Technology News

HDR has designed two NEXTDC colocation data centres in Melbourne that are set to house Australia’s largest and most comprehensive cloud ecosystem. Constructed by Kapitol Group, M3 Melbourne, a 100,000m² data centre in West Footscray, and M2 Melbourne, a 16,000m² data centre in Tullamarine, will collectively deliver 210 megawatts of critical IT infrastructure to enterprise, manufacturing and government in a climate of unprecedented digital innovation. “Designing high-performance, resilient and scalable infrastructure at speed is no easy feat,” said Sam Faigen, project leader at HDR. “Utilising a data-driven design methodology, we have succeeded in delivering two purpose-built facilities, using modular and adaptable solutions, that will accelerate industry growth.” With Stage 1 of the 150MW masterplan now complete, M3 operates as a colocation facility for retail, enterprise and hyperscale customers, fitted out with HDR-designed administrative offices, collaboration spaces and highly adaptable data halls. Strategically located close to major electricity substations, the campus is situated ten km from Melbourne’s CBD and resides at the junction between large industrial manufacturing developments and low-scale residential dwellings. “Knitted into West Footscray’s semi-residential urban fabric, the building form has been set 20-metres back…

MathWorks, the leading developer of mathematical computing software, joins the UR+ program, the industry’s largest and most comprehensive ecosystem of products certified to integrate seamlessly with cobots from Universal Robots (UR). MathWorks received the UR+ certification for MATLAB, a programming and numeric computing platform that provides software tools and algorithms for designing, simulating, testing and deploying robotics applications, including those for Universal Robots’ cobots. Robotics engineers use MATLAB for specialised or sophisticated cobot applications that are difficult to program using the UR teach pendant or graphical-based programming tools, including applications that incorporate machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, optimisation, sensor fusion, and advanced signal processing. MATLAB provides AI capabilities for cobots to move more efficiently and productively by perceiving dynamically changing workspaces and sophisticated robot algorithms. Engineers can verify their UR cobot applications by connecting MATLAB to URSim, simulation software for robot programs, or UR hardware. MATLAB support for Universal Robots is compatible with the entire e- and CB- series of Universal Robots. "We are delighted to welcome MathWorks to our UR+ solutions ecosystem and look forward to…

Manufacturing planning tools have come a long way and simulation, like digital twin technology, has come a long way. They provide manufacturers with more insight than ever before to help identify, plan, optimise, and seek approval for manufacturing projects. If manufacturers want to succeed, they need to evolve their manufacturing operations and management architecture to take advantage of digital twins. The power of these modern tools is endless. At Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS) a digital twin is a physics-enabled virtual replica of a real machine that can be commissioned with the same controllers and the same programs as the real machine, communicating bi-directionally, in real-time, and vastly speeding up the development time and the quality of the final product. If a programmer plugs their PC into a machine in another room, obscured from view, they should not be able to tell whether they are plugged into the real system or the Digital Twin. The objectives of using digital twins at BAMS are to validate the complete machine (debug Robot, PLC, and HMI code) and connect all…

Stratasys Ltd and Australia channel partner TCL Hofmann have announced that motorsports team Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) has selected Stratasys FDM® 3D printing technology to anchor its new additive manufacturing hub and has a new Stratasys Fortus® 450mc 3D printer. “Every second counts not only on the track but also in the workshop,” said Bruce Stewart, Team Principal at Walkinshaw Andretti United. “We use 3D printing to prototype and produce parts much faster than we could through traditional methods. At the same time, the high-performance standards of Stratasys industrial printers and materials mean these parts also perform exceptionally well, despite the extreme heat, dirt, and vibration that go with Supercars racing. As such, Stratasys and TCL Hofmann make great partners for our team.” WAU’s new Fortus450mc 3D printer is its second FDM printer from Stratasys. The industrial-grade printer accommodates more than two dozen materials, including those with flame-retardant properties, chemical resistance, and strength reinforced by carbon fiber. It provides best-in-class reliability and repeatability, making it ideal for applications such as manufacturing tooling and end-use parts. The 3D printers will be located…

Australia and New Zealand will soon be facing a demand for infrastructure. According to Weld Australia, ANZ has a $237bn pipeline of infrastructure spend, and it is predicted that by 2030, Australia will be short 70,000 skilled welders to deliver the critical energy, defence, rail & infrastructure required to fuel this growth. Fabrication shop capacity restraints; issues resulting from supply chain shortages; competition from overseas; and declining profit margins are all contributing factors. Fabrication shops serving a number of industries are looking at robotic welding to help solve this challenge, and are searching for a path to automation. Before a fabrication shop can proceed on making a decision on an automation solution, fabrication shops need to examine key issues such as production mix, infrastructure needs, human resource requirements and ultimately, the return on investment. They need to choose pipe welding automation systems for their fabrication shops that will help them achieve consistent, high-quality welds, while increasing their shop productivity and helping them get ahead in an increasingly competitive market. “The fabrication shop owner should consider how they are going to win more projects…

Headland Technology has been providing all-around solutions to ADVATEK for more than 15 years. When ADVATEK entered to manufacture components for the medical industry they required two crucial things, high precision, reliable machine technology, and a reliable partner to provide them with the right knowledge and service to keep the production going 24/7. They found both in Headland Technology. ADVATEK was founded in 1995 and has since been a leader in the manufacturing of high-end CNC machined components. Their facility is equipped with 11 Makino machines. Their focus is on providing top-quality parts at competitive prices and efficient delivery. Located in Bayswater, Victoria, ADVATEK has supplied components to a variety of industries including medical, telecommunications, and aerospace. Their facility has grown to include a 600sqm factory that operates 24 hours a day. The team at ADVATEK is composed of industry experts who have remained committed to the same level of passion and vision since the company's launch over 25 years ago. With many familiar faces at ADVATEK spanning decades, their team is unified, efficient, communicative, focused on quality, and ready to deliver. They…

In the intensely competitive world of manufacturing, innovation is essential. Accordingly, Australia’s largest bus body manufacturer Volgren has made its name with innovative, sustainable and efficient public transport solutions. The company built its first bus in 1979 with the promise of creating a more reliable, comfortable and longer-lasting vehicle with lower operating costs than others then available. Today, Volgren designs, manufactures and assembles public transport buses of all types across multiple technologies, including zero-emission vehicles. Thanks to its 400-strong manufacturing, operations and aftersales support teams across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA, its bus bodies are close to 90% locally produced and offer the lowest lifetime cost of any bus in Australia. Since 2018 Volgren has delivered dozens of hybrid and electric buses to Australian operators and is now fast-tracking delivery of Australia’s first European hydrogen fuel cell buses. Volgren’s E-bus, the Optimus E-Bus, is one of its class’s lightest zero-emission bus bodies and operates successfully in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. The body has been effectively engineered to suit multiple electric chassis and complies with Australia’s highest safety and flammability standards for buses. Although Volgren officially began…

The research, published in Nature, could help extend the applications of titanium alloys, improve sustainability and drive innovative materials technologies. Titanium and titanium alloys are essential for the clean energy transition, defence and aerospace sectors. The research holds promise for a new class of more sustainable high-performance titanium alloys for applications in aerospace, biomedical, chemical engineering, space and energy technologies. The research was led by the University of Sydney and RMIT in collaboration with Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Melbourne company Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. Co-lead researcher, University of Sydney Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure) Professor Simon Ringer said: “This research delivers a new titanium alloy system capable of a wide and tunable range of mechanical properties, high manufacturability, enormous potential for emissions reduction and insights for materials design in kindred systems.” The new materials belong to an alloy class that has long been the backbone of the titanium industry. They consist of a mixture of two forms of titanium crystals, called alpha-titanium phase and beta-titanium phase, each corresponding to a specific arrangement of atoms. While…

For those who aren’t familiar with this product, Cerakote is a thin ceramic coating that is applied as a resin and forms a 3D ceramic matrix as it cures. This makes it possible to protect surfaces that are not made of metal. The formulation of this technology makes it possible for the coating to withstand extremely high temperatures (sometimes as high as 1100 degrees Celsius) without altering its appearance. Once cured, the coating becomes very hard and extremely scratch and abrasive-resistant. A Cerakote coating also provides excellent protection against corrosion, thermal stress, and thermal barriers for applications that are sensitive to temperature changes. This type of coating continues to exhibit outstanding performance over an extended period of time. Because of this, Cerakote is ideal for use in defence and military applications as well as on exhausts, pistons, and other components that will be exposed to high temperatures. Cerakote has been carefully engineered to provide maximum substrate protection and improved coating performance when compared…

Australian engineering and family-owned business AE Gibson & Sons is in its fifth generation of operation, with historical roots that can be traced back to the late 1800s.  They’re an award-winning industry leader in designing, servicing, and supplying specialised machinery and optimised robotic automation systems, with a mission to help their clients implement more sustainable manufacturing operations in industries including timber, renewables, biomass, waste processing, infrastructure, agriculture, and other heavy industrial applications throughout Australia and the entire Asia Pacific region. Located in Kendall NSW, AE Gibson’s has recently become the successful recipients of a share in $534,667 from round two of the NSW state government's Regional Job Creation Fund.  The funding has helped to develop a newly established robot training and demonstration centre and facilitate AE Gibson’s mission to expedite training for their wave of apprentices that are brought into the business as well as junior engineer graduates, whilst upskilling existing employees. The intent is to develop their skills in the areas of robotic automation as the business expands into emerging sectors in Australia and…

The Re-Engineering Australia Foundation (REA) is calling on the manufacturing industry, particularly in Victoria, to rally together and financially support two exceptional teams of students representing Australia at the prestigious F1 in Schools World Final in Singapore from 8-15 September 2023. Every year, students nationwide participate in the F1 in Schools STEM challenge. This competition challenges their engineering and manufacturing skills by designing and fabricating a miniature F1 car using industry-standard technology. Teams compete at regional, state, and national finals, aiming to earn a spot at the F1 in Schools World Finals, where they will compete against 70 teams from around the globe. The 2023 National Representatives from Victoria include Team Aurora, from Trinity Grammar in Kew, and team Hadron, a collaboration between students from Alamanda K–9 College, Point Cook and Phoenix P–12 Community College, Ballarat. Australia has an outstanding track record in this competition, having previously clinched the F1 in Schools world title on seven occasions. Notably, four of these World Championship titles were secured by teams from Victoria. This year, two talented teams from Victoria emerged…

The Queensland Government launched the State’s first Biofutures Roadmap and Action Plan back in 2016 to help establish Queensland as a world-leading and sustainable region for the Biofutures industry. Queensland has now signed an MoU with airline giant Qantas and Airbus to unlock the state’s potential to manufacture SAF in the local area of Gladstone, as part of that Roadmap. Qantas and Airbus have committed to investing a combined $307m to develop a local SAF industry and have lobbied the federal government to do more to create the necessary policy framework and incentives needed to properly boost investment. The Queensland biofuel refinery will be the first project funded under the joint partnership.  It is not lost on the QLD or Federal Government that Australia needs to substitute ethanol in fuel and offer significant tax breaks to renewable fuels if it wants to reach its international climate targets. Queensland has attracted Oceania Biofuels to Gladstone to establish Australia’s first commercial sustainable aviation fuel biorefinery. The $500m facility, is a significant step in growing the emerging biofutures industry and,…

Quality control is crucial to any manufacturing process, and for the surface finishing industry, this is no exception. A quality-controlled finishing process ensures the performance of the applied coatings or finishes to the surface material, ensuring aesthetic results are met, as well as achieving the highest durability and longevity. When it comes to powder coating – one of Australia’s most used surface finishes – QUALICOAT is the globally-recognised quality label for architectural powder coating; and we now have a QUALICOAT License applicator right here in Australia. After extensive audits of their powder coating process, DECO Australia has become the only accredited powder coater in Australia to hold the global QUALICOAT license. “This is a very important part of our value proposition to our customers,” said DECO General Manager Richard Hamber. “It is not just saying we have the best quality, we now have proof and independent certification that we have an unrivalled position in the market when it comes to providing the best quality powder coating.” To obtain a quality licence, powder coaters must undergo an audit of their processes from start…