Industry News

The Seed Terminator can be retrofitted to new and used John Deere, CASE IH and New Holland Class 7, 8, 9 and 10 harvesters and retails for about $115,000. It uses a multi-stage hammer mill to pulverise weed seeds, spreading the sawdust-like debris behind the header. The “one-pass solution” pulverises seeds with a multi-stage hammer mill and spreads the nutrient-rich debris 10-12m behind the harvester to act as a fine mulch for soil improvement. It also eliminates the need for herbicides and labour-intensive and potentially dangerous burn-offs to keep weeds at bay after harvest. Testing has been focussed on rye grass seeds because of their miniscule size and the fact they are notoriously difficult to kill. Nine prototypes were initially were built and tested across nine different geographies in South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, with different crop types, soil types and moisture contents during the 2016-17 harvest. A further 23 machines were rolled out for the 2017-18 harvest, mainly…

Manufacturers today live in a very competitive, price-sensitive and crowded world. Companies that operate in developed economies can no longer compete on cost alone and are looking at how to achieve a more stable revenue forecast. The need to differentiate from competitors is also a key priority. One way this can be done is to look at servitisation (the shift from selling just a product to selling a product and a service) as a way to provide a complete solution to customers. Many of the companies I speak to are investing in disruption and innovation, and they aren’t doing it merely from a new product development perspective but something far more advanced. They are going from a ‘make and sell’ business model and evolving it into one that increasingly adopts and embraces services, which in turn helps build long-lasting customer relationships. Why manufacturers are servitising their businesses The main benefit for companies adopting servitisation…

Despite being born with cerebral palsy and a number of ongoing health issues, Tim began learning to swim at the age of four, and began swimming competitively when he was 10. Contests and medals culminated in his selection for the Australian Paralympics team at the Rio games in 2016. Tim came away with three medals, including gold in the S9 100m freestyle. The success story continued at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, where he won the gold medal in S9 100m freestyle and Gold in SB8 100m breaststroke. In 2017 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Now Tim has the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in his sights, and he is being supported BY one of AMTIL’s CEO Groups as sponsors. New Touch is one of the members of that CEO Group, and Tim’s visit was a chance to have a look round the factory and get an understanding of what the company does. “It was great to have Tim…

Boasting a capacity of 9m x 3m x by 1.5m, Titomic’s industrial-scale 3D printer overcomes size and speed constraints present in all other 3D printers for manufacturing in metals. With a process co-developed with CSIRO, Titomic’s machine features patented additive manufacturing technology that has  the potential to transform the future of Australian and international advanced manufacturing. From airplane wings to submarines, Titomic’s technology is capable of making large complex parts in minutes and fusing dissimilar materials and enables metal products to be manufactured without melting. “We’re obviously proud to officially launch Titomic’s first large-scale metal 3D printer,” said Titomic’s Chairman Philip Vafiadis. “We hope industry leaders understand that this is more than an advancement of 3D printing but rather it is the beginning of the race to displace traditional large scale industrial manufacturing processes constrained by economics.” Jeff Lang, Titomic’s CEO and CTO, added “As a company we look forward to fully realising the potential of advanced manufacturing, both locally and globally. The capabilities of Australian ingenuity coupled with…

May marked the longest run of expanding or stable conditions for the Australian PMI since 2005, with the longest positive run being 50 continuous months from July 2001 to July 2005. Five of the seven activity sub-indexes in the Australian PMI expanded in May. New orders edged up 0.8 points to 62.4, indicating healthy demand and a strong likelihood of further near-term growth, while sales levels were stable (down 12.1 points to 50.4). Seven of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded in May (based on trend data), with the wood & paper products sub-sector’s stable conditions the only exception (down 0.6 points to 49.4). Sub-sectors providing manufactured goods for large transport projects and the construction sector continue to report very strong levels of activity: petroleum, coal & chemicals (down 0.9 points to 64.2); metal products (down 0.2 points to 61.4); machinery & equipment (down 0.3…

Whenever a company identifies a requirement for a new machine tool, most workshop managers start thinking about accuracy and reliability, whereas the company accountant may believe that price and lifespan are the most important criteria. The result is often somewhere in the middle – ideally, a brand new machine that is engineered and built for reliability, with a world-class control, and operator training to ensure accuracy, while meeting the initial budget and amortisation parameters set by the accountant. Even though machine tools and their electronic systems have become remarkably sophisticated nowadays, good planning makes it possible to acquire a new machine that meets the needs and wants on a workshop manager’s wish list. The recent purchase of a new CNC lathe by Drilltechniques is a good example. What is really interesting is the rationale behind the acquisition. Hitting the front In just 10 years, Drilltechniques has become a byword for excellence across a number of…

The State Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll presented the inaugural Woman Manufacturer of the Year award to Vanessa Kearney from Viva Energy and Jill Walsh from Actco Pickering Metal Industries at the awards ceremony, held at Crown Palladium in Melbourne. The Young Manufacturer of the Year Award was taken out by another female trailblazer, Vanessa Katsanevakis, who won the award for her leadership at Sussex Taps. Katsanevakis guided the business through a major rebrand and a period of exponential growth. The Hall of Fame Gala Dinner was attended by hundreds of industry stakeholders, and recognised outstanding manufacturing businesses and individuals. The Manufacturer of the Year (Large Business) was awarded to Bosch Australia, while Siemens took out the new Leader in Industry 4.0 award and PACCAR Australia was awarded the 2018 Leader in Workforce Skills Development. A number of other companies were also recognised with awards for excellence in some of Victoria’s key growth sectors, including: Creature Technology – Medium Business Osteon Medical – Small Business Entegra Signature Structures – Construction Technologies Albins Performance Transmissions…

“After 14 years running this great organisation, it’s time to do a little less and give someone else a run,” said Harrison. “We’ve come a long way over that time and I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. “Australia’s strong nation brand is a great asset for our business community and our economy, but the challenge always is to make that connection. That is exactly what the Aussie Made logo was created to do 32 years ago and, I am pleased to say, is doing so even more powerfully today. The logo is a well-known and trusted symbol by consumers the world over who are looking to buy genuine Aussie products. “It’s been an honour to have been able to lead the Australian Made Campaign and I am thankful to the Board for giving me that opportunity. Although stepping down as Chief Executive, I will of…

Budget papers released on 8 May reveal that R&D Tax Incentive claimants including SMEs and the start-up sector may be faced with additional compliance burdens. Under the new measures, which come into effect on 1 July, there will be additional funding for enforcement activity allocated to the Tax Office and AusIndustry. Jack Qi, Director of Tax Services and R&D specialist at William Buck, says that while at first glance SMEs and start-ups may have been spared the brunt of the tightening of the R&D Tax Incentive, compliance changes could have the biggest impact. “Given that such activity has already ramped up in recent years, any further focus will mean it’s more important than ever to prepare robust R&D claims and quality, contemporaneous internal documentation that will withstand scrutiny,” says Qi. “From a cash flow perspective, we anticipate potential delays in companies receiving their R&D refunds until any review is finalised.” Qi warns the Government against making any more changes to the R&D Tax…

Kennewell CNC Machining Based in Murray Bridge, 76kms east of Adelaide, Kennewell CNC Machining is a precision engineering company that has successfully launched a project supported by the Government of South Australia’s Regional Development Fund, integrating a Fanuc Robot with an Okuma Genos M560V vertical machining centre, and also purchasing an Okuma LB3000EX-II-MYWx800 multi-axis CNC lathe with OSP-P300L Control. Established in 1995, Kennewell had already been an important Okuma customer for many years. The company’s Managing Director Brett Kennewell had served his apprenticeship on Okuma machines more than 25 years ago. “The Okuma machines are robustly built for stability and precision - as an example our 11 year-old machine, is still operating and is as accurate today as it was on installation,” says Brett. “Okuma personnel do everything they can to assist us with technical advice and support which is readily available locally and remotely. The ongoing training is a key factor in the relationship with this partner as we strive…

Austin is a leading designer and manufacturer of customised dump truck bodies, buckets and ancillary products used in the mining industry. With more than 30 years’ experience in the mining and manufacturing industry, the company is an expert at solving engineering challenges. As a complete service provider, it offers on and off-site repair and maintenance and heavy equipment lifting services to customers including miners, mining contractors and original equipment manufacturers. With a presence in some of the world’s principal mining regions, Austin provides high-quality, cost-effective solutions, delivered on-time and backed by through-life product support. With a significant amount of welding carried out every day and anywhere between 80-120 G-size cylinders used each week, Austin was keen to work with BOC to improve safety of its workers and reduce costs by upgrading its gas…

As an enabler of high-performance Industry 4.0 concepts, IO-Link has become indispensable in tool machine engineering and in production facilities. In addition, however, hydro power plants can be wired quickly and efficiently using IO-Link: at the Mount Coffee dam in Liberia an intelligent IO-Link installation connects dozens of sensors and actuators over long distances simply while saving time and cost. The power plant operator had already come to appreciate the typical IO-Link benefits when it came to diagnostics and maintenance. By December 2016 the time had finally come: after more than 20 years of interruption the first turbine was started up, and now all four turbines are feeding 22MW each into the power grid. The integrated wiring solution developed by project partners Balluff and Andritz Hydro has the potential to be utilised in future power plant projects as well. The origins of the Mount Coffee dam, which lies 30km north-east of the Liberian capital Monrovia, go far back: the former dam was finished in 1966, but was almost totally destroyed during the…

The irony is that one of the most productive of these solutions is far from new—in fact, it’s been a champion in the war on machine tool downtime for nearly three decades. It’s called KM Quick Change Tooling from Kennametal. Now, Kennametal has now launched an entirely new KM product line: Turret-Adapted Clamping Units. In addition, the company has partnered with global lathe tool specialist, EWS Tool Technologies, to manufacture and support this series of KM adapters. Together, the two companies plan to redefine how shops will tool up the turrets on their DMG MORI, Okuma, Mazak, Haas, Doosan, Nakamura, Hwacheon, and Hyundai lathes, with more to come. Embracing change Some companies have looked at quick-change tooling and decided not to invest, on the grounds that it is too expensive or not worth the hassle that comes with implementing any new technology. That might be why many…