AMT APR 2014

apr14 Australian Manufacturing Technology

Your Industry. Your Magazine.

Agriculture – Fresh ground for manufacturers Trailer ansehen:

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contents

Volume 14 Number 03 APRIL 2014 ISSN 1832-6080

AGRICULTURE Tool supplier’s expertise feeds efficiency Milking - An industry in demand CEFC - biogas for agribusiness Robotics to change agricultural landscape Kilcoy beefs up its energy efficiency Simplicity Australia - simply the best

44 46 48 48 49 50

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING The key manufacturing benefits of 3D printing 52 Researchers can be ‘digital blacksmiths’ with 3D printers 56 3D printing enters fourth dimension 57 CUTTING TOOLS Seco boosts manufacturing competitiveness A new edge to productivity in steel turning Trochoidal milling – a machining fitness boost Iscar – Delivering solutions for the oil & gas industry

58 60 62 64

WELDING WIA – Lifting productivity with induction heating

70

RECRUITMENT & TRAINING Times of change call for focus on skills Want to be a better employer of apprentices?

71 73

From the CEO From the Industry From the AMWU

10 12 14

INDUSTRY NEWS Ai Group unveils Ten Point Plan Innovators set for NMW 2014 Trotec completes PED acquisition Human component for sustainable manufacturing Mitutoyo hits 80 years in business Innovation award for ACS Australia Alfex exclusive distributor for Epilog New showroom for Hare & Forbes’ Brisbane Aerospace accreditation for Ronson Gears

16 18 18 20 20 21 22 22 23

PRODUCT NEWS Our selection of new and interesting products

29

COMPANY FOCUS Redarc – Fast-growing innovators

66

AMTIL FORUM Law: Take advantage of your innovation Logistics: Supply chain in the 21st Century OHS: Racking - Inspect or neglect your safety Finance: Obtaining business finance

74 75 76 77

Manufacturing History – A look back in time

78

AMTIL INSIDE The latest news from AMTIL

80

apr14 AustrAliAn MAnufActuring technology

your industry. your Magazine.

Agriculture – Fresh ground for manufacturers PAGE 40

.Agriculture .Additive

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.Welding .Recruitment Manufacturing .Cutting Tools

& Training

AMT April 2014

40 Agriculture and manufacturing – Optimism prevails Australian farm businesses export around 60% of what they grow and produce, contributing 2.4% to total national GDP. In the three decades to 2010-11, the value of Australian farm exports rose from $8.2bn to $32.5bn – an average increase of 5% per year.

Continuous innovation underpins the ability of Australian agribusinesses to bring world-class commodities to market.

54

3D printing as an alternative to patternmaking Historically, Hoosier Pattern in the US machined its foundry patterns. Today, it uses 3D printing to create moulds and cores directly from sand: a change that dramatically expands the design freedom available to its customers.

68

Cover Growth in Australia’s farm sector consistently outperformed other sectors over the 30-year period to 2004, increasing steadily at an average rate of 2.8%. Despite uncertain weather conditions, Australia enjoys various advantages, with several factors helping to preserve a reputation for high quality.

Page 40

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FROM THE

Editor William Poole

The state of things in SA Putting AMT together involves long stints in front of a computer, so it’s good to get out of the office and into the outside world occasionally. One opportunity came up recently, thanks to Brand South Australia, who invited me up to Adelaide to join a two-day tour of the local manufacturing scene.

It was an interesting time to be in Adelaide. The city was at its busiest, with the Festival, the Fringe and the Clipsal 500 motor-race all running simultaneously, and campaigning for state elections in full swing. More pertinently, it was a time of uncertainty for manufacturing in SA. Recent news concerning the car industry, particularly Holden’s decision to close its plant in Elizabeth, have big implications for many of the state’s manufacturers, providing a sobering backdrop to the Brand SA tour. Day One began with a brief reception, then we were off to our first port of call. Innovyz runs an accelerator program helping start-up companies commercialise innovative new products and services. Over a packed hour, we saw presentations by several fledgling enterprises, from a transformative technology in shock absorbers for performance cars, to a low-energy process for mineral extraction. Maybe not all of these ventures will succeed, but the excitement they projected was striking.

Next came a series of site visits, starting with Redarc, a thriving producer of specialised vehicle accessories. Redarc, it struck me, exhibited many of the characteristics of that muchheralded category of company, the Hidden Champion – it operates in niche markets, focuses on innovation, and is targeting exports (read more on page 66).

This was followed by a tour of Tonsley, a sprawling site on the grounds of the former Mitsubishi factory, currently being redeveloped into an advanced manufacturing hub. With construction in full swing, the project offered an illustration of what can be done to nurture manufacturing innovation. Sections of the site were already up and running, including a campus of TAFE SA, where we stopped for lunch and a panel discussion on how medical device manufacturing can benefit from the type of clustering Tonsley aims to promote.

The tour didn’t sidestep the problems facing Australian manufacturing, most vividly in that afternoon’s visit. Specialising in sheetmetal components for the car industry, Precision Components’ future has been thrown into jeopardy by the announcements from Ford, Holden and Toyota. The sad thing is, contrary to certain media stereotypes of the Australian automotive industry, Precision Components embraced innovation and upgraded its operations, investing heavily in new technology to meet the car-maker’s demands. Now, with its three main customers serving notice, it faces an against-the-clock race to diversify.

Day two began with an exhibition of local manufacturing giant Clipsal’s domestic and commercial electrical products, organised to tie in with the Clipsal 500. It was followed by a visit to Tindo Solar. Much like Redarc, Tindo is taking on cheap overseas rivals – this time in the field of solar panels – by offering higher quality, superior performance and better customer service. Tindo’s Manager Richard Inwood is a compelling advocate of his company’s technology, and it was fascinating to see the panels being made.

The afternoon was dominated by a trip to see Clipsal’s factory in Gepps Cross, a state-of-theart facility that epitomised Lean manufacturing processes. The day ended with a behind-thescenes look around the Clipsal 500 race venue – a fun end to a stimulating two days.

Manufacturing in SA faces the same issues confronting the sector nationwide. But after so much recent bad news for our industry, Brand SA’s tour offered a welcome antidote, showcasing a manufacturing scene that is diverse, innovative, and building for the future.

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Editor WIlliam Poole wpoole@amtil.com.au Contributors Barbara Schulz Sales Manager Anne Samuelsson asamuelsson@amtil.com.au Publications Co-ordinator Gabriele Richter grichter@amtil.com.au Publisher Shane Infanti sinfanti@amtil.com.au Designer Franco Schena fschena@amtil.com.au Prepress & Print Printgraphics Australia AMT Magazine is printed using FSC mix of paper from responsible sources FSC© C007821 Contact Details AMT Magazine AMTIL Suite 1, 673 Boronia Rd Wantirna VIC 3152 AUSTRALIA T 03 9800 3666 F 03 9800 3436 E info@amtil.com.au W www.amtil.com.au Copyright © Australian Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

All rights reserved. AMT Magazine may not be copied or reproduced in whole or part thereof without written permission from the publisher.

Contained specifications and claims are those supplied by the manufacturer (contributor)

Disclaimer The opinions expressed within AMT Magazine from editorial staff, contributors or advertisers are not necessarily those of AMTIL. The publisher reserves the right to amend the listed editorial features published in the AMT Magazine Media Kit for content or production purposes.

AMT Magazine is dedicated to Australia’s machining, tooling and sheet-metal working industries and is published monthly.

Subscription to AMT Magazine (and other benefits) is available through AMTIL Associate Membership at $165 (inc GST) per annum.

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FROM THE

CEO Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

Universities taking a lead on Innovation Innovation is the buzz word of the day. Combining teaching, training, research, industry engagement and knowledge transfer is the key priority for universities in being able to deliver the next generation of engineers ready to take up the battle for Australia’s manufacturing future.

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) established their Innovation Centre in 2002 but over the past few years have invested a further $100m in infrastructure around the precinct. With a strong focus on ICT, clean technology and health, the ESC Innovation Centre offers research facilities, business mentoring and development, capital investment raising and valuable connections to USC graduates. It is an important part of the region’s commitment to new jobs in these industry sectors in the coming years.

The Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC) at the University of Adelaide has solid industry engagement and has a strong mandate towards ensuring their graduates become proactive and innovative leaders that make a real difference to these organisations.

Our next generation of manufacturing leaders will come through Universities such as UA that have a focus on research, entrepreneurship and commercialising innovation.

Innovation ANU at the Australian National University in Canberra is another University that has their eyes set firmly on the future. The connection of ideas, research, government and business through innovation will create value for the community if done in a constructive manner. By their own admission, they want to develop passionate people that can turn ideas into businesses.

The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering (CGSE) will pioneer new scientific approaches to geotechnical engineering design to underpin Australia’s energy and transport infrastructure, resulting in increased productivity and sustainability of the nation’s major export industries. This initiative is supported by the University of Newcastle, The University of Western Australia and the University of Wollongong. The CGSE will provide research capability into the provision of physical infrastructure for energy and transport, which is so critical to Australia’s future prosperity.

The University of South Australia, in partnership with Flinders University, will see the development of two new innovation Centres in South Australia underpinned by

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AMT April 2014

a $5m co-contribution from Hills Limited and the State Government.

develop the design-focused, solutionoriented practical engineers of the future.

The two new Centres – the Lance Hill Design Centre (named after the inventor of the Hills hoist) and the Digital Research and Commercialisation Centre - will be showcases for smart collaboration in the State, engaging students, independent designers and innovators, researchers and businesses, to collaborate on projects, incubate new ideas and products, and commercialise new designs.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), through its Advanced Manufacturing Precinct, houses some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies available. The Precinct brings design and engineering together, from digital design to digital manufacturing focusing in particular on 3D printing of advanced high valueadd products and components. Working closely with industry on specific projects, RMIT is developing the next generation of engineers, designers and technicians, creating a new wave of manufacturing in Australia.

The Australian Innovation Research Centre (IARC) at the University of Tasmania researches key issues in the areas of innovation performance, economic development, and public policy, to encourage and support innovation in both the public and business sectors.

An important focus for this university is to conduct research and evaluate the impacts of government policy that support innovation. This evaluation process is important for building in to the next phase of government programs and initiatives.

In Victoria there are a number of universities that have developed Centres of Excellence.

Deakin University is currently constructing a $55m facility at its Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus, called the Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training (CADET).

It is expected that CADET will open its doors in early 2015 and will house a range of laboratories, design studios and technology that will allow the centre to

Swinburne University has just opened its new Advanced Technologies Centre, a $140m teaching and research facility that will focus on advanced materials and manufacturing. Monash University is focusing much attention on material science, alloy design and processing, surface engineering and hybrid materials through its Centre for Additive Manufacturing at its Clayton campus.

As we can see just from these examples, all around the country, we have universities focused on producing jobready graduates, forging closer links with industry, undergoing exciting research projects, building knowledge, innovating and commercialising new ideas. This must stand us in good stead during these difficult times.

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FROM THE

Industry Innes Willox – Chief Executive Australian Industry Group

Workplace relations back on the agenda We have now reached something of a turning point in the increasingly important workplace relations debate in Australia.

It seems the debate, especially the need to review aspects of the current system to boost flexibility and competitiveness, is picking up steam and is back on the national policy agenda. While the current focus has followed what has been a particularly tough time for manufacturing with a series of business closure announcements, the renewed attention is most welcome.

• Termination of enterprise agreements after the nominal expiry date – the very high bar that the Fair Work Act and decisions of the FWC have placed on applications to terminate an enterprise agreement after its nominal expiry date also needs addressing. Many employers are saddled with unproductive enterprise agreements made in far less challenging times.

We are a high-cost economy, and if we want Australia to remain a high-wage, high-standard-of-living country, we need to find ways to lift our potential to grow, innovate, create jobs and develop the skills of the future. Cutting costs will only get us so far.

With Ford, GM Holden and Toyota announcing the closure of their Australian manufacturing operations, automotive component manufacturers are facing a potential crisis if they cannot quickly restructure and develop new products and markets. Many of the companies are highly unionised and therefore the support of the unions will be important.

That is why this focus on workplace relations is important and essential. An agile and properly functioning workplace relations system goes to the heart of the cost and productivity issues.

Enterprise-bargaining has a role to play in assisting businesses, through encouraging parties to negotiate measures to improve productivity, and through ensuring that the enterprise-bargaining system does not impose barriers to productivity improvement.

The Coalition Government has a yet-to-be-implemented policy requiring parties to satisfy the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that they have discussed productivity improvements during the bargaining process in order to take protected industrial action or have an agreement approved. This policy is very welcome, and it should be implemented as soon as possible.

However, the enterprise bargaining system in the Fair Work Act imposes some major barriers to productivity, and these barriers need to be redressed without delay.

There are a number of key changes that need to be made to the Fair Work Act regarding enterprise agreement content, specifically: • Permitted matters and unlawful terms – Under the Fair Work Act, the unions and employees were given the right to take industrial action over a much wider set of issues than previously. The “permitted matters” for bargaining under section 172 of the Act need to be more tightly defined and the “unlawful terms” in section 194 need to be extended. This will ensure that bargaining is focused on matters that genuinely pertain to the employment relationship, rather than on matters that seriously impede the ability of employers to manage their businesses in a productive manner.

• Variation of agreements – the Fair Work Act should be amended to put beyond any doubt the right of an employer to propose a variation to its enterprise agreement.

Circumstances sometimes change, requiring variations to industrial instruments.

The early signs are not encouraging. Over the past few weeks the feedback to Ai Group from our member companies is that during bargaining the unions have ramped up their claims for: • Restrictive no-extra-claims clauses, which the unions are hoping will block employers from proposing changes to their agreements.

• Excessively generous redundancy entitlements of up to four weeks’ pay per year of service, with no ceiling on payments.

Both these claims are very shortsighted when many companies need to urgently restructure, and require enterprise agreements that do not impose undue barriers to this restructuring.

Operating against the imperative for Australian companies to become more cost-competitive is the Government’s gold-plated Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme. The idea that 3000 companies will be required to fund a scheme for the whole community is unfair.

It would undoubtedly have adverse flow-on effects across the whole economy, through higher prices and reduced investment.

One company told me that the scheme would take more than $150m off their bottom line.

The existing PPL scheme, which provides 18 weeks’ pay at the level of the National Minimum Wage, was introduced with the support of Ai Group and is working well.

Clearly, there are many challenges ahead, though they all can be dealt with effectively if employers, employees and representative bodies pull together. The Government also has a key role in creating the right framework. The Government needs to act quickly to remove the obvious barriers to productivity and flexibility in the Fair Work Act. This should be given bipartisan support in the interests of ensuring a positive economic future for Australia

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FROM THE

AMWU Paul Bastian – National Secretary Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Wages debate masks strategy vacuum The cost of labour and the alleged burden of conditions in enterprise agreements has been front and centre in the debate on manufacturing in recent months.

In the cases of both SPC Ardmona and Toyota, we saw a flood of media articles about “outlandish” provisions of enterprise agreements, nitpicking minor items such as time off for giving blood at Toyota or the “shiny can allowance” for SPC forklift drivers. There were also incredible claims of some SPC workers earning more than $130,000 a year.

These untruths came not from the companies, but through supportive journalists briefed by ministry staffers in Canberra.

Indeed, SPC chose to rebut point-by-point claims made by Prime Minister Tony Abbott that could reasonably be seen to damage its business reputation. Toyota also denied the Treasurer’s claims that it cited union conditions as a factor in its decision to leave Australia.

The views of those companies are consistent with what AMWU officials are hearing during detailed discussions with industry.

Industrial Relations Minister Eric Abetz has publicly stirred fears of a pre-Accord-style “wages breakout”, yet pay rises across the economy are falling, trailing inflation at a historic low of 2.5%. In the latest National Accounts, unit labour costs fell by 1.8% over the last year. Far from blowing out, real wages and labour costs are falling.

The Minister also chastised “weak-kneed employers” for making “excessive” wage deals, but the fact is very few employers ever “cave in” to unions – in the real world they reach a compromise both sides can afford.

Senator Abetz just doesn’t get it.

In manufacturing, where capital equipment, utility charges and logistics are huge inputs, labour costs are only one of various factors determining the financial viability of a business. Across the whole manufacturing sector, the wages bill is only around 10% of total costs.

So media grandstanding about ‘make or break’ rises in wages that actually amount to only a few percent – a tiny fraction of a firm’s overall costs – is ridiculous, ignoring the real pressures faced by business. Despite the PM’s desire to strip back agreements to the bare minimum, bosses in the real world know if they tried, it would probably be counterproductive.

SPC is typical of many manufacturing operations where workers are not highly paid, and management know that stripping away penalty rates and allowances would destroy that most vital element in any business’s success – staff morale and cohesion. In fact, SPC said workers’ allowances made up less than 0.1% of its cost of goods per year.

In the present manufacturing crisis, employers have been frank that the real killers have been the strong Australian dollar and the burden imposed in competition with imports by unfair trade regimes. Behind closed doors, there have been strong appeals for the states to work with business by showing leadership. South Australia has set the pattern with its $330m proposal.

But the Federal Government has the most resources and carries the most responsibility.

The AMWU believes the present crisis grew from the Abbott Government leaving a vacuum of uncertainty with its withdrawal of $500m of support for auto-makers. It signed the South Korean Free-Trade Agreement in the full knowledge of the damage it would do to an auto-components sector already exposed. There are well-founded fears that upcoming free-trade deals with China and

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AMT April 2014

The bad news is that Jobs Plan proposals to promote Australian content on major projects, which could generate an estimated 15,000 jobs, are to be junked by this Government.

Japan, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will wipe out many remaining competitive firms.

The head of the SA Advanced Manufacturing Council, Professor Göran Roos, estimates that the time for a first-rate company to successfully diversify – exploring new markets, designing and testing new products, then retooling to produce them – will usually be around seven years. Australia’s 130 or so automotive components suppliers have suddenly had this time cut back to less than three years at the most, presuming that Holden and Toyota last the distance.

Businesses expect the Federal Government, whose decisions have largely put them in this situation, to come up with a plan to handle the transition. So far all we have had is the scrapping of $810m in industry assistance programs. Little wonder that the Ai Group’s manufacturing index has indicated a contraction for months, with a bleak outlook for 2015.

A $60m Federal plan for the fallout from Holden – and now Toyota – isn’t good enough. The AMWU estimates the cost of retraining and community and industry assistance to truly mitigate the closures’ impacts to be at least $4.5bn. Our union has outlined a comprehensive support strategy (see February’s AMT) to ensure the manufacturing sector gets a hand-up to innovate, invest and grow.

The $1bn Jobs Plan that Julia Gillard’s Government announced last February included $500m for 12 industry innovation hubs, designed to link businesses directly to the best brains in research from the universities and CSIRO. There is speculation that the Coalition Government is retaining five of these hubs – Advanced Manufacturing, Food, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceuticals, and Mining Technology, Equipment and Services. We hope the other seven will also be maintained. The bad news is that Jobs Plan proposals to promote Australian content on major projects, which could generate an estimated 15,000 jobs, are to be junked by this Government.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has said his department is working on a new industry strategy, which we await with interest. But it is a great pity this Government has left the Manufacturing Leaders Group moribund, and has not chosen to draw on the expertise of workforces via the AMWU. It would be a crime if the PM’s Manufacturing Taskforce blueprint – worked up by employers and unions including the AMWU – was lost for the political sake of reinventing the manufacturing wheel.

The Government says Australia is open for business. But judging

by Senator Abetz’s comments and the PM’s misguided zeal, the sting in the tail is perhaps that it doesn’t understand business at all.

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industry news

Ai Group unveils Ten Point Plan for strong economy The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has released a Ten Point Plan setting out the key policy steps required to lift Australia’s economic growth and resilience.

In publicly releasing the Plan, which has been presented to Government, Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said: “Successful management of the situation facing our economy requires action across a number of fronts, including repositioning the manufacturing sector for growth.

“This Ten Point Plan focuses on the key steps needed at a state and federal level to create the strong and diversified economy we need for the future. Rebalancing is needed, both to replace the waning mining investment boom with new drivers of growth, and to ensure the economy is positioned to manage our heightened exposures to commodity prices, global capital markets and increased concentration of our export markets.”

According to Ai Group, the health of manufacturing – and of the wider Australian economy – requires a number of key policy issues to be addressed. These range across 10 priority areas: • Consolidation of government budgets.

• Investing in infrastructure.

• Removing key workplace relations roadblocks.

• Boosting workforce skills.

• Building innovation and business capabilities.

• Lifting manufacturing performance.

• Successful transition for automotive manufacturing.

• Reducing regulatory burdens.

• Reforming energy markets.

• Reducing emissions and meeting the renewable energy target at least cost.

Willox said the Plan identifies the barriers to growth as high costs and low productivity across all industries, calling for a “back to the basics” strategy to overcome them. This would include: getting federal and state budgets back on a secure footing by the end of the decade; lifting infrastructure investment; removing blockages to flexibility in workplace relations; and tailoring energy markets, renewables policy and emissions reduction policies to reduce business costs.

“We also need to deliver high growth in the productivity of labour, capital and energy,” he added. “This means giving priority to innovation, lifting workforce skills and improving business capabilities.

These areas are particularly important for the trade-exposed nonmining sectors that we need to step up to replace mining investment as a source of growth. These sectors, particularly manufacturing, have been squeezed and sapped by high costs, the high dollar and low productivity growth.”

Willox voiced concern that, in the rush to get the Budget in order, the Federal Government would cut critical measures and programs supporting innovation, capability building and skills development. He added that the situation was particularly urgent for manufacturing, where revenues, reserves and margins have been “hit for six”.

“A period of accelerated depreciation will help much needed recapitalisation,” Willox concluded. “We need to make sure our antidumping regime works and that procurement policies – both federal and state - ensure full and fair opportunities for domestic businesses.

Finally, we need a sensible approach to the situation facing the automotive sector. Attention should include not only transitional measures for employees and regions but, critically, also for the businesses involved in auto supply chains. Active measures are needed to help them restructure and reorientate their businesses.”

Manufacturing contraction eases in February Improvements in production levels and new orders contributed to an easing in the rate of contraction in the latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI).

The seasonally adjusted index firmed by 1.9 points to 48.6 (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity). Despite some encouraging signs with production up (51.5) and new orders steady (50), manufacturing employment (47.4), stocks (45.5) and supplier deliveries 44.9) remained in negative territory. Export markets remain particularly tough for manufacturers with the subindex falling below 30 points. A recent pickup in residential and commercial construction continues to support the non-metallic mineral products sub-sector, which rose 7.3 points to 64.8.

if the economy is to find new sources of growth as the boom in mining investment wanes.

“While an easing in the pace of contraction and the lift in production in February are welcome, overall conditions in manufacturing continue to reflect the intense pressures from the strong dollar, high energy costs and the legacy of a long period of low productivity growth,” said Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “Manufacturers’ margins remain under considerable pressure and export sales are very weak. Yet it is critical that manufacturing builds competitiveness and productivity

“Major efforts are now needed both by businesses and governments to lift the pace of innovation, to build business capabilities and to lift workforce skills in manufacturing and in other trade exposed sections of the economy,” added Willox. “It is critical that we rebuild and recapitalise the sector and position it to take advantage of new opportunities and to assist in the task of rebalancing the economy which has become over-exposed to the fortunes of the mining sector.”

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AMT April 2014

Four sub-sectors expanded in February including food, beverages and tobacco (57.1 points, three month moving average), which has now expanded in every month since March 2013. The selling price index rose 3.8 points to 50.6 points (stable) in February. The input price index rose 5.3 points to75.1 points, as the lower dollar pushed up the Australian price of imported inputs. The average wages index increased by 0.5 points to 57.4 points.

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industry news

Trotec completes PED acquisition Trotec Australia has completed its acquisition of Project Engraving & Digital (PED).

Trotec Australia’s Managing Director Simon Moore said the acquisition was in response to unprecedented growth in the Australian market, and part of a global strategy of delivering customers a complete solution for all machinery and consumable requirements.

“This is an extremely exciting time for both businesses, as it will result in the combination of the two most customer-focused suppliers in the industry,” said Moore. “PED has been the leading supplier of both consumables and mechanical engraving solutions in Australia for over 35 years. Trotec, as a manufacturer of world-class laser flat-bed machines, can provide direct service and support to customers in Australia.

“Being able to make one contact for all their production requirements will be a win-win for our customers. By significantly expanding our footprint in Australia, we also create additional opportunities in other key industries PED currently services, such as the Vytek range of industrial machinery.”

PED’s CEO Adrian Holdaway expressed excitement about the various opportunities that becoming part of Trotec would provide

for PED, its staff and its customers.

“There were many factors in our decision to become part of the Trotec family,” he explained. “However, our staff and customers remained our first priority. The opportunity to work directly with our customers and solve issues as a manufacturer as opposed to being an agent was extremely important. Additionally, our staff will benefit from advanced training and additional development opportunities globally which we could not provide.

PED will continue to provide quality products and services from its existing offices in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. Additionally, all PED staff have accepted contracts with Trotec. Moore will continue in his role as Trotec Laser Australia Managing Director, while Adrian and Pauline Holdaway will form part of the new management team.

“Both Trotec and ourselves are looking to make this transition as easy as possible for all our staff and customers and would like to reinforce that nothing will change for our customers,” added Adrian Holdaway. “They will still be dealing with the same experienced and committed staff.”

Innovators set for centre stage at NMW 2014 Businesses will have direct access to industry leaders at National Manufacturing Week (NMW) in Sydney in May, through a speaker program running on the exhibition floor throughout the event.

NMW organiser Reed Exhibitions has confirmed a stellar line-up of presenters discussing key issues, commencing with Australia’s Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, offering new ideas and information to help manufacturers stretch their horizons. Professor Chubb advises the Prime Minister through his roles as Chief Scientist and Executive Officer of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, and is well known for urging breakthrough actions lest Australia be left behind in a “competitive and even hostile world”. He will speak on crafting the building blocks of innovation in Australian manufacturing.

Professor Chubb will be presenting at NMW’s R&D Hub, where visitors can speak directly with research providers about their work and opportunities for collaboration and commercialisation. Other industry experts will participate – via the NMW Solutions Theatre – with dedicated topic areas focusing on three separate growth sectors: Digital, Workplace Safety/CleanTech, and Ausplas (Plastics).

Many of these presentations will have broad appeal to Australian manufacturers – such as targeting fast-growing markets in Asia, and growth sectors such as mining and energy, medical technology and food manufacturing. The program will also feature advanced manufacturing topics –

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AMT April 2014

including a series of 3D printing sessions and an overview of the latest in bioplastic technology from the CSIRO’s Dr Katherine Dean.

Having the R&D Hub and Solutions Theatre program running alongside the regular exhibition – and freely available to all visitors – is designed to spark a deeper level of engagement that truly strengthens industry, comments NMW Exhibition Director Anthony Reed.

“In order to succeed in a changing world, industry needs information, ideas and access to a range of technical and other resources,” says Reed. “NMW will fill this need: with free access to high-level information and ideas from industry leaders and then, on the broader exhibition floor, a showcase of the solutions that help bring good ideas to life.

“As Professor Chubb says, there is no magic pudding that is going to transform Australia into the place we want it to be – but NMW aims to provide some of the ingredients for success, by giving industry both the ideas and the technical facilities to stretch their capabilities.”

Details of the Solutions Theatre will be available at the NMW website as the program is confirmed. The website also offers a guide to this year’s exhibition, which features a record 15 Product Zones covering emerging and advanced manufacturing

Australia’s Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb.

capabilities as well as the triennial Ausplas – Australia’s premier trade exhibition for the plastics industry.

“The website provides exhibitor details so that visitors can plan their visit in advance of NMW,” concludes Reed. “With so much to see and hear at this year’s event, visitors will be well advised to allow plenty of time – or several visits – to get maximum value from the event” NMW, Ausplas 2014 and the Solutions Theatre will be held at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park from 13-16 May. Entry is free to the trade. For more information, visit nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au.

Compare these Blowoffs

Facts about Blowers

There are a variety of ways to blow the water from the bottles shown in the photo below, but which method is best? To decide, we ran a comparison test on the same application using four different blowoff methods: drilled pipe, flat air nozzles, Super Air Knife™ (each using compressed air as a power source), and a blower supplied air knife (using an electric motor as a power source). Each system consisted of two twelve inch long air knives. The following comparison proves that the EXAIR Super Air Knife is the best choice for your blowoff, cooling or drying application.

Energy conscious plants might think a blower to be a better choice due to its slightly lower electrical consumption compared to a compressor. In reality, a blower is an expensive capital expenditure that requires frequent downtime and costly maintenance of filters, belts and bearings.

The goal for each of the blowoff choices was to use the least amount of air possible to get the job done (lowest energy and noise level). The compressed air pressure required was 60 PSIG which provided adequate velocity to blow the water off. The blower used had a ten horsepower motor and was a centrifugal type blower at 18,000 RPM. The table at the bottom of the page summarizes the overall performance. Since your actual part may have an odd configuration, holes or sharp edges, we took sound level measurements in free air (no impinging surface).

Drilled Pipe

Blower Air Knife

This common blowoff is very inexpensive and easy to make. For this test, we used (2) drilled pipes, each with (25) 1/16" diameter holes on 1/2" centers. As shown in the test results below, the drilled pipe performed poorly. The initial cost of the drilled pipe is overshadowed by its high energy use. The holes are easily blocked and the noise level is excessive - both of which violate OSHA requirements. Velocity across the entire length was very inconsistent with spikes of air and numerous dead spots.

The blower proved to be an expensive, noisy option. As noted below, the purchase price is high. Operating cost was considerably lower than the drilled pipe and flat air nozzle, but was comparable to EXAIR’s Super Air Knife. The large blower with its two 3" (8cm) diameter hoses requires significant mounting space compared to the others. Noise level was high at 90 dBA. There was no option for cycling it on and off to conserve energy like the other blowoffs. Costly bearing and filter maintenance along with downtime were also negative factors.

Flat Air Nozzles

EXAIR Super Air Knife

As shown below, this inexpensive air nozzle was the worst performer. It is available in plastic, aluminum and stainless steel from several manufacturers. The flat air nozzle provides some entrainment, but suffers from many of the same problems as the drilled pipe. Operating cost and noise level are both high. Some manufacturers offer flat air nozzles where the holes can be blocked - an OSHA violation. Velocity was inconsistent with spikes of air.

The Super Air Knife did an exceptional job of removing the moisture on one pass due to the uniformity of the laminar airflow. The sound level was extremely low. For this application, energy use was slightly higher than the blower but can be less than the blower if cycling on and off is possible.

Safe operation is not an issue since the Super Air Knife can not be dead-ended.

Maintenance costs are low since there are no moving parts to wear out.

Here are some important facts: Filters must be replaced every one to three months.

Belts must be replaced every three to six months.

Typical bearing replacement is at least once a year at a cost near $1000.

• Blower bearings wear out quickly due to the high speeds (17-20,000 RPM) required to generate effective airflows.

• Poorly designed seals that allow dirt and moisture infiltration and environments above 52°C decrease the one year bearing life.

• Many bearings can not be replaced in the field, resulting in downtime to send the assembly back to the manufacturer.

Blowers take up a lot of space and often produce sound levels that exceed OSHA noise level exposure requirements. Air volume and velocity are often difficult to control since mechanical adjustments ar required.

To discuss an application, contact:

Compressed Air Australia Phone: 1300 787 688 Int’l: +61 8 8983 3999 email: info@caasafety.com.au www.exairaustralia.com.au

The Super Air Knife is the low cost way to blowoff, dry, clean and cool.

Blowoff Comparison

$986 *Based on national average electricity cost of 8.3 cents per kWh. Annual cost reflects 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.

$2,703

industry news

New sustainable manufacturing system focuses on human component Engineers in the US have developed a new approach toward “sustainable manufacturing” that begins on the factory floor and tries to encompass the totality of manufacturing issues – including economic, environmental, and social impacts.

This approach, they say, builds on previous approaches that considered various facets of sustainability in a more individual manner.

Past methods often worked backward from a finished product and rarely incorporated the complexity of human social concerns.

The findings, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, reflect society’s growing demands for manufacturing systems that protect both people and the environment, while still allowing companies to be economically viable and make a profit on their products.

“People around the world – and many government policies – are now demanding higher standards for corporate social responsibility,” said Karl Haapala, an Oregon State University (OSU) Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. “In the early days, industry dealt with ‘end-of-pipe’ challenges to reduce pollution or increase efficiency.

There’s still a place for that, but we’re trying to solve the problem at the source, to begin the process right at the drawing board or on the shop floor. We want to consider a whole range of issues every step of the

way, so that sustainability is built into the entire manufacturing process.”

The researchers demonstrated the approach with the production of stainless steel knives, based on an industry project, but they say the concepts could be used for virtually any system or product. With every decision the method considers manufacturing techniques, speed of operation, environmental impacts, materials, energy used and wastes.

Decisions can be based on compliance with laws and regulations, and the effects of different approaches on worker safety and satisfaction.

“This is one of the few approaches to systematically consider the social aspects of the workplace environment, so that people are happy, productive, safe, and can contribute to their families and communities,” said Hao Zhang, a doctoral student in the OSU College of Engineering.

“Suppose we make changes that speed up the output of a manufacturing line. That might produce more product, but what are the impacts on worker satisfaction with the job? What about risk of worker injury

Mitutoyo hits 80 years in business Mitutoyo will hold a special event this month to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Japanese company, which specialises in measuring instruments and metrological technology.

The Mitutoyo story began in 1934, when Yehan Numata founded a research laboratory at Musashi Shinden, Tokyo, for the domestic production of micrometers. Two years later he established a factory in nearby Kamata and named his company Mitutoyo Manufacture.

The Kamata Factory was lost in 1945 due to war damage, but the company survived and has prospered. Today it has offices and divisions worldwide, and offers a diverse range of measuring instruments, from calipers to advanced co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs).

Represented in Australia by MTI Qualos, Mitutoyo previously held events to commemorate its 40th, 50th, and 70th anniversaries.

The 80th anniversary celebration will be held in Ota, Japan, under the theme ‘Japanese quality by Mitutoyo’. The event will showcase Mitutoyo’s contribution in the field of precision measurement, and also highlight some of its new products, as the company sets its sights on its 100th anniversary.

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AMT April 2014

and the costs associated with that? Every change might affect many other issues, but too often those issues are not considered.”

According to the researchers, social components have often been left out in the past because they were some of the most difficult aspects to scientifically quantify and measure, but issues that start on the workshop floor can ripple through the entire community and society. The OSU approach incorporates previous concepts of sustainability that have been found to have proven value, such as ‘lifecycle assessment’ of systems that considers the totality of energy used, environmental impacts and other issues. Moreover it lets manufacturers make value judgments about the issues most important to them, so that a system can prioritise one need over another as necessary.

The OSU engineers believe these demands are a special challenge to SMEs, which may not always have the necessary broad range of engineering expertise.

They hope the systems being developed can be implemented at many levels of manufacturing.

industry news

Innovation award for ACS Australia Advanced Composite Structures Australia (ACS-A), together with Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas, has been awarded a JEC Europe 2014 Innovation Award for the development of a novel composite clamp for pipeline repair.

A world first in this specific application, the composite clamp is designed for use as a repair system for pipes with leaking through-wall defects, with applications in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry.

Award winners were selected from a large number of applications worldwide, and were deemed by a panel of composites experts as having developed the best composite breakthrough, based on originality, technical interest, market potential, partnerships, financial and environmental impact.

The composite repair clamp is comprised of two half-shell sections, which are bolted in position around the pipe, and a specially designed sealing system to provide the means for leak and pressure containment. Extensive design, analysis and validation testing was conducted to verify the clamp’s integrity and ability to meet required repair scenarios.

The clamp is manufactured using a flexible, low-cost manufacturing process, and has significant potential in the global market as a direct replacement of existing repair solutions. Its benefits include: • Rapid delivery of custom-made composite clamp solutions, resulting in shorter lead-time repair deployment and reduced pipeline down-time.

• Improved corrosion resistance, reducing the need for inspection and allowing the possibility of repair life extension, which may open up a new market for longer-term repairs.

• Weight reductions of up to 85% compared with steel clamps in underwater application scenarios, resulting in simpler, faster installation requiring fewer personnel, leading to significant cost savings.

The work was completed within a program run by the CRC for Advanced Composite Structures (CRC-ACS), with partners: Pacific ESI, Supacat and the University of Southern Queensland, along with Merit Technology of Malaysia and Newcastle University of the UK.

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industry news

Alfex CNC becomes exclusive distributor for Epilog in Australia Alfex CNC has been named as the exclusive nationwide distributor for Epilog Laser products in Australia.

“We’re thrilled to announce that we have extended our relationship with Epilog Laser and will now be acting as the exclusive sales, service and support agents in Australia,” said Christian Buhagiar of Alfex CNC’s Laser Division. “We continually strive to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations and are excited to continue providing top-quality Epilog Laser products and engraving consumables to both new and existing Epilog Laser customers.”

Based in the US, Epilog has been designing and manufacturing flying-optics-based CO2 and fibre laser systems since 1988. The company specialises in developing versatile, reliable systems that are affordable and easy to use, delivering high levels of marking and cutting quality on all types of products. Alfex is a long-time distributor for Epilog in Australia, but under the new deal it will become the exclusive sales, service and support agents for the company’s products nationwide.

“Alfex CNC has represented Epilog Laser products in the Australian market for over a decade and have established themselves as the premier resource for laser engraving and cutting expertise,” said Mike Dean, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Epilog Laser. “With

a vast customer install base and complete catalog of services and support, Alfex will continue to provide the market’s best resource for long-time laser users as well as those just looking to add a laser to their business.”

Companies that own an Epilog laser of any age are advised to contact Alfex (www.alfexcnc.com.au) as soon as possible. Companies are advised to register their business, machine and warranty details so that Alfex can continue to provide any support, service and parts required.

New showroom for Hare & Forbes’ Brisbane branch Hare & Forbes Machinery house’s Brisbane branch has marked its 25th birthday by announcing its relocation to a brand new 3700sqm showroom, with the convenience of displaying its complete range all under one roof.

The Brisbane branch began trading in 1989, in a 600sqm showroom in the suburb of Woolloongabba. Warren Cooper, Brisbane’s branch manager and a Hare & Forbes employee for 27 years, relocated from Sydney to take the opportunity to open and manage the Brisbane branch. At the time, the branch employed one other staff member, Mark Walters, who is now its Sales Manager.

By 1994, the number of staff had risen to four and the branch had had grown its premises, relocating to a larger showroom of 900sqm in Macgregor. It remained in Macgregor for a further 10 years, and by the end of 2003 extensions had been made into the adjoining units, creating a larger showroom of some 1400sqm and bringing the total number of staff to nine.

In 2004, Coopers Plains became the branch’s new home, in a 4200sqm showroom and warehouse, located at 626 Boundary Road. However, with the growth of the company’s extensive range of machinery and tools, and with staff numbers exceeding 30, it rapidly outgrew these premises. Once again the search commenced for a larger building, and the answer was right in front of them – a 3700sqm warehouse right across the road.

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AMT April 2014

The decision was made to purchase the building and transform it into the brand new showroom.

The newly designed showroom of 600sqm where customers can smaller items in air-conditioned The remainder of the building

consists shop for comfort. is used

to house one of the largest displays of engineering and woodworking equipment in Australia and exceeds 3000sqm in area.

Number 626 Boundary road remains in use as a warehouse, accommodating the high volumes of stock the branch requires, which exceeds 5000 products.

industry news

Aerospace accreditation win for Ronson Gears Australian gear manufacturer Ronson Gears has been awarded accreditation to AS9100C Quality Management System Standard (Aerospace), paving the way for the company’s expansion into new markets internationally.

UK-based Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Limited conducted the audit late last year and awarded Ronson the accreditation for its gear manufacturing and quality systems. According to Ronson’s Managing Director Gordon New, the accreditation is recognition of the company’s longstanding focus on quality, customer service and its ongoing investment in state-of-the-art equipment, which provide it with the capability to service the high demands of customers in the aerospace and defence industries.

“We achieved ISO9001 accreditation in 1998 and have a proven record of providing quality services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in a broad range of industries,” said New. “We’ve supplied BAE Systems for many years as well as indirectly supplying well-known companies including Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

“The new accreditation means the company’s expertise will be more widely recognised globally. Our agent in North America is already in contact with a number of potential new customers and we hope to branch into Europe as well in years to come.”

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INTERACTIVE EDUCATION Free-to-attend Solutions Theatres for R&D, Digital, Health & Safety and Plastics. Hear from high-calibre speakers, linking industry and visitors with the latest research and best practice. Do not miss the opening keynote address on Day 1 from Chief Scientist of Australia, Professor Ian Chubb - 10:30am–11:00am Tuesday 13th May, R&D Hub.

ONE-TO-ONE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES NMW will facilitate prescheduled ‘One-to-One Meetings’ between qualified buyers and vendors. This is a great opportunity to meet and discuss mutually beneficial business outcomes within a private environment.

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ADVANCING

MANUFACTURING & PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY

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PRODUCT ZONES Six new Product Zones covering sectors and technologies that are driving industry growth - Machine Tools, Additive and Digital Manufacturing, CleanTech, Advanced Materials and Engineering Services.

Join your fellow manufacturing industry professionals from 4pm on Day 1 for an afternoon of drinks and networking. This is a fantastic opportunity to broaden your network, liaise with industry leaders and strengthen existing relationships. Attendance is free for all visitors and exhibitors.

PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY Returning to Sydney for the first time in 24 years, Ausplas - Australia’s premier plastics technology exhibition - will be incorporated into NMW.

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Government news

New manufacturing jobs and investment in Geelong More than 100 new manufacturing jobs will be created in the Geelong region by the first project to be funded under round one of the Federal and Victorian Governments’ Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund (GRIIF).

Federal Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine, Victorian Minister for Manufacturing David Hodgett and Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson announced the first grant of $5m to Geelong business Carbon Revolution on 4 March.

The grant will allow Carbon Revolution to undertake a $23.8m project for a carbon wheel manufacturing facility that will supply the global automotive industry, the first of five projects to be funded under GRIIF, a tripartite agreement between the Commonwealth, Victoria and Ford. The landmark project is expected to create up to 108 new full-time jobs.

while this transition occurs,” said Macfarlane. “The Australian Government knows that industry is the driver of business and a fundamental building block of our five-pillar economy. Our role is to provide a framework that will give Australian manufacturers, businesses and innovators the environment and the confidence to grow, create new opportunities and supply new domestic and global markets.”

“This is good news for the Australian manufacturing industry and great news for Geelong,” said Macfarlane while visiting the company’s headquarters. “This project shows the depth of the Australian manufacturing sector and is an example of the type of innovative and high-tech manufacturing that Australia can excel in, as the sector undergoes major transformation.

“Carbon Revolution has a bright future here in Geelong making quality carbon fibre products for the automotive industry,” said Dr Napthine. “This strategic partnership builds on the positive work my Government has already undertaken in providing Carbon Revolution with a previous grant of $250,000 leading to the creation of 20 new full-time jobs.

These new investments in manufacturing show Victoria’s capabilities in driving innovation in advanced manufacturing, food processing and services, and a wide range of industrial and consumer products.,”

“The Geelong region has absorbed significant shocks in recent weeks and months, but these new investments are a show of confidence in the region and in the change of direction that is taking place in Australian manufacturing.

While these changes are a challenge, they can be a positive turning point for industry and the catalyst for new investments and new jobs.”

Carbon Revolution is the world’s first commercial maker of carbon fibre automotive wheels, including the award-winning ‘one-piece’ wheel, an engineered product that represents the cutting edge in design and manufacturing with composite materials.

“We are partnering with both Victoria and Ford to help entrepreneurial local businesses like Carbon Revolution undertake new projects that will create jobs and opportunities over the next few years

Dr Napthine said that Carbon Revolution was one of Geelong’s many success stories with the local innovative business going from strength to strength.

Hodgett said that this was the first of a number of projects that would help grow manufacturing jobs in the region. “This investment in the company’s new facility is the first project to be supported by the GRIIF, which will assist local businesses as they seek new opportunities and build on the state’s strengths.”

Business and organisations in the region are encouraged to apply for Round 2 of the GRIIF, which is now open, via the AusIndustry website. The GRIIF is a $24.5m competitive, merit-based grants programme, and eligible projects will focus on encouraging new investment to create new or additional business capacity that results in sustainable jobs.

NSW initiative to create jobs for retrenched workers The NSW Government is to offer a $6000 Fresh Start tax rebate to businesses employing workers who recently lost their jobs through large-scale redundancies.

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Treasurer Mike Baird announced the payroll tax rebate initiative as part of a commitment to help workers who have lost their jobs through restructures by giving businesses an extra incentive to hire them. The $6000 Fresh Start Support payroll tax rebate includes the existing $5000 rebate already available under the NSW Government’s Jobs Action Plan (JAP).

The JAP provides a payroll tax rebate to businesses that employ new workers in new eligible employment – paid in two parts, at 12 months and 24 months after the employee is hired. Since 2012, the Jobs Action Plan has helped to create over 91,000 jobs in NSW.

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AMT April 2014

According to Baird, ongoing national and global economic uncertainty is contributing to a softening of the national labour market and putting pressure on businesses, but that the NSW Government was encouraged by the latest employment figures.

“While the latest job numbers show NSW’s relative strength in testing economic times, recent large-scale industry readjustments have left a number of NSW workers without a job,” O’Farrell added. “I understand the impact job loss can have on families and that’s why the NSW Government is determined to do all we can to support those workers and create new employment opportunities.”

Government news

New technology grant for Décor Victorian precision engineering company Décor Engineering has been awarded a $210,000 new technology grant from the state government to buy state-of-the-art equipment that will boost the company’s global competitiveness.

Minister for Manufacturing David Hodgett made the announcement during a special visit to Décor’s factory in Carrum Downs accompanied

by Donna Bauer, the Member for Carrum. Décor has more than 45 years’ experience in high-tech manufacturing finishes and specialises in high-quality finishes for the automotive, aeronautical, marine, aerospace and electronic component industries. Hodgett said the company was a well-deserved recipient of an Investing in Manufacturing Technology (IMT) grant.

The IMT grant scheme promotes the growth, productivity and international competitiveness of manufacturing businesses by stimulating investment in new technologies. Grants of up to $250,000 are available on a competitive basis to assist manufacturers to purchase and integrate new technologies that will: improve productivity and competitiveness; strengthen capability; and encourage wider and ongoing innovation.

All grants require a minimum co-contribution from the business of 75% of total eligible project expenditure (ie. $3 for every $1 granted).

Eligible project expenditure includes capital expenditure and other project-related non-capitalised expenditure but does not include internal costs, salaries or resources. Purchasing technology that is embedded in equipment and machinery should be central to proposed projects. The project should also involve integrating the technology into the business, which may also include some facility redesign and training.

Décor has invested more than $1m in research and new equipment to deliver more environmentally friendly finishes to reinforce its

market position. The company will use the IMT grant to purchase and install an environmentally friendly chrome replacement finishing process. This will use fully automated physical vapour deposition (PVD) technology that will deliver higher-quality finished components for various industry sectors with a reduced reject rate and will be more environmentally friendly.

“Importantly, the project will increase exports by $3.5m, create 19 new jobs and 15 transitioned jobs,” added Bauer. “That is great news for the company, great news for the people of Carrum Downs and great news for the Victorian economy.”

The first three rounds of the IMT program have awarded grants totalling $9.9m to 59 businesses, supporting investments of $45.8m.

Décor is one of a number of companies to be supported through the fourth round of IMT, a program that has been designed to increase global competitiveness by stimulating investment in new technology.

“The businesses spearheading these IMT projects are anticipated to deliver increased competitiveness, new skills and at least 278 new jobs, with a further 430 jobs transitioned to higher valued roles,” said Hodgett.

To be eligible for an IMT grant, applicants must: possess an Australian Company Number (ACN); have a manufacturing presence in Victoria; have at least three years trading history; meet the cocontribution requirement with eligible project expenditure; and be willing to provide financial reports for the last three financial years to enable the Department of State Development, Business and Innovation (DSDBI) to conduct a risk assessment.

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| 27

Tech news

USA/China: Auto manufacturer new efficient engine design EcoMotors (US) and First Auto Works (FAW) of China have formed a joint venture to build advanced engines in China. The agreement allows them to bring the diesel Opoc engine technology to China’s growing commercial automotive and engine market, and develop alternative fuel powertrains on the Opoc architecture. The Chinese partner is fully funding the building of the plant with a total investment of US$200m. The Opoc architecture comprises 50% fewer components and far less mass than conventional internal combustion engines and the fully modular capability enables significant efficiency gains. With serious air-quality problems and government mandates for fuel efficiency, China represents a large market for this type of technology.

EcoMotors International

Germany: Security tools for industry You can hear the metallic buzz as the milling machine bores into the workpiece. Just a few last drill holes, and the camshaft is complete.

The computer-guided machine performed the entire job – thanks to the digital manufacturing data that were uploaded onto its embedded computer beforehand. Everything runs without a hitch, only – the data is stolen. Whereas design data is well-protected from unauthorised outside access today, production data often lies exposed and unsecured in the computer-assisted machinery.

An infected computer on the network, or just a USB stick, are all a thief would need to heist the data. At this year’s CeBiIT researchers presented a software application that immediately encrypts manufacturing data as soon as it emerges. Integrated into computer and equipment, they ensure that both communicate with each other through a protected transportation channel and that only licensed actions are executed.

Fraunhofer

Australia: Australia’s first carbon neutral bricks Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bricks have been launched

by Brickworks Building Products.Manufactured at Austral Bricks (Tasmania) Longford facility, they are the first certified carbon neutral bricks under the Australian Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard. The carbon neutral certification of the range of pavers and bricks is largely achieved by the use of a unique fuel for kiln firing.

That fuel is sawdust, a biomass material and a byproduct of the local Tasmanian timber industry. The use of low emissions biomass as opposed to fossil fuels is largely responsible for the plant’s low carbon dioxide emissions. “In contrast, a conventional natural gas kiln of the same capacity could emit approximately 8000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.”

Architecture & Design

Germany: Effective thermal insulation with wood foam Scientists are developing insulation foam made from wood that could replace petrochemical plastics in the long term. Buildings are insulated by lining their facades with materials that reduce the transfer of heat to the outside environment. Traditionally hardboards or expandable foams based on petrochemical plastics are used because they are good insulators that are affordable and easy to produce. But these materials are not particularly kind to the environment, so the long-term objective is to replace petroleum based products with materials derived from renewable resources. One approach is to develop a method for creating foam from wood particles. This foam can be used in exactly the same way as conventional plastic spray

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AMT April 2014

foams, but is an entirely natural product made from sustainable raw materials. Wood-based insulation materials are nothing new, but the products that are currently available have drawbacks; eg over time, the currently used insulation mats made of wood fibers tend to sink in the middle due to temperature fluctuations and damp. However this wood foam is as good as conventional plastic foams.

Fraunhofer

USA: 3D printer that may print 500 times faster Oak Ridge National Laboratory is partnering with Cincinnati Incorporated, to develop a large-scale polymer additive manufacturing (3-D printing) system. The partnership aims to accelerate the commercialization of a new additive manufacturing machine that can print large polymer parts faster and more cheaply than current technologies. most 3-D polymer printers on the market today can only fabricate small prototype parts. By building a system that is 200 to 500 times faster and capable of printing polymer components 10 times larger than today’s common additive machines – in sizes greater than one cubic meter – the ORNL-CINCINNATI project could introduce significant new capabilities to the U.S. tooling sector, which in turn supports a wide range of industries. Access to such technology could strengthen domestic manufacturing of highly advanced components for the automotive, aerospace, appliance, robotics and many other industries.

Oak Ridge National University

Germany: Smart grid for electric vehicle fleet Being able to charge up to 30 electric cars at once requires some ingenious energy management. Researchers are incorporating a mix of renewables into the design of a smart grid for Germany’s largest charging station. The ratio of electric cars to charging stations is currently two to one and utility companies are pushing forward expansion of charging opportunities, especially in cities. Charging an electric vehicle fleet poses high requirements on the energy system.

Setting up an EV charging infrastructure of this kind is impossible without smart charging and load management.Together with Daimler AG and the University of Stuttgart, scientists are developing both the charging infrastructure and the energy management in a project called charge@work..The aim is to design a micro smart grid (MSG) capable of supplying the EV fleet with electricity produced exclusively from renewable sources. This year will see the installation of a photovoltaic unit and a small wind power system at the IZS to provide power to the fleet. In addition, a lithium-ion battery storage unit will be added to the basement and a redox flow battery to the roof as temporary storage of energy. The 30-meter-tall wind turbine is delivering 10 kilowatts. Since it operates on a vertical rather than a horizontal axis, it does not have to be oriented to wind direction. Its investment costs are low. It is designed as a direct current (DC) grid.

Fraunhofer

Norway: Water-mist prevents rain of sparks Water-misting is a relatively new extinguishing method, which so far has mainly been used in ships, offshore platforms and industrial buildings, etc. The method consists of drenching the site with tiny droplets of water, much of which is turned to steam by the heat of the fire. This has a number of fire-restricting effects: the water’s own uptake of heat, particularly when it evaporates, cools down the flames. The water that reaches the surface of the fuel also helps to cool it down. At the same time, the volume of the water increases dramatically as it turns into steam, displacing oxygen that would otherwise feed the flames.

SINTEF

Product news

Hosico introduces multisensor measurement Hosico Engineering, a leading supplier of light metal and injection-moulded precision components based in the Melbourne suburb of Braeside, recently increased its measurement capabilities by investing in a new MicroVu Vertex 311 multi-sensor vision system.

Having won a number of new contracts to produce precision components for the medical industry, the management at Hosico identified the need to streamline and improve the efficiency of inspection processes. Critical features on these components were already being measured on their Sheffield Endeavor co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM), supplied by Hi-Tech Metrology in 2000.

This machine utilised traditional touch probe technology, but due to the fine detail and flexibility of the components they required a quite different approach.

After completing a detailed study of the application and conducting a number of trials, Hi-Tech Metrology recommended the MicroVu Vertex 311. Fitted with a high-resolution video camera, LS3 laser and TP20 touch probe the Vertex system brings together the three measuring technologies required to effectively measure these parts, enabling it to measure all three characteristics rapidly and accurately in one set-up.

The vision system provides a ready means of rapidly measuring the majority of features, utilising a high-resolution colour camera combined with powerful optical zoom, 42-channel automatic LED lighting and intuitive InSpec software interface. The LS3 Laser is then used to measure a critical flatness specification on these clear, reflective and flexible medical components. By utilising a laser for this measurement, with its non-contact high-speed point collection, there is no risk of the probe system influencing the measurement results by deforming the part. In addition, there is the added benefit of enormous gains in cycle-time reduction.

The TP20 touch probe provides additional capability when features to be measured are out of sight of the camera and laser.

With conventional non-contact measuring systems, this would necessitate an additional inspection set-up, most likely on another machine, whereas the MicroVu Vertex multi-sensor machine is able to measure this entire part in one operation.

There are many productivity gains achieved by having the three key measurement technologies of vision, laser and touch integrated into the one system, with a single, intuitive software interface, simplified part fixtures and lower capital investment. The system can also be operated by semi-skilled personnel, reducing the need for training, www.hitechmetrology.com.au

AMT April 2014

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Digital Micrometers • Digital Calipers • Vernier Calipers • Micrometers • Dial Gauge and Indicators

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For over 65 years M.T.I. Qualos have brought quality measuring instruments and machine tool accessories to the Australian market.

Mitutoyo, the Japanese world leading manufacturer of precision measuring equipment, has been the mainstay of the range. In addition, other products from European brands such as Bison Lathe Chucks, Kasto Metal Cutting Saws, Kroeplin Caliper Gauges, Ducourret Precision Levels and Quick Knurling Tools, amongst others, make up a very impressive stable of quality products available to Australian manufacturers.

Contact us with your enquiries.

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product news

SinterGrip – innovative workholding Distributed in Australia by SEI Carbide, SinterGrip is an innovative range of workholding products that have been especially designed for use on five-axis machines.

Designed and manufactured by OML of Italy, SinterGrip received a Prize for Innovation at the Fornitore Offresi fair in February, having previously won first prize for technical innovation in tools and equipment at the 2013 Industrie Lyon trade fair. SinterGrip can secure a workpiece with a clamping surface of just 3.5mm, allowing the workpiece to be machined completely in a single operation, while saving money for raw materials.

SinterGrip are solid carbide, serrated inserts (type ISO P30:P35) that have been coated using a physical vapour deposition (PVD).

Coated cemented carbide currently represents 80%-90% of all cutting tool inserts. Its success as a tool material is due to its unique combination of wear resistance and toughness, and its ability to be formed in complex shapes. Combining cemented carbide with a coating allows the grade to be customised specifically for a given application.

The advantage of SinterGrip lies in the strength of this material, combined with a special section of tapered and pyramid-shaped teeth, which penetrate the material of the workpiece to create a coupling without any clearance. This helps to unload the clamping forces and the resulting vibrations, effectively becoming a sole body with the vice and the workpiece.

The special triangular shape divides the clamping forces, allows high coupling precision between the gripper (insert) and the jaw of the vice, and absorbing the vibrations, allowing high stability. The

special tapered shape (five degrees) of the inserts creates a pulldown effect into the insert, which is transferred to the workpiece, avoiding the lifting of the same. The inserts have been down to create a pull-down effect on the workpiece, permitting a lower clamping force, and thereby avoiding any deformation. www.seicarbide.com

Stainelec rolls out advanced rod cutter Stainelec Hydraulic Equipment has released the latest model in its series of cordless hydraulic threadedrod cutters – the DW-408B – designed for cutting threaded-rod material of diameters of 8mm-12mm in mild steel and stainless steel.

The DW-408B provides the operator with a clean cut on the workpiece, with no burr, allowing screwing of nuts or fixing directly to the threaded rod immediately after cutting. This cordless tool allows more flexibility in onsite applications, with the ability to cut threaded rods either on the ground or above the ground for ladder and scaffolding situations.

Weighing only 4.8kg, the DW-408B threaded-rod cutter features an OH&S compliant design that requires no trailing power cords on the job site. The DW-408B allows the user easy control with two user-friendly handle-grips when placing the cutter into the desired positioning for cutting rod material. However, if the positioning for the cut is incorrect, the unit offers a manual relief valve to avoid any damage to the workpiece material.

Another advantage with the DW-408B is that the cordless motor body can rotate from left to right at 70 degrees.

This is most suited for when cutting threaded rods in awkward positions, allowing the operator more control.

The DW-408B is capable of cutting M8, M10 and M12 stainless steel and mild steel, and is suitable for rod in metric threads as well as Whitworth sizes of 3/8-inch and ½-inch, together with 3/8-inch and ½-inch UNC sizes for the US market.

The DW-408B cordless model has the same characteristics as the DW-404 electric model, but is power by a Hitachi Li-Ion 18v, 3A/Hr battery, delivering approximately 500 cuts per full battery charge.

Battery chargers are available in both 230v, and 115v/60Hz for the US market.

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AMT April 2014

All cutting dies for threaded rod sizes are colour coded so that they can never be mixed up by the operator when interchanging them in the cutting head. To interchange the cutting dies is a fast and easy process, with the cutting blades held in place by easy-release holding pins that can be changed in a matter of seconds. Models DW-404 and DW-408B will suit all DW cutting dies for threaded rods, and are marked on the end with a colour code to define the ISO strength classes for 12mm-diameter material. The colour codes are: Unmarked for 4.6 class(400N/mm2); Yellow for 8.8 class (640N/mm2); Green for A2 stainless steel (304 Grade); and Red for A4 stainless steel (316 Grade).

Precision manufactured in Japan for Stainelec to international standards, the DW-404 and DW-408B series threaded rod cutters are reliable, powerful and easy to use. Their specially designed cutter blades are interchangeable between the two models, for all thread sizes and round rod cutting. The DW range cutters are the only portable cutter on the world market that can cut M12 and ½-inch stainless steel threaded rod cleanly, without any burr to the end of the cut material. www.stainelec.com.au

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2/1 Friars Road Moorabbin Victoria 3189 Tel: (03) 9555 5525 Fax: (03) 9555 2970 Web: www.lmclaser.com.au Email: sales@lmclaser.com.au

product news

Techni Waterjet: Clean, quiet, efficient Cutting operations using a waterjet are usually characterised by high levels of noise, along with a lot of mess. Techni Waterjet’s machines, however, are designed to be the cleanest and quietest on the market, while also delivering true “Lights Out” operation.

A typical high-pressure waterjet piercing process results in an abrasive jet stream that “rooster-tails” back into the environment for the duration of the pierce. Some manufacturers rely on a rubber deflector to diffuse the stream. The diffused stream creates a garnet laden mist that goes into the environment and can get everywhere, including on the beams, rails, bearings, controller and electronics.

Techni was the first waterjet company to build a tank equipped with an air bladder designed for the rapid raising and lowering of the water level. This feature enables submerged cutting, meaning there is no mist, and any abrasive is contained within the waterjet tank. In addition, submerged cutting delivers a significant reduction in noise levels. Because the high-pressure water stream is underwater and the stream is not exposed to air, minimal noise is emitted because it is ‘trapped’ underwater, reducing the noise level from over 100dB to below 78dB. Not only can Techni’s submerged cutting reduce mess and noise, but its Quantum ESP (electric servo pump) is the quietest waterjet pump available. Hydraulic intensifier pumps are loud, large and require substantial amounts of downtime. The Quantum ESP takes up less than half the space occupied by an average hydraulic intensifier, with a lower profile and a more ergonomic design. It also offers up to 60% more efficiency and has a decibel A-weighting

of less than 68dBA, allowing for near-silent operation to create a much more comfortable work environment for operators.

Finally, Techni’s Tech-Sense abrasive monitoring device means that it will no longer be necessary for a person to stand idle and watch a machine “just in case” there is a problem. Tech-Sense warns the operator with an audible alarm and flashing light if a machine is not running efficiently, and will pause the machine if the problem could potentially damage the part or material being cut.

When integrated with SMS Offsite Notification, the operator is free to leave the site altogether, making “Lights Out” operating a reality – reducing labour, minimising consumables, reducing scrap, and increasing up-time. www.techniwaterjet.com

Productivity boost for Greg Sewell Forgings Greg Sewell Forgings (GSF) is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of speciality components for a wideranging customer base, including construction, energy, transport, defence, mining, rail, automotive and agricultural industries in Australia and around the world.

With over 80 pieces of major plant and equipment operated by approximately 50 employees, GSF can manufacture using a variety of materials including carbon steel, stainless steel and high alloy steel. While GSF maintains a strong customer base with a consistent workload, it was identified that its production had room for improvement, according to plant manager John Drago.

“Our toolmaking ability was very antiquated and we needed to modernise and progress, improving lead times and quality output,” said Drago.

In response to these issues, GSF consulted its long-time partner John Hart for a solution. After a visit to the foundry, it became clear to John Hart that Creo and hyperMILL would allow GSF to increase the efficiency and quality of its production through its ease of use and adaptability.

Before the introduction of Creo and hyperMILL, the production process for parts was very manual, with each lot produced by a different operator. Small inconsistencies invariably showed up in the process, and in a forging facility such as GSF’s operation, that could result in problems later on in the finished product. The new system provides a greater degree of control while ensuring a consistent, high-quality output. This is a result of using Creo CAD and hyperMILL CAM software to centralise part production and utilise the high repeatability ingrained within the system.

“It allows GSF to manufacture complex forgings and will speed up the manufacturing time to produce tooling, which boosts the overall part production time dramatically,” adds Drago.

For an operation like GSF, it becomes easy to see the benefits in a system like Creo and hyperMILL, which allows the company to compete on another level in the marketplace, confident in the knowledge that it is equipped with the right tools for the job.

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While the system at GSF is still in its infancy, positive results are already starting to emerge. The surface finish and geometry of GSF products has visibly improved, machine utilisation has grown, and the existing customer base is already taking advantage of the increases in capability. Meanwhile the potential for new customers in new markets has become attainable.

The working environment has also become more enjoyable for employees, providing new challenges and experiences for workers.

With the support of the John Hart team, GSF is able to take on any job that comes through its doors. www.johnhart.com.au

CoroCutŽQD – Twice as cool CoroCut QD takes your parting off to new heights. Optimized for bar-feed lathes, it brings unbeatable strength and security for deep grooves and long overhangs with a helping hand from unique new technology: over- and under-coolant for the most effective, trouble-free machining.

The concept includes parting blades, adaptors and shanks, plus tools for sliding head machines.

Unbeatable security: stronger blade design, advanced grade technology and the most stable insert clamping.

Ultimate chip control and tool life: over- and under-coolant with two high pressure jets and dedicated insert geometries.

80%

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www.sandvik.coromant.com/corocutqd

Easy handling: quick and easy coolant connection with plug-and-play adaptors for many machine types.

product news

Schuler – Fast material change ensures flexibility Edging profiles are a mainstay of industrial and commercial buildings: the lightweight metal strips are ideal for the easy, fast and safe construction of roofs and walls.

The profiles produced using press brake technology, such as purlins and bolts, fanlight frames and box gutters, provide the flexibility and design freedom to create best-fit solutions for a variety of requirements. Profiles also offer added value as wall coverings, window and door frames, as well as photovoltaic support structures.

A supplier to the industrial and commercial construction industry in Germany and throughout Europe, Schrag Edging Profiles recently launched production on its seventh Schuler blanking line. Schuler’s automation experts incorporated various improvements proposed

by Schrag. The line includes coil loading, decoiler, straightener, coil laminator, roll feed, hole punch and cut-to-length shear.

“Schuler is a reliable partner for our production,” says Thomas Goswin, Managing Partner of Schrag. “Together, we were able to adapt and improve the blanking line for our specific purposes.”

At the beginning of the production process, the decoiler is loaded with one of three coils on a rotatable storage unit – each coil can weigh as much as 12 tons and be up to 1600mm wide. The rotatable three-coil storage unit ensures a high degree of flexibility as it enables the manufacturer to quickly change materials. Thanks to the optimised rewinding function, the coil that is no longer required can be quickly and precisely rewound.

Product changeovers are also accelerated by preparations for the automatic import of CAD data, providing further proof of the line’s high degree of flexibility. Once the coil has been threaded, it is straightened by the automatically positioned Vario straightener, which can straighten thicknesses of 0.75-4.00mm. If required, the

strip can then be coated with a protective film in a coil lamination unit – an optional feature which Schuler integrated into the line at Schrag’s request.

The next station after the loop pit is the roll feed. Thanks to its direct drive with servo-motors, this unit can transfer high accelerations and speeds onto the coil and position it for the next station: the Vario punch. This unit provides various holes or notchings for fixing the profiles. Finally, the cut-to-length shear cuts the blanks from the coil and they are ready to be stacked. The parts then continue to the press brake process, for example, before they are finally ready for use. www.schulergroup.com

Olympus introduces new industrial videoscopes Olympus recently introduced the IPLEX RX and IPLEX RT industrial videoscopes, delivering high standards of image quality thanks to advanced image processors and LED illumination systems.

Boasting a compact and robust design, these instruments are valuable assets for inspectors looking for superb image reproduction in difficult applications. The unique PulsarPic image processor greatly enhances image quality and increases the efficiency of detecting tiny defects.

It reduces noise and sharpens images to produce exceptionally high-resolution images in low-light conditions. The new LED illumination system is nearly twice as bright as conventional videoscopes and dynamically adjusts light output to reduce halation from reflective surfaces.

The IPLEX RX also offers WiDER (Wide Dynamic Extended Range) image processing capability. WiDER enhances detail in shadowed and highlighted areas to produce bright, contrast-balanced images across the entire depth of field. The userselectable colour and sharpness settings allow images to be customised to suit any application.

The IPLEX RX and RT have compact designs for use in the field. Their 16.5cm screens have an anti-reflective daylight-view

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AMT APRIL 2014

stringent US military standards for dust and rain resistance, as well as drop testing.

Ergonomic, lightweight handsets feature quick-access buttons for most operations as well as the Olympus power-assist TrueFeel scope articulation control. An intuitive icon-based menu system allows quick and accurate selection of the right menu option.

monitor, allowing accurate inspections even in direct sunlight. They are ideal for locations with limited operator access including boilers, aeroplane fuselages and engines, and wind turbine gear boxes. The RX and RT models provide rugged durability in harsh environments. They have an International Protection Rating of IP55 and comply with

Post-inspection tasks and data transfer are also simplified. The latest IPLEX models feature high-quality JPEG images and AVI movies that record directly to a removable USB flash drive. Images can be saved or retrieved with a single button press, and the thumbnail view allows instant review of inspection results. The instruments’ standard InHelp inspection-assist software streamlines data and organises stored images to further improve workflow.

The IPLEX models provide the latest technology in videoscope instrumentation, in line with the Olympus tradition of keeping operators at the cutting edge of nondestructive testing. www.olympus-ims.com

Product news

Pilz – new Light Curtain safeguards danger zones Pilz has expanded its offer of light barriers for safe access to danger zones with the launch of PSENopt Advanced, a new safety light curtain model featuring advanced configuration, multifunctional capability and no dead zones.

According to Pilz Managing Director Scott Moffat, the PSENopt Advanced can be manually or software configured for standard, blanking or direct muting capability, with the bonus of cascadability, meaning that one light curtain can be used for many functions. “Given this flexibility, the PSENopt can be adapted to any application environment.” The PSENopt offers greater programming flexibility in advanced configuration mode (ACM) using an Ethernet interface adaptor and the free to download PSENopt Configurator software. In this mode up to five fixed blanking zones can be set, and the number of floating blanking beams is selectable. Muting options can also be set including cross beam, parallel beam, muting period and override.

The Ethernet interface module also provides for Cloning, and Remote Monitoring/Logging so repeat configurations can be faster and fault-finding easier for maximum up-time.

Online, the status of individual beams, the safety outputs (OSSDs), muting and blanking can all be monitored and logged. PSENopt Configurator software can be used online or offline, and there are three levels of password protection to ensure safety configurations cannot be tampered with by, for example, maintenance engineers using the software for online diagnostics. When using several PSENopt Advanced light beam devices at the same time, the visual coding prevents the light barriers from impairing one another. This in turn increases the flexibility in terms of installation. The light curtains can be manually configured via a stylus and three recessed membrane soft keys to basic configuration mode. LEDs are used to aid configuration, as well as alignment, and to provide advanced diagnostics once the light curtain is commissioned.

With the top and bottom beams located at the extremes of the receiver/transmitter, there are no dead zones. This not only enables the devices to be fitted into tighter spots but also provides increased protection. The Pilz light curtains can also be butted directly up to each other and cascaded where greater than 1800mm protected profile is required without any loss of protection.

WE’LL CUT DELIVERY TIMES ON OUR RANGE OF COSEN BANDSAWS. NOW THAT’S APPLIED THINKING. • Large range of machines in stock Same day purchase and delivery available • Cutting trials welcome • Premium Taiwanese quality • All sizes and configurations available for practically all cutting tasks For more information: Call: 03 9706 8066 Email: sales@appliedmachinery.com.au YOUTUBE LOGO SPECS Visit: www.appliedmachinery.com.au

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Pilz offers an accredited Stop Performance Monitoring test service to assist users in determining the correct safe distance at which light curtains (and other safeguarding measures) must be placed in accordance with safety regulations. www.pilz.com

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9/09/13 8:49 AM

Agriculture

Can only “the good Lord and rain” help Australian farmers and the manufacturers that supply them remain profitable and internationally competitive? Yes and no.

Continuous innovation underpins the ability of Australian agribusinesses to bring world-class commodities to market. By Barbara Schulz.

On 26 February, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced a $320m relief package for drought-hit farmers in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), saying his government had a responsibility to help farmers in dire trouble. The Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce added: “This is a Government that does care, it’s a Government that understands that we will do our best to mitigate the issue. Obviously only the good Lord and rain will ever fix the issue, but this helps along the process.”

Despite uncertain weather conditions, Australia enjoys several advantages. Its geographic isolation and leading quarantine and monitoring regime help preserve a reputation for high quality.

Proximity to Asian economies, extensive free-trade agreements and counter-seasonal production for the northern hemisphere means that trans-national companies sourcing from Australia can deliver produce throughout the year, which assists to drive global demand for our products.

Rain in mid-February helped to ease the drought a little, but 60% of Queensland is still drought-declared and much of central northern NSW has reported well-below-average rainfall for the past two years. Faced with these conditions, many farmers might prefer to rely on government assistance than the good Lord.

As a result, the 135,000 Australian farm businesses export around 60% of what they grow and produce, contributing 2.4% to total national GDP. According to ABS statistics, in the three decades to 2010-11, the value of Australian farm exports rose from $8.2bn to $32.5bn – an average increase of 5% per year.

The majority of Australia’s farm exports go to countries in Asia.

Nonetheless, agriculture occupies a significant place in the Australian economy. Our diverse climate, rainfall patterns and soil types sustain a wide range of agribusiness enterprises, including tropical and temperate horticulture, aquaculture, the production of grains, oilseeds and fibres, grazing and feed lotting of livestock, forestry and the production of timber products.

The gross value of Australian farm production in 2011-12 was $46.7bn. Growth in the farm sector consistently outperformed other sectors over the 30-year period from 1974-75 to 2003-04, increasing steadily at an average rate of 2.8%.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) believes that the future of Australian agriculture depends largely on conditions in overseas markets. The NFF finds that Australian farmers face declining terms of trade in agriculture, but have remained internationally competitive through efficiency and productivity growth. In more recent times, however, agricultural productivity growth has slowed to one percent per annum, illustrating the need for innovative farming techniques and the increased availability and use of sophisticated machinery and information technology, which will allow farmers to work smarter and grow their businesses. And the same holds true for agricultural equipment manufacturers.

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AMT April 2014

Agriculture

Working smarter “To remain competitive you have to invest in smarter technology, good machines, and gear that keeps productivity up,” says Shannon McNab, Manager of Davimac. “It’s not about working harder, but smarter. Moreover, the company needs to be run as a team.”

Based in Molong, NSW, Davimac has been producing highquality farm machinery and products since 1982, including chaser bins, seed drills, pasture seeders and implement trailers. McNab believes there will always be manufacturing in Australia, but only the companies that evolve and change to stay productive will last.

“These days you compete with the rest of the globe,” says McNab. “You have to keep production efficiency up, and look at what overseas companies are doing, you cannot just worry about what the company down the road is doing and how.

Manufacturing in Australia to cater for the Australian market will work, but if you try to export out of Australia into other markets, I think you are facing an uphill battle.”

While Davimac has experienced steady growth and is currently expanding its production facility, Australia’s agricultural machinery manufacturing industry as a whole has had a tough time over the past five years. According to an IBISWorld report released in October last year, industry revenue is forecast to decline at an annualised 6.7% over the five years through 201314 to $1.6bn.

Improving weather conditions over the period with rising annual rainfall have been a positive for agriculture, with farming income expected to grow. However, domestic demand has decreased over the period, IBISWorld reports, which can be partially attributed to farmers being unwilling to invest in new equipment following long periods of volatility brought on by drought conditions at the beginning of the 2000s and the global financial crisis.

As a result, the John Shearer Group, one of Australia’s largest and oldest manufacturers of seeding and tillage machinery, detailed a disappointing year in its 2013 annual report. According to Chairman Andrew W Gwinnett, demand for seeding and tillage machinery remained subdued as grain farmers struggled with poor returns from lower yields and reduced pricing resulting from the unfavourable exchange rate.

Richard Lewis, Executive Director of the Tractor & Machinery Association (TMA), notes that 2013 produced an “average result” for farm machinery sales. Tractor sales were down 7.5%, and there was plenty of new and used inventory on the ground.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel, however. While the association does not specifically measure tillage and sprayer sales, it has no doubt that both are showing a vast improvement in 2014.

“Tillage sales should continue to improve in 2014 but sprayer sales will drop,” says Lewis. “The market is again oversupplied with used equipment at the dealer level.

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Agriculture

Davimac has been producing high-quality farm machinery and products since 1982.

Made in Australia, Davimac chaser bins are designed to unload on the go, increasing harvest efficiency.

Continued from previous page

In Swan Hill, Victoria, a focus on innovation to solve farming problems has helped Grizzly Engineering become Australia’s largest manufacturer and exporter of disc ploughs. In 1983, shortly after the company was established, it patented and released a unique three-gang tandem-offset disc design. The innovative disc harrow provided complete ploughing out with no unworked ridges, less working draught, elimination of side draught, and longer disc life. Since then, Grizzly has expanded its product range to include disc ploughs, disc harrows, curved-tine and straight-shank rippers, heavy-duty grader blades, and banker channellers.

Vertical integration Burder Industries, one of Australia’s largest manufacturer of frontend loaders, forklifts and agricultural attachments, sees no reason to be in the doldrums. The 23-year old company employs 15 people in the north-east Victorian town of Wangaratta and remains competitive through vertical integration, investment in high-tech machinery and customised products with quick turnaround times.

“Imports are a huge problem for us, but when competitors run out of an imported product, we can turn a front-end loader around in around ten working days,” says Adam Fendyk, Managing Director at Burder Industries. “That’s what keeps us on the ground.

Manufacturing in-house helps us to remain more competitive in the industry, we can react quicker, and the machine shop is running advanced CNC equipment, which gives us the flexibility to manufacture small batches and quickly turn from one product to another.” In the agricultural industry, time can be a critical issue.

Delays can wipe out any money saved in equipment by using less time-conscious vendors.

“We won’t be the cheapest, we can’t be the cheapest, but if we can be the fastest then we have something over the opposition,” says Fendyk. “We are fighting a good fight and are able to survive with customised products designed for local market conditions and by diversifying our product range.”

Innovation drives exports The strong Australian dollar has brought hardship to many local manufacturing enterprises, but new and improved agricultural products are still being developed across the country – for the local market, and for export.

In 2009, the company released the Wheel Track Renovator, designed to fill wheel tracks caused from semi- and full-controlled traffic farming and tramline farming. The Wheel Track Renovator went on to win the Australian Machine of the Year award. Farmers overseas have been quick to recognise the value of Grizzly products, and the company began exports in the late 1980s to Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Martinique and Zambia. In recent years, Grizzly has also enjoyed export success in Russia and New Zealand.

Flexibility and efficiency are key There are other positive voices. Troy Law, General Manager of Simplicity Australia, is one of them. Having stepped up to run his father’s business, Law now leads a 70-men strong team based in Dalby, Queensland, building the most diverse range of air seeders in the country – and even, he believes, globally.

“We try to cover as much of our market place as possible,” says Law. “We manufacture right from the unit that mounts on front of the tractor used for row-cropping, through to very large machines fitting on massive planting machines.”

Simplicity Australia’s range of air seeders and tillage equipment is among the most diverse in the world.

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Agriculture

The popularity of Simplicity’s products is reflected in the company’s strong sales growth over the years. The trend is likely to continue, though Law stresses the need for the business to continue to improve the way it operates, with a strong emphasis on flexibility and efficiency.

“Our strategy is to manufacture most of what we produce in-house with equipment that can do what we need when we need it quickly.

We need to be able to efficiently manufacture small runs.”

To achieve this, the company depends in state-of-the-art productive machinery, and Law also implements Lean manufacturing strategies to some degree. He argues that manufacturers really have no choice in the matter if they intend to survive in an intensely competitive market. However, Law maintains that the agricultural industry ultimately depends on two key factors.

“In the farming sector, commodity prices and water are the two major items,” he says. “If we have really good prices and not a lot of water, you can go okay. If we have a lot of water and the commodities are down, then you can go okay too. But once about every ten years, the two things go together – commodities are strong and we have a good rain season. That’s when most of the business is moved forward. It is a continuous cycle in Australia.”

Going it alone At less than 3% of total farm income, government support to agricultural producers in Australia is close to the lowest in the OECD, according to the NFF. Moreover, these figures include support delivered under Exceptional Circumstances drought measures, and the level of support has declined in recent years. To compound matters, the Australian Farm Institute reports that over the last 40 years Australian agricultural businesses have faced the second-highest levels of volatility of any nation.

Nonetheless, for innovative minds that’s no reason to mope – in fact quite the opposite. “The good part is that we have to become efficient, we have to fight the fight ourselves,” says Law. “You’ve got to be thinking really hard about how to survive, and that makes it difficult in some ways, but that also makes us good at what we do.”

Rain and good commodity prices will certainly support Australia’s agricultural equipment manufacturing industry as farmers invest in new equipment. But as Law sees it, the key to turning manufacturing around is being good at what you do. Customised high-quality products tailored to the market conditions, quick turnarounds, continuous investment in smart and productive machinery, high skill levels, and the determination to keep making things in Australia for domestic and international markets – these are the things that will keep manufacturers strong and thriving. www.nff.org.au www.davimac.com.au www.johnshearer.com.au www.tma.asn.au www.burder.com.au www.grizzly-engineering.com.au www.simplicityaus.com.au

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Agriculture

Tool supplier’s expertise feeds efficiency Companies that machine their products are increasingly expecting their tool suppliers not only to deliver hard-wearing, durable tools, but also to provide the means of reducing production costs. Walter’s collaboration with its customer AGCO Fendt, in one of the best-equipped tractor factories in the world, shows how users can make their processes more competitive.

When Jan-Eric Feldmann, Production Manager at Fendt, talks about production in his plant in Marktoberdorf, Bavaria, he likes to use words such as Lean, flow, rhythm, pull and organisation: “Our processes must continue uninterrupted, so our workflows are automated, paths are straight, and communication direct.”

Feldmann offers a brief description of the global market for agricultural technology: the world’s population will have grown by 30% by 2050, according to UN forecasts. This means the amount of land available for cultivation per head will be one-fifth less than it is today. At the current rate of consumption, there will only be sufficient water for 58% of the population. We will then be using three times as many resources as the Earth can provide in the long term. Agriculture must therefore become twice as efficient.

The only way to do this is by using extremely advanced agricultural technology.

This is where the tractors from Marktoberdorf come in. The Fendt plant boasts production facilities with a state-of the-art design that seems almost visionary. Every year, around 20,000 tractors and 28,000 Vario gear boxes – that is to say, up to 130 units per day – emerge as finished products from around a kilometre of production lines located in premises that cover an area of 85,000sqm. Since the beginning of 2011, the group has invested approximately US$300m into further developing the working alliance between its plants at Marktoberdorf and Asbach-Bäumenheim.

Quality through transparency From the first to last step, Fendt has implemented the practice of Lean production. Feldmann captures the essence of the concept in just two words: “Eliminating waste”. And the principle he considers to be the most important is this: thinking in terms of whole processes rather than work steps. A single tractor comprises around 10,000 components. Each part, from blank to finished component, is continuously moving along the value stream: Travelling in a straight line without detours, they are produced to the customer’s individual specifications.

All Fendt tractors are produced with a free mix of models on a single assembly line in batch size 1. For smooth, trouble-free production, all logistical and production steps take place near the main belt.

One flow of goods may not intersect with another, and material delivery is organised in accordance with the one touch principle.

The principle of pull production creates continuous customer/ supplier relationships within the factory.

Blaxx high-performance milling cutters from Walter.

“We view our assembly stage as an internal customer of component production,” explains Feldmann. “For example, this customer ‘pulls’ by removing a component in sequence, which triggers the signal to produce the next production batch.”

Fendt tractors are premium products, and this is all down to the company’s employees’ acute awareness of how to maintain high quality standards. Before a tractor is allowed to leave the plant, it is checked at numerous quality gates along the assembly line, after which it is subjected to complete testing in a light tunnel. In addition, management staff participate in shopfloor management meetings three times a day in each supervised area – these are held in Production, right in at the centre of all the action, to compare actual values with target values.

Challenging tool manufacturers A manufacturer that places so much emphasis on quality and efficiency naturally demands the same of its tool suppliers. As Feldmann explains: “The only way to maintain a hold on the market in which we operate is to take the company’s machining processes to a high level.”

In Marktoberdorf, Walter tools are used to produce housings and frames. It is here, on a production area measuring 24,000sqm, that all the cast iron components for the tractors are produced, before they are assembled and painted.

Tractor production at AGCO Fendt in Marktoberdorf.

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“A manufacturer that sets global standards with their production

Agriculture

Walter’s tool dispensing machine.

processes and facilities is our perfect partner when it comes to meeting our own high standards in terms of high-tech machining solutions,” says Wolfgang Werder who, as Head of Sales at Walter, is responsible for Fendt. He considers the collaboration with Feldmann to be an enriching experience: “Our field service employees regularly come back from Marktoberdorf full of enthusiasm for the technologically advanced production facilities and processes, and above all, for the open-mindedness with regard to further optimisation.”

For almost 10 years, Werder and his colleagues in the Walter Field Service have continually impressed Fendt. According to field service employee and technical adviser Michael Dreher, “the only way we could do this was with our high capacity for innovation”.

He recounts a recent example from late 2011, when Fendt was looking for a milling cutter that could machine cast iron and steel more quickly. Dreher offered the Blaxx tangential milling cutter, then still in development, for a field test.

“We tested 1000 inserts on vastly different components, machines, materials and diameters, taking machine and tool to their very limits in endless trial runs,” recalls Marco Hofmann, Production Foreman at Fendt. “We ended up ordering Blaxx for each of our 50 machines in Component Production.”

There are currently around 150 Blaxx F5141 shoulder mills in use at Fendt. In parallel, Walter Xtratec F4338 porcupine cutters have been introduced. These two additions have resulted in annual savings totalling €300,000 through reduced machining time and significantly reduced wear to the indexable inserts. This corresponds to an amortisation period of just seven months.

According to Dreher: “We really were in a win-win situation with this project. It gave Walter the opportunity to test Blaxx extensively, and for Fendt, it offered an optimal standard product with enormous cost savings.”

Service makes the difference Walter’s service for Fendt covers not only productivity increases through the introduction of new products and the implementation of joint trial runs, but also in-depth knowledge and expertise, and a systematic approach to process optimisation under the Walter Multiply name. The service Walter offers helps its customers to optimise process steps, either individually or in conjunction with

Blaxx F5141 shoulder mill from Walter.

one another. The aspect that most interested Feldmann was the Tool Management system. To make this work, Walter offers automated tool dispensing systems or vending machines.

“My department has had one of these machines for just three months, and the impact in that time alone has been significant,” says Feldmann.

Before the introduction of the vending machines, the production departments could retrieve tools and indexable inserts from the shop without specifying where they were to be used. This meant that tools were not always available when they were needed. This, in turn, lead to stocks that were in disarray and that suffered from a lack of transparency within Production.

“When that happened for 50 machines, and 50 indexable inserts at €10 per insert were stored in every location where they were to be used, it quickly lead to €25,000 of capital being tied up,” says Feldmann.

Walter’s vending machine requires tools to be signed out before they can be dispensed. The tool flow becomes transparent and less capital is tied up than before. This is because the machine is never empty: each retrieval is registered and minimum stock levels are automatically reported. Reordered tools are available on site within 24 hours. The link between machine and tool retrieval permits an automated analysis of production processes: abnormally high rates of tool usage are detected more quickly and workflows can be further optimised.

“With concepts such as the vending machines, we combine product and service, and are able to support our customers throughout their entire process chain,” says Dreher. “This allows for the implementation of Lean processes and provides an additional productivity boost for our customers.”

This gives Fendt a significant competitive edge at its Marktoberndorf site. Feldmann is already planning the next joint step to be taken with Walter – additional tool-dispensing systems are to be brought in to perfect tool management in housing and frame production, and a milling concept currently in place will be superseded by new milling cutters from the Blaxx range. Highly efficient agricultural technology is a growth market. www.agcocorp.com www.walter-tools.com

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Agriculture

Milking demand Australia’s dairy industry has turned the corner in the past year as several new manufacturing developments have come online to boost production. In the thick of this expansion has been engineering consultancy pitt&sherry.

Growing international demand and industry consolidation have created a market environment not seen for many years in Australia’s dairy industry, according to Andrew Buckley, National Leader – Food and Beverage at pitt&sherry. Australia’s leading producers are upgrading capabilities and capacity to meet demand, primarily stemming from developing Asian nations requiring milk, cheese and products for infant nutrition. In 2012, Australian dairy exports to China increased by 17% compared with 2011 on the back of growing demand for milk powder, liquid milk, cheese and butter, according to a Dairy Australia report. Accordingly, Australia’s dairy expansion has gathered momentum, with opportunity ripe for this growth to continue.

In the past three years pitt&sherry has been involved with the engineering elements of four major developments by Murray Goulburn Co-operative (MGC), Lion and Tasmanian Dairy Products (TDP). Buckley said these projects reflected a promising outlook for the Australian dairy industry and would substantially lift output through innovative and sustainable methods.

“Led by a developing Chinese middle class and growing worldwide food security issues, a mix of industry consolidation and rationalisation has created a buzz not seen in the industry for some time,” said Buckley. Despite these improving prospects, Buckley stressed the industry would need to remain cautious during this growth phase as manufacturers face several obstacles in a competitive global market.

“While there is plenty of opportunity, Australia will be up against some significant challenges, such as access to capital, water and skilled labour, gas and energy pricing, and an increasing need to invest in research and development,” said Buckley. “Domestically, we need to see a change in consumer sentiment and buying preferences – to back Australian produce where it makes sense to do so over cheap imports. This will help change the paradigm for major grocery chains, which in part we have already seen with the Murray Goulburn expansion.”

Dairy expansion A key aim of Lion’s $50m redevelopment of its cheese manufacturing operations at Burnie, Tasmania, was to double the factory’s manufacturing capacity from 11,000 to 22,000 tonnes per annum. pitt&sherry provided civil works and services for Lion, including project definition and statutory approvals, design and documentation of the building and mechanical services, construction management and supervision, and contract administration. The development focused on innovation, technological advances, and current and future environmental requirements.

Also in Tasmania, TDP’s $80m Smithton Dairy Product Facility was opened in March 2013 following a rigorous design and development project timeline. At Smithton, raw milk from local farmers is processed to produce high-quality dried milk products, primarily for export to Asia and the Middle East. pitt&sherry’s involvement included concept design, engineering works, site selection and initial planning works, while also overseeing the installation, building and infrastructure

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design, site services, and environmental and planning approvals.

In 2013 pitt&sherry designed two state-of-the-art pasteurised milkprocessing plants for Murray Goulburn, at Laverton in Victoria and Erskine Park in New South Wales. Both facilities, which are expected to be commissioned by July, will be capable of annually supplying up to 150m packaged litres of milk to Coles supermarkets.

The design of the plants incorporated all offices and disciplines within pitt&sherry, in conjunction with a collaborative agreement with contractors, to integrate the full range of engineering services and ensure a seamless amalgamation of all disciplines throughout the project. “These projects highlight the depth of experience and capability of our team in partnering with clients and process teams to develop and deliver innovative yet practical engineering solutions suited to changing operational needs,” said Buckley.

Time constraints Managing challenging timeframes was a key element in delivering each dairy project. The schedule met to complete the Smithton facility was vital to the success of the project, as TDP had already signed contracts for milk delivery just 18 months from project inception.

According to Buckley, a facility such as Smithton commonly takes two to three years to complete.

“To accommodate the milk supply contracts we had the plant operating and producing powder in just 14 months,” he explained. “The tight deadline we were provided with to have the facility up-and-running is what sets the achievement apart.” The Murray Goulburn plants were also delivered under demanding time constraints by developing one above-ground design for duplication across both sites. This not only reduced the design timeline but also construction times and costs.

The design, which incorporated the latest processing technology, was flexible in accommodating for future expansion, while also being easily adaptable to the second site and set up for simple disassembly at plant end of life.

Sustainable approach Crucial to each dairy development was providing design solutions featuring comprehensive sustainability initiatives. For Lion, a Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan (DPEMP) was developed encouraging several important initiatives.

To benefit the local area, key initiatives included the separation and recovery of whey to reduce odour potential and to provide the farming community with a commodity, and the introduction of distribution and development plans to ensure farmers do not cause nutrient overload.

Other sustainable initiatives included prepared erosion and sediment controls, milk spill recovery infrastructure around milk unloading and storage areas, and detailed safe access pathways for staff and contractors.

A hazard and operability study (HAZOP) contributed to the designs for chemical storage and reticulation, milk intake and storage, and milkprocessing areas. In one area the HAZOP enabled Lion to avoid a costly, time-consuming rework of the site. “Without an effective HAZOP there is risk of multiple reworks during or after commissioning,” said Buckley. “This is a difficult and challenging area to work in – requiring effective co-ordination of a range of ideas, backgrounds, concerns, commercial interests and personalities – to achieve an outcome that makes the most efficient use of resources and energy.”

Agriculture

VACUUM LIFTING SOLUTIONS For Murray Goulburn a number of sustainable features were incorporated. Rock excavated from the Victorian site was used to build a sea wall at Mt Martha, and by-product from a nearby quarry was used as engineered fill to build up the pavements.

Our vacuum lifters are your sheet metal manual handling solution.

All stormwater and trade waste systems were designed to prevent uncontrolled discharge from the site. The discharge is diverted into an onsite trade waste treatment or into a bio-retention system that combines detention, infiltration and a collection system with an infiltration trench, ensuring all run-off is treated before entering the natural water system.

Carbon and energy initiatives As part of the Burnie upgrade, a design and technical specification of the new plant’s refrigeration services was established to maximise energy efficiency. Refrigeration is required various critical components of the cheese making process. The initial specification was for a traditional central plant layout, comprising an engine room, evaporative condensers, flooded receiver, compressors, accumulators and chilled water storage tank.

Essentially the refrigeration plant provided ammonia cooling of chilled water and glycol circuits that provided refrigeration to the cheese plant. Following further analysis, the decision-making process was steered towards adopting a package refrigeration plant rather than a central refrigeration plant. Lion also requested a detailed study of the energy options. This is standard practice, but Lion wanted to look further afield by conducting a feasibility study for cogeneration and trigeneration. Despite the review being worthwhile Lion determined an investment into cogeneration or trigeneration was too risky at the time. Broad site plans were identified with a view to a possible location for a generating device that would assist with electrical, heat and cooling generation.

VACUUM LIFTERS FOR HORIZONTAL HANDLING OF SHEETS OF STEEL WEIGHING UP TO 2000 KG

“This was an excellent opportunity to bring staff of the site up-todate on the benefits and concerns that this technology brings and in particular set the scene for future possible incorporation of this technology as client demands change,” said Buckley.

Energy efficient systems will also reduce the running costs of both plants for Murray Goulburn. Built-in heat exchangers on the airhandling units pre-condition incoming fresh air with the exhaust air, providing a significant saving of energy use for ventilation, while the plant’s oil-less refrigeration compressor technology has greater energy efficiency than conventional refrigeration.

Once the plants are operational, the metered in and out electrical inputs will assist in the implementation of future energy improvements. “pitt&sherry has been built on a strong foundation of working with integrity and a commitment to sustainable development and environmentally responsible engineering practices,” said Buckley. “It is certainly a fascinating time to be part of the changing food and beverage landscape in Australia and we are proud to be contributing to this transition with economical and sustainable solutions.” www.pittsh.com.au

COMPLETE RANGE OF AUTOMATED VACUUM HANDLING EQUIPMENT FREECALL

1800 992 211 sales@millsom.com.au www.millsom.com.au

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CEFC helps agribusiness get biogas boost The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is working with leading Australian biogas specialist Quantum Power, providing finance to catalyse up to $40m in new biogas infrastructure that will cut energy costs for agribusinesses and manufacturers.

CEFC CEO Oliver Yates said Australia’s food producers and manufacturers across the country would benefit from greater control over their energy costs and improve their competitiveness in a global market. Biogas allows these businesses to generate energy from onsite waste streams.

“Agribusiness plays an important economic role in regional Australia, helping to feed the nation and service growing export markets,” said Yates. “The food-processing sector has faced rising energy costs and getting control of those costs helps with their competitiveness.”

Yates said biogas production offered regional Australian agribusinesses and manufacturers a way to increase control over a significant input cost, thereby boosting energy productivity in the face of rising electricity costs.

“Our agreement with biogas specialist Quantum Power enables food processers and other agribusinesses to turn onsite waste streams into a valuable source of energy,” he explained. “Quantum Power will build and manage the onsite facilities, leaving businesses free to keep focused on their core operations.”

Finance for agreed Quantum Power projects will be on a deal-bydeal basis, with each project likely to cost around $2m to $4m depending on its size and scope. Projects of this size have typically found it difficult to find project finance in the private market. The CEFC finance will help solve that barrier and will bring forward construction of new biogas projects while creating a structure that private-sector financiers can support in the future.

“We have already partnered with Quantum Power to accelerate two projects: an anaerobic digester for an egg producer; and a biogas plant upgrade at a major rendering plant. Both recycle organic waste to dramatically reduce their reliance on grid electricity by between 35% and 60%.”

Robotics to change agricultural landscape Robotics can offer the Australian agricultural industry the chance to regain its competitive edge in the global marketplace, according to Professor Salah Sukkarieh from the University of Sydney (UoS).

Professor Sukkarieh is the Director of Research and Innovation at the UoS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies’ Australian Centre for Field Robotics. He believes the Asia-Pacific region is looking to Australia for farming and agriculture solutions, with the potential for Australia to become “the food bowl of Asia”. However, a declining labour force and outdated technology could restrict Australia’s ability to meet the demand for fresh produce.

“This is where automation can help,” says Professor Sukkarieh.

“We can use it to increase efficiency and yield by having many of the manual tasks of farming performed by specially designed agricultural robotic devices.

“The robots can collect vital information, estimate yield and identify pests, weeds and diseases. The units can be controlled or monitored remotely by farmers using an iPad or phone.”

Professor Sukkarieh’s research team has developed the Mantis and the Shrimp, a pair of robots designed for agricultural tasks.

The team is now refining their ability to perform operational tasks such as applying fertilisers and pesticides, watering, sweeping and mowing. According to Mark Calleija, a research engineer at the University, the team’s aim is to develop and apply automated robotic systems that will benefit both growers and consumers as Australia’s agricultural sector continues its growth.

“In the next phase we will be developing algorithms that will enable robotic devices to conduct pest management patrols and carry out harvesting,” Calleija adds. www.sydney.edu.au

Agriculture and food product manufacturing are important sources of jobs in rural and regional communities. Access to lower-cost energy is important for these sectors. Biogas holds tremendous potential because it offers significant opportunities for costeffective and efficient energy savings, renewable energy generation and carbon abatement. Agriculture and meat processing industries alone could abate over 2m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year for a capital investment of around $300m.

Quantum Power is a developer of power stations generating electricity and co-generated heat primarily from biogas, building and operating biogas plants at no upfront cost to the user. The company provides complete turnkey solutions to provide its customers the benefits of anaerobic digestion systems and biogasfuelled power stations without the need for upfront capital.

“Our plants convert the business’s organic waste to a bioenergy supply that is used to power its operations and the company agrees to purchase the generated power at an agreed rate for a specified time,” said CEO Richard Brimblecombe. “This gives the business certainty over its power bills and reduces costs associated with organic waste disposal.” www.cleanenergyfinancecorp.com.au www.quantumpower.com.au

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The ‘Shrimp’ interacts with University of Sydney dairy cows at Corstorphine dairy farm in Camden.

Agriculture

Kilcoy beefs up its energy efficiency The Kilcoy Pastoral Company (Kilcoy) has drastically reduced energy expenditure at its facilities in Queensland, by installing new compressor equipment supplied by Compressed Air and Power Solutions Australia (CAPS).

Kilcoy was formed in 1953 to supply local butchers, and since that time has grown to be one of the largest integrated beef processors in Australia. Each year, more than 260,000 head of cattle pass through the company’s facility located 100km northwest of Brisbane.

The CAPS Australia installed compressors and ancillary equipment at Kilcoy Pastoral.

Kilcoy sells meat to the domestic Australian market and also supplies its processed beef to 20 international markets. The company is also a major employer in the region of South-East Queensland, around the town that gave the company its name.

An air of efficiency In 2011, a full energy audit of the Kilcoy plant was conducted by Energy Efficiency Services (EES), a division of CAPS Australia.

Compressed air is responsible for 10-15% of industrial electricity use nationwide.

Analysis of the audit results indicated considerable savings could be made by ensuring the compressed air systems were energy efficient.

According to John Pears, Queensland Sales Engineer for CAPS, an Ingersoll Rand Nirvana R160ne-A compressor was selected to achieve this objective. The system supplies compressed air for the meat processors, pumps and tools, in addition to the packaging lines.

The Nirvana R160ne-A features a VariableSpeed Drive (VSD) coupled to an intuitive controller with easily adjustable operating parameters, onboard diagnostics and a built-in energy-savings calculator. The unit utilises a unique coolant curtain to reduce energy consumption by injecting atomised oil into the compressed air stream, significantly lowering the energy required for compression. If maintenance is required, the Nirvana features removable hinged doors that allow easy access to internal components.

The Ingersoll Rand premium efficiency package supplied with Nirvana compressors allows customers to utilise the full potential of VSD compressors through the use of unique two-stage airends. These deliver up to 15% more air than a single-stage compressor while consuming the same

AMTIL DIgITAL MeDIA KIT 2013

amount of energy. Models in the Nirvana range are supplied with the exclusive Hybrid Permanent Magnet (HPM) motor, which provides high reliability and efficiency with unlimited starts/stops and constant pressure control. The compressor also has a ‘soft start’ facility that allows the compressor to conserve energy by shutting down instead of running unloaded.

To reduce downtime and lost production, the R160ne-A is rated for continuous operation 24 hours per day, seven days per week at 100% loading. Effective in ambient temperatures of up to 46 degrees Celsius, the unit is ideal for some of Australia’s harshest environments.

Clean air Kilcoy Chief Executive Dean Goode explained that the upgrade of its air compressor system was part of the processor’s ongoing program to improve its performance and reduce emissions. The commissioning of new compressors, along with the installation of new refrigerated dryer and additional filtration systems was the largest contributing factor in the company’s energy cost savings.

“Even though compressed air usage has increased by about 14%, there has been an average power reduction of 15% due to the improved compressor technology utilised,”

Goode said. “We’re proud of our reputation and have worked hard to improve our sustainability. This upgrade is part of a continuing series of improvements aimed at delivering world-class environmental operations.”

Quentin St Baker, National Manager of EES, said the Kilcoy upgrade not only substantially boosts performance, but will help to improve equipment lifespan and eliminate production downtime. He estimated that the resulting energy savings would exceed 40%, while maintenance costs would be reduced by approximately 30%.

Kilcoy secured funding via a Federal government ‘Low Carbon Grant’ arranged through Origin Energy.

“Low Carbon Australia’s finance covered the upfront costs of upgrading equipment which meant that our client could start benefiting from resulting energy efficiencies sooner,” said St Baker.

According to Goode, the energy savings from the compressed air upgrade would probably recoup the company’s investment within four years. www.capsaust.com.au

The bIgger pIcTure In A sMALLer pAcKAge For further information call Anne Samuelsson on 03 9800 3666, mobile on 0400 115 525 or email asamuelsson@amtil.com.au

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Agriculture

Simply the best Simplicity Australia has achieved its success by manufacturing its range of agricultural equipment in-house, and high-definition plasma technology from Advanced Robotic Technology (ART) has helped the company to stay ahead of the game.

From humble beginnings, Simplicity has spent the past 30 years building its reputation – and its success – on a passion for manufacturing. Based in Dalby, Queensland, the company specialises in the design and manufacture of an impressively diverse range of air seeders and tillage equipment. According to General Manager Troy Law, it is a focus on its core competence and product range that keeps the company competitive: “Instead of diversifying we decided to focus on what we are good at.”

Like other local manufacturers, Simplicity competes against imports from overseas, mainly Canada, as well as against local competitors, but being located in one of Australia’s agricultural and manufacturing areas with a good skill base has helped the company to prosper over the years.

The Dalby region is a vibrant community with a town population of approximately 12,000, and a further 5000 residing in the surrounding rural district. As well as large coal- and gas-fired power stations, it has the largest grain receival depot in Queensland, the largest one day livestock market in Australia, and has one of the largest regional industrial and agricultural manufacturing sectors.

The growth of the business over recent years is indicative of the strong levels of demand for Simplicity’s products.

Nonetheless, Law is alert to the dangers of becoming complacent.

“You have to become better at what you do and most of all be flexible and efficient,” he explains. “Our strategy is to manufacture most of what we produce in-house with equipment that can do what we need when we need it, quickly. We need to be able to efficiently manufacture small runs.”

As a consequence, Law is continuously investing in productive and state-of-the-art machinery to ensure efficient manufacturing processes in his factory. In 2009, it was time to replace its ageing plasma cutter.

Having examined the pros and cons in regard to the range of plasma- or lasercutting technology available, Simplicity decided to invest in an HDP high-definition plasma cutter locally made by Advanced Robotic Technology (ART).

“Building a quality item at a competitive price and delivering it on time are prerequisites to compete in our market, which requires us to have state-of-theart machines that are highly accurate and reliable,” says Law. “Plasma was the better alternative, weighing up the costs of operation.

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Simplicity’s General Manager Troy Law and operator Graham Hunt in front of the ART plasma cutter in their Dalby-based factory.

“The reason to go with ART was that they are an Australian company and a solid business close to us,” he adds. “When you are investing in technology you ask yourself the question, is the business going to be around in the next 10 to 15 years for service and support. ART has been around long enough, and I am very happy with the construction of the machine.”

an edge quality that is comparable with laser cutting. Moreover, an efficient fume extraction system ensures that the air is kept clean at all times.

Over the last 16 years, Brisbane-based CNC machinery manufacturer ART has developed automated CNC machinery specifically designed to make companies like Simplicity more productive. ART’s range of CNC routers and plasma cutters are custom-built to meet industry specific requirements and can be modified to our customers’ specific business needs in regard to material dimensions and additional tooling requirements. ART’s high-definition plasma cutters are well suited to the heavy-duty manufacturing environments frequently found in the agricultural industry, where customers demand power, precision, speed, quality, productivity and durability, all at low costs.

Coupled to the HDP series of highperformance cutting tables is Hypertherm’s True Hole advanced cutting technology.

This technology for mild steel produces significantly better hole quality than what could previously be achieved using plasma. As an optional extra, the ART HDP series can be fitted with a drilling and tapping combination head, which significantly reduces production times as multiple processes can be carried out on one machine.

The HDP plasma cutter series offers precise heavy-duty cutting of steel, stainless steel and aluminium, and comes with a process area from 3700mm by 1900mm, up to 15,000mm by 3,200mm.

The machine delivers economic processing of high-standard cut components, with

Power is supplied by HyPerformance Plasma HPR130XD and HPR 260XD from Hypertherm, combining ultra-fast cutting speeds, rapid process cycling and consistent superior quality.

Law is extremely happy with the service and support provided by ART: “The nice part is that they are close to us. That’s something we normally don’t have, as we are usually dealing with someone overseas.

“The plasma cutter is definitely worth the investment, while it was not a major technology jump for us,” he adds. “We were more concerned about selecting the brand we were comfortable with.” www.advancedrobotic.com

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Additive Manufacturing

The key manufacturing benefits of 3D printing Additive manufacturing, 3D printing, and direct digital manufacturing systems, such as fused deposition modelling (FDM) and PolyJet printing, are changing the way the world approaches manufacturing. By Marcelle Swanson.

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is beginning to level the playing field for manufacturers of all sizes. Businesses in many industries can compete more effectively, relying less on outsourcing by producing product prototypes in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional manufacturing methods and by creating small volumes of parts without tooling by utilising Additive Manufacturing technologies.

As well as complementing their conventional machining processes with additive manufacturing, companies are redesigning their products and product lines for enhanced efficiency and profitability.

Earlier this year, Jeff Immelt, GE chairman and CEO, discussed 3D printing and Direct Digital Manufacturing in a forum hosted by The Atlantic.

Immelt explained how 3D printed factored into the production of a fuel nozzle on a LEAP jet engine, commenting: “Additive manufacturing is worth my time, and a lot of investment.”

Mark Little, GE’s chief technology officer, added: “It’s really fundamentally changing the way we think about the company.”

Stratasys recently identified three areas of manufacturing that are benefiting from 3D printing and additive manufacturing. They are: personal manufacturing; augmented manufacturing; and alternative or end-use manufacturing.

Personal manufacturing and rapid prototyping Personal manufacturing is where people produce their own products, either using home 3D printers or through service bureaus, for personal use. Examples of this would be phone cases, jewellery and prototypes.

Industrial designers also fall into this category, as models are often required for form, fit and function studies, for everything from orange juice bottles to margarine containers. Even fashion designers are joining the growing group of people embracing additive manufacturing for one-off pieces and prototypes. This is where a service bureau like RedEye Australasia shines, leading designers through the steps required to help them achieve the results they seek for each project. Engineers, CAD-savvy 3D printing experts and experienced workshop staff ensure each job meets the project specifications required.

The release of the world’s first multi-material colour printer this year shows how this market is rapidly developing and evolving to meet market demand.

Augmented manufacturing The second is augmented manufacturing, which describes the creation of tools, moulds, jigs and fixtures, organisers, templates and shields used during the manufacturing process. Though less discussed and less recognised by the general public, producing 3D printed production aids are low-cost, high-reward items that can make a big difference in profitability, as evidenced by the growing number of companies that are adopting augmented manufacturing.

For example, imagine having to produce a one-off robotic arm to grasp a new curved part on an assembly line. You can either 3D print it in a few hours, tweak the design and reprinting it as necessary, or spend weeks (and a great deal of money) to have one tooled and hope it is right.

A recent National Geographic Megafactories special on Toyota Australia highlighted just a few examples of how additive techniques are infiltrating different aspects of manufacturing, with

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the carmaker utilising FDM jigs and fixtures in its factory in Victoria.

Toyota has embraced the use of FDM on its new Camry assembly line, showcasing an alignment fixture for correctly positioning the vehicles badges. Similar tools are used by BMW, Honda and Joe Gibbs Racing. And the automotive industry is just one manufacturing sector embracing this technology.

Increasing the number of manufacturing tools like jigs and fixtures improves efficiency, capacity, unit cost, quality, repeatability and responsiveness. Using additive manufacturing to produce these tools makes them more accessible and quicker to implement. The result is more manufacturing aids where they previously didn’t exist.

Savings can be so high that they can easily justify the purchase of an additive manufacturing system in far less time than expected.

The use of this technology allows companies to print on demand, allowing companies to affordably increase inventory as demand for a certain product increases, saving shelf space and unnecessary inventory.

Alternative or end-use manufacturing The third is alternative manufacturing, where 3D printing is used to produce final end-use parts. Stratasys believes that alternative manufacturing will have a significant impact on inventory storage requirements, Just-In-Time (JIT) delivery, existing product design and future product innovation.

In-house production systems like the Fortus FDM production system allows businesses to produce items on demand from a digital tool or CMB file. This digital tool can be accounted for similarly to any other capital expense, but the tool sits on a computer server rather than a warehouse shelf. Parts are built on demand, with design iterations and changes made instantaneously, and new tools, fittings and prototypes available in hours or days instead of weeks.

Originally just for prototypes, 3D printing is now used for a myriad of applications, including thermoforming, injection moulding, bridgetooling, paper pulp tooling, casting patterns, blow moulding and vacuum casting (silicon tooling).

“There’s really nothing that 3D printing can’t do,” said Stratasys Executive Vice President Marketing Jonathan Cobb. “The future is really, I think, unlimited at this point in time in the manufacturing community. If somebody can imagine it, you can print it.”

Some are calling 3D printing and additive manufacturing the next industrial revolution. It may be too early to tell, but one thing seems certain – in terms of manufacturing, we are just seeing the tip of the 3D printed iceberg. www.objective3d.com.au www.redeyeaustralasia.com

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Additive Manufacturing

3D printing as an alternative to patternmaking Historically, Hoosier Pattern machined its foundry patterns. Today, it uses 3D printing to create moulds and cores directly from sand, a change that dramatically expands the design freedom available to its customers. By Peter Zelinski, Senior Editor of Modern Machine Shop.

Steve Murray says the problem with being a pattern supplier is that you often play the role of killjoy. As a salesperson for Hoosier Pattern, Murray is a journeyman patternmaker himself. He talks to customers about the parts they want to produce through casting.

In the vast majority of cases, he says, there is some design compromise the customer has to make to accommodate casting’s traditional requirements. An undercut might need to be eliminated, for example; the internal geometry of the part might be too complex, resulting in an overly expensive core; or the part might need to be given a greater draft angle to allow the pattern to pull away from the sand mould cleanly. Because of considerations such as these, a customer usually has to cast a part that is at least slightly different from the design that this customer originally envisioned.

3D printing opens the door to complex geometric forms such as these.

Until now.

Murray’s message to customers has now changed. That’s because Hoosier Pattern has changed. In many cases, the company – based in the US (Indiana) – can now let customers cast precisely the parts they want to make. Rather than counselling customers to compromise, Murray now urges them to try to design the part that is optimal for the application. He often encourages them to look for ways that added complexity might remove unnecessary weight or improve the performance of the cast component. It is almost as if he is now able to say: “Don’t worry about the manufacturability.”

The reason for this new freedom is 3D printing. Hoosier Pattern recently expanded its capabilities—actually transformed its capabilities—by adding an ExOne S-Max sand printing system. This

is a machine that 3D-prints mould components in sand without any need for a pattern or core box. The machine essentially makes sand moulds without the middleman.

To established professionals in the foundry industry, this can seem weird. Pattern shops supply patterns and foundries pack sand around them to make the mould—that’s the way the industry works.

For the pattern shop to skip the pattern and instead supply the sand mould is a change that Hoosier Pattern’s customers sometimes have had to pause to wrap their heads around.

However, this change both simplifies the casting process and overcomes many of its previous limitations. 3D printing of sand potentially makes casting both more efficient and more effective at the same time.

A pattern shop is a machine shop. Hoosier Pattern has around 30 CNC machine tools. For this reason, this company’s introduction of 3D printing is interesting not just because of its implications for casting, but also because of what it illustrates about 3D printing. As Hoosier Pattern’s example shows, 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, does not fit neatly into established manufacturing categories.

That is, it does not directly take the place of processes such as CNC machining or conventional patternmaking, largely because its successes come from enabling parts that these conventional processes could not have produced. Rather than competing with any one existing process, additive manufacturing does something larger: it collapses the overall sequence of processes, and rewrites many of the established manufacturing rules.

Straight to sand A casting is a moulded part for which the mould is often made of sand. This mould is created by packing the sand around a pattern.

While the mould is a negative of the cast part, the pattern is a negative of this mould. Therefore, the pattern – a negative of a negative – is a direct geometric model of the final component.

Empty spaces within the casting (for example, a passage through the cast part) have to be defined by solid sand. The sand tooling that does this is the core, another mould component. To create the core, the pattern shop supplies a machined mould into which the sand is packed – a core box.

The 3D sand printer might run for more than 24 hours in a single cycle, but during that time it is making numerous mould components and different customers’ jobs, nested in the build volume.

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Murray says cores are the real promise of 3D sand printing. CNC machining of a pattern often is not difficult. However, the core tends to be where the real complexity lies and where the most challenging design compromises often have to be made. A complex and critical

Additive Manufacturing

Steve Murray shows a sand mould component that, without 3D printing, would have required a complex pattern involving inserts to produce the various slots.

casting such as an aircraft fuel pump component can require an intricate core box. In fact, the design might necessitate a challenging puzzle of core components that has to be skilfully assembled at the foundry. And because a sand mould is used one time, this assembly is done again and again. That is why the prospect of going straight to sand by creating cores through 3D printing potentially promises not only design freedom, but also significant labour savings.

Bring your Additive Manufacturing In-House with a Professional 3D Printing system.

The technology’s primary drawback is speed, Murray says. Relative to making a mould off of a pattern, 3D printing is slow. Thus, sand printing usually is not an effective choice for high-volume casting jobs. For these, making patterns and core boxes is the efficient option.

Yet even in these cases, he says, 3D printing can add value as a means of improving the design before the pattern and core machining begins. The customer can use sand printing to cast different versions of the design, testing various actual castings in their end use before a final design is committed to production. This prototyping, like highcomplexity jobs and low-volume jobs, is another case in which sand printing makes sense.

One other case is when the material cost is high, or when merely the cost of the part weight is high. In aircraft manufacturing, the need for draft angle can be expensive, because that angle constitutes added material and therefore added weight. However, the draft is only there because of the pattern. Doing away with the pattern eliminates the need for the draft angle, meaning sand printing might be an attractive option in this application even if the part quantity is high.

Impact on machining

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That need to account for part quantity was actually one of the most fundamental challenges Hoosier Pattern confronted when it began to consider acquiring 3D sand printing, says Murray. A pattern is a unique part, so Hoosier Pattern had built its business on one-off manufacturing. Getting into the business of creating sand moulds meant that its ordering and tracking process would now have to allow for batches of parts – a dimensionality to its production that hadn’t been there before.

This difference, among others, made sand printing distinct enough to merit giving the sand printer its own staffing and its own room within the facility. Now busy enough that it runs almost continuously, the ExOne system comprises what is essentially a sand mould factory within this patternmaking company. Customer orders that might have required patterns in the past are instead fulfilled in this room through an entirely different approach to running the job.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean the machine shop is slowing down.

Murray says machining capacity is likely to expand, because this new capability is also spurring activity within the established shop. The freedom to create moulds for complex castings gets Hoosier Pattern in the door with customers it might have never had the chance to serve before. When this happens, the resulting relationship often leads to conventional pattern machining work as well.

Melbourne: 03 9785 2333 Sydney: 02 8004 0120 Auckland: 64 9 801 0380

www.objective3d.com.au

www.hoosierpattern.com Reprinted courtesy of Modern Machine Shop.

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Additive Manufacturing

Researchers can be ‘digital blacksmiths’ with 3D printers While industry has been using 3D printing to reduce R&D costs for years, university researchers are only now beginning to see its potential. By Paul Mignone and Bernard Meade.

A challenge for university researchers is making the best use of funding on projects and anything that can save money should be welcomed. For nearly 30 years, industry has used 3D printing to reduce costs in the research and development phase of manufactured products. The technology allows engineers to rapidly produce physical prototypes to determine a design’s viability and detect defects. This saves time and money when developing the final product.

3D printers were expensive in the 1980s and 1990s but prices have dropped significantly – from more than US$100,000 to just a few hundred dollars – so they are now accessible to general consumers and universities. A strong open-source movement also allows consumers and researchers to build their own 3D printers, reducing costs even further.

Yet despite its ability to reduce the cost of industrial processes, its ability to reduce both the cost and time associated with academic research hasn’t been realised to a similar level. But this is starting to change.

One early adopter of 3D printing to reduce research costs was Joshua M Pearce from Michigan Technology University. His research group is becoming well known for designing open-source hardware using 3D printers and micro-controllers. He also recently published a book on the subject, which outlines how researchers can build an open-source lab to save thousands of dollars on research costs.

His research group is currently developing one of the first open-source metal 3D printers. This will allow individuals and researchers to print functional metal parts on printers that will cost approximately $2000 to build (commercial metal printers start at roughly half a million dollars).

Ben Robotham was a research student at the Ultrafast and Microspectroscopy labs at the University of Melbourne (UoM) when he discovered the cost benefit of 3D printing.

He needed four customised brackets for some equipment but was told they would cost A$800 and take four to six weeks to manufacture. He was also told by his supervisor that they did not have the budget and he needed to find an alternative.

He searched online for ways to create a customised bracket and found a video of a 3D printer, the first one he had seen or heard of. With no 3D modelling experience, he downloaded some easy-to-use, free software called Sketchup to create his first

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A 3D metal printer in action (Appropedia).

3D design. He sent the plans via email to the UoM Digital Fabrication Facility and picked up the printed brackets the next day (free for staff and students). They fitted perfectly, saving him up to six weeks delay and $3,200 (more than the cost of the 3D printer and material combined).

While cost-saving potential is high, there are some barriers in getting researchers to adopt 3D printing: • Making researchers aware of how the technology can save money (such as printing experimental apparatus in plastic instead of getting it machined in metal).

• Educating as to when 3D printing technology is appropriate to research objectives (should the apparatus be printed in plastic, or does the experiment require metallic parts?)

• Ensuring researchers have the skills to design and print their research products, or access to people who can.

In an attempt to address these barriers, the UoM’s ITS Research and School of Engineering departments collaborated to help 24 students from various backgrounds become ‘digital blacksmiths’. They were taught how to conceptualise ideas, how to use open-source CAD software and how to print structurally sound objects.

On the final day, they were given a business accelerator design challenge (co-sponsored by the Melbourne Accelerator Program) and asked to develop and 3D print a business product or service, which was then pitched to a panel of professionals in the start-up sector. Ideas ranged from 3D printing bicycle parts to custom jewellery, powerboards and spectacle frames designed fit to your face based on Xbox Kinect scans.

By the end of the course, the students could see the benefit of being able to

create their own cheaper experimental equipment. Robbie Fordyce, a PhD student and researcher in the School of Culture and Communication, said the potential to reduce costs for reproduction was immense: “Research projects based around rare or unique items – such as within archaeological or paleontological research – are bound to see substantial benefits, where their research objects are literally priceless.”

Luke Heemsbergen, a researcher who has written on 3D printing before, could also see the potential: “The ability to quickly mock up new spaces and installations with 3D printed objects offers great savings in time, money and effort. It allows you to see and feel how everything fits together before it’s too late.”

Tim Lovell, a medical research officer at the Florey Neuroscience Institute, said he often needs to source customised equipment in his research: “Normally, the time and cost necessary to engage a large biomedical company, prevents this. With 3D printing, I was able to team up with a mechanical engineer and manufacture a custom piece that I am now using to better visualise and understand the mechanistic effects of the drug.”

This “digital blacksmith” project was the first of its kind in the world but it has shown us the potential is there to teach other researchers to use 3D printers for their benefit – which can only be a good thing in a challenging economic climate.

Paul Mignone is a PhD Candidate in Materials Science at the University of Melbourne. Bernard Meade is the Innovation and Outreach Officer for ITS Research at the University of Melbourne.

This article was originally published at The Conversation. www.theconversation.com www.unimelb.edu.au

Additive Manufacturing

3D printing enters fourth dimension Researchers in the USA have added a fourth dimension to their printing technology, opening up exciting possibilities for the creation and use of adaptive, composite materials in manufacturing, packaging and biomedical applications.

A team led by H Jerry Qi, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder), and his collaborator Martin L Dunn of the Singapore University of Technology and Design developed and tested a method for 4D printing. The researchers incorporated ‘shape memory’ polymer fibres into the composite materials used in traditional 3D printing, which results in the production of an object fixed in one shape that can later be changed to take on a new shape.

“In this work, the initial configuration is created by 3D printing, and then the programmed action of the shape memory fibres creates time dependence of the configuration – the 4D aspect,” said Dunn, a former CU-Boulder mechanical engineering faculty member who has studied the mechanics and physics of composite materials for more two decades.

The 4D printing concept, which allows materials to ‘self-assemble’ into 3D structures, was initially proposed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty member Skylar Tibbits in April last year. Tibbits and his team combined a strand of plastic with a layer made out of ‘smart’ material that could self-assemble in water.

“We advanced this concept by creating composite materials that can morph into several different, complicated shapes based on a different physical mechanism,” said Dunn. “The secret of using shape memory polymer fibres to generate desired shape changes of the composite material is how the architecture of the fibres is designed, including their location, orientation and other factors.”

The CU-Boulder team’s findings were published in the journal Applied Physics Letters. The paper was co-authored by Qi ‘Kevin” Ge, who joined MIT as a postdoctoral research associate last September.

“The fascinating thing is that these shapes are defined during the design stage, which was not achievable a few years ago,” said Qi. The CU-Boulder team demonstrated that the orientation and location of the fibres within the composite determines the degree of shape memory effects like folding, curling, stretching or twisting. The researchers also showed the ability to control those effects by heating or cooling the composite material.

H. Jerry Qi holds simple models printed on a 3D printer using polymers that have “shape memory”.

Qi says 3D printing technology, which has existed for about three decades, has only recently advanced to the point that active fibres can be incorporated into the composites so their behaviour can be predictably controlled when the object is subjected to thermal and mechanical forces.

The technology promises exciting new possibilities for a variety of applications. Qi said that a solar panel or similar product could be produced in a flat configuration onto which functional devices can be easily installed. It could then be changed to a compact shape for packing and shipping.

After arriving at its destination, the product could be activated to form a different shape that optimises its function.

As 3D printing technology matures, with more printable materials and higher resolution at larger scales, the research should help provide a new approach to creating reversible or tunable 3D surfaces and solids in engineering like the composite shells of complex shapes used in automobiles, aircraft and antennas. www.colorado.edu

April 2014 AMT APRIL

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Cutting Tools

Seco boosts manufacturing competitiveness Seco Tools recently announced the release of its Jetstream Tooling Duo technology – providing Australian CNC manufacturers with a fresh opportunity to improve their competitiveness. By Craig Hingston.

Jetstream Tooling Duo is the next generation of Seco’s proven Jetstream Tooling system, which has been around for the past few years. Originally developed in collaboration with Rolls Royce for machining of exotic materials in the aerospace industry, Jetstream Tooling provides CNC operators with a huge leap forward in machining of materials such as stainless steel, titanium and super alloys.

It features a coolant delivery system integrated into the cutting tool-holder, which sprays coolant directly on to the rake face just millimetres away, as opposed to conventional nozzles that are typically 30 or more millimetres away. The precisely targeted highpressure flow removes heat from the cutting zone a lot quicker, allowing for higher cutting speeds. This in turn produces better surface finishes on hard-to-machine and exotic metals, improves chipping control, and means projects can be completed a lot quicker, which in turn leads to improved productivity.

Seco Area Business Manager Harold Phipps says he has seen stainless steel machining jobs completed in one-third of the time that it used to take before its customers installed Jetstream Tooling.

He adds that the new Jetstream Tooling Duo system is able to extend cutting tool life by an extra 10%-50%.

“With the Jetstream Tooling Duo system, Seco Tools has improved the original concept by incorporating multiple coolant jets on either side of the cutting tool,” says Phipps. “The cutting edge now receives high-pressure coolant from two opposite directions – above and below. This additional volume of coolant not only keeps the cutting surface cooler, it also reduces wear on the insert and flushes the surface clear.”

Jetstream Tooling Duo features a P-holder lever design for rigid locking of the insert. With improved rigidity comes the ability to increase depths of cut, employ even higher feed rates and take surface quality to another level.

“Seco Tools is constantly engaged in research and development and we appreciate having open, collaborative relationships with our customers”, adds Phipps. “They provide us with feedback, which we in turn incorporate into the next generation of products.”

One such example was Archer Enterprises, based in Central Coast, New South Wales. Archer manufactures 316 stainless steel valve spindles for performance-critical flow control and delivery system products. The company’s owners had asked Seco to extend its Jetstream Tooling technology to help improve grooving and parting

316 stainless steel spindles machined by Archer using the Jetstream Tooling system.

off operations on these spindles. This year Seco announced the release of the new parting system, which will soon be installed at Archer.

“Archer is a good example of this collaborative relationship that we have,” says Phipps. “It is a very progressive engineering and manufacturing company which has embraced Seco Tools technology over a number of years in order to help them build a worldwide reputation.”

Archer is a third-generation family-owned business that is renowned for taking on projects that other companies regard as being too hard. Its portfolio includes the design and manufacture of sophisticated Australia-first technology and highly specialised products for the global market.

“We are always looking to the future and investing in the best technology so that we can have a competitive edge”, says Archer Operations Director Russell Byrne. “This is why we invested in five- and nine-axis Okuma mill turn multi-function machines with factory-installed high-pressure coolant systems a few years ago.”

Byrne says the team at Archer do a lot of performance-critical work with stainless steel, alloys and titanium, and are always on the lookout for ways of improving their capabilities so that they can continue to pursue niche domestic and international projects.

“Our search led us to Seco Tools and their Jetstream Tooling,” adds Byrne. “We tested it out against what we had at the time and it was so far in front. It delivers coolant in the optimum position. It is the best technology we have seen that keeps hot things cool.

We were so impressed we installed Jetstream Tooling on all of our machine centres and we rely on it for every project.

“The Okuma high-pressure coolant system was already there, so we plumbed the Jetstream Tooling straight in and we use 1.5 and 7.0Mpa coolant pressure on our machines. It allows us to increase our machine speeds and get a better machining result. It is also brilliant for unmanned lights out machining of stainless steel and alloys, and this means we have been able to dramatically increase our output.”

The Jetstream Tooling Duo from Seco Tools.

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Byrne is full of praise for Jetstream Tooling, saying that they have been able to increase feeds and speeds during roughing turning operations, that tool edge life has been extended, and that they now experience fewer stoppages for tool insert changes. He adds that the Jetstream Tooling improves swarf evacuation on finishing

Cutting Tools

turning operations, and it reduces the chance of swarf wrapping around the tool and deflecting coolant away from the cutting edge.

Archer’s Manufacturing Centre of Excellence.

“This is a robust and easy to use system. It is helping us pursue more complex projects here and overseas. We know that we have the right tool for the job. We have invested well.”

When asked for an example of how the Seco Tools’ technology has benefited them, Byrne says that is a challenge because it is used on every project. However, one landmark job that has attracted interest from a number of countries around the world was an impulse turbine project for Granite Power.

“We made the full assembly of highly complex stainless steel and titanium components with very fine tolerances, such as the impeller, which took two hours to machine. The turbo-generator is a unique piece of equipment, which captures waste heat from say the exhaust of a diesel combustion engine and uses it to generate electricity. Hot supercritical fluid is expanded at velocities greater than Mach 1.7 through the front nozzle, it hits the turbine blades and drives the turbine at 70,000rpm, generating up to 30kW of electricity. We’re talking about 60 bar in this system, and the internal temperatures vary between 200 and 260 degrees Celsius.”

Although they weren’t asked to, Archer machined multiple versions of one part that were fractions of a millimetre apart to mimic the changes that the component would undergo due to the extreme temperature changes in the turbine. It was the Jetstream Tooling that helped to make this possible.

A spokesperson from Granite Power said the overseas technology they wanted was too expensive, and in order to make the turbine a commercial application, they needed to find a way of reducing the cost of manufacturing. Having Archer make the assembly locally was the most economical way for them to get it done.

“Not only is Seco Tools helping us to pursue more complex work”, says Byrne. “It has helped us to reduce our operating costs, which means we are very competitive when tendering for new business.”

Phipps believes it is companies like Archer that will survive the current difficulties facing the manufacturing industry in this country.

“Manufacturers in Australia are facing a very competitive time in 2014. The industry is changing and if you want to survive you have to be willing to adapt to change, to think outside the box and to embrace the latest technology. Otherwise – and this is the last thing we want to see – they might not be around in the years to come.

“With technology such as Jetstream Tooling and Jetstream Tooling Duo, they can have superior machining of hard materials, faster production cycles, less replacement of consumables, and the ability for unmanned manufacturing, which will dramatically improve their competitiveness.” www.secotools.com www.archerenterprises.com.au

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Cutting Tools

A new edge to productivity in steel turning The latest developments in indexable inserts are unlocking significant amounts of untapped potential productivity gains when turning steel.

When it comes to cutting speed levels in turning steel, the manufacturing-industry average is today well below that of recommended data-values. Taking into account factors such as machine capability, workpiece diameters, methods, competence and aversion to risk, there is still a large untapped speed potential.

Process security is one of the main reasons why many hold back. However, advances now being seen with indexable inserts – especially grades for the large mid-ISO P25 application area – should invoke confidence in users and convince them not to feel the need to hold back on cutting data, and consequently productivity.

Boosting productivity Productivity in machining is to some extent an individual measure, depending upon the type of production. However, generally it can be defined as the combination of machining efficiency, often measured in metal removal rates, and machine-tool utilisation, in pieces machined per hour. For the single-point cutting edge in turning, cutting data and tool-life are the determining properties – along with minimised machine stoppage times.

There is a huge potential in improving performance and security here, and this potential has just seen more growth. For somebody today that actually makes full use of the existing means, an additional productivity increase of 30% can now be seen as available.

In steel-turning, an indexable insert has a tool life only as long as it has an intact cutting-edge line – an edge that cuts the metal effectively, leaving a satisfactory finish. If the edge line is broken by the wrong type of wear, rapid breakdown of the process occurs, which can result in unacceptable parts and the loss of the allimportant process security.

In the large and varied mid-area of steel-turning, dominantly the ISO P25 application area, limiting “good” wear and eliminating unwanted wear has been, and still is, the route to aim for to gain continuously higher performance and better results. Insert-grade

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technology is still one of the main factors to successfully achieve this – as the latest developments indicate.

When developing new grades, a lot of effort has been put into controlling and limiting continuous wear and eliminating discontinuous, often uncontrollable wear. Maintaining an intact edge line depends on the direction wear development takes. To arrive at the right means to tackle the mechanisms that leads to premature breakdown, this has now been analysed to new extents, resulting in a greater understanding of what affects what.

All cutting edges wear but the wear-development should be primarily in the form of flank wear - frictional erosion throughout the cut. This is the controllable, abrasive-wear on the clearance face, below the edge line, and acceptable if it develops at a sustainable rate. In some cases, the development of balanced, not-too-rapid flank-wear does not have a disadvantageous effect on the cutting process and to some extent calculated into the design of the cutting edge.

Crater wear is the other controllable wear-type that is common and is caused in steel-turning by the effect of heat and pressure at the cutting zone. If the rate of development is too high, however, it can lead to an excessive change of insert-geometry giving an inferior cutting process, and in time to a weakening of the edge, and as such be a risk to process security.

Both wear-types are natural and common in steel-turning and their development are very much related to cutting data, the steel-type and hardness as well as the ability of the insert grade (tool material) to withstand heat and pressure in the cutting zone. A steel-turning P25-grade should really only experience these types of wear and a competent, correctly applied grade holds back their development even at high cutting data throughout a large range of steel alloys.

Much harder to control are the discontinuous wear-types, some of which are associated with machining other types of materials

Cutting Tools

and should not be part of steel turning. Plastic deformation, for example, where the cutting edge is depressed, is a wear type that can appear if the temperature is excessive for the grade being used.

In some cases, it may start with thermal cracking, several small cracks across the cutting edge. It may also start with the coating flaking off the edge, leaving an exposed insert substrate. As part of the plastic deformation, the insert-substrate gives way, the coating cracks and breakdown accelerates quickly and uncontrollably.

The overlapping zones with the harder P15 grade and tougher P35 grade can be crucial trade-off zones for a P25 grade with regard to wear types to achieve maximum process security along with length of tool-life and level of cutting speed. Competent analysis and trials can determine solutions. Also, in steel-turning applications, the other tool factors that determine outcome should always also be highlighted: insert micro- and macro-geometry, nose radius, insert size and shape. It is the combination of these that leads to success with any insert grade.

One typical example illustrates this. It involves an alloyed-steel, large-volume forging with a half-minute cutting-edge engagement, with some of the cut interrupted. A typical P25-grade application.

To maximise the number of edges available on the inserts, and to minimize tool-costs, a W-style insert had previously been selected by the user, giving six edges per insert. When the operation was upgraded with the latest development in P25 insert grades, in a C-style insert with only four edges per insert and much less prone to insert movements, the process security was raised – with a higher cutting speed and a five-fold increase in tool-life.

Ensuring the right outcome Predictability has become increasingly important in modern machining with limited supervision and there are a number of threats to the edge-line remaining intact long enough. Steel-turning includes some very different materials, from soft, low-carbon steels to high-alloy, hard steels, bar material to forgings, castings to pre-machined parts. The variation in material, components, operations, conditions and limitations throughout the ISO P25area is unequalled throughout machining and new P25-grade development has taken this into account.

As a representative example, one type of steel in which the new P25-grade development has succeeded above predictions is steel used for bearings. These steel alloys specifically challenge the cutting edge, with hard carbides being very abrasive, often generating rapid crater wear and other risky wear development.

The new insert substrate and coating can better stand up to diffusion-wear at high temperatures and in so doing, has generally reduced the effect behind much of crater development.

Additionally, the rake face of the insert is then also more capable of maintaining an ideal, fluid flow-zone when generating the chip.

This has the effect of being directly translatable into a higher cutting speed accompanied by the all-important process security. This is particularly useful in providing a long, predictable tool-life such as needed for unmanned or limited-supervised machining. Similar, reliable performance every time is imperative.

A steel-turning area, such as that represented by ISO P25, thus covers a lot of different demands on the cutting edge. As regards grade development, the all-important coating adhesion has had to be improved to combat any openings for discontinuous, uncontrollable wear. A new, better-suited insert substrate stands up to high temperatures, with no structural changes taking place.

Taking into account all the variables involved in material science and grade-manufacturing processes, the combination of coating and substrate as a unit has reached a level in tool materials not previously possible. One of the key details here is a new crystal structure of the insert-coating, which is to a great extent responsible for the dramatic new level of resistance to unwanted wear.

As a result, depending on the application at hand, cutting speeds of well over 400m/min – recommendations that are higher than ever before for the P25-area – are now normal. And this is achieved in conjunction with process security, with predictable tool-life as the main advantage of the new insert technology. It is a development that should help to lessen the reluctance to apply higher speeds and raise productivity. www.sandvik.coromant.com

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Your local stockist: Camco Cutting Tools Int‘l P/L Tel: (03) 8336 1500 Fax: (03) 8336 1499 Email: sales@camcointl.com www.oelheld.com

Human Technology for man, environment and machines

AMT April 2014

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Cutting Tools

Trochoidal milling – a machining fitness boost Compared with conventional milling, in many applications trochoidal milling achieves significant improvements in tool costs, machining times and the load on the machine components.

A simple comparison with the cutting data obtained during a Mapal milling trial already shows what is possible with trochoidal milling (also known as wave milling). During conventional dry milling of case hardened steel (16MnCr5), a cutting speed of around 200m/ min at a feed of 0.05mm/tooth was achieved. However, it was possible to tackle the same task with a cutting speed of 60m/ min at double the feed rate using the new trochoidal solid carbide milling cutter from Mapal.

Even when machining V2A steel it was possible to achieve a significant increase in speed by changing the milling technology: At a feed of 0.05mm/tooth, a cutting speed of 250m/min was achieved instead of the 60-100m/min otherwise possible. Mapal has developed a special new range of high-performance milling cutters designed to make this increased performance possible.

The benefits of trochoidal milling essentially stem from reduced tool contact. While during conventional milling of a slot, the wrap angle is 180 degrees (full cut), with trochoidal milling it can be selected as a function of the cutting depth and limited to a maximum of 70 degrees. This is made possible by a milling cutter with a smaller diameter that moves trochoidally at a high spindle speed, with each trochoid penetrating deeper into the cut.

The reduced wrap angle results in lower heat development. The machining forces are also lower, such that even spindles with low power and torque are suitable for the machining process. In addition, the chip load is lower with trochoidal milling. As the milling cutter does not completely fill the slot or pocket, chip congestion and renewed cutting of chips is as good as excluded.

This aspect is of particular importance for slots that are deep in relation to their width. During conventional milling, low feeds and cutting depths are necessary. A maximum milling depth of 1.5xD is normal. With trochoidal milling, by avoiding the full cut, cutting depths of up to 2xD are achievable even without specially developed milling cutters.

For the user this means shorter machining times, better tool utilisation and noticeably lower tool wear. With carbide prices increasing rapidly, the latter factor in particular is attracting the attention of metal machinists who can profit twice over on changing to trochoidal milling: through longer tool lives, and lower procurement costs for the milling cutter due to its smaller diameter.

Additional cost savings are possible if trochoidal milling is used in machining centres. Because widely varying slot widths or pocket sizes can be produced with only one tool, the tool needs to be

The OptiMill trochoidal milling cutter in operation.

Delicate and thin-walled parts can be machined cost-effectively and precisely via trochoidal milling.

changed less frequently and there is space left in the tool magazine.

Trochoidal milling also offers advantages in relation to design. Due to the lower radial forces, significantly more delicate parts and parts with thinner walls can be produced at greater accuracies.

At the same time, the load on the spindle bearings is reduced and tool life is increased.

The OptiMill product family from Mapal includes milling cutters with DIN shaft length of 2xD, suitable for trochoidal dry milling.

For applications with even higher requirements, Mapal has added an entirely new milling cutter with a cutting length of 3xD and a diameter of 6-20 mm.

Specially designed unequal spacing (EU spacing) of the five cutting edges, combined with an innovative geometrical design of the cutting wedge, reduces the excitation of vibration here. Balancing undertaken during the manufacturing process further reduces the risk of vibration. As such the patent-applied milling cutter can even be used at extremely high spindle speeds without problems.

Given the greater cutting depths now possible, the tool designers have also integrated a chip breaker that cuts the chips in half to prevent jamming due to the long chips produced in the process.

This feature ensures trouble-free removal of the chips from the machine compartment.

Although special tool adapters are not required when using the new milling cutters, Mapal recommends its new High-Torque Chuck (HTC) to fully exploit the potential of trochoidal milling. The chuck combines the very good damping properties of hydraulic chucking technology with the high holding forces of shrinking technology, reliably transmitting high torques. Even heating to 170 degrees does not affect the HTC chuck, as milling trials have confirmed. As a rule, cooling is therefore not necessary.

Smaller, more delicate parts, higher accuracies and the continuing pressure to reduce costs are making the call for more efficient milling processes louder. Given the availability of more powerful tools such as Mapal’s new milling cutters and the increasing use of powerful CNC controllers and CAM software, there is now nothing to hinder the more widespread application of trochoidal milling. The time is right for trochoidal milling! www.mapal.com.au

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Cutting Tools

Iscar – Delivering solutions for the oil & gas industry Amid rising global energy demand, offshore oil & gas extraction is reaching unprecedented rates.

As these projects move into deeper waters, the resulting technical challenges are driving tooling companies like Iscar to find ever-more innovative solutions.

Global energy demand has increased drastically in recent years, with energy consumption today running at about 25 times the amount used 200 years ago. With the world’s population expected to reach 9bn by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that an unprecedented level of investment – $1.6 trillion per year on average – will be necessary to meet energy demand through 2035.

Driven by continuous demand, oil & gas companies are increasingly focusing on exploration of deep-water and ultra-deep water reservoirs, the success of which offers a unique opportunity to significantly boost the world’s proven energy reserves. However, these projects are pushing technology to the edge. As exploration expands to deeper waters, they enter evermore technically and economically challenging environments, requiring equipment that must be carefully designed using state-of-the-art technology and advanced engineering.

According to Iscar’s cutting tool engineers, there is a fast growing demand for the machining of exotic materials, such as stainless steel, duplex and super-duplex, Inconel and titanium. These oftenexpensive materials are widely utilised in offshore projects due to their mechanical and corrosion-resistant properties in most acid-alkaline solutions and chlorine-bearing environments. However, for cutting tool suppliers, these non-standard materials are normally categorised as high-temperatureresistant alloys, which are harder to cut than medium carbon steel. To optimise cutting conditions and tooling technology, it is important to consider the material properties of the workpiece and how they can affect machining. In general terms, there are four main properties to evaluate: tensile strength, hardness, ductility and thermal conductivity.

In order to meet the tight security and environmental regulations in deep water projects, companies will choose equipment suitable to withstand corrosive environments subjected to high pressure and temperatures. For example, Inconel 718 has become very popular among companies related to the upstream exploration sector due to its excellent corrosion resistance.

The austenitic microstructure of this nickelbased super alloy provides high tensile and yield strength, streamlining the ultimate high-security requirements. Moreover, while machining Inconel 718 there are major

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Fig. 1

problems to be addressed concerning the very high temperatures on the cutting edge of the insert, due to the abrasive elements in the material composition (a high content of nickel, at 50%-55%, and chrome, at 1721%) resulting in high wear rates, chipping, notching and insert breakage. Inconel 718’s metallurgical sensitivity to residual stresses and self-hardening during the cutting operation may drastically reduce the expected tool life due to high deformation of the cutting edge even at low cutting speeds.

In order to machine super alloys effectively, Iscar has successfully developed the carbide grade IC806. This new coating is the results of combining hard submicron substrate with thin physical vapour deposition (PVD) coating and a special post-coating treatment, which provides substantially improved tool life and better reliability.

Machining high-temperature alloys is not only a question of choosing the right substrate and coating; it also means choosing the correct cutting tool and geometry. Take for example, the Inconel cladding machining process, normally found in tubing hangers – a component used in the completion of oil & gas production wells. The relatively thin Inconel layer welded in the inner walls of this component must be machined with carbide cutting tools. This process is normally called rough boring and involves critical machining set-up, including the necessity for long tool overhang, removal of unsteady material stock, and interrupted cutting. All these

disadvantages frequently lead to chattering, and consequently to poor carbide tool life.

As a result, the Inconel cladding machining operation becomes a bottleneck in the manufacturing process and eventually causes high manufacturing expenses. (See Fig. 1) The solution for this application is clear for Iscar’s application engineers, who recommend employing the unique carbide insert SNMG 432-EM-R from its Iso line, specially designed for machining high-temperature alloys. One of the most important features of this insert is actually the lack of radius. Its 45-degree approaching angle reduces notch wear and allows increases in both cutting speed and feed, while still achieving long-lasting tool life. (See Fig. 2) A sharp cutting edge reinforced by a tiny edge preparation is followed by a 13-degree rake angle, allowing a considerable 6mm depth of cut in these hard-to-cut materials.

However, neither the coating nor the geometry of the insert can assure efficiency when machining high-temperature alloys, since good chip control is hard to achieve.

Critical coolant As previously mentioned, high-temperature alloys produce a very high temperature as they are being cut. By applying coolant, the chips become less ductile and thus easier to break. External coolant supply is not sufficient when machining high temperature

Cutting Tools enables high-feed drilling, providing high drilling rates, high accuracy and surface finish.

Fig. 2

alloys. Through-spindle and through-tool coolant are mandatory.

Today’s standard CNC machines are normally equipped with traditional coolant systems, which deliver coolant at low pressures. However, when machining hightemperature alloys the heat rate generated is beyond the coolant’s boiling point, which turns to vapour before reaching the cutting zone, causing thermal shock on cutting edges and eventually a negative impact on the insert life.

Able to overcome this thermodynamic barrier, high-pressure coolant systems pressurise the coolant and deliver enough liquid volume through small outlet nozzles.

At atmospheric pressure, the coolant flowing through the nozzle can reach a very high velocity. As a result, a considerable force is generated on the chips, lowering temperature and protecting the cutting edge from thermal shock, assuring better carbide insert tool life and part surface finish.

One example of an effective high-pressure coolant tooling system for turning centres, vertical turning lathes and multi-task machines is the JHP system from Iscar.

Iscar was one of the first cutting tools suppliers to respond to market needs by designing and delivering tools for high- and ultra-high-pressure coolant flow (See Fig. 3).

By utilising this high-pressure coolant tooling system, smaller chips can also be easily managed – they do not tangle around the workpiece or machine parts, so there is no need to stop the process frequently.

It has been proven that by applying highpressure coolant, both tool life and chip control can be considerably improved when machining stainless and high-temperature alloys, enhancing productivity and cutting manufacturing costs.

Productive holemaking The new generation of high-pressure cutting tools offered by Iscar is designed to deliver productivity improvements in today’s oil & gas industry. Its hole-making line is a proven best solution when oil & gas customers evaluate manufacturing efficiency. For example, the new SumoGun is the only gundrill in the market with an indexable

Fig. 3

drilling head featuring two effective cutting edges. This is much more productive than traditional brazed tip gundrills. The drill carries standard SumoCham drilling heads in intermediate sizes and geometries for numerous Iso materials.

The SumoGun enables replacement of the drilling head inside the machine, meaning there is no need to remove the drill for head indexing. It features two straight flutes carrying the standard SumoCham drilling heads, enabling drilling of deep holes at much higher feed rates than most other gundrills available in the market.

The flexibility of this product provides the end-user the ability to clamp different drilling head geometries according to the material and application. The SumoCham carbide heads can be easily removed using a polyamide plastic key.

The standard modular SumoGun gundrills also come with an additional feature: the exchangeable modular shank (driver). This revolutionary gundrill solution features a rear-threaded connection which enables attaching different standard shank types and sizes.

The new SumoGun is available in a diameter range from 14mm to 25 mm, carrying standard SumoCham indexable inserts.

Each standard tool diameter is available with flute lengths of 400mm and 800mm, and can be used on standard horizontal milling centres, lathes, multi-task machines and gundrill machines. These tools are nickelcoated for easy and uninterrupted chip flow. For large diameter drilling applications, Iscar’s new CombiCham drilling system is one of the best solutions (See fig. 6). This new modular drilling system is available in a diameter range from 26mm to 50mm.

It is capable of reaching 5xD, featuring carbide indexable drilltips clamped on an interchangeable pilot SumoCham drilling head, which is firmly attached to the drill body.

These innovative drills feature a SumoCham pilot drilling head and standard square precision ground inserts with a wiper in various sizes, made from IC808 – a new Iscar PVD-coated grade. The system

For machining deep cavities in oil & gas deep drilling parts it is always recommended to use a reliable tool that guarantees rigidity, tool life, repeatability, accuracy and optimal tool life performance. In this case, the most advanced machining technology is Iscar’s “all-in-one” solid EFP carbide cutter. Its hightech design provides the highest advantage in cavity milling, featuring a combination of Iscar’s three most innovative endmills: FeedMill, chip splitter and CHATTERFREE. The FeedMill EFP solid carbide endmills utilise a large-radius cutting edge configuration that allows for high feed rates up to 0.5mm/tooth, at 0.3mm-1.0 mm depth of cut. As a result the cutter delivers a significant reduction in cycle time, increasing productivity.

The unique cutting edge geometry axially directs the cutting loads towards the spindle, performing high stability during cutting and enabling high feed rates, even with long tooling overhang. This unique feature allows for high metal removal rates when machining pockets and cavities in high-temperature alloys.

After penetration into the cavity, the serrated cutting edge features flat peaks, which leave a better surface finish in comparison to other rougher endmills. The chip-splitting flutes also perform a better force distribution combined with the ChatterFree variable pitch, which is the winning solution for maximum stock removal rates.

This unique solid carbide cutter is available in a diameter range from 6mm to 20 mm, equipped with four and five flutes. With coated submicron grade IC903, this carbide grade features an ultra-fine grain substrate which is protected by the advanced ALTEC coating technology. The combination of these parameters offers outstanding wear resistance and toughness. This EFP solid carbide endmill is also effective on oil & gas applications that need to be machined on low-power machines equipped with ISO40/ CAT40/BT40 adaptation connections.

Global demand for energy continues to grow, especially in developing countries such as China and India. To meet this demand, governments are approving more and more deep water drilling permits.

Deepwater surface-to-seabed projects today are typically at depths of 1500 to 2000 metres, with rising numbers of drilled wells at depths of up to 7000 metres. At these depths, the hostile environment requires special equipment and exotic materials, which involves enormous investment.

To meet these challenges and maintain economical productivity, Iscar aims to continue developing innovative, advanced cutting tools. www.iscar.com.au AMT April 2014

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company focus

Redarc – Fast-growing innovators Originally launched from a shed in southern Adelaide, Redarc has notched up impressive growth, manufacturing innovative accessories for specialised vehicles. Now it is setting its sights on export markets. By William Poole.

Redarc started life some 35 years ago, in Lonsdale, in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

Throughout those early years it remained a modest little business, operating out of a shed and making a variety of voltage converters for imported trucks. However, something about it caught the eye of Anthony Kittel and his wife Michele, who purchased the business in 1997.

“The company was making a little bit of money,” recalls Anthony. “The opportunity I saw was that it had a brand and it had a loyal customer base. That’s half the battle, having that distribution pipeline, so you can really grow the business quickly.”

That’s exactly what the new owners set about doing, and Redarc has grown considerably. From eight employees back in 1997, today it’s an organisation with around 100 staff, manufacturing a burgeoning range of vehicle accessories such as power supplies and solar panels. In the last four years in particular, the company has doubled in size, averaging growth of around 25% per annum.

A key driver of this growth has been a shrewd approach to diversification. In 2001 Redarc launched a product for the four-wheel-drive sector, which saw the company branch out of trucking-related products, and into the lucrative ‘grey nomads’ market. According to Anthony, it was the grey nomads that kept the company going throughout the GFC. “It’s very hard to describe what our company does. It’s quite a niche market,” says Anthony. “But essentially we provide portable power solutions for specialised

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vehicle applications, such as grey nomads, four-wheel-drivers, police, trucking companies, mining companies. Mining trucks that go into Africa, Arctic trucks… wherever there are special power needs, we provide the solution.”

The company’s rapid growth did not come without challenges, one of which was premises, so in 2005 Redarc purchased 8500sqm of land in Lonsdale and constructed its own purpose-built manufacturing facility. This allowed the team to create a building perfectly tailored to the company’s processes.

“Rather than buying a building and putting a plant inside it, we designed the manufacturing process and built the building around it,” says Anthony. “We had a wonderful greenfields site to work with, the only constraints were the dimensions of the block.”

Walking around Redarc’s facility, the thought and attention to detail are evident. From sales and marketing, right through design and assembly, on to warehousing, the entire operation is arranged in a single-level, openplan layout, with clear flow-lines between each stage in the production process. While it’s a facility obviously conceived with an emphasis on efficiency and flexibility, it’s also clearly a genuinely enjoyable and inspiring environment in which to work.

“When we designed the factory, we were thinking ‘how can we design a building that stimulates innovation?’” adds Anthony. “I worked for two large manufacturers before Redarc, and most of the buildings were dark, dingy, they smelt. You didn’t want

to invite people in because they weren’t pleasant environments.

“If you have a high-technology company, you want a beautiful environment, lots of light, and a pleasant place to work. When our team come out for lunch, sitting in the lunchroom, more often than not they’re talking about something they’re working on, or some idea they’ve got. They’re swapping ideas. It gets to be part of your DNA.” As the company’s growth continued, the factory was extended in 2011, reaching the maximum capacity for the site. Nonetheless there’s still potential for expansion as Redarc currently only works a single shift.

There’s plenty of capacity to pump out more products, and that’s very much the plan.

“We want to double the size of our company again between now and 2017,” says Anthony. “We’re at around $25m revenue now, and we want to get to $50m revenue, so that’s where our company is heading.”

Central to these ambitious growth targets is the development of offshore markets. At the moment, exports account for about 1% of Redarc’s revenues, but the objective for 2017 is for that figure to rise to 10%. The company already has distribution set up in France, with the USA shortly to follow suit. Anthony is bullish about the prospects overseas of a range that has been so successful in Australia.

“A product built to survive the Simpson Desert or the Canning Stock Route, those sorts of environments... If it can survive Australia, it’ll survive Russia, it’ll survive Africa and so on.”

company focus

A culture of innovation “Our philosophy here is basically: ‘Near enough’s not good enough’,” says Anthony.

“We’re never happy with the status quo, we’ve always got to be continually finding a better way to do things. If you want to improve productivity or improve the technology in your products, you can’t be satisfied with what you’re doing today, you’ve always got to be looking at what can be done better.”

The fact that Redarc never cut back on R&D investment throughout the GFC is indicative of its company philosophy. Around 15% of revenue is reinvested into R&D every year, and the company measure the annual contribution made by innovation to the business in terms of sales revenue from products brought to the market in the last three years. In 2017, the target is for new products to generate an extra $9.5m in revenue.

“That’s our challenge, and it’s a big challenge,” says Anthony. “In terms of R&D expenditure, it’ll get up towards $7.5m in 2017 for us to reach our sales goal. It’s a very significant investment for a company this size. We punch above our weight in terms of R&D capacity, with 20 people in R&D full time.”

If you’re going to invest 15% of your revenue in R&D and enshrine innovation as one of your core values, you need skilled people, and this is another area where Redarc devotes substantial effort. The company has partnerships with several universities in South Australia, allowing students to come in to get involved with project work. Several key senior members of the engineering team started as undergraduates and worked their way through to remain with the firm today.

“I was lucky that back in the 1980s BHP gave me a cadetship and basically paid for my studies, and I stayed on as an engineer for a number of years,” says Anthony. “We follow those same values here, in that we have young people come into the business, we provide a career path for them, and we fund their studies.”

Manufacturing for the future Redarc remains a proudly Australian company, with a determination to continue manufacturing in this country. Making that possible is in itself an area that calls on the team’s ingenuity and powers of innovation.

“I was told about Australian manufacturing being the ‘Luis Vuitton’ touch,” says Anthony. “What we mean by that is every time someone in manufacturing in Australia touches a product, it’s like you’re making Luis Vuitton products in terms of labour costs. So our challenge as designers and manufacturers is to build products with as little human touching as possible. There are

still functions that need to be carried out by our staff, but if we can minimise that, that’s all the better.”

Anthony demonstrates this principle with one of Redarc’s products, comprising a circuit board and a plastic housing. It has been designed as a “press-stick” device.

There are no screws or specialised tooling: you put the parts in, press the housing shut and that’s the product assembled and ready to ship. When Redarc’s engineers design their products, the emphasis is not just how many features it boasts or what a revolutionary product it might be, but also how much it will cost to manufacture.

“If there’s all these different operations and steps in the process, the first thing you’ll say is: ‘Why don’t you make it in China?’”

Anthony continues. “Our strength is that we’ve got a fully integrated manufacturing facility. We’ve got our sales and marketing, our innovation centre, our assembly, our automation and our warehousing, all in one site. If we’ve got a problem, the engineers can go into the automation area and talk to those staff, come back and modify the design, and 24-48 hours later it’s back in production. It’s not easy to do that with a supply chain that’s ten weeks away, which is typically what China is.”

For Anthony, one of his company’s great advantages is having a brand that means something to consumers. It might not quite be a household brand, but for grey nomads travelling around Australia and looking for

a power solution that means they don’t always have to park in a caravan park, Redarc products are something they ask for by name. That, along with a reputation for quality and service and support, are what Anthony believes distinguishes Redarc from its rivals.

“I read a wonderful report saying the Aussie dollar’s going to be at 66 US cents in two years’ time, and I thought ‘Bring it on’.

We’re competitive at around about the 90-cent mark, so 66 cents would give us a wonderful advantage. More importantly, it would make our cheap competitors that bring product into Australia suddenly 20% or 30% more expensive. We deliberately price ourselves at a margin above our competitors, and customers are willing to pay for that innovation, those features and that reliability.”

Ultimately, Redarc’s goal is to be a worldclass provider of electronic solutions, and Anthony stresses the word ‘solutions’ as particularly important.

“There’s still many companies that manufacture a widget, and once that widget’s no longer desirable, there’s issues.

Manufacturing in South Australia definitely has a future, but that future is built around manufacturing companies not making widgets anymore, but thinking about the customer solution, and being able to solve their customers’ problems.” www.redarc.com.au

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Welding

K-TIG – A welding revolution Based in Salisbury, South Australia, K-TIG has developed a transformational new breakthrough in industrial welding, able to perform a traditional six-hour weld in under four minutes, and to a quality that meets the most demanding requirements of the nuclear, aerospace and defence industries.

The result of eight years of development by Dr Laurie Jarvis at the CSIRO and a further two years of product trials and commercialisation, the company’s keyhole TIG welding process reduces power and gas consumption by up to 95% compared with conventional TIG welding, while delivering speeds from ten to 100 times faster.

For example, the system can easily punch through 12mm stainless steel to give full-penetration, single-pass welds at an impressive 300mm per minute. Unlike traditional welding, the technology eliminates the need for edge preparation of materials, requires no filler material or consumables, and removes the need for skilled labour.

K-TIG’s technology has been engineered from the ground up to provide a solution that addresses all the key challenges associated with traditional TIG welding, such as slow speeds, high power and gas consumption, and a reliance on skilled labour. The technology is capable of welding thick materials and can provide considerable productivity gains and quality even with exotic materials such as titanium and stainless steels.

The heart of the system is a multi-processor controller and communications platform, designed to eliminate complexity and simplify the advanced physics involved into a push-button operation.

The system is capable of integrating with and controlling up to 1000 units of plant automation equipment. The system is provided as a fully integrated ‘welding cell’ that is completely automated and cloud-enabled, recording and archiving comprehensive weld data for complete traceability of all welds.

The K-TIG platform is particularly suited to sectors such as: oil & gas, ship building, minerals processing, power generation, defence, aerospace, nuclear, heavy infrastructure, production plant, filtration & water treatment, tube & pipe making, heat exchange, pressure vessel, suction vessel, cryogenic vessel, column and reactor manufacturing. These are industries where speed, quality and traceability are critical. The power and gas savings provide an opportunity to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of industrial welding and fabrication operation.

Case Study: Callidus Perth-based Callidus Welding Solutions is a specialist service provider dedicated to the supply of welding solutions to users of high-end corrosion resistant metals (CRMs).

Over the past 12 years Callidus has emerged as a leading maintenance fabricator specialising in the repair and replacement of Titanium components.

Faced with increased labour costs owing to the strong dollar, as well as a shortage of skilled tradesmen in the welding sector, Callidus looked for ways to improve productivity based on innovation and technology. The company acquired access to a pre-production version of the K-TIG system, utilising the process to achieve fast, full penetration welding in titanium in ranges of 6-12mm.

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Callidus recently upgraded to the new K-TIG 1000 system, coupled with a VR 32A Panasonic robotic arm. The fully integrated control unit on the K-TIG 1000 handles all welding parameters, meaning the welding is now left in the hands of semi-skilled robotic operators.

Production of all items requiring seam welding of longitudinal butt welds has nearly doubled in the first two months of use. This has resulted in shorter lead times giving Callidus an advantage over its competitors with three key international clients.

A hybrid innovation Although actually a technology and automation company, K-TIG is the only Australian manufacturer of welding systems. The company has focused on delivering an innovative, hybrid solution that is part product and part service. The cloud enablement of the technology allows K-TIG to support its customers through continuous updates to software and firmware, uploading new weld routines in the background that customers may require, and remotely monitoring the performance of customer’s systems.

The team at K-TIG believe its technology will allow it to compete effectively with much larger competitors in North America and Europe. K-TIG has already fulfilled orders in six countries, including Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. It has distribution capability spanning Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, Far East, South Asia, South East Asia and Scandinavia, with demonstration facilities in Adelaide, Sydney, Glasgow, Dubai, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Oslo and shortly in Kuala Lumpur and Antwerp.

The company is currently in the process of a capital-raising that will allow K-TIG to develop a fully orbital (‘5G’) version of its technology, for use in the field welding of oil and gas pipelines. This has the potential to transform the way in which pipelines are currently welded. www.k-tig.com

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Welding

WIA – Lifting productivity with induction heating Tough economic times mean that improving productivity and decreasing costs are the new mantras in the oil and gas, engineering and mining industries. One of the more recent weapons in the productivity battle is Miller induction heating technology from Welding Industries of Australia (WIA).

Induction heating reduces pre- and post-weld heating times by up to 400% – as well as improving the safety of working conditions and lowering environmental emissions. The Miller Pro-Heat 35 induction heating system utilises an alternating current passing through a conductive cable to create a super-efficient magnetic field. This heats up a part to temperatures of up to 780 degrees Celsius and can also be used for both pre-heating and post-welding stress relief.

WIA’s Equipment Product Manager John Gorey says electromagnetic heat generation is much faster than traditional heating techniques such as resistance elements, ceramic blankets and LPG heating, and there are no on-costs from consumables.

“The Miller system has been available in Australia for a few years but the industry is just starting to acknowledge the serious time and dollar savings you can achieve,” says Gorey. “Miller’s Pro-Heat 35 system brings a part to the required temperature in a fraction of the time required for traditional flame and resistance heating processes.

Companies that have trialled Pro-Heat have reduced pre-heating time from over two hours to just 30 minutes – over a week or two that adds up to a lot of man hours and big productivity savings on the job.” According to Gorey, induction heating delivers greater control over ramping temperature rates than other processes used for pre-heating and post-weld treatment. Operator safety is another important consideration; induction heating provides a safer working environment for operators by eliminating exposure to open flames, explosive gases and hot elements that occur in other heating processes.

“The conductive cable used in the Pro-Heat system does not produce radiant heat and therefore remains cool to the touch, eliminating the opportunity for burns to occur,” says Gorey. “In fact the part actually becomes the heating element – that’s where the heat efficiency is achieved.” The time savings start before the heat treatment. Set-up times for traditional pre-heating processes can be substantial, but the Miller Pro-Heat system is designed to require minimal instruction and set-up time.

“It guides the operator to achieve maximum output from the induction coils, enabling the operator to program ramp and hold/ soak temperature times,” Gorey explains. “In fact we find the ProHeat system takes less than 30 minutes to set up.”

“In fact we find it has multiple uses in welding fabrication and construction – both pre and post heating treatments as well as coating removal and shrink fitting,” says Gorey www.welding.com.au

Case study one:

Transmission pipeline weld procedure qualification. Gas plant, Morwell Victoria Pre-heating of pipe segments for procedure qualification on 600 diameter x 35mm wall P91 pipe using two air-cooled blanket systems. Typical pre-heat set up time = 5min.

Post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) was also necessary, accomplished using a custom program, which required a step from ambient temperature to 400 degrees Celsius, ramp to 620 degrees, hold/soak for four hours and ramp down to 400 degrees. This process was controlled by four controlling thermocouples. All relevant temperature information was recorded on the digital recorder and downloaded to PC for permanent record.

Typical PWHT set up time: 20-30 minutes

In addition to its productivity and safety benefits, the Pro-Heat system meets many of the environmental criteria imposed on construction, pipeline and mining companies. Induction heating does not require the significant expense of fuel gases and produces fewer fumes than flame heating. It also produces less particulate from overheated insulation caused by high-temperature electrical wires and ceramic pads.

Case study two:

Miller’s Pro-Heat system can be used as an air-cooled system for temperatures up to 204 degrees Celsius, or as a liquid-cooled system for temperatures up to 780 degrees. It also features multiple outputs and four control thermocouples to ensure uniform heating.

Case study three:

According to Gorey, the Pro-Heat system is being used in the Australian oil and gas industry for post-heat treating welds on heavy walled transmission pipelines; for pre- and post-heating of heavy engineering welds; and in the mining industry where equipment repairs for heavy equipment such as track idler rollers, dragline buckets and drilling equipment had to be carried out on site. It has also had applications in power plant and refinery construction, and shipbuilding.

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PWHT: Drill rod shop, Western Australia Applying heat to previously welded drill rod joints with the Miller Proheat 35 drastically improved the service life of the product due to the accuracy and consistency of the heat band.

Dozer idler reclamation: Heavy earthmoving equipment service company, North Queensland Total reclamation time has been reduced by up to three hours utilising the Miller Proheat 35 system. Operators are no longer required to manually heat the job prior to welding. The Proheat 35 is set up and programmed to heat the job overnight, allowing welding to commence immediately at start of shift the next morning, saving approximately 30% in time and labour compared to previous methods used.

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Recruitment & Training

Times of change call for focus on skills With Australian manufacturing facing a period of radical change and upheaval, the need to address skills shortages across the industry is more urgent than ever. By Matt Gorrie.

Traditional manufacturing sectors such as food & beverages, machinery & equipment, petroleum, coal, chemical, pulp & paper and metal-based products have historically accounted for nearly 80% of employment within the Australian manufacturing industry. Over the last 15 years, however, we have experienced a globalisation of markets, leading to fierce competition, primarily based around the costs associated with manufacturing processes.

As a result of these trends, the local industry has seen widespread job losses and plant closures. They have ushered a period of radical change to an industrial landscape that we as a culture have been used to for generations. Market sentiments towards job security, employer loyalty and trust have diminished.

So where to from here for manufacturing in this country?

As a specialist recruiting within manufacturing in Australia, I speak to and hear varying opinions on the state of the industry. I believe there is a promising future for Australian manufacturing, through innovation, training and investment into growth markets.

The government of Prime Minster Tony Abbott, having come to power promising to maintain a strong manufacturing sector, says the country must now embrace “new industries, new markets and new jobs”. It is adamant that Australia can still be a country that “makes things”.

Australian success stories such as Resmed and Cochlear have embraced new technologies and products to take to the international marketplace and forge a reputation globally for product development and innovation. Importantly, these companies have also invested in extensive training and development programs of their staff, creating cultures of positive and proactive thinking.

The agricultural industry is also a sector of interest in the media of late. As a country, we have been dependent upon the mining industry for many years as a driver of exports. Agricultural and dairy products, I believe, offer the manufacturing sector in Australia a great opportunity to export high-quality products into the South-East Asian market. With a growing middle class and increasing disposable income, the demand for Australian products is forecast to increase dramatically. This is a time when industry and governments should be investing in training, development and capital expenditure to ensure we are able to meet ongoing demands.

Bridging the skills gap From a recruitment perspective, we have noticed a skills gap across many areas within manufacturing sectors. From plant managers and directors to project and process engineers, there is a severe shortage of highly skilled and trained people to succeed the ageing workforce. What has driven this void? From my perspective, I believe some of the most significant driving forces have been: • Industry attraction – How do we appeal to the next crop of school leavers and persuade them to join the manufacturing sector in a professional capacity?

• Industry longevity – The constant negative media about manufacturing in Australia leads to uncertainty, dissuading young people from entering the industry. However, there are positive stories out there and as an industry they should be celebrated to create market confidence.

• Lack of training and development – Companies need to offer ongoing training and development programs to staff, leading to higher engagement and better productivity.

• Career planning – I believe that this is an integral part of employer engagement and retention, because by offering staff clear career paths it enables them to envisage their futures and encourages them to work towards capitalising on the opportunities they encounter.

It is imperative that we start to address these areas at a micro level, to ensure the growth of the industry and its people. Through attracting high-calibre people and retaining these skills, it will enable the manufacturing sector to develop and create more profitable and innovative market streams.

There are around 50,000 small or medium-sized Australian manufacturing enterprises that employ fewer than 200 people, and smaller businesses have less capacity to borrow and upgrade. We need to see Governments investing into these businesses, through R&D grants or similar programs, to foster the development of new technologies, keep our intellectual property on-shore, and stem the flow of local enterprises being acquired by global corporations.

Now is a time for manufacturing in Australia to really think about our value proposition, both locally and internationally. Australia has a workforce that is intelligent, willing and able to adapt to a changing landscape. Manufacturing leaders have a responsibility to the industry to demonstrate their flexibility and adaptability to market trends, in order to ensure that Australia’s manufacturing legacy continues.

Matt Gorrie is the Head of Engineering – Manufacturing, Operations, Resources/Heavy Industry at Calibrate Recruitment. www.calibrate.com.au

Industry and governments should be investing in training, development and capital expenditure to ensure we are able to meet ongoing demands.

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Recruitment & Training

Want to be a better employer of apprentices?

Running apprenticeships can often seem more trouble than it’s worth. Colin McCabe from MEGT Recruitment and Management Services offers some advice on getting a better outcome.

Is it me? Or are all apprentices these days just useless? You’ve spent months or even years bringing them up to speed and then they leave. They don’t listen. They fiddle with their iPhones. You have to tell them over and over again. Can every single one of them be dopey, disinterested and totally disengaged? Where did I go wrong?

Reports from the National Centre of Vocational Education Research have over the years pointed to a number of business factors that appear to influence the outcome of apprenticeships. Employers that have been in business for ten or more years are far more likely to retain their apprentices and get them through to completion.

Those employers who have been in business for less than five years are more likely to achieve low retention rates. Why? Experience as a boss with apprentices matters. The reality is that the more experience they have had and the more positive it has been, the more likely they are to keep getting good results. They learn from their mistakes and listen to advice. But whereas over 95% of interviewed employers rate themselves as a good boss, unfortunately apprentices don’t agree – less than 75% say they have a good boss and in some groups this is as low as 49%.

Current apprentices don’t respond well to employers who say “I learned that way so that’s how you’ll learn”. In some cases, it seems to lead to bad work practices and it doesn’t fit with Gen-Y notions of contemporary employment.

However, personal experience from a boss who started out as an apprentice himself can be both a positive and negative influence.

Some of those who trained as an apprentice retain the lowest number of apprentices; in fact those employers who report low retention rates with apprentices are most likely to say that’s how they got their start and to think of themselves as a good boss.

A boss’ attitude also matters. Attitude can greatly contribute to apprentices not completing. Gen-Y apprentices are quick to pick up on clues from employers; they feel that they are already sacrificing wages in exchange for training and respond negatively to employers who harp on about profitability and costly mistakes.

The time you spend mentoring matters. Around 80% of apprentice bosses not only run the business but also look after the apprentice’s pay and conditions. That puts enormous time pressures on employers who want to help their apprentice complete their qualification, but who feel they just can’t find the time to mentor.

That can put an apprentice in a difficult position if they want to talk to someone about a work problem, a pay rise or their working conditions.

However, employers with good retention rates, even in small businesses, tend to have someone looking after or helping out with HR matters. Successful employers also take the apprenticeship relationship seriously and make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to do for the apprentice; they stick to the deal in practice as well as on paper.

Gen-Y doesn’t respond well to old-fashioned, authoritarian bosses or hierarchical workplaces; most want a mentor, someone who will be interested in them rather than bark out orders, someone they can talk to, someone who treats them fairly. Not surprisingly, employers who have a positive attitude to their apprentices, appear to like and value them, and are willing to listen to them, get the best results.

Interestingly, however, some of the most traditional authoritarian employers also get good results sometimes. Their ability to retain an apprentice through to completion appears to be related to the match in personality and work style between the two; some young people are more able or willing to work with a tough boss than others. Nonetheless, research suggests they are a minority.

Learning from other employers matters. The larger businesses, with the best track records, are most likely to say that they have been influenced by their industry body; whereas our research indicates employers with low retention rates don’t take advice from anyone.

The more successful employers have also established some guidelines for recruiting workers and apprentices. Most importantly, they take input or advice from others – partners, colleagues, industry associations – about recruiting, employing and managing apprentices.

Matching the apprentice to the trade matters. Not only are one in three apprentices likely to leave their apprenticeship in the first year, but of the 55% that complete, some leave the trade immediately after they qualify. That means you’ve just wasted four years in getting them up to speed. Why did that happen?

Feedback from MEGT’s apprentices is that they were dedicated to finishing and had a good work attitude. However, they never did like that particular trade. Carrying out some type of testing to see if the job-seeker is right for your trade is clearly well worth doing. www.megt.com.au

AMT April APRIL 2014

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forum – LAW

Is your business innovative?

Take advantage of your innovation.

Is your business innovative? According to many CEOs, the answer will be ‘yes’. If those good intentions result in innovation, how can those innovations be maximised? Ian Lindsay explains.

An innovation, in simple terms, is a new way of doing or presenting something. A small production change, a rebranding or revamping of an old product, a new sales methodology: all changes or improvements should be recognised as innovations. All of these improvements are also protectable. You can consider whether they are already protected as an intellectual property right or they could become protected as an intellectual property right, if desired.

There are four main widely recognised intellectual property rights: copyright, patent, trade marks and designs.

Copyright Generally speaking, copyright does not protect manufactured products once in production. Copyright is the protection given to the creator of an original artistic or intellectual work. It is most commonly associated with written works or photographs but also applies to drawings, works of art, media broadcasts, databases and computer programs.

Copyright does not need to be formally registered and arises automatically on creation. Copyright, generally, lasts for 70 years from the year of the author’s death or from the year of first publication after the author’s death. Notably, copyright protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself.

Patents A patent is the protection given to an idea which is applicable to industry and is not already known. To qualify for a standard patent, the idea must not be an obvious modification of a previous published idea.

Patents must be applied for in each country in which protection is desired and, generally, last for 20 years. Australia has a “secondary” patent, called an innovation patent, which is more easily and quickly obtained, but only last for eight years. Innovation patents can validly cover obvious modifications of existing ideas.

Trade Marks A Trade Mark is most closely associated with a “brand” and, technically, is a mark used to distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of another. An example of a Trade Mark is ‘Lumix’®, which is a brand of Panasonic® digital cameras.

In many countries, including Australia, there are two main types of Trade Marks: unregistered Trade Marks, often designated with the superscript ‘™’, and registered Trade Marks, often designated with the superscript ‘®’. The designations, however, are not required and, if they are not there, it does not necessarily mean that the mark is not registered.

A registered trade mark is of more benefit as it: clearly indicates that the mark is yours and may discourage people using the same mark; makes it easier for legal action to be brought against anyone who uses the mark without your permission; and is an item of intellectual property, which means you can sell it or licence it to a third party. It also gives you a preliminary defence against infringement of others’ trade mark rights.

An unregistered trade mark only protects you to the extent that you have a reputation under the mark and a third party has, in some way, damaged that reputation. Registered Trade Marks do not expire, as long as a renewal fee is paid every 10 years.

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Designs A design registration can be applied for and protects the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation which gives a product a unique appearance. The design must be new and distinctive over previous designs, although this requirement is not officially examined unless requested. Design registrations are used to protect products such as vehicle tyre patterns, ice cream tub shapes, articles of clothing and even the shape of the Holden Monaro.

Trade Secrets I mentioned four well-known intellectual property rights, but here is a bonus one. The trade secret has been well employed by Coca Cola® and many others in the form of “secret ingredients”, but can often be used instead of a Patent, where the secret cannot be “reverseengineered” or otherwise easily found out. Knowing that your company is innovative and recognising and identifying the actual innovations are often poles apart. If an innovation has been successful for you, could it not be successful for your competitors? If that’s a risk, looking at ways to minimise your competitors riding off the back of your success can be important.

A quick scenario: you have re-developed an old product, which has the potential to greatly increase sales. The marketing department is ready to re-launch the product brand with a revised look and feel.

Aspects to consider: • Are the product development changes easy to understand by your competitors?

- If not, consider keeping those changes secret. For example, an improvement in a production process may not be discernible in the final product, so the production process improvement may have a long benefit if it is possible to keep it secret (employees moving companies often negate the advantage of a trade secret!); - If so, is a patent application worthwhile? A cost benefit analysis is usually quickly determined by a call to your local patent attorney.

• Does the brand re-launch warrant protection?

- Protecting the name of the product or by-line through a registered trade mark may differentiate you in the market place, especially if you are the first product of the type on the scene.

You certainly would not want a competitor using the same or a similar product name. In this regard, choosing the product name can be important, as “generic” names may not be easily protectable, allowing your competitor to use the same name without any redress.

• The product itself has an updated look, is that look identifiable by itself?

- Protecting the look of the product, such that a competitor cannot simply produce a product of the same or similar shape, through a design registration is a relatively simple, inexpensive and quick process.

It should become second nature to quickly think whether the product or process falls into any of the above “registrable” innovations. Those which are not registrable, (ie a great marketing sales pitch), are just as important, but do not require such positive action, except perhaps in the direction of the employee who made the pitch!

Ian Lindsay, Wadeson Patent & Trade Marks Attorneys Ian.lindsay@wadesonip.com.au www.wadesonip.com.au

forum – Logistics

Supply chain in the 21st Century and what it means to your business Lawrence Christoffelsz explains the importance of investing in supply chains in order for companies to remain competitive in this era of global supply.

The days of traditional manufacturing, wholesaling, warehousing, distribution and retailing are gone for good.

Now, in 2014, customers can purchase products seamlessly from anywhere in the world and have it delivered straight to their door within a matter of days for the same (or even less) price than they were paying before.

What does this mean to your business?

Simple…. The concept and model of a ‘DOMESTIC MARKET’ is rapidly diminishing!

Global suppliers are just as easily accessible by your customers as you are – even if you’re in the street next door.

You may have the best products in the market, but if the cost of storing and/or moving your goods is inefficient or simply too expensive, then you’re at the mercy of competition with cheaper costs and greater supply chain innovation – matter where they are located.

With the recent announcements in the Australian manufacturing sector, all companies have to urgently wake up and realise that with ever-increasing globalisation, the sourcing (of raw materials and/or finished products), production, warehousing and distribution has to be, at very least, at global standards and if not, they simply must invest in their supply chains in order to remain competitive.

There are a number of additional positives to ensuring Australian companies invest in and innovate their supply chains for the future. Just as Australian companies are already exposed to global competitors, export capabilities are significantly increased and therefore new, overseas markets become more readily accessible too.

Cost savings and improvements in efficiencies lead to increased profitability – potentially enabling further investment in research and development, upgrades of plant and equipment and investment in export market initiatives – which equals more potential customers.

Many of the service providers in warehousing, distribution and freight management are also facing the very same realisation - and as a result, they are being forced to significantly invest in new IT platforms, cargo monitoring and handling equipment in order to satisfy the needs of their customers.

Communication and visibility The critical area where Australian companies and their supply chain stakeholders need to improve is in COMMUNICATION and VISIBILITY. This is the backbone and foundation for any innovative supply chain model.

These two simple areas can have a very real impact on the bottom line of any business, but are often overlooked by business owners and senior management. There is a common lack of differentiation between logistics and supply chain by Australian companies.

They generally review the ‘rates’ of their service providers without implementing specific processes, KPIs (key performance indicators) and fail to structure a detailed ‘SLA’ (service level agreement) as part of their contract negotiations.

Although most organisation’s supply chains are a complex mix of suppliers, banks, shipping lines, airlines, trucking companies, Customs agents and courier companies, ALL supply chains are fundamentally based on very simple principles.

With the correct foundation of product labelling, cargo tracking, IT platforms, reporting tools and visibility, even the most complex of supply chains can be dramatically improved in a relatively short period of time.

In my opinion, the future of Australian manufacturing lies in innovative and emerging technologies and there are still many success stories around the country where Australia is considered “world-leading” in their manufacturing – so it definitely can be done.

Our biggest obstacle on a global stage is simply the fact that this continent we all call home, is so far away from all of the world’s biggest markets and economies in comparison to our major competitors’ markets.

This general size and volume of our trade is still very small compared to most other global players and our population size is in the same boat.

We have been complacent and relied upon the mining boom and low Australian dollar for far too long and now the time has come to take a good hard look at our place in the world and where we’d like to be in the future.

If we, as Australians and the Government, don’t support the reinvention and competitiveness of all of our industries, the standard of living for ourselves and our children will be directly affected sooner rather than later.

There are many, many opportunities for Australian companies, both locally and abroad, but we must take a fresh, new look at the changing… no – changed landscape of how we do business in the 21st century in order to take advantage of these.

Like it or not, the supply chains of all our businesses play a vital role in doing this successfully – so we need to get it right.

Logistics Results Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned and operated company founded by Managing Director Lawrence Christoffelsz.

This team of supply chain, logistics and international trade experts will increase your efficiencies and reduce the costs of your organisation. Ph: 1300 13 17 18 www.logisticsresults.com.au www.exportresults.com.au Lawrence Christoffelsz is also Director and Board Member of the Australian Chamber of International Trade - www.acit.org.au

As an exclusive offer for AMT readers, Logistics Results is offering 10 x free 1 hour supply chain ‘health check’ consultations – either in person in metropolitan Melbourne, or via Skype for regional or interstate readers.

For your chance to discuss the current health of supply chain, contact Lawrence@ logisticsresults.com.au or 1300 13 17 18.

AMT April 2014

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forum – OHS

Racking: Inspect or neglect your safety Melanie Daniels explains the importance of regular steel storage racking inspections.

When it comes to inspecting Steel Storage Racking, there have always been some small ambiguities in meeting the Australian Standard AS4084. In the past this has left many companies willing to take flagrant risks with worker safety and not inspect their racking systems regularly or to recommended standards.

The release of revised Standard AS4084-2012 in 2012 goes a long way in attempting to remove any grey areas in the ‘to inspect’ or ‘not to inspect camps’ of thought and has once again roused a healthy dialogue on the potential hazards in the warehousing environment.

Amongst other revisions, in more closely defining that load charts must be displayed, a traffic light reporting system be incorporated into reporting and advocating inspections at least every 12 months, some previously existing wiggle room in interpretation of the standard have been dispelled. This makes clear that to not inspect is to neglect safety.

The risks of failure to meet the new revised standard AS4084-2012 can be as inconsequential as stock loss and business shutdowns or as major as staff death and potential company litigation.

There is often a complex process involved in steel storage racking inspections. To support the process, Independent Racking Inspections & Audits (IRIA) has rolled out new client-oriented reporting mobile devices to all inspectors worldwide. The collected data is more technically accurate, easier to interpret and images are of a higher resolution.

Importance of training Racking safety can often be an unseen gain and a very visible loss when an organization looks back at performance. Whilst able to hold enormous vertical loads, steel storage racking is not able to withstand a range of horizontal forces including bumps and knocks.

If racking damage is not managed correctly, the consequences can be serious. Did you know that the amount of damage to your racking system can be directly attributed to the level of training your staff have with racking systems? This is why IRIA has developed an on-line racking safety training program to educate racking users and managers of racking on how to work safely around racking.

With one of the most functional infrastructure elements in warehouses being Steel Storage Racking, a silently ignored risk could easily become a loud collapse with implications of industry manslaughter.

It is frightening to think that one slight alteration in racking from an unqualified person can have disastrous consequences to the stability of the racking and potentially the lives of people who work in that warehouse. It has been identified that most racking failures are a direct result of unqualified people changing racking, bumping into racking with forklifts or not fixing potentially fatal racking hazards.

Here is a checklist for an effective racking management program • Ensure you can access your last racking inspection report • Ensure you can access your on-site racking manual • Ensure you can demonstrate that your staff have been trained to use the equipment on site • Ensure you can demonstrate that your staff know how to safely work around racking • Ensure there is a system in place to report building and racking damage • Ensure that safety signage is in place including loading capacity signage • Ensure you can demonstrate a repair program for the racking system • Ensure that you schedule your next racking inspection Organising for your racking to be inspected by an independent racking inspection company ensures the most economical means of maintaining your racking as they can inspect all brands of racking independently. This is especially important if you have multiple brands on your site and want an independent unbiased inspection.

It is important that all workplaces have regular safety inspections and all repairs are attended to in order to ensure the safety of workers. By having six to 12 monthly workplace safety inspections such as a racking safety inspection, this is one way to help reduce workplace fatalities.

IRIA was established in response to the growing need by large distributed businesses to comply with a range of OHS & E requirements. IRIA serves to identify and develop strategies to mitigate and reduce overall risk to these businesses. IRIA’s RAT technology (Rack Audit Technology) is a fully documented trail of inspection and repair for businesses managing a network of sites from a central location.

Contact Melanie Daniels at IRIA on 1300 136 649 or visit www.iria.com.au

Worldsteel to launch Steel Safety Day on 28 April The World Steel Association (worldsteel) will this year hold its first Steel Safety Day. The safety awareness day is aligned with World Safety Day, held by the International Labour Organization on 28 April.

All members as well as all related organisations within the steel industry are being asked to carry out a special audit to look into the five main causes of safety incidents - moving machinery, falling from heights, falling objects, gas and asphyxiation, and overhead cranes - and to create a safer working environment across the world’s steel industry.

“The steel industry has seen a steady and notable reduction in the rate of injuries since 2006 and the average lost-time injury frequency rate has gone down by 50% in the last five years,”

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noted Andrew Page, Chairman of worldsteel Safety and Health Committee. “But our goal remains to create an injury-free, illnessfree and healthy workplace with zero incidents.”

For information on how to participate, Australian companies involved in the steel industry are invited to contact Henk Reimink, Director - Safety, Technology and Environment, at reimink@ worldsteel.org. www.worldsteel.org

forum – Finance

Obtaining business finance Obtaining commercial equipment finance can be a daunting task for many business owners, but it can be made easier by following some key rules, as explained by Ken Richards.

Here are our top three tips

1. Preserve your working capital For every business, the most important component is access to sufficient working capital in a timely manner. Some of the most profitable businesses have been brought undone by restrictions on their working capital or delays in accessing facilities.

While it can be tempting to purchase capital equipment from funds or utilise facilities from your bank, this is often not in the best long-term interests of the business and it may be better to use those funds or credit facilities to pay creditors, buy stock or fund expansion of the business, or even just to keep available for a ‘rainy day’. Additionally, once you pay cash for anything, your bank will usually have a charge over it under the security for your banking facilities, so often it is not possible to finance it with an independent financier after the event.

Despite what most banks tell their customers about the security they have, almost always your bank cross-collaterises the security.

That is, each facility is effectively interconnected and so therefore is the security, whether it’s equipment, the factory, your home or other investments. As such, the bank can exercise a great deal of influence over your actions, often when you least want it.

2. Choose the best finance structures When purchasing equipment finance, you should consider: • Cash flow – Choose the option that will match equipment finance cost with the income from the asset or free cash within the business. This is especially important if income is seasonal or even if there is a lead time between commissioning and the equipment becoming fully utilised.

• Useful life – Some assets will become obsolete quicker than others or need replacement sooner depending upon how they are utilised. For example, computer hardware will most likely achieve technical obsolescence far quicker than a brake press, however a brake press used one shift per day will last much longer than a brake press being utilised three shifts per day.

• Tax effective – Different assets are deemed to have different depreciation rates and poor selection of finance structures can reduce the tax effectiveness of your capital equipment purchases.

Similarly, utilisation of equipment (e.g. three shifts per day) can also have an impact on the useful life of the equipment, when it should be replaced and what its value is at the end of the finance term.

• Minimise security offered – In the early stages of your business you may have to offer real estate security to obtain bank facilities, however you should look to have the surplus security released once your business achieves a greater financial position, or to minimise the exposure to debt with financiers holding property security.

In the post ‘GFC’ environment, banks are looking to cross sell products to customers and try and tie them to the bank every way possible, which is great for the bank, but often not in the best interests of the company, particularly if the business enters a difficult cash flow cycle. During the GFC the largest number of enquiries from businesses to finance brokers such as Interlease, was regarding restructuring debt or reducing the influence of the primary bank and these lessons should not be forgotten as banks become easier to deal with.

“Use anyone except your bank to finance capital equipment”.

This rule of thumb continues to remain true. It is vital you only use available funds for working capital and not to purchase equipment, as it’s almost impossible to release equity in equipment.

Also, don’t overexpose yourself to any one financier, as this may limit the funds available to you when needs arise. In addition, be aware of charges registered under the PPSA legislation. Nearly all business are required to provide these charges, however many business owners don’t truly understand what control this gives the bank over their business.

3. Choose the best financier It is important you have more than one option available. Don’t restrict yourself to just one bank or equipment finance provider.

You will be better served with access to multiple financiers and it is not uncommon in the post GFC environment for financiers to have differing credit appetites towards equipment from each other or not understand what different equipment does or the benefits it can offer. Therefore, don’t be disheartened when a financier says no to an application, at times it relates more to their internal requirements than the customers and this is often seen with second-hand machine tools.

Additionally, equipment purchases can often require deposits to be paid or letters of credit to be issued and each bank has its own requirements and it is not uncommon for some banks to force their preferences onto customers and suppliers. Whereas an alternate financier may be far more cooperative in providing the facility in the preferred manner and without the need for real estate or other security.

Interlease has nearly forty years’ experience as a specialist equipment finance broker and strong relationships with all of the major banks and almost every equipment financier operating in Australia, as such, Interlease aims to arrange finance to suit the best interests of clients, while taking into account what the equipment is and does.

In summary, don’t end up with a concentration issue with your finances by putting all of your eggs in one basket.

Ken Richards, Director, Interlease Company 1300 859 429 or 03 9420 0045 direct krichards@interlease.com.au www. interlease.com.au

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manufacturing history

60 YEARS WITH MEN AND MACHINES – PART 42

Machine tools and global warfare Part 1

We continue our instalments from the book “60 years with men and machines” – the autobiography of US machinist and author Fred Herbert Colvin (1867-1965). The year is 1939 and Fred’s retirement is interrupted by World War 2. By Fred Colvin In 1937 two anniversaries occurred— the first being the sixtieth anniversary of the American Machinist magazine.

The second was my own thirtieth anniversary as a member of the editorial staff.

Retired from “active” service at the magazine by the age of 70, I retained an honorary position. This means I no longer had to worry about contributors, page make-up, and deadlines. They carried my name on the masthead and everyone has been very kind and considerate of the old gentleman. So, even though I had practically retired from active connection with the American Machinist. I still maintained frequent contacts with the staff, supplying occasional articles and enjoying my retirement in the winter seasons in Florida with Mrs Colvin. We spent three such delightful winters among the palm trees and tropic breezes, enjoying our retirement to the hilt. And then in 1940 a little man with a little black mustache, who wore his hair in his eyes and shook his fists, changed not only my plans for the future but the plans of nearly everyone else in the entire world.

After the fall of France on June 14, 1940, it was plain that the “phony war” was at an end and that Hitler had not— as the trusting Neville Chamberlain so wrongly believed—missed the bus. Dunkirk had been a defeat of tremendous proportions for the British, and while the Nazi soldiers sang “wir fahren gegen England,” the Battle of Britain was about to begin. The U-boats were making devastating inroads on the Atlantic life line, and the Luftwaffe was stepping up its air raids on English industrial centers.

As an apparently minor but very significant sequel to the fall of France, Great Britain had taken over all the French machine-tool contracts. My friend of long standing, Arthur Baker, then head of the Machine Tool Division of the British Purchasing Commission in New York, called me up one day via longdistance telephone.

“I know you’re supposed to be retired, Fred,” he began. “But I’ll bet you’ll be rarin’ to go on a new project of ours

connected with the war effort.” He explained the setup and then added, “We want you on the staff as consultant.”

“I’m as good as there now, Arthur,” I replied.

I had known Arthur Baker for nearly forty years, having become acquainted with him shortly after his arrival in this country (the US) from England in the early 1900’s. He was even then an excellent designer of tools, and soon afterwards became connected with the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company.

When it came time for our usual winter vacation in 1940, the international situation was such that it seemed more proper for me to forego it and keep working right through for the British Purchasing Commission. The Battle of Britain was reaching its crescendo in October and November of that year, and the R.A.F, outnumbered four to one, was fighting a tremendous battle against heroic odds. That the British pilots might have fighter planes and the antiaircraft gunners might have guns and shells to fire, machine tools were perhaps the most important single item of materiel that the British government could obtain through lend-lease*. Churchill had said, “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.” Roosevelt had replied, through Congress, “The British people need ships. They need planes. From America they will get ships, from America they

will get planes. Yes, from America they need food and from America they will get food. They need tanks and guns and ammunition and supplies of all kinds. . . . Our country is going to be what people have proclaimed it must be—the arsenal of democracy.”

Instead of going south for the winter then, we moved to a small apartment in New York City and spent winter there.

After each day’s work at the British Purchasing Commission’s office, where I helped to specify the types and quantities of machine tools and parts to be sent to Great Britain, I would return to the apartment and work on the fifth edition of the “Aircraft Handbook”—a reference work I had originally written in 1918 but which had been rendered hopeIessly out of date by the spectacular developments in fighter and bomber aircraft following the outbreak of the war.

To be continued…

*Lend-Lease, enacted 11 March 1941 (nine months before the US entered the war), was a program under which the US supplied Great Britain and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and August 1945. A total of $50.1bn (equivalent to $656bn today) worth of supplies were shipped. The terms of the agreement provided that the material was to be used until time for their return or destruction.

In practice very little equipment was returned.

This program was a decisive step away from non-interventionist policy, which had dominated US foreign relations since 1931.

Sixty Years With Men and Machines - The Autobiography of Fred H Colvin, Master Machinist Original © 1947, McGraw-Hill Publishing, reprinted by Lindsay Publications Inc, 1988, Bradley IL 60915, USA.

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80 Austech and NMW 81 Expense Check 82 Roger Babolka Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

Austech and NMW continue partnership AMTIL has signed an agreement to keep Austech and National Manufacturing Week (NMW) – two of Australia’s highest-profile trade exhibitions – together for another four years.

Austech, owned and operated by AMTIL, and NMW, owned by Reed Exhibitions Australia (RXA), have been running together since 1999. Both parties are pleased to extend this arrangement by signing the new agreement.

“We have had an excellent relationship with RXA for a long time,” said AMTIL’s CEO Shane Infanti. “And the colocation of our two events provides an outstanding opportunity for visitors to see all facets of manufacturing technology under one roof.

In fact, the seamless transition from one show to the other is so good, most visitors would not even realise they are attending two separate exhibitions.”

AMTIL went through a thorough due diligence process with its members following the 2013 Austech exhibition and the resultant decision was to move Austech to a biennial show, running every two years in Melbourne. This was not a decision taken lightly. There were many issues to work through but the most significant point for consideration by AMTIL was maintaining a strong brand.

“We are very conscious, in order for Austech to continue being an exhibition industry want to come and visit, we needed the critical mass of exhibitors in the areas of manufacturing technology and machine tools,” Infanti added. “The other point we needed to work through was how our decision would impact on our relationship with RXA, as we knew they were committed to running NMW every year.

“It was extremely important to us that Austech and NMW continued to run together every two years. Particularly in an environment where people are becoming increasingly time poor, we want to put on an exhibition every two years that is going to be become a ‘must attend’ event. With that in mind, we are very pleased to have negotiated an outcome with RXA that continues our partnership until at least 2018.”

John Gorton, Executive Director of RXA accentuated this point: “Reed Exhibitions values highly our long-standing partnership with AMTIL and is very happy to have signed an agreement for the ongoing co-location in 2015 and 2017 of our own National Manufacturing Week and AMTIL’s Austech – the two peak industry events for Australia’s manufacturing industry.”

NMW will continue to run on an annual basis, alternating between Melbourne and Sydney. Gorton added: “We are looking forward to delivering maximum value to our manufacturing industry customers, both at the remodelled and re-energised NMW 2014 in Sydney and then, working closely with the AMTIL team, at what promises to be a mega-event in Melbourne in 2015, when NMW resumes our co-location with Austech.”

John Gorton, Executive Director of RXA, and AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti at the signing of the new agreement.

AMTILinside

AMTIL cuts costs… and so can you Every business wants to keep its costs down, and AMTIL is no different. Recently, we slashed the electricity bills for our office in Wantirna by around 15% by switching providers. And AMTIL members have the power to do the same.

We made the savings having taken advice from Expense Check, a service available free to AMTIL members, that is designed to reduce non-core business expenses. It achieves reductions in non-core costs by negotiating with suppliers on your behalf to ensure they are on the most competitive rates on the market. Expense Check is able to ensure they continually deliver better-than-market offers, through established relationships with a broad range of suppliers across all non-core cost categories.

an annual basis, giving you the knowledge that you will continue to remain on the most competitive market rates, even if you are currently locked into contracts.

The review process is simple. Expense Check first collects the required data (invoices) in a brief 15-minute meeting or phone call.

After seven days, Expense Check will present you with a report that details their analysis of the most suitable suppliers for delivering cost savings for your business. The report includes comprehensive detail on all of Expense Check’s suppliers, within the agreed scope of work, and their competitive rates. The report enables you to benchmark against current suppliers, identify cost savings and improve business efficiencies. The service is at no cost to you – it’s simply a ‘no-cost health check’ for your business.

To find out more about Expense Check, please contact AMTIL’s Member Services Manager Peter Lambe on 03 9800 3666 or plambe@amtil.com.au.

Expense Check is also keen to ensure you remain on the best rates permanently and not be exposed to expensive roll-over contracts or price increases. Expense Check achieves this by building a long-term relationship with you and reviewing your expenses on

You also have the option of choosing whether to change one or more suppliers based on Expense Check’s recommendations, so you are not locked into accepting their recommendations. Expense Check even does all the work in transferring you over to new suppliers.

Expense Check has gone into a new partnership with Littil and they are offering significant energy savings under a new special offer.

Little is linked to Sustainability Victoria, which recently launched a new round of funding for energy efficiency (including LED) under the ‘Smarter Resources, Smarter Business’ program.

The special offer from Littil and Expense Check includes: • Savings up to 89% on your lighting bills.

• Up to 50% off the cost of the LED installation is covered by the grant (to a maximum of $25,000).

• An expert energy efficiency analysis and grant application completed by Enhar on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis (worth $3,100-$5,000).

• A full lighting proposal with payback calculations (the grant will reduce the payback period, in most cases, to less than two years).

• Quality LED lighting that will last up to eight times longer than incandescent lighting.

However, the grant is due to expire on 2 May, so act now to secure your savings. www.expensecheck.com.au

ManufactureLink proudly owned and operated

by AMTIL

Follow our members on

Go Get linked!

Manufacturelink is your directory for all things Manufacturing. processes. services. technology.

1186AMT

We’ve got the link to make it happen.

Visit www.manufacturelink.com.au to learn more.

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AMTILinside

Roger Babolka – Putting in the miles Roger Babolka is a Business Adviser under the Federal Government’s Enterprise Connect program.

Based in Mount Gambier, he covers the south-east of South Australia and south-western districts of Victoria. For the last 20 years he has worked closely with businesses across a wide range of industry sectors including engineering, timber, transport, food processing, viticulture and tourism.

After spending the last two decades working with regional businesses, common interest groups and all levels of government across the Greater Green Triangle region, the phrase ‘I do more miles than the Leyland brothers’ is something I quite often say to people when asked what I do. Sadly, I then also have to explain to some who the Leyland brothers were, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re a fully paid-up member of the baby-boomer generation.

An Adelaide boy for most of my early days, the move down to the much cooler, damper south-east of South Australia came after a long and interesting career in the finance sector, which included seeing commercial lending rates tip well over the 20% mark during the hectic 1980s. It was certainly tough for businesses during that period… an understatement in my view.

It was at the beginning of the 1990s when I took on the role of Senior Auditor, responsible for the planning, co-ordination and participation of a national audit program for a major financial institution. It was during those years that I had the opportunity to see first-hand the benefits of having well-defined, established policies, procedures and systems in place, and generally what impact reliable accurate information can have on the long-term sustainability of any commercial entity. However, after more than four years seeing the inside of more airport lounges and boardrooms than I really cared for, a tree change was looking real good!

The move down to south-east SA – to take up the role of Business Adviser with the South-East Economic Development Board (which eventually morphed into a Regional Development Australia entity) – saw the next 14 years fly by. I had the opportunity to work with an unbelievable variety of industries and businesses, from startups through to well-established national operations, whilst also experiencing the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of business in regional Australia.

However, it was also during this time that my eyes were opened to what regionally based businesses, with the right support and information, are capable of achieving. To this day it never ceases to amaze me what’s happening out there, and behind some very non-descript doors are some world class operations that can, and do, achieve great things.

It’s been the last three and a half years as an Enterprise Connect Business Adviser that have given me the most satisfaction. The ability to spend good quality time in a business to really get to see what, how and why a business does what it does is pure gold. When I think about it, not too many other people (apart from the owners of the business) get the opportunity to see what we get to see. This is because a key component of the review is the need for the owners to be very open and honest with the Adviser throughout the entire process. But with this openness and honesty comes an accurate and relevant report, and ultimately a very useful management tool for the business owner.

So what are the ingredients to a sustainable business? Well, you won’t be too surprised to hear that we see some common themes time and time again. Factors like clearly defined and communicated strategies, good solid HR practices, detailed

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performance indicators that are regularly reviewed and assessed by management, effective communications throughout a business, strong financial management practices, documented policies and procedures, and a focus on continuous improvement practices – these are just a few characteristics of businesses that have their act together.

In a perfect world, all businesses great and small would have all of the above well and truly embedded into their operations.

Unfortunately, the cold, hard reality is that, though we have the best intentions to do all that and more, we know it only takes one phone call in the morning to ruin the rest of your day (and maybe even the rest of the week), putting all those wonderful plans we had on the backburner. Such is the life of a business owner.

On that note I’d like to leave you with something to ponder, from Jack Welch: “An organisation’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.”

Enterprise Connect is a federally funded program to help SMEs become more innovative, productive and competitive, in industry sectors including manufacturing, transport & logistics, professional services and resources & mining. To discuss how Enterprise Connect can help your business, contact the AMTIL Projects team on 03 9800 3666, or email: gchalker@amtil.com.au.

Roger can be contacted at rbabolka@amtil.com.au.

AMTILinside

New AMTIL Members

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Keeping it Simple.

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AMTIL membership for companies, individuals and supporters within the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector.

For more information visit www.amtil.com.au or contact Member Services Manager Peter Lambe on 03 9800 3666 or plambe@amtil.com.au

www.amtil.com.au

Round 1

And so it begins…

At last, the 2014 AFL football season has got itself underway, amid great anticipation and excitement. And once again AMTIL is in amongst it with its 2014 Footy Tipping Competition.

Round One being played across two weeks has dulled the usual opening fanfare with no genuine blockbuster game being played.

The upsets have kicked in early with GWS chockfull of future stars easily accounting for the season hardened and key premiership favourite Sydney Swans. In the other games, it looks like it could be a long season for the big Melbourne clubs, all going down to the ever improving interstaters, the balance of games for round one will feed the football starved fans keen to see their team get off to a good start.

Nonetheless, it promises to be as nailbiting a season as ever. Who will come out on top? Wouldn’t our tippers like to know?

As always, as the season plays out, we’ll be keeping you up to date on how the tippers are fairing against each other. Watch this space, and good luck to all you tippers out there.

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industry calendar

Please Note: It is recommended to contact the exhibition organiser to confirm before attending event

INTERNATIONAL SIMTOS 2014 South Korea, Seoul 9-13 April 2014 Includes: machine tools (metal cutting/forming); measurement; CAD/CAM; laser/water jet cutting; welding; automation. www.simtos.org AeroCon 2014 - Charlotte USA, Charlotte 15-16 April 2014 Leading event for manufacturers of aerospace and defense products. www.canontradeshows.com/expo/ aerocon13 Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo 16-17 April 2014: Sao Paulo, Brazil 12-13 June 2014: Seoul, South Korea 26-27 August 2014: Hong Kong 18-19 September 2014: Tokyo 21-23 October 2014: California, Santa Clara A B2B tradeshow for the 3D printing industry.

Explores the business applications of 3D printing. Includes keynote presentations, the latest 3D printers and services in action. www.mediabistro.com/inside3dprinting Intermold 2014 Die & Mold Asia 2014 Japan, Osaka 16-19 April 2014 Japan Metal Stamping Technology Exhibition. http://intermold.jp AmCon USA Kansas City: 29-30 April Denver: 13-14 May 2014 Austin: 21-22 May 2014 Design and contract manufacturing expo www.amconshows.com/spring-shows/ orlando-fl/ Fabtech Mexico Mexico City 6-8 May 2014 Latest technology in metal forming, fabricating and welding. Co-located with AWS Weldmex, METALFORM Mexico and COATech. http://fabtechmexico.com Smart Automation/Intertool Austria Austria, Vienna 6-8 May 2014 Smart Automation Includes entire range of product areas in industrial automation. Intertool caters for the metal processing sector (machine tools and precision tools). http://wien.smart-automation.at/en/index. html Mfg4 USA, Connecticut 6-8 May 2014 Exclusive event for aerospace, defence, medical, and micromanufacturing http://2012.mfg4event.com/2014 Control Germany, Stuttgart 6-9 May 2014 Quality assurance trade fair www.control-messe.de/en/control

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FIMAQH Argentina, Buenos Aires 6-10 May 2014 Includes machine tools and technologies www.fimaqh.com

Plastec East USA, NY 10-12 June 2014 Event for the plastics industry www.canontradeshows.com/expo/plaste13

Automation Technology Expo Texas USA, Texas 7-8 May 2014 Automation processes. Includes seminars. Colocated with Design & Manufacturing Texas and Contract Manufacturing Expo. Includes Quality Expo Texas www.canontradeshows.com/expo/atx_tx13

Intermold 2014 Thailand, Bangkok 19-22 June 2014 Exhibiting machinery and technologies for mould and die manufacturing www.intermoldthailand.com

Blech China 2014 China, Suzhou 7-9 May 2014 Dedicated sheetmetal event. Includes the entire sheet metal working technology chain: sheet metal, semi-finished and finished products, handling, separation, forming, joining, welding, tools, quality control, CAD/CAM systems and R&D etc. www.blechchina.com MTDuo Taiwan, Taipei 8-11 May 2014 Taipai Manufacturing Technology show. For the machine tool, manufacturing technology and automation sector. www.mtduo.com.tw Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show Canada, Montreal 12-14 May 2014 Innovations in metalworking technologies.

Includes machine tools, metalworking, automation, design. www.mmts.ca Rapid.Tech Germany, Exhibition Centre Erfurt 14-15 May 2014 International trade fair and users’ conference for rapid technologies (additive manufacturing). www.rapidtech.de Intermach Thailand. Bangkok 15-18 May 2014 Sheetmetal fabrication technology and machinery exhibition Includes latest sheetmetal technology. SUBCON Thailand runs in conjunction with Intermach www.intermachshow.com Metaltech Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 21-24 May 2014 Event for the machine tool, metalworking and manufacturing industry, hosting more than 1800 providers of metalworking and machine tools technologies from 37 countries. www.tradelink.com.my/metaltech Sudtech Germany, Stuttgart 3- 5 June 2014 International sub-contracting fair for the Southern German manufacturing market.

Includes plastics production and processing; metal-working and machining; materials and semi-manufactured products. www.suedtec.com

MTA Vietnam 2014 Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City 8 - 11 July 2014 International precision engineering, machine tool and metal working exhibition.

Co-locating with Metrology Vietnam; ToolTec Vietnam; SubCon Vietnam; Automation Vietnam and WeldTech Vietnam. www.mtavietnam.com EMTE-EASTPO joint event China, Shanghai 14-17 July 2014 EMTE (European Machine Tool Exhibition) and EASTPO (Shanghai International Machine Tool Fair) has announced a joint event to be held in even years, commencing July 2014. www.emte-eastpo.com IMTS USA, Chicago 8-13 September 2014 One of the largest industrial trade shows in the world www.imts.com AMB Germany, Stuttgart 16-20 September 2014 Leading international metal working exhibition www.messe-stuttgart.de/en/amb JIMTOF Japan, Tokyo 30 October – 4 November 2014 Leading international machine tool exhibition www.jimtof.org/eng MACTECH 2014 Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center 27-30 November 2014 The14th edition for MACTECH – the regional manufacturing, trading and networking forum serving the markets of the Middle East and North Africa. Specialising in Machine Tools, Industrial Tools, Welding and Cutting Equipment www.mactech.com.eg M-Tech 25-27 June 2014 Japan,Tokyo Japan’s largest exhibition gathering all kinds of mechanical parts such as bearings, fasteners, mechanical springs and metal and plastic processing technology. Attracts professionals from design, development, manufacturing, production engineering, procurement and quality control departments, who are looking to buy solutions for their businesses. www.mtech-tokyo.jp/en

industry calendar local 3D Printing Expo 1 May 2014 Townsville Designed to introduce the technology of 3D printing and how it is revolutionising design and manufacture; describes its applications to different industries and trigger ideas for competitive advantage. Includes Rapid prototyping and rapid manufacture and 3D printing in metals. Features world-class speakers. Cost: $199 each. http://3dprintingexpo.org National Manufacturing Week Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park 13-16 May 2014 Manufacturing exhibition showcasing latest products and technologies in the manufacturing market. Includes dedicated product zones and an extensive program of education and networking events. AUSPLAS Australia’s premier plastics trade exhibition will run alongside NMW. www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au Safety in Action Perth: 11-12 June 2014 Sydney: 2-4 September 2014 Includes comprehensive range of safety products and services. www.safetyinaction.net.au Foodpro Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre 22-25 June 2014 Showcasing every aspect of the Australasian Food Processing industry. www.foodproexh.com

Advertiser Index 3D Systems Asia Pacific 8 Acra Machinery 51 AlfexCNC 17 Amada 86,87 AMT Digital Strip Ad 49 AMTIL Manufacturelink 81 AMTIL Membership 83 Applied Machinery Aust. P/L 37 BOC 15 CAMCO Cutting Tools 61 Complete Machine Tool 29 Compressed Air Australia 19 G-Zero five 12 Hare & Forbes 69 Headland 9 Hi-Tech Metrology 57 Iscar 2,3 LMC Laser 33

Your Industry. Your Magazine.

Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo 9-10 July 2014 Melbourne A B2B tradeshow for the 3D printing industry which will explore the business applications of 3D printing through conference sessions, keynote presentations, and the latest 3D printers and services in action. www.mediabistro.com/inside3dprinting Furnitex Melbourne Exhibition Centre 10-13 July 2014 For the furniture & soft furnishings industry. www.furnitex.com.au Queensland Mining & Engineering Exhibition Mackay Showground 22-24 July 2014 Industrial exhibition for the mining sector. www.queenslandminingexpo.com.au Defence and Industry Conference Adelaide 29-30 July 2014 Will bring together Defence officials and representatives of Defence Industry from across the country and overseas. Industry will be encouraged to discuss all available work for SMEs, not just in the Defence sector, to maximise local business opportunities. dmo. majorevents@defence.gov.au www.defenceandindustry.gov.au

Queensland Gas Conference & Exhibition Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 10-11 September 2014 Brings together international opinion leaders from the global energy market and senior decision-makers from the Australian LNG industry and supporting infrastructure www.queenslandgasconference.com.au Bulkex Qld, Rockhampton 17-18 September 2014 Latest in bulk handling products, methods and solutions. Includes latest in conveyor systems, thermal imagers, loader innovation, dust collection, stainless steel feeders. www.bulkex.com.au LandForces Asia Pacific 2014 Brisbane 22-25 September 2014 A comprehensive international industry exhibition to showcase land-defence equipment, technology and services for the armies of Australia, Asia and the Pacific region. www.landforces.com.au

Cleanscene Sydney Olympic Park 2-4 September 2014 National cleaning and hygiene expo.

Co-located with Safety in Action. www.cleansceneshow.com.au

LS Starrett 23 Machinery Forum 79 MAPAL OBC Metal Cutting Technology 38,39 Millsom Materials Handling 47 MTI Qualos 30-31, 43 National Manufacturing Week 24,25 Objective3D 55 OKUMA 7 OSG Asia Pty Ltd 4, 5 Sandvik 35 Seco Tools 63 Steelmaster 27 Siemens Industry Software 13 Taiwan Takisawa 59 Techni Waterjet 21 Thyssenkrupp 53 Walter Flap, 11 Whitelaw Engineering 71

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GREEN MANUFACTURING Our main feature next month checks out how Australian manufacturers are seizing the opportunities presented by the growth in renewable energy and clean technology.

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AMADA'S PRESS BRAKE HD - ATC** *Automatic tool changer

High profitability in spite of small lot sizes Increasing component complexity, exceptional productivity and precision, decreasing lot sizes as small as one piece, quicker delivery - AMADA is fully aware of the constantly increasing challenges that sheet metal producers must confront on a daily basis. The answer to these increasing demands is the HD - ATC, a conventionally operated press brake with automatic tool changer. The 1,000 kN press force and 3,000 mm bending length make the HD-ATC fully productive while other machines are still in set-up.

*Detailed view of the ATC unit

- High efficiency - Small lot sizes - Exceptional precision - Fast setup times - Convenient programming & operation - Flexible production - Economical Investment

See the product detail : Scan the QR code or go to www.amada.com.au/hdatc-series

REDUCING SETUP TIMES “Amada equipment puts us at the forefront of capabilities in the sheet metal industry in Australia.”

“After travelling the world to visit a range of manufacturers we decided to go with Amada equipment. Their machines are very reliable and suit the market conditions in Australia.”

Lloyd Shotton, Company Director, The Shotton Group Pty Ltd

The Shotton Group’s natural progression towards a low volume/ high mix environment culminated in the purchase of Amada machines that offer versatility and automation for quick turnaround times.

to support the sheet metal side of the business via vertical integration which is now paying dividends throughout the current economic climate. The company is made up of the following divisions:

The Dandenong-based company has evolved into one of Australia’s leading sheet metal operations, and according to company director Lloyd Shotton, investing in the latest technology has helped to set the company apart from the competition. “Purchasing the latest Amada equipment puts us at the forefront of capabilities in the sheet metal industry in Australia.”

Shotton Lifts – design, manufacture, service and installation of residential, commercial and disabled access lift equipment

The Company was founded in 1977 and originally known as P&R Sheetmetal until several divisions were created to diversify the business over the last four years and the name was changed to “The Shotton Group” to better represent the changing direction of the company. The divisions of The Shotton Group were created

ParMED – design, manufacture, service and installation of equipment for the mortuary industry Shotton Dry Materials Handling – design, manufacture, service and installation of Equipment for dry materials handling Shotton Manufacturing – Specializes in low volume high mix sheet metal parts and assemblies for a vast range of industries and offers assistance in the design for

manufacture process. Parts can be taken from prototype through to production whether it is for a run of ten units or 5000.

The company has always had a reputation for precision and quality, and investments in stateof-the-art laser cutting and other CNC equipment has allowed The Shotton Group to build on this reputation.

The strategy to diversify has paid off and resulted in a 33% growth in 2013, despite tough economic conditions, Mr Shotton explains.

One of the reasons for success is the company’s efforts to improve production techniques with the adoption of lean principles, and the purchase of new state of the art equipment allowing them to embrace the model of low volume/ high mix of parts. “We have set ourselves up for the work that is left in Australia”.

After nearly three years of

researching equipment, Mr Shotton and his team decided to invest in Amada machines, starting with a spot welder, FMB press brake, an ACIES automatic laser/punch combination machine with twin tower loading / off-loading system as well as two HD-ATC press brakes with automatic tool changer.

The latter has considerably reduced setup times, resulting in significant efficiency gains estimated to be as much as 30%. For some runs, setup times have decreased from 20 minutes to four minutes, as the Amada Auto-Tool-Changer (ATC) only needs a fraction of the manual setup time.

With the new equipment and improved production systems, the management team at the Shotton Group are very excited by the fact that their capabilities have significantly improved and their capacity has literally doubled, enabling faster turn around and better quality parts for their customers.

HD-ATC: Embracing the model of low volume, high variety Auto-Tool-Changer: Automating tool setup increases productivity and accuracy.

Manufacturing small runs or even one-offs, The Shotton Group has reduced setup times by 80% since installing the HD-ATC press brakes in January 2014.

Accuracy: Optimum interaction between servo-motors and hydraulic components guarantee accurate and dynamic bending operations.

Best results: Active in-process angle measurement and automatically adjusted bend angles guarantee best bending results.

Amada Oceania Pty Ltd Sydney 02 8887 1100 | Unit 7, 16 Lexington Dr., Bella Vista NSW 2153 Melbourne 03 9020 1400 | Unit 1, 3-4 Anzed Court Mulgrave VIC 3170 Perth | Brisbane | www.amada.com.au