Industry News

To this end, more fabricators are replacing basic software with more advanced applications provided by the specialists. Glenn Durham, Vice-President of Engineering at SigmaTEK, explains what the industry can expect from CAM software providers moving forward.   AMT: Scrap-reduction and accelerated cutting cycles are a few obvious benefits of nesting programs. Where else do they make a difference? Glenn Durham: Nesting isn’t only about scrap-reduction. It’s also about part-placement for manufacturability. A main goal for fabricators – beyond simply cutting and processing materials, is to efficiently manage inventory. While companies like SigmaTEK want to help manufacturers reduce scrap, we also provide tools that make it easier and more efficient to track and reuse drops. To elaborate, there are many situations in which the location of a part on the material must be optimised before we can even consider material utilisation. For example, vacuum table routers have the strongest…

The focus of research & development (R&D) activities in the manufacturing sector is guided by many factors, including the global economic environment, domestic and international demand, regulations and standards, the nature of competitive global supply, the general level of confidence within the sector, and the subsequent capacity of domestic manufacturers to invest in research, innovation, capital equipment and human resources. To assist the rail industry to reduce barriers in undertaking R&D activities, the Rail Manufacturing CRC was formed. The Rail Manufacturing CRC is an industry-led Cooperative Research Centre supporting industry to develop new products, technologies and supply chain networks to increase Australian rail manufacturing’s competitiveness, capacity and productivity. The Centre is funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, and will operate until June 2020. Making connections in rail The Rail Manufacturing CRC connects Australian rail businesses with universities and research institutions that are leading the way in innovative rail research. Rail…

Na3Bi is a topological dirac semi-metal (TDS), considered a 3D equivalent of graphene in that it shows the same extraordinarily high electron mobility. In graphene, as in a TDS, electrons move at constant velocity, independent of their energy. This high electron mobility is highly desirable in materials investigated for fast-switching electronics. The flow of electrons in graphene can be, theoretically, 100 times as fast as in silicon. However in practice there are limitations to graphene’s remarkable electron mobility, driven by the material’s two-dimensional nature. Although graphene itself can be extremely pure, it is far too flimsy to use as a standalone material, and must be bound with another material. And because graphene is atomically thin, impurities in that substrate are able to cause electronic disorder within the graphene. Such microscopic inhomogeneities, known as ‘charge puddles’, limit the mobility of charge carriers. In practice, this means that graphene-based devices must be painstakingly constructed with…

Compact smart vending Big bulky machines have their place, but they will never be fully point-of-use or provide the smart manufacturing cell with its own autonomy. Some suppliers offer bench-top units that are compact in size but pack a punch well above their weight when it comes to features. They typically offer a full software suite and provide 100% control and accountability per bin or per individual item. This makes them ideal for the modern shopfloor, where the machining process and selection of cutting tools cannot be compromised. Mobility Mobility has been one of the catch words of the last decade or so. Today we take it for granted that our office, social activities and more sit in our pocket. Users expect to…

1414 Degrees has spent almost a decade developing its Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) technology to store electricity as thermal energy by heating and melting containers full of silicon at a cost estimated to be up to ten times cheaper than lithium batteries. The South Australian company moved into a 3,000sqm factory on the site of the former Chrysler /Mitsubishi engine plant late last year. The Lonsdale plant housed one of the largest iron foundries in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1960s and 1970s and was closed in 2005. 1414 Degrees recently began building its first 10MWh TESS-IND system and expects to have at least two sites for installation in the first half of 2018. Work on the first 13.3MWh test cell for a 200MWh TESS-GRID system is expected to begin soon. The company is planning to initially build two grid-scale 1GWh systems in South Australia, which would be comprised of five 200MWh units and potentially play a significant role in stabilising the state’s renewable energy-dependent electricity network. 1414 Degrees has…

The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), the premier manufacturing technology show in North America, will be taking place in Chicago on 10-15 September. This will be followed by JIMTOF2018, the Japan international machine tool fair, on 1-6 November, in Tokyo. AMTIL will have stands in the international associations sections of both exhibitions, with our staff on hand to answer enquiries from exhibition visitors keen to know more about manufacturing in Australia and the opportunities here. In addition, AMTIL will be using the opportunity to engage with other international manufacturing associations. “Having a presence at the big overseas shows like IMTS and JIMTOF is vital for AMTIL,” says AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti. “As well as representing our members on the global stage, they allow us to build stronger links with manufacturing associations from around the world and exchange ideas and information.” AMTIL will be engaging in a range of activities in support of any members who will be attending IMTS or JIMTOF. If you plan to visit either event, please contact…

Ellex is a global leader in medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease. It has about 10 core products across five areas: glaucoma; diabetic eye diseases; secondary cataracts; age-related macular degeneration; and vitreous opacities (commonly known as eye floaters). The company officially opened new headquarters in the northern Adelaide suburb of Mawson Lakes in December. The new 2.18-hectare facility allows Ellex’s machine shop, clean rooms and administration to be co-located for the first time. A major feature is the Controlled Environment Room (CER), a state-of-the-art, dust-free space where the lasers are built, eliminating contamination risk. Early indications have shown measurable reductions in costs and manufacturing time per unit, without any risk of compromising the quality and reliability of products. Ellex sells its laser and ultrasound systems in more than 100 countries and has offices in the US, France, Germany and Japan. Executive Director Dr Meera Verma said Ellex almost doubled the laser and ultrasound side of the business between 2013 and 2017 and was experiencing remarkable growth –…

Invert Robotics’s patented climbing robots are installed with high-definition cameras and sensor technology that allow for equipment to be assessed for maintenance and preventative analysis on a remote basis. The robots enable precise and accurate remote inspection of surfaces, even those made from non-ferromagnetic materials such as stainless steel, carbonfibre, aluminium and glass. Inspectors are fed real-time video during the inspection, enabling immediate and highly accurate analysis. “Unlike other inspection methods using dyes, drones and optical or laser devices, Invert Robotics’s technology provides 360-degree diagnostics and does so in up to half the time of traditional inspections,” says Invert’s Managing Director Neil Fletcher. The robots are already being used by the major Australian and New Zealand dairy companies and co-operatives such as Fonterra, Synlait and Murray Goulburn, as well as a number of global brands throughout the food & beverage manufacturing industry in Europe and Asia, such as FrieslandCampina and Heineken. However, Invert’s technology…

While the industry is developing electric vehicles and enjoying a global upsurge in demand for cars, it is also faced with the urgent need to refine combustion engines to reduce consumption. Lightweight yet high-performance drive systems are the order of the day. This presents the machining industry with a challenge, since some of the new materials used to achieve this are difficult to machine. Added to this is the increasing pressure to improve the efficiency of the production process. Rarely throughout its history has the automotive industry been under such intense pressure to implement change: within the next two decades, the combustion engine is set to give way to the electric drive. National governments and the EU administration in Brussels have started to introduce tax incentives to promote electric vehicles over vehicles with combustion engines. And that is just the beginning. Car manufacturers face penalties if they fail to comply with the political requirements for reducing CO2 emissions. At the same time, private transport is becoming ever more popular, and with this rise in popularity inevitably…

The global market for HSS cutting tools is expected to grow to more than $10bn by 2020. This is a significant amount, especially when the current global market for the entire cutting tools industry is valued at around $18.5bn. The increase is supported by a steady demand from key segments, such as automotive and construction, as well as heavy electrical and industrial equipment. Despite the growing competition from solid carbide, HSS continues to be popular with manufacturers due to its high wear resistance and excellent hardness and toughness properties. HSS cutting tools are best suited to mass production environments where tool life, versatility, productivity and tool cost are of the highest importance to an end-user. It therefore still has a major part to play in efficient and reliable machining of many components. Also, the current focus for a good-quality product that meets the customer application requirements at…

As issues abound with respect to escalating electricity prices and the Energy Security Board (ESB), and the Turnbull Government scrambles to unveil the National Energy Guarantee, more and more corporate acquirers of large-scale electricity are turning their minds to how best to procure cost-efficient, environmentally-friendly energy. Globally, a trend is beginning to emerge whereby large corporate manufacturing and retail businesses such as Ikea, Volkswagen, General Motors and Dow Chemical have undertaken to purchase their electricity directly from offsite renewable energy generators such as solar and wind farms. This ‘Direct Model’ of procurement is a departure from commonly recognised approaches, which involve a recognised retailer acting as middleman for the procurement. This international trend reveals the potential for a new Australian market to emerge with respect to offsite renewable energy procurement by corporate entities. Models for offsite renewable energy procurement The proliferation of new market structures supporting renewable energy procurement presents challenges of complexity to energy users looking for a better deal. The most commonly used model for large-scale procurement or…

AMT: Tell us about CEDA and what its aims and objectives are as an organisation. Melinda Cilento: CEDA has been around for about 60 years now. We are a member-based organisation; we’re passionately committed to advancing good public policy debates in Australia with a view to driving better policy outcomes that support social and economic development in Australia.   AMT: What areas of policy are you seeking to influence? MC: I’m relatively new to the role. For me, the priority this year is to actually take a bit of a step back from the agenda that we’ve had in recent years and reaffirm our purpose by exploring the whole concept of economic development. It’s a phrase we use in our title, but when you think about a country that’s now grown consistently for 27 years, and we are an advanced developed economy, I think it’s time to circle back to the concept of economic development and have a conversation about what that actually means, what we think…

FUTUREMAP is a business diagnostic tool specifically developed for small-to-medium (SME) manfuacturers by the IMCRC in collaboration with the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) and the Federal Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme. Through either one-on-one structured discussions or interactive group workshops, FUTUREMAP enables participating manufacturers to map the current state of their business and identify where they can lift their awareness, competitiveness and build resilience against 13 key areas of industrial and advanced manufacturing competitiveness. The IMCRC will be facilitating the first FUTUREMAP interactive workshops at NMW, providing Australian SME manufacturers with an opportunity to identify areas of focus and potential investment to transform and future-proof their business in a rapidly digitalised world. David Chuter, CEO and Managing Director of the IMCRC, is confident that FUTUREMAP, as one of the first business diagnostic programs designed specifically for the Australian SME manufacturing sector, will become an engaging and valuable resource for the broader industry and potentially beyond. “The intent of FUTUREMAP is to…