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Volume 14 Number 07 AUGUST 2014 ISSN 1832-6080

contents

FOOD & BEVERAGES Onsite N2 generation helps spread Wild Oats Research award for Ladybird robot developer Australian manufacturing on the menu at foodpro Improving production with Lean manufacturing

38 39 40 42

34

CUTTING TOOLS Tooling & application strategies for parting-off & grooving 44 Increasing productivity through a holistic approach 46 Boosting reliability in deeper parting-off 48 ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Beyond prototypes – a pathway to production Lockheed Martin 3D prints fuel tank Printing the future Connecting facilities to users Third-gen manufacturer embraces 3D future Leading the way in 3D metal printing for industry

54 56 58 59 60 60

FORMING & FABRICATION Laserdyne unveils fibre laser welding upgrade Innovating with sub-nanosecond lasers

64 69

SAFETY ICN helps software firm find safety niche Pilz Launches Robot Safety Course

70 70

From the CEO From the Industry From the Union

10 12 14

INDUSTRY NEWS Current news from the industry

16

GOVERNMENT NEWS The latest Government News

24

PRODUCT NEWS Our selection of new and interesting products

27

One on One Professor Guy Littlefair

62

AMTIL FORUM Forum OHS: Risks along the manufacturing supply chain Forum Quality Management: Customer expectations Forum Strategies: Manufacturing survival skills Forum Law: Toll manufacturing of food

72 73 74 75

Manufacturing History – A look back in time

76

AMTIL INSIDE The latest news from AMTIL

78

aug14 AustrAliAn MAnufActuring technology

your industry. your Magazine.

Food & Beverages – What’s in it for manufacturers?

PAGE 34

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.Forming & .Cutting Tools .Additive Manufacturing

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AMT AUGUST 2014

Food and Beverage Australia’s food industry comprises thousands of businesses. Despite difficult economic conditions, the industry shows strong growth opportunities, with encouraging signs of solid export growth as suppliers respond to emerging market opportunities including the growing Asian middle class. In response, there are interesting Australian innovations in this sector.

50

Maton Guitars With high-profile customers and numerous honours in the music industry, Maton Guitars is building on a reputation for quality craftsmanship via innovative manufacturing processes and a dynamic export strategy which is seeing it take on the world.

52

Cover Manufacturing of food, beverages and groceries makes a substantial contribution to the nation’s prosperity. The growth potential in this sector is significant as suppliers increase investment in productivity initiatives. Page 34

Laser additive manufacturing in Australia With traditional manufacturing in Australia facing significant challenges, advanced technologies such as additive manufacturing (AM) could be the key to maintaining competitiveness and profitability. To this end, several new laser additive research facilities have been established and plans undertaken to establish a national AM program

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FROM THE

Editor

Editor WIlliam Poole wpoole@amtil.com.au Contributors Barbara Schulz

William Poole

From drawing board to delivery One of the benefits of working at AMT is getting to see the sheer breadth of ways in which innovation can take shape.

A case in point came up last month, when we received a letter from Ted Akers, based up in Ningi, Queensland. Inspired by a family member who had got hurt playing football, Ted had set about designing a neck support helmet intended to prevent severe spinal cord injuries incurred during sports.

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

Ted provided detailed drawings and supporting documents setting out his ideas. He had also already had a working prototype produced for a helmet specifically designed for motorsports. He was keen to have additional prototypes made, of models suitable for jockeys and football players. However, producing such prototypes is expensive, and Ted was understandably keen to get in touch with organisations that might help develop his ideas.

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Now, you can’t work at AMT without learning a few things about how things are made. But having a lay-person’s knowledge falls a long way short of being qualified to give a reliable evaluation of a design concept or its viability for manufacture, let alone give an opinion on physiology or sports safety. So we advised Ted to approach a body such as a university or a CRC for advice.

Contact Details AMT Magazine AMTIL Suite 1, 673 Boronia Rd Wantirna VIC 3152 AUSTRALIA

A similar example came up a few months ago, when our CEO Shane Infanti got a call from Frank Chiara. Frank runs an aquaculture site down near Torquay, Victoria but he wanted to discuss another idea. So Shane and I drove down and spent a morning with him on the yabby farm.

Frank had come up with a design for a loading arm for excavation equipment such as bobcats and garden loaders. He believed that, by exploiting rotating force technology, his design was more efficient and effective than those currently on the market. But like Ted, he’d reached the point where he needed help from someone who could take his ideas forward.

Frank presents with enthusiasm and conviction. But ultimately, neither Shane nor I felt in any way qualified to offer authoritative feedback on his ideas. So again, we recommended a few universities he might contact, and gave him a few pointers on how best to pitch his case.

Both Ted and Frank are fine examples of the spirit of invention and innovation that exists in Australia. But they’re also indicative of the problem that often confronts anyone with a brainwave they’d like to turn into reality: finding the right people and organisations to help develop that idea, and also – importantly – to share the risk.

That’s why the new Additive Manufacturing HUB is such an exciting new venture (see page 80). At the Inside 3D Printing expo last month, where AMTIL was launching the HUB, it was striking just how much is going on within the field of additive manufacturing in Australia. Encompassing everything from technology suppliers through research bodies to companies and individual entrepreneurs, it highlighted the myriad new ways that people are finding to make use of this emerging technology. Whether you were checking out the exhibits, listening in on the conference, or just talking to visitors to the show, the sense of invention was pervasive.

AMT Magazine is printed using FSC mix of paper from responsible sources FSC© C007821

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.

Contact AMTIL on 03 9800 3666 for further information.

Indeed, it again showed the innovative spirit that exists in this country. And hopefully the HUB can help to make those connections needed to bring some of those ideas to fruition.

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FROM THE

CEO Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

Additive manufacturing network established For the past 18 months AMTIL has been working to give some focus towards the growing additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing sector.

Combine this with the work CSIRO has been undertaking with a group of organisations in this area, and the result has been the forming of a more formal network under the AMTIL umbrella. In addition, we recently signed off with the Manufacturing Excellence Taskforce Australia (META) under their Collaborative Hub funding to establish this group as the Additive Manufacturing HUB.

the mobile phone, it’s a bit like comparing where we are today with an original Nokia 5110. As the mobile phone has generated into the smart phones of today, it is only a matter of time before the AM technology develops and creates what is being termed the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

them. There are two significant challenges to overcome. The first is that the technology is still in its infancy, despite having been around for the best part of 30 years. In the future the technology will develop to be faster, cheaper and more capable than today. If I can use the analogy of the development of

AM offers freedom of design. It has distinct advantages over traditional manufacturing in areas of lightweight products, customised parts, small volumes and smart designs. Once our engineers fully understand the implications of what they can now produce, the AM sector will flourish.

The second challenge is that the market is immature. The demand for AM product is being driven mainly by the research This is a great outcome as it gives some community and component manufacturers. sense of co-ordination to the effort Original equipment manufacturers Research Service that will be required if we are to see (OEMs) have limited understanding Institutes Providers companies generate business of where the opportunities lie and using this enabling technology. as such are relying on their supply Better still, it is industry-led chains to generate new product and involves all stakeholders designs. This puts pressure on including manufacturers, manufacturers due to the high end-users, technology cost of the technology and the Additive suppliers and service research that needs to be done.

Manufacturing providers, research institutes This will also change in the future.

HUB and government.

We are starting to see many more Industry OEMs – such as General Electric We are still on a steep learning Participants Government and Boeing – taking the lead in AM curve when it comes to AM Mechanisms development. technologies and how to apply

AM HUB Membership and Roadshow The Additive Manufacturing HUB is built on the foundation of strong support from industry, the research community (particularly CSIRO), technology suppliers, government agencies and other service providers. This network will have access to services from which the AM community can develop and mature.

Managed by AMTIL in collaboration with META, the key benefits of this network

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AMT AUGUST 2014

are education & knowledge transfer, networking & communication, marketing & promotion, research capability and market access.

Membership of the Additive Manufacturing HUB is free to AMTIL members. If you are interested in becoming a member of AMTIL and the AM HUB, you can email Shane Infanti at sinfanti@amtil.com.au.

Another option is to attend one of our upcoming AM HUB events. Presentations will be given by the CSIRO about what

it is doing in the metallic AM space and its SME engagement team. We will also have an overview of the AM HUB by AMTIL and case studies from prominent industry representatives.

To view a calendar of upcoming events and register your interest see the article on page 80 Please register for these events by going to: www.amtil.com.au/Events/ Local-Events/Additive-ManufacturingEducational-Forums

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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FROM THE

Industry Innes Willox – Chief Executive Australian Industry Group

Getting a grip on gas prices Along with five other industry associations, Ai Group has compiled the first comprehensive examination of the impact of rapidly escalating gas prices on the Australian economy.

The report presents detailed case studies on the impact on companies in sectors as diverse as aluminium, food and beverage, paper and galvanising to give real illustrations of how higher gas prices impact on manufacturing operations and jobs.

The report ‘Gas Market Transformations - Economic Consequences for the Manufacturing Sector’ finds that, under current policies and realistic gas price forecasts, Australia’s manufacturing output will contract by $118bn over the next seven years and lose 14,600 manufacturing jobs.

Despite benefitting from LNG gas exports, it is anticipated that Queensland’s economy will suffer the most severe decline in non-gas sectors, with a $60bn contraction in manufacturing output and a $22bn contraction in mining output in net present value terms by 2021. New South Wales and Victoria will see serious declines in manufacturing, accumulating to around $24bn and $23bn respectively in net present value terms by 2021.

In general, transformations occurring on the east and west coast gas markets will have the most adverse consequences for manufacturing businesses that: • Use gas most intensively, and therefore incur significant increases in input costs.

• Are substantially trade-exposed, or face other market imperfections, which limit their ability to pass on increased input costs.

The impacts are the result of sharply higher gas prices as LNG exports ramp up, attracting domestic gas supplies into the higher-priced export market, and raising domestic gas prices to export-parity levels.

The new analysis shines a clear spotlight on the urgent need for gas market reform to cushion the impact of higher gas prices already being felt across eastern Australia.

Manufacturers use a lot of gas – it’s clean and efficient, and it’s always been cheap.

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AMT AUGUST 2014

Tripling wholesale prices are set to shrink manufacturing significantly. We need urgent action by the State Governments and the Commonwealth, both to unblock new gas supply, and to reform a gas market that should be far more competitive and transparent.

One key step to expanding the market includes measures to remove the excessive regulatory barriers to new gas production, including by removing the Victorian moratorium on fracking/coal seam gas (CSG) and the NSW CSG exclusion zones, by streamlining approvals processes while maintaining strong standards, and by harmonising regulation across all jurisdictions as much as possible.

To help with increasing the diversity of gas suppliers, we would support the Productivity Commission in conducting a comprehensive review and cost benefit analysis of potential reform options relating to the eastern gas market. Such a review would take into account the rapid change in market dynamics, with the aim

of increasing efficiency, transparency and competitiveness of the eastern gas market.

An abundance of energy should be a comparative advantage for Australia.

Instead, the gas export boom runs the risk of adding significantly to the alreadyheavy economic pressures on domestic manufacturing because of constraints on supply and the absence of a properly functioning domestic gas market.

Our objective is for Australia to achieve both a growing LNG export industry and a diverse industry base that includes a strong manufacturing sector. A more competitive and efficient domestic gas market, with increasing gas supplies and improved market information and transparency, is a critical first step in addressing the impact of higher prices.

Also worth consideration is an Ai Group proposal for a national interest assessment before any future expansion of the gas export sector, to ensure we avoid a repeat or further deepening of the current mess.

Manufacturers use a lot of gas – it’s clean and efficient, and it’s always been cheap. Tripling wholesale prices are set to shrink manufacturing significantly. We need urgent action by the State Governments and the Commonwealth, both to unblock new gas supply, and to reform a gas market that should be far more competitive and transparent.

FROM THE

AMWU Paul Bastian – National Secretary Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Long-term plan will score goals Last month a billion people tuned in to see what a nation can do when short-term pressures that are causing it to fall short are tackled in a structured, longer-term way. It can win a World Cup! In 2004 Germany’s old squad and tactics failed in the European Championship, so the nation’s soccer administration switched to a comprehensive long-term plan. It worked.

It’s not hard to draw comparisons between Germany’s fortunes in soccer and the country’s economic performance – stable growth underpinned by a durable manufacturing sector has carried its economy through where other nations have endured lags or undergone ruinous decline. A long, disciplined tradition of tradestraining and solid trade union involvement with industry combine with a dedication to research and innovation to produce cuttingedge quality to leave Germany as a major manufacturing export power.

Australia’s manufacturing industry has had a rougher ride, but we share the long-term challenge facing all advanced manufacturing nations in sustaining the value of our orders in the face of competition from the developing world.

The knee-jerk reaction is to cut labour costs, and last month we saw the usual complaints from employer groups about the national wage case rise of 3% on minimum hourly rates. But we also know Australia cannot compete with developing nations on labour costs. And nor should we try, as we want to maintain a first-world standard of living. Wage costs in Australian manufacturing account for at most 16.7% of all expenses, according to 2012 data.

So the game decider for Australia is not labour costs, but labour quality and our intellectual ability to innovate and grow into new markets. Those smarts only come through skilled workers and managers, and practical R&D, collaborating between industry and research institutions. That’s where the role of government is vital, in establishing structures and policies that support collaboration, setting a long-term vision, and developing new markets and advanced manufacturing.

“Australia’s manufacturing industry shares the long-term challenge facing all advanced manufacturing nations in sustaining the value of our orders in the face of competition from the developing world.” our chance to catch up in renewable energy technology and jobs.

Australia, one of the world’s largest and sunniest nations, has just 2.4 % of the world’s solar panel energy PV capacity – less than tiny Belgium, less than half of Japan’s, and a quarter of Italy’s.

The world winner, with a score of 32%? A European nation that is buried in snow for long stretches of the year – Germany again!

The scrapping of carbon pricing and uncertainty about the future of the Renewable Energy Target are devastating for business certainty.

Already we have seen a freeze in renewable energy investment, down to just $40m in the six months to June. This compares with $2.7bn for 2013. This contrarian government is leading the nation backwards from the 21st century.

Last month US firm Ocean Power Technologies decided to scrap the world’s largest wave power project, a $230m venture in southwest Victoria at the cost of hundreds of potential jobs. It won’t take up the $66m grant the Australian Renewable Energy Agency approved under the previous Labor Government. Manufacturing in wind power threatens to follow the solar manufacturing industry to China. This is an area of advanced technology where Australia must show a longer-term vision.

The quality of our future economy will depend on it.

Unfortunately Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Government has a very narrow view of this role, and is biased against Industry Innovation Precincts, deciding to scrap those proposed by the former Labor Government. In terms of innovation spending in manufacturing, Australia is not among the advanced nations.

If the Renewable Energy Target is scrapped or downgraded, we will likely lose 18,400 predicted jobs and $14.5bn in investment to 2020 – just for starters.

That makes it all the more devastating to have scientific jobs cut out of the CSIRO. We now must face the fact that we’re missing

It’s a long-term game, but without a thorough game-plan we’re not in the contest.

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AMT AUGUST 2014

We need government to play a constructive role, in helping business enterprises to kick commercial goals.

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industry news

Business groups welcome carbon tax repeal Groups representing businesses in critical sectors of the Australian economy have welcomed the repeal of the carbon tax after it passed the Senate on 17 July.

In a joint statement, the heads of Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), the Business Council of Australia and the Minerals Council of Australia hailed the repeal as the first step in moving towards an emissions reduction policy that works for the economy and the environment. The groups reiterated the importance of the Federal Government now developing and implementing a cost-effective Emissions Reduction Fund as part of “a toolkit of measures to reduce emissions”.

The statement went on to stress that it is “essential” that discussions about climate change policy, including new or amended legislation, be open and transparent and involve full and effective consultation with business and the community. Climate policy should achieve its objectives at least cost, not erode the competitiveness of trade exposed industries, and support efficient long-term investment, the groups concluded.

“Beyond the repeal of the carbon tax itself, industry welcomes revisions made to price pass-through provisions after strong industry feedback,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox.

“These should protect a wide range of businesses from unnecessary compliance burdens.”

“The removal of the world’s biggest carbon tax is an important step towards regaining the competitive edge that Australia lost over the last decade,” added Brendan Pearson, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia. “Its repeal will improve prospects for jobs and investment growth in export and import-competing industries and relieve a significant burden on households.”

In a separate statement, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s CEO, Kate Carnell said: “The carbon tax was a dead weight on the Australian economy and abolishing it is a win for consumers, a win for energy users and a win for business.

“Australia’s carbon tax was one of the highest in the world, making our key industries less competitive and providing very little by way of environmental benefit. Abolishing the carbon tax should help to stimulate business and economic growth and help restore allimportant investment confidence.”

However, Deloitte’s lead partner for sustainability, Paul Dobson, warned that the repeal of the tax will mean little change for

business in the short term. Dobson said businesses continued to face the need to: manage the long tail of compliance imposed by the carbon tax; prepare for the Direct Action policy and Emission Reduction Fund; and recognise that various reporting requirements will remain in place.

“The bottom line is that this issue is not going away,” said Dobson. “As the government looks to implement its Direct Action policy and the ERF, there will be an increased focus on emission reduction projects and activities including energy efficiency. With this in mind companies need to develop a strategic approach to these sustainability issues aligned with their business strategy to accommodate the changing policy landscape.”

US defence manufacturer to establish Victoria facility US-based defence contractor and manufacturer Wilcox Industries will establish a new state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly facility in Victoria to produce high-tech tactical defence equipment.

Victorian Minister for Manufacturing David Hodgett said the new facility would be Wilcox’s first overseas plant. It is a joint venture with Aquaterro, a Melbourne-based distributor and partner with Wilcox. Wilcox manufactures tactical equipment for special forces and first responders in defence and law enforcement, while Aquaterro is a leading supplier of law enforcement and defence equipment in Victoria.

“The Victorian Coalition Government has worked closely with Wilcox to assist with the first stage of its expansion into Australia, which involves a capital investment of up to $10m in our state,” Minister Hodgett said. “Wilcox Industries is a proven performer and leader in its industry and its entry into Victoria is yet another indication of Victoria’s strengths as Australia’s leading hub for defence manufacturing. This exciting collaboration will enable

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AMT AUGUST 2014

Wilcox and Aquaterro to expand and grow, not just within Australia, but also across the broader Asia Pacific region.

Wilcox Industries CEO Jim Teetzel said the company had worked closely with the Victorian Government and had appreciated the support provided to Wilcox Industries and Aquaterro. Victoria is a key centre for defence and aerospace manufacturing and research and development in Australia, with world-class capabilities in military vehicles, aerospace technology, data, security systems, surveillance and electronic warfare.

“Victoria has a proven track record in defence,” Minister Hodgett added. “And the Napthine Government demonstrated its commitment to supporting the industry by providing $8.7m in the 2014/15 State Budget to drive growth and innovation across Victoria’s $1.5bn defence and aerospace industry.”

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industry news

Australia moves up in global innovation rankings Australia has climbed to 17th place in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2014, from a ranking of 19th last year.

The GII 2014 surveyed 143 economies around the world, using 81 indicators to gauge their innovation capabilities and measurable results. Australia’s ranking improved by two places on the back of strengths in trade and competition, where it achieved a top ranking, along with strong performances in tertiary education (7th), research and development (8th) and general infrastructure (9th).

“The Global Innovation Index 2014 shines a light on the creativity, inventiveness, business capability and innovative spirit of Australians,” said Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane. “The challenge now is for Australia to make further gains by building on our areas of competitive strength. We have a strong base to work from, with Australia recording a solid global performance, coming fourth overall in our region and sitting among the world’s top ten economies with enabling conditions for innovation activity.”

The 2014 survey saw Switzerland remain the leader for the fourth consecutive year. The UK moves up a rank to second place, followed by Sweden. A new entry into the top 10 this year is Luxembourg (9). Sub-Saharan Africa posted significant regional improvement, in the annual rankings published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

According to the report, the leading countries on the index have created “well-linked innovation ecosystems”, where investments

in human capital combined with strong innovation infrastructures contribute to high levels of creativity.

In particular, the top 25 countries in the GII consistently score high in most indicators and have strengths in areas such as innovation infrastructure, including: information and communication technologies; business sophistication such as knowledge workers, innovation linkages, and knowledge absorption; and innovation outputs such as creative goods and services and online creativity.

In terms of innovation quality – as measured by university performance, the reach of scholarly articles, and the international dimension of patent applications – the USA held the top place within the high-income group, followed by Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Top-scoring middle-income economies are narrowing the gap on innovation quality with China in the lead, followed by Brazil and India.

“Building on our nation’s successes and providing the right framework to encourage the next wave of entrepreneurship and investment in the industries of the future are at the heart of the Government’s industry policy,” added Minister MacFarlane. “We will continue to strengthen the productivity and international competitiveness of Australian industry by developing an industry growth strategy to increase investment, jobs and exports and by assisting Australian firms and researchers to accelerate the commercialisation of their intellectual property.”

Australian PMI: Manufacturing contracts slightly in June The latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) recorded a further contraction in June, down slightly by 0.3 points to 48.9 points, remaining below the 50 point expansion level (seasonally adjusted).

Manufacturing production (49.4) and sales (46.7) both moved into the red in June while the new orders sub-index - although still expanding at 51.2 - was 3.9 points weaker. Many respondents to the survey reported softening sales of locally made products due to the higher level of the Australian dollar.

“Activity in the manufacturing sector slipped in June with production and sales both lower and employment continuing to decline,” said Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “The Australian PMI has now indicated sector-wide contraction for eight consecutive months.”

Only the very large food and beverages (52.5 points) and the smaller wood and paper products (54.2 points) sub-sectors expanded in June. The metal products, machinery and equipment, and petroleum, coal, chemicals and rubber products sub-sectors all contracted (with scores below 50 points).

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AMT AUGUST 2014

“Respondents from import-competing businesses in particular noted the adverse impacts of the renewed strength of the Australian dollar,” added Willox. “Nevertheless, there were some positive signs: exports by the large food and beverages subsector expanded in June which lifted total manufactured exports while new orders remained in positive territory.”

Manufacturing employment contracted at a slower pace in June, to 45.5. While the supplier deliveries sub-index indicated expansion (50.8), manufacturers’ stock levels continued to contract with the sub-index recording a level of 44.8. The selling price sub-index dropped further to 44.8.

“It is clear that there are ongoing pressures facing manufacturing and there is a continuing need to improve cost-competitiveness and productivity across the sector,” concluded Willox. “In this regard, removing the carbon tax will help manufacturers especially as competitive pressures forced so many to absorb the cost of the tax.”

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/airknife

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

Micro-manufacturing breakthrough for RMIT In a breakthrough discovery, researchers at RMIT University have harnessed the power of sound waves to enable precision micro- and nano-manufacturing.

The researchers have demonstrated how high-frequency sound waves can be used to precisely control the spread of thin film fluid along a specially-designed chip. With thin film technology the bedrock of microchip and microstructure manufacturing, the pioneering research offers a significant advance – potential applications range from thin film coatings for paint and wound care to 3D printing, micro-casting and micro-fluidics.

Professor James Friend, Director of the MicroNano Research Facility at RMIT, said the researchers had developed a portable system for precise, fast and unconventional micro- and nanofabrication.

“By tuning the sound waves, we can create any pattern we want on the surface of a microchip,” said Friend. “Manufacturing using thin film technology currently lacks precision – structures are physically spun around to disperse the liquid and coat components with thin film.

“We’ve found that thin film liquid either flows towards or away from high-frequency sound waves, depending on its thickness.

We not only discovered this phenomenon but have also unravelled the complex physics behind the process, enabling us to precisely control and direct the application of thin film liquid at a micro and nano-scale.”

The new process, which the researchers have called “acoustowetting”, works on a chip made of lithium niobate – a piezoelectric material capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical pressure. The surface of the chip is covered with

microelectrodes and the chip is connected to a power source, with the power converted to high-frequency sound waves. Thin film liquid is added to the surface of the chip, and the sound waves are then used to control its flow.

The research shows that when the liquid is ultra-thin – at nano and sub-micro depths – it flows away from the high-frequency sound waves. The flow reverses at slightly thicker dimensions, moving towards the sound waves. But at a millimetre or more in depth, the flow reverses again, moving away.

Space engineering facility takes off Australian space scientists will no longer need to go offshore to build satellites, following the completion of the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) at the Australian National University (ANU).

The space sector generates up to $1.6bn in revenue every year and employs over 4000 scientists, engineers, policymakers and support personnel. The AITC has the only facilities in Australia that enable the engineering of equipment right from the design stage through to the launch-pad. Professor Matthew Colless, Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ANU, said the facility will provide a hub for Australia’s space industry.

“Australia has many small-to-medium enterprises in the space industry. We want to enable them to get together to take on larger projects” he said.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane officially opened the new facility at Mt Stromlo, announcing that ANU has already signed two major contracts totalling over $11m for projects at the AITC. A $5m design contract has been agreed for one of the first instruments to be installed on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), the GMT Integral Field Spectrometer. The second contract is a $6.4m project to develop a space junk tracking system for

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AMT August 2014

Professor Matthew Colless (centre) presents a 3D-printed model of the Giant Magellan Telescope to Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane (left), as ANU Vice Chancellor Professor Ian Young looks on.

the Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Professor Colless said the contracts will lead on to more work for the AITC. “We expect a $20m or thereabouts construction contract will follow on from the design contract.”

Since the launch of Stage One of the Centre in 2006, the AITC has been the

base for major collaborations between institutions across the world. The ANU is leading Australia’s participation in the Giant Magellan Telescope and is involved with development of a spacecraft plasma thruster system. It is also supporting a satellite laser ranging system for NASA, with industry partner EOS.

Industry news

META announces Sports Advanced Manufacturing Hub The Manufacturing Excellence Taskforce of Australia (META) has announced a partnership with the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) to give Australian manufacturers the opportunity to take a greater share of the $300bn global sports technology market.

The new Sports Advanced Manufacturing Hub is part of META’s strategy to demonstrate the capability of Australian manufacturers, and will focus on fostering innovation in sports technologies such as wearable devices, smart apparel, equipment, medical technologies and health products.

“The market for sports technology and equipment is valued at $300bn globally, presenting a massive opportunity for Australian businesses,” said James Demetriou, Chairman of ASTN. “Australia currently has a tiny share of that market. We export only $286m in manufactured sports products but import $2bn overseas. The Sports Advanced Manufacturing Hub has been created to address this imbalance as there is a very real risk that Australia will get left behind if we don’t take action now.”

The Hub aims to provide stronger connections between SMEs, researchers and large corporations to support the development, marketing and export of Australian sports technologies, products and services worldwide to establish a global centre of advanced manufacturing in sports products.

“We want to establish Australia as a global leader, not only on the sports field but also in sports manufacturing and technology,” said Zoran Angelkovski, Managing Director, META. “We will connect the dots between manufacturers and researchers, build the brand of our sports technology industry and showcase Australia’s capabilities to the global market.”

In addition to nurturing new technologies and expanding export opportunities, the Sports Advanced Manufacturing Hub will also work to encourage foreign investment and create employment opportunities through new commercial projects. Led by the ASTN with ongoing support from META, the Hub will feature a core team working in collaboration with META and ASTN members, who will have responsibility for the development of commercial projects that can be transitioned to mass sports consumer markets domestically and internationally.

The sports technology market is dominated by the American market which currently accounts for 41% of the industry. The new partnership aims to give Australian companies the support needed to increase their market share.

“We produce and export elite athletes and coaches, but when it comes to sports technology and manufacturers, we have some of the best in the world but we need to do more to promote them globally,” added Angelkovski. “We want to support an Australian industry that has, until now, been overlooked.”

Through the Hub, ASTN and META members will also work together to identify ways that technology being developed for sport can be transferred across other applicable industries, such as research into fatigue on muscles or the development of protective equipment being transferred into the aged care or defence industries.

Hub members will initially be drawn from META’s membership, alongside ASTN’s national network including SMEs, universities and national sporting organisations. Australian manufacturers interested in participating the Hub should visit meta.org.au for information on becoming a META member.

AMT AUGUST 2014

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Industry news

Quickstep wins US$11m order for C-130J parts Quickstep Holdings Limited has announced that it has received a new US$11.2m purchase order for 19 sets of wing flaps for the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Lockheed Martin.

Based in Bankstown, New South Wales, Quickstep manufactures high-grade carbon-fibre components. The purchase order comprises part of Quickstep’s overarching US $75m memorandum of agreement (MOA) to manufacture wing flaps for the C-130J. Deliveries under this purchase order are expected to begin in mid-2015. Including this latest order, Quickstep has received firm production orders for 55 wing flap sets.

Seven complete wing flap sets have been delivered by Quickstep to Lockheed Martin since the initial set of flaps was shipped in February 2014. Production is continuing at an approximate rate of two sets per month and is expected to accelerate to three sets per month during the second half of 2014.

“We are very pleased to receive this new order, which locks in Quickstep’s C-130J delivery schedule through 2015,” said Quickstep executive director Philippe Odouard. “The continuing contract flow attests to our positive working relationship with Lockheed Martin and demonstrates our strong progress on this important aerospace contract.”

Lockheed Martin awarded Quickstep the tender to manufacture wing flaps for its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in March 2012.

Over the life of the MOA, Quickstep will supply 120 sets of carbonfibre flaps through to 2018. Every set provided by Quickstep has four wing flaps, each including more than 200 individual parts such as carbon ribs, spars and skins. Quickstep manufactures these components at its Bankstown Airport aerospace facility.

Lockheed Martin’s C-130J wing flaps program is one of two significant aerospace programs awarded to Quickstep, which is also producing components for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program. The C-130J has been ordered by 16 countries and is the latest model of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft which has been in continuous production for 60 years.

Separately, the Federal Government’s export credit agency, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (Efic), has agreed to

provide Quickstep with a new $7m ‘multi-option’ facility. The new guarantee will include a performance bond facility for Quickstep’s technology export contracts and an export working capital guarantee to support growth in existing aerospace contracts.

The performance bond facility, valued at approximately EUR3m, provides support for Quickstep’s EUR4.2m sale of its Quickstep Process technology to ORPE Technologiya. It will expire on the earlier of the date the technology is delivered to ORPE, expected in early 2015, but no later than 30 May 2015. The facility will enable ANZ Bank to provide a Guarantee to ORPE. Efic’s export working capital guarantee will enable Quickstep to secure additional facilities up to $2.5m through to 31 October 2015. The ANZ Bank will provide a $2.5m facility secured by this guarantee. The new facilities add to a $10m Efic-backed loan facility arranged in November 2011.

Parish marks 70th birthday Congratulations to AMTIL member Parish Engineering, which last month marked 70 years since the company was incorporated.

Bill Parish started the business back in 1932, but it wasn’t formed into a limited company until 4 July 1944. Throughout Parish’s history, the manufacture of production parts has been the main focus with the company investing in the first cam auto lathe in Australia. The company changed hands in the early 1970s, and again in 1990, when it was bought by former employee Graeme Sinclair.

Since purchasing the company, Graeme and his family have continually invested in automation, keeping the company at the forefront of turned production parts manufacture in Australia.

Based in Moorabbin, Victoria, the company remains very much a family business, with Graeme’s daughter Nicole now in place as its CEO. “I have only owned it a mere 34 years,” says Graeme. “But I was the engineer of the firm from 1972 to 1975, so I have worked here for more than half the firm’s lifetime. Some might argue whether I have worked all that time, but I have been here at least.”

Right: Nicole and Graeme Sinclair outside Parish Engineering’s premises in Moorabbin.

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AMT AUGUST 2014

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Government news

‘New era’ for Australian industry The Federal Government is investing $92.4m to put in place a new streamlined Single Business Service Delivery initiative, as part of the new $484.2m Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme.

According to the Government, a new era for industry development in Australia has begun, focussing on investment, jobs and new opportunities for Australian entrepreneurs. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the Government was working with businesses on new programmes with a clear focus on making Australian industry more competitive.

The programmes will drive business productivity gains across the economy and help create many new jobs in the sector.

“Through the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme, the Australian Government is setting a new path for Australian industry, which will embrace the determination and ingenuity of the business community and help turn good ideas into great market outcomes,” said Minister Macfarlane. “The Single Business Service is about making it easier for all businesses to work with the Government. It will make information, advice and support simpler to find, understand and access.

“All Australian businesses will benefit from this more simple and streamlined approach, which will also seamlessly direct eligible customers into more intensive support to help businesses overcome particular challenges.”

According to Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson, every Australian business, including small businesses and independent contractors, will be able to access Department of Industry information and services through a single website or contact number.

“The integration of the Small Business Support Line into the Single Business Service Delivery initiative will simplify and streamline the delivery of support available to all businesses,” Minister Billson said. “The service will expand the existing Support Line initiative by providing small businesses with enhanced access to advice on business start-up information, banking, finance, accounting and marketing, advertising, small business counselling and information technology.

Under the new service, eligible businesses will be linked to specific Government assistance programmes, like the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme, R&D Tax Incentive, Industry Skills Fund, Manufacturing Transition Grants Programme and Growth Fund, and other energy efficiency, industry and skills programmes.

“Recognising people already know the phone number for the Small Business Support Line; its physical number will remain but will be diverted into the new service.”

To access the Single Business Service Delivery initiative please visit www. business.gov.au, call 13 28 46, or contact your local AusIndustry office.

Efic announces new deal to help SME exporters Australian companies can ensure they are protected against unfavourable shifts in exchange rates when doing business overseas, following a new agreement between Australia’s export credit agency Efic and global foreign exchange specialist AFEX. The partnership means that Efic can guarantee foreign exchange facilities offered by AFEX to SME exporters. This will enable the foreign exchange specialist to increase the trading limit on the foreign exchange facilities it provides to Australian companies.

For SME exporters, this means they will be able to protect more of their export contracts against the risks of currency exposure and better secure their profit margins. A foreign exchange facility can help SME exporters protect themselves from exchange rate fluctuations by locking in exchange rates and allowing them to hedge their currency exposure.

“We’re excited to offer Australian SME exporters even more support and protection in their international activities through this new partnership with AFEX,” said Alex Fernandez, Efic’s Head of Alliance & Product – SME. “Adverse movements

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in exchange rates are an inherent risk of doing business overseas, but now SME exporters can limit their exposure to currency risk enabling them to focus on their export operations without the worry of volatile currency markets.”

Richard Poulton, Asia Pacific General Manager, AFEX, added: “This is a hugely exciting partnership for us and one we’re sure will be of significant benefit to Australia’s export businesses as we help them manage risk and protect their profitability.”

Efic is a specialist financier that delivers simple and creative solutions for Australian companies to enable them to win business, grow internationally and achieve export success. As Australia’s export credit agency, Efic operates on a commercial basis and partners with banks to provide financial solutions for: small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are exporters;

Australian companies in an export supply chain; and Australian companies operating in emerging and frontier markets. Through its loans, guarantees, bonds and insurance products, Efic has helped many Australian exporters and subcontractors take advantage of new contract opportunities that may otherwise have been out of reach. www.efic.gov.au

Government news

NSW announces workplace safety overhaul New South Wales has brought 12 new codes of practice into force aimed at improving safety in workplaces.

The codes are part of the national harmonised work health and safety laws that were adopted by NSW in 2012. The new codes replace a number of existing codes that were in place under previous occupational health and safety laws. Acting General Manager of WorkCover’s Work Health and Safety Division, Peter Dunphy said the codes are about making NSW workplaces safer.

“The NSW Government is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for every NSW worker,” Dunphy said. “The new codes make it easier for everyone to know and understand their responsibilities. While what was safe previously will continue to be safe under the new codes, it is important that businesses, industry and workers understand the key changes.”

The new codes affect all industries; however, those most greatly impacted include the construction, electrical and manufacturing industries. WorkCover is offering support to employers and workers to help implement the new codes.

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“The new codes relate to first aid, construction work, electrical, chemical and plant risks as well as welding and spray painting,” said Dunphy. “WorkCover is committed to supporting business and industry to adjust to the new arrangements.”

The 12 new Codes of Practice are: • First aid in the workplace.

• Construction work.

• Preventing falls in housing construction.

• Managing electrical risks in the workplace.

• Managing risks of hazardous chemicals in the workplace.

• Managing the risks of plant in the workplace.

• Safe design of structures.

• Excavation work.

• Demolition work.

• Welding processes.

• Spray painting and powder coating.

• Abrasive blasting.

The five Codes of Practice revoked to avoid duplication or conflict are: • Excavation work.

• Safe Work on Roofs Part 2-residential buildings.

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• Work in Hot and Cold Environments.

• Amenities for Construction Work.

• Prevention of Occupational Overuse Syndrome.

The Codes commenced on 18 July and are available on the WorkCover website. For further information on the new Codes of Practice call 13 10 50 or visit: www.workcover.nsw.gov.au

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Tech news

UK: Machining composites like ‘cutting through butter’

USA: Engine additive manufacturing

Researchers have developed a device which could revolutionise the way cutting, drilling and milling is done in manufacturing. The tool makes working on difficult-to-cut materials as easy as ‘cutting through butter’. It involves a technique called ultrasonically-assisted machining (UAM), which uses a specially designed piezoelectric transducer working in tandem with a traditional turning, drilling or milling machine. The device creates ultrasonic vibrations and the machining technique makes the composite material so ‘soft’ in the area being worked on, that much less force is needed from the cutting tool, resulting in less damage, less waste, and a better finish. It has shown significant improvements in drilling carbon/epoxy composites with significantly reduced damage in the machined composite and has shown excellent damage mitigation with remarkable drilling force reductions.

Aerojet Rocketdyne successfully completed a series of hot-fire tests on a Bantam demonstration engine built entirely with additive manufacturing. “We are not just making a stand-alone chamber or injector derived from traditional design approaches. Rather, we are integrating the full capability of additive manufacturing processes to evolve a proven, reliable, affordable design” said Jay Littles, a company director. The engine, which is normally comprised of dozens of parts, consisted of only three additive-manufactured components: the entire injector and dome assembly; the combustion chamber; and a throat and nozzle section. The team also was able to reduce total design and manufacturing time from more than a year to a couple of months, and reduce the cost of the engine by approximately 65%.

Loughborough University

USA: Tougher metal materials Drawing inspiration from the structure of bones and bamboo, researchers have found that by gradually changing the internal structure of metals they can make stronger, tougher materials that can be customised. Metal is composed of millions of closelypacked grains. If the size of the grains lower down in the material is increased, the metal can be made more ductile. This gradient structure is unattainable in conventional materials. This technique was tested in metals including copper, iron, nickel and stainless steel – with improvement in all cases. The researchers created an IF steel with a gradient structure. It was strong enough to handle 500 MPa and ductile enough to stretch to 20% of its length before failing. The technique can be easily and inexpensively incorporated into industrial processes.

North Carolina State University

Sweden/Germany: Stronger than steel cellulose fibres

Aerojet Rocketdyne

China: Two-bladed wind turbines make a comeback Several major wind-power companies are testing standard threebladed turbine design by dropping one of the three blades and spinning the rotor 180deg to face downwind. This presents engineering challenges, but could greatly improve the economics of offshore wind power. Two-bladed turbines could cost 20% less while generating the same amount of power as conventional turbines.

China’s Ming Yang Wind Power recently announced plans for the largest test of the design. It plans to erect a six-megawatt, twobladed turbine in China this year that will generate as much power as the largest commercial offshore turbines. Two-bladed turbines use fewer materials and are easier to install. But there are problems: in some wind conditions, the flexible blades can spring back and hit the turbine tower. However a rotor-braking strategy to mitigate this risk was applied.

MIT Technology Review

A new method for the production of ultra-strong cellulose fibres has been tested. The novel procedure spins extremely tough filaments from tiny cellulose fibrils by aligning them all in parallel during the production process. The filaments are stronger than both aluminium and steel per weight. The real challenge is to make bio based materials with extreme stiffness that can be used in wind turbine blades, for example. With further improvements, in particular increased fibril alignment, this will be possible.

DESY

Germany: Adhesive bonding with pre-applied adhesives Researchers have succeeded in separating the processes of applying adhesive and the actual joining, which opens up a new world of applications. Their solution was a two-step process in which adhesive is initially deposited on one of the parts and then dried to form a non-sticky layer. During a subsequent production step, the adhesive is hardened and the two parts are bonded together.

Although two-step bonding techniques aren’t new – using them for industry is. Allowing for a high-strength adhesive bond suitable for industrial use is no easy task, since the adhesives must fulfill different and sometimes contradictory requirements. The concept combines resins and hardening agents that melt at different temperatures and micro-dispersion to finely distribute hardening agents with considerably higher melting points throughout the resin base.The researchers had added a visual means of monitoring the adhesive – if the substance has lost its functionality, it changes colour.

Fraunhofer

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AMT AUGUST 2014

Germany: Efficient jet engine A new process chain provides more design freedom for jet engines and allows a more efficient production as well as repair processes.

Researchers are working on integration of Additive Manufacturing into an entire, continuous process chain. For example, they have produced a Nozzle Guide Vane cluster that consists of six double vanes. Previously, the vanes for turbines could only be produced in pairs, as twin blades. Now, they can be installed much more easily and quickly. They have also improved the base of the NGV cluster. This was previously massive in terms of manufacturing, but for the first time, a honeycomb structure is now feasible. The entire component will be 30% lighter through this combination of subtractive milling with additive SLM. Fraunhofer

Product news

Okuma releases award-winning Multus lathes Okuma Australia has released the award-winning Multus U Series of intelligent multitasking CNC lathes to the ANZ market.

The advanced Multus U Series complements the existing Multus B Series, which has become popular with machine shops seeking an easy step into multifunctional machining and the elimination of work in progress. The result of many years of R&D

by Okuma’s design and engineering staff in response to market demand, the Multus U Series multitasking machines received the Monozukuri Prize at the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun’s (Business & Technology Daily News) 2013 Best 10 New Product Awards, recognising outstanding contribution to the development of manufacturing international competitiveness through advanced technology.

Multus U machines are designed to reduce set-up times, improve accuracy and keep non-cutting times to a minimum. The new series includes two machine models: the Multus U3000 and the Multus U4000.

Equipped with a comprehensive package of intelligent technologies, they feature Okuma’s own OSP controller, which boasts a wide variety of control options and efficiency features, making them truly ‘Intelligent Multitasking Machines’.

Built with Okuma’s renowned heavy-duty construction, Multus U machines provide a robust platform for long-term rigidity and accuracy. They are excellent for machining process-intensive parts in applications such as aerospace, oil/energy, medical, motorsport and construction, providing a complete multitasking solution. The U Series features a newly designed ‘rectangular’ Y-axis for complete flexibility; a highly rigid traveling column allowing for powerful, wide-ranging cutting over the entire axis with up to 300mm of travel.

Extended specifications for various applications are covered with 17 diverse model variations in the Multus U specification, including: multiple bed lengths; additional sub-spindle (W-Axis); lower turret in addition to the 0.001⁰ NC-B axis upper milling turret; Okuma’s PREX motor technology; a choice of tool magazine capacities; plus a range of spindle sizes and CAPTO or HSK tool shank specifications.

The Multus U series provides specific solutions to match customers’ variable requirements, delivering exceptional milling and turning performance for highly-efficient cutting of difficult-to-machine materials and a wide variety of CNC machining applications. Okuma’s Thermo-Friendly Concept provides long, stable machining accuracy with thermo-static design and thermal deformation control technology.

The OSP-P300S control reduces keyboard operations by 50%, minimising setup time and maximising uptime with its Collision Avoidance System. Meanwhile, Okuma’s Machining Navi maximises tool performance by choosing optimal speeds to avoid chatter; The U Series’ operator-friendly design offers easy tool loading from the machine front, improved spindle access for faster set-up times, and smooth chip discharge for better chip flow. The all-new ergonomic tilting control keyboard panel and 19” screen is a further bonus for the operator.

According to Okuma, machine shop-owners often overlook investment-friendliness, encompassing much more than just the machines and their performance and

reliability. Consideration needs to be given to: commercially sensible terms of payment; details on what insurances a supplier holds; how is the price variable and the currency payable; and support for training. Investors need to consider: whether there is a sunset on factory spare parts support; how they can benefit from brand loyalty; what skill and experience is available to get 100% from the equipment; and who actually owns the supplier.

For Okuma, the Multus U Series is yet another icon in the making, aimed squarely at removing blockages to efficiency and quality in the new era of job shop performance.

“We take our time to release groundbreaking machine tool technology,” says Phil Hayes, Okuma Australia and New Zealand’s Managing Director. “But when we do, it reasserts our long-standing position in the market and sets new benchmarks for others to follow. When put together with the investment friendliness of Okuma Australia and New Zealand, it’s a hard act to follow.” www.okumaaustralia.com.au

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product news

CMTS heads to Darwin with Deratech CMTS Sheetmetal Machines recently delivered and installed two new Deratech press brakes in Darwin.

An Ultima 5100mm, 170-ton machine was delivered to Customade Commercial Kitchens, while an Ultima 4100mm, 170-ton unit was installed at Davies Metal Works. Both machines were equipped with Wila hydraulic clamping, Rolleri tooling and an ESA 550 controller.

Paul Davies, Owner of Davies Metal Works.

Customade specialises in stainless steel fabrication such as commercial kitchens and guttering, mainly working as a wholesaler in conjunction with the Federal and Northern Territory Governments, on projects including the Strategic Indigenous Housing and infrastructure Program (SIHIP). Graeme Hood, Managing Director of Customade, needed the capacity to bend longer S/S products with ease, and said that the Deratech press brake was the best value for money. According to Hood, the service and support from CMTS is second to none.

Davies Metal Works has been operating in fabrication and installation since 2002, with customers from Broome to Alice Springs. The company specialises in stainless steel products clients in the construction, catering or medical fields. Davies Metal Works prides itself on its superior craftsmanship, quality and selection of materials, and guarantees all of its products. Owner Paul Davies said the Deratech press brake was a perfect solution for all the company’s bending requirements on its stainless steel bench worktops, increasing production and shortening lead times.

Davies described the Deratech as a “Mercedes Benz” compared to his last press brake.

Based in Belgium, Deratech is an integrated professional company with a longstanding commitment to research and development, production and sales of sheetmetal equipment. Branches of Deratech have been established in Germany, Netherlands, China, Thailand and Malaysia, while its products and services can be

found throughout the world. CMTS is the Australian distributor for Deratech.

Adhering to a European design philosophy, quality, efficiency, stability and reliability are core values for Deratech. Its new generation of CNC bending machines have been developed to deliver low failure rates and a high performance/price ratio.

Deratech aims to provide the best value for investment by means of price, delivery, quality, training and after-sales technical support, offering its clients complete customized solutions for their sheet metal working requirements. www.cmts.net.au

Apex mills economical solutions

Flexliner – making connections

TaeguTec is now offering its ApexMill line of economical solid carbide end-mills for general purpose machining on small depths-of-cut applications.

German-designed and manufactured, the Flexliner Engineering Square Tube Connector system allows you to make an almost limitless variety of designs out of square tube.

The ApexMill economical type’s two- and four-flute flat-end mills is offered in various lengths to cover a wide range of roughing and finishing applications, on various materials such as alloy, carbon, cast iron, tool, stainless, hardened and prehardened steels. For slotting applications, the new offering is also available in three-flute flat end-mills, which include a high helix angle. The short and medium two-flute ball-nose end-mill type is specifically suited for shops looking to save on cost on semi-finishing and finishing applications.

TaeguTec’s ApexMill economical line comes in a diameter range from 3mm to 20mm while optimised grades applied to the end mills includes the TT5525 grade for flat types and the TT5515 grade for ball nose types. Its strong rigid design increases productivity and stabilises machining operations.

In

one case study conducted at TaeguTec’s headquarters, the ApexMill recorded a 100% increase in tool life versus a leading competitor’s similar tool.

During another case study in which all cutting conditions were the same, TaeguTec’s ApexMill witnessed a 25% increase in tool life. www.taegutec.com

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The Flexliner system consists of two types of connector, one made entirely of nylon, and the other comprising a nylon outer with a welded steel tube core. It is available in two main colours – black, or light grey (RAL7035) A range of the connectors have an M10 thread in the head to accept either a levelling foot or castor stem or bolt.

Fixed-angle nylon inserts are available for octagonal, hexagonal and 45-degree angle configurations, along with adjustable angle inserts for two, three and four ways.

Flexliner has various connectors to suit seven different tube sizes.

The most popular is 25mm by 25mm by 16.mm. In addition, Flexliner stocks a range of clear anodised aluminium tube and steel gal tube cut to size. www.tubeconnectors.com.au

product news

Pow’R-LOCK safely hoists up to 200 tons Enerpac has released Pow’R-LOCK, a new portable self-contained hydraulic jacking system, rated for heavy lifts up to 200 tons, featuring full-time automatic load holding protection for optimum safety.

The PL-Series Pow’R-LOCK Portable Lifting system is designed and purpose-built to provide safe and secure lifting for heavy offhighway machinery including trucks, tractors, civil engineering machinery and implements. Pow’R-LOCK accomplishes its loadholding protection via a control system (patent pending) that maintains the position of a rotating locking collar near the cylinder base, providing a mechanical lock regardless of cylinder movement and control cycle.

The heavy-duty lifting system integrates into a rugged mobile cart, with a high-capacity, compact 700-bar hydraulic cylinder, and an air-driven hydraulic pump unit with complete valving and control systems. The units, the two versions of which feature strokes of 355mm and 635mm, are ideal for companies where time and safety are paramount.

“Machinery servicing can be time-consuming and hazardous task if not undertaken properly,” says Denis Matulin, Enerpac’s ANZ Regional Manager. “The easily manoeuvrable, self-contained Pow’R-LOCK Lifting Jack system can be used in even the tightest locations and over rough terrain where recommended safety procedures are followed.”

Key features of Pow’R-LOCK include: redundant lowering valves, with pilot-operated check and counter-balance to add safety to the retract operation; pneumatic operation for use in hazardous environments; simple two-button operation for raise and lower functions; an integrated tilt saddle to reduce side loading, extending the life of the jack; a large base plate that increases contact with the ground to distribute load and improve stability; and an ergonomic six-position handle to maximise leverage and hand clearance under vehicles.

The Pow’R-LOCK locking system provides autonomous protection during lift, lower and hold function, while patented cylinder and

control technology provides double-acting lock-nut protection with low collapsed heights. Nitro-carburization delivers additional corrosion protection on the cylinder.

Pow’R-LOCK provides safe, efficient, mobile lifting and loadholding for the toughest applications, backed by extensive product support from Enerpac. Enerpac recommends that safety first procedures be followed wherever Pow’R-LOCK is operated, including published safety directions for lifting and cribbing loads.

“Pow’R-LOCK is unique in that it provides autonomous locking of the load through all stages of lifting and lowering,” adds Matulin.

“No operator intervention is required to activate or energize the locking system – they just lift or lower the load. If anything hazardous occurs, the Pow’R-LOCK system is there to hold the load.” www.enerpac.com

Get more from coolant, with Freddy Looking after your employees, your machine tools and your coolant can really improve your bottom line.

Getting coolant to last longer not only saves you money in terms of purchasing, but can also save you in other areas.

When using coolant, whether in cutting tools, lathes or drilling machines, fines, swarf and dissolved metals can contaminate it, creating bacteria and fungus. This reduces the life of the coolant, which means that you have to replace the coolant more frequently.

A Freddy vacuum removes the coolant at two litres a second, filters it, and returns it for reuse, removing the fines and swarf contaminating it, so your coolant lasts longer.

Using contaminated coolant is bad for your employees too. It can cause problems such as dermatitis, bronchitis and occupational asthma. If your employees contract these problems you could be liable to pay compensation, which can be costly, especially if they are unable to work. Providing suitable protective equipment, and using a Freddy to extract the coolant and remove the contaminants could help to prevent this.

Machine tools also suffer from using contaminated coolant. If your coolant is not clean, it can accelerate tool wear and spoil the finishes. With machine tools costing from hundreds of thousands of dollars, you want to protect your investment. A Freddy vacuum makes sure all contaminants and debris are cleared, even from the most awkward to reach places thanks to its set of tools. It can empty, filter and return litres of coolant within seconds – reducing downtime.

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The Freddy Superminor+ is designed to remove coolant, swarf and oil from machine tool sumps, separate the particulates and return filtered coolant for re-use. Alternatively, liquids and particles can be easily disposed of.

The Superminor range is the most widely used and well established coolant vacuum in the world, offering power, ease of use and longevity to give users peace of mind over many years of use. Freddy was established in 1962, supplying the UK and USA with the renowned Mark I filtration machines, originally complementing the de la Pena Oil brand.

Since then it has designed and manufactured the Freddy family of industrial vacuums and coolant filtration machines, from the compact and adaptable Superminor, to the robust “great filtrator” Mark 5, all designed to remove, filter and return coolant for longer life, and improve machining results. www.dimac.com.au

Product news

GermanRepRap launches X400 3D printer GermanRepRap Australia has announced the availability of the flagship X400, an innovative, lowcost 3D printer that combines “Made in Germany” quality and performance with technology made available by the RepRap OpenSource movement.

With a printing volume of about 56 litres, the X400 is the biggest commercial 3D printer based on the RepRap technology. It meets the requirements of professional construction and development departments for prototyping as well as small batch production.

This makes it ideal for design, engineering, manufacturing and electronic businesses, as well as ambitious private users.

The printer has an overall dimension of 650mm by 650mm by 700 mm, weighs about 35 kg, and is available as a kit. An acrylic case to reduce model warping and a base cabinet for additional storage are available as options. Additionally, the printer can be equipped with a ceramic heated bed.

The X400 supports layer thicknesses between 0.1mm and 1.0mm, and a printing volume of 400mm x 400mm x 350mm allow the printing of precise and large models. Many different plastics may be used, such as PLA, ABS, PP. With the optional second extruder you may print in multiple plastic types, colours or support material.

Three large 2.2kg filament spools can be accommodated within the printer.

High-quality components such as low-play drives are used throughout. Trapezoidal spindles replace traditional metric threaded spindles on the z-axis, leading to less backlash and higher accuracy. Since only one motor drives the z-axis, the X400 is less prone to step losses. All axes are provided with hardened shafts.

The electronic components are compatible with the OpenSource RepRap Software. The modular concept allows easy access to all mechanical components and offers maximum flexibility for custom adaptations and future extensions, such as milling spindles.

GermanRepRap was one of the first German companies to market its own 3D printer based on an OpenSource project. The RepRap movement revolutionised the market for 3D printers, making 3D printing technology affordable to a much wider audience.

The X400 kit is available now for $6380 (including GST) through GermanRepRap Australia’s website. www.reprap.org www.germanreprap.com.au

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product news

SICK’s GR18 sensor – used anywhere SICK’s GR18 product family of cylindrical photoelectric sensors have been designed for use in any application thanks to four detection variants and seven different designs in the cylindrical M18 housing, available in plastic or metal.

A new feature is the standard overall length, which expands upon the proven shortbody versions with radial or axial optics.

SICK’s PinPoint technology and intelligent electronics ensure that the entire product family can offer maximum availability in a vast range of applications. Both the shortbody cylindrical photoelectric sensors and the standard sizes of the GR18 range are available as photoelectric proximity sensors, through-beam photoelectric sensors or photoelectric retro-reflective sensors for opaque and transparent objects. Their housing concept makes it possible to create space-saving, flexible mounting solutions.

The user has the choice of plastic or metal sensors, both featuring an IP67 enclosure rating while providing the necessary mechanical ruggedness. Where detection reliability is concerned, all the GR18 versions are designed for exceptional optical and electronic reliability. Even in harsh environments, their intelligent signal evaluation makes them immune to disturbances from ambient light, dirt, moisture or electromagnetic fields. PinPoint technology – featuring a high-visibility red transmission LED – boosts performance even further: the energetic scanners offer scanning ranges up to a very strong one metre, while the photoelectric sensors with reflectors reach more than seven metres and the through-beam variants provide 15 metres.

Whether you’re using hole-fastening or attaching the equipment with a mounting

bracket, there is a GR18 sensor for every mounting type thanks to standardised M18 dimensioning and the range of designs.

The GR18S short-body versions – available with radial or axial optics – are the perfect choice in cases where space is tight.

Meanwhile, to ensure obstruction-free integration (in the side panel of a conveyor, for instance), the fully flush short variant is ideal: the flattened mounting flange enables virtually flush sensor mounting, which prevents damage to both the sensor itself and the material being conveyed. At the same time, the sensor can also be fastened securely to stop vibrations from shaking it loose.

Once mounted, GR18 sensors are ready for use in seconds. The PinPoint red LED generates an intense, uniform, highly visible light spot on the reflector or the

goods being conveyed, enabling extremely fast alignment. To adjust sensitivity using a potentiometer, all you need is a standard Phillips screwdriver.

To enable their operational statuses to be detected immediately even across large distances, all GR18 sensors are equipped with extremely bright, multicolored status display LEDs. This makes monitoring, operation and maintenance much simpler.

The sensors in the GR18 product family are ideal for numerous detection tasks, such as presence detection and object positioning, electronics manufacturing, handling systems, and packaging machines. The short-body variants are also the perfect choice for a multitude of applications that have only a small amount of space available for installation or mounting. www.sick.com/au

RFS releases next-gen hand-held 3D scanners Russell Fraser Sales (RFS) has announced the launch of Creaform’s next generation of portable threedimensional (3D) handheld scanners in Australia –the HandySCAN 300 and HandySCAN 700.

The HandySCAN 700 is now 25 times faster than the previous generation of handheld 3D scanners, is 40% more accurate, and has a volumetric accuracy of 60 micrometres per metre. The HandySCAN’s TRUaccuracy feature ensures accurate measurements in real-life operating conditions. It features a range of 3D scanning possibilities, regardless of the part size, complexity or material, and with its quick set-up, the scanner can be operating in less than two minutes.

Creaform has also released two new versions of the GoSCAN 3D white light scanners, which offer practical ease of use and the ability to scan objects in full colour. The GoSCAN 50 is designed to

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measure medium to larger parts and offers optimal flexibility, while the GoSCAN 20 delivers maximum resolution and is ideal for smaller objects with intricate details, making it the perfect companion for 3D printers.

Complementing the new technology is Creaform’s new VXmodel scan-tocomputer-aided design (CAD) and scanto-print software, which integrates directly into the in-built 3D software platform, VXelements. With VXmodel acting as an integrated bridge, users have all the tools they need to prepare their 3D-scan files for CAD or 3D print solutions in one easy-tomaster, intuitive application. www.rfsales.com.au

FACTORY TRAINED SALES & SERVICE STAFF FOR MITSUBISHI LASER.

Applied Machinery, one of Australia’s largest and most respected Dealers of new and used machinery is proud to be the authorised sales and service representative of Mitsubishi Laser in Australia.

Proof of Applied’s commitment to the brand is evidenced by a sales and service delegation that has just returned from Japan after intensive training at the Mitsubishi plant in Nagoya.

Applied’s team of laser sales and service experts are now fully factory trained

by Mitsubishi, so you can rest assured that when investing in Mitsubishi you have the local knowledge and support required to ensure that your transition to Mitsubishi is seamless.

Following on from this factory visit, one of Applied’s key customers who also made the trip to Japan placed an order for a Mitsubishi ML-3015 45CFR. If you’re considering upgrading your current laser, or adding laser processing to your production capabilities, Mitsubishi Laser will be an exceptional choice for your organisation.

Featuring laser power up to 6kW and sheet capacities up to 6000 x 3000mm, there’s a Mitsubishi laser for practically all applications.

NOW THAT’S APPLIED THINKING.

To find out more: Call: 03 9706 8066 YOUTUBE LOGO SPECS Email: sales@appliedmachinery.com.au PRINT on light backgrounds Visit: www.appliedmachinery.com.au main red

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Food & Beverages

Australia’s food industry is the quiet workhorse of the national economy, comprising thousands of businesses from the biggest global consumer goods companies to small, often family-owned firms. Despite difficult economic conditions, the industry shows plenty of signs of strong growth opportunities. By Barbara Schulz.

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Food & Beverages

With an annual turnover in the 2011-12 financial year of $111bn, Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing industry makes a substantial contribution to the nation’s prosperity. Manufacturing of food, beverages and groceries in the fast-moving consumer goods sector is Australia’s largest manufacturing industry, accounting for over one-quarter of the total manufacturing industry in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), it employed 225,100 people in 2012-13, representing around 23.6% of total manufacturing employment.

ABB’s collaborative robot prototypes almost look like a real coworker. They come as portable dual-arm units with a controller that is integrated into the torso. They can be carried around easily and mounted into workstations with minimum installation requirements. Due to the intrinsic safety of the proposed robot solution, the requirements for performing a safety assessment of the installation are minimised. Normally, no safeguarding or enclosing of any kind is required, which allows for very fast installation, commissioning and relocation.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) sees significant growth potential. AFGC CEO Gary Dawson says: “The findings of the State of the Industry 2013 report demonstrates that, while the Australian food and grocery manufacturing sector – Australia’s largest manufacturing sector – is facing an environment where input costs are rising on everything from commodities to labour to energy, encroaching regulations are adding to compliance costs and retail price deflation continues to cut margins, there are signs of significant growth potential, in particular a 26% increase in capital investment in food manufacturing as suppliers increase investment in productivity initiatives such as automation and other cost reduction programs.”

Sydney-based TNA Solutions is a leading global supplier of integrated food packaging and processing solutions, with over 7000 systems installed across more than 120 countries.

Automation and integration “While the food industry is under a lot of pressure and the Aussie dollar is around 20% above average, there are signs that confidence is coming back,” says Peter Bradbury, Channel Manager – Robotics at ABB Australia.

“While robots tend to be primarily used in the food packaging area, we see a noticeable trend towards automation in the processing side of the food and beverage industry.”

According to Bradbury, while automation becomes more and more affordable, the acceptance of automation in the food processing and packaging industry is increasing, and major companies have announced enormous levels of investment.

“Without that sort of investment, the Australian food industry will struggle to compete with imports,” he says. “We see robots being more and more accepted in meat processing applications now and the most noticeable trend is towards collaborative robots.

The major drivers are labour costs and OH&S issues, as there is a lot of repetition work and hygienic requirements in the food and beverage industry.”

According to Regional Sales Manager Paul Irwin, the food and beverage industry in Australia is highly dynamic, driven by consumer demand for variety, quality and value.

“The food and beverage packaging market is propelled by new product innovation, which helps manufacturers create real consumer appeal and stay one step ahead of the competition,” says Irwin. “As a result of these trends, we see great potential in the market and we expect this to continue in the future.”

TNA sees three key demands that are governing change in the food and beverage packaging industry: total integration, performance and flexibility.

“In today’s market, manufacturers are increasingly looking for fully integrated, seamless processing and packaging lines,” Irwin says.

“TNA is able to meet this demand and take it one step further by providing intelligent systems across the entire production line.

“Performance has always been a top priority. However, with continuing downward pressure on pack sizes and rising labour costs, there is a necessity for high-level performance. Food and beverage manufacturers looking to optimise yield, per capita and per square metre, require reporting systems that capture and analyse output data to enable continuous improvement.”

Performance is certainly among the top priorities for local companies to remain competitive and also to succeed internationally – and food and beverage exports are on the rise.

Continued next page

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Food & Beverages

While robots tend to be primarily used in the food packaging area, there is a noticeable trend towards automation in the processing side of the food and beverage industry.

Export opportunities There are encouraging signs of solid export growth in processed foods and beverages, as suppliers respond to emerging market opportunities including the growing Asian middle class. According to the AFGC, this has significantly contributed to three consecutive years of improving trade surplus in processed food and beverage products.

Valentina Tripp, KPMG Consulting National Leader for Consumer Products, notes: “The increase in exports for value-added foods such as meat processing, grain mill products and fruits and vegetables is encouraging and we expect to see this trend continue.”

Bradbury agrees. He believes there is a huge market for products made and packed in Australia, such as dairy products including milk sold to China, and even the fresh meat industry, which is seeing more and more interest from overseas consumers.

Steer feels many Australian companies seem incapable or disinterested in competing internationally.

Flexcube sales have grown 20% each year for the past five years. It posted annual sales of $2.45m after tax for the 2012-13 financial year and is on track to hit $3.6m in after-tax sales for the 12 months to 30 June 2014.

The company has raised around $2m in the past six years from 57 Australian and international investors.

Indeed, the Australian food and beverage industry is in general an interesting target for investors, both local and international.

Investments are positive and necessary for local companies to remain globally

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“Exports to China increased by $770m (44% on the previous year) with the meat processing and human pharmaceutical sectors accounting for 85% of this increase,” confirms Ms Tripp. “Despite a tough time for the dairy sector domestically, the sector presents strong potential to capitalise on growing global demand, particularly in the Asian markets. Investment in R&D and innovation to leverage Australia’s highquality, clean, green and safe food supply systems is key to long-term sector growth.”

Embracing innovation According to ABS figures, companies in the food & beverage industry spend $535m a year on research and development (R&D).

For Melbourne wine barrel innovator Flexcube, international sales could account for around half of annual turnover by the middle of the year, based on demand in “New World” wine regions in the United States and South America. The company is targeting growth of more than 40% to $5.2m after tax, for the 2014-15 financial year, provided it can maintain its current trajectory.

However, this will test the determination of owner and Chief Executive Peter Steer to keep manufacturing his patented oxygenbreathing­polymer and oenological oak wine barrels in Australia.

Speaking to The Australian Financial Review from California’s Napa Valley, Steer expressed disappointment and pessimism about the future of Australian manufacturing in general. “Our cost base is way too high,” he said. “I look at our industry and sometimes despair at the competition at global level.”

competitive. The AFGC’s State of the Industry 2013 report finds that companies ploughed $31bn into capital investment, as exports increased while the number of imports declined.

“At TNA, we believe continued investment in R&D and product development is extremely important,” says Paul Irwin. “Not only does it give us a platform to keep pace with industry trends, but often gives us the opportunity to drive innovations that will benefit our customers’ businesses, creating the basis for a strong partnership.”

The Roflo HM 3 horizontal motion distribution conveyor from TNA.

There are quite a few interesting Australian innovations in this sector. For example, bandsaws are an essential tool in the meat processing industry, but they also pose a high risk to health and safety. Typically, up to 20 bandsaw cuts are required in breaking down a carcase into component retail parts, including bone-in items like T-bones and OP ribs. But bandsaw use can, and does result in severe accidents in the workplace. This high incidence rate, coupled with significant injury costs, has driven the industry to seek effective alternative solutions.

Food & Beverages ML Australia and Machinery Automation & Robotics developed the BladeStop technology, which uses a bandsaw brake mechanism to reduce risks of serious injury.

Under a five-year project with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), equipment and technology company Machinery Automation & Robotics has developed the BladeStop technology. Its uses a unique design for a bandsaw brake mechanism to reduce risks of serious injury by mechanically stopping the blade when the unit senses that an operator has come in contact with it. The blade stops moving within 15 milliseconds of detecting contact with an operator, which can be the difference between a minor ‘nick’ and a major, debilitating injury like an amputated finger.

MAR reports that sales have already been

made into beef and sheep meat-processing plants in Western Australia, Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

BladeStop sales are going into a variety of applications, but the bulk of them have been installed in boning rooms and cutting rooms.

Others have gone into further-processing and value-adding applications. One of the early adopters has been Australian Country Choice in Brisbane.

Another interesting invention is the Plastic Bottle Crusher, developed by John Cross, which helps cut waste to make food service and other industries greener and more cost effective. Also known as “OzCrushers”,

the Gold Coast inventor won Best Green StartUp at the 2012 StartupSmart Awards and his innovation has attracted international interest.

To support the food manufacturing sector, global food manufacturing giant Mondeléz International has begun construction on stage two of the Food Innovation Centre at Ringwood, Victoria, continuing the company’s largest ever Australian investment in new technologies and innovations. The company says it is primarily focused on unlocking consumer insights and product innovation for export into Asian markets where demand was increasing, and opportunities were significant. According to Mondeléz, the objective will be to align its innovation and marketing assets to appeal to 1.6bn Asian consumers.

Mondeléz aims to connect small-to-mediumsized enterprises, people, State and Federal governments, industry, higher education and technology through collaborative programs.

It says the aim is to develop and share insights and build the platform to deliver “world-class innovations”.

We look forward to seeing the results. www.afgc.org.au www.abb.com www.tnasolutions.com www.mla.com.au www.machineryautomation.com.au www.mondelezinternational.com www.flexcubegroup.com

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Food & Beverages

Onsite N2 generation helps spread Wild Oats Robert Oatley Vineyards realised significant cost savings by switching from bottled nitrogen to onsite generation, with help from Compressed Air and Power Solutions (CAPS) Australia.

Winemaking has changed little over the centuries: a simple matter of fermenting grape juice with the addition of yeast. Creating great wine is still an art, but the modern appetite for vintage-quality wines at affordable prices is moulding the culture of winemaking world-wide. To satisfy escalating demand, winemakers face the challenge of maximising output while producing wines that are true to traditional methods. With oak barrels increasingly replaced by stainless steel processing vats, and precision-controlled crushing technologies substituted for pounding human feet, winemakers are taking their craft into the modern era of automation.

Robert Oatley Vineyards blends traditional winemaking values with precise management of processing technologies, from vine to bottle. This enables the winery to increase production to meet modern demands, reduce overheads, and minimise its environmental impact, while consistently producing the complex flavours and colours that consumers seek.

Robert Oatley is a fifth-generation Australian who established the Rosemount Estate in the 1960s, producing his first commercial vintages in the early 1970s. For more than 30 years his wine has been locally produced and globally marketed, gaining many accolades along the way. In 2006, after a brief period away from winemaking, Oatley bought a property in Mudgee, NSW, and established Robert Oatley Vineyards, comprising a superb vineyard and the region’s largest winery. The primary markets for the vineyard include Australia, the USA, some of the Pacific islands, China and the UK. Its award-winning Wild Oats brand has proven a great success, becoming one of the nation’s top-selling wines within two years of being released.

From vine to bottle Robert Oatley Vineyards combines time-honoured viticultural methods with current-day automated mechanical processes. Once harvested, the grapes are crushed, chilled, fermented and bottled, transforming grapes into award-winning wines. With a production capability of thousands of bottles per day, the Robert Oatley Wines bottling facility represents a production application of the highest order.

Required for nearly every stage of the bottling process, compressed nitrogen is a vital component of the winery’s operations. CAPS Australia supplied the compressors that power a significant proportion of the equipment used in the winery and bottling facility.

However, during a support visit to the winery, Matthew Broadbent, CAPS’ Senior Sales Engineer in NSW, noticed that the winery was using bottled nitrogen for some of the company’s processes.

“I quickly realised that the winery was spending more than necessary on its nitrogen requirements,” said Broadbent. “So I put together a proposal that I was sure could save them money.”

After the winery decided to go ahead with the full nitrogen package as specified by CAPS, Broadbent explained the resulting cost savings exceeded expectations. The nitrogen-generating equipment proposed was the Inmatec IMT-PN 1650, which provides an output of 37 cubic metres per hour. The previous bottled nitrogen restricted the winery to 150 cubic metres per day.

“The new equipment at Robert Oatley Vineyards has cut the price per cubic metre of nitrogen per day by more than 75%,” added Broadbent.

According to Philip Griffin, Production Manager at the winery, nitrogen can now be used throughout the winery, not just the bottling line: “We have been able to refine our processes to enhance production,” he said.

Matthew Broadbent from CAPS and the Inmatec IMT-PN 1650 nitrogen generator.

On the bottling line, nitrogen is used to purge the lines after sterile water has been pumped through them. In order to minimise oxidation, nitrogen is also used while transferring wine to bottles.

“To achieve this, the filler bowl has a head of nitrogen and gas is forced into the liquid and the sealing capsule,” Griffin added.

Crushing grapes is at the heart of the winemaking process. Robert Oatley Vineyards has several pneumatic wine-presses of various load capacities that squeeze the juice from the berries. The amount of crushing required depends on the type of wine. According to Griffin, compressed air provides an ideal means of accurately controlling the pressure of the press.

“Depending on the wine variety being produced, the grapes will undergo various stages of pressing,” said Griffin. “Accurate control of the presses is crucial to the quality of the finished product. The reliability of the CAPS compressor unit provides us with high levels of product controllability.”

Refrigerated dryers and filtration equipment are included in the compressed air system to ensure the food-grade quality of the compressed air.

“If one of the bag presses gets punctured, we can be sure that our product has not been contaminated,” said Griffin.

Environmental blend A vineyard’s success is dependent on the health of the earth, so it stands to reason that Robert Oatley Vineyards believes in protecting and nurturing its environment. The compressors and nitrogen generators use environmentally-friendly compressor lubricant and noise pollution is kept to a minimum.

“The compressors are installed in areas where a number of our staff are permanently located,” said Griffin. “The compressors supplied by CAPS are relatively quiet, which protects our workers and maintains a tranquil atmosphere.”

CAPS’ relationship with the winemaker is ongoing. A regular service schedule is carried out by the compressor company’s qualified technicians to ensure the reliable and long-lasting operation of all the compressed gas systems. With the upgraded compressed air system and nitrogen generators operating effectively, the winery can concentrate on its primary job – producing Robert Oatley’s distinctive range of wines for the world. www.robertoatley.com www.capsaust.com.au

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Food & Beverages

Research award for Ladybird robot developer University of Sydney robotics expert Professor Salah Sukkarieh has been awarded “Researcher of the Year” by the Australian vegetable industry’s peak body Ausveg for his work on intelligent farm robots, in particular the “Ladybird”.

The Ladybird was designed and built specifically for the vegetable industry with the aim of creating a ground robot with supporting intelligent software and the capability to conduct autonomous farm surveillance, mapping, classification, and detection for a variety of different vegetables.

Sukkarieh, who leads a research team dedicated to the advancement of agricultural robotics, says his group aims to redefine key areas of field robotics such as sensory technology, materials development and complex autonomous mechanisms.

He says the automation of on-farm processes is poised to play a decisive role in minimising input and maximising output of future agriculture. Automation can help to increase efficiency and yield, by having many manual tasks performed by specially designed agricultural robotic devices.

“Ladybird focuses on broad acre agriculture and is solar-electric powered. It has an array of sensors for detecting vegetable growth and pest species, either plant or animal,” says Sukkarieh. “She also has a robotic arm for the purposes of removing weeds as well as the potential for autonomous harvesting.”

According to Sukkarieh the Ladybird’s first field trip, recently conducted in Cowra, was a success. The robot was able to drive fully autonomously up and down rows and from one row to the next, while gathering sensor data.

“Sensors include lasers, cameras and hyper spectral cameras,” he adds. “Part of our research program is to find new ways to provide valuable information to growers about the state of their paddocks.”

The solar-electric powered bot was charged before heading to the onion, beetroot and spinach farms of Cowra and was fully operational for three consecutive days on the farm. Future testing of the Ladybird will included a robot manipulator arm located under the vehicle that has potential for spot sensing or spot sampling and looking towards automated harvesting. www.sydney.edu.au

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AMT AUGUST 2014

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Food & Beverages

Manufacturing on the menu at foodpro Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22-25 June, foodpro brought together exhibits from right across the food & beverages industry. Among them were a number of Australian manufacturers who are taking a bite out of the sector. By William Poole.

As you walk around foodpro, it seems in many ways much like any other manufacturing trade show. There’s the hustle and bustle as visitors hurry around the aisles, trying to see as much of the show as possible in the limited time available. There’s the constant chatter of exhibitors, establishing leads and making deals on their stands. There are technical presentations, educational seminars, and the steady drone of machinery demonstrations.

But in other ways, it seems different to other manufacturing exhibitions. Lavish displays of meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables line the aisles. A lot of the stands are offering free samples of food for visitors to taste. And in one corner, there is the distinct aroma of frying onions. It’s enough to make anyone hungry. foodpro is Australasia’s largest and longest-running food manufacturing trade show. This was the first time the event had been held in Melbourne, and the decision appears to have been a resounding success. The show’s organisers reported the largest foodpro staged to date, with more exhibitors than ever before, and prelimary figures suggesting a total attendance of around 9300 visitors. The feedback from the show floor was that exhibitors were really delighted with the quality of visitors.

“So far we’ve had more exhibitors than we’ve ever had, and our visitor numbers are up,” said Exhibition Manager Peter Petherick.

In total there were 341 exhibitors, covering the entire spectrum of the food & beverages industry here in Australia. There were sections covering processing equipment, packaging and handling, while a technical area showcased food science and technology, including ingredients, additives and flavourings. And while the equipment suppliers included various international names that you might expect at any manufacturing trade show, it was pleasing to see so many Australian manufacturers present as well.

Opening doors on a sector One such company was MTI Qualos. AMT readers will probably be familiar with MTI as a supplier of manufacturing equipment, notably metrology tools. However, the company – founded in 1946 – has for a long time had a burgeoning sideline manufacturing industrial door solutions, and these were the focus of its presence at foodpro.

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The company has been manufacturing PVC flexible swing and strip doors since 1970, before diversifying into high-speed “rollfast” doors in 1988. Last year it also began producing industrial, insulated traffic doors.

This continual diversification and expansion has been matched by steady growth, with the industrial doors range now accounting for 40% of MTI’s business. Aside from a few components and materials that can only be sourced overseas, the doors are entirely Australian made, at MTI’s plant in Heidelberg, Melbourne.

MTI sells its door solutions to customers from across the manufacturing industry – Boeing alone has something like 70 high-speed doors in one plant. It has even installed them in a number of prisons.

However, the food sector represents a key market, where its client list covers the entire food production spectrum from farm to supermarket.

compete with local producers. Moreover, the marketplace in Australia has become increasingly crowded.

“There’s a lot of competition,” says Lozanovski. “Years ago, a five-metresquare, high-speed door would sell for nothing less than $20k, installed.

Nowadays you’d be lucky to get $13k. The competition is so great, I think there’s 13 high-speed door companies in Australia now.”

Nonetheless, domestic sales have remained strong, and exhibiting at foodpro looks likely to deliver further positive

“Key customers would be anybody associated with food, really,” says Mil Lozanovski, MTI’s National Sales Manager.

“Coles, Woolworths, IGA, FoodWorks.

Then you have all your main players – people like the old MeadowLea. Kraft is a big one, actually. Nestle, Mondolese.”

Continuing to manufacture in Australia inevitably has presented challenges for MTI. Exports used to account for around 30% of the doors’ sales, with major markets in New Zealand and Malaysia. However, this figure has fallen to around 5% as the strong dollar has made it impossible to

Equipment on display at the Smo-King Ovens stand.

Food & Beverages

Hall Food Equipment

Thompson Meat Machinery

outcomes for MTI. “The last two or three months have been really good for us,” says Lozanovski. “The show hasn’t been too bad. We actually suggested that they should have another go at it in Melbourne because a lot of people do attend shows here. We ended up with about 70 leads, and they were good leads.”

Strong showing for Aussie manufacturers Another company reporting a strong set of results from foodpro was Thompson Meat Machinery “FoodPro has been exceptional. We’ve exceeded our targets,” says Rod Sammon, Managing Director of Thompson. “We’d been a little bit concerned about coming to Melbourne, but it’s been far better than any show we’ve done in Australia before.”

Based in Crestmead, Queensland, Thompson started out in the late 1970s as a maintenance business, and has subsequently grown into the largest manufacturer of meat-processing machinery in Australia. The company exports to numerous countries around the world including the US, Canada, the UK, Scandinavia and around the Asia-Pacific region.

“I think we’ve got great strength in our domestic market, and we’re leaders here,” says Sammon. “In the rest of the world, the biggest challenge is purely the distance, getting the product over to the overseas customers, and the lead times.

It’s much more convenient for them to buy locally. But we do have some exceptional products that are patented, and we have a good reputation, so we have a reasonable success over there.”

Occupying a similar sector of the market is Hall Food Equipment. Entirely Australian-

The MTI Qualos stand.

owned and -operated, the company has been manufacturing food and butchery equipment from its plant in Sydney since 1945. The company’s range is 100%-manufactured in Australia, and the company has no plans to change that.

“The quality that we can produce here is actually better than the quality that comes from Europe,” says Rajeev Kapoor of Hall Food. “We’re happy with Australian labour costs and the market is responding well because we produce a quality product.”

Hall Food’s primary customer base remains in Australia, with New Zealand representing its second big market. However, the company is expanding its activities overseas and is now exporting to the US and Europe, as well as to the Middle East and India.

On the Smo-King Ovens stand, the equipment on show was presented alongside a range of the foods that it could be used to prepare, from cured meats to smoked cheeses. And as the end of foodpro drew near, a number of ‘SOLD’ signs had been hung as well.

“The show has been very good,” says John Hodgkinson, Smo-King’s Managing Director. “Both the ovens on the stand have been sold. And we’ve had some excellent enquiries, about a whole range of equipment. But the smoke ovens are our own, and that group of customers are special to us.”

Smo-King started out 18 years ago in Sydney, manufacturing commercial foodsmoking ovens, mostly for retail butcher shops. Over time the company began to import a range of special-purpose equipment, to the point where today it is involved in everything from poultryprocessing to frozen pizza. However, the company remains primarily focused on its own product line.

“The smoke ovens are very important to us as they’re the basis of the business and they’re the constant,” says Hodgkinson.

“They have quite a wide application – they’re involved in meat-processing, fishprocessing, they’re going into restaurants that want to do the American-style barbecue. They are a regular, constant part of the business.”

Smo-King does all the design and development work, on the ovens, which are entirely Australian made except for certain electrical components that aren’t manufactured in Australia. In the course of a year the company sells around 50 ovens.

“Most of them go into Australia and New Zealand but this year we’ve sent them into PNG, we’ve sent them into Vietnam, we do have quite a number installed in SE Asia.

We have them in the UK.” Hodgkinson cites volume as the big challenge for Australian manufacturers of food equipment. The company operates in a niche market, so the move into supplying imported equipment from overseas manufacturers was a necessity to be able to sustain the business. Regulatory issues present a further obstacle. However, there are advantages as well.

“Food & Beverages is a good area to be in in many respects,” he explains. “Even with the ups and downs of the economy, people are still going to eat, so it’s a bit more stable. The challenges are knowing what the industry requires.” www.foodproexh.com www.mtiqualos.com www.tmach.com.au www.hallfood.com.au www.smo-kingovens.com.au

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Food & Beverages

Improving production with Lean manufacturing Utilising Lean techniques helped two Australian food and beverage industry manufacturers to improve product flow, productivity and safety, enabling them to grow their businesses more effectively.

A rethink on plant layout, material handling, smoother transitions between operations and a desire to improve overall company performance were common themes for both companies. The first, a manufacturer of food service equipment, wanted to take the opportunity for a plant relocation to improve how its vertically integrated production facility operated. The second, a juice manufacturer in Tasmania, needed to improve production flow to incorporate an additional six bottling lines. They turned to TXM Lean Solutions for assistance.

With the introduction of six more production lines to complement the juice products, Juicy Isle used Lean Thinking to streamline production.

The Roband problem Roband operates a factory in Sydney producing a range of food service products including toasters, sandwich grills and food display equipment. The old facility had poor production flow over multiple floors and buildings and a significant amount of storage for raw materials, stock, finished assemblies and work in progress.

TXM consultants conducted a full assessment of the business, identifying 14 product families and worked with management and supervisors to determine the most efficient work cells for each and how best to organise them in the production floor layout. Distances travelled for complete products, feed-in assemblies, material handling and takt time (the amount of time between consecutive unit completions to meet demand) were all taken into consideration.

Analysis of annual sales based on the 14 product families was conducted to better understand customer demand, seasonality, and consequently material forecasts for parts or finished assemblies.

Higher-volume items were given precedence in the layout and a hybrid pull system was developed to trigger production at key stages to satisfy finished goods replenishment based on takt time.

“One of our most popular products, the sandwich grill, started its assembly in sheetmetal folding, and then travelled more than 50 metres to a different floor for final assembly,” said Production Manager David Jarman. “With the reconfiguration of the plant layout, the furthest it goes is three metres.”

The Juicy Isle problem Tasmania-based Juicy Isle acquired two beverage companies during the past four years, Hartz Mineral Water and Wellington Springs, expanding its production facilities from two juice lines to incorporate six water-based lines for consumer and industrial markets. With little automation to swap from one production run to the next, Juicy Isle needed a simple methodology to streamline the changeover between products. TXM worked with Juicy Isle to identify production bottlenecks, calculate and reduce changeover times, and plan production scheduling to create a smoother, more efficient running of the plant.

“TXM showed us how 5S can be incorporated into our business functions to make our production facility a lot simpler to run,” said Michael Goward, General Manager of Juicy Isle. “With tools such as visual cues, kanbans and others, we have been able to have a designated place for everything and everything in its place. Work instructions, test results and efficiency measures are all in place to make the operation run smoothly.”

The benefits Both companies have seen immediate benefits since the implementation of the Lean processes by TXM. Juicy Isle saw productivity rise by as much as 20% in the first year, with steady increases in subsequent years. Overheads and lead times have been reduced and staff culture is far more positive as each member

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contributes to the overall operation. The company’s capacity to take on more orders has also seen improvement.

“It takes us far less time to complete a changeover from one product to the next than it did prior to Lean,” said Goward. “Before, it would be a hand-tweaked operation and would take several hours to get the line running well. Now, with proper work instructions and a more logical schedule, it can be done very quickly.

“The same can be said for our food compliance processes. Seven years ago, if we had an audit for HACCP, it would be a mad scramble to have everything in order. Now, with improved business operations as a matter of course, we can have a spot audit for HACCP or organic certification and know that all our operations are in order without having to change our day to day operations.”

Roband has seen productivity increases of 15% to 40% as a result of the new layout and introduction of work cells. Lead times have been halved and WIP (Work In Process) between processes has been reduced from around six weeks to three weeks and less, freeing up large amounts of factory space. Urgent orders under the work cell configuration can be quickly accommodated and the order fulfilled within days.

For example, the sandwich grill line had to triple its output for several days to fulfil an export order with a tight shipping deadline and this was made possible due to the inbuilt flexibility of the work cell design.

“The work cell layout means the staff on each product family line can visually see the status of the production flow and anticipate problems before they occur,” said Jarman. “For example, the metal folding operator can see the next process in the sandwich grill production line and feed the line based on demand, which means far less direct supervision and a smoother operation.

“Materials on each product family line are replenished using kanbans, and each line has a full complement of tools and equipment making it easier for everyone to do their job. We have found that staff are happier and work more harmoniously, staff turnover has dropped as has absenteeism and we are developing a far more stable and skilled workforce. The whole operation is now a lot more efficient and we no longer hit the panic button to complete an order.”

“In both these examples, where productivity and production flow were a problem, the implementation of Lean manufacturing techniques has made significant improvements in a relatively short period of time,” said Tim McLean, managing director of TXM Lean Solutions. “It doesn’t matter whether you produce food or equipment for food, the benefits can be achievable and a very effective.” www.txm.com.au

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Cutting Tools

Tooling and application strategies for parting-off and grooving Tool manufacturers employ innovative tooling designs as well as advanced coolant delivery strategies to meet the special requirements of parting-off and grooving processes. By Carlos Bueno-Martinez, Global Product Manager Parting-off & Grooving, Seco Tools.

The basic goals of parting-off and grooving are the same as those for general turning operations: achieving the desired shape of the part being machined, meeting specifications for accuracy, and maximising productivity. In addition, however, parting-off and grooving applications are distinguished by specific issues in regard to tool strength and rigidity as well as chip control.

Like general turning operations, parting-off and grooving processes involve rotating a workpiece and cutting it with a stationary tool.

The first consideration is configuring a cutting tool system that will produce the desired part shape. As a result, the designs of partingoff and grooving tool systems vary according to the size and depth of the features being machined. For deep grooving and partingoff operations on large parts, as well as for shallow grooving and cut-off on smaller parts, tool manufacturers – for instance – will offer on-edge or tangential-configuration parting-off and grooving inserts that are clamped directly in a holder.

One example is Seco Tools’ new line of star-shaped tangential design inserts with four cutting edges, called the X4 series.

Available in cutting widths from 0.5mm to 3mm, the inserts are engineered to minimise material consumption in parting-off and enable precise grooving and copying of small and medium-sized complex parts. Depending on the cutting edge width, the tool’s maximum cutting depth ranges from 2.6mm to 6.5mm and can cut off maximum bar diameters from 5.2mm to 13mm. The inserts’ tangential design directs cutting forces into the holder to maximise rigidity, stability and productivity.

Following determination of the basic insert shape, choice of the lead angle of the cutting edge is a key factor in parting-off and grooving effectiveness. A zero-degree lead angle tool provides perpendicular alignment to the workpiece and transfers cutting forces directly into the toolholder, which enhances accuracy, tool life and surface finish. As parting-off is completed, however, a zerodegree tool leaves a small knob or pip at the centre of the bar being cut off. If the pip is undesirable, using a tool with a slight lead angle will cut off the pip as it passes through the centre of the part.

Lead angle tools also are less prone to generate burrs in some workpiece materials.

After the basic tool configuration is set, workpiece material characteristics generally dictate the insert grade that will machine a part most efficiently. A tough workpiece material or interrupted cut will indicate use of an insert grade biased towards strength and impact resistance, while a particularly abrasive workpiece will require an insert grade engineered for wear resistance. Tool coatings such as Seco’s Duratomic CVD aluminium-oxide coating are used to fine-tune tool characteristics for specific workpiece materials and toolpaths.

Application recommendations There are certain specific setup recommendations for parting-off and grooving tools. Care should be taken to mount the tool so the blade is truly perpendicular to the axis of the workpiece. This minimises axial forces on the tool and will prevent rubbing on the sides of the insert. Regarding tool position, the centre height of the cutting edge should be as close to the centre of the workpiece as possible, within +/- 0.1mm, again to avoid putting excessive pressure on the tool and possibly decreasing tool life.

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Cutting parameters for parting-off and grooving tools differ somewhat from those employed in general turning. If spindle speed is constant, the cutting speed of the parting-off tool decreases to zero when it reaches the centre of the bar. The slowing speed puts heavy stress on the tool and can lead to built-up edge. As a result, feed rate should be reduced up to 75% as the tool reaches the centre of the part. In addition, cutting speed can be adjusted to minimise vibration. The inserts used in parting-off and grooving operations are usually narrow, which can tend to produce instability in the cut. Therefore, holding the insert in the shortest blade possible and clamping it in the largest tool shank that will not interfere with the workpiece will also help control vibration. Ensuring rigidity of the machine tool itself, a necessity in any machining operation, will also serve to dampen unwanted vibration.

Chip control challenges The limited space in the cutting zone characteristic of partingoff and grooving operations creates challenges regarding control of the chips produced in machining. Especially in the partingoff process, the cutting tool is surrounded on both sides by workpiece material while in the cut, restricting the chips’ path of escape. Finally, depending on the workpiece material, the thin chips generated in parting-off and grooving operations tend not to break. An uncontrolled continuous chip can jam in the cut, mar the workpiece, and endanger the operator. In addition, chip control problems will preclude untended or “lights out” operation.

Many tools for parting-off and grooving feature cutting edge geometries with features engineered to bend the chip and break it if possible. Seco’s example is its MC chip-breaking geometry.

If surface finish and other considerations permit, a pause in tool feed – known as dwelling – during the cut can help break chips.

Another method for chip control is application of coolant, which can flush away chips that otherwise might clog the cutting zone.

However, traditional flood coolant usually has insufficient pressure to reach the “cutting zone” in parting-off and grooving applications.

Cutting Tools

Additionally, it is difficult to position flood coolant nozzles for optimum placement of the coolant stream. Finally, the relatively weak flow of flood coolant may turn to steam in the cutting zone and actually form an insulating barrier that can contain, instead of dissipate, the heat generated in the cutting process.

An alternative to flood coolant is coolant applied at high pressure and as close to the cutting edge as possible. Today’s machine tool coolant pumps generally provide coolant at pressures between 20 bar and 70 bar. Seco’s coolant delivery tooling system, for instance, offers the versatility to operate from low pressures with some productivity impact at around 5 bar to high pressures at 70 bar, as well as extended capacity of 275 bar.

For maximum effectiveness, high-pressure coolant must be delivered in a targeted fashion, as close to the cutting zone as possible. Tool manufacturers have developed a number of highpressure coolant delivery systems. A popular method involves routing the coolant through the cutting insert. Seco has determined, however, that the most effective coolant flow generates a “wedge” between the insert rake cutting zone and the chip, lifting the chip and breaking it off. It is apparent that when coolant is channelled through cutting inserts, it is difficult to direct the stream into the optimum direction to create the wedge. It is not enough to get the coolant in the neighbourhood of the cutting zone; to act as a wedge, the stream must be positioned closer to and directed towards the cutting edge.

Consequently, Seco developed a coolant delivery system called Jetstream Tooling that directs high-pressure coolant through inducers located in the toolholders themselves. The small-diameter apertures of the inducers generate an acute, high-velocity stream of coolant that can penetrate and lubricate the high-friction zone between the workpiece and tool’s cutting edge. Recently, in an innovation aimed at controlling chips in difficult operations, the company has incorporated what it calls Jetstream Tooling Duo technology in its X4 parting-off and grooving toolholders. This method delivers coolant from two outlets. In addition to upper jets that are directed to the optimal point of the rake face, the new Duo technology uses an additional coolant jet to flush the clearance surface. The cutting edge receives high-pressure coolant from two opposite directions – above and below – maximising control of chip flow as well as cooling the cutting zone.

Specialised applications Chip control is especially essential when processing hard-tomachine workpiece materials such as titanium alloys and stainless steel. These materials provide high strength and high resistance to heat and wear, and are often used in high-value parts in the aerospace, power generation and medical industries. But the very characteristics that make these materials excellent for use in critical applications decrease their machinability. Chip-breaking depends on chips absorbing and being softened by the heat generated in cutting, but titanium alloys, for example, are poor conductors of heat that produce tough chips that are hard to break.

Sharp tools with high positive rake can cut materials like titanium alloys productively. However, to control chips and maximise productivity, high-pressure coolant delivery tooling is often needed.

The combination of targeted coolant flow and the wedge effect between the insert rake face and chip results in chips that break into smaller, more easily managed pieces.

Conclusion Parting-off and grooving processes make up an important subset of turning operations. They also provide a number of singular challenges. The restricted cutting zone characteristic of these processes requires careful consideration of basic tool shape, geometry, and insert materials, as well as set-up details and cutting parameters. Chip control, a concern in any machining operation, becomes more critical when space is tight and narrow cuts produce chips that are thin and hard to break. Tool manufacturers have developed chip control geometries that can help solve this problem, and cutting strategies such as feed pauses can contribute as well.

High-pressure coolant provided in a carefully-targeted fashion can be an excellent way to control chips. Because uncontrolled chips require constant operator oversight, a major benefit of consistent chip control is gaining the ability to perform lights out/untended or minimally tended machining operations. The coolant also provides the same advantages it offers in other machining operations, including longer tool life and/or the ability to increase cutting parameters.

Together, the tools, techniques, and innovation of today’s partingoff and grooving tooling enable users to maximise productivity in this specialised but important group of machining processes. www.secotools.com AMT AUGUST 2014

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Cutting Tools

Increasing productivity through a holistic approach For manufacturing companies, the creation of value begins with the first chip removed. However, all the steps in tool logistics before and after machining are associated with costs, even though they do not generate turnover.

Cutting tools supplier Walter has recognised this and offers its customers tool management under its Multiply brand. Where required, this service relieves the customer of all non-value-adding activities related to the machining process, or optimises them jointly with the customer.

Before a component can be machined, many preparatory steps are necessary: The manufacturing company must order tools, book the incoming goods, deal with the inventory and administration, select the tool for machining, fit the components, preset the tool and transport it from the presetting location to the machine. The work created after the machining process is nearly as involved: the employees must disassemble the tool and return all the disassembled parts to the stores, and the tool cutting edges must either be stored, reground or recoated. When the end of the tool life is reached, it must be recycled.

There are three sectors within the Multiply brand that support the customer with all operations relating to machining. Firstly, Walter’s experts deal with production solutions relating to the planning process with the goal of optimising the production process. Next, its software experts support the processes through suitable software solutions, such as analysis tools. Thirdly, its logistic solutions division covers all upstream and downstream administrative activities relating to the tool in series production.

“The customer is a specialist in their component, and Walter is a specialist in precision tools. Tool management by Walter Multiply unites the expertise of both partners,” explains Markus Görg, Tool Management Expert at Walter Multiply. “With intelligent tool management, the customer can improve their processes and achieve transparency concerning cost structure. Walter has positioned itself as a technology and productivity partner for its customers by providing optimum use of the tool, improved stockholding and the correct cutting times, tool life and selection of cutting tool material.”

Customised solutions, modular structure At Walter Multiply, services are always modular in structure, which means that an individual solution for each customer is put together from existing modules. The advantage for the customer is that they only pay for what is really needed, while at the same time, they can be sure that the services provided cover all of their needs.

Therefore, the actual tool management process varies depending on the individual requirements of the customer.

Two examples demonstrate this in practice: A Russian customer from the automotive industry asked Walter for support with tool management in autumn 2010. After a long design phase, the company signed the contract in mid-2011 and outsourced its complete tool management to Walter. Five Walter employees – a project manager and four assistants – work on-site in a three-shift operation on the customer’s manufacturing floor, so that at least one Walter tool manager is always available to support the customer’s processes throughout the entirety of production.

The Walter team looks after managing the warehouse, transporting the tools to the machine and back to the warehouse, and optimising tools. Payment is based on the workpieces machined.

The software tool sysCut was also installed by Walter to identify hidden production potential. With only a few mouse clicks, this permits a holistic overview of the production status. It is then

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Markus Görg, Tool Management Expert at Walter Multiply.

possible to track in detail what, when, where, how and in what time production was and is occurring. In this way, the relationship between output and input – in short, productivity – can be measured as one of the most important orientation factors in the company. Where are the starting points for improvements?

What is achieved with the measures introduced? Can traceable, measurable improvements really be made? Analysis software can be used to provide useful answers to central questions such as these.

Another Walter customer, an automotive supplier in western Germany, however, only uses specific areas of tool management.

Because of this, a permanent Walter team is not required here at the customer’s site; instead, the responsible field service employee deals with all open tasks once or twice a week. Among other things, these tasks include reporting functions, optimising tools and processes through to filling the tool-dispensing machine that Walter has installed there.

Walter supplies all the tools that the customer requires for machining its components – the customer pays a fixed charge per machined workpiece. For the customer, this results in the advantage of a very transparent cost structure. The customer knows in advance the charge that is incurred per component for using the metal cutting tools as well as the monthly production quantities. The monthly tool costs can be calculated very easily from this.

This project began in May 2011 with one component, and was subsequently expanded step by step. Today, Walter uses this model with the customer to invoice eight different components that are manufactured almost entirely with Walter tools. In doing so, the customer transfers part of the process responsibility to Walter, under an ongoing partnership between the customer and the supplier.

Unlike the holistic service package that the Russian customer receives from Walter, the company in western Germany looks after all administrative activities itself, such as assembly, tool-presetting and disassembly of the tool. Reconditioning and recycling of the tools in use is part of the service package and is undertaken by the tool specialists at Walter.

“Depending on the specific requirements of the customer, Walter is more or less deeply integrated in the customer’s processes,” explains Görg. “Walter always focuses on the customer’s processes and aims at generating added value for the customer.”

Cutting Tools

Tool-dispensing machines simplify daily work at the machine, minimise inventory costs and keep all necessary tools available 24 hours a day.

During the first integration level, Walter assists the customer with optimising its warehouse management. Specifically, this involves reducing tool inventories, generating cost transparency, guaranteeing the tool supply, and simplified order processing. Tool dispensing systems can be a means for achieving the required objective. From the next integration level, which involves supply chain solutions, tool management in the proper sense of the word begins, with Walter becoming more deeply integrated in the customer’s production. At the third level, unit cost solutions, which are suitable for mass production of medium-to-high quantities, are the supreme discipline of tool management and have the maximum integration.

Tool management from Walter covers the entire process from purchase through to recycling of the tool.

The more components in the process chain that can be handled from a single source, the better the individual components will harmonise with each other and the greater the optimisation potential will be.

“From procurement through to disposal, Walter Multiply is there as a holistic solutions provider for highly efficient processes that are connected seamlessly to the customer’s production environment,” says Görg. “It is a worthwhile step for many companies to return to the core competency of machining and to transfer everything that is subordinate to this process to a partner.” www.walter-tools.com

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AMT August 2014

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Cutting Tools

Boosting reliability in deeper parting-off A parting-off tool-system dedicated for depth and overhang is a necessity in machining operations today. To meet this need, Sandvik Coromant has developed CoroCut QD, a new concept in parting-off technology.

While it is always essential to minimise tool overhang in machining operations, long overhang can be unavoidable during parting-off of large-diameter bars or when extended reach is necessary. This leaves it up to the tool to compensate for the inherent instability of the operation and deliver the capability to ensure a safe, satisfactory operation that is also competitive.

CoroCut QD is a unique new tool system for parting off larger-diameter bars, as well as optimising cuts requiring longer tool overhang, such as when reaching past a sub-spindle. A number of criteria were fulfilled in the development of the concept, which extends the established CoroCut system of parting-off, grooving, turning and face-grooving tools.

As a pioneer in indexable-insert parting and grooving tools, Sandvik boasts vast experience in working with industry to optimise operations. From early in CoroCut QD’s development, Sandvik sought broad industry involvement in order to prioritise user requirements for deeper parting-off operations.

Process security was the leading point, while tool life was targeted to ensure a satisfactory number of cuts per edge. The development process focused on delivering user-friendly tooling and an easy-to-select, comprehensive program, with minimal bar material wasted through the cut, and good, reliable chip control and evacuation.

Industry demand also necessitated satisfactory surface finish coupled with optimised productivity, low machining-cost per cut, and high operational efficiency.

The demands on a parting-off tool increase in relation to the depth of the cut, so tool dedication to greater depth and reach is vital to success. In this context the plungingdepth relates to diameters of 38mm and larger on a turning machine, where bar-feed machines dominate, and 32mm on sliding head machines.

In parting-off, the plunge entails three stages: the main long cut through most of the bar; the approach towards the end of cut; and the short stage just before reaching the centre-line. Each stage makes distinct demands on the tool. The main cut involves cutting-edge durability, cutting action, chip control and chip evacuation, resulting in process efficiency, security and satisfactory surface finish. The levels attained are dependent on tool design and the level of technology.

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AMT August 2014

The end-of-cut approach is partly an application factor with suitable programming and certain precautions taken, as this has a huge impact on toollife and process security. The end-of-cut also needs precautionary programming as it makes considerable demands on the parting-off tool. The strength of the cutting edge, resistance to built-up-edge formation on the insert, and the durability of the insert coating are critical. Moreover, this must be combined with achieving insert-grade capability for high cutting speeds

and feeds during the main plunging cut.

As in all modern machining, insert development is a substantial factor in the evolution of the new concept. Dedicated deep-parting-off inserts with new geometries for all materials, chipbreaking where needed and wiper-cutting edges for surface finish are essential today. Inserts have also been designed to make optimum use of the precision-coolant jets applied as part of the QD concept. Lower cutting forces are generated, with chip control for efficient evacuation. New, improved insert grades have been established for the programme, where coating adhesion and edge-line security have been prioritised to cope with all plunge stages. A broad assortment of inserts ensures a good starting-off level and broad optimisation possibilities.

Overcoming blade limitations Relatively narrow blades are necessary in parting off, but how narrow can they be?

Material saving is often an issue when parting off bars is involved. CoroCut QD strikes a new balance between blade-width and performance-capability, partly thanks to blade-material development, where improved cutting-action from inserts and better location and support are key factors.

The new tool-steel alloy for the blades has considerably higher fatigue and bending

resistance, and better insert-seat properties.

The quality of the insert-location design plays a major role, and the QD-rail location provides a new level of performance, location, precision and reliability. The new interface between blade and insert makes possible dependable blade-widths of down to 2mm for deep parting-off operations.

Sandvik has pioneered high-precision coolants for a number of tool-types over the years. Coolant supplied and directed through nozzles as precision jets make a profound difference to machining performance, even at considerably lower pressure than the recommended optimum of 70bar. The CoroCut QD concept makes extensive use of high-precision coolant, in that the jets are directed from below and above to assist the cutting process and chip control, and limit tool wear.

Supplied through the inside of the toolblade, coolant is applied where it has the best effect and allows for improved performance.

Tools that are user-friendly is becoming more sought after in machining because of the difference they make to machine stoppages, as a security factor for correct tool changes and in setting- up. With the QD railinterface ensuring clear exact, firm insert location and clamping, the new concept makes tool changing easy and safe. This means foolproof insert changing without torque control and easy blade adjustment in the holder along with plug-and-play, highprecision coolant connection. Suitable for most machines, this takes a load and risk off operator and tool-room procedures and contributes to higher productivity through green-light machining.

There is often a tendency to under-perform machining operations in the name of security. Fear of a vulnerable tool being subjected to excessive demands is a common phenomenon in metal cutting but it can be overcome through correct application and trust in a qualified concept with proven performance.

CoroCut QD is the result of a combination and coordination of advances in cuttingtool technology. It provides a higher level of reliability to deeper parting-off operations, while saving material throughout a substantially longer tool-life. It also enables higher productivity thanks to higher performance and simplified, safe handling and selection. www.sandvik.com

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Maton Guitars Treasured by musicians around the globe, Maton Guitars is building on a reputation for quality craftsmanship via innovative manufacturing processes and an export strategy that is seeing the company take on the world. By William Poole.

The Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame gala dinner back in June saw awards for some of the very best of the state’s manufacturers.

But one of the biggest cheers of the night came with the induction of Maton Guitars into the Hall of Fame. Admittedly, much of the cheering came from the Maton table, but the applause from all corners was indicative of the respect for an Australian company that has achieved iconic status. And while Maton has won numerous honours in the music industry, it was welcome, and long overdue recognition for the company as a manufacturer.

Jazz musician Bill May founded his company in 1946, its name derived from “May” and the word “tone”. Starting out from a small workshop in the north Melbourne suburb of Thornbury, the company eventually moved to a factory in Canterbury, then an even larger facility in Bayswater. The company remained there for over a decade before relocating again 12 years ago, to Box Hill, east of Melbourne, and a purpose-built site four times as large as the Bayswater plant, and the growth trajectory shows no sign of slowing. “In the last ten years we’ve grown enormously,” says David Steedman, Maton’s General Manager. “We’ve gone from probably 3000 or 4000 guitars ten years ago to now we make over 8000 guitars per year.” That is not to say there haven’t been difficulties over the years. Most recently, Maton had to contend with the collapse a couple of years ago of a major customer who controlled around a quarter of the retail market for musical instruments in Australia. While this figure didn’t equate to 25% of Maton’s revenue stream, it had a significant impact nonetheless.

“That was a really challenging time for us,” recalls Steedman. “We saw at that point that there would be a contraction in the Australian music industry as a whole as a result of the loss of their marketing muscle, which had benefitted all music industry businesses throughout the country. But we’ve now got back to a better position – we’ve actually increased our sales.”

This increase has largely been achieved through exports, which has grown from 10%-12% a decade ago to in excess of 30% today, with mature markets in New Zealand and Germany, and a growing presence in Europe. Newer markets are also opening up in Japan and China, where the numbers have outstripped all the company’s projections.

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AMT MAY 2014

Today Maton remains resolutely family-run, with May’s daughter Linda and her husband Neville Kitchen now serving as the company’s directors. May himself passed away in 1993, but his legacy is a company with a roster of high-profile customers from across the music world, both here in Australia – Paul Kelly, Keith Urban, Tommy Emmanuel – and internationally – ranging from Pink to Josh Homme.

Even a certain Keith Richards recounts using a Maton on some of the Rolling Stones’ most famous recordings from the late 60s.

Craftsmanship meets innovation Cracking export markets is one step that can help to ensure survival as a manufacturer today. Another is innovation – embracing new technologies and advanced processes to boost efficiency. Touring the Maton factory, Steedman shows me what he describes as the “key engine room of the business” – the CNC area. Raw timber comes in, is dried and treated for processing, after which it’s placed on CNC machines to be cut into parts such as guitar bodies, bridges, fingerboards or necks. Steedman suggests such technology may appear incongruous amid Maton’s culture of hand-built, quality craftsmanship.

“Yes. That’s not a hand-made component, we do manufacture parts on our guitars. But from there it is hands-on for the remainder of the journey,” he says. “Our dedicated, hard-working, skilled craftsmen

company focus and women use those parts, and whether it be preparing the body for assembly, fitting the neck, the sanding or painting or setting the guitar up, it is hand-made for the entire journey of guitar parts into the finished product, which we are very proud of.”

Personally, I don’t think there’s a case to answer. The CNC machines have been employed on the most mundane, low-skilled aspects of the process of creating a guitar – none of the true craftsmanship has been replaced. And in the end, where do you draw the line? For example, the timber delivered to the factory has already been cut into neat blocks by the supplier – there’s no bark or leaves still clinging to it. You wouldn’t expect Maton to go out and hack down trees by hand. Besides, for the customer with very specific requirements, the company has run a custom shop since 2006, which is thriving.

Ultimately, Steedman points out, the adoption of CNC machinery has been vital to the business’ survival given the costs of running a manufacturing business in Australia. It seems like a pragmatic, and astute blending of modern technology with traditional craftsmanship.

And Maton’s culture of innovation and adaptation extends beyond the equipment it uses – Lean processes have been adopted on the factory floor, while social media is a core part of its marketing strategy.

Given the skill and care that goes into every Maton guitar, the people who make them are obviously crucial. Walking round the company’s premises, it’s clear that everyone who works there is fanatical about music, and that being there is more than just a job but a labour of love.

Amid constant competitive pressure from low-cost manufacturing countries, having the right team in place is vital for Maton.

“Training is absolutely crucial,” says Steedman. “We have a detailed induction program. In a sense we need to get over the romance that we make a beautiful and wonderful product for the world’s best musicians. And we work really hard and we have strong leadership on the floor.”

This mindset extends beyond the staff to Maton’s distribution network as well. Steedman stresses the importance of building strong relationships with distributors, given the specialised nature of the product.

“Our product is unique, and it’s really crucial that any potential distributor comes here to learn about us, learn about this business, about our production processes, learn about what sets us apart from the competitors in the marketplace. Because it’s important they pass that on to their customer, which is the retailers in their particular part of the world, and then obviously to the end-users.”

From threat to opportunity One interesting aspect of Maton’s sales growth in recent years is the opportunity presented by China. Usually, in stories about Australia, manufacturing, whenever the Asian superpower comes up, it tends

to take the form of a threat, in the competitive challenge posed by its vast, low-wage workforce. Yet as China’s economy continues to grow, so does the purchasing power of its people. And in increasing numbers, they are choosing to spend their new-found wealth on high-quality imported goods, creating a major new market for Maton.

“The world is turning. The Chinese are very willing to pay for a good brand and a quality product, so if they see a guitar that’s handcrafted in Australia, they really respect that and they’re willing to pay an extra dollar,” says Steedman. “Our branding has got significant recognition in the Chinese marketplace already, through Weibo and other social media platforms. We’ve got some ongoing research in the Chinese marketplace and our recognition there is stunning.”

If – as is regularly stated – the future for Australian manufacturing is in selling high-quality, high-value-add niche products to a global market, then Maton is surely a textbook case. The future arguably looks bright, but for Steedman the plan is to continue to improve, to make a better product, and to learn from the marketplace.

“We know that there is going to be hurdles along the way. We need to learn from that and get better and target our innovation to having a better product to send to the world. It’s a very exciting time.”

One possibility that is definitely not on the table is offshoring. Apart from the guitar strings and some pick-up components, every part of a Maton guitar is made under the one roof in Box Hill, and indeed most of the timber is sourced from within Australia. Steedman cites a major US competitor who can draw on the cheap labour across the border in Mexico, but he is adamant that Maton will not be emulating this strategy.

“Our absolute platform is Australian, hand-made product. Making a product here in Australia for the world stage. That’s our platform and will continue to be so. What we need to do is to continually improve.

We need to stay ahead of the curve, we need to be innovative, to invest in research and development to make it a better product here.

We ultimately won’t really be able to compete on price, so we need to compete on quality.

“I love the story of Paul Kelly,” adds Steedman. “Our director Linda was at Port Fairy Folk Festival, maybe 25 years ago, and Paul was playing an Asian-made guitar. Linda went up to him backstage and said ‘Why are you not playing an Australian guitar?’. His answer was ‘Because no-one makes one’. And she said straight to him ‘That’s bull****. You come to my factory on Monday’! He came, he bought a guitar, fell in love with it and played it ever since. Paul’s gone ahead in leaps and bounds, and he has plenty of guitars in his arsenal… but he typically comes back to Maton. We’re really proud of that relationship.” www.maton.com.au

AMT MAY 2014

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additive manufacturing

Laser additive manufacturing in Australia With traditional manufacturing in Australia facing significant challenges, new advanced technologies such as additive manufacturing could be the key to maintaining competitiveness and profitability.

By Professor Milan Brandt.

Manufacturing industries make a significant contribution to Australia’s economy and directly employ some one million people.

These industries also drive skills development across other sectors and provide major markets for service businesses. In Victoria alone, manufacturing covers a broad range of industries including: automotive; advanced electronics and machinery; aerospace and aviation; defence; chemicals and plastics; pharmaceuticals; fabricated metals; textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF); and food processing. All are major contributors to jobs and export growth.

in order for companies to remain profitable.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is seen as one technology that could boost local manufacturing because of the many benefits it offers compared with more traditional techniques.

Manufacturing businesses in Australia, and Victoria in particular, have been facing a number of significant challenges over the last few years, due to increasing global competition and imports of relatively cheap goods from overseas, mainly China. This has contributed to many companies closing operations locally and moving production offshore. Federal and Victorian governments have been looking into initiatives to support jobs and secure manufacturing’s future in Australia.

1) The realisation of new designs not possible using conventional subtractive technology.

Advanced technology and research are seen as critical elements in addressing some of these challenges, delivering costcompetitive approaches to manufacturing

Professor Milan Brandt.

With additive technologies, both polymer and metal parts can be built directly from computer models or re-engineered from measurements of existing components, therefore bypassing traditional manufacturing processes such as cutting, milling and grinding. This offers numerous benefits, including:

2) Dramatic savings in time, materials, wastage, energy and other costs in producing new components.

3) Significant reductions in environmental impact.

4) Faster time to market for products.

AM has seen significant exposure in Australia in the last few years through major exhibitions, workshops and promotions, by organisations such as CSIRO, AMTIL, RMIT’s Advanced Manufacturing Precinct (AMP), the University of Wollongong’s

Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, and Monash University’s Centre for Additive Manufacture. Australian industry has been aware of the laser-cladding technology since early 2000 and there are four companies – Hardchrome Engineering and Brenco in Melbourne, Jarvie Engineering in Newcastle, and Laser Bond in Sydney – providing laser cladding services to

Table 1. Lasers and systems for AM Research Institutions

Systems and lasers

Quantity

Monash University, Melbourne

RMIT University, Melbourne

Deakin, Geelong Swinburne University, Melbourne University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth University of Wollongong, Wollongong CSIRO, Melbourne University of Adelaide

Trumpf system Concept Laser X line 1000R EOS (280) SLM 250HL In the process of ordering another SLM system Trumpf system SLM 125 Trumpf POM DMD, ReaLizer 100 ReaLizer 50 Laserline Phoenix

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

SLM 250

1

EOS 250 EOS 250 EOS 280 IPG and Laserline Laserline Rofin and Laserline Laserline and Rofin

1 2 1 2 1 2 2

Government Body Department of Defence, Canberra Commercial Organisations Race Dental, Sydney Breasight, Sydney Amaero, Melbourne, Hardchrome Engineering, Melbourne Brenco, Melbourne Jarvie, Newcastle Laser Bond, Sydney

Fig 1: Locations of laser-based additive technology in Australia.

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AMT AUGUST 2014

additive manufacturing Left: Fig 2, An aero type component, on the left as machined from a Ti64 billet, and on the right after topology optimisation and SLM manufacture. The part on the right is about 50% lighter than the part on the left, with similar design load carrying capability.

the mining, manufacturing and power industries.

However, there has been limited exposure and adoption of the other laser additive technology, selective laser melting (SLM).

This is partly due to lack of service bureaus and research infrastructure enabling company’s access to the latest laser AM technology and expertise.

This was addressed in 2011 and 2012 through the establishment of several new laser additive research facilities, predominantly in Victoria. A list of the organisations with laser additive technology and their location at the end of 2013 is shown in Table 1. These systems will certainly play a major role in the future helping local industry better understand the issues and capabilities associated with metal AM technology.

In addition, discussions started in 2013 between several industry and research organisations to establish a national program with a strong focus on AM. This is being co-ordinated and driven through the Innovative Manufacturing CRC bid. If a CRC with a strong program on AM can be successfully established in 2014, the combined collection of physical resources and intellect would go a long way in helping Australian manufacturers adopt laser and other AM technologies as part of their mainstream production activities.

Australian R&D in laser AM There are two major groups in Australia engaged full-time in the research and development of both new additive applications and laser materials processing in general. Both located in Melbourne, the groups are based at the RMIT Advanced Manufacturing Precinct, and the Monash Centre for Additive Manufacture. The groups complement each other and have informal collaborations. The RMIT Advanced Manufacturing Precinct is a $25m dollar facility established to assist the manufacturing industry to compete in global manufacturing markets.

The Precinct’s overall aim is to enhance and develop new sustainable products and skills using state-of-the-art equipment

Fig 3: A casing with internal diffusers

Fig 4: An engine component.

and manufacturing techniques. It brings together research design and advanced manufacturing in one location, opening the doors to new opportunities for innovation and product development, prototyping, rapid and additive manufacturing for the advanced manufacturing industry. It also provides a vital hub for RMIT’s industry engagement, which revolves around multiple industry sectors and areas of strength.

processing and applies it to laser additive manufacture of parts and components. The focus is very much the aerospace industry and the Centre has attracted overseas and local organisations as partners. The Centre recently spun-off a company, Amaero Engineering, which specialises in the manufacture of metallic components by both SLM and laser metal deposition techniques. Some of the aero components that Amaero has manufactured from a nickel alloy are shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The AM equipment at the Precinct includes the latest in both polymer- and laser-based additive technologies and represents a one-stop shop for companies interested in exploring and developing new products based on additive technology. A key focus of research in laser AM is topology optimisation, materials development and processing. The targeted industries are aerospace and biomedical.

An example of an aero component made from Ti64 that has been topologically optimised for additive manufacture is shown in Figure 2. This project was supported by the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) and involved Defence Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) and Lockheed Martin and was focused on the manufacture and design consolidation of relatively small components with complex, high-value, high-cost integrated structures found on the JSF. The Monash Centre for Additive Manufacture takes fundamental research in material science, alloy design and

Laser additive manufacture in Australia is seeing growth and diversification and this trend will continue, driven by several factors, such as the need for local companies to diversify their operations and move away from high-cost, labour-intensive manufacturing; better industry awareness of laser additive technology’s capabilities; and an increased trend among their overseas competitors towards exploring this technology. The R&D base in the area has also expanded and the establishment of a national program in 2014 on AM through the Innovative Manufacturing CRC will further accelerate this growth as the industry partners become more familiar with and adopt laser additive technology in their factories.

Milan Brandt (milan.brandt@rmit.edu.au) is Professor of Advanced Manufacturing and Technical Director – Advanced Manufacturing Precinct at RMIT University. www.rmit.edu.au

AMT AUGUST 2014

| 53

additive manufacturing

Beyond prototypes – a pathway to production Companies such as Illawarra-based CammPro are showing how additive manufacturing (AM) is moving from a niche process for prototyping and custom products to become a key tool for more traditional manufacturers.

Much of media focus on AM centres on high-end patient-specific solutions in bio-medical applications. This is certainly true, especially from a research and development point of view. However, the concurrent developments in AM technologies that are providing us with access to higher-resolution printers and a much greater range of material choices are breathing new life into small-to-medium engineering and manufacturing companies.

A fully functional 1:5 scale model of a serviceable conveyor roller assembly produced

by AM as a sales tool.

The versatility of AM and the ease with which it can be incorporated into an existing business structure allows manufactures to provide new solutions to their customers and also capture new customers who previously would have had to deal with a number of different companies before they could bring a device or product to production.

Now, manufacturers can provide an in-house end-to-end production solution, from concept, to prototype and onwards to final production.

One such company is CammPro, the newest arm of the Camm Engineering Group (TCEG), an Illawarra-based polymer products manufacturer with 25 years’ experience serving the steel, automotive, timber and mining industries. Conventional design barriers have been broken down with the installation of an Objet Connex350 3D printer. Greater design capabilities have been enabled, allowing the group to provide innovative solutions that are having a direct positive impact on their customers’ businesses.

Streamlining redesigns One client in the mining sector required the development of a twocomponent symmetrical interlocking polyurethane hose cover. It was intended to cast the final component in multi-element CNCmachined moulds, but prior to going to manufacture a functional model was required for design validation. The full-scale prototypes were fabricated in two days, a fraction of the time it would have taken to produce them by conventional means. This allowed the customer to get a sense of the final product as the digital materials capabilities of the Connex technology facilitated the selection of a material that replicated the mechanical properties of polyurethane.

After initial approval and production of the moulds, a design revision was required. Previously this would have required a complete remachining of the mould elements, which would have caused a significant delay to the production process. However, recent developments in the materials that can be processed by AM now allow for the production of components that can withstand higher temperatures. As an interim solution to validate the redesigned hose cover, it was possible to print mould elements in ABS-like material, which maintained dimensional stability at the temperatures required for curing the polyurethane casting material.

Series production It is often the case that small-series production of components is required by industry. At the same time, it may be impractical to produce the complete series via AM, and certainly prohibitively expensive to justify production of bespoke metal tooling. In this middle ground, AM is able to provide solutions that make the series feasible. One Queensland-based mining company required the production of polyurethane V-blocks. It was envisaged that a series of approximately 20 units would be required. The design called for a large number of machining operations and repositioning of the workpiece. Instead of machining a pattern from which a mould could be produced, it was much quicker and more cost-effective to print the pattern directly. The resolution and excellent surface finish that is now achievable through AM and some basic manual finishing makes this feasible. The completed pattern was then cast in a high-density polyurethane mould and cured. Removal of the pattern resulted in a practical mould with durability suitable for the project.

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AMT AUGUST 2014

“We undertook this project as an experiment to prove the moulding process with Objet Vero materials,” explains Zahra Shahbazian, Business Development Manager, CammPro. “This capability allows us to provide our customers with a much greater level of mould complexity while maintaining accuracy.”

Functional sales tools A global leader in the provision of equipment and services to the cement and minerals industries, FLSmidth produces a range of easily serviceable conveyor systems. Complete systems represent a significant capital investment to their customers. So as to differentiate themselves from their competitors, FLSmidth Australia commissioned a scaled model of a conveyor roller unit that would incorporate all operating functionality.

Detailed CAD drawings of the product were provided so that a scaled model configured for the best possible printing results could be prepared. One of the great benefits of AM is the capability to incorporate moving components into an assembly. With the multimaterial capability of the Connex technology, it was possible to assign different colours to separate elements of the assembly highlighting rotating and static components while allowing for 200µm clearance between moving surfaces.

It was also possible to produce a skin of rubber-like material on the roller surface to accurately represent the company’s product.

Modifications also included a scaling factor of 1:5 so that full use could be made of the available build volume and provide a robust model that could be transportable in air luggage.

“Within a week of making a small investment in a fully functional 3D printed assembly we were able to secure a $1,000,000 international sale” explains James Matete, Customer Service Project Manager with FLSmidth Australia.

The success of this initial project has encouraged FLSmidth to commission further models and is likely to lead to further innovation in its design processes and how it promotes its products.

AM is having a profound impact on the complete spectrum of industry, from conventional manufacturing right through to next generation medical research and innovation. Solutions that were previously impractical or even impossible due to the boundaries of ‘design for manufacture’ can now be freely conceptualised and fabricated. The creative future of manufacturing, especially for smallto-medium manufacturers who are willing to embrace this revolution, is bright! www.cammpro.com.au

additive manufacturing

Lockheed Martin 3D – prints fuel tank Most businesses know that fast development times and constant performance improvement are essential – it takes thorough testing and the ability to control costs and reduce risk to continually innovate and adapt. Additive manufacturing is helping businesses to do just this, either on-site with their own printing systems, or through a 3D printing bureau service like RedEye Australasia.

One company using 3D printing to accelerate innovation is Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems Company (SSC). This division designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security, civil and commercial customers.

In early 2012, Lockheed Martin began looking at ways to improve and add value to the design of a satellite. The goal was to design a satellite that would make more efficient use of space and increase the satellite’s payload. It would require testing of many assembly configurations and producing several simulators and prototypes to validate design changes. One change that needed to be validated was in the satellite’s fuel tanks.

Before building the actual fuel tanks for final use, Lockheed would need to test for form, fit and function, and assembly with tank simulators. Producing test parts with traditional manufacturing methods would not be realistic given the deadline and costs.

Machining the larger tank at 206cm by 94cm by 94cm and the second tank at 94cm by 94cm by 94cm would take over six months at a cost of around US$250,000. The recent advancements in large-scale 3D printing motivated Lockheed Martin to apply Stratasys’ Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process to the tank simulators.

Lockheed Martin is no stranger to 3D printing technology. It uses both on-site and off-site 3D printing technologies, and for this particular application, the part size, post-processing requirements and project deadline posed challenges that exceed the capacity available in-house. The parts would have to be built in many pieces and bonded together, requiring an army of machines and a team of FDM finishing experts. That’s when the company turned to RedEye.

Constructing the tanks Lockheed Martin has partnered with RedEye over the last several years to manufacture parts, particularly when size, material or machine capacity overreaches its in-house additive manufacturing systems. Lockheed Martin knew RedEye could deliver high-quality parts on time and offered the engineering thermoplastic and finishing processes required for the form, fit and function tests.

“We chose RedEye because they have the machines and finishing capabilities to build tanks of this size,” said Andrew Bushell, senior manufacturing engineer at Lockheed Martin SSC. “We also decided to go with RedEye for their speed and engineering support we had received on past projects.”

When the RedEye team received the design files from Lockheed’s engineers, they were stunned with the size of the tanks. The project required many preliminary meetings between Lockheed Martin and the RedEye team as it was the first time building a design of this magnitude.

“These are the largest parts we’ve ever built using FDM,” said Joel Smith, the strategic account manager for aerospace and defence at RedEye. “We completed an extensive design review to determine the best orientation and slice height to ensure we could accurately build and bond the sections together in post-processing and meet Lockheed’s dimensional requirements.”

RedEye opted for building the larger tank in ten sections and the smaller tank in six sections in polycarbonate on the Fortus 900mcs.

Adaptations and adjustments to the plan were necessary along the way to meet the required tolerances.

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AMT August 2014

“We decided to alter the orientation of the exterior clocking rings that go around the tanks and increase their wall thicknesses to support inserts,” said Trevor Stolhanske, Aerospace And Defence Project Engineer at RedEye. Each section of the tanks took 150 hours to build, but RedEye was nonetheless able to build multiple sections at once, optimising lead times and controlling costs. After all of the sections were completed, the support material was washed away and the sections were sent to finishing services for bonding.

Because of their round shape and weight, the only way RedEye could successfully bond the tanks was to build customised fixtures to hold the sections while fusing pieces to each other. After several hours of welding each section together, RedEye sanded the tank seams and surfaces. After finishing, the tanks and rings were sent to Hutchinson Manufacturing to be machined to the design’s critical dimensions. When RedEye received the tanks from Hutchinson, they added brass inserts to the rings and assembled the tanks per Lockheed Martin’s specifications.

Final assembly “These tanks were built in a fraction of the time it would have taken with traditional manufacturing methods,” said Smith. “Even with the machining process and design changes made along the way, we were able to deliver these parts ahead of schedule.”

The tanks went through a number of quality assurance and accuracy measurements and were approved for the first concept assembly. Lockheed Martin’s SSC performed form, fit and function testing as well as process development, in order to validate the proposed design changes. Next, Lockheed Martin will use what it learned from the first phase to optimise the design and assembly to print the second iteration of tanks.

Stratasys’ FDM Production systems – used at RedEye Australasia – can produce accurate models for form, fit and function testing, as well as assemblies, jigs, patterns and lay up tools, among many applications now utilising 3D printing technologies. The success of each project depends on both the type of 3D printing system, and the materials available. For example, thermoplastics such as Ultem9085 have been designed to replicate parts in the material used in traditional manufacturing, ensuring accurate testing. www.objective3d.com.au www.redeyeaustralasia.com

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Using ColorJet printing technology and the VisiJet® C4 Spectrum™ plastic material, the ProJet 4500 allows you to quickly create true-to-life prototypes of your end product, accurately display vital features, and produce high-resolution, customized end-use products.

The ProJet 4500 prints fast, generates minimal waste, requires no supports and delivers ready-to-use, full-color, functional parts and assemblies without post-processing or painting. This category-defining 3D printer is ideal for consumer products, home furnishings, healthcare, toys and collectibles companies, and completely shifts the paradigm for professionals engaged in architectural modeling, marketing communications, fashion design and more. Safe for office, easy-to-use, sustainable to operate and fast to print on, the ProJet 4500 is economical and comes with fully integrated material recycling for greater yield and better total material usage.

additive manufacturing

Printing the future Tucked away in a state-of-the-art-facility in the middle of New Zealand, a small, yet dedicated team of design engineers and researchers have been toiling away, testing and researching additive manufacturing using titanium alloy powder.

Rapid Advanced Manufacturing (RAM) provides a commercial 3D printing service working alongside clients to ensure product success. The company made its entrance into the Australian marketplace during National Manufacturing Week in Sydney in May, and is now working with many Australian designers and manufacturers providing unique prototyping options.

Finished dog jaw bone in Ti64 powder.

RAM has delivered successful prototyping projects for many commercial companies using selective laser melting (SLM) in titanium and stainless steel alloys. This alternative manufacturing process allows the production of complex parts far more simply, quickly, and most importantly, cost-effectively than via more traditional methods.

One recent success story for RAM involved a project to manufacture a customised jaw bone replacement that was required for a large dog who had developed an aggressive cancerous growth. The urgent nature of the project necessitated completing the entire process from design to implant within five days. In consultation with the dog’s owners and a university veterinary clinic, a design agency was able to provide a 3D CAD model from a CT scan, which was then easily and quickly 3D printed.

“The process was urgent for the welfare of the dog,” said the university clinic. “And to have the piece fitted within five days of finishing the design ensured that he had this replacement option, as opposed to a straight removal.”

The surgery was a success, with the happy pup enjoying solid food the following morning.

How does SLM work?

The SLM process involves the creation of a 3D CAD model for the object to be manufactured, and then slicing that model into 2D layers approximately 30-60 microns thick. The object is then built layer by layer from a fine metal alloy powder, which is selectively melted by laser to form the solid object. The process starts with a solid metal plate, to which the part is attached via a support structure as it is built. The support structure is removed after the build is complete.

SLM is different from sintering as the parts that SLM produces are fully dense and have mechanical properties similar to those of a wrought metal bar. Powder materials that RAM is currently able to use include titanium 64 and stainless steel 15-5ph.

Titanium 64, is one of the most versatile,

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corrosion resistant and cost-effective super-alloys. Depending on demand, RAM can also manufacture parts in 440c, 316, Inconel 718 and H13.

In theory any part can be made using SLM, but in a practical sense it is not always possible. Similar to conventional machining, whereby you would generally make a shaft in a lathe and a bracket in a mill, a part’s success in SLM depends a lot on the shape. Where a part has intricate details that are difficult to machine, or areas of curves and complex surfaces, these parts lend itself well to SLM manufacturing.

Nonetheless, if a part can be redesigned to achieve its function with a minimal amount of material, then with a little design focused towards SLM, the part can be manufactured more efficiently and often cheaper than conventional manufacturing.

To gain the best results from SLM, a designer must forgo the conventional thought process of removing material from a block, and start thinking of material addition only where it is needed, as if from a blank canvas.

Why use this technology?

Quite simply, as the need for tooling for prototyping is eliminated, additive manufacturing ensures very low development costs in much quicker timeframes. Customisation is cost-effective and quick, with intricate changes easily made in the CAD model, and production is design-driven. Additive manufacturing is also being used more and more to replace broken parts on large machinery.

Additive manufacturing is finding applications across a variety of industries,

such as aerospace, automotive, medical, military and industrial products. Processes like SLM enable design freedom, allowing designers and engineers to focus on the design rather than manufacturing capability. The printing process facilitates this design freedom, cost-effectively producing complex, high-spec pieces that traditional manufacturing processes could simply not produce.

RAM offers design services to help its clients with the design process, and the team can assist with any modifications that become necessary as the process evolves. Quality control is an important part of the design and manufacturing process, with finished pieces needing to be consistently reliable and thoroughly tested. In-house testing from RAM includes tensile, hardness and density testing, with equipment regularly undergoing certified calibration. www.rapidman.co.nz

additive manufacturing

Connecting facilities to users madefor.me is a new additive manufacturing venture that aims to bridge the gap between Australian manufacturing and the fast-paced world of web startups.

The founders of madefor.me met at a technology startup competition last year. Among them was James Antifaev, who previously worked in the aerospace manufacturing and space technology sector.

“We had all individually registered for a weekend-long business competition called ‘Startup Camp’ and we met each other there,” says Antifaev. “Given our mix of professional backgrounds and a common interest in 3D printing, we decided to focus on a concept to help grow the market for 3D printing services, and after 48 hours of hard work, we won the pitch competition, along with sponsorship from Amazon.”

NICTA’s office building in Canberra is the new home of madefor.me, along with four other technology start-ups in the GRIFFIN Accelerator program.

Following their success at Startup Camp, the team developed their concept into madefor.me, a web-based system for connecting additive manufacturing facilities with design owners and end users.

The team believes their technology has the potential to help smaller Australian manufacturers grow their business by cost-effectively tapping into the consumer market.

“Many of the challenges that have prevented companies from doing consumer-oriented additive manufacturing work stem from the prohibitive costs of having to manually deal with one-off orders,” said co-founder James Smith. “That includes things like the need to spend time doing customer education, to validate the customer’s design files, and to generate quotes and collect payments.

“Our platform hosts and pre-validates the design files, then matches them with appropriate manufacturers when an order is placed, as well as having the capability to handle quoting and payment based on the manufacturer’s parameters. By providing a fairly automated capability to handle these kinds of orders, we can offer manufacturers a low-cost sales channel to increase utilisation of their machines, and therefore grow their revenues.”

The initial technology development was helped by financial support from the ACT Government’s Innovation Connect program, and in June the startup was accepted into the highly competitive GRIFFIN Accelerator program, which provides early-stage ventures with private funding and support from mentors who have already had success in the technology sector. NICTA, Australia’s national centre of excellence for ICT research, is providing office facilities for GRIFFIN startups at its facilities in Canberra during the program’s

12-week duration, while the ACT Government is providing assistance under the Strategic Opportunities Funding Program.

While the consumer side of the additive manufacturing service industry is still in its infancy, the madefor.me team aims to help unlock the huge consumer market by combining technology and business models from the web with the operational additive manufacturing capability of Australian industry. The startup’s roster includes staff who have managed IT-oriented operations teams of hundreds of people, to technical specialists including PhD candidates at the Australian National University and Princeton University in the United States. Having just launched their first operational release, the founders of madefor.me are keen to work with early adopters in the additive manufacturing industry.

“We have a few launch partners, but we want to test out the functionality with a variety of manufacturers using different additive processes,” said Antifaev. “These early adopters will help guide the direction of our technical development, so their needs will be heavily reflected in our future releases.” www.madefor.me

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additive manufacturing

Third-gen manufacturer embraces 3D future Third-generation Australian manufacturing company Keech Australia has launched Keech 3D, an additive manufacturing subsidiary that it anticipates will revolutionise the industry in Australia.

The subsidiary was launched at Keech’s purpose-built Quality and Innovation Centre in Bendigo, Victoria, by company heads and the Victorian Minister for Manufacturing, David Hodgett MP. While Keech doesn’t see advanced manufacturing replacing traditional methods, the company sees the technology as complimentary, allowing more flexibility and enabling it to become more competitive.

Dr Herbert Hermens, CEO at Keech Australia, has a passion for additive manufacturing and a confidence in the technology.

“Keech 3D Manufacturing opens a world of manufacturing capabilities, saving resources and time not only in our own casting manufacturing processes, but also in the medical, defence and many other industries,” said Hermens. “We are committed to keeping the manufacturing industry alive in Australia, therefore, we need to look for things that allow us flexibility, profitability, viability and rise to global demand.”

In addition to receiving a Victorian State Government Grant of $141,700, Keech has invested almost $1m in the latest technologies to bring this new subsidiary to life. However, according to Hermens, the company’s most significant investment has been in the team at Keech 3D. “We believe our people and their intelligence are invaluable resources,” said Hermens. “Keech 3D has allowed us not only to employ more people from the Bendigo region, but equally as important, has seen existing staff move up into more prominent roles based on their skill and expertise.”

Keech Australia has been designing and manufacturing high integrity steel castings for nearly 80 years. It prides itself on being

Keech 3D business manager Doug Baird (left) and Keech Australia CEO Herbert Hermens (right).

an innovative company from the very beginning, and Hermens believes that is what has propelled it to where it is today, and will continue to drive it into the future.

“How is it that a business founded on such an ancient technique could become a sponsor of such a new technique called advanced manufacturing?” said Hermens. “To understand that we only need to look at the history of Keech – a company founded on innovation.

Without this drive for innovation and ability to adapt, Keech would not have lasted as long as they have.” www.keech3d.com.au

Leading the way in 3D metal printing for industry The University of Adelaide is working with local companies to investigate 3D metal printing for the development of prototype and operational manufacturing parts.

The University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) has installed a metal and ceramics 3D printer – the first to be open for use by industry and other research organisations in the State.

“3D printing offers a great opportunity for local manufacturers and industry to gain a competitive edge in the development of new products or to make improvements in existing parts or existing products,” says IPAS Director Professor Tanya Monro. “3D printing allows rapid prototyping direct from new designs, producing the new part in hours rather days or weeks, ready for quick feedback and refining of designs. It can also be used to improve parts, making them lighter or stronger than is often possible through traditionally machined parts. This offers great benefits to both industry and researchers.”

IPAS is using 3D printing for the manufacture of extrusion dies that produce the intricate patterns for the production of optical fibres.

These dies can sometimes only be made in multiple pieces through normal machining, and some structures are just not possible. 3D printing allows the dies to be made in one part – making them much stronger – and the possibility for different patterns is almost limitless.

The first company to use the IPAS 3D printer is global mining technology company Maptek, which has its headquarters in Adelaide.

The project has been supported by the Manufacturing Works Photonics Catalyst Program, a joint initiative between the South

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Australia Department of State Development and University of Adelaide.

Maptek is investigating the potential of 3D printing to manufacture the optical chassis for the I-Site laser scanner, one of its key mine survey products.

“Maptek is a world leader in this field,” says Monro. “We are really glad to have an opportunity to work with them to support innovation in product development.”

IPAS’s Phenix PXM selective laser melting 3D printer uses a wide variety of metals and ceramic powders for the production for production of parts directly from CAD drawings. The printer can make parts up to 140mm by 140mm by 100mm. Funding for the printer was made available through IPAS’ role in the Optofab Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, with Federal and State Government funding. www.adelaide.edu.au

One on one

Professor Guy Littlefair is the Dean of Engineering in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment at Deakin University.

He spoke to William Poole.

AMT: Firstly, tell us a little bit about your background Guy Littlefair: Originally English, I started my engineering career at 16. Having left school with only a few qualifications – physics and metalwork – I guess I was destined to become an engineer, and over my career I’ve weaved in and out of academia.

My first industry role was with the Lucas Group looking at the development of diesel injection pumps. I’ve worked for the Ministry of Defence in London on fighting vehicles, and my most recent industry stint has been with Navman in New Zealand, a marine electronics company. I’ve also worked at two universities in Southampton in the UK, and Auckland University of Technology in NZ, where I was ultimately Head of School before coming to Deakin three and a half years ago to become Dean of Engineering.

AMT: What might an ordinary day in your job entail?

GL: That’s a good question: I’m sure there’s a misconception about what academics and academic leaders do. My typical day comprises back-to-back meetings. Over the course of a week, I would like to think I spend maybe 20% of my time thinking and engaging with industry. This week for example, on Sunday evening I was out with manufacturers in Bendigo. On Monday I was meeting manufacturers in the north of the state. I had a meeting with someone from Ford Product Development in my office on Wednesday, and today again I’ve been on the phone to manufacturers.

Outside engagement with industry, it’s a reasonable size operation we run here, so the demands of students and staff are always at the forefront of my mind, and developing a team around me: I’m quite passionate about distributed leadership and change management. Offering great student centered engineering education at the forefront of a technology is the mission in the school of engineering at Deakin and moving towards this is a time consuming process.

AMT: What can you tell us about current projects you’re working on at Deakin?

GL: The big project here at the moment is the Centre of Advanced Design in Engineering Training (CADET). The building is due for completion at the end of this year and we’ll be in full teaching mode in mid-2015. It’s a $55m state-of-the-art facility for delivering engineering programs, undergraduate, post-graduate and research programs in an innovative, novel environment. It’s unique in Australia: a program that draws on best practice from across the world. We’ve looked at models in northern Europe, the US and Singapore, and distilled down the best practice, put it in an Australian context and honed with our own approach, based around what we term “Project-Oriented Design-Based Learning” – using design as the instrument for delivery of our curriculum.

In practice, we’re going to use projects with design problems for our students to solve, and those problems will come direct from industry. We have a bank of industry partners who have issues they want us to look at. One industry partner we’re working with is a power distribution company. As with many companies in Australia, they have difficulty attracting good engineers and a number of their engineers are getting close to retirement. What they want to do is capture the information their engineers retain locked in their heads, and instill it into our students so that when they graduate they can take that knowledge back into

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the industry. Because there does sometimes appear to be a disjoint between the needs and knowledge in the industry, and the knowledge we send our graduates into the real world with.

AMT: How important is this kind of collaboration with industry?

GL: Collaboration with industry really is the core of what we do and what we want to be known for. Part of the CADET project is about outreach to high school students. We feel the best way to portray engineering is to portray some of the roles and activities that students can partake in. Many universities are good at engaging with industry, but it tends to be at the sharp end, the research end. My personal view is there are great opportunities further down for undergraduate students to get involved in industry projects. I believe the way in which we’re going to deliver our curriculum, with very much an industry focus, is going to set us apart.

AMT: Skills shortages are often cited as one of the key problems facing Australian manufacturing.

GL: There is an issue with skills. When I talk to industry they often say they can’t get the right people with the right skills. I was at Bendigo this week talking to Thales and other companies, and in the regions it’s particularly difficult to get the right skillsets.

I have to say, engineering education in Australia has drifted a bit in recent years, from my perspective – and this has driven my thinking around the new facility – there isn’t sufficient focus in engineering programs on product design and product development. In parallel, there isn’t sufficient focus on what in the US and elsewhere in the world they refer to as industrial engineering.

Jonathan Ive, the chief designer at Apple, did industrial design at university. He’s proud to be a designer but he understands how important the engineering function is. Design is fantastic, but without the integration of smart advanced manufacturing to deliver on the design, it’s only half the story. Another good example, again from the UK, is James Dyson. A designer, an inventor, very smart guy, comes up with some fantastic ideas, but he’s reliant on a great team of engineers around him to be able to deliver on his ideas to put them in the market.

Industrial engineers in the US don’t just deal with engineering issues. They’re in forestry, they’re in agriculture, they’re in the aquaculture business. I think that by providing a greater body of diversified engineers, that will have consequences right across the broad manufacturing sector, across every product to which we try to add value. What we’re trying to do at Deakin is produce graduates who understand the product design cycle and have good experience in product development, coupled to those manufacturing and industrial engineering skills that I don’t think Australia is currently delivering on particularly well.

It’s a long-term investment, it’s not going to happen overnight, but I think, with what’s happened with large-volume manufacturers in Australia in recent times, we absolutely as a sector have to start to lead the conversation about where next.

And we’ve got to deliver graduates who are ready to take up the mantle as the new generation of engineers. They need to be more entrepreneurial, they need to have much more innovative thinking at the heart of what they do. And to get to that point we’ve got to do the right thing in the way we train and develop our students.

AMT: So how can we instill that entrepreneurial, innovative ethos?

GL: I’ve worked in different countries and looked at a lot of engineering education models across the world, and the standard of engineering education in Australia is certainly one of the best in the world. Our students are very numerate, they’re very good at science. But I don’t think there’s enough concentration on design. I don’t think fundamentally we do the right thing in providing a degree that is very science-focused.

Design, innovation, entrepreneurship – they’re all extensions of the same thing. The future of manufacturing in Australia to a large extent is going to be driven by innovative SMEs.

a university or a politician or an industry leader, but I think at some point someone quite soon has to stand up and bring some leadership to talk about what is the future of manufacturing in Australia, how are we going to get there, and come up with a roadmap to take us forward. What products are we going to look at? Who are we going to draw on? What are we going to need in the future?

Until we come up with that overall picture, that big jigsaw pieced together from smaller pieces, I don’t know that necessarily we’re going to move along quickly enough to really have an impact internationally in terms of manufacturing. www.deakin.edu.au

There are challenges ahead for this sector, but I think that where we are regionally, there are good examples we can draw on.

I spent six years in NZ, and their dairy industry is a stand-out example – what started off as a co-operative of farmers has now evolved into probably the best milk-producing company in the world. They’re branching out into China, they’re buying farms in China. But what they’ve realised is that the milk wasn’t the core of the product, it was the protein. So they’ve taken milk as a raw product, distilled it down, and now they’re really in the market selling that protein element. Singapore is another interesting example we can learn from. Singapore has no natural wealth, all of their economy is built on the way in which they can innovate.

There’s a lot for us to learn here in Australia from those different areas. Not to say there’s not pockets of innovation in this country, but it’s not really being fostered or promoted in the way it needs to be able to go forward.

It’s about enterprise, it’s about innovation. What is it that drives a customer to want to buy your product?

Apple is a great example, the iPad. They developed a product for which there wasn’t a need. Yet it’s one of the best-selling products they’ve ever come up with, and continues to sell, and now many people are emulating it.

So what can we as a nation develop for which there is or can be great customer demand if we get it right?

AMT: What are the main strengths that the manufacturing industry in Australia can draw upon?

GL: Again speaking as someone who’s lived in different parts of the world, I think there is very much a can-do attitude in Australia. There is a belief that things can happen and we can make a difference. What’s missing at the moment is a direction and some leadership around where the future of manufacturing needs to head. Now, I don’t know whether that’s the role of

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Forming & Fabrication

Laserdyne unveils fibre laser welding upgrade Prima Power Laserdyne has been investing heavily in developing process and system capability for welding 2D and 3D components with high-power continuous wave (CW) and quasi-continuous wave (QCW) fibre lasers.

“Metals and alloys for which these capabilities have been demonstrated include 304 stainless steel, titanium alloys including Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr6Mo and nickel-based high-temperature alloys including Inconel 625, Inconel 718 and Hastelloy X,” says Laserdyne President Terry VanderWert. “The availability of the high-power CW and QCW fibre laser with its kilowatt-level average power, one-micrometre wavelength, and high brightness (beam quality) provides a laser source with new capability and flexibility.”

According to VanderWert, compared to CO2 lasers for welding, the one-micrometre wavelength of the fibre laser provides well-documented benefits in terms of: simplified beam delivery using fibre-optic cables instead of turning mirrors; greater absorption by metals, especially those which are good conductors of electricity such as aluminium and copper; and less absorption by the plasma plume that is formed above the weld pool.

“The higher brightness of the fibre laser compared to high-power Nd:YAG lasers means that the laser beam, if desirable, can be focused to smaller sizes, which in turn leads to increased power density,” adds VanderWert.

“These factors contribute to deeper penetration and faster welding speed than available from previous sources of equivalent average power. They also mean more stable welding processes in a wider range of metals and alloys.”

While the Laserdyne product line began with laser welding, wide acceptance of the company’s brand and technology is for laser cutting and drilling for aerospace applications. Over its 33-year history, laser welding systems have been supplied for aerospace (engine and airframe), automotive, electronics, fluid couplings, and medical device applications, using CO2, Nd:YAG and – more recently – fibre laser sources.

Recently, Laserdyne has integrated fibre laser sources with its standard systems. Welding trials using a range of laser parameters and shield gases were performed. Metallography (crosssections) and X-ray radiography were used to document the relationship between laser (spot size, laser power, etc.) and processing (shield gas type, gas flow rates, method of gas delivery, welding speed, focus position, etc.) parameters and the resulting weld geometry and structure. For

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example, the trials revealed the conditions that lead to weld porosity and those that give porosity-free welds. These trials also showed the relationship between laser and processing parameters on weld shape and profile.

The most comprehensive investigation has recently centred on laser welding aerospace alloys. The major challenge for these materials is the stringent joint requirements. There is no tolerance for cracking or porosity in the weld. The weld geometry must be correct with good mechanical properties at high temperatures. Testing by Laserdyne has proven that both CW and QCW fibre lasers are capable of welding these alloys.

However, the challenge lies in developing and consistently delivering laser and processing parameters that will produce quality welds. Laserdyne has developed the necessary parameters to weld the full range of aerospace alloys. Its studies prove that no single parameter controls weld quality, whereas it is a combination of both laser and processing parameters that have a significant effect on the weld quality. These studies also show that crack- and porosity-free welds can be readily produced in a range of nickel- and titanium-based alloys.

Laserdyne’s welding trials included tests with addition of filler wire. Certain alloys and dissimilar material combinations require the addition of filler material to control the structure of the weld metal and avoid cracking, to ensure the required

mechanical properties. In other cases, filler metal is used to control the weld geometry, such as to create a slight convexity (reinforcement) of the weld fusion zone.

Filler material is also used to compensate for poor fit-up and mismatch during laser welding in a butt joint configuration.

Laser welding with the filler wire is a multiparameter process and there are a number of laser and filler wire parameters that determine the quality of the resultant weld.

Laserdyne has developed and optimised all of the important parameters for adding filler material to produce quality welds.

New laser system features One significant development is a new focusing lens assembly with crossjet design that maintains the compact profile of the Laserdyne third-generation BeamDirector, called BD3Y. The cross-jet feature provides a high-velocity gas barrier that prevents metal sparks in the weld zone from contaminating the protective lens cover slide. Critical to this design is that the cross-jet prevents contamination or interference with the welding shield gas. Also important, Laserdyne’s cross-jet nozzle can be used with the entire range of shield gas delivery devices, including welding shoe and coaxial gas nozzle tip.

The shielding gas shoe provides a controlled atmosphere for the weld zone while it is molten and cooling to a temperature level that won’t be compromised by the ambient atmosphere.

Continued next page

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Forming & Fabrication Continued form previous page

This is important when welding materials, such as titanium alloys, that have a strong affinity for oxygen and nitrogen in the ambient atmosphere. Another important benefit of the focusing lens/shield gas assembly design for laser welding is that they are quickly changeable in order to vary the focused spot size.

Laserdyne’s new laser control capabilities, notably laser power ramping and laser pulse shaping with sub-millisecond resolution, has been demonstrated using the Laserdyne S94P control. This higher level of control leads to more consistent, higher-quality welds. It increases the flexibility of Laserdyne systems in terms of broadening the range of materials that are now being laser welded. Pulse shaping has been shown to be effective in controlling the weld profile and structure.

This is accomplished by controlling the temperature profile during weld formation and during cooling of the weld and heataffected zone.

For example, providing a lower-amplitude portion of the pulse after the initial portion controls cooling of the alloys that harden during rapid cooling. Another example is the use of pulse shapes with a higher amplitude on the leading edge for materials

Above: Laserdyne’s technology yielded the correct weld geometry for aerospace and other alloys, in trials using a range of laser parameters and shield gases.

Right: The cross-jet nozzle assembly prevents damage to the focusing lens and protective cover slide while avoiding contamination or interference with the welding shield gas.

that are reflective to the laser beam even at one-micrometer wavelength. Rapidly heating the surface leads to increased absorption of the laser beam and a more consistent process.

“All of the features described have been standardized and are available on the entire

Laserdyne product line of three-to-sevenaxes systems, including Laserdyne 795 and Laserdyne 430BD,” says VanderWert.

“These are exciting times as our laser system technology is growing rapidly and solving new and difficult manufacturing challenges.” www.primapower.com

Competitive tips for edge-rounding Australian fabricators that do not automate the edge-rounding of their cleats on plasma- or laser-cut metal parts loose competitiveness to natural competitors that do.

When edge-rounding is specified, the client expectation is usually that a 25-year corrosion warranty will be provided. The rounded edge of a part provides corrosion protection by assisting paint to adhere to the greater surface area rather than flaking away from a sharp edge. What the industry has learnt is that it is expensive and difficult to manually provide a two-millimetre radius on the internal and external details of parts that vary in size and weight.

Your business may be experiencing these same challenges for edge-rounding of cleats or parts. How are you addressing them?

Fabricators edge-round steel parts using a variety of manual operations and tools, such as angle grinders, pedestal drills or manual routing machines. Australia must improve efficiency to compete with imported fabricated steel from Asia that edgeround their product offering for $2/hour. Australian workshops

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have dedicated trade assistants on annual salaries of $80K, who are edge-rounding metal parts or cleats to meet the AS 1627.0-1997 (Metal finishing – Preparation and Pre-treatment of Surfaces - Method Selection Guide).

Specialist Machinery Sales (SMS) provides de-burring machines that offer a solution that Australian businesses have embraced to edge-round their product offerings. SMS can supply an edgerounding machine suitable to produce parts up to 100mm thick with a 2mm radius or 800kg. Parts can also be processed as small as a credit card. Quality and performance issues are addressed and competitive advantage by automating expensive manual grinding operations. www.smsales.com.au

Forming & Fabrication

Innovating with sub-nanosecond lasers The use of ultra-short pulses for marking opens up new application fields with increased differentiation.

Sub-nanosecond lasers can provide a practical solution with cost of ownership and durability compatible with industrial implementation. By Florent Thibault, Yoan Di Maio, Sebastien Landon and Benjamin Dusser.

What is the common feature between a cellphone cover, a car dashboard, a PVC tube and a luxury watch? All these items are commonly laser-marked for identification and traceability, sometimes also for functional or anti-counterfeiting purposes.

Laser marking is already widespread and it is the fastest growing segment of the photonics market. According to Industrial Laser Solutions, marking revenues grew 6.7% in 2013 and are expected to grow 7.4% in 2014, leading other categories in growth as new government and company regulations for permanent marks for traceability are being put in place, such mandated US government requirements for 2D barcodes marking contractormanufactured parts.

There are three major physical processes in laser marking, sometimes used in conjunction: foaming, which produces light marks onto polymers; engraving, a process where material is ablated; and colour changing through carbonisation or chemical processes. Lasers provide high-resolution non-contact permanent markings, offer greater flexibility, and are compatible with high productivity levels.

Surprisingly, the majority of current laser marking applications replicate the same procedure (dot-by-dot marking for instance) or produce results (contrasted marks with respect to background colour) similar to those achieved with older technologies like ink-jet printing, micro-percussion or chemical etching.

By capturing the potential of ultra-short pulses, laser marking can dramatically improve its value-add by enabling new functions or higher perceived value for the customer. Such innovative marking processes enable not only a greater throughput in industrial production but also new kinds of marking on a wide variety of materials. This article aims to show applications that have been mainly linked to femtosecond laser research can be made viable in the real world using subnanosecond lasers, an industry-grade and affordable laser technology, providing hundreds of picosecond pulses short enough to achieve similar results.

Fig 3: Contrasted inner black marking on the 800µm-thick edge of a Petri box made of polystyrene crystal.

withstand code damage. QR codes are the most well-known among the general public, but other popular types such as Aztec or Datamatrix codes are also used.

2D marking consists of an NxN cell matrix which is filled slightly above 50%: a 10x10 code on a product needs about 50 dots to be marked. Assuming that a single pulse is enough for generating one dot, a 50kHz laser would be required to mark 1000 codes per second using a standard approach, disregarding the time needed to move from one workpiece to the next.

Another strategy is to mark these 50 points at the same time. This can be achieved using milli-Joule energy sub-nanosecond laser pulses in combination with the ‘Flash’ marking head developed by Qiova. When the laser beam passes through the spatial light modulator (SLM) built into the Flash head, it is modulated in such a way that the entire code can be applied using a single pulse.

A major advantage of this approach is its compatibility with in-line marking requirements. Thanks to the lower pulse

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Another major advantage is the ability to reconfigure the code pattern at video rate (25Hz), a dynamic control that is essential to handle different lots on the same production line. In addition, this dynamic code reconfiguration opens up new possibilities for individualised product markings.

To date, 2D marking has been demonstrated on metals (stainless steel, gold), polymers (polystyrene crystal, highimpact polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), NAS), paper and cork. For a given input energy and peak power, the number of dots that can be marked with a single pulse would depend on the material marking threshold. With a few milli-Joules at 1064nm, 400 dots can be inscribed on stainless steel and up to 3,000 dots on metal-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Clean everlasting marking of transparent materials Another promising application of short pulses for marking lies in their ability to generate marks inside rather than onto an object.

Hundreds of dots per pulse using Flash technology Industry has already widely adopted two-dimensional (2D) marking to cope with increasing information density. 2D machine-readable code differs distinctly from the familiar 1D barcode found on most consumer goods; it has much greater data density, can be read more reliably, and can

repetition rate (1kHz in this case), it is easier to synchronise the production stream with pulse emission, which subsequently increases robustness, lowers complexity and minimises power losses.

Fig 5: Diffraction over the full visible spectrum provided by ripples marked onto platinumcoated gold samples.

Due to their very high peak power, subnanosecond lasers can initiate multi-photon absorption at beam focus. This purely nonthermal phenomenon allows creating marks with a wavelength at which the material is transparent, without requiring additives.

Now, if the beam is focused tightly enough into the material, it will create ‘bubbles’ a few microns in size in the material itself without generating any pollution or debris.

This is what we call ‘inner marking’ and it is a significant benefit for applications in a clean room environment, as in the pharmaceutical or biomedical industries.

Forming & Fabrication

Top Left: Fig 1, CCD capture of a spatially modulated laser beam using the Flash technology Top Right: Fig 4, Semi-invisible surface marking on alumina ceramics. Left: standard lighting conditions ; Right : Dark field lighting.

Left: Fig 2,15,000-dot patterns in BK7 glass, observed with a phase contrast microscope.

Each dot is typically a few microns in diameter.

Properly optimised, inner marking does not generate micro-cracking that could alter the mechanical characteristics of the workpiece. This is illustrated in Figure 2 where a BK7 sample is marked with a complex 15,000-dot pattern (1.2mm in diameter). Viewed under a phase contrast microscope, such cracks would have been evident. The benefits of marking nonthermally is shown in Figure 3, where a highcontrast millimetre-scale QR code has been applied as an inner marking on the edge of a Petri box, but inside the material itself.

Even using nanosecond pulses, it would be nearly impossible to ensure a repeatable marking without generating large cracks triggered by the heat-absorbing impurities in the polystyrene crystal.

Semi-invisible marking as antiforgery measure Counterfeit goods reportedly account for 5%-7% of the global trade, exhibiting a vertiginous 10,000% increase of the last 20 years. Counterfeiting is no longer limited to high-price, high-tech or high-visibility brands, but has even evolved as one of the available choices in the mind of consumers.

This is a major challenge for companies eager to protect their sales, brand or IP. Inalterable inner marking described above offers a means to ensure that product traceability will be preserved, which could translate into an anti-forgery tool using proprietary encoding.

Another option is to use ‘semi-invisible’ marking, where the mark is intended to be unseen by customers and fraudsters, but should be easy to check with standard tools – usually a microscope and/or adequate lighting conditions – by the local retailer, for instance.

In transparent materials, the semi-invisible marking feature is a corollary of the micronscale dots involved in inner marking. At low density levels, they are very difficult to see with the naked eye while at the same time easily controllable with standard machine vision apparatus once the exact location of the code is known.

Semi-invisible marking can also be realised in the more common surface marking, providing the marking doesn’t induce colour changes. An example is given in Figure 4, where alumina ceramic was directly laser marked without carbonisation using Teem Photonics’ PicoSpark, a green multi-watt passively Q-switched laser. The use of dark field lighting (e.g. low-angle light conditions) makes the few hundreds of microns code obvious, whereas its contrast is low in standard lighting conditions.

Diffractive high-end colour marking using nano-ripples Ripple formation was initially discovered in 1965 using ruby lasers with millisecond pulses, but their study has been intensified with the development of ultrafast laser applications. Nano-ripples are subwavelength periodic structures created

on the surface of a material under laser irradiation. They act like diffracting gratings that split incident light, providing a colourful and dynamic visual effect. Diffraction features are dependent on the incident light properties, with wavelength, fluence and polarisation as the main parameters. The main current application fields are high-end cosmetics and branding.

The use of shorter wavelengths enables smaller grating periods, resulting in larger diffraction effects and a better splitting of colours. This is another ideal application for sub-nanosecond lasers as they are available from IR to deep UV off-the-shelf.

Nano-ripples generation with subnanosecond pulses have been demonstrated in numerous metals (stainless steel, steel, platinum, nickel, molybdenum) as well as on silicon. Figure 5 shows the Qiova logo marked on Pt-coated gold samples, showing colour diffraction over the whole visible spectrum.

Conclusion The use of ultra-short pulses for marking opens up new application fields with increased differentiation. Among them, flash marking of high-resolution 2D code, inalterable inner marking of transparent materials, semi-invisible marking, or highend branding with nano-ripples all have the potential to bring consistently higher added value.

Sub-nanosecond lasers have the adequate profile to enable these processes and bring them to the production floor. They represent a commercially available solution without incurring the high cost of ownership of femtosecond lasers. Furthermore, they are compact, intrinsically reliable and display an extensive track record in industrial use.

Dr F Thibault works as New Application Development Manager at Teem Photonics.

Dr Yoan Di Maio is an R&D engineer at Qiova. Dr Sebastien Landon is the CTO of Qiova. Dr Benjamin Dusser is the CEO of Qiova. www.raymax.com.au AMT AUGUST 2014

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Safety

ICN helps software firm find safety niche Latrobe Valley-based Sage Technology has won a major contract with Queensland’s largest electricity generator Stanwell Corporation to deliver its SageSURPASS safety system, right across the organisation.

The latest win follows a strategic decision by Sage to focus on the niche system for planning and implementing safe work programs for large-scale mining, power generation and oil and gas exploration industries. The company was established in 1990 to service the Victorian power industry but has now diversified significantly, providing its products – in particular its critical safe work systems – to a wide range of companies in power, mining, mineral processing, manufacturing and oil and gas.

SageSURPASS is an Electronic Permit To Work system that allows organisations to dramatically improve risk assessment, isolation management and permit management processes in complex and hazardous industries. The Stanwell project, launched in Brisbane recently, is one of the biggest projects undertaken by Sage.

The company’s association with ICN (Industry Capability Network) Victoria helps Sage identify further markets. As well as taking up ICN networking opportunities, Sage refers regularly to the ICN Gateway online database. According to Sage Managing Director Lynda Bertoli, the Gateway’s project list is a valuable tool to identify project activity in key sectors.

“The major project list has been a really good resource for us, to help focus our marketing and communications by identifying the key companies,” said Bertoli. “We monitor it regularly to help us identify new opportunities.”

The addition of Stanwell is recognition of the time and efficiency benefits that SageSURPASS can deliver in a range of industries.

SageSURPASS is now used in the mining sector by Fortescue Metals

Group’s Cloudbreak mine, Karara Iron Ore Project and the Roy Hill Project.

Other users include AngloGold Ashanti at its Tropicana gold mine site in Western Australia, and Woodside Energy, which was the foundation development partner of SageSURPASS. The system is in place across all of Woodside’s offshore and onshore assets.

The system is used to protect people and plant by controlling work such as maintenance activities on hazardous plant. It provides a systematic and disciplined approach to assessing the risks of a job, specifying the precautions to be taken and the timing of work.

SageSURPASS manages all of those areas that need to highlight any real or potential conflict and produces standardised certificates and tags. According to Sage, moving away from a manual paperbased system provides greater consistency and safety, massive time savings and a readily identifiable audit trail.

It is for these reasons that Stanwell is using SageSURPASS, following a restructure that meant it inherited three legacy safe systems of work. It wanted to consolidate these into a single system that delivered best-of-breed business practices, and after investigation decided to go with the Australian product, SageSURPASS. ICN matches local capability with business opportunity, assisting with importation and creating jobs for SMEs throughout Victoria.

ICN has helped secure billions of dollars in contracts for Victorian businesses that may otherwise have been placed with overseas competitors. www.sagetechnology.com.au www.icnvic.org.au

Pilz launches Robot Safety Course Australia is seeing significant growth in the use of robots, especially in non-traditional industries, as their relative cost decrease and companies seek cost savings and efficiency gains.

Amid rising demand for robotic systems, Pilz has designed a new robot safety training course. The one-day course examines how risks associated with robotic systems should be assessed and how to achieve safety while maintaining productivity.

Designed for technical personnel responsible for ensuring robotic system compliance, the course covers best practice standards including ISO 10218 and AS 4024.3301 – Robots for Industrial Environments – Safety Requirements. Participants will learn about risk assessment in robotic cells, common hazards and controls and robotic safeguarding techniques and leave with the knowledge to apply the correct strategy to ensure right-first-time engineering.

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danger zones letting the worker interact more closely with the robot without comprising safety. The new version of SafetyEYE has an improved application range and higher resolution, making it suitable for a wider range of installations.”

According to Scott Moffat, Pilz Managing Director, we’re seeing a huge increase in the number of robotic systems used in manufacturing. While these systems can deliver numerous benefits they can’t be at the expense of safety.

“Our new Robot Safety course will enable participants to create safer robotic systems and reduce accidents,” says Moffat.

“We have also invested in upgrading our SafetyEYE, a safe 3D camera system that allows for users to program various levels of

Whether your organisation is installing robots for the first time or looking to strengthen safety systems associated with robots, the Robot Safety course will enable participants to prioritise design activities related to risk and reduce complexity of safety solutions to increase productivity.

The Robot Safety course will take place in: • • • •

Melbourne - 13 August 2014 Sydney - 24 September 2014 Brisbane - 3 March 2015 Adelaide - 18 June 2015

www.machinesafe.com.au

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forum – OHS

Understanding risks along the manufacturing supply chain There are many potential risks along the manufacturing supply chain. Understanding OHS training requirements is key to protecting health and safety, as explained by Brendan Torazzi.

The manufacturing supply chain is a complex system of delivery and demand, stretching across the industry from the acquisition of raw materials through to the shipment of products to consumers.

Ensuring this process runs smoothly is an immense task, made no easier by the constant threat of potential occupational health and safety (OHS) issues. Employees at every step along the supply chain are facing some form of risk, whether through factory operations or dangers on the road during freight, for example.

Modern supply chains often require manufacturing employers to monitor health and safety beyond the boundaries of a single company. Many businesses can be involved in a single supply chain, however the focal company - overseeing the entire operation - has a responsibility to monitor and address any risks to workplace wellbeing.

While there are many complicated steps within a legitimate manufacturing supply chain, here is just a simple overview of operations and the OHS risks employees within this industry could face at each step.

Raw material suppliers The specific risks facing raw material suppliers can vary significantly, depending on the manufactured product and the sector in which the goods will complete their supply chain journey.

From farming to mining, the industries that supply raw materials to manufacturers all present particular hazards to employee health and safety. In particular, individuals working in these fields may require OHS training to protect themselves against the risk of handling hazardous materials, working in confined spaces and operating heavy machinery.

In most cases, the organisation overseeing the supply chain will engage a secondary company to supply raw materials. This means that the responsibility to provide employees with training will rest on the supplier, rather than the manufacturer. However, if employing individual suppliers as contractors, education and OHS outcomes will fall into the overseer’s jurisdiction.

Inbound logistics The pickup, transport and delivery of raw materials to factories and plants can be a complicated process and provide serious risks to employee health and wellbeing. In particular, transporting hazardous substances - such as chemicals and corrosive or unstable liquids - is a significantly dangerous process that requires all involved employees to undertake extensive training.

Drivers, handlers and receivers should all access education, permits and qualifications related to the transport, storage and use of hazardous materials. This includes correctly fitting breathing apparatus and the clean-up of spills.

As dangerous substances are often moved in tanks and enclosed trailers, undertaking confined spaces training is highly recommended. This competency will ensure that all employees within the inbound logistics chain can safely identify and respond to potentially hazardous atmospheres, which is crucial if unstable materials release toxic gases, for example.

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The inbound logistics team should also be offered training related to traffic control and management to ensure that drivers can safely operate trucks and other moving machinery, such as forklifts. This is crucial for the loading and delivery of materials, as manoeuvring trucks and equipment in factory spaces can be a complex and difficult process.

Manufacturing Once the raw materials have been delivered and stored in the manufacturing plant, the operations that follow can pose significant risks to employee health and wellbeing. For instance, the machinery required to process raw materials and create end products are typically built with various moving parts that can trap, crush or cut any person that does not take due caution.

Other potential hazards include working in confined spaces, handling hazardous materials and being exposed to continued noise and dust. Each of these risks can be addressed by accessing the relevant safety training and ensuring correct procedures are followed at all times.

Warehouses and factories contain many potential risks to employees. Correct personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn at all times. This includes strong, enclosed footwear to avoid injury if an individual were to accidentally step on or drop dangerous materials and tight-fitted clothing to reduce the risk of being caught in machinery and equipment.

Outbound logistics Similar to the inbound transport process, outbound freight practices need to be closely monitored to ensure health and safety outcomes are protected. The movement of trucks, forklifts and employees within a factory and yard creates serious OHS hazards, so accessing traffic management training should be a key consideration in the process. This will ensure that drivers, manufacturers and other workers can all occupy the same space safely, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries.

The importance of OHS training Continuous training is a key element to protecting health and safety in the manufacturing supply chain. Refreshing employees on their duties regarding OHS outcomes will ensure that they not only remain aware of the potential risks, but can also be updated if hazards change or develop during the course of their employment.

Not all training needs to be accessed in a classroom. Informal discussions, reminders and supervision can all be used to promote OHS in the workplace. This is particularly important when dealing with employees from multiple organisations, as is often the case through the manufacturing supply chain.

Brendan Torazzi is CEO of AlertForce - a Registered Training Organisation. AlertForce specialises in compliance training for Workplace Health and Safety by offering quality online, face-toface and/or blended training approaches to create fast, flexible and competitive OHS training & compliance solutions.

Ph: 1800 900 222 www.alertforce.com.au

forum – QMS

How effectively are you meeting customer expectations?

David Gray highlights six must-do’s to developing a Quality Management System for your manufacturing business.

In a climate of increasingly demanding customer expectations, how does a manufacturing business provide outstanding quality without hurting profit and growth?

With expectations high, businesses must focus not just on what they do but how they achieve their outcomes. Delivering an impressive customer result is often linked to the quality of a company’s internal operations. While most businesses understand this synergy, many fall short of having a strong quality management system (QMS) in place.

“The consequences may include ongoing operational delays, budget overruns, and a waste of precious resources. As a result, both a business’ reputation and profit may be at serious risk.”

customers. Equally you must build effective relationships with your suppliers; its little point have an understanding of your customers only to be let down by your supplier. While the general focus of ISO 9001 is to achieve customer satisfaction, this cannot be achieved without a mutual beneficial relationship with your suppliers.

3. Enable and empower your people: Engage employees by delegating responsibility and authority to deliver the promise of quality made by the organisation to its customers.

Remember if you spell out these aspects of operation, employees understand what is expected of them. Without these fundamental guidelines, employees will not understand the rules and they will develop their own which may not align with the expectations of the organisation or the customer. You must also ensure that employees have the knowledge and skills to perform their work with confidence.

Some employees responsible for quality management morph into the role without any official training or education. In some companies quality management can land on the lap of an employee who hasn’t undergone any training whatsoever. While this may have been a natural step within the business structure, it may be detrimental to overall performance.

4. Deliver on your promises: Make sure all operational aspects of the organisation are working cohesively to deliver the promise of quality, ensuring not to forget those aspects that are outsourced to external third-party providers. Do they understand what your promise of quality is, and their role in keeping this promise?

An efficient QMS, managed by a qualified staff member, improves performance and internal efficiency, identifies inconsistencies and problems and recognises ways to resolve. As a result, staff morale and productivity is increased and consumers are given confidence in the business.

5. Evaluate and seek improvement: Objectives and targets are of little value, unless they are used as the baseline to gauge success. Monitor and measure performance results to determine whether the promise of quality was achieved.

And if not, determine why not. Using these results, seek to understand what needs to change in your business roadmap and operations.

SAI Global is calling for quality managers to evaluate their skillsets in accordance with recognised standards such as ISO 9001, the international benchmark for any employee looking to implement a QMS. Its online Auditing Quality Management System training course provides a portable qualification that provides the necessary knowledge and skills in accordance with the standard. Remotely accessible, the 8 – 10 hour course is cost effective, flexible and attractive to time-poor businesses.

6. Apply the wisdom: Up to now you’ve assessed the possible roadblocks to quality. Now you must remove them through controlled changes in your operations. If you have a sufficient quality plan in place you will be able to assess which process is most appropriate to the issue and apply the solution in a timely manner to achieve results.

Based on the official ISO 9001 standard, SAI Global has provided its six foolproof steps to instill quality processes in your business.

Most importantly, the above cannot be achieved without the commitment of management.

1. Document your business model: As a first step, ensure there is a person responsible for quality management. This person is to ensure the company has a policy in place that defines its ‘quality promise’, underpinned with stated objectives and targets for employees. Be sure to include instructional documents as well as a defined ‘roadmap’ to guide employees through to fulfilling that promise. This information is to be accurate, accessible to those that need it, and detailed to a sufficient level. This cannot be successfully achieved without active support from senior management and involvement of the process owners and their staff.

ISO 9001 devotes a section on management commitment and requires “top management” to provide evidence of their commitment. As with any management process where resources are required to be purchased and or used, management are accountable and must therefore be actively involved.

2. Build relationships: Have a clear understanding of your point of difference in the marketplace – this means you must know your competitors. Know your customers, too, and what they value most about your products and services.

Communicate this information to your employees, ensuring they understand what is needed to ensure happy and satisfied

ISO 9001 provides an excellent framework for organisations to use to help establish, document, implement and improve their management system to achieve their customer’s requirements, and therefore help maintain their competiveness.

SAI Global’s online “Auditing a Quality Management System” provides the necessary knowledge and skills to audit a QMS in accordance with the guidelines outlined in ISO 9001:2008.

David Gray is SAI Gobal’s lead facilitator in Training & Improvement Solutions. SAI Global provides organisations around the world with information services and solutions for managing risk, achieving compliance and driving business improvement.

1300 727 444 www.saiglobal.com

AMT AUGUST 2014

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forum – Strategy

Manufacturing survival skills It’s time to face facts: the manufacturing industry in Australia is in flux. To be able to compete in an increasingly challenging market, companies should not just channel their efforts into improving manufacturing processes, argues Stuart Harman, but develop resilient management processes through education, training and a culture of change.

There has been a great deal of media speculation as to what the future holds for Australian manufacturing. In 2013, manufacturing attributed for less than 8% of the Australian workforce, and with more and more companies choosing to outsource to Asia, it seems as though there is some cause for consideration. But it would be foolhardy to dismiss native manufacturing as completely over; data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that spending in the manufacturing sector was higher than expected in the last quarter.

So how can businesses survive the current turmoil? The key lies in creating a culture of change.

The most resilient businesses don’t hide from change, but embrace it. And that doesn’t just mean updating manufacturing processes. In the manufacturing world we usually find high levels of process documentation and training around the manufacturing operation but less so around management processes.

This can result in a stagnant working environment, leaving managers stuck in counterproductive patterns and employees disillusioned and confused about their roles in the everyday running of the business.

Before you can change, you first need to visualise what change is required. As the Chinese proverb says ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.’

You need to establish a common definition of improvement and what is required to get there, and then relay this to your staff. If employees understand why change is necessary, and how the process will work, they will be far more engaged and excited about the project.

Make it clear that improved management processes will unlock a better, happier work environment for them.

Take the lead Change must be led from the top. The leadership team will be fundamental in driving change and getting the rest of the staff excited about new processes. Without leadership understanding and commitment, any improvement project will fail. The leadership team is pivotal to inspiring change and enforcing new policies.

They will need education, not only to understand and drive improvement themselves, but also to educate and train others within the organisation. Alongside understanding their specific role in the process, they will need to learn how to recognise best practice management processes, how to weave innovation into the company strategy, and how to effectively measure success.

Embrace dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction is generally seen as a negative, but unless people are dissatisfied with their current situation (and this starts at the very top of the organisation), they have no reason or motivation to change. Therefore, to implement sustainable change you have to embrace, or in some cases even create, dissatisfaction.

AMT AUGUST 2014

Empower staff The next step is to empower employees to change. Many manufacturers operate with a functional, top-down, hierarchal structure, but this is unlikely to stimulate real change; trying an ‘innovative’ approach to management, with a flatter team-based organisation, rather than the traditional functional silos, can prompt engagement at every level of the business. This will not only help drive collective innovation, but will also prompt productivity and efficiency benefits elsewhere.

Besides, those on the factory floor, the employees operating the machinery on a day-to-day basis, will have a unique insight into opportunities for change. Create an enabling culture in which everyone, from senior leadership to the shop floor, wants to contribute their own ideas and feels as though they will be heard. The more people are educated about what processes they own and how they can influence change, the more they will act responsibly, make the right decisions and feel energised by change.

By making the organisation’s policies and procedures readily available, people will be enabled to act without having to constantly refer to their managers, thus allowing them to make key decisions that will drive change.

process

First steps

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Some people will be quite happy with the current state of the business because they don’t know any better. In this case education can enlighten them on how things could be. For others, they will already be dissatisfied, but unsure on how to go about change.

The power of education Pushback can be a significant challenge when it comes to implementing new processes. There is always an inclination for people to stay within their comfort zone, but by educating your staff you can highlight issues, create dissatisfaction, leverage understanding and promote the idea of change.

It’s an uncertain time for the Australian manufacturing industry, and only the strongest organisations will survive. The best way to stay robust is to evolve with the changing times, and the secret to true evolution lies in education. By creating an environment for change and empowering people at all levels of the business to own innovation and drive change, you will ensure your organisation is fit for the future.

Stuart Harman is a Partner at Oliver Wight - a consultancy firm which believes sustainable business improvement can only be delivered by your own people; so, unlike other consultancy firms, Oliver Wight transfers its knowledge to you. Pioneers of Sales and Operations Planning and originators of the fundamentals behind supply chain planning, Oliver Wight professionals are the acknowledged industry thought leaders for Integrated Business Planning (IBP). Ph: 03 9596 5830 information@oliverwight-ap.com www.oliverwight-ap.com

forum – Law

Toll manufacturing of food For food manufacturers, toll manufacturing agreements differ from traditional distribution and supply agreements. The risks and benefits are explained by Claire Lawford and Paul Kirton of law firm M+K. Food manufacturers are increasingly entering into “toll manufacturing” arrangements at the expense of their own product manufacturing. While there are obvious volume benefits in entering into these types of agreements, too often the terns of these relationships are informal or not clearly documented – leaving food manufacturers at risk.

1. Certainty: ensure that the agreement is clear and accurately describes the parties’ relationships. The term of the agreement, as well as any renewal periods should be documented and consider all alternatives.

Before any new venture (or if reviewing an existing arrangement), understand the benefits and risks and use legal agreements to provide adequate protections, certainty and fairness.

3. Products: especially in relation to exclusive manufacturing arrangements, the definition of “products” is important as are their “Specifications”. If the definition of products is broad and uncertain, a food manufacturer may be prohibited from manufacturing similar products under their own brand or for others. This can have a devastating impact on food manufacturers who assumed that they would be able to continue to manufacture certain products for themselves or other customers.

Benefits to food manufacturers • No requirement to dedicate time and resources to brand and market development.

• Dealing with and delivering to one or two key customers, rather than a broad range of smaller retailers.

• Less competition, as it is the customer whose brand and product is competing in the market place.

• Maximise factory utilisation, by adding a few other product lines to existing branded products.

Risks to food manufacturers • No ownership of the brand and, in most cases, no ownership of intellectual property in the products (even if co-developed).

• Heavy reliance on the customer continuing the arrangement; and • Less long-term certainty and control of product development.

However, it is important to bear in mind that toll manufacturing agreements differ from traditional distribution and supply agreements, as it is often the customer that owns part or all of the brand/recipe/technology/specifications and the end products.

Toll manufacturing agreements for food manufacturers In order to minimise risks and contractual disputes, a comprehensive toll manufacturing agreement is essential. Both parties should discuss, agree and document the terms of the relationship in advance.

Where possible, food manufacturers should seek to impose their own Agreement. Alternatively, where a large retailer imposes their own terms and conditions of purchase, food manufacturers should carefully review the terms and conditions and seek legal advice in relation to key areas of exposure and risk. Even where retailers are unwilling to negotiate their terms and conditions, being aware of your risk from the outset allows you to prepare for “worst case” scenarios and put procedures in place to reduce your exposure.

Negotiable commercial terms (eg. pricing, duration, minimum orders, forecasts) can be used to mitigate some risks. Insurance can also be used to underwrite other risks.

M+K’s Food Group acts for many food manufacturers, and many toll manufacturers. When acting, the following key issues always arise:

2. Supply terms: Price, price review, order times, forecasts, delivery all need to be considered and agreed.

4. Intellectual Property and confidential information: be clear about who will own the intellectual property in the products and the confidential information generated throughout the agreement. Aside from the ownership rights in the final food product, there are other highly valuable aspects of the product that food manufacturers should maintain ownership of, for example, processes and procedures in relation to the development or manufacture of the product, unreleased products and recipes specifically developed by the food manufacturer, to a general brief.

5. Default and liability clauses: mistakes and faulty products can be very expensive, and in the food industry they can have life threatening consequences. Your agreement should cover and limit your warranty and liability obligations to the customer (bearing in mind that there may be mandatory warranties that you cannot contract out of). For example, if the retailer decides or is ordered to perform a product recall, what is your liability as the manufacturer of the product? If the customer is able to pass on the costs of the recall to you, are you obliged to replace the faulty products, at your expense? What if the customer’s recipe or specifications that have caused the problem? Failure to adequately set out these procedures in an agreement can have huge financial impact on your business.

6. Termination: carefully consider the rights of each party to terminate the agreement. As a food manufacturer, you may invest a considerable amount of money up-front to be able to manufacture products to a customer’s specification – if the customer has the right to terminate the agreement, without cause, on 30 days notice, then this places a manufacturer in a vulnerable position. The agreement should also clarify each party’s actions at the end of the agreement. For example, is the customer required to purchase any remaining stock, packaging or raw materials? Are there any restraint clauses which prohibit you from manufacturing products for another retailer for a certain period of time?

At M+K, we assist our clients in adapting their businesses to excel in changing manufacturing environments. We have extensive experience in preparing and reviewing manufacturing, distribution and supply agreements. Please contact Paul Kirton or Claire Lawford for further information on 03 9794 2617 and paul.kirton@mk.com.au. www.mk.com.au

AMT August 2014

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manufacturing history

60 YEARS WITH MEN AND MACHINES – PART 46

Machine tools and global warfare Part 5 Secrecy, speed and surveillance photos

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). It is 1942 and America is catapulted into WW2. Fred is now 75 years young, and with his retirement interrupted, finds himself agreeing to work for the Aeronautics division in the US Navy. By Fred Colvin By early 1942 I found myself working for the US Navy. Soon after the work on steel-bladed propeller manufacture had been completed, I was assigned to the problem of machining a very involved type of impeller used for turbo-superchargers.

The impeller was made from an aluminum forging - or rather several forgings, as it was found necessary to divide the impeller into three parts due to the excessive vibration at the high test speeds at which it was run.

It was discovered that at these high speeds - over 35,000 rpm - the body of the impeller stretched, the hole enlarging several thousandths of an inch, and other changes taking place in the structure of the blades. Before finish-boring of the hole, the practical thing to do, we decided, was to spin the impeller blanks at this speed, or close to it. The milling of the impeller vanes or blades was also a very tricky job, for they had been designed with unusual mathematical curves that required expensive and fragile milling cutters. So what with the designers and their ever-changing curves and all the other logistic, logarithmic, and catenary curves - and the operators and owners of the machine shops themselves, who were notorious for their fixed ideas on the subject of machining, we never got very far into large-scale production. To sum it all up, it was a costly investment for the Navy without much to show for it in the way of super-chargers. But the mathematics of the problem was interesting.

Gas turbines and jet-propelled units also came to the forefront under a heavy cover of secrecy, and presented an oldtimer like me with thoughts beyond the reaches of his soul. It seemed as though I had to be a combination of Buck Rogers and H. G. Wells, and everything was supposed to be done in a great hurry.

One design for a jet-propelled plane was finally adopted and assigned to a wellknown engine manufacturer to produce, but it was so terribly complicated that I

made every effort to have the primary contract split up so that several auxiliary builders might go to work on a sample lot and simplify the procedure as much as possible, but the idea ran into a stone wall and no units of this type were built while the war lasted.

While General MacArthur was launching his attack on New Guinea in keeping with his famous promise, “I shall return,” and while the Australian and American paratroopers were landing in the swamps around Port Moresby with jeeps, mortars, and artillery dropped out of gliders, ready to chase the invading Japanese back across the Owen-Stanley range, eventually overrunning the coastal strong point, a new type of assignment was given me - one in which I had had quite a bit of experience. Because of my knowledge of machine shops generally and of the layout of Japanese shops in particular, gleaned from my 1929 visit to that country, I was called in to work

on plans for demolishing the war plants of the Rising Sun via the medium of our B-29 bombers. The Japanese were under the handicap of having had most of their modern shops built by American firms, and consequently we had a complete file of blueprints of nearly all of them, together with their surrounding topographical features. With these drawings and numerous accompanying photographs, we built miniature models of each important plant, with papier-mâché scale buildings of the various shapes and sizes located in the correct position with relation to neighboring rivers, railroads, and other landmarks. These models were then photographed from various angles as they might appear to a bombardier flying over them, and each photograph was carefully labeled, including the angle from which it was taken, and eventually passed on to the pilot and bombardier of the B-29’s, so that they could easily pick out the portions of the plant that were supposed to be the most vulnerable. From the reports we have had from Japan since the war ended, it is clearly evident that these ‘map-photographs” were of tremendous help in destroying the war-making capacity of the Japanese.

Although I was passing seventy-five, I really enjoyed the considerable amount of travel, both by train and airplane, which my war work involved. I had to make four trips to California to visit airplane and other types of plants in that vicinity, and on the way I stopped off in Dallas both going and coming, taking side trips also to Houston and Oklahoma City to look at small shops, which might be capable of making oleos and other parts for prime contractors.

Two developments found at the Alameda (California) Air Base are deserving of mention. Both have to do with Plexiglas.

To be continued…

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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AMT AUGUST 2014

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Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

Manufacturing technology incentives to invest are critical I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. CNC machine tools are the mother of all invention.

They make the parts that make the machines that make many of the products that we buy today. There is very little that can be bought or used that will not have had a machine tool – or indeed many – utilised in its production. From a television and the chair that you sit on to watch it, to the breakfast cereal and the spoon that you use to eat it, the manufacturing process will have involved a CNC machine tool of some sort in its supply chain. This is why it is so imperative for us to continue investing in technology.

I recently caught up with many of my international colleagues at the EMTE/Eastpo exhibition in Shanghai, and much of the discussion was around CNC machine tool production and consumption. Now I know we are not a large producer of machine tools in this country, but it is disappointing to see the trend for consumption is not keeping pace with the rest of the world.

Whilst Australia’s manufacturing output as a percentage of GDP has dropped to around 7%, it is worth noting that this is only relative to growth of other industries. That is to say, Australia’s total manufacturing production over the past 35 years has actually increased from $26.3bn to $111.7bn per annum. That equates to around 1% of the total global manufacturing output of $11,360bn as indicated in the latest McKinsey Global Report into manufacturing. Yet our investment in machine tools for 2014 is predicted to be $244m, which is only 0.4% of the global consumption figure, predicted to be $58bn.

We need support from the Federal Government to stimulate investment in new technology. An accelerated depreciation scheme would be one solution. Allowing companies to write off equipment over a two-year period is a proven model. I have spoken to many companies over the past few years that agree this would provide them with a concrete incentive to reinvest, even in these difficult times.

The high dollar makes imported equipment relatively affordable, interest rates are still low, and access to finance is available, making the return on investment as good as it has been for years. The issue is that business confidence is uncertain, and we desperately need a stimulus package for our manufacturing sector to take it through the next few years and beyond.

AMTIL will continue to raise this issue with our Federal politicians in the hope that a policy change can be made and our manufacturing sector can continue to build global capability and access international markets.

AMTILinside

International exhibitions continue to draw strong support The second-half of every two-year cycle (even-numbered years) provides many opportunities for Australian manufacturers to visit major international trade shows.

AMTIL recently participated in the EMTE/Eastpo exhibition in Shanghai, from 14-17 July. This is the first time the event has been staged in this format, combining the newly established European Machine Tool Exhibition (EMTE) with the existing Shanghai International Machine Tool Fair (Eastpo). CECIMO, owner of the largest machine tool exhibition in the world – EMO - brought considerable weight to the event through the support of its 15 national member associations from Europe.

Over 700 exhibitors from 24 countries were present and with over 60,000 visitor registrations, the show achieved its aim to provide a high-quality platform serving the needs of exhibitors and visitors alike. AMTIL had a stand in the International Pavilion of the exhibition, and whilst we did not see many Aussies at the show, our presence reinforced the fact that Australia is still a country to do manufacturing business with. There will be a variety of other shows over the coming months that AMTIL staff and directors will be attending.

The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), held from 8-13 September in Chicago, is the major international show for the US market. AMTIL has been attending this event for the past 15 years and will again have a stand in the International Association area. We are planning to have a social day and plant tours during this week and are looking for companies interested in joining these activities. If you are attending IMTS and would like to be connected to other Australians going, please let us know.

AMB is being held in Stuttgart from 16-20 September. A number of AMTIL Directors will be attending this exhibition and are happy to help fellow Australians visiting this show.

AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti on AMTIL’s stand at EMTE/Eastpo.

Euroblech, the major international sheetmetal exhibition, is being held in Hannover from 21-25 October. A number of AMTIL directors and members will be attending this show and would be more than happy to assist other AMTIL members planning to attend.

Jimtof is still regarded as the major machine tool show for the Asian market. It is held at Tokyo Big Sight and will run from 30 October to 4 November. AMTIL has a booth and meeting room, which will be available for visitors to use as a base for their time at the show.

For more information on any of the above events, please contact Shane Infanti at sinfanti@amtil.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.

AMT August 2014

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AMTILinside

AM HUB launched at Inside 3D Printing AMTIL was one of the exhibitors at Inside 3D Printing last month, a conference and exhibition that brought together some of Australia’s leading players in the fast-growing field of additive manufacturing (AM).

Inside 3D Printing took place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 9-10 July. The event offered an impressively diverse showcase of some of the companies and organisations that are at the forefront of the industry’s development here in Australia.

“The Additive Manufacturing HUB, in particular, has generated a lot of interest among visitors to the stand – we’ve actually spoken to a lot of people who were directed over to us by other exhibitors. We’re very pleased with that outcome. It’s a very exciting time.”

Among those exhibiting were key technology suppliers including Objective3D, 3D Systems and Stratasys, as well as research bodies that are engaged in cutting-edge work in the field, such as the CSIRO and RMIT University. In addition, the event featured exhibits from a number of companies that have begun to seize the opportunities presented by this emerging technology, including Keech 3D and 3D Group.

The Additive Manufacturing HUB

Parallel to the exhibition was a packed speaker program that ran throughout the event. Keynote speaker Terry Wohlers of Wohlers Associates kicked off proceedings on the first day with an examination of the latest trends in AM. The keynote address on the second day came from Professor Milan Brandt, with a look at how research conducted at the RMIT Advanced Manufacturing Precinct is helping companies create new market opportunities. Elsewhere in the program were presentations on the impact that AM is having in fields as diverse as defence, medicine, architecture and fashion.

Attendance remained strong across the two days of Inside 3D Printing, both on the exhibition floor and in the speaker theatre.

The event’s organisers Mediabistro have estimated the overall attendance figure at between 1200 and 1300. For AMTIL, the event was an opportunity to launch its new Additive Manufacturing HUB, and it proved very successful.

“We’ve had a very good experience being involved in Inside 3D Printing,” said AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti. “It’s been consistently busy on our stand and we’ve had some very interesting conversations. It’s really shown just how diverse and innovative this new industry sector has become in Australia.

State

Date

The Additive Manufacturing HUB is a new joint venture co-ordinated

by AMTIL and involving the CSIRO, META and a number of key stakeholders. It has been established to provide a formal central network providing connections and delivering opportunities across the AM industry here in Australia.

Built on a foundation of strong support from industry, the research community, technology suppliers, government agencies and other service providers, the Additive Manufacturing HUB will provide access to services from which the AM community can develop and mature. The key benefits of this network are education & knowledge transfer, networking & communication, marketing & promotion, research capability and market access.

AMTIL and its partners are organising a number of AM HUB events over the coming weeks. Presentations will be given on what the CSIRO is doing in the metallic AM space to assist the country, including how you can engage with us and receive help in applying for grants. We will also have an overview of the AM HUB by AMTIL and case studies from prominent industry representatives. See below the schedule of events.

Membership of the Additive Manufacturing HUB is free to AMTIL members. For more information or to become a member of AMTIL and the AM HUB, you can email Shane Infanti at AMTIL: sinfanti@amtil.com.au

Time Venue

New South Wales Wednesday 13th August 4pm – 6pm CSIRO, Riverside Life Sciences Centre Auditorium

Riverside Corporate Park, 11 Julius Avenue, North Ryde South Australia Wednesday 20th August 9am – 11am

South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute North Terrace, Adelaide

Western Australia (Session 1) Thursday 21st August 4pm – 6pm

Jakovich Centre, AMC (Australian Marine Complex) Cnr McGrath and Russell Roads, Henderson

Western Australia (Session 2) Friday 22nd August 9am – 11am

Technology Park Function Centre 2 Brodie Hall Drive, Bentley

Queensland Wednesday 27th August 4pm – 6pm CSIRO (QCAT) Lecture Theatre,

1 Technology Court (off Bainbridge Drive), Pullenvale Victoria Tuesday 9th September 4pm – 6pm

CSIRO/Monash University New Horizons Building Building 82, Access via Bayview Avenue, Clayton

Photo courtesy of Anthony McKee

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AMT AUGUST 2014

Photo courtesy of Anthony McKee

Manufactureres Pavilion proudly owned and operated

by AMTIL

Save the Date Back in 2015!

26th – 29th May 2015 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Profiling Australian Business for Australian Opportunity • Australian Manufacturers • Speaker Program • Networking Opportunities For more information visit www.amtil.com.au Austech and the Manufacturers Pavilion are proudly owned and operated by AMTIL. Manufacturers Pavilion is within Austech 2015

AMTILinside

New AMTIL Members

3D Printing Systems Melbourne: 03 9099 0225 Sydney: 02 8015 6732 Brisbane: (0)7 3088 4891 sales@3dprintingsystems.com www.3dprintingsystems.com

AMAG Industries 432 Belmore Road Mont Albert North, VIC 3129 Tel: 0450 602 130 wengguangming@gmail.com www.tcmagforce.com

Austedan Fabrications Pty Ltd 14 Nelson Road Cardiff, NSW 2285 Tel: 02 4953 7112 mail@austedan.com.au www.austedan.com.au

Dumfries Group 131 Chestnut Street Cremorne, VIC 3121 Tel: 03 9427 7742 rodney@dumfriesgroup.com

Round 18 Duromer Products Pty Ltd Lot 109 Progress Circuit Prestons, NSW 2170 Tel: 02 9743 0355 andrew.stewart@duromer.com www.duromer.com

Industrial Measurement Solutions P/L U3/15-17 Beaumont Road Mt Kuringai, NSW 2080 Tel: (02) 9457 7794 info@measure.com.au www.measure.com.au

Invenio Pty Ltd L4, 37-41 Prospect Street Box Hill, VIC 3128 Tel: 1300 422 842 info@invenio.com.au www.invenio.com.au

Lincoln Electric Company (Aust) P/L 35 Bryant Street Padstow, NSW, 2211 Tel: 1300 728 720 sales@lincolnelectric.com.au www.lincolnelectric.com.au

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AustrAliAn ing MAnufActur technology

apr14

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Magazine industry. your

AustrAliAn MAnufActuring technology

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your industry. your Magazin

Medical: Gaining an edge

Agriculture – Fresh ground for manufacturers

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uring .Agriculture .Additive Manufact

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rs & Drives

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.Cutting Tools .Welding .Recruitm

AMT August 2014

Would you like to advertise in Australia’s No. 1 precision and manufacturing magazine?

Call Anne Samuelsson of AMTIL on 03 9800 3666 or email asameulsson@amtil.com.au

Half way through.

At the time of print, we were part-way through round 18, which served up a few upsets and great competitiveness from the lower clubs. St Kilda, who had comfortably been holding up the ladder in last spot, caused the biggest upset, beating equal second Fremantle at Etihad Stadium. The mighty Bulldogs pup brigade gave Essendon a real fright and lead deep into the last part of the game only to see Jake Carlisle’s continuing improvement upforward grab victory with an eight goal mauling.

Paul Roos’ Demons almost did the unthinkable and beat Port Adelaide on home soil but for again their key forward Schulz slot the last goal of the game with a minute to go. Fethers has skipped out to a handy 3 point lead, with a number of tipsters stil in the hunt. Laurie Sanchez 1 Fethers

110 (410)

2 Daniel Fisher

107 (402)

3 Brendan Smith

107 (422)

4 SKN

106 (460)

5 Jeff Hedger

106 (487)

6 WSG

105 (447)

7 Shane Infanti

105 (453)

8 Seco

105 (474)

9 Raff

104 (632)

10 mike.k

103 (438

Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited

Keeping it Simple.

One Membership, Many Benefits.

connect.inform.grow.

MeMbershIp pAckAges AvAILAbLe 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 corporate services Manager greg chalker on 03 9800 3666 or gchalker@amtil.com.au

1220AMTIL

www.amtil.com.au

industry calendar

Please Note: It is recommended to contact the exhibition organiser to confirm before attending event

INTERNATIONAL Euromold Brasil Brazil, Joinville 18-22 August 2014 Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development. With its relatively young exhibition, DEMAT GmbH extends its range of exhibitions to five continents. DEMAT formed a joint venture with “Messe Brasil” to present this exhibition, which debuted in 2012 www.brasilmold.

IMPE China, Tianjin 21-24 August 2014 Metals processing exhibition includes metalcutting/EDM, laser machine tools, forging machinery, metal cutting and welding equipment, moulds and sheet metal processing equipment, robotics/automation,software, testing/measuring instruments. www.chinaimpe.com.cn Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo 26-27 Aug 2014: Hong Kong 18-19 Sep 2014: Tokyo 21-23 Oct 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 Vietnam Manufacturing Expo Vietnam, Hanoi 27-29 August 2014 Includes: machine Tools; Metalworking Technology; Sheet Metalworking Technology ; Welding Technology; software. www.vietnammanufacturingexpo.com Taipei International Mould & Die Industry Fair Taiwan, Taipei 27-30 August 2014 Includes: machining centres, electric discharge machines, wire cutting/milling/grinding/ engraving machines, lathes, cutters, tools, testing equipment, moulds/dies; software. www.odm-dmi.com/en MTT Malaysia Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 27-30 August 2014 Inaugural international machine tools, metalworking technology, precision engineering & tooling exhibition www.mtt-kl.com/2014 IMEX India, New Delhi 4-6 September 2014 International machine tools expo. includes machine tools and allied products.(Software, material handling; machining/turning/grinding centres, lathes, drilling/boring/milling machines; sheetmetal equipment) www.imexonline.com MMMM (Minerals, Metals Metallurgy & Materials) India, New Delhi 4-7 September 2014 Includes: metal engineering; aluminum and its alloys; automation; base metals production; materials processing; machine tools; logistics. www.mmmm-expo.com

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AMT August 2014

IMTS USA, Chicago 8-13 September 2014 One of the largest industrial trade shows in the world. Includes more than 15,000 new machine tools, controls, computers, software, components, systems and processes. www.imts.com AmCon New York: 10-11 September Texas – 7-8 October Utah – 22-23 October Michigan – 11-12 November A one-stop-shop design & contract manufacturing expo which includes forming/ fabricating; machining; engineering; prototyping; finishing; assembly. www.amconshows.com Jordan International Industries & Machinery Exhibition Jordan 15-18 September 2014 A leading Sourcing Exhibition in the Levant region. Includes metal working machinery, machine tools, plastic processing, food processing, welding equipment. www.jordanmachineryshow.com METAL Poland, Targi Kielce 16-18 September 2014 International Fair of Technologies for Foundry.

Includes: melting of casting alloys. www.targikielce.pl Korea Metal Week South Korea, 16-19 September 2014 Includes Fastener & Wire Korea, Die Casting & Foundry Korea, Automobile & Machine Parts Korea, Press & Forging Korea, Tube & Pipe Korea, Metal Surface Treatment & Painting Korea, 3D printing Technology Show. www.korea-metal.com Metalurgia Brazil, Joinville 16-19 September 2014 International Fair and Congress of Technology for Casting, Forging, Aluminum and Services. www.metalurgia.com.br/en AMB Germany, Stuttgart 16-20 September 2014 Leading international metal working exhibition www.messe-stuttgart.de/en/amb BIET Bangladesh 18-20 September 2014 Bangladesh Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing Technology Trade Show.

Includes CAD/CAM, casting/forging; dies & moulds; automation. http://bietexpo.asktradex.com Toolex Poland 30 September – 2 October 2014 International machine tools, tools and processing technology fair. Includes machine and measurement tools; CAD/CAM. www.exposilesia.pl/toolex/uk

M-Tech Japan, Osaka 24-26 September 2014 Mechanical Components & Materials Technology Expo. Categorised into 17 zones. www.mtech-kansai.jp/en Interplas UK, Birmingham 30 September – 2 October 2014 Leading British plastics event, covering all the manufacturing processes, technologies and services. www.interplasuk.com MSE2014 Manufacturing Solutions Expo Singapore, Suntec City Convention Centre 8-10 October 2014 www.smfederation.org.sg (click on Calendar/Trade Fairs) Mining and Engineering (M&E) Indonesia Indonesia, Jakarta 29-31 October 2014 Delivers significant opportunities for Australian and international suppliers to enhance their business profile, launch latest technologies and services and network with mining professionals from Indonesia and the surrounding region. www.miningandengineeringindo.com JIMTOF Japan, Tokyo 30 October – 4 November 2014 Leading international machine tool exhibition www.jimtof.org/eng Metalex Thailand 19-22 November 2014 Includes: machine/metalworking tools; metrology; welding technology; mould & die; sheet metal working; automation; material handling; accessories. www.metalex.co.th/ Euromold Germany, Frankfurt 25-28 November 2014 World fair for moldmaking and tooling, design and application development. www.euromold.com MACTECH 2014 Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center 27-30 November 2014 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

2015 3D Printing - Next Revolution in MultiMaterial Fabricated Parts USA, Las Vegas 17-19 February 2015 3D Printing has begun reshaping the manufacturing base and promises to be the 21st Century’s industrial revolution. Practically all industries will be impacted; www.dddprintingconference.com

industry calendar local Cleanscene Sydney Olympic Park 2-4 September 2014 National cleaning and hygiene expo. Co-located with Safety in Action. www.cleansceneshow.com.au Safety in Action Sydney Olympic Park 2-4 September 2014 Includes comprehensive range of safety products and services. www.safetyinaction.net.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

Advertiser Index 3D Printing.com.au Pty Ltd 61 3D Systems Asia Pacific 8 Acra Machinery 23 AlfexCNC 17 Amada 86-87 AMTIL AMT 10,71 AMTIL Membership 83 AMTIL Manufacturelink 79 AMTIL Austech 81 Applied Machinery Aust. P/L 33 Complete Machine Tool Services 15 Complete Machine Tools 31 Compressed Air Australia 19 Dimac Tools 39 DMG Mori Seiki 88 G-Zero five 59 Hare & Forbes 65

Mining & Engineering NSW Newcastle Entertainment Centre 8-10 October 2014 The latest products and technologies for the rapidly growing coal mining sector of the Upper Hunter Valley. www.miningandengineeringnsw.com.au Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo Sydney 9-10 October 2014 Innovations in the collection, sorting and processing of waste from the municipal, commercial and construction sectors. www.awre.com.au All Energy Australia 2014 Melbourne Convention Centre 15-16 October 2014 Business-to-business conference, networking forum hosted alongside an exhibition showcasing renewable energy, clean energy, sustainable transport and energy efficiency. www.all-energy.com.au Sustainability in Business Melbourne Convention Centre 15-16 October 2014 How a sustainable future and sustainable innovation can help drive ta company forward to improve their profitability and social responsibility. www.australiansustainability.com.au Queensland Gas Conference Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 25-26 November 2014 Dedicated to the latest developments surrounding Coal Seam Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas in Queensland www.queenslandgasconference.com.au

Iscar LMC Laser LS Starrett Machinery Forum MAPAL MTI Qualos Objective3D OKUMA OSG Asia Pty Ltd ProZ3D Solutions Raymax Recruit Australia Seco Tools Siemens Industry Software Sutton Tools Thyssenkrupp Walter

Cover, 2-3 29 25 77 9, 37 21, 43 55 7 4,5 57 67 12 49 13 47 27 11

Would you like to advertise in Australia’s No. 1 precision and manufacturing magazine?

Call Anne Samuelsson of AMTIL on 03 9800 3666 or email asameulsson@amtil.com.au

2015 Australian Motoring Festival Melbourne Showground 26-29 March, 2015 Showcasing the largest cross-section of vehicles ever assembled in this country, including new and historic cars and motorcycles, SUVs, and special interest vehicles. www.australianmotoringfestival.com.au Austech Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 26-29 May 2015 Australia’s premier advanced precision manufacturing and machine tool exhibition.

The only show specifically targeted at the metalworking, machine tool and ancillary market held in Australia. www.amtil.com.au/Austech-Exhibition National Manufacturing Week Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 26-29 May 2015 Fully integrated annual manufacturing exhibition showcasing the latest products and constantly evolving technologies in the expanding manufacturing market www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au/ Avalon 2015 Victoria, Geelong 25 February – 1 March 2015 Australian International Airshow & Aerospace & Defence Exposition www.airshow.com.au/airshow2015

sep14 Australian Manufacturing Technology

Your Industry. Your Magazine.

NEXT MONTH…

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS We take a look the opportunities that exist in the world of trucks, trains and shipping, and how Australian manufacturers can get onboard.

MATERIAL REMOVAL SOFTWARE QUALITY & INSPECTION COMPOSITES

AMT August 2014

| 85

FOL 3015 eAJ r r Lase Fib

WHAT A FIBER LASER SHOULD BE

Amada has engineered the FOL- AJ to produce the highest quality parts at unmatched speed while reducing operating costs and environmental waste. This innovative fiber laser was specifically engineered for cutting and it delivers the world's fastest processing speeds.

Both machine and solid state oscillator are developed by AMADA, providing perfectly synchronised components for optimum performance.

• All linear drive axis – 5G & 340 m/min • Up to 100 m/min cutting speeds • Increased cutting range - cut copper/brass/titanium • Low running costs - 70% electricity saving • Long maintenance cycles • Reliable laser beam with superior edge quality

Amada 4kw Solid state oscillator NO LASER GAS NEEDED

Amada Oceania Pty Ltd www.amada.com.au

SETTING GLOBAL STANDARDS

“The speed of the Amada fiber laser was just superior to everything else we had seen.”

“As the most innovative company in the industry we are continually getting better all the time.

The Amada fiber laser is another step in that direction – without even knowing the numbers you could just tell that it was fast.”

Mark Stratford, Director of KS Metal Fabrications, a division of Kavanagh Industries

If you were travelling around Australia – or even the world – you wouldn’t find many companies using laser machines to fabricate ductwork for air conditioning systems.

Traditionally, the HVAC & R industry is relying on low- or high-definition plasma cutters, which do have their merits, but cannot be compared to laser systems in terms of speed.

When Aidan Kavanagh (MD at Kavanagh Industries) and Mark Stratford, Director of KS Metal Fabrications, in Smithfield, NSW, were looking to expand their capacities, they decided to investigate laser cutters as an alternative to their existing range of plasma machines. “Since I had seen one I have always wanted one,” Mark admits with a smile.

KS Metal Fabrications was born seven years ago out of the need of Kavanagh Industries to increase output and flexibility in order to

satisfy their growing market. Today Kavanagh Industries (including KS division) has a manufacturing facility of 17,000 sqm which is one of the biggest and most innovative duct manufacturers in Australia, has 75 employees and services all of its customers’ sheetmetal, general fabrication and silencer needs – whether it be mild, galvanized, stainless steel or aluminium.

In March this year, Amada installed the FOL-3015-AJ fiber laser, and the team at Kavanagh Industries is wrapped with its performance. “The speed is just superior to everything else we have seen,” Mark says and adds that before coming across the Amada fiber laser, they hadn’t seen another machine capable to replace their plasma cutters. “Today, our operators push a button and have their morning tea. Just 13 minutes later, the laser has finished the whole nest,

which used to take the plasma around 1.5 hours!” In terms of feed rates, we are talking about a difference of 45 m/min on the laser as compared to 6 m/min on the plasma – a huge difference!

As a result, Kavanagh Industries can replace all of their five existing plasma cutters with the one single fiber laser system – a worthwhile investment. Mark admits it was a steep learning curve to actually get 100% of the available performance out of the laser system because it is their first experience with lasers, but he says that Amada’s support has been fantastic. The high accuracy and speed of the laser will allow us to engineer a lot more quality and efficiency processes into our system.

The company might soon be looking at a second fiber laser system....

Unmatched productivity High speed & accuracy: Amada’s 3-axis linear motor drive system sets the global standard. It provides for over 338 m/min in traverse speeds and 5G acceleration over the entire work envelope and ensures absolute accuracy even at the highest cutting speeds.

Quality: In contrast to other fiber lasers, Amada’s FOL-AJ produces phenomenal edge quality in 3/4˝ and 5/8˝ mild steel – rivalling some of the finest CO2 laser cutting systems. This is due to the four mirrors in the Z-axis directly above the cutting head, which give precise control over the laser beam.

Productivity: The FOL-AJ’s high-speed shuttle tables and automatic nozzle changer maximise productivity. The shuttle tables externalise the material setup eliminating interference with the cutting process. Moreover, the 8-station changer automatically changes, cleans and calibrates the nozzle based on material processing requirements.

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