 2019
The UNLIMIT3D conference will run alongside Austech, Australia’s premier advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition, to be held at the MCEC from 14-17 May. Co-located with National Manufacturing Week (NMW), Austech will also feature a special dedicated exhibition area, the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, which will showcase the latest innovations in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The UNLIMIT3D conference will focus on the industrialisation of additive manufacturing, featuring expert speakers who have implemented this technology in real-world production processes. Their experiences and insights, the challenges they have faced, and the benefits of applying additive manufacturing will be fully explored. Delegates will hear first-hand the trials and tribulations of innovating in this space from companies that can offer practical examples. AMTIL has assembled a diverse line-up of speakers for UNLIMIT3D. Giving the keynote opening address will be Rob Gorham, Executive Director of America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute at the US’s National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. Having previously served as Senior Manager of…
March 7, 2019
High surface area density, combined with optimised fluid pathways and 3D surface features, results in a high thermal exchange, low-weight, low pressure-drop heat exchanger. The performance advantages were achieved within a rapid development timeline that was underpinned by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and Design for AM expertise. With no tooling implications to consider, multiple variants can be manufactured simultaneously. Heat transfer is a ubiquitous challenge that is at the heart of the First Law of Thermodynamics. A heat exchanger, simply speaking, is a device that effectively transfers heat between two or more fluids, typically liquid-liquid, liquid-gas, gas-gas or multiple fluids. You can find them in products like air conditioners and car engines. One practical benefit of such devices is energy recovery. There are numerous others — it is a complex technology with broad applications. Heat exchanger designs and manufacturing methods have evolved with the prevailing technologies available and, consequently, have been limited by those technologies. Conflux’s Founder and CEO, Michael Fuller,…
March 7, 2019
The high-feed milling method is based primarily on two principles: the geometry of a milling cutter; and the high-speed feed drive of a machine tool. A typical fast-feed milling tool features a small cutting edge angle, normally 9-17 degrees. This design characteristic results in three important outcomes. The first is the possibility of considerably increasing feed per tooth due to a chip thinning effect. For example, in the face milling of low-alloy steel, 0.2mm per tooth is a near-maximum value feed, but high-feed milling the same material with a 2mm per tooth feed is normal. The second is a shallow depth of cut that ensures this geometry for the tool. Milling with reduced depth of cut diminishes cutting force…
March 1, 2019
The Australian PMI has been stable or positive (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase) since August 2016 (30 consecutive months), but its trend has suggested slowing growth rates since its recent peak in March 2018. Six of the seven activity indexes expanded in February, with only finished stocks indicating contraction (down 3.2 points to 44.5). New orders (down 0.3 points to 52.0) and deliveries from suppliers (down 2.7 points to 52.9) stayed positive but moderated, while production (up 3.9 points to 57.9) and employment (up 6.6 points to 57.7) strengthened markedly. “Australia’s manufacturing sector strengthened in February after faltering in the closing months of 2018 and clawing back some lost ground in January,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “Production, sales, exports and employment all gained ground. While positive, manufacturing performance is not back at the levels we saw in the first half of 2018 and…
February 28, 2019
Primarily servicing the construction industry, 3Metals specialises in commercial buildings and domestic buildings, along with manufacturing and mining. The company offers a range of laser cutting, CNC pressing, robotic welding and fabrication services. Director Michael Fletcher explains that 3Metals places prime importance on keeping abreast of new technology, because advanced machinery enables the company to remain efficient, providing the best customer experience possible in terms of turnaround time, product and service. While price is always a big driver in customer decision making, the team at 3Metals don’t believe in being the cheapest. “We believe in giving the right service at the right price,” says Fletcher. “Our service encompasses a decent turnaround time and our products are manufactured to excellent quality. We don’t sacrifice quality for price, nor do we use cheap materials.” 3Metals prides itself on supporting Aussies, using local supplies and raw materials. As Fletcher says: “It’s important to us that we support the Aussie economy and source all materials locally, as we…
February 27, 2019
Australian flight training businesses have always faced challenges in offering adequate simulated training to cadets because of the limited facilities available and a lack of economic resources. Most flight schools can only provide outdoor practices, with minimal indoor simulation training because the cost of the average flight simulation system exceeds most budgets. SynFlyt, a Sydney-based specialist flight simulation company, was formed in 2011 to improve this situation by developing and building its own range of three-degrees-of-freedom (3DOF), full-motion aircraft simulators. SynFlyt’s products are designed to simulate light aircraft, gliders, single-engine jets, touring aircrafts and chase planes. However, finding a way to reduce production costs was no easy task, because everything on the simulators had to be customised. Costs could easily exceed $100,000 for one customised simulator. To tackle this problem, SynFlyt employed a uPrint 3D Printer to produce parts and components for its newly developed simulators. “In the initial phase of selecting a 3D printing solution, Stratasys emerged as an early leader through its outstanding level of service,” says Ross Maclennan, Managing Director and Engineering…
February 21, 2019
AMT: Tell us firstly about Wohlers Associates and what the company does. Terry Wohlers: Wohlers Associates turned 32 years of age last November. Most of the three decades-plus have been focused on additive manufacturing and 3D printing – terms that are used interchangeably. In the last couple of decades, our focus has been almost 100% on additive, as well as complementary technologies, such as design tools, 3D scanning, and post-processing – things linked in some way to additive manufacturing. The core business is consulting. We work with client companies of all types and sizes. Among them are RØDE Microphones of Sydney, America Makes, Airbus, Honeywell, and many other organisations in 26 countries. An important part of our business is the Wohlers Report, an annual review of the state of the additive manufacturing industry. We’ve been publishing it for 23 years and we’ll be starting our next edition early next year. As many as 80 people in 32 countries help with the report,…