Logistics

Newly announced technology greatly expands capacity of AI Replicates real world physics to truncate lead time and simulate stress testing of products Rolling out to select partners imminently, with plans for broad availability this year At 3DEXPERIENCE World in Houston, a joint announcement from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Dassault Systèmes CEO Pascal Daloz put “physical AI” and production‑grade virtual twins at the centre one of the largest engineering gatherings of the year. The message delivered to nearly ten thousand attendees was bold: a new class of industrial AI, grounded in physics rather than just language, could compress the distance between concept and reality in dramatic fashion. Whether or not this partnership ends up defining the next decade of manufacturing software, the idea of physical AI matters. It signals a shift that could reshape design, simulation, testing and factory optimisation for manufacturers of all sizes, including in Australia’s precision sector. “AI is just an engine — you…

Zinc whiskers can pose significant problems if not addressed. Despite their innocuous name, they can cause considerable disruption in data centres. While monitoring temperature and having an effective layout can mitigate risks, it’s crucial to remain vigilant about this concealed threat. Zinc whiskers are tiny filaments that form on steel surfaces electroplated with zinc. Zinc protects against corrosion, but the molecular stress from the electroplating process causes it to expand and crystallise to relieve the pressure. They start at only a few microns but can grow to several millimetres. It’s important to note that various surfaces develop whiskers at different rates and densities. Zinc whisker growth is unpredictable, but it is believed to be influenced by the conditions during the electroplating process itself. The tiny shards can lead to catastrophic consequences for data centres. They can remain undisturbed for years on floor tiles and other structural supports. While they are more prevalent in older data centres that used electroplated zinc, they can form on this material anywhere, regardless of environmental conditions. Hazards Unchecked zinc whiskers can lead to everything…

A few years ago, Freighter Group, then named MaxiTRANS, seriously considered scrapping its heavy-duty truck trailer manufacturing business. It seemed an era was coming to an end at the Australian company, which had spent decades building up its production facilities, relying heavily on manual processes and a skilled workforce. Now, high labour costs and long lead times were eating into its profits, and it faced a crucial decision. But in a Herculean effort, the management team opted to transform the company’s old manufacturing facility into a Smart Factory. It figured it would take three tough years to turn things around – and now the company is seeing the first signs of success. Greg L’Estrange was working in the company’s facility in Ballarat when his phone rang. On the other end of the line was a forklift driver from the factory. “He asked me about one particular part. He wasn’t entirely sure where it was meant to go, but he had already worked out what he was going to do with it,” recalls L’Estrange, Executive…

Multicam Systems is excited to be part of Australian Manufacturing Week in Melbourne, where we will showcase our latest CNC routing and cutting technologies designed to enhance precision, efficiency, and productivity for manufacturers across different industries. As a trusted Australian manufacturer of CNC solutions for over 30 years, we continue to innovate our machinery to the evolving needs of the industry. At this year’s show, we will showcase a variety of our CNC machines, featuring live demonstrations that allow you to witness their precision, speed, and versatility firsthand. Our Multicam CNC routers come in various sizes, with processing areas starting from 1200mm x 1200mm and 2400mm x 1200mm. Larger and custom sizes are also available to meet your specific needs. These machines can be equipped with a range of accessories, including vacuum hold-down beds, fully automatic tool changers, automatic loading and unloading attachments, mist cooling, chip extraction, multiple drill heads, tangential-oscillating knife attachments, and more. Their ability to seamlessly integrate with software programs such as EnRoute, Fusion360, SolidWorks, and many others makes Multicam CNC routers a valuable…

Few people would disagree that we live in difficult and uncertain economic times. According to AMW exhibitor TXM Lean Solutions, this is not the time to stop focusing on improving business performance. Instead, businesses need a renewed focus on Lean and improvement to stay competitive and prepare themselves for recovery when it comes. TXM has identified three areas where businesses can focus to make gains when the financial going is tough. Reduce lead time Reducing lead time allows businesses to become more responsive to customer demands, particularly during economic slowdowns when customers have more options. The faster a business can fulfil orders, the more competitive it becomes, whether the economy is up or down. Shorter lead times also free up cash by reducing the time between spending money on raw materials and receiving payment from customers. A key tactic for reducing lead time is to work with suppliers to shorten order lead times, ultimately lowering your inventory. Start by mapping your end-to-end process using tools like the Manufacturing Agility Process® to identify areas for improvement and develop a plan to reduce lead…

A new Swisslog AutoStore grid-based automated warehouse solution is delivering uptime and energy-efficiency benefits to Komatsu’s new spare parts warehouse in Tarneit, Victoria. The new purpose-built warehouse is designed to store small-to-medium parts for machinery used in the construction sector, a major market for Komatsu in Victoria. “Construction is a demanding sector, so we required a system with high levels of uptime. Seeing AutoStore deliver 99.9% uptime globally, and Swisslog’s local projects regularly seeing higher numbers up to 99.99% gave us the confidence that we will be able to serve our customers at all times best,” said Komatsu General Manager, Warehousing, Hendrik Van Der Merwe. The Swisslog AutoStore solution for Komatsu has achieved Highly Commended recognition at the 2024 Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Award (ASCLA) in the Supply Chain Management category. This award category recognises an organisation that has demonstrated significant achievement or improvement within a section or across their entire supply chain. In addition to the construction sector, Komatsu provides essential equipment, technologies, and services to the mining, energy, government, waste, and quarry industries. The company’s purpose…

Rob and Christiana Colquhoun established Prebuilt in 2003 to deliver innovative design in the modular home manufacturers market. They built on their collective backgrounds in development, construction, and asset management and their passion for intelligent architecture. Prebuilt has constructed and installed hundreds of residential and commercial projects offsite, with budgets ranging from $250,000 to over $20,000,000. Prebuilt started by focusing on high-end residential homes and later expanded into commercial projects. The company has a strong in-house design and engineering team that works closely with architects and other consultants on projects. Sustainability and environmentally friendly design are important considerations, especially for commercial projects. “Prebuilt has successfully delivered projects nationwide, adapting to various client requirements and regulatory frameworks,” said Mal Batten, CEO of Prebuilt. “Whether it's modular McDonald’s stores in Western Australia, educational facilities in New South Wales, or residential clients in Queensland, flexibility and expertise ensures seamless execution across the states.” Prebuilt operates under a Certified Quality Management System, ISO9001. This…

South Australia’s wine export industry is thriving, contributing significantly to the country’s $2.39bn wine exports in 2024. According to Wine Australia, exports surged by 34% in value between January and September 2024, with shipment volumes climbing 7% to 643 million litres—the highest volume seen in years. Leading the charge, South Australia accounts for 52% of the nation’s wine production, followed by New South Wales (24%) and Victoria (15%). In 2024 alone, South Australia crushed 1.43 million tonnes of grapes, a 9% increase from the previous year. “Maintaining a competitive edge while meeting growing demand means embracing new solutions,” said Darryl Blackeby, Regional Sales Manager for sensor technology leader ifm. “Automation is the key to scaling up and staying ahead in such a dynamic industry.” Why automation matters While larger wineries are already adopting automation to meet rising demand, many smaller producers hesitate. They often hold back because of concerns about cost, downtime, and disruptions to their artisanal processes. “There’s a misconception that automation takes away the craft of winemaking,” Blackeby noted. “But the truth is, the right systems…

Rockwell Automation has launched Logix SIS, a cutting-edge safety instrumented system (SIS) designed to address the evolving needs of modern industrial environments. The introduction of the Logix SIS from Rockwell Automation provides a modern and integrated safety solution, offering both SIL 2 and SIL 3 certifications for enhanced process and hybrid safety. Logix SIS delivers all components of a safety instrumented system, including the process logic solver and I/O. The system is engineered to provide high availability with proven Rockwell Automation hardware, leveraging the latest 1756 controller, FLEX 5000® I/O platform, and Studio 5000 Logix Designer® application for a truly integrated user experience. "Logix SIS represents a significant step forward, offering exceptional flexibility for process and hybrid safety applications while leveraging our proven hardware to target the highest safety levels," said Dan DeYoung, vice president of product management at Rockwell Automation. "Its intuitive interface, consistent with our other solutions, minimises complexity and empowers partners to deliver high-level safety solutions." Key capabilities of Logix SIS: Modern SIL 2 and SIL 3 solutions deliver comprehensive safety across various industrial applications;…

Advanced Navigation, a world leader in navigation and autonomous systems, has announced the expansion of its versatile Certus range, with the new Mini series. Available in three variants, the Certus Mini series includes a GNSS-aided Certus Mini D and Certus Mini N inertial navigation system (INS), while Certus Mini A functions as an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS). Weighing no more than 55 grams, the series delivers impressive performance and cost-efficiency, defying expectations for its weight and size. Advanced Navigation CEO Chris Shaw said, “Manufacturers and system integrators often face trade-offs between performance, size, cost, and weight. The Certus Mini series is a testament that these attributes do not need to conflict. This value-driven breakthrough lowers the entry barrier to precise and reliable navigation for customers deploying land-based vehicles. It also unlocks new possibilities for lightweight airborne platforms, such as drones, where every gram counts towards flight efficiency and power consumption. Designed with flexibility in mind, the series is easily integrated into existing and new system builds with simple plug-and-play…

Pick-and-place robots are increasingly important in automated processes, such as assembly lines. With its EXPT, the automation specialist Festo offers an exact and dynamic solution for this. Operating at up to 150 picks per minute, the robot works continuously. For this, safe and gentle feeding of the cables to the gripper had to be guaranteed. The unique feature—a rotating additional axis—led to increased wear of the cables. With a unique energy chain for tight installation spaces and dynamic applications, including a rotation module, the cables are now safely guided at high rotation angles Problem Festo SE & Co. KG is a leading provider of automation solutions for processes and entire production plants. The manufacturer also includes its universal parallel robot, "EXPT," in its extensive product portfolio. The tripod-based pick-and-place robot works with high performance and precision and manages up to 150 picks per minute. Its design and control system enable flexible and cross-application use, enabling convenient implementation in applications with several robots in the production line. An A5 axis was to be implemented at the lower end…

In a move set to strengthen Australia's domestic manufacturing sector, Capral Aluminium has entered into a strategic supply partnership with Tindo Solar, Australia's only solar panel manufacturer. This collaboration will see Capral supply extruded aluminium for Tindo's locally produced solar panels, with the potential for further expansion to support Tindo's future Gigafactory. This partnership marks a significant step for both companies as Tindo scales its operations to meet increasing demand. The initial supply arrangement signals a shift by Tindo towards prioritising local suppliers in the renewable energy sector. Capral operates several aluminium extrusion plants across the country and is recognised within the Australian market as a leader in the supply of 'LocAL' lower carbon aluminium. This partnership aligns with Capral's commitment to sustainability and supporting Australian industries. "Capral's collaboration with Tindo is a testament to the strength of Australian manufacturing,” said Luke Hawkins, Capral's Divisional General Manager of Industrial and Supply Chain. “While our initial focus is on meeting Tindo's current production needs, we are particularly excited about supporting their future Gigafactory with locally extruded aluminium. This…

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…