Industry News

Vehicles used in mining and remote area transport are subjected to some of the harshest conditions and usage imaginable. They need to be built extra tough, have improved ground clearance, improved gross vehicle mass (GVM), and be super reliable to meet the extraordinary off-road demands of remote and difficult terrain travel. Based in Carrum Downs Victoria, EnduroCo provides 4x4 conversions for the Toyota Hiace and Toyota Coaster buses and vans. These vehicles offer the perfect 4x4 minibus or van transport solution for mining sites with the ability to traverse all harsh and difficult-to-navigate terrain in absolute safety and confidence. From the outback to sand and beach environments, whether it be for passenger transport, tourism, off-road ambulance, disaster recovery, search and rescue or even law enforcement vehicles, the EnduroCo 4x4 conversions provide the build quality, reliability, comfort and affordability which has been tried, tested and manufactured to withstand the harshest Australian conditions. EnduroCo’s impressive customer list includes mining operators such as BHP, BMA, Golding, Harmony Gold PNG, Glencore and Thiess. All the components for the EnduroCo 4x4 conversions have been designed locally by EnduroCo…

Australian industry will soon have access to an innovative cutting tool manufacturing platform, thanks to a research collaboration between leading tool manufacturer ANCA and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO. The nine-month project costing just under $1m, which is supported by the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), is developing a new additive manufacturing (3D printing) process for tungsten-carbide tools. The additive manufacturing technology will enable affordable, high-performance tools to be manufactured using one platform, replacing the current production process of mould pressing, sintering, brazing, and grinding. Now in the advanced phase, the research is focused on refining the additive manufacturing technology ahead of ANCA taking the hybrid manufacturing platform to market. Dean McBain, Research & Technology Manager at ANCA, said the project had the potential to transform the way tungsten-carbide brazed insert tools were made in Australia and across the world. “ANCA’s collaboration with IMCRC and CSIRO has accelerated the development of an innovative additive manufacturing technology which we believe has the potential to disrupt the $2.2bn global cutting tool market,” he said. “Successful completion of this project will allow ANCA to…

Established in 1966, Plucks Engineering Ltd (Plucks) is a second-generation family business that differentiates itself as a flexible, customer-centric agricultural manufacturing and repair engineering company. Ideally located in Rakaia between Christchurch and Ashburton in New Zealand, Plucks is perfectly poised to deliver overnight – if not the same day – and their workshop designs and develops fast, flexible farm and heavy machinery. “We are firmly rooted in agriculture and specialise in the manufacture and repair of a vast range of agricultural machinery - ranging from cultivation, drilling, heavy water ballast land rollers, square bale feeders and general repairs of most agricultural machinery,” Neil Pluck, Managing Director for Plucks explains. “We produce a large range of dairy effluent products, ranging from concrete enviro saucers, pumps and rafts, effluent main lines, travelling effluent irrigators, pond stirrers, and dairy effluent screening equipment. Around 60 – 70% of what we do is focused on effluent.” Pluck says that the company looks for expertise, knowledge, and skill when searching for the ideal supplier. “We rely heavily on our suppliers to complete our product offering.” Pluck underpins the importance of suppliers’…

The full Oxford Economics report has so much detail in it, I found it hard to know where to start in giving you some information that may be of interest. So what I have done is focus on areas that may give some context to the overall report and highlight some high level activity that is apparently on the global stage. The most recent survey data points to weaker manufacturing activity in the quarter from July-September 2022. The lower right quadrant of the Global Supply Chain Barometer shows a manufacturing sector still expanding, but in most cases surveys have weakened significantly over the last three months. The lower left corner is consistent both with shrinking manufacturing output and worsening over the last three months. Of the major economies shown in this graph, only India and Indonesia are still seeing an expansion which appears to be strengthening. Interestingly, the Australian PMI dropped 3.2 points to 49.3 points in August 2022, indicating a…

A specialist supplier of steel tube and pipe, Austube Mills, part of the InfraBuild Group, is benefitting from a low-maintenance, time-saving, and safe hydraulic clamping solution for its steel slitters at its Acacia Ridge plant in Queensland. Austube Mills Acacia Ridge, which has been manufacturing and producing steel solutions since 1984, installed Technofast EziTite clamp nuts, which provide reliable and precisely repeatable force, on its steel slitters to allow the rotating slitter blades to cut through kilometres of black steel. Once the steel is cut to width, it is shaped into rectangular, square or round tubes on tube rolling mills, which are subsequently used in a huge range of applications in industries such as construction, manufacturing, mining, transport, and agriculture. “The Technofast solution is not just more reliable – it’s safer, too,” says Austube Mills Manufacturing Superintendent, Michael Thomasson, who has been working with the company for more than 30 years, starting as a fitter, and holding roles such as maintenance planner, maintenance superintendent and manufacturing superintendent. He has a Mechanical Engineering Diploma and Graduate Diploma in Maintenance Management. “I remember the…

Spare Parts 3D (SP3D), with offices in Paris (HQ) and Singapore, has been helping companies adopt Additive Manufacturing (AM) in their supply chains as part of the solutions to address spare parts problems:  spare parts obsolescence, long lead time, high cost of inventory, MOQ etc. AM adoption brings up multiple obstacles that can be overwhelming: incomplete part data (lack of dimensions, materials, drawings), lack of in-house AM knowledge, picking which part to print, estimating how much savings can be achieved, dealing with limited manpower, etc. Spare Parts 3D has developed DigiPART, a powerful AI-based software solution to facilitate the creation of Digital Inventory and enable the adoption of AM in industries. DigiPART identifies the parts that are technically 3D printable and those that make business sense, thus getting tangible results faster and creating value for your company and supply chain. It sifts through very large inventories, does not require drawings, and has been designed to operate with partial data set. Results are fully transparent and traceable. In last two years,…

For more than two decades, National Group has supplied heavy-earthmoving equipment and end-to-end mining services to the world’s largest resource companies. Their machinery is used at flagship Australian mines to dig up iron ore, coal, gold, nickel and other commodities. Led by founder Mark Ackroyd, National Group owns one of this country’s largest and most advanced fleets of mining equipment. “National Group continues to grow and diversify its NSW operations,” says Ackroyd. “We have significant long-term contracts in coal and gold, and a strong pipeline of opportunities for sustained growth in NSW. National Group has created well over 100 regional jobs in NSW in the past two years. We intend to create plenty more.” By his own account, Mark Ackroyd was born and bred into this industry. He learned all about the machinery by working on roadworks at a very, very young age. “Like eight to 10 years old, I was going to work,” he says. Ackroyd was clearly not scared of a risk, or playing the long game. He worked his way up from owning one bulldozer, into…

Queensland’s new Energy and Jobs Plan represents a great leap forward in delivering clean energy, thousands of jobs, and multimillion-dollar economic opportunities for the Sunshine State, the Climate Council says. “Queensland has substantially raised its renewable energy target to 70% by 2032, with a $62bn investment in regional communities, good jobs, and clean power for all Queenslanders. This is a big step forward for the Sunshine State,” Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the Climate Council said. “With its Energy Plan, Queensland has set itself up to cash in on the global transition away from polluting coal and gas, while bringing coal workers and regional communities along on the inevitable journey. It’s great to see that 95% of the $62bn spent on this plan will be invested in the regions. “This now puts Queensland ahead of the big states for their 2030 renewable energy targets. Queensland is now aiming for 60% by 2030, compared to Victoria which has pledged 50% by 2030, and New South Wales with no specific target. Queenslanders have already suffered enormously from climate change-fueled floods and fires.  In fact, during the announcement, Queensland Premier Annastacia…

All-Energy Australia, Australia’s largest clean energy event, is taking place this October in Melbourne to continue supporting the industry’s growth and to help accelerate Australia’s transition to a renewable energy future. This is a free-to-attend exhibition and conference from 26-27 October 2022 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. With energy being at the forefront of many discussions with the government’s ambitious climate change bill being pushed through at the moment and countries across the globe realising that they can no longer rely on fossil fuels for their energy needs, it will be a welcome return for All-Energy Australia. All-Energy Australia is the country's largest and most anticipated clean energy event in Australia, which opens up a world of opportunities for industry suppliers and experts as well as those involved in renewable energy and energy storage sectors to expand business networks. All Energy Australia is organised in partnership with the Clean Energy Council and is where renewable energy professionals can get exclusive access to the latest technologies and trends and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. As the industry’s largest all-encompassing clean…

Leading international welding equipment manufacturer, Kemppi, has released its new MIG/MAG MasterMig welding machine models 353 and 355. Designed in conjunction with professional welders, the new MasterMig range delivers a range of features to help enhance industrial welding productivity and quality. The 358 model is scheduled for release later this year. The new, compact and powerful Kemppi MasterMig range comes with Weld Assist as standard. This feature lets users set-up welding parameters quickly and easily to save time and improve productivity levels. By simply selecting the joint type, welding position, and material thickness, users are ready to weld. Equipped with memory channels, the MasterMig range also lets users save chosen parameters for fast retrieval. The ability to save customised settings means welders do not have to go through an initial setup for every job. At the turn of a knob, they can highlight the desired setting and proceed to weld. Highly convenient, this feature saves precious time, while helping to increase productivity. For greater welding productivity and control, the MasterMig 355 and 358 models can switch on the new MAX arc performance…

Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)-based professionals from Anglo American and ConocoPhillips Australia, both with significant operations in the region, volunteered their time with the Bright Future STEM Program to engage and inspire more than 500 schoolkids from Moura, Gladstone, and Biloela. The Bright Future STEM Program, designed and delivered by the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association (AREEA), uses a combination of industry role models and hands-on interactive activities to teach students aged nine to twelve about the range of STEM careers in the resources and energy sector. “The Bright Future STEM team had a fantastic time in central Queensland last week, joining STEM professionals from Anglo American and ConocoPhillips Australia to engage and inspire schoolkids,” AREEA Director Operations, Tara Diamond said.“ In recent years it has become increasingly important to get the younger generation interested in studying STEM fields. With the resources and energy industry set to experience significant growth in its STEM-based workforce demand, getting the younger generation interested in STEM is a…

Melbourne has another quiet achiever in nano-manufacturing. Researchers at Innofocus Photonics Technology have developed the world’s first 3D In-situ Refractive Index Characterisation System for Nano-fabrication, the world’s first Intelligent laser nano-manufacturing system, the world’s first fully encrypted nano-colourful digital ID tags system, and also the world’s first nano-printed cooling film which runs without power. Frank Yao is the CEO of Innofocus Photonics Technology. As a cutting-edge technology company, Innofocus is committed to creating greater value for scientific research, green energy alternative solutions, advanced manufacturing transformation, and new material applications. The typical application domains Innofocus is in, include ultrathin flat lenses, digital colourful ID tags, nano-photonic devices, miniature micro-optical components, graphene photothermal materials and solutions. Building an entirely new area of photonic laser creatives, Innofocus prints in 3D at the nanoscale. Fabricating with complete IP rights and independent manufacturing capabilities in the fields of optics, photonics, electromechanics, optoelectronics and automated software systems. AMT spoke to Yao at the AMW show in Sydney. A lot of manufacturing in Australia is either very…

Strange diamonds from an ancient dwarf planet in our solar system could lead to the production of ultra-hard machine parts, according to scientists. A team of researchers, including those from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has confirmed the existence of lonsdaleite in ureilite meteorites from the dwarf planet’s mantle. Lonsdaleite is a rare, hexagonal-shaped diamond believed to be much stronger and harder than its more typical cubic cousin. Research led by Monash University, in collaboration with CSIRO, RMIT University, the Australian Synchrotron, and Plymouth University, was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study provides clear evidence of lonsdaleite’s formation in nature, offering clues to synthetic production that could make more durable machine parts. CSIRO scientist Mr Colin MacRae said the discovery could have enormous implications for industries like mining. “If something that’s harder than diamond can be manufactured readily, that’s something industry would want to know about,” Mr MacRae said. Lonsdaleite is named in honour of pioneering British crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, though its existence has been a controversial topic. This study, using a range of…