Product News

The Toyota Hydrogen Centre, Victoria’s first commercial-grade permanent hydrogen production, storage, and refuelling facility, is set to use green hydrogen production capabilities for automotive, transport, and even buildings. It is located at the Toyota Centre of Excellence (COE) at Toyota’s former car and engine manufacturing site in Melbourne's west. The COE also incorporates product development, design, testing training and other essential functions. Toyota’s global vision for a sustainable hydrogen society recognises the importance of hydrogen as a viable and plentiful source of carrying and storing energy. Toyota’s Hydrogen Centre opened five years ago and was Victoria's first commercial-grade permanent hydrogen production, storage and refuelling facility. It is housed at Toyota’s former manufacturing site at Altona in Melbourne's west. “Hydrogen is produced on-site by a 250kW electrolyser that uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen components and can produce up to 80kg of hydrogen per day,” advises Toyota Australia’s Carbon Policy Lead, Andrew Willis. “Power for the electrolyser is drawn from the on-site 3.4MW solar array and the grid, depending on what is available. “An on-site refueller…

The estimated 1.5 billion-plus global audience for this year’s Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup will witness not only spectacularly fast races from the AC75 competitors, including Emirates Team New Zealand, but also a showcase of the New Zealand engineering skills supporting the biggest-ever programme of Cup races, also including women’s and youth events. “What people see on the surface, with yachts such as Emirates Team New Zealand reaching speeds of more than 50 knots, is just part of a wonderful story for local skills,” says long-time Emirates Team New Zealand supporter Lee Short, Director of Hydraulink Fluid Connectors. “Inside the boats there is a wealth of technical and engineering input from a host of New Zealand companies that put us right up there with the world’s best. The quality of hydraulic systems engineering in these boats is right up to the standards of Formula One racing cars. The 350kg foil canting system that enables the boats to respond quickly to changes and inputs has to…

Extrusion is increasingly becoming one of the primary methods of producing various traditional and innovative food products, and the company’s extrusion tooling is designed to accommodate all of them. From pasta, hot dogs, and snack foods to chewing gum, licorice, and pet food, Guill’s balanced flow designs control dimensional tolerances to increase product quality while reducing waste. Custom-made extrusion tooling and dies make it easy to efficiently and consistently manufacture various food products. More precise tooling allows for considerably reduced wasted extrudate. Furthermore, Guill’s extrusion tooling enables accurate temperature control, manufacturing food at high and low temperatures. Typical end products include pelletising heads, profile dies, large-diameter rotary heads, flexible, simple, and standard crossheads, Spiderless, and the Bullet. The 100 Series offers single- or multi-strand extrusion tooling with or without multi-layer capabilities. Optional custom design is also available. The 200 Series ensures improved tolerance and accuracy at increased production speeds, greater product consistency, and reduced waste. The 2000 Series large-diameter inline heads feature a low-volume flow and heated core pin and can be expanded to…

Sandvik Coromant has introduced the QS™ Micro — a new quick-change holding system explicitly developed for sliding head machines. It promises exceptional precision, security, and repeatability, as well as maximised machine utilisation. The QS™ Micro holding system is specifically designed for small-part machining and sliding head machines. It covers most industry segments, such as general engineering, automotive, aerospace and medical. With an extensive range of cutting heads and shank adaptors, the system offers a multitude of configurations and quick tool changes. The assortment includes rectangular shaft adaptors in sizes 10 × 10 mm up to 20 × 20mm and equivalent inch sizes. It also features cutting heads for general turning, parting and grooving, and threading in families CoroTurn® 107, CoroCut® 2, CoroCut® XS and CoroThread® 266. CoroTurn® 107 and CoroCut® XS provide cutting heads designed for Y-axis machining, offering higher stability and better chip evacuation. “One of the main benefits of the QS™ Micro holding system is that it is possible to quickly change cutting heads with high precision, which reduces the machine downtime,” said Hampus Jemt, Global…

A new $60m Biosustainability Hub at The University of Queensland will use synthetic biology to help the world’s biggest businesses transition to net zero. Funded by government, industry, and UQ, the Biosustainability Hub aims to be a one-stop shop for big companies to transform their production practices and create carbon-neutral, economically viable products and materials. Hub director Professor Esteban Marcellin from UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology said the facility is the first in Australia and co-locates research groups and industries that share a vision to transition society to net zero. Professor Marcellin is a synthetic biologist who uses carbon monoxide, CO2 and methane to feed microbes in biomanufacturing to produce products. “The Hub brings together cutting-edge research projects and some of the world’s biggest companies to find solutions to challenges like climate change, biodiversity, mining sustainability and future food production,” Professor Marcellin said. “We will be using the process of synthetic biology, which develops new materials, fuels, foods, chemicals, or medicines from waste using biological processes. “By changing production practices from those dependent on fossil fuels to biomanufacturing, we are…

Sevaan Group has announced that it has expanded its manufacturing services to include additive manufacturing (AM). The addition of 3D printing capability will provide greater choice for customers regarding parts manufacturing, and the opportunity to attain tangible benefits that can help improve their productivity and revenue. Sevaan already provides a unique integrated capability, an end-to-end workflow from design, prototyping and testing through to the production, assembly and finishing of precisely manufactured metal parts, for its customers. The inclusion of AM into its service mix brings further key customer deliverables. “They will now benefit from more choice when purchasing manufactured parts,” explained David Green, Chief Executive Officer, Sevaan Group. “Our customers can choose to have their required parts manufactured via either traditional processes or 3D industrial printing. “For certain components and production runs, 3D printing can offer specific benefits including rapid prototyping, a faster production turnaround, enhanced quality and cost savings, making it a desirable manufacturing option. “Thanks to AM, customers who only require a small number of parts or perhaps longer-lasting components now no longer need to wait for parts to come…

A new generation system from European-based inspection equipment manufacturer Antares Vision Group allows customers to select individual inspection modules and integrate them into one machine. Food manufacturers can select what they need to suit their specific production line. Modules include X-ray, check weigher, leak detection, seal, code, and label inspection. All the modules are designed specifically for the food industry. The machine’s hygienic construction features quick-removal conveyors and a completely washable structure. “Antares Vision Group’s ‘ALL-IN-ONE’ inspection machine is a game changer for the food industry,” said Phillip Garro, Enmin’s Sales Manager (Inspection & Packaging). “Multiple processes can be combined into a single machine providing a solution that fully guarantees the product’s compliance in an extremely reduced footprint,” he added. “Plus, all the modules can be controlled through a single control screen for maximum convenience and efficiency.” A popular combination of modules is X-ray, checkweigher and leak detection. This configuration provides a comprehensive product inspection by these three powerful modules. Firstly, the innovative LDS module checks the package's correct sealing, detecting micro-leaks. Then, a state-of-the-art X-ray inspection system…

Emerson has launched its AVENTICS™ Series XV pneumatic valves. These valves are designed with interoperability in mind to provide machine builders across multiple industries and factory automation applications with a flexible and cost-effective valve platform. The new valves are ideal for global machine builders and end users, with universal threads and other features supporting regional standards and global availability. Series XV valves provide higher flow rates in a compact valve package, enabling more efficient and flexible pneumatic system performance for factory automation, automotive and tyre, and food and packaging applications. This helps manufacturers boost productivity and allows them to offer products customised for specific markets and customer preferences. “In all industries, manufacturers need high-performance technology that gives them the agility and flexibility to stay ahead of rapidly changing market demands,” said Wolf Gerecke, director of product marketing for Emerson´s machine automation business. “The new AVENTICS Series XV pneumatic valves deliver that performance with optimised flow, a wide range of valves and an extensive portfolio of accessories.” Series XV valves include the XV03, which provides flow volumes of…

The importance of integrating engineering data with other enterprise systems cannot be overstated for engineering and manufacturing firms. Imagine your CAD models, drawings, and BOMs flowing seamlessly between departments without constant manual effort. This type of integration streamlines the entire design-to-production process, making it more efficient. As a CAD engineer, you can concentrate on your designs. At the same time, routine tasks like file management, revision control, and data synchronisation are automated, giving you more time to innovate and solve complex challenges. Autodesk Vault is a leading data management solution designed specifically for engineering teams. It provides secure storage, version control, and easy access to CAD data. When integrated with other enterprise systems, like ERP and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), Autodesk Vault transforms into a powerful engine for streamlined workflows and enhanced data synchronisation across departments. Integrating Autodesk Vault with ERP unlocks advantages such as increased data accuracy, streamlined processes, and faster time to market. coolOrange tools—powerGate and powerSync—are designed to maximise these benefits, ensuring seamless communication between Autodesk Vault, ERP, and ACC. With these solutions, your team gains a…

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has opened a $6.8m facility in Clayton, Victoria. The facility is dedicated to bringing its printed flexible solar technology out of the lab and into the real world, helping to meet the growing demand for renewable energy across sectors. CSIRO’s flexible solar cells are printed on thin plastic films, unlike traditional silicon solar panels. This makes them lightweight and portable, making them suitable for various applications in urban construction, space, defence, mining, emergency management, disaster relief, and wearables. CSIRO Executive Director, Digital, National Facilities and Collections, Professor Elanor Huntington, said the cutting-edge CSIRO Printed Photovoltaic (PV) Facility is the newest addition to CSIRO’s suite of critical infrastructure that enable the industries of tomorrow – in this case, a thriving Australian flexible solar manufacturing industry. “Through CSIRO’s new Printed PV Facility, industry partners can access both researcher expertise and specialised equipment to improve and apply flexible solar technology in novel ways, anywhere there is sunlight,” Professor Huntington said. “It’s exciting to see the techniques that enabled another great CSIRO invention…

The Australian Government has legislated changes that tightened restrictions under the thin capitalisation provisions. In this article, we explore what this could mean for Australian manufacturers. What is thin capitalisation? Thin capitalisation rules aim to limit Australian debt deductions, such as loan interest, line fees or other borrowing costs. The overarching policy intends to avoid profit shifting by multinational entities through excess debt deductions in Australia. For manufacturers, we see that these companies constantly grapple with thin capitalisation: Australian manufacturing companies that are expanding and have overseas subsidiaries Australian manufacturing companies that are foreign-owned and growing in the Australian market, or a combination of the above. The thin capitalisation provisions are commonly triggered when one of the above entities has total debt deductions exceeding $2m in a tax year. If the total debt deductions of the company and all its associates for that year are below $2m, these rules do not apply. Before the recent changes, our experience was that many Australian manufacturers relied upon a ‘safe harbour’ ratio test. This broadly allowed debt deductions to…

This article was first published in the AugSep2023 issue of AMT magazine. To keep the topic front of mind, we are republishing here to keep the conversation going. Advanced Robotic Technology (ART) is an Australian machine manufacturer and distributor concerned with machine safety. Director David White is most certainly not the only manufacturer with concerns.  He says, “The huge volume of imported machinery coming into Australia with lack of adequate safety equipment and proper training and information is extremely concerning to us.” Fibre laser cutting machines have revolutionised manufacturing with their precise cutting capabilities. However, using open Fibre laser cutting machines can pose significant risks that are often overlooked. In this article, we will shed light on the dangers of 1070nm laser emissions on the retina and explore why people don't blink when exposed to this radiation. We will also discuss the importance of awareness among business owners in Australia and the personal and legal repercussions that may arise in case of injuries. Additionally, we will highlight the measures necessary to ensure…

NRW Civil & Mining (NRW) is one of Australia’s leading contractors, able to deliver a complete suite of civil and mining services at numerous locations nationwide. It is part of the NRW Holdings Group, an ASX-listed entity offering diverse contract services to Australia's resources and infrastructure sectors. After securing the mining, train loading, and miscellaneous services contract with Karara Mining Ltd, NRW began reducing GHG emissions at the Karara Iron Ore project, the largest mining operation in the Mid-West Region. With a track record of excellence in managing the environmental implications of mining and civil projects, NRW continues beyond ensuring compliance with legislative mandates. They go beyond partnering with clients to refine best practices and find innovative ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. NRW planned to introduce an intelligent technology solution at Karara, to harness data-driven insights to refine operator behaviours, improve performance, and establish tangible carbon emissions reduction strategies. NRW partnered with MaxMine to achieve these objectives, building on their successful collaboration at the Dalgaranga project. The MaxMine intelligent technology platform is designed to help…