Technology News

The LTS-640V is designed to be used during the certification stage before an aircraft is approved for commercial or military use. The capability it provides will allow for a potentially more streamlined certification process, and should help eliminate some of the surprises that can occur during testing of a new aircraft structure. The technology was developed in collaboration with scientists at the Australian Department of Defence where a prototype of the technology has helped support sustainment of the F/A-18 Classic Hornet, and more recently provided Lockheed Martin Aeronautics with valuable new information during structural certification testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Australian invention is the first of its kind, providing real-time fusion of stress and visible spectrum imaging – in effect merging the visible with the invisible. “This inspection approach is based on the ‘thermoelastic effect’; put simply, when you squash something it heats up, when you stretch something it cools down,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Defence.…

The vehicle, aimed to be launched in 2030 and code-named the Polestar 0 Project, will be developed with the single goal of eliminating emissions from the entire supply chain including all logistics and support functions rather than planting trees to offset CO2 emissions. “At Polestar, we are not just about changing the cars we drive, we are about changing the way vehicles are made,” says Samantha Johnson, Managing Director of Polestar Australia. “Vehicles are not produced sustainably today but by addressing the challenge of climate change through the supply chain we can be part of the solution. “We know that Australia is home to some of the best innovative minds and businesses, manufacturing high-quality products that are competitive on the world stage. We are seeking their input into the global Polestar 0 Project as we accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility.”…

The outstanding contribution SPEE3D’s technology has made to furthering the manufacturing capability of Defense was recognised by the US Defense Strategies Institute (DSI) at their 6th Military Additive Manufacturing Summit, which took place in Tampa, Florida. At the summit, SPEE3D was announced as the inaugural winner of the Defense Strategies Institute’s Award for Expeditionary & Tactical 3D Printing Excellence. The Defense Strategies Institute (DSI) is a non-partisan Institute designed to assist in advancing the mission critical goals of the United States' Military and Government. They are also the organisers of the Annual Military Additive Manufacturing Summit event which enables thought leaders and key policymakers across military services, Defense agencies, and civilian organisations to come together for actionable discussions and debate. The 2022 Military Additive Manufacturing Summit focused on advancements made in the 3D printing space, as well as how the DoD is working to quickly integrate AM technologies in order to supply durable, affordable equipment and parts to the Warfighter in the battlespace. “We had an incredible number of entries…

It is the week of launch day at solar system innovator 5B’s new headquarters and clean tech campus at Mascot, a few kilometres south of Sydney’s CBD. After a quick look at its warehouse and proving ground, we walk past a big pile of unboxed monitors and desks that are yet to have chairs wheeled under them. The mood is friendly but urgent. There is a place to get into shape, an event for hundreds fast-approaching, and stuff everywhere. Last year was a breakout one for a company moving at a rate that guarantees this article – written in mid-December – won’t include important recent events. 5B gained a presence in three new countries in 2021, is in the middle of a $50m capital raise at the time of writing, and has just announced that it has acquired its manufacturing partner since 2018, IXL Solar. “We used to manufacture internally three years ago and then IXL took it all on,” explains CEO Chris McGrath, who…

In a recent white paper, SMC’s Industry Projects Manager for Energy (EU), Andy Still, shared his thoughts on how companies can optimise their energy efficiency in-line with one of the industry’s best-kept secrets. While it is possible to introduce compressed air efficiencies, today, some plants still suffer from 20 to 50% leakage rates as well as other forms of wastage. It’s common knowledge that the typical operating pressure (for main compressed air lines) in industrial plants is around 7 bar. However, not so commonly known is that by simply lowering the pressure to 5 bar, facilities can reduce their energy consumption up to 15%.  Dropping the pressure to 4 bar offers savings of up to 29%. “The global understanding of pressure reduction is that it will affect performance,” Still explains. “Although this statement is true for some equipment, it must be said that most processes can operate efficiently at reduced pressures.” Bill Blyth, Energy Conservation Group Manager at SMC Corporation ANZ, echoes this sentiment saying that while…

As a global leader in crane maintenance – with more than 600,000 pieces of lifting equipment of all makes and models under service agreement worldwide – Konecranes is offering Oil Analysis as a supplement to its service agreements. When combined with routine inspections and preventive maintenance, the cost of doing an Oil Analysis can be kept very low. “Good managers know that the key to changing a crane’s oil is finding a good balance of not too late (when it may impact on performance, cause additional wear, or even screech in protest), and not too early (when it will add unnecessary cost, without delivering a benefit,” says Mark Beckwith, Australian Service Operations Manager at Konecranes. With a crane’s gear case sealed off, it means visible signs of wear and tear are hidden from view, as the crane continues performing vital tasks for industries such as manufacturing, automotive, construction, public and…

Fully automatic, efficient, and process-reliable – bending cells show their advantages particularly in large-scale production. They reduce cycle times and perform bending tasks with maximum precision. The CNC 40 Rotary from Schwarze-Robitec’s High Performance series can also be easily expanded into a bending cell. Thanks to its freely rotating bending head, it realises even complex tube geometries without collisions. All of the steps related to tube processing – from tube feeding to loading and unloading of the machine to post-processing – are automated. Each bending cell is designed by Schwarze-Robitec to be highly customised to the user’s production requirements. The CNC 40 Rotary bends tubes made of all common materials such as aluminium, titanium, copper, steel, and stainless steel with a diameter of 6mm to 38mm. This also applies to tubes with already preformed contours. Thanks to its rotating bending head, the rotary function offers the particular advantage that tubes can be bent in both left and right bending directions in a single operation.…

The nine-month research collaboration, which is supported by $138,000 in funding from the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), will deliver alloys with enhanced material properties that optimise heat exchange operations. Dr Matthew Young, IMCRC’s Manufacturing Innovation Manager, said the IMCRC activate project had the potential to catalyse significant advances in Australia’s additive manufacturing capabilities. “Supporting novel alloy development specific to 3D printing processing conditions will maximise heat exchange efficiency, benefiting a number of sectors across Australia, from aerospace to energy,” he said. “More broadly, it will enable an Australian manufacturing sovereign capability to produce products with improved performance, geometries and fabrication. As this project demonstrates, enabling research institutions and industry to build symbiotic relationships remains key to developing a world-leading Australian manufacturing industry.” Conflux Technology’s CEO and founder Michael Fuller highlighted that improving heat transfer efficiency played a fundamental role in reducing humanity’s impact on atmospheric climate change: “At Conflux, we strive in our internal program of research and development to create…

The facility will demonstrate and further evolve the application of K-TIG’s innovative robotic welding capabilities. Professor John Spoehr, Pro Vice-Chancellor - Research Impact at Flinders, welcomed K-TIG as a foundation research partner, in an initiative which will harness Flinders’ research expertise to advance K-TIG’s activities. “The research & development facility is involving researchers and students by working with them to trial and test their innovative game-changing welding technology at the Factory of the Future facility,” said Professor Spoehr, who is also the Director of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute. K-TIG Managing Director Adrian Smith said the aim of having the R&D facility within the Factory of the Future at the Tonsley Innovation District was to prove that K-TIG’s technology can not only expand Australia’s shipbuilding capability but has vast industrial applications. The Factory of the Future is under development by BAE Systems and Flinders University and will connect businesses and sectors, which are of growing importance…

The new report, Rebuilding Vehicle Manufacturing in Australia: Industrial Opportunities in an Electrified Future, has found Australia is uniquely blessed with advantages to attract and retain EV manufacturing and rebuild the nation’s car-making capacity. This potential, however, will not be met without major government action. “When it comes to creating an EV manufacturing sector, Australia enjoys advantages other nations would die for: rich reserves of lithium and rare earths, strong industrial infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce, powerful training capacity, abundant renewable energy options, and untapped consumer potential,” said Dr Mark Dean, the report’s lead author. “And contrary to popular belief, we wouldn’t be starting from scratch. Thanks to the resilience of our remaining automotive manufacturing supply chain, a surprising amount of auto manufacturing work – including components, specialty vehicles, and engineering – still exists here.” However, Dr Dean said his research found Australia’s advantages would count for little without significant government support. The report…

Dynamic milling or advanced roughing are typical descriptions of this time- and cost-saving strategy. These CAM-based strategies are ones that centre on a cutting tool’s arc of contact and its average chip load. By adapting the tool’s arc of contact via its CAM-generated toolpath, roughing speeds are increased, effectively controlling process temperature, applying higher feeds per tooth, and increasing depths of cut to significantly shorten overall part machining cycle times – all without placing any additional strain on machine tool spindles. Arc of contact and thermal load in relation to cutting speeds A cutting tool’s arc of contact is an independent variable that influences thermal load on the tool and is the key to optimised roughing operations. The maximum arc of contact on any tool is 180 degrees (its diameter). At a full arc of contact, the radial cutting depth (or cutting width) is the same as the cutter diameter, and represented…

Lovitt Technologies Australia is a leading manufacturer of complex, precision engineered, structural components and assemblies for commercial, business and military aerospace platforms. Central to the company’s current and future success is the selection and use of best in class CNC machining equipment. Flying in the face of the impact of the pandemic on Australian business and the economy, the company made two very significant investments during 2020 and 2021: a Mazak Vortex e-1600V/10 five-axis machining centre, and a Mazak Variaxis i-700 MPP five-axis machining centre equipped with a Mazak Multiple Pallet Pool (MPP) – all supplied by John Hart. “COVID-19 has had an impact on our business, but our vision and commitment are long-term,” says Bruce Ramsay, Manufacturing Director of Lovitt Technologies Australia. “Our decision to invest in these machines was driven by a combination of seeing a market for larger structures where we felt we had something to offer, and the need to do existing work more efficiently to remain competitive. “We considered all brands with an Australian presence for each requirement, but Mazak had the…

Craft Health is a healthcare research & development company committed to 3D-printed personalised healthcare. When it began looking for an accurate and precise print head for the manufacturing of personalised tablets, it came across ViscoTec. The solution that it needed had to comply with any regulatory requirement for manufacturing of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. The ViscoTec print head vipro-HEAD convinced with its technology: using the endless-piston principle, it is possible to achieve accurate and precise dosing of Craft Blends – a proprietary mixture of different GRAS excipients for 3D printing and various controlled release profiles. Other advantages of ViscoTec are the stepper motor version in the print head, that allows easy integration to already existing gantry systems for 3D printing. Moreover, the wetted and non-wetted surfaces can be clearly separated and cleaned accordingly. To meet the requirements of Craft Health, the wetted surfaces of the vipro-HEAD were customised and refabricated using SS316L material to comply with FDA regulations. Dr Seng Han Lim is the co-founder…