Manufacturers' Monthly July 2014

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JULY 2014

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MANAGEMENT >> TECHNOLOGY >> SOLUTIONS

JULY 2014

Geelong developing ‘aluminium of the 21st century’

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Manufacturing Execution Systems Seeing your way to success

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Automation & Robotics Automation need not be complicated

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Workplace Safety Safety figures don’t lie

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Inside

For daily news visit manmonthly.com.au

JULY 2014

Publisher: Martin Sinclair martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au Managing Editor: Kevin Gomez Ph: (02) 8484 0976 Fax: (02) 8484 0722 kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au Editor: Matt McDonald Ph: (02) 8484 0645 Fax: (02) 8484 0722 matthew.mcdonald@cirrusmedia.com.au Journalists: Brent Balinski Ph: (02) 8484 0680 Fax: (02) 8484 0722 brent.balinski@cirrusmedia.com.au Editor-at-Large: Alan Johnson Ph: (02) 8484 0725 alan.johnson@cirrusmedia.com.au Graphic Designer: Louis Santos louis.santos@cirrusmedia.com.au Production Co-ordinator: Mary Copland Ph: (02) 8484 0737 mary.copland@cirrusmedia.com.au VIC/Overseas Sales: Michael Northcott

6 Editorial ■ We need incentives not subsidies

8 News & Analysis ■ Aussie competitiveness up ■ A tale of two car industries

10 Comment ■ Where to now for the RET? ■ How to shape manufacturing’s future?

■ Top 9 automation trends

16 IT@MM ■ Seeing your way to success ■ Working smart ■ Tablet PC for field applications

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28 Automation & Robotics

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■ Automation need not be complicated ■ Industrial gateway upgraded ■ Pervasive sensing drives automation

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36 Compressors & Pneumatics ■ Controllers that keep the big picture in mind ■ ‘Air receivers’ optimise compressor demands

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50 What’s New ■ Safety hinge switches ■ Multi-purpose maintain lube ■ Thermal imaging in hazardous locations

46 Product Spotlight Process Control

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44 3D Printing ■ Education still a key to 3D Printing’s future

43 Materials Handling ■ SSI Schaefer’s new vertical lift module

■ Non-intrusive flow measurement ■ Pneumatic control unit with position feedback ■ Compact laser micrometer

54 The Last Word ■ Can Australia still make things?

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On the cover

MANAGEMENT >> TECHNOLOGY >> SOLUTIONS

JULY 2014

Average Net Distribution Period ending Mar ’14

Geelong developing ‘aluminium of the 21st century’

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CARBON fibre is an exciting material.

It possesses an unbeatable strengthto-weight ratio and its uses are set to extend way beyond aerospace and into areas such as offshore oil and gas, sporting goods, power cables, wind turbines and automobiles.

Many believe Australia can play an important role as the carbon fibre

composites industry develops.

The efforts to get this country involved in the burgeoning market have already started. Deakin University’s new Carbon Nexus research facility in Geelong opened in May and a new Carbon Fibre Hub has been set up to foster the industry.

Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 5

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Comment

KEVIN GOMEZ – Managing Editor

We need incentives not subsidies

L

NEXTISSUE • Electric Motors, Controllers & Drives • Industrial Doors & Access Systems • Packaging & Packaging Equipment • How to Win Contracts and Tenders • Warehousing Software • Bulk Handling • Dust & Fume Control MA 0 7 1 4 _ 0 0 0 _ B O C

ast month the world was abuzz as Google launched its driverless car. It lacked steering, a gas pedal and gears. an astute observer pointed out that this is akin to our government’s policy on manufacturing.

One of two things the Google car driver can control is a red “e-stop” button and Canberra seems to have this permanently pressed. there is another button — but more of that later. a prime example is biotechnology, where australia continues to be the leading location for biotechnology companies in the asia-Pacific region, hosting 600 medical technology manufacturers and 400 biotechnology companies. this industry needs access to significant funds to develop and register technologies before recording any revenues. according to the most recent Grant thornton survey, 61 percent of CEOs surveyed identified the Research and Development tax Credit as a major source of frustration. the tax credit was actually announced four years back — in the 2009/2010 Federal Budget.

However, it is yet to be passed.

Implementing this policy could be the difference between thriving and starving for australia’s most promisimg 1 2 0 1 4 - 0 6 - 1 0 T1 5 : 2 5 sector which can be characterised

as high tech, high cost, low volume manufacturing. the lack of government support and the absence of infrastructure is seeing more and more biotech companies get their products manufactured overseas. their number has risen from 36 percent in 2013 to 54 percent this year.

Cook Medical’s Barry thomas, among others, has long been a vocal supporter of offering incentives to commercialise discoveries in australia. thomas notes that, rather than a direct subsidy, the australian Innovation & Manufacturing Incentive will be a sustainable solution that would provide tax relief where domestic intellectual property ownership and associated commercialisation are retained in australia. to be fair, there is a realisation at some levels of government that australia needs to retain its edge. the proposed $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund will go some way in encouraging our best and brightest to persevere in this field. this apparent windfall does come with strings attached - a reduction in future healthcare spending or an increase in export receipts.

It will be interesting to see if there is any change of heart at the highest levels of government after the annual : 3 2 + 1 0 : 0 0 international CEO forum in Canberra

this month where leading chief executives get to speak their minds off the record and behind behind closed doors. as reported in The AFR, a confidential CEO Forum survey of 106 top executives found that more than 40 per cent of the multinationals now regarded australia less favourably as a foreign investment destination than they did three years ago. High labour costs, inflexible labour markets, low productivity, the high australian dollar, red tape and green tape are all being blamed. the transformation of australian manufacturing is going to be difficult but it has to start with a clear vision at the top - something that’s lacking at the moment.

Before I forget, that second button on the Google car is “start”. Let’s hope tony abbot and company can find it and get local manufacturing moving again. as always, the team at Manufacturers’ Monthly would love to hear from you, so do drop us an email, follow us on twitter and join the discussions on Facebook and G+. kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au

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Answers for industry.

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News&ANALYSIS In brief...

Inquiry into 3D printed guns A Senate inquiry initiated by the Greens and supported by the opposition will examine current gun laws and whether emerging issues including 3D printed guns were being adequately controlled.

The Greens’ Penny Wright, the party’s legal affairs spokeswoman, is drafting the terms of reference for the inquiry.

Aussie competitiveness up The rate of wage increases is making Australian exporters more competitive, according to comments made by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor (economic). Christopher Kent said in a speech that productivity growth had matched wages growth over the last year and a half.

G&G Mining Fabrication shares sold Swedish steel maker SSAB has signed an agreement to acquire 51% of the shares of Perth-based G&G Mining Fabrication, which specialises in the refurbishment, manufacturing and design of large fabrications for heavy earth moving equipment.

GM sacks 15 execs Fifteen General Motors executives have been fired over the long-running scandal over faulty car ignitions. CEO Mary Barra has released a report by former US attorney Anton Valukas, who was hired for an internal review of GM’s failures.

The ignition defect has killed at least 13 people overseas.

Fashion sweatshops alleged The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia has launched legal action against 23 Australian fashion labels, claiming they are not protecting workers from exploitation. The action will take place in the Federal Court in July. The court can impose fines of up to $51,000 for breaches.

New training course TAFE SA and SAGE have developed an instrumentation training course which will open new career pathways for students by providing first-hand experience of technology currently in use across growth industry sectors from defence to mining and advanced manufacturing.

8 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Canada and Australia: a tale of two car making industries WRITING in The Conservation, Anthony Forsyth Director of Juris Doctor Programs at RMIT University and a consultant with Corrs Chambers Westgarth, compared the Australian and Canadian auto industries.

He noted that “Canada’s Niagara region in Ontario is heavily manufacturing-based and like Australia, its car manufacturers have been under significant competitive pressure from foreign manufacturers, particularly on labour costs”.

However, he added that “governmental responses to these pressures have been poles apart”.

As we know, the Australian Government refused additional assistance to car manufacturers and effectively signalled the death of the industry.

“In contrast, Canada seems to have adopted a more consensus-based approach to similar issues.

Commentators such as Professor Charlotte Yates of McMaster University point out that unlike Australia, Canada has not given up on its car industry,” Forsyth wrote.

And he later added - “Federal and provincial governments in Canada have committed to retaining the auto industry because it is simply too important to let go.”

Forsyth signalled out the example of St

Catharines, a town near Niagara Falls which has a solid car manufacturing history.

“In the early 1980s, GM employed almost 10,000 auto workers in St Catharines. The wind-down began in 2000, and the death-knell came in 2005 when the company announced the closure of the Ontario Street plant as part of a larger restructure of the company’s North American operations (including total job reductions of around 30,000),” he wrote.

“GM has another plant in St Catharines, the Powertrain engine production plant which employs around 1,500 workers.

“In fact Unifor estimated that 4,000 workers were still directly employed in the auto industry in the St Catharines-Niagara region in 2011.

“Canada has been through the same angst-ridden national dialogue as Australia regarding how much – and for how long – governments should subsidise the auto industry.”

And in conclusion, while Forsyth said endless government assistance is not what he was calling for, he suggested Canada’s “collaborative efforts to identify what future exists for these sectors, and the communities that depend on them” are something that Tony Abbott and his government could take notice of and learn from.

What a member of our manufacturing community thought about the relevance of the comparison between the Canadian and Australian auto industries...

Jason The St Catherines engine plant that GM built makes the identical product to the GM engine plant that I was heavily involved in building.

By all measures assessing the plant (capital required, space, and other benchmarking measurements) the solution deployed in Australia was superior. This gap was so stark that the US sent people to Australia to try and find out whether the country bumpkins had got it wrong or were just cheating.

The initial engines from the Melbourne plant were for use back into North America. Australia was to be the provider of the ‘low volume specialist’ engines for the GM world with St Catharines focused on the local US market.

Whilst Canada (34m) and

Australia (25m?) have similar populations, a key difference in the opportunity for the auto sector is that Canada has the developed and affluent US market (275m+) a short drive away.

Australia obviously doesn’t have this.

The issue is less about manufacturing skills and costs and much more about having a market.

Neither side of politics has displayed much of a credible industry policy that has been effective in helping this sector remain viable.

Remember Ford left under the previous regime.

The Abbott bashing just detracts from what should be a sensible conversation about how government and industry should interact to build a stronger society.

Editor’s note: Comments are as received. Corrections are made for spelling and grammar only.

What do you think?

Go to www.manmonthly. com.au and make a comment about this or any other issue.

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Comment

INNES WILLOX – CEO Australian Industry Group

editor@manmonthly.com.au

Where to now for the RET? There is no need to dump the Renewable Energy Target. But, as Innes Willox writes, now would be a great time to improve it.

T

solar panels. The gross costs of this hE current Renewable are passed on to consumers by energy Energy Target Review is a retailers. however, by cramming real opportunity to make new generators with zero short-run sensible, bipartisan improvements to supply costs into the market, the RET the scheme and to remove some of also drives down wholesale prices the investment uncertainty plaguing somewhat, partly offsetting its costs Australia’s electricity sector. to many consumers. Reducing the It is Ai Group’s strong view that RET would certainly ease difficult a change of course is preferable conditions for other generators. But to crashing the current scheme there doesn’t seem to be much in it altogether. As current evidence and for most energy users. our members’ experiences suggest, Investment in large scale neither deep cuts in the target nor renewables has been held back in abolishing it altogether would deliver recent years by policy changes and overall benefits to energy users. uncertainty. As a result there are The RET has swings and Ai Group has urged the RET now concerns as to whether the roundabouts for energy users.

Review existing 41,000 gigawatt hour target ForMinstance, the RET entails a A1 1 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _ BOK 1 2 0 1 3 - 1 0 - 0 9 T 1 4 : 1 3 : 4 6 + 1 1 panel : 0 0to consider the practical deliverability of the current target. can be met by 2020. substantial build of wind farms and If there is a genuine risk of missing the target and incurring penalties, the target should be trimmed. But on the current evidence base, cutting the target below this point would not advance energy users’ interests.

We will continue to refine these judgments on the basis of any further evidence that emerges from the RET Review process.

There are no simple answers.

Investment certainty, sunk costs, transfer costs and the costs of alternatives all have to be factored in.

Of course the RET is just one element of many energy debates and reviews this year. Two issues are by far the most important. In electricity, network costs have dramatically increased retail prices in recent years, partly because of real investment needs, but also due to flawed regulations and excessive demand forecasts. In gas, wholesale prices are tripling because of a huge rise in FAX 612-7298910 • sales@bokers.com LNG exports and the unwillingness of key state governments to back development opportunities. Ai Group has been actively participating in these discussions and will continue to play a key role to ensure accessible, reliable and affordable energy for business.

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Nonetheless there are improvements to be made to the RET. Small scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems continue to fall in price and improve in performance, and it is vital that the level of support for these systems reduces over time to reflect their growing competitiveness. Excessive and poorly coordinated subsidies in previous years imposed substantial and unsustainable costs. Recent changes have lowered those costs significantly while stabilising the solar sector. Further reductions in subsidies will be needed in coming years, and they should be as predictable, automatic and timely as possible.

Emissions intensive and trade exposed industries have difficulty in passing on costs and are often less able to benefit from wholesale price impacts of the RET. The assistance arrangements for these industries need to remain a core part of the RET. Unwinding the scheme totally would lead to a major compensation or grandfathering arrangement, or a serious financial impairment of existing good-faith investors and associated increase in sovereign risk.

Any of these outcomes would have substantial costs. www.aigroup.com manmonthly.com.au

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Comment How to shape manufacturing’s future?

Where are Australia’s strengths and how do we make the most of them? Innovation and productivity guru Professor Roy Green tells Brent Balinski about the kinds of companies that thrive here and what needs to be done to encourage more of them to emerge.

A

s anyone involved in the industry can probably tell you, there are many successful Australian companies about, though they usually aren’t names the average person would recognise.

Call them micro-multinationals, Hidden Champions or something else: there’s an estimated 1,500 3,000 Australian manufacturers who are leaders in their various niches.

They are generally research and knowledge-intensive, have an international mindset, and compete on value rather than price.

“These companies are not household names,” Professor Roy Green, Dean of the Business school at UTs since 2008, told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“They tend to operate below the radar, because many of them don’t have consumer relationships in Australia is reasonably placed for “We can’t find new sources of consumer markets, they are part of tomorrow, according to Green, who growth simply by selling each other value chains which have an ultimate was one of the presenters who turned piccolo lattes.” consumer of a different overall their minds to the future at the recent As revenues from resources product.”

Vivid event, Australia’s Industrial decline, there is a need for These high-achievers, Green and Revolution: Manufacturing in 2030.

Australia to find growth elsewhere. others argue, are the future. They The country has the requisite skills Manufacturing has an important role are suited to Australia’s high-cost and knowledge, and, to some degree, in this, Green believes. What’s needed environment. The problem is that we the necessary entrepreneurial streak. is an environment and policy setting don’t have enough of them.

But there’s work to be done. And that help can produce innovative “A very good way of creating value is 0through MM 4 1 4 _knowledge-based 0 0 0 _ I ND 1 companies 2 0 1 4 like - 0 Textor 3 - 1 3Technologies, T 1 2 : 3 3 : 1 4there’s + 1 1a:role 0 0for many to play, including government.

Hoffman Engineering and ANCA. manufacturing,” said Green.

“This is something that does need to be led by government in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders, which include the manufacturers themselves, universities, research institutions like CsIRO,” said Green.

“At present, compared with some We ooffer We ffee cost effective solutions for your automation ff other countries, we lack that ecosystech te chno noll technology needs Australia wide. tem of collaboration and commitAt IIS&E S&EE we specialise in systems integration and S& ment.” auto au toma ma automation projects, big and small.

There’s also an urgent need to seriously examine what areas are ones of For mor more information phone us on 07 3856 2232. specific strength, and to craft industry policy - something Green believes INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE & ELECTRONICS Tel: (07) 3856 2232 Fax: (07) 3355 1012 hasn’t been seriously rethought since E-mail: info@industrialsoftware.com.au the Button Plan - accordingly.

Web: www.industrialsoftware.com.au “The thing that’s been very

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12 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

badly lacking in Australia for many years - and which other countries do: sweden, Denmark, Germany, UK, the United states recently, they all do some variation of a technology foresight,” he said.

“In other words: identifying for their countries what are the areas of existing and potential strategic and competitive advantage that they have

“

We can’t find new sources of growth simply by selling each other piccolo lattes - Roy Green. and which they can foster, and to the extent that they have the resources to do so, to mobilise them to encourage those areas to the fullest extent.”

The previous government’s Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Manufacturing report - delivered manmonthly.com.au

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editor@manmonthly.com.au

the future of manufacturing in in 2012 and to which Green Australia.” contributed - was an example of what As in other countries, there is a might be done. But it lacked the role for government to play in assistcomprehensiveness seen in reviews ing businesses adapt to the future. conducted by other nations.

There is also a need for services The demands of industry include promoting not just business better linkages between researchers improvement but transformation. and business, something regularly “And this applies not just to techpointed out by experts. nologies, but also to non-technological Cuts to agencies such as the CRC innovation, which means for example programs and CsIRO in the recent the development of new business budget were a mistake, according to models for companies, the developGreen. ment of better systems integration, “It’s tragic and short-sighted,” he improved, high-performance work and said. management practises,” said Green.

“It’s scarcely believable that at “All of these can be assisted and the very time that all economists Professor Roy Green, Dean of the Business accelerated by good, cost-effective recognise the need to encourage School at UTS since 2008. public policy. And we seem to be and identify new sources of growth running away from that under the leaders and business representatives for the economy, we are cutting off glib slogan of ‘ending the age of from Boeing, Textor and Thales - was the prospect of doing so at the very entitlement’. Well the issue is not also misguided, according to the source, which is knowledge and about ending entitlement; it’s about Professor. innovation.” identifying where our competitive Green believes it was, Though not in the same league as future lies as a country.

“Disappointing and emblematic of the above cuts, the disbanding of the “Until we do that, our discussions the government’s approach” to axe a Manufacturing Leaders Group last month - which was a part MA 0 5 1 Green 4 _ 0 0 0 B V P of,1 group 2 0 1with 4 - “no 0 4political - 0 2 Taxe 0 9to: grind 3 1 : 5 3 of + entitlement 1 1 : 0 0 are irrelevant.”

In comments that might not go and their only interest is in promoting along with other researchers, union

down well with die-hard neo-liberals, the Professor blames a lack of attention to industry policy over the years to a worship of market forces and a complacency driven by the country’s success in exporting raw materials.

He believes Australia’s long-term laziness with industry policy and subservience to free market ideology is unique.

Every technological hub in the world - including silicon Valley - needed a kick along from government, he pointed out. Doing nothing and believing the market will always pick winners is not the way to exploit potential growth.

“In the silicon Valley cas e, the role of DARPA, the Defense department, of national government, of competitive research programs have been very important. As has been national procurement policy, the sBIR – the small business research program,” he said. “so this idea is intellectually bankrupt.”

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Comment top 9

automation trends The following technologies will play a major role in the evolution of automation in the manufacturing sector.

Paul miller explains.

M

any of the hottest technology trends today represent a convergence of largely internet- and IT-based enabling technologies. This convergence is likely to remove many existing constraints to help transform the way manufacturers and other industrial enterprises operate and collaborate, both internally and across their extended value chains - and do so to a degree that we have not witnessed in recent decades.

1

Proliferation of intelligent Devices and the emerging internet of things as microprocessors and other electronics become increasingly smaller, more efficient, and less expensive, we’re seeing intelligence being embedded into more and more consumer, commercial, and industrial devices.

Increasingly, these devices communicate with each other via the emerging Internet of Things (IoT). This brings what the industry previously referred to as machine-tomachine (M2M) communications to a whole new level.

In 2012, there were more than ten billion Wi-Fi-connected devices, with projections for more than 50 billion devices to be connected by 2020. This will include more than five billion smartphone and internet users, most cars, and many home appliances.

Free or inexpensive mobile platforms will dominate the market.

14 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

2

PreDictive analytics: Gaining value from Big Data Interest in analytics and business intelligence (BI) software has surged over the last few years.

Leading software providers offer full analytics suites for enterprises to use to monitor, analyse, and manage a wide range of business activities.

But while many industrial enterprises already use business analytics packages, their successes are primarily in customer-facing activities like sales, marketing, and product development. as a result, many question the applicability of using analytics to improve other critical, but more inward-facing industrial processes like operations and asset management.

3

clouD computing and Services-Based Solutions The technology disruption that cloud computing represents centers on information technology (IT), rather than operational technology (OT). Cloud represents a new model for IT, challenging an organisation’s established IT practices in every area; new platforms, new services, new deployment, licensing, and support models. Cloud forces an IT organization to examine each application within its portfolio and reevaluate the way the application is currently deployed and supported.

From a business standpoint the

cloud model offers several potential advantages over the traditional IT service model, including rapid deployment, elasticity, reduced capital investment, and increased access and mobility across a global enterprise.

4

virtualiSation Virtualisation, a computing approach that decouples hardware and software, is rapidly gaining traction in the traditionally conservative automation and control industry.

While initially met with skepticism for industrial applications, this is no longer this case as end user demands to reduce costs and make more efficient use of computing resources drive suppliers to incorporate the technology.

With virtualisation, a single computer can host multiple instances of the same or different software applications as if each was running in its own dedicated computer — regardless of the specific operating systems employed. In this manner, much of the hardware simply goes away, offering significant benefits over the lifecycle of an automation system.

5

auGmenteD reality, 3D Simulation, and nui an increasing number of companies in the energy and process industries use 3D virtual simulation and visualisation tools to help

address some of the many challenges they face. This technology allows plant engineering and operations groups to create very comprehensive and accurate virtual environments that represent the complete physical plant/facility.

These are used to help to plan operational procedures, train operators and maintenance technicians, and meet health and safety requirements; all within a computer-simulated 3D environment.

Increasingly, planners also take advantage of this advanced technology to improve their scheduling activities. High-fidelity operator training simulation software is designed to exactly replicate the specific plant or process, creating an interactive environment in 2D or 3D. The simulator uses a first principle or empirical model of the specific plant and/or process. The training can take place either on the plant’s actual control system, or on an off-line personal computer or tablet that incorporates an image of the actual control system running.

6

moBility and “Wearable” technologies new technologies often provide the key enabler for process re-engineering and business process optimisation that can significantly enhances performance. manmonthly.com.au

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For maintenance, mobility can provide major improvements in its primary objectives: uptime, asset longevity, safety, and cost control.

The vast majority of maintenance personnel - technicians, supervisors, and stock keepers - are mobile during their typical work routines. Mobile devices and the associated software applications offer improvements in the associated work flow and business processes. They also improve data integrity by eliminating paper forms and the delays for manual data entry.

7

ByoD The trend toward ByOD (“bring your own device”) driven by the today’s profusion of commercial smartphones, tablets, and other handheld computing devices - is another enabler for mobility in industry. Increasingly, plant personnel at all levels prefer to use their own familiar handheld devices while on the job.

In many process industries, field devices must be certified to operate in hazardous locations, a requirement that excludes consumer devices from consideration. For industrial service, smartphones, tablets, and other mobility devices require enhanced ruggedness, hazardous location certification, and - in some cases dedicated higher performing interfaces for barcode scanning or other jobspecific capabilities.

8

remote operations management In the past, the focus on operating remote industrial facilities had been to maintain steadystate operations despite frequent disturbances, with operators doing whatever was required to keep the facilities running and meet production schedules in a safe and environmentally acceptable way. although some remote facilities still operate in this mode, the nextgeneration of remote facilities will not. Tighter production specifications and the need to maintain supply reserves, plus more stringent process safety measures, cyber-security standards, and environmental regulations further challenge this dynamic environment.

9

aDDitive manufacturing Emerging additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology provides product design teams the ability to perform rapid prototyping to speed product design and reduce costs. additive manufacturing systems, driven from CaD models, can use a variety of different build materials; including metal, polymer, or sand to build prototypes.

Manufacturers are finding tremendous value in additive manufacturing as a prototyping tool since there is no penalty for design complexity or detail, although most prototypes will require post-production finishing. Using the original CaD models, additive manufacturing systems can fabricate either complex or simple prototypes in one process.

“

Manufacturers are finding tremendous value in additive manufacturing as a prototyping tool since there is no penalty for design complexity or detail.

Most of these potentially disruptive technology trends fall within the realm of the new Information-Driven Manufacturing Model. This model presents today’s industrial organisations with an interesting dilemma: while industry tends to be conservative and thus risk-averse and typically slow to adopt new technology, it could actually be far riskier not to implement the new technologies. Why? Because failure to do so could put industrial organisations at a competitive disadvantage versus their peers that do embrace new technologies to be able to implement more agile and effective informationdriven manufacturing.

[Paul Miller (PMiller@ ARCweb.com) is Content Director, ARC Advisory Group.] www.arcweb.com

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TechnologyIT@MM Manufacturers who have implemented a MES system are seeing 10 to 25% productivity improvements.

Seeing your way to success Latest generation Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) offer the visibility required to increase production efficiencies. Alan Johnson reports.

16 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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OST Australian manufacturers understand that to remain competitive they need to continually raise the efficiency levels of their production processes, however in many cases a lack of visibility is preventing major improvements.

Stewart Johnston, Enterprise Solutions Manager with Schneider Electric, says that while people want to get more information from their plant floor, many of them are still using Excel spreadsheets to run their operations.

“This is a very common problem, with a lot of the production information not binary, not validated, and containing many mistakes.

Plus the information is not able to

be shared across the enterprise,” Johnston told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“Many companies have gone through the process of installing an ERP system, so they have an enterprise wide view of their financials, but not from an operational perspective.

“That’s the problem in terms of getting the most out of the experts across their business, and getting the information they need in real time to control the business better and faster.

“If companies don’t have good control of that, it is not possible to get the most efficiency out of their production facilities,” he warned.

However Johnston says manufacturers who have implemented a MES system are

seeing 10 to 25% productivity improvements.

“Unfortunately, many manufacturers still have an OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) of only 50 to 60%, where best practice should be up around the 85% mark.”

Johnston admits OEE has traditionally been a lag indicator where companies collect the data and do the analysis and generate the results the following day.

“But by providing this information to the operators via a MES in real time they can see what their targets are, what they are trying to achieve, what is the maximum sustainable rate, and how to operate accordingly.

“With MES, if there is a problem manmonthly.com.au

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Making sense of Foreign Exchange Advertorial provided by: American Express Foreign Exchange Services Ph: 1300 885 749 Web: offer.amexfxip.com.au FINDING the right foreign exchange provider for your manufacturing business can make a big difference to your bottom line, as well as reduce risk. With more manufacturers expanding internationally, what are the key areas to consider when choosing a provider and how does it impact your margins?

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In the past, making an international payment required phoning your local bank, obtaining a rate for the day, and then filling in a number of forms. It was a time consuming and often expensive process.

Today, Australia is one of the largest forex markets in the world, with growing sophistication and liquidity. Technological advances, combined with a more competitive and transparent industry, now offer a Trading across financial number of providers and methods borders has become for transacting international payments. part and parcel of Manufacturers can modern business for take advantage by seeking professional advice on their manufacturers... forex needs, and that means getting the right service, as well as competitive rates.

“It’s your money, so it’s important you choose a provider who you can trust, and can quickly respond to any of your queries. You should look at the overall service package – not just competitive rates, but that their online system is secure, flexible and simple to use, and settlement is efficient and prompt,” said Barry Fletcher, General Manager, at American Express FX International Payments.

It’s important to have the discussion upfront with

your provider on rates to understand where their costs come from. Ask what margin you are receiving (the difference between the cost to the provider and the rate charged), and any additional fees.

“Buyer beware exists in financial market products as much as in any other industry and the lowest rate does not equate to the best product,” Barry said.

“You do get what you pay for in terms of getting a broad set of solutions and a high degree of certainty. If you’re getting something at a bargain basement price, you have to ask yourself what you’re giving up.”

The provider should explain things clearly, provide plenty of information and ideally round-theclock support in what is a 24-hour market.

Managing risk The importance of managing risk is shown by the volatility in international currencies, which can have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line.

The Australian dollar has fluctuated around parity with the US dollar since October 2010, recently hitting lows around 86 cents after previously trading in excess of US$1.10. A company importing goods worth $100,000 and paying in US dollars would have seen a US$24,000 difference in costs at these two extremes.

When establishing a hedging strategy, a business needs to determine whether its costs are fixed or fluid, with the former giving greater opportunities to lock in rates in advance. For example, if a manufacturer has a fixed annual contract to supply, it knows how much it will need to import and the currency

required, and could buy forex contracts to match its payments “Hedging gives you a smoother cash flow as well as locking in the determined profit at the point of contract, which is very relevant to manufacturers who have an overseas interest.

When you are dealing offshore, you probably need to know what price you will be receiving, given that delivery and payment are likely to be future dated. Currencies can fluctuate considerably and it’s essential to have the confidence that your risk is being managed, so you can focus on growing your business,” Barry said.

Securing your money Part of the risk management process is the security of the transaction. While a good rate and low fees can be pleasing, the provider still needs to offer online security and full traceability on your funds.

Being able to make and receive payments quickly and easily is especially crucial for timepoor and cash-flow conscious business owners.

This is where the flexibility of a knowledgeable expert is invaluable; to discuss forex strategies with you on the phone or via email. It’s personalised service as opposed to a nameless online entity.

Trading across borders has become part and parcel of modern business for manufacturers, and without the right systems in place it can have a major impact on cash flow and profitability.

By choosing the right provider with excellent customer service and competitive rates, transparent processes and efficient and secure systems, it can be possible to save both time and money, as well as avoiding any sleepless nights over volatile currency markets.

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Technology IT@MM on the production line, there is no delay in understanding what the problem is, so the operators can quickly manage that production line a lot faster and reduce the losses associated with the problem in a timely fashion,” Johnston said.

Advantages Johnston says MES offers manufacturers several important advantages including velocity, visibility and product variety.

“By velocity I mean speed to market. Companies need visibility of their production information to have control.

“Today manufacturers are producing a lot more SKUs, often it’s the same product, but with different packaging. So companies need the visibility to generate the variety and velocity to be able to be competitive in the market.”

Johnston says the key to production efficiency is to push that visibility down to the operational guys, the guys who are actually running the plant, so they can see what is actually going on.

“In many instances, the operations of a company are like a black box.

They know the amount of raw materials going in, because the ERP system will tell you that, and the number of products coming out, but not much else.

“We are working with a number of manufacturers to install an integrated solution so that they have visibility across all their operations.”

Johnston explained that Schneider has moved to third generation software for the company’s two MES products, Wonderware and Ampla, which are enterprise wide, object based and model driven.

“Both the MES products can provide plant information to users at all levels within an organisation. By that I mean, enterprise wide like an ERP system, where companies have a solution that can sit across all their operations, and being object based they have the ability to template those objects, which can be a piece of equipment, or a number of pieces of equipment within a process stream, such as a packaging line.

“It’s all defined within an object, with those objects able to be reused for similar operations or plants, ena18 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

bling companies to roll the system out much faster, and is model driven,” he said.

“We build a lot of our functionality around the workflow, the process, and we are seeing more and more companies moving down this path.”

Johnston says he is also seeing the workforce getting younger, saying that by 2020, it is estimated that 40% of the workforce will be Gen Y, with mobility very important.

“The transferring of expertise and knowledge across the enterprise will become even more important in terms of mobility and virtual environments.

“We are working closely with Microsoft and already have a number of apps out there, which will pop up on an iphone or ipad.”

“

MES offers... velocity, visibility and product variety.

Johnston says people working in operations are far more mobile these days, with many people working from home.

“With the latest MES systems, they can now see what the production performance is and be notified of any problems. We are also working on a cloud-based solution with software as a service,” Johnston said.

Implementation Johnston admits MES implementation can be time consuming and expensive, similar to an ERP system, but says there are many different ways it can be installed.

“We are finding that a lot of companies are quite happy to grow the system. By that I mean implement the modules they want to address their immediate pain points.”

Johnston says firstly companies need to be able to consolidate the information together in an objectbased platform.

“That allows companies to connect to any data source, including PLCs, plant and equipment and engineering, control and management systems. It doesn’t matter what it is or where it might be.

Upgraded SCADA software Schneider Electric has announced an updated release of StruxureWare SCADA Expert ClearSCADA, the open software platform for management and optimisation of remote assets in critical infrastructures.

An open SCADA software platform, it is designed to be scalable for large enterprise environments and effective for small systems alike.

Distributed system architectures provide high performance and availability as well as disaster recovery capabilities, while the integrated historian facility and open standard interfaces allow “Our platform system becomes the bedrock to build the MES on top of, because that will bring all the information, in context, to the user.

And we can use that to build our MES solution set.

“If OEE is a pain point for example, we can install our downtime delay accounting system, but if it’s inventory we can install our inventory management solution.”

Johnston says that by providing the operators with the production information in real time, and also capturing any underlying causes of any delays, they can do root cause analysis and continuous improvement, and fix any problems in a timely fashion.

“The system can be used to focus on all the different types of products being produced that day, which could be a dozen or more.

“It is very difficult to manage the production process if the operation guys don’t have the visibility to see what has been planned or scheduled and then executing it.

“And when things go wrong, or something breaks down, or a shortfall of raw material, how are they expected to quickly adjust so they don’t lose production time, keep their OEE up, and maximise output,” Johnston said.

Energy savings Despite the rising cost of energy, Johnston says there are many manufacturers who are not aware that software is available which can help reduce these costs.

“The immediate focus is on trying to get more out of their operations,

long term storage and analysis of data for even the largest systems. Historical field data is made available to local and remote users via integrated clients and third-party data management applications.

The major update features include a refreshed interface, new functionality and enhanced multi-monitor capabilities. These fun ctionalities are embedded in a new ribbon-style framework that is the current standard for other Windows applications, while still providing the familiar core SCADA Expert ClearSCADA functionality. with the cost of energy often a secondary requirement.

“However, we are finding the more mature operations, those with a stable operation and operating at their maximum sustainable rate, are now starting to look at how they can get more out of their assets by reducing energy usage, which includes water, electricity and gas.

“This information is readily available from the shop floor. We can see in real time how much energy the production facilities are consuming, and can notify the operators if they are suddenly using more than normal.

“We can also do some smart things in managing and reducing that energy consumption with our supervisory systems.”

However, Johnston admits the low hanging fruit for most companies is improving their operational efficiency.

“But if they can get the benefits of lower energy costs at the same time, that’s a benefit as well.

“We look at it two ways. We look at the productivity being up and the energy consumption being down.

Doing more with less,” Johnston concluded.

[Alan Johnson is Manufacturers’ Monthly’s former editor. He has researched and written about all aspects of the Australian manufacturing sector for more than 25 years.]

Schneider Electric 1300 369 233 www.schneider-electric.com.au manmonthly.com.au

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TechnologyIT@MM Working smart The Internet of Things (IoT), which refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an internet-like structure, is described as a key enabler for manufacturing intelligence. Christine Filippis reports.

M

AnUfACTURInG intelligence bridges the gap between the production and corporate environments helping manufacturers achieve greater productivity, better utilisation of assets and improved decision making, by providing information access in a contextualised manner, organized by user roles.

According to Rockwell Automation’s APAC software business manager Mukund, improving connectivity across enterprise operations will provide the platform to integrate information across business systems and the plant floor.

“While established production software is mature technology, the Internet of Things delivers a whole new value proposition to the industrial market,” Makund told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“Industrial IoT technologies can help industrial customers lay a foundation for a highly secure, connected enterprise using standard unmodified Ethernet to connect people, processes, data and things. This ultimately drives greater productivity and sustainable competitive differentiation.”

20 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Industrial IoT technologies can help manufacturers lay a foundation for a highly secure, connected enterprise using standard unmodified Ethernet to connect people, processes, data and things.

Data modelling Dean Tresidder, software solutions architect with Rockwell Automation says one of the key performance indicators for production software is presenting information in real time, in a meaningful way based on the role of the user.

“Data modelling provides an object oriented view of data from variety of sources enabling users to access data based on terminology they use in their roles,” Tresidder said.

Tresidder says modelling data around Asset Models or ISA S95 hierarchies, while abstracting data source complexities from users, provides an environment for ad-hoc analysis, benchmarking of performance across multiple equipment of the same type or across units, while consolidating data about an entity (asset/unit/site) within a single view (even though the data may come from multiple systems).

“This provides better insight. Such a connected enterprise allows the entire supply chain to be connected giving manufacturers the competitive

edge required to analyse, forecast and rapidly respond to changing market demands.”

Tresidder said mobility is a big driver in the capabilities of production software in the connected enterprise.

“

Some manufacturers see the need to establish a connected industrial enterprise as an overwhelming challenge.

“Our customers are demanding mobility; they need to be kept up to date on any type of device. It’s being more selective about how we consume that information and delivering information to the consumer in the right format for the device they are using.”

“Industrial IoT technology helps

manufacturers to access information that is not limited to location— information can be delivered on any device allowing for a new level of mobility for manufacturers,” Tresidder said.

Adaptability Tresidder admits some manufacturers see establishing a connected industrial enterprise as an overwhelming challenge. But he says they must address that challenge if they hope to remain competitive in the current marketplace.

“Adaptability is the key performance indicator for the successful integration of information and infrastructure in an organisation.

“Our manufacturing intelligence software, factoryTalk Vantage Point for example, allows for role based reporting of information and by utilising a consistent user interface, our customers find that it is easier to navigate and customise according to their user profile.”

“To provide manufacturers with increased adaptability and mobilmanmonthly.com.au

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ity, the latest version of factoryTalk utilises an open standard presentation format, Html 5. This is a platform that supports all devices, from iPad through Android.

He says advances in production software are driven by the maturity of standards and the ability to report across different platforms and devices. “Html 5 can deliver this information regardless of the platform that manufacturers are using.”

Proliferation of data As a result of the connected enterprise, Makund says the amount of manufacturing data available is growing exponentially. “for manufacturers to achieve flexibility and efficiency, they must have the capabilities to manage, visualise and analyse ‘big data’ in real time.” He says this involves combining all the data from all the systems that run the plant.

“Utilising cloud based infraM A 0delivers 7 1 4 _the 0 0computing 0 _ KEL structure power and mobility requirements for

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manufacturers to have the ability to process and store big data.

“Customers are leveraging this already, setting up private infrastrucBACkplAnE Systems Technology has ture clouds. Cloud technologies are released RuggOn’s 7” Ip65 Windowsenabling new business models and based rugged tablet pC, the pM-311, value chains as manufacturers are designed for field applications. looking to leverage these technoloThe pM-311 is claimed to meet the gies to optimise their people assets, MIl-STD-810G rating for shock and leveraging expertise within and vibration and can be dropped from outside their organisation through five feet onto plywood on a concrete collaborative models,” said Mukund. surface.

To address some of the IT infraFully sealed against the ingress structure needs of industry, Rockwell of liquid and dust damage (Ip65) and The tablet’s hot-swappable dual batteries Automation recently introduced with an operating temperature rating offer up to 8 hours of battery life. its Industrial Data Centre offering, of -20°C to +50°C, the tablet features which is engineered specifically to a 7” lED backlit screen with integrated 5-wire resistive touch screen. help manufacturing and production The tablet is based on Intel’s Atom n2600 1.6GHz Dual Core CpU and includes companies take advantage of fully 2GB of DDR3 SODIM and 32GB of upgradeable SATA Solid State Disk. virtualised environments.

A 5 mega pixel webcam with an lED light is embedded in the rear bezel and a 2 “The Internet of Things is delivermega pixel camera with audio input is in the front panel. Seamless communication is ing capabilities that disrupt the available via the onboard GpS or optional 3.5G or 4G TlE modules. nature of production software as we The tablet is available with an optional 1D/2D barcode scanner and magnetic know it. It is making software one of stripe reader (MSR) suitable for portable stock and asset management. the key investments for manufacturBackplane Systems Technology ers that want to generate additional 02 9457 6400 1productivity 2 0 1 4 - and 0 6optimise - 1 1 T their 0 8 : op4 3 : 3 7 + 1 0 : 0 0 www.backplane.com.au erations,” concluded Mukund.

Tablet PC for field applications

6/10/2014 2:43:07 PM

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Innovation What does the future hold for carbon fibre?

A newly-opened, state-ofthe-art research facility in Geelong and a new innovation hub are part of plans to boost the role Australia will play in the global market for carbon fibre products. Brent Balinski reports.

“

IT was really the desire at that time to take weight out of the vehicle for performance reasons,” recalled VCAMM’s CEO Brad Dunstan of his first experiences with carbon fibre as chief engineer at Holden Special Vehicles.

“Now it’s more fashionable for emissions and battery range. But when I was at HSV it was ‘how do we rip weight out of the old girl so she can go faster.’”

Use of the exciting material - exciting for reasons including its unbeatable strength-toweight ratio - is increasing rapidly in automotive and other sectors. Many believe Australia can play an important role as the composites industry develops.

Global demand for the material and its composites is on a steep upward trend. According to analysis by Lux Research, market demand is increasing at a compound annual growth rate about 13 per cent a year and will be worth $US 36 billion by 2020.

“Everybody thinks that carbon fibre is a 787 or an Airbus A350 - and it is - but the major demand is coming out of this industrial usage,” Dunstan told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

The awesome usefulness of the material and its composites extends way beyond aerospace, and into a plethora of uses including in offshore oil and gas, sporting goods, power cables, wind turbines and automobiles.

One part of the effort to get Australia involved in the burgeoning market is the Carbon Fibre Hub (CFH), announced - like the opening of Deakin University’s new Carbon Nexus research facility in May. The CFH is a partnership between META (the Manufacturing Excellence Taskforce of Australia) and the group Dunstan has led for over a decade, VCAMM (the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing).

The hub aims to “foster innovation, collaboration and engagement” between

22 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Deakin University’s new Carbon Nexus research facility opened in May. Images: Deakin University - Carbon Nexus Facility.

Australia’s high-potential manufacturers and researchers specialising in what is sometimes called “the aluminium of the 21st century”.

The hub will be, “Connecting all of the industry players, or participants, and then starting that process of developing the strategy and then basically seeing what applications we’ve got for carbon fibre and that can translate into projects,” Zoran Angelkovski, META’s managing director, told Manufacturers’ Monthly. “[It will also be] seeking commercialised innovation, which means we want the hub to develop great ideas for projects that can be commercialised in a timeframe of less than two years.

The relationship between Dunstan’s group and META came out of a long relationship with Albert Goller, META’s chairman and formerly head of Siemens in Australia and New Zealand.

Dunstan unsuccessfully proposed an emerging technologies precinct when the former federal government was planning its network of Innovation Precincts (META was formerly known as the Manufacturing Innovation Precinct).

“We were talking to Albert about our desire to set up an emerging technology precinct around composites, so we briefed him on the expanding interest in carbon fibre composites and then felt that it warranted an emerging technology hub,” said Dunstan.

“But we’ve always kept Albert informed because if that wasn’t successful, from a

Carbon fibre - “the aluminium of the 21st century”. manufacturing point of view it was a logical thing to explore carbon fibre composites.”

Among the core members are companies including Furnace Engineering, composites solutions giant DowAksa, Quickstep Technologies and Bruck Textiles.

The group is currently forming its strategy and identifying projects worth tackling.

There are hopes one core member, DowAksa, a joint venture between USA’s Dow Chemical and Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii of Turkey, will eventually open a factory in Geelong.

DowAksa attended the opening of Deakin’s new facility, and director Doug Parks last year praised the presence of Geelong’s highly-skilled manufacturing workforce, including workers at Ford, whose factory will shut in 2016.

“Having DowAksa there also is very exciting, because they are looking at how they position manmonthly.com.au

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themselves in the global market for carbon fibre,” said Angelkovski.

“And they are very pleased with what they’ve seen at the university last week in terms of how Australia is playing in the carbon fibre hub space.”

Deakin’s new $34 million research facility has a team of over 30 research specialists, led by worldrenowned expert Associate Professor Bronwyn Fox. The facilities also include a 55-tonne production line (with four oxidation zones), a scaled-down single tow-line for R&D, and a high temperature (1800 degrees Celsius) and low-temperature (1050 degrees Celsius) furnace.

It’s also pointed out that it is the only real, full-scale carbon fibre line located in a university anywhere in the world.

Importantly, and uniquely, it’s also open access.

“Companies can come there L M 0 2their 1 4 intellectual _ 0 0 0 _ BAC to develop property and take that away and

BAC Workplace Systems

commercialise it,” explained Dunstan.

“It’s the only place in the world where you’ll be able to come on down, walk in and see a complete carbon fibre line in operation.

The rest of the world’s fibre manufacturers are increasingly

the best in the world,” said Dunstan.

“If we can say we’ve got the best in the world technology and we’ve transferred it to someone like Diver Consolidated, a metal stamper in Victoria, and they’re using world’s best practise in manufacturing composites, why wouldn’t Aston Martin or Daimler or whoever in the world buy components off that guy?”

The awesome usefulness of the material and its composites extends way beyond aerospace...

Brent Balinski has been a journalist at Manufacturers’ Monthly since 2012, and is particularly interested in 3D printing and innovation. Find him on Google Plus at https://plus.google. com/+BrentBalinskiCirrusMedia

car companies’ factories by 2018.

Carbon Nexus was created with a goal of working alongside the automotive industry.

Dunstan conceded that the loss of an automotive manufacturing base to use in developing composite technologies is a huge shame, and will make things more difficult.

“However what we’re doing now is we’re working frantically with international companies and international engineering firms to bring technology to Australia to allow SMEs to take that up so they can start manufacturing components here in Australia,” he said, adding that there was also potential to transition some auto suppliers into working with carbon fibre.

The clock is ticking, of course, but there’s a chance to help some of secretive and you’re extremely lucky the skills that are in danger of being if you’re allowed in. Carbon Nexus lost. doesn’t suffer from that.”

“We’re working with just about eveOne of the difficulties facing ry automotive company in the world the advancement of composites 1in Australia 2 0 1 4 -is0the 1 -loss 1 0ofTnot 0 8just : 0 4 : 4 around 1 + 1 1carbon : 0 0fibre and carbon fibre composites because we are, I believe, Ford’s, but the other two remaining

“

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manmonthly.com.au

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Metalworking& MACHINE TOOLS Australian metalworking

- still alive

Brent Balinski reports on some of the current trends in sheet metal work, working with lasers, waterjet cutting and bonding.

Sheet metal working Sheet metal working has been under pressures familiar to the entire manufacturing community for a long time.

According to figures from the Australian Industry Group, the fabricated metal products category employed 59,300 in February, half of the workers it could claim in November 1989. This was slightly more than 6 per cent of the total of M A manufacturing 0 5 1 4 _ 0 0 0employees. _ TEC 949,700 An open economy and cheap

options from low-cost nations have eroded employment, and remain a concern for many in the industry.

“The biggest issue right now is longevity - staying alive,” Walter Suber, vice-president of the making sure there’s Australian Manufacturing and Engineering content, is one of those major things Institute of Australia pointed out.

“I think the biggest issue is there’s that we’re trying to push.”

Suber, who has worked with metal a lot of business going offshore,” he for over 35 years and is also currently followed.

1 “So 2 0 trying 1 4 - to 0 4 - 0 3 Tan 0 9 : 0 8 : 3 customer 0 + 1 1 :service 0 0 manager at maintain BlueScope Steel, believes things are Australian manufactured product,

Waterjet cutting machines can now cut all types of metals. particularly difficult right now. He points to the collapse of three NSW and ACT sheet metal manufacturers in less than a year.

Custom Group, Altank and Advance Metal Products (which was acquired by Wilson & Gilkes) are just

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1800 15 9616 • sales@techniwaterjet.com 24 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Innovation Through Passion

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three businesses that have recently packed it in.

“Unfortunately in the current economic climate that we’re in there’s lot of hurt out there,” he said.

“There’s commercial activity, there’s some good projects going on. It’s not all doom and gloom - if you’re looking.

But the optimism is just not there at this stage.

“The volumes that used to be there pre-GFC are just not there.”

Even though it is not always enough to stay alive - Advance had invested significantly in capital equipment not long before it went into liquidation - it’s essential now more than ever to stay productive through up-to-date equipment. And as has been the case for some time, short lead times and doing things as efficiently as possible are vital.

Suber and others will tell you that the metals industry looks nothing like it used to. “[Factories are] often a multimillion dollar businesses that need to have multi-million dollar components: lasers, turret machines, benders and folders, robotics,” he said.

“You need to have that equipment to be competitive on the world’s platform... You’ve got to update your software regularly - the days of just having a few benders and folders and marking things out by hand and a measuring tape are long gone.”

Looking at lasers Laser cutting is a highly computerdriven process in many workshops.

The demand for flexibility is also understood keenly by vendors and suppliers of machinery.

“There’s more on equipment being able to provide better quality of production and do additional things,” Annaliese Kloe, managing director at Headland Machinery, told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“You’re now seeing laser technology, for example, in the metal industry being able to cut 25 millimetre mild steel and to have very good cut quality.”

Kloe’s company has been the sole Australian partner for German machine tool specialist Trumpf for more than 30 years. Headland distributes the Trumpf 5000 series laser cells, which have been hailed

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as among the more innovative and flexible fibre laser machines available.

The Trumpf TruLaser 5030, available now with BrightLine fibre technology, is able to handle both thin and thick metals (up to 25 mm) as well as highly reflective services.

“What we’ve seen is the evolution of the fibre laser, so that actually enables you to have things like triple the feed rate over conventional C02type lasers,” explained Kloe, who said high levels of automation were also in great demand.

“When you go overseas, you go to Europe and you go to other countries, that’s really what technology is doing

“

The biggest issue right now is longevity - staying alive - Walter Suber. for them over there,” she said, noting that in other high-cost countries there was a similar need to be as productive as possible.

“So you bring in a lot of automated systems, offline programming, to enable the smarter, programmer-type person in an office being able to run multiple machines.

Another trend she’s noticed in Europe is the drive for greater energy efficiency, with those designing machine tools making sure the job can be done with the lowest energy costs possible.

“For example on Trumpf’s CO2 lasers, they now use 30 per cent less electricity,” said Kloe. “So that’s also a driving force through a lot of the design of the products coming out.”

An area that has resisted automation more than others has been bending, with skilled operators and a lot of manual handling still required.

However, there are efforts to take the labour out of this too, and Kloe predicts a big increase in automated bending techniques coming onto the market in the next few years.

“I think as the technology’s moving, the people operating the machines don’t have to be as skilled,” she

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Metalworking & MACHINE TOOLS reflected on the changed demands on workers.

“They’re basically calling up a program and pressing a ‘go’ button.

So a lot of that - you still need a skilled labour-type person on the press brake where you have to understand what happens to metal when it bends, but on a laser you’ve got offline programming doing all the hard work.”

The waterjet option The most popular waterjet cutting machines in Australia are also made here, by Techni Waterjet, established in 1989 and based in Campbellfield.

Waterjets work by focussing ultrahigh-pressure water (with an abrasive garnet additive, if required) through a tiny, precious stone orifice, out of which it streams as fast as three times the speed of sound.

In their (very) earliest form they were only able to slice paper and similarly weak materials but they are now able to slice everything from rubber to metals.

M A 0often 7 1 find 4 _ homes 0 0 0 _inL O R They factories that also have a laser

26 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

The Trumpf TruLaser 5030, available now with BrightLine fibre technology, is able to handle both thin and thick metals.

“The major point of a waterjet cutter, complementing other types of machine is its versatility,” Chiodo machining and providing a suitable told Manufacturers’ Monthly. option for when heat sensitive materials are being cut.

“And it cuts all the metals: steel, According to Techni’s marketing aluminium, brass and all that kind of manager, Paul Chiodo, waterjets are a stuff. It cuts with no problem.” popular solution for reasons including The company’s top-of-the-line 1the 2range 0 1 4of-materials 0 6 - 0 5 T 0can 9 :cut, 1 2at: 4 product, 5 + 1 0 its : 0Techjet-X3, 0 they has a high accuracy and high speeds. positional accuracy of 0.01 mm and

cutting speeds as high as 25 metres per minute.

The company claims over 200 installations in Australia and more than 500 worldwide. Chiodo gave glass and metal as the two main uses for his company’s machines.

Techni also manufactures its integrated servo pumps (which won

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an innovation award at the Euroblech metalworking expo in Germany in 2010) and has in-house software associated with its machines, which takes some learning but not a lot, according to Chiodo.

“It’s the first seven days [training] they are put through,” he explained.

“And it’s pretty straightforward: you don’t have to be a whiz to be using it.”

Among its users, Techni believes that price sensitivity is the most noticeable concern.

“There’s been a little bit of a Chinese influence lately in manufacturing,” he said.

“We’ve had to be a little bit smarter in the manufacturing process of our machines to make the prices more competitive, because we’re the only ones in Australia that are making waterjet machines.”

Bonding with chemicals It depends who you ask, but it has been said before that there are four main methods of structural bonding in manufacturing.

These are thermal methods (e.g. welding), mechanical fasteners (e.g. rivets), double-sided tapes and liquid adhesives.

Each has its strengths and its limitations, but for the last category, there are certain benefits for those working with sheet metal. These are particularly to do with (but are by no means limited to) appearance and price, according to Greg Bain, general manager at Lord Chemical Products.

“The big driver is probably cost saving and improving production times,” Bain told Manufacturers’ Monthly, citing a popular use for his company’s adhesives.

“And certainly I think the drive to higher quality and better appearance, like filing cabinets for offices is a classic one,” he explained.

While transport is the number one industry Lord serves, higher consumer expectations about appearance had made office furniture an increasingly popular use for adhesives.

“20 years ago people were happy with weld spots showing up all the way around. Now they don’t want that they want a nice surface.”

Bain said there is sometimes a process of educating a client about the potential savings realised through adhesives over other methods. manmonthly.com.au

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“You can imagine your typical metalworking customer is who is used to welding or rivets says ‘oh, they cost nothing, we just use them’,” he said.

“And then we offer this expensive adhesive and they say ‘oh we can’t possibly save money’.”

Welding and rivets come with the hidden costs of energy, filler metals, metal fasteners and the need for skilled labour.

Compared to some other methods of bonding, adhesives also leave a surface unmarked, and won’t buckle metal or burn off anti-corrosive coatings. They are also suitable for thin substrates.

Bain added that industrial adhesives

“

The most popular waterjet cutting machines in Australia are also made here...

are able to flex and can fix complex shapes, and welding requires the two (or more) surfaces being joined to be the same material.

Of course, it’s not always a case of saying one will always be better than the other for every situation.

“It’s definitely a process of education, of going through and demonstrating or showing what the value proposition is and where the value lies for them,” said Bain.

“And it’s very much a case of working through processes and seeing what works for what situation...So yes, a lot of tech service work, a lot of hand-holding.”

Manufacturing and Engineering Institute of Australia 0419 242 886 www.meia.org.au Headland Machinery 1300 592 061 www.headland.com.au Techni Waterjet 03 9357 8360 www.techniwaterjet.com Lord Chemical Products 03 9335 6620 www.lord.com Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 27

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Automation& ROBOTICS Automation need not be complicated Automation is vital in today’s highly competitive manufacturing environment, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Alan Johnson reports.

T

O compensate for the high cost of manufacturing in Australia, companies know they have to invest in automation to remain competitive, and be innovative. But according to John Croft, Business Development Manager with Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions, innovation is not new and is often misunderstood.

“Innovation is the big new word being talked and bandied about, with long spiels and presentations, however we at Bosch have been working with innovation since the beginning.

“I often ask people what they believe is innovation, but all I get in response is a long talk about latest technologies.

“For me, innovation in its simplest term is ‘change that adds value’ and this can come from the change to the simplest process, not so much the latest technology,” John told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

He points out that Australia is mainly low volume with some companies into high-volume manufacturing, so the automation equipment has to be designed to suit low-volume and high volume production, and not come at a cost that is prohibitive.

“This is why when designing and building equipment, we look at the flexibility and the scalability of the particular equipment; that companies don’t have to run one product on it, they can run several different products on the equipment.

“If you know this upfront, then the equipment can be designed to suit that scenario,” he said.

28 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

John explained that Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions is a new venture for Robert Bosch, which has been operating at its manufacturing base in Clayton, Victoria for over a century.

With development and production of assembly hardware continuing at the plant, Bosch has now widened the scope of these activities beyond its own internal operations, with this new division set up to design, develop and supply the equipment, and the expertise underpinning it, to manufacturers throughout Australia and NZ. “As we have been working in the areas of automation, robotics and lean line design for a number of years now, we believe we have much to offer Australia’s manufacturing industry,” John said.

He says the team at Clayton boasts an impressive array of capabilities.

“We can offer the manufacturing industry a wide range of services including project management, mechanical design, electrical design, process engineering, turnkey special

“

We are passionate about keeping manufacturing in Australia John Croft. purpose machines, automation and robotics, control system engineering, automated test systems, integration to MES, assembly and testing facilities, right through to full system integrators.

“Plus we can also call upon

a global pool of knowledge and expertise spread across Bosch’s many other divisions, with the development of new and advanced technologies continually in progress,” he said.

John explained that the new division works to the requirements of the Bosch Production System (BPS), a set of guidelines developed by the Bosch Group to ensure quality, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

“BPS is based on the Toyota Production System and various Lean Manufacturing principles, then further refined by a lot of German thinking on manufacturing and the collective experience of Bosch globally.

“We really only started in May 2013 offering our unique services and already there are quite a few projects that we’re now looking into, for various industries.

“We are passionate about keeping manmonthly.com.au

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Siemens is redefining manufacturing with advanced automation technologies such as SIMOCODE pro V, the smart, compact and Internet-connected motor management system. This is just one of the offerings designed to get you on the journey to Industry 4.0.

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To find out how SIMOCODE pro can help your business switch on to the future, call 137 222 or email manufacturing.au@siemens.com

Answers for industry.

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Automation & ROBOTICS manufacturing in Australia, and when manufacturing in Australia is currently going through a period of I look at many other industries and the way they manufacture, the beauty decline, but he doesn’t expect the trend to continue in the long term. is there’s so much synergy in what He maintains that Australian we’ve been doing for automotive manufacturers have too much to offer components that actually translates technically to continue to dwindle into other areas, such as medical, indefinitely, adding that it will be the pharmaceutical, or fast-moving smaller companies that will keep the consumer goods.” sector going.

“However, there is also interest “I believe manufacturing here in arising from some surprising Australia will actually increase. sources, such as the timber and print “Companies are looking more and industries who have brought our more into making their equipment team in to look into streamlining more flexible, more scalable, and their processes. reducing the cost of ownership, “I know there are other and this is making it more viable to automation companies out there, but be more competitive in the global I think with Bosch being as diverse marketplace. as it is, it sets us apart and makes us “This is where I think we want to unique.

“We’re not just a small automation step in, this is where we believe we can help, and the interest in what we company that’s got 15-20 employees, are proposing is growing at a daily and goes out there and does various rate,” John said. projects. We can do it from start to finish, right through to the Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions integration of the equipment into the 03 9541 5086 manufacturing.”

MA 0 7 1 4 _ 0 0 0 _ R O B 1 2 0 1 4 - 0 6 - 1 6 T1 0 : 3 9 : 0 3 + 1 0 : 0 0 www.bosch-manufacturingsolutions.com.au John acknowledges that

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30 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

With over 30 years experience working with ABB robots, Robot Spares staff have the technical knowledge to deliver expert training and support.

Now in its second year of operation, and with a solid base of repeat customers.

Director Per Stigsson is confident Robot Spares can compete on quality, price and delivery.

Industrial gateway upgraded HMS Industrial Networks has upgraded its Anybus X-gateways, which are designed to enable communication between two industrial networks (fieldbus or industrial Ethernet).

The new network translators, which are designed to meet the future of the automation industry, contain several new features, but are fully backwards compatible.

The new X-gateway comes with a USB interface, enabling users to connect the gateway to a PC and configure the network communication via the Windows-based tool, Anybus Configuration Manager, with no programming necessary.

The new housing with upright design requires less rack space and enables easier installation in the switching cabinet. The flexible design also allows mounting on the side (flat).

As part of the new release, HMS introduces connectivity to CC-Link IE Field in the X-gateway family.

Furthermore, several of the industrial Ethernet versions now include integrated

The new network translators come with a USB interface, dual-port Ethernet interfaces with an integrated switch, removing the need for external switches.

According to the company, this new version of the Anybus X-gateway will provide machine builders, system integrators, OEMs and end users with a modern communication gateway that is very easy to use when it comes to configuration and integration.

Global Automation Asia-Pacific 03 9249 9696 www.anybus.com.au

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Partnership for Auto Control Systems Advertorial provided by: Auto Control Systems 08 9258 4555 www.autocontrols.com.au

UR5 robot with controller.

Universal Robots’ products have been developed so they can be used for automating all types of tasks and processes.

UR5 robot with controller.

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AUTO Control Systems (ACS) has just announced a partnership with Universal Robots, the fast-growing, Denmark-based company with the lightweight robots famously able to work safely alongside people.

“Manufacturing lines are probably the most direct application,” explained David Prnich, marketing and product development manager at Auto Control Systems.

“But we’ve had customers with a diverse range of needs approach us, including spray-painting, packaging and machining,” he told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“Repetitive tasks are where they fit best - there are many applications we could put them to.”

Universal launched in Australia in March this year in response to the rapid increase in demand among local SMEs for robotic automation.

According to International Federation of Robotics figures cited

by Universal, sales of industrial robots in this country went up by 76 per cent between 2011 and 2012.

Auto Control Systems, which has an office in Welshpool and has been operating since 2006, recently added UR units to its suite of automation, electrical and safety solutions.

“We can automate a light going on and off in a room or we can automate a complete assembly line,” said Prnich, who added that they can handle anything in between.

“If it’s along the lines of automation and electrical engineering, we can provide a solution.”

ACS began its history mainly in the automation of mine blasting machinery, work it still carries out today, but has grown through continuous diversification.

Along with the recent addition of automating manufacturing lines, its services include safety consultation, electrical servicing and maintenance, and process control system integration.

Their solutions have been of use in Western Australia - with clients including the WA government, major mining companies - and a number of sites all over the country and internationally, including in Siberia, Africa and Indonesia.

The company hopes its new partnership with Universal Robots, and putting the two different models to work, will help it forge new relationships with manufacturing companies.

Both the UR5 and UR10 (named for their 5 and 10 kilogram payloads) boast repeatability of 0.1 mm, as well as near-silent operation, six-axis movement, and speeds of 180-degree per second (joint) and one metre a second (tool).

The robots can be programmed in an hour in some cases and ACS can install and integrate a UR5 for as low as $40,000.

“The better measure of cost is the average return on investment, which is - across the board as far as UR’s experience goes - about 195 days,” explained Prnich.

“You can install it and know that within 6 -12 months, the robot will have paid for itself.”

2 0 1 4 - 0 6 - 1 9 T1 5 : 4 9 : 0 4 + 1 0 : 0 0

The easiest way to find products and suppliers

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manmonthly.com.au

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Automation & ROBOTICS Risk-based approach champions safety Risk assessment, a technical inspection of machinery in accordance with applicable standards and directives is one of the easiest ways for companies to check if their machinery complies. Jen Littlewood reports.

I

N the safety process the importance of risk assessment is reflected in the global trend to oblige machine designers and end users to follow a structured assessment in order to comply with various national and international standards and applicable legislations.

In Europe, the Machinery Directive sets out the obligation to assess the hazards in order to determine the health and safety requirements which apply to machinery.

In the US, the American National Standards Institute, Robotics Industry Association and others promote standards relating to hazard identifiM A and 0 7 1 4 estimation _ 0 0 0 _ SofErisk.

N 1 cation the

Here in Australia the local relevant machinery standard is AS4204.12006, however there is an increasing trend, especially by the larger multinationals, to have their own global machinery standards based on the ISO or IEC standards.

So can Australian companies assume that when purchasing a machine it complies with these safety standards? According to Pedro Ascoz, Engineering Projects Manager at Pilz Australia, the answer is a resounding no, unfortunately.

“There is no question that the level of safety of machines has increased and machinery safety 2 0 1 4 - is0 improving 6 - 1 6 T but 0 9 there : 1 5are : 1 knowledge

Machine & Process Automation - Turnkey Upgrade Solutions Improve Productivity - Quality - Safety • Conveying • Palletising • Printing • Registration • Winding • Batching • Weighing • Sorting • Web control • Tension

still many machines not complying and standards are being improved all the time,” Ascoz said.

1 + “It’s 1 0 :important 0 0 that anyone involved in the safety aspects of machinery understands the standards and how these can be applied to the “real” world. Otherwise how will they know if the machine complies?” explained Ascoz. “Equipment manufacturers and users’ have a level of responsibility and degree of liability that are measured against these standards.”

Technical inspection

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32 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

In Australia the local relevant machinery safety standard is AS4204.1-2006.

One of the easiest ways for companies to check if their machinery complies is to undertake a risk assessment – a technical inspection of machinery in accordance with the applicable national and/or international standards and directives.

Ascoz has undertaken risk assessments for many manufacturing businesses and more often than not he says the scope of work increases because he identifies issues that the company wasn’t aware of.

According to Ascoz, one of the problems is that companies don’t have enough technical skills or if they do they tend to be departmentalised.

“We need to promote a more holistic look at the safety of the machine rather than have the

mechanics look after the mechanical features or electricians look after the electrics.

“Another problem of course is that companies often think they have to decommission machines if there’s a safety problem meaning a huge capital outlay. This isn’t always the case,” said Ascoz.

“In a recent project for a big Australian manufacturer, when carrying out a risk assessment we identified that one of its older conveyor belts posed a risk to maintenance workers because it had to be running in order to replace the bolts.

“We worked with our customer to develop a solution in the form of a 3-position switch that enables the machine to be slowed to a pace that’s safe for maintenance but not dangerous to the maintenance workers. This was a cost effective solution for the customer to achieve a higher level of safety, even for an operation that has to be performed only once every six months,” he said.

Ascoz recommends companies undertake a risk assessment once a year and whenever a modification to a machine is made. This includes decommissioning or recommissioning a machine.

Pilz Australia 1300 723 334 www.machinesafe.com.au manmonthly.com.au

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Automation & ROBOTICS Pervasive sensing drives automation With pervasive technology, a better understanding is provided of the condition of assets and the process performance so that a more predictive, risk managed approach can be implemented, writes Hartley Henderson.

A

NEW frontier is opening Automated algorithms up through the application “Pervasive Sensing is not a product, of wireless technology and but an outcome that leads to measurmeasurement instrumentation to able and significant improvements provide data that was previously not with high reliability and high acavailable to enable enterprises in a curacy. A new level is coming to drive wide range of industries to operate costs down through non-intrusive more safely, reliably and profitably. sensing utilising automated algoPervasive Sensing is designed to rithms,” Karschnia said. extend a company’s vision beyond “The cost and difficulty of impletraditional process control and safety mentation has historically hindered systems to provide real time informathe uptake of Pervasive Sensing, but tion on business-critical areas such as site safety, reliability, energy efficiency and environmental protection.

Emerson Process Management estimates that over the next 10 years, the Pervasive Sensing market will more than double the existing US$16 billion traditional measurement market.

The company’s Vice President Wireless, Bob Karschnia, explains that Pervasive Sensing is built on three pillars: • Innovative sensors that are multi variable, non-intrusive and cover wide areas; Pervasive Sensing is a technology enabler that facilitates • Easily commissioned components now there are significant advances unconstrained access to process and asset data. that are wireless, self powered available in a whole range of areas. mean that companies can now install and configuration-free; embedded expertise, and mobile and These include innovative sensors, non-intrusive wireless technology • No-maintenance devices that are location technologies. wireless communications, non-inM A 0 2 1 calibration-free 4 _ 0 0 0 _ DA T 1 trusive 2 0 1installation, 4 - 0 1 - 0power 7 T 1technolo5 : 4 1 : 3 1 +“The 1 1 Emerson : 0 0 together with a network of affordable accurate, and Pervasive Sensing easy-to-use sensors to continuously have lifetime reliability. focus is on providing the ability to gies, advanced analytic capabilities, monitor all aspects of operations, modify and change systems through which in turn enables improved deciactionable information and solusion-making and more rapid action. tions that are easy to use, with the WHEN YOUR SYSTEM LETS YOU DOWN “This approach to broader and aim of reducing issues such as plant deeper data collection is able to deslowdowns and shutdowns, helping Control Systems — When you need an upgrade and / or retrofit ... liver a new class of business-critical to reduce risks to delivery on time, operational measurements that can and avoiding environmental issues Servo and VS Drives When you need repairs and / or retrofits ... be managed separately from process and fines.

Computer Touch Screen Panels When you need repairs and / or retroautomation functions,” he said.

“Safety and environmental compliance are key challenges to PLC Programming and Documentation be addressed by Pervasive Sensing Local scenario For fast, professional service; we work with all major brands; - from monitoring of pump failures Based in Perth, Emerson Automation Siemens, Allen Bradley, ABB, Emerson (Unidrive and Unidrive in the field to steam loss in the food Consultant, Jon Weidenbaum, says SP, Mentor), Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Bosch and many others. processing industry.”

Pervasive Sensing is a technology According to Karschnia, advances enabler that facilitates unconstrained in wireless and sensor technologies, access to process and asset data that Call now: 03 9874 7737 ww.datafactory.com.au as well as installation techniques, was originally dictated by the physi-

“

One thing that is certain about today’s world is that there is no certainty on what data the customer may require tomorrow Jon Weidenbaum.

—

—

34 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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cal layout of a plant and the technology to support it.

“Now technology has moved on and there is an escalating need for increased data across all industries which is largely driven by a top down push for greater operational efficiency, asset optimisation, and improved OH&S,” he said.

“Industries such as oil and gas, power, water, mining and metals all have assets located in remote areas and they all experience associated concerns about people’s safety and environmental issues, which implies there is a unique need in Australia for Pervasive Sensing.

“By utilising wireless technology for Pervasive Sensing, additional data can be gathered without impacting the current operational system and production. Monitoring and collection of data via Pervasive Sensing can enhance asset availability and personnel safety, saving thousands of site visits per year to these remote locations.

“One thing that is certain about today’s world is that there is no cerM on A 0what 5 1 data 4 _ 0the 0 0 _ P I Emay tainty customer require tomorrow. Typical drivers for

manmonthly.com.au

the growing need today are environmental and regulatory demands, asset optimisation, health and safety, process efficiency and cost sensitivities.

“Pervasive technology through wireless field implementation provides a flexible approach to react and expand these future needs whilst minimising the impact to current operations and production.

“Typically in remote facilities, monitoring of assets and consumables is often manual and can be as infrequent as every 2 to 3 months due to the remoteness of the sites.

“In this scenario, the question should be asked as to what the accumulative cost and damage could be to a company for not having the asset monitored and protected for this period of time.”

in place, companies are forewarned of potential operational and asset issues in real-time and can make quick decisions to take corrective action.

“With pervasive technology, a better understanding is provided of the condition of assets and the process Corrective action performance so that a more predicWeidenbaum points out that the tive, risk managed approach can be consequences could be enormous, implemented for timely intervention, including compromises to the inand arrival on site with the correct tegrity of the field asset, impact to equipment or replacement parts. the environment, and damage to the 1reputation 2 0 1 4of - the 0 4 operator.

- 0 3 T 1He 0 says : 0 8 : 5 4 + 1 : 0 0 network will typi“A1 pervasive cally consist of wireless enabled inthat with wireless Pervasive Sensing

strumentation together with remote and distributed remote telemetry units to provide seamless connection for the assets in the site proximity.

Weidenbaum says that the move to risk-based management together with the emerging need to refocus the well head as a collection of mobile assets rather than a fixed site, will drive the future demand for Pervasive Sensing, especially in the unconventional oil and gas arena (coal bed methane and shale gas).

[Hartley Henderson has been a regular contributing writer to Manufacturers’ Monthly for the past eight years, covering industry developments in Victoria and South Australia. Prior to that, he held senior positions in government, semi-government and business enterprises and was National Program Director with the Productivity Promotion Council of Australia].

Emerson Process Management 1300 55 3051 www.emersonprocess.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 35

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Compressors& PNEUMATICS Controllers that keep the big picture in mind Compressed air management systems have long played an important role in compressed air systems. As Erwin Ruppelt and Daniela Koehler write, now the next generation of controllers has arrived.

T

hese days, compressed air management systems can recognise when the compressor needs something, if excessive temperatures arise and if human intervention is required. They can even automatically perform or signal the necessary adjustments as required.

Now the next generation of controllers brings new technical systems to the market that push the boundaries of dependability and cost savings further than ever before.

The drive toward efficiency, reliability and - most importantly - sustainable resource usage and energy savings, is increasingly compelling developers and users to optimise existing solutions ever further. Modern installations are comprehensive systems, including compressors, cooling systems, dryers and filters. even the individual components have auxiliary systems, such as ventilation or cooling water systems.

Moreover, modern compressed air stations are often beneficially incorporated into heat recovery processes in order to achieve best possible use of the available energy.

The range and number of individual components comprising a complete compressed air system can therefore be considerable.

Complex systems such as these require an organising principle of sorts – this is where master control systems come into play.

By monitoring the individual components and optimally coordinating the interaction between them, these controllers transform the individual ‘players’ into a truly cohesive team that operates reliably and efficiently.

In the past, use of such systems has yielded a certain degree of optimisation.

36 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Better communication Yet there were still certain aspects that harboured significant potential for improvement. For example, communications between the components and controllers still presented considerable potential for development and refinement.

Furthermore, within the wide range of different bus systems available on the market, many are not compatible with one another at all or can only be made compatible with difficulty. This makes it difficult to communicate all the necessary information regarding a system’s status.

Contemporary ethernet-based bus systems enable more straightforward integration and communication of large data volumes. systems equipped

“

The latest controllers are true management systems which act like master controllers... with modern internal controllers therefore already rely on ethernet technology in order to communicate with other networked systems.

Latest management systems The latest controllers are true management systems which act like master controllers, yet are capable of much more. They gather information regarding the connected components and measurement points via ethernet and are able to transfer this data without limitation to a centralised control system for evaluation.

The various methods used to gather the information mean that the

The latest generation of compressed air management systems, such as the SAM 2, now provide a range of enhanced benefits. data can be used in a range of ways with the ultimate aim of compressed air system optimisation in mind.

An eye on system parameters The management systems additionally monitor all other relevant system parameters, such as the temperature and pressures in the compressor and compressed air treatment system, as well as ambient environmental conditions.

This means the control system can also check whether compressor cooling functionality is performing as required and whether environmental conditions (temperature, pressure) are consistent with the relevant requirements.

Where heat recovery systems are used, all associated parameters are also integrated in the management system.

Predictive maintenance however, progress isn’t restricted to system operation alone. Maintenance represents a key area to consider when it comes to maximising cost-effective compressed air production. It goes without saying that poorly maintained systems with contaminated coolers or filters, for example, also operate with impaired specific output values.

New management systems therefore also take maintenance parameters into account and include them in overall optimisation strategies. Over the long-term, preventative maintenance not only reduces both energy consumption and costs, but also helps boost value-retention of the system as a whole. Moreover, the complex monitoring enables the creation of predictive maintenance schedules.

Documentation and management In addition to control of the compressor package itself, the latest generation of management systems also enables the gathering, forwarding and evaluation of important data to produce documentation in accordance with IsO 50001.

The new management systems collect data regarding air consumption and, where applicable, heat recovery.

Based on this data, costs are automatically calculated and can be assigned once again to the various individual components within the system.

These functions, including visualisation, are accessed via the web using standard browsers without the need for any additional software.

Kaeser Compressors www.kaeser.com.au manmonthly.com.au

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Compressors & PNEUMATICS Air receivers optimise compressor demands Using air receivers to optimise the flow rate and volume of an industrial compressed air system helps minimise energy consumption and operating costs. Paul Issai reports.

A

Ir receivers are pressure vessels that allow compressed air to be stored prior to use. They are key components of industrial air systems, which are essential to many applications and processes.

Installing a larger receiver tank can enable the use of a smaller and less expensive compressor. They are useful adjuncts to many applications as they can be added to allow for the output capacity of a compressor to be temporarily exceeded so that shortterm spikes in demand can be met. receivers also create more stable pressure conditions, working to dampen compressor pulsation and make the compressed air system easier to control.

Air receivers can be supplied in a variety of sizes and strengths to meet specific customer requirements.

A number of standards cover the certification of pressure vessels depending on where and how they are used.

Australian standard As1210 sets out the requirements for the materials, design, manufacture, testing, inspection, certification and despatch of pressure vessels. The standard was developed to ensure safe and proper functioning of pressure vessels in order to minimise potential injuries to people using the equipment. All pressure vessels should comply with As1210 as a minimum requirement.

In certain environments, a standard pressure vessel is inadequate and, potentially, a safety hazard. If a compressor is required to operate in a cyclone prone area, a special, reinforced design is required.

“Australia is a country with geological and climatic extremes where a compressor might face icy winds, earthquakes, cyclones and extreme ambient temperatures up to 50 degrees,” said William Chan, Gas and special Projects Manager at Compressed Air and Power solutions (CAPs) Australia.

“CAPs can supply or build com-

38 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

pressors and air receivers to cater for any and all of these situations.”

Know your requirements To ensure effective and efficient operation of equipment or a process, it is important to know the quantity and quality of air required, and whether an air receiver might be appropriate to the application.

It is advisable to carefully consider all available options prior to purchasing or upgrading a compressed air system. Careful planning is essential to ensure that customers obtain a system that meets their requirements in the most cost effective and efficient manner.

“You must think about where the compressor will be operating, what you need to do with the compressed air and the quality, volume and flow rate of the supplied air,” Chan said.

Chan added that CAPs has expert staff who can design and certify custom-built pressure vessels to meet specific customer requirements.

If a compressor is to be exported, CAPs can also supply air receivers that have been manufactured to

“

Australia is a country...where a compressor might face icy winds...and extreme ambient temperatures up to 50 degrees. - William Chan. comply with American society of Mechanical engineers (AsMe) certification requirements. such pressure vessels have either the AsMe or AsMe U stamp.

Compressed air and efficiency According to Chan, the usual sequence of air treatments in a compressed air installation consists of the compressor connected to a storage vessel. After storage, the compressed air is filtered, dried, and then often filtered once more before usage.

CAPS Technology air receivers.

It is important to obtain expert advice as to the latest equipment available when deciding on the configuration of an industrial air supply. Customers should have a clear understanding of what filters are needed for a specific application, how dry the air must be and whether demand will be relatively constant, or fluctuate during the course of operation.

Once these factors are known, the optimum sequence of filters, driers and other ancillary equipment can be determined.

According to Chan, CAPs has a staff of engineers and technicians with a wealth of experience and knowledge. They are able to design, build, install and commission a wide range of compressed air installations.

“CAPs can supply a unit that meets a customer’s specific requirements with the compressor and all the required ancillary items assembled, tested and ready to go,” he said.

CAPS Australia 1300 284 896 www.capsaust.com.au manmonthly.com.au

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WorkplaceSAFETY Safety figures don’t lie Workplace safety rarely makes the headlines today, but that’s not to say manufacturing is a completely safe occupation. Alan Johnson reports.

M

available) manufacturing was the UCH work has been done second most hazardous industry in in the past decade or so Australia, with an overall incidence to prevent injuries in the rate of 20.9 serious workers compenworkplace and reduce worker comsation claims per 1000 employees. pensation claims, but there are still But while the manufacturing too many workers being admitted to hospital with serious injuries, or even industry still has relatively high rates of injury, a decade or so ago the figworse. ures were far more shocking.

Everyone who goes to work, exThe report reveals that injury pects to come home at the end of the rates have decreased by 26% over day, unfortunately that is not always the eleven year period from 2000/1 the case. to 2010/11, from 29.5 serious Safe Work Australia’s recent publiclaims per 1000 employees to cation “Key Work Health and Safety 21.7 respectively.

Statistics Booklet 2014” reveals that However, over the five Australia’s manufacturing industry year period from 2007/8 to is not as safe as many would have us 2011/12, 113 manufacturing believe. workers died from workData in the report shows that F N 1 1 (the 1 3 _most 0 0 recent 0 _ S figures AF 1 related 2 0 1 injuries, 3 - 1 0 -at1a 5rate T 0of9 : 2 1 : 2 in 2011/12

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40 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

2.21 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

The most common causes of death over the five-year period were being hit by falling objects (22 fatalities); vehicle incidents (21 fatalities) and being trapped by machinery or between stationary and moving objects (17 fatalities); falls from a height (14 fatalities) and being hit by falling objects (13 fatalities).

Over the same period, body stressing was the most common cause of injury and accounted for 41% of serious claims, followed by being hit by moving objects (18%), and falls, trips and slips of a person (15%).

2Reducing + 1 1 : 0 0injuries Len Neist, executive director of Health and Safety with Victoria’s WorkCover Authority says teamwork is the key to reducing the number of injuries in the workplace.

“Our main message for all workplaces, including manufacturers, is for employers and employees to work together to reduce the opportunity for injury and the occurrence of injuries.

Neist said employers and employees working together as a team can have a significant impact on reducing workplace injuries.

“While a significant number of these injuries are back related, the data shows that these types of claims are reducing,” he told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

Neist pointed out that Victoria has seen a decrease in back injuries in the manufacturing sector from 998 claims in 2009 to 848 claims in 2013.

And while the Safe Work Australia report shows the rates of serious workers’ compensation claims increase with employee age, Neist says older workers have tremendous work experience and ideas, and with their insight can play a key role in creating safer workplaces in future.

Lower premiums Neist says a safer workplace is not only of benefit to employees, but employers will also see a benefit with lower workers compensation claims.

“Employers in Victoria for example, with assessed employee remuneration above $200,000, can reduce their payable premiums by proactively identifying and remediating potential hazards in the workplace and ensuring a good safety record.

“Plus, all employers, regardless of their size, who pay their premiums early are able to receive early payment discounts,” Neist said.

John Watson, General Manager of NSW WorkCover’s Work Health and Safety Division, admits work-related injuries are expensive, “be it lost time, increased workers compensation premiums or the human costs”.

“We all want manufacturing businesses to be productive, but in a safe environment.

“Recent reductions in workers compensation premiums go some way to helping NSW businesses bring down costs but the key to keeping costs low is reducing the number of injuries across the industry and getting injured people back to work,” Watson said.

Manual handling According to Watson, manual handling in NSW is the cause of almost double any other type of workplace injury.

“While this is no surprise, there are many things businesses and workers can do to create a safer workplace,” Watson told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

He said that some sectors of the manufacturing industry have been identified by WorkCover NSW as high risk.

“Through our Focus on Industry Program, WorkCover is working with them to make their workplaces more productive, healthy and safe.

“For example, we recently manmonthly.com.au

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Injury rates by industry.

completed a project with the wood products manufacturing industry which included the implementation of an Industry Action Plan to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses and improve injury management.”

Watson explained that the Industry Action Plan addressed five issues, including manual tasks at the workshop and manual tasks at client sites.

“A number of manual handling risks were identified in these workplaces, including poorly designed delivery and despatch areas, working at the wrong height while manufacturing and assembling products, and manually moving timber and products through the workshop.”

Despite the risks, Watson says manual handling injuries are preventable and businesses can do more to create safer workplaces.

“When moving loads in the workplace, for example, there are a number of things that must be considered, including how the load is to M A 0 the 7 1 distance 4 _ 0 0 0 NW be moved, to_beE moved, the duration and frequency of the

ENPAC smarter stronger safer

move, the characteristics of the load, and the working posture of the lifter.”

He says businesses should also take into account the age, skill and experience of workers when assessing manual handling risks.

“In the event of a manual handling injury, businesses must have adequate return to work plans for injured workers because getting back to work quickly is the best outcome for an injured worker.”

Watson also said it was important for injured workers, employers and case managers to work together to ensure sustainable return-to-work results.

How the injury or disease occurred.

Future Safe Work Australia is confident the claims resulting in one or more weeks number of injuries and/or fatalities off work by 2022. in the workplace will continue to fall A spokesperson for Safe Work Ausover the next decade. tralia said the manufacturing indusTo this end, the Australian Work try has been identified as a ‘priority’ Health and Safety Strategy 2012– industry because of the high numbers 2022 has an overall target of a 20% and rates of injury and/or fatalities. reduction in the number of worker 1fatalities 2 0 1 due 4 - to 0 6injury, - 1 2and T 0a930% : 3 0 : 0 1 + 1 0spokesperson : 0 0 The pointed out that reduction in the rate of compensation the industry has already achieved a

Source: Safework Australia

26% reduction in serious compensation claims from 2000/1 to 2010/11, and says further reductions should be possible though improved work practices and better industrial design.

Safe Work Australia 1300 551 832 www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au

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Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 41

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Materials HANDLING How to save on warehouse space Technology is freeing up what is possible in the field of warehousing and storage design. Matt McDonald looks at one solution that can help businesses cut down on warehouse space and boost efficiency.

F

or manufacturers, warehousing and fulfilment have traditionally followed a personto-goods paradigm.

Incoming goods are carried from a central position to a pre-designated spot for storage; and later they are retrieved and carried back to another central position for fulfilment.

This system has served the industry well for many years, but it has usually meant that warehouses have taken up a lot of real estate and have generally relied on a paper-based recording system.

What’s more, except in very small operations, it has always involved a lot of walking by those doing the order picking. Comfortable footwear has long been a requirement for store persons.

Technology is now changing things. These days, automation has freed up the field of storage design.

It is now possible to think beyond the traditional warehouse and make better (and more profitable) use of space; and to cut down on the kilometres being covered by employees.

SSI Schaefer’s LogiMat™ vertical lift module (VLM), for example, abandons the traditional person-to-goods method in favour of a goods-to-person method of storage and fulfilment.

The LogiMat brings the goods to the picker, who stays in a comparatively stationary position as he/ she goes about the job.

As David Bille, National Sales Manager at SSI Schaefer told Manufacturers’ Monthly, the LogiMat is ideally suited to the storage of small-to-medium parts.

“Typically, we do a lot in automotive or equipment spare parts, hydraulic, and so on,” he said.

In addition, it is recommended for businesses which are looking for secure storage. Unlike conventional open shelves, the system can be locked simply by pulling down the shutters. In addition, the system is equipped with sensors which trigger emergency stops if safety protocols are breached.

How does it work?

Simple in concept, the LogiMat is like a large (vertical) filing cabinet with two stacks of trays (one in the front and one in the rear). It features a lift that 42 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

“

Fulfilment has traditionally involved a lot of walking by those doing the order picking.

moves up and down as it retrieves trays and delivers them as required to an operator at a service window.

“It condenses the storage into a very small footprint. So whereas previously you’d have shelving either on the ground or a mezzanine, you can condense it into one unit and utilise the full height of a warehouse,” Bille explained.

And that’s the main attraction of the LogiMat, he added.

In fact, by having a vertical lift instead of con-

Each tray can handle 500kg of stock. ventional racks, companies can save up to 80% of the warehouse floor area.

“We can do units up to 20 metres high. I’ve actually seen some which have been installed in Europe, where the warehouse is only 10 metres high, but they’ve literally knocked a hole in the wall and built an individual structure which is a high rise structure just for the LogiMat to fit in,” he said.

“It can be 15-20 metres high outside the building. So it doesn’t even have to be in the building, all you need’s a small space outside the building.”

It may be customised according to need and is available in heights ranging from approx. 2.5m to 13m; five standard widths (1.65m, 2m, 2.5m, 3m and 4m); two standard depths (650mm and 820mm).

The LogiMat is designed with ergonomics in mind and is available with a number of options, including the ability to adjust the height of the opening according to user login and the ability to manmonthly.com.au

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tilt the removal tray for better view and easy reach of the parts.

“When an operator keys in their access code, the height of the actual picking area will lift up and down to suit that operator’s preset height.

And you can combine that with a tilt mechanism as well, so ergonomically it’s very effective.”

There is also an optional system to quickly identify the position of an item within a tray. “It’s a laser that... actually points to the particular container,” Bille explained.

So when a tray arrives, the operator is guided by the laser to the exact position on the tray to find the wanted item. There is no need to look around and mistakes are minimised.

Being modular, the LogiMat can also be integrated into any existing system or relocated with equal ease.

For example, Bille explained, “You can run full picking software with it.

We can interface with most WMSs and ErP systems.”

M A you 0 5 can 1 4 run _ 0 it0 from 0 _ TitsSmost U “And basic mode where you punch in a lo-

manmonthly.com.au

cation number...or you can just have a location control system which is then fed a file from an ErP or a WMS system to pick in a certain order or batch pick.”

So where does that leave our store persons in comfortable footwear? According to the company, the LogiMat can cut their walking time by 50-80%.

And, importantly for the bottom line, it can help them achieve up to 120 picks per hour or roughly 1,000 picks per day.

What’s more, if batch picking is possible, then even higher rates can be achieved.

[Matt McDonald, a Manufacturers’ Monthly journalist, writes on a broad range of topics.

His special interests include Safety and Industrial Relations. Contact him at google.com/+MattMcDonald28]

1

Expandable barriers for warehouses

ExpandablE security barriers by The australian Trellis door Company (aTdC) have successfully been adopted by the factory, warehouse, distribution centre and industrial market sectors. bing lee is the latest addition to aTdC’s list of customers. bing lee installed aTdC’s expanding barriers in an industrial application at its national warehouse and distribution centre in Guildford in Sydney’s western suburbs to secure its warehouse during trading hours when its warehouse loading dock doors are open.

The expandable barriers can be installed up to a height of 2500mm and are an effective deterrent preventing unwanted entry during trading hours.

The open steel grille design does not obstruct the inflow of fresh air through the expanding security barriers, allowing ventilation during the hot summer months. When unlocked and open, the barriers fold back neatly out of the way so as to be almost SSI Schaefer 2 0 1 4 - 0 4 - 1800 0 3 TSCHAEFER 1 0 : 1 4 :invisible; 2 1 + 1 1 their : 0 0 with tight and compact www.ssi-schaefer.com.au

stacks they allow a clear path for trucks and forklifts to pass through unobstructed.

More recently abC Tissue, a top 1000 australian Company installed aTdC’s expandable barriers at its Wetherill park distribution centre to provide protection for its machinery and to deter theft within its stock and inventory control operations.

The expandable security barriers also find application in cordoning off areas on industrial, factory, warehouse and distribution premises to assist in access control, providing work safe areas, and to protect employees from dangerous plant and machinery.

The company also carries an extensive range of fully framed expanding security barriers, which are used in the industrial market to secure warehouse and factory passageways, windows, alcoves, large glass showroom entries and doorways.

The Australian Trellis Door Company 1300 268 039 www.trellisdoors.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 43

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3DPRINTING Education still a key to 3D Printing’s future Research released this month has shown additive manufacturing/3D printing grew by more than a third in 2013. Ido Eylon from Stratasys spoke to Brent Balinski about why the figures were no surprise, as well as what areas are important to his company and why.

“

I am not surprised at all that it grew, and I’m not surprised that it grew significantly,” answered Ido Eylon, the general manager for Asia South for Stratasys, when asked about reports that his industry grew by over a third last year.

Eylon, who spoke to Manufacturers’ Monthly during National Manufacturing Week, handles South Asia for the additive manufacturing and 3D printing solutions giant.

Though he points out that not all the reports tracking additive manufacturing’s increased demand compare the same things, the seemingly incredible figures for the closely-watched Wohlers Report 44 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

2014, released earlier this month, were no shock for Stratasys.

Wohlers’ Associates’ research found that the global demand for products and services increased 34.9 per cent to $US 3.07 billion for 2013, the highest growth in the report’s 17 years.

For Stratasys – which Eylon joined by way of the company’s merger with Israel’s Objet – the increase in orders for its suite of personal and industrial offerings has been similarly meteoric.

Revenues for the company’s first quarter were up by nearly a third compared to last year (before taking into account their acquisition of desktop 3D printer

company MakerBot), beating market expectations.

And as the head of the company’s APJ operations Jonathan Jaglom told this magazine earlier in the year, this region has displayed the most rapid increase in demand anywhere in the world.

In Australia, demand is sharp across a number of industries.

“These would be defence, aerospace, medical; and education is a very important driver for our business in Australia,” explained Eylon.

“I always like to say that education, from a business standpoint, is not only the present,

but also the future.”

Eylon’s education was in biomedical engineering at Ben Gurion University. From there he joined Objet - which Stratasys merged with in 2012 - the patentholder for PolyJet additive manufacturing technology working in application engineering and presales roles.

He moved to Cambridge in the United States to help Stratasys educate its North American market, with examples of his work including helping MIT graduate students with a 3D printed synthetic bone application. Medical solutions manmonthly.com.au

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continue to be of interest - a recent case study the company is proud of is the creation of dentistry surgical guides through an Objet machine in Singapore.

Eylon describes dentistry as a “key focus market” for the company, with a printer adopted into a clinic’s workflow being a massive time saver in surgeries.

Eylon has been in his current role for about three months, and in Australia as in other parts of his purview, education is proving another continuously relevant area of focus.

“An engineer or somebody who got some engineering training as a student and was exposed to the benefits of 3D printing or additive manufacturing, later on as an engineer-in-practice, is going to look for the same benefits as a young professional.

“

...Education, from a business standpoint, is not only the present, but also the future - Ido Eylon.

“That’s why I think it is a very, very important activity and it’s a very, very important market for us.”

Part of the education process involves designing for manufacturing, with previous constraints posed by designing for machining or moulding removed.

For some engineers/designers who have had to create with these constraints in mind, it can take a little adjustment when additive manufacturing is introduced.

As Avi Reichenthal, CEO of Stratasys’s major rival 3D Systems, pointed out in a recent interview, the freedom of design offered by 3D printing can take some getting used to.

“You can’t create complex shapes because you can’t form them, bend them, injection mould them, machine them, and so you spend years learning all of the things that you manmonthly.com.au

customers that are pursuing this solution,” said Eylon.

“Because it has so many advantages over traditional manufacturing when it makes sense.

And it doesn’t always make sense.”

The company gets many questions about “whether additive manufacturing is going to replace traditional manufacturing on the whole at some point,” he said.

Of course it will not, or at least no time soon, but “there are some things being done today in a way that additive manufacturing can easily replace, and be more efficient, sometimes cheaper, sometimes faster, actually most of the time a lot faster,” said Eylon.

“And there are so many benefits some of which we are talking about.

Lightweighting and things like that, freedom of geometry, very significant advantages [are possible] with additive manufacturing.”

An example of what Objet PolyJet technogy is capable of. cannot do in the name of conforming to traditional manufacturing methods,” he told Boing Boing recently.

“Those are the very lessons that we have to unlearn in order to fully unleash the potential of the freedom of creation and the free complexity that comes with 3D printing.”

Part of education involves universities, but another side of it is at expos, such as at NMW - where Stratasys sponsored the event’s inaugural Additive Manufacturing product zone - and at the Inside 3D Printing conference series as it makes its first visit to Australia in July.

Like everyone else who sponsors an event, promotion is a reason. But Eylon believes it’s also a matter of responsibility to be involved in trade shows.

“As the leader of the additive manufacturing industry, which is how we see ourselves, there’s a lot of responsibility,” he explained, before adding that there was also a duty to counter what is often a lot of unhelpful news reports.

“We see ourselves, as leaders, as having the responsibility to educate the market and make sure that the right message is out there,” said Eylon.

Within Australia, as with elsewhere, there is a definite shift towards additive manufacturing (or digital direct manufacturing), though rapid prototyping is, of course, still very popular.

Wohlers’ report found 34.7 per cent of all product and service revenues in the industry were from end-use parts last year, up from 2012’s 28.3 per cent.

“There is some movement towards that, obviously this is very M A 0 both 7 1 4for _ us 0 0and 0 _for N the PA interesting,

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ProcessCONTROL The latest in process control and instrumentation Devices for manufacturing automation continue to get smaller, faster and more intelligent. Wireless features and networking capabilities are major trends being seen in a variety of sensors and measuring devices.

Here is a selection of some recent product releases - from a videoscope that can identify tiny defects to a WaveInjector that can handle non-intrusive flow measurement at extreme temperatures.

The WaveInjector realises accurate ultrasonic flow measurements.

With TwinCAT the Panel PC becomes a highperformance PLC and Motion Control system.

Multi-touch in a compact design WITh the CP26xx Panel PC series Beckhoff has increased the scalability of its range of devices with integrated multi-touch functionality. equipped with an ARM Cortex A8 processor, the fanless series of Panel PCs is designed for use in PlC and Motion Control applications and in small to medium-sized machines and plants.

The CP26xx Panel PC features a 1 Ghz ARM Cortex A8 CPu with access to 1 GByte internal DDR3 RAM memory. The standard operating system is Microsoft Windows embedded Compact 7. A 256 MB Micro SD card is included as standard and optionally up to 4 GByte are available. A 128 kbyte NoVRAM ensures fail-safe storage of TwinCAT process data. An on-board 10/100BASe-T ethernet adapter, an etherCAT adapter with RJ-45 connector, an

RS-232 interface and two uSB-2.0 ports are also available.

In contrast to the existing ARM9 architecture, the ARM Cortex A8 processor has a hardware-based floating point unit. This makes floating point operations (Real, lReal) significantly faster. It means that the CP26xx Panel PC series can also be used for Motion Control applications. In combination with TwinCAT automation software from Beckhoff, the Panel PC becomes a high-performance PlC and Motion Control system for small and medium-sized machine applications.

Beckhoff 03 9912 5430 www.beckhoff.com.au

Pressure transmitter is no larger than a bee The smallest fully functional digital combination transmitter for pressure and temperature currently available on the market has been launched by kelleR. In the lD series, all the electronic components are accommodated in a laser-welded stainless steel housing filled with silicone oil.

Measuring 11 mm in diameter (the same length as a european worker bee), the housing contains the sensor technology, the (mathematical) compensation coefficients, the digital signal processing and finally the I2C interface for loss-free 46 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

integration into higher-level systems. Made of stainless steel or hastelloy, the housing not only acts as a Faraday cage but also offers appropriate protection against electromagnetic radiation and all potential environmental influences.

Thanks to the chip-in-oil technology, short signal paths with high impact and vibration resistance are realised. Six standard measurement ranges extend from 1 to 200 bar abs. with a compensated temperature range of -10°C to +80°C (highpressure versions for up to 1000 bar are under development).

Keller info@keller-druck.com www.keller-druck.com

Non-intrusive flow measurement FleXIM’s patented WAVeINJeCToR clamp-on mounting fixture enables the non-intrusive ultrasonic flow measurement of liquids at extreme pipe wall temperatures ranging from as low as -190°C up to 400°C and beyond. Since the WaveInjector is a purely mechanical solution, it can also be used - in conjunction with FleXIM’s ATeX, IeC and FM approved transducers and transmitters - within hazardous areas.

Thus, the WaveInjector realises long-time temperature stable, reliable and accurate clamp-on ultrasonic flow measurements at extreme temperatures in combination with the well-known advantages of the clamp-on ultrasonic technology: No process stops for installation combined with a virtually maintenance free measurement. Typical applications areas where the WaveInjector is employed are found at lNG terminals, Refineries or even molten salt flows at Central Solar Power plants where pipe wall temperatures easily reach up to 580°C. Moreover, as the pipe segment, where the WaveInjector is installed at, will be reinsulated after installation, there are no thermal energy losses.

FLEXIM info@flexim.com www.flexim.com manmonthly.com.au

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Temperature calibrators deliver high accuracy

Switches for highavailability EtherNet/IP networks

Fluke has introduced two single function calibrators for simulating process temperature sensors. For technicians who don’t want the complexity of multifunction test tools yet need highly accurate temperature calibration, the Fluke 712B RTD and 714B Thermocouple Temperature Calibrators let instrument, process and plant maintenance technicians quickly and easily test process temperature instrumentation.

The Fluke 712B measures and simulates 13 different RTD types and resistance and the 714B measures and simulates 17 different thermocouple types as well as millivolts, to verify process sensors by direct comparison of measured versus reported temperatures. The calibrators also measure 4 to 20 mA signals with 0.001 mA resolution while simultaneously sourcing a temperature signal with both readings displayed on the large, backlit display.

They can scale the measured mA to the programmed 0 and 100 percent temperature settings to verify the 0 and 100 percent values scaled in a temperature transmitter. They also feature linear ramp and 25 percent step auto-ramp based on 0 and 100 percent settings. Settings at power down are saved for easy restart of tests when the calibrator is powered back up.

Fluke Australia 02 8850 3300 www.fluke.com.au

The Fluke 712B measures and simulates 13 different RTD types.

Pneumatic control unit with position feedback

Type 8697 offers an integrated pilot valve with manual actuation.

BüRkeRT’S type 8697 pneumatic control unit with position feedback, with leD status indication, has been released to fit all Classic and element valves. The IP65/67 8697 head has mechanical or inductive position switches, and an integrated pneumatic pilot to control single-acting actuators.

This innovation replaces the type 1062, offering one-button commissioning for decentralised automation for small drives.

Designed as a more compact version of the type 8690, Bürkert’s latest innovation boasts a larger scope than its predecessors. The new type 8697 is available as a pneumatic unit or feedback for eleMeNT valves with 50mm actuators, as well as a pneumatic control unit for ClASSIC valves with actuator sizes 40/50/63mm. The head can also be used as a feedback for ClASSIC actuators of all sizes, 40-225mm. The type 8697

replaces the type 1062, which previously offered position feedback (but no pilot) for ClASSIC valves.

Beyond a replacement, the type 8697 offers original advancements such as an integrated pilot valve with manual actuation and leDs for indicating device status. Integrating this head is the simplest way to create a decentralised automation device, improving overall process speed and allowing independence and therefore creativity in process design. The type 8697 asserts itself with mechanical self-adjusting valve position switches as 2 and 3 wire inductive or micro switches. leD integration illustrates switch position.

Bürkert Australia 1300 888 868 www.burkert.com.au

The 7000 series switches are the first in the world to support DLR redundancy.

The new advanced managed switches in the 7000 series from Phoenix Contact are suitable for use in ethernet/IP networks because the industrial ethernet switches are the first to be equipped with CIP. The switches can be configured and diagnosed from the etherNet/ IP control system. They are the first switches in the world to support the Device level Ring (DlR) redundancy mechanism.

With DlR switching times of less than three milliseconds can be achieved if failure occurs; this increases the availability of the network. up to six non-DlR-enabled devices can be integrated into the ring with the Fl SWITCh 7000 switch. In addition, functions such as IGMP snooping, multicast source detection, and auto-query port for intelligent multicast filtering are also available.

Phoenix Contact 1300 786 411 www.phoenixcontact.com.au

Elbow flow conditioner removes swirl

The elbow flow conditioner eliminates the upstream piping requirements. manmonthly.com.au

To provide accurate and repeatable flow measurement, electromagnetic and other types of flow metering technologies require a specific amount of straight pipe run upstream and downstream from the installed location of the meter.

The straight pipe runs create a swirl-free and symmetric velocity profile in the pipe that can be measured accurately over and over again.

When electromagnetic flow meters are placed too close to pumps, there can be measurement problems.

Sewage lift stations are required to pump wastewater from one elevation to a higher level

when gravity flow isn’t feasible for any number of reasons. often there isn’t enough available plant real estate to support the straight pipe run required by electromagnetic and other flow metering technologies. The elbow flow conditioner eliminates the flow meter upstream piping requirements by conditioning the flow stream into a flow regime, mimicking the adequate straight run.

AMS Instrumentation & Calibration 03 9017 8225 www.ams-ic.com.au Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 47

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Process CONTROL Industrial videoscopes WITh the introduction of the IPleX RX and IPleX RT industrial videoscopes, olympus is entering a new era of image quality thanks to advanced image processors and leD illumination systems. The PulsarPic image processor enhances image quality and increases the efficiency of detecting tiny defects. It reduces noise and sharpens images to produce exceptionally high-resolution images in low-light conditions.

The new leD illumination system is nearly twice as bright as conventional videoscopes and dynamically adjusts light output to reduce halation from reflective surfaces. The IPleX RX also offers WiDeR (Wide Dynamic extended Range) image processing capability. WiDeR enhances detail in shadowed and highlighted areas to produce bright, contrast-balanced images across the entire depth of field.

The PA Link module is suitable for all DCS and PLC systems.

PulsarPic increases the efficiency of detecting tiny defects.

The user-selectable colour and sharpness settings allow images to be customised to suit any application. The IPleX RX and RT have compact designs for use in the field. Their 6.5-inch screens have an anti-reflective daylightview monitor, allowing accurate inspections even in direct sunlight.

Olympus IBDinfo@olympus.com.au www.olympus-ims.com

Wireless transmitter delivers two process variables The Rosemount 3051S MultiVariable Wireless Pressure Transmitter is designed to directly measure two process variables in one installation so users can gain greater insight into their process without increasing installation costs.

The more devices in a facility, the greater the required cost and time investments for installation, scheduled maintenance and downtime.

Because the transmitter measures differential and static pressure, users can reduce pipe penetrations and impulse piping along with their associated costs. The static pressure sensor is available as either true gage or absolute which allows for reduced maintenance and calibration costs. users have visibility to their measurements through a WirelesshART monitoring system. users can monitor more assets throughout their facilities with greater than 99% reliability and at 40 to 60% cost savings over wired installations. The Rosemount 3051S MultiVariable Wireless Pressure Transmitter delivers a decade of maintenance-free performance with a 10-year stability specification.

The Rosemount 3051S delivers a decade of maintenance-free performance.

PA Link module added to COMbricks family IN partnership with PRoCeNTeC, I S Systems has released the PA link module as an addition to the CoMbricks family. The transparent PA link enables seamless integration of PRoFIBuS PA Networks. It powers the attached PA devices and fully emulates them as DP devices on the backplane.

Adjustment of DP bus parameters is not required and it is therefore suitable for all DCS and PlC systems, even running on 12 Mbps. The integrated ProfiTrace and oscilloscope make this product useful for remote maintenance and usage of Asset Management tools via the included CommDTM. PA jitter, noise, DC current, DC voltage, bar graph and oscilloscope are all accesible.

CoMbricks is able to carry 9 PA links and an RS 485 or Fiber optic module. It can also be a customised mix of PA modules with other communication modules. It does not require configuration and operates the same way as regular CoMbricks repeaters. The behaviour on the PA side can be configured via the CoMbricks web server including retries and watchdog. This product can also be used as a monitor behind existing 3rd party Non-ex PA couplers/links.

Emerson Process Management 03 9721 0200 www.emersonprocess.com

I S Systems sales@issystems.com.au www.procentec.com/combricks

Enhanced Data Station Plus

The ZR Series provides text message and email alerts.

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The Red lion enhanced ZR Series of the Data Station Plus is designed to act as the key connection point for industrial data collection and management. The ZR Series offers protocol conversion, data logging and remote machine access - all at processing speeds six times faster than previous versions.

The ZR Series simplifies complex plant floor environments by allowing disparate devices to communicate seamlessly using a 10/100 Base-TX ethernet port that supports up to ten protocols simultaneously.

In addition, the ethernet port and three built-in serial ports leverage more than 250 communication drivers to convert numerous protocols simultaneously and connect and collect data from virtually any PlC, drive or bar code scanner. A built-in data logger logs tags at user-programmable rates before automatically time/date stamping each tag. The information can then be stored in an open CSV file format, allowing easy access from virtually any application. The ZR Series can also synchronise log files with any FTP and/or Microsoft SQl server for further analysis.

In addition, uSB host capabilities allow thumb drives for programming and log file storage as well as other uSB devices to be used. To extend production monitoring to remote personnel, the Red lion ZR Series also provides text message and email alerts.

The improved extra large XGA size built-in webserver enables global access to data logs and allows information to be monitored using a smartphone or Internet-connected PC. Control Logic sales@control-logic.com.au www.control-logic.com.au manmonthly.com.au

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SUPPLYING A RANGE OF CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS

CONCRETE REPAIR AND PROTECTION

ROOFING

WATERPROOFING

JOINT SEALING

STRUCTURAL STRENGTHENING

ADHESIVES AND SEALANTS

BLA/MM/06/14/EXT

FLOORING

GROUTING AND FIXING

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What’sNew Thermal imaging in hazardous locations ExplosivE atmospheres need to be protected from ignition sources by selecting equipment and protective systems which meet the requirements of the ATEx product Regulations or similar regulations.

FliR A310 ex is an ATEx compliant solution, with a thermal imaging camera mounted in an enclosure, making it possible to monitor critical and other valuable assets also in explosive atmospheres. process monitoring, quality control and fire detection in potentially explosive locations are typical applications for the unit.

it is ATEx certified (verification Certificate ZElM 12 ATEx 0485 x) and can be installed in classification zones 1, 2, 21 and 22.

The certification comprises the whole system which includes the enclosure as well as all components inside, such as the thermal imaging camera, heater and integrated controller. The flame-proof enclosure “d” prevents any explosion transmission from the inside of the enclosure to the outside.

The unit is ip67 rated making it ideal to install in dusty environments. it comes with

a heater which effectively prevents fogging and freezing of the protection window.

FLIR Systems Australia 1300 564 230 www.flir.com

Modular wiring solution for process automation

The model dust collector is just 46 cm in height.

TURCK expands its powerfast line of connectivity products to include a full line of solutions for process automation applications. Designed to replace hardwiring methods, they provide a robust and reliable modular wiring solution.

A full line of cordsets, receptacles, reducers, reducer tees, and power lokfast devices provides users with the ability to configure a complete power distribution system.

The products are UL approved and available in A-Size (7/8”) and D-Size (1-3/8”) connectors and are rated for up to 30 Amps of power for a wide range of operation. Additionally, they carry FM approval for use in class I division 2 hazardous locations.

Offering easy installation and customisation, they are designed to deliver flexible design capabilities, quick modifications and expandable options.

Model dust collector A new miniature model commissioned by Camfil Air pollution Control (ApC) provides a compact way to transport, display and demonstrate features of the company’s Farr gold series dust and fume collector.

Designed at one-tenth scale of a 16-cartridge dust collector, the model stands 46 cm high and will be used at trade shows and exhibitions, seminars and customer meetings. Camfil ApC has commissioned several of the one-tenth scale models to deploy to company locations worldwide.

Built by Scale Model Company (Hawthorne, Calif.), a renowned NASA model builder, the dollhouse-sized dust collector is a remarkably faithful replica of the real dust collector, both visually and functionally.

Moving components in the model accurately demonstrate key maintenance features of the dust collectors - including the easy-open positive seal door, the tool-free process for filter change-out, and the drum lid lifter that enables one person to empty dust from the drum.

Camfil Australia 02 9648 5800 www.camfilapc.com/australia 50 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

The unit is IP67 rated making it ideal to install in dusty environments.

Designed to deliver flexible design capabilities, quick modifications and expandable options.

The A-size model is IP67 rated and the D-size solution is IP67, 68, and 69k rated.

Both product lines are NEMA 1, 3, 4, and 6P rated with a temperature rating up to 90°C. Turck 1300 273 687 www.turck.com.au

Modular materials handling solution TRilogiq’s graphit modular system is said by the company to be the first completely reusable solution in materials handling. The result of two year’s research, it consists of composite material for joints and connectors.

Tubing is offered with the option of carbon fibre, anodised aluminium, or stainless steel. According to the company, these low-weight materials offer advantages that redefine industry standards.

• SoftAdjust allows connectors to be moved around with ease, leaving no marks.

• InstantMatch is a set of interlocking connectors that offers a 30% gain on assembly time.

• VeryGrip combines a soft grip from a high performance thermoplastic polyurethane that provides strong chemical adhesion.

• MonoBlok is a sealed connection across the tube. it is intended to put an end to rust and corrosion.

Trilogiq Australia 03 9728 6500 www.graphit.trilogiq.com

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Brought to you by

Multi-purpose maintain lube

Safety hinge switches

HeNkel Australia has launched the loctite Ml-11, a light, semi- drying oil type spray that penetrates, lubricates, displaces water, cleans surfaces and provides protection to metal surfaces, to prevent corrosion.

The high performance lube penetrates through metal assemblies to release rust and seal out moisture. This enhances corrosion protection and rust prevention. it also prevents seizure, reduces noise, cleans parts and provides necessary lubrication.

The product is suitable for many applications including vehicle parts, side rail, tools and industrial machinery.

Additionally, it is an excellent cleanser for removing rubber and glue.

The lube features an ergonomic design which enables the product to be sprayed out in a 360 degrees wide range, while the special bendable jet design nozzle enables application in hard to reach areas.

WItH the release of the teSk from Schmersal, the fourth generation of Safety Hinge Switches is available to the market.

With this new series, the switching angle - which means the hinge angle at which the safety-related signal is initiated - is freely adjustable over the whole of the working range.

The user can select different contact configurations with up to four contacts and the option of cable connection or plug connection.

The special construction of this safety switching device allows it to be mounted on the hinge side of the rotating guard. This replaces a conventional hinge and, at the same time, takes over monitoring the position of the guard.

The safety hinge switches offer safety hinge switches offer high protection against high protection against tampering. tampering as the safety switch is not visible to the operator, being an integral part of the guard.

Additionally, the machine builders benefit because their machines and enclosures can be constructed with the commercially available aluminium profile systems.

With its sleek appearance, the new safety hinge switch is recommended for the position monitoring of protection doors on design-oriented machines. it can even monitor double swing doors.

Henkel Australia 1300 813 440 www.loctite.com.au

The lube can be sprayed 360 degrees.

AD_ PACEPL AAPR_ 1 2 . p d f

Control Logic 1300 374 073 www.control-logic.com.au Pa ge 1 1 4 / 0 3 / 1 2 ,

Tuned manufacturing site fitouts INduStrIAl ergonomics specialist Actisafe has given the manufacturing and engineering sector a new business service to provide better planning, equipment investment and returns.

The Actituned Workshop, a planning consultancy as well as a product supply line, is a streamlined service for a complete fitout service with all the tools necessary to manage output, whether operating one facility or multiple plants.

The service carries a range of global brand products designed to dovetail into most businesses.

Whether these requirements are offthe-shelf solutions or purpose-built for the application, the organisation provides qualified advice on automotive hoisting equipment; pallet racking and shelving; compact storage systems; ergonomic workstations and benches; tools; custom-designed drainage and fluid disposals; exhaust hose reels; compressed air; bins and other waste handling containers; and other specialised services including building construction, industrial floor polishing and protective painting and coatings.

Through the service, the company is manmonthly.com.au

The service carries a range of global brand products designed to dovetail into most businesses. committed to addressing the ever-changing compliance landscape with management systems that adhere to iso standards as well as Health and safety standards.

Actisafe 1300 852 397 www.actisafe.com.au Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 51

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What’sNew

Brought to you by

Compact safety switch CEs-C04 is a new safety switch from Euchner with a small and compact housing design. it consists of two components: a read head with integrated evaluation electronics and an actuator.

Transponder coding of the safety switch results in absolute security against tampering and ensures maximum safety in accordance with eN ISO 13849-1 (Cat. 4/ple).

The housing design and the option of a flexible actuator approach direction to the read head permit space-saving attachment to the safety guard to be protected.

The design of the safety switch permits use on doors hinged on the left and right.

The CEs-C04 features two lED displays that are readily visible at all times independently of the installation situation and thereby permit rapid diagnostics.

The product is available in two versions: Ap for operation as a single unit and connection to decentralised peripheral equipment, such as siMATiC ET 200pro, and AR for series connection of up to 20 devices, where all transponder-coded safety

The safety switch is insensitive to vibrations.

switches from Euchner with AR technology can be connected in series.

Gapless package detection SICk sensor intelligence has targeted a number of packaging issues with a single sensor unit, the Deltapac multitask photoelectric sensor.

This new sensor is designed to enable detection of individual objects in a gapless, continuous stream, all within a compact device.

Because it can detect individual objects in an unbroken stream with no gaps in between, this eliminates a number of packaging throughput issues such as packages that fall over and the resulting collisions, incorrectly positioned labels or straws, incorrect placement when grouping packages, and loss of quality due to crashes.

The key to gapless detection lies in the use of intelligent Delta-s technology, which comprises four pinpoint 2.0 lEDs and two high-resolution energy scales, each with two receiver elements. in practice, the sensor detects the edge contours of packages and folding boxes.

Applications for the Deltapac include counting and package

Long Leg U-Bolts

The sensor can detect individual objects in an unbroken stream with no gaps in between. control, triggering of downstream processes such as code or label printing, barcode reading or camera control, and quality insurance for packaging.

SICK 1300 405 807 www.sick.com/au

Plant control room console

The console features a large flexible, ultra-high definition display.

52 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Treotham Automation 1300 615 110 www.treotham.com.au

HONeyWell process solutions’ Experion orion Console is intended to meet the changing needs of the increasingly mobile plant operator.

The console – which builds on the company’s Experion process knowledge System control platform – features an improved ergonomic design and better displays to simplify control system management, reduce operator fatigue and improve situational awareness.

The console’s design was based on operator input gleaned from numerous visits to plant control rooms around the world and across industries, in both newer and older plants.

The console’s features include a large flexible, ultra-high definition

display that provides clear status assessments of process operations in a single glance for better and moreinformed management.

This flexibility is intended to enable operators to customise displays for context-specific process issues, and incorporates advanced alarm management and pan and zoom capabilities. limits and targets are directly integrated into overview displays, allowing operation of the process closer to the optimum and allowing operators an increased scope of responsibility across the industrial facility.

Honeywell Process Solutions 1800 456 066 www.honeywellprocess.com

Extended leg U Bolts packaged for dispatch.

ANCHOrAGe group has extended its range of long leg u-Bolts. the company now processes u-Bolts with leg lengths in excess of 1500mm to suit pipe sizes from 100NB through to 600NB. standard thread sizes for the extralong u-Bolts start at M12 for the 100NB u-Bolt and extend to M24 thread on the long leg u-Bolt to fit 600NB pipes.

The company provides a full coating service for the extended leg u Bolts, including galvanised and powder-coated finishes. linings such as neoprene in these pipe supports prevent abrasive wear points, where vibration of pipes and tube may be an issue.

The company also produces extralong u Bolts in 304 stainless steel where required; and offers comprehensive repetition fabrication and bending capabilities to produce anywhere from 20 u-Bolt Clamps through to thousands.

According to the company, short lead times remain unchanged with this latest expansion.

Anchorage Group 1800 899 480 www.anchoragegroup.com.au

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The solar modules produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 200 households.

Toyota gets Vic’s largest rooftop solar system AutONOMOuS Energy has completed a 500kW solar power system at Toyota Motor Corporation Australia’s manufacturing plant in Melbourne.

2000 kyocera solar panels now cover the roof of Toyota Australia’s Engine Factory at their Altona North plant. this is the largest roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (pv) system in victoria and the third largest nationally.

The 500kW Central inverter and transformer were manufactured by power engineering company ABB. It is the largest ABB inverter installed in Australia to date.

Autonomous Energy’s solar engineering, installation and project management teams were responsible for all aspects of this complex and innovative project. the kyocera solar modules in this system produce enough energy to power

the equivalent of 200 households, which is equal to removing 570 small cars from the road. “kyocera has been manufacturing solar panels for nearly 40 years now, and this is the largest installation of kyocera solar panels in Australia to date,” said george Phani, National Manager at kyocera Solar.

“This installation is an excellent example to other businesses that large scale solar installations should be implemented not only to help the environment, but also to benefit the bottom line.”

Toyota officially launched their solar power system on the 5th June 2014, World Environment Day. Autonomous Energy 1300 797 652 www.autonomousenergy.com

Barden Produce pick Tork Matic for hygiene FArMING and processing operation, Barden Produce recently switched to tork to improve key hygiene areas.

Barden Produce claim the quality and safety of their products is at the centre of everything they do. They have a food safety and quality system in place that delivers accreditation to internationally recognised standards. Every site is independently audited to ensure compliance to these food safety standards.

Barden installed the tork Matic Hand Towel Roll Dispenser with intuition sensor and the tork Matic Blue Hand towel Roll throughout their bathrooms and at the wash stations at the entrance to production floors.

“We needed to move to a blue coloured towel for food safety reasons,” explained Mr Allan dall, General Manager of Barden produce.

“The system addresses a number of our quality and compliance requirements including having a touch-free dispenser, readily identifiable blue towel (in a contrasting colour to our products) and single use.”

The dispenser has a sensor that dispenses a single towel which is intended to not only improve hygiene but also to decrease consumption.

Barden deliver fresh vegetables year round within 24 hours of harvest throughout Australia. This requires a high manmonthly.com.au

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The hand towel is easily identified and helps with food safety. degree of organisation and efficiency and another recently acquired product, the Tork Heavy-duty Cleaning Cloth has proven to be an effective cleaning aid in the busy operational sections. “it is used throughout our production areas for wash down and then disposed of. it’s a great alternative to other wipes that staff may be tempted to reuse,” said Dall.

“The heavy duty nature of the cloth assists when cleaning work benches that are heavily soiled following vegetable processing.”

Tork Professional Hygiene 1800 643 634 www.tork.com.au Manufacturers’ Monthly JULY 2014 53

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2014-06-24T08:45:57+10:00

The lastWORD Can Australia still make things?

According to Barry Burgan,, manufacturing does have a future in Australia. But our future industry will be focused more on value added to natural resources and on smarter end manufacturing.

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OPULAR opinion is that manufacturing in Australia is under pressure, and our future of making things is limited. That it is under pressure is not accepted by all, however.

For example, when I was presenting at the Productivity Commission hearings into the automotive sector in Adelaide, one of the Commissioners suggested that, while there had certainly been a loss of manufacturing jobs, this did not mean that the sector was under stress - it was part of increasing efficiency; turnover and value added had remained strong.

ABS data on Gross Domestic Product indicates that through the 80’s and 90’s manufacturing’s share of GDP only declined slowly (but it did decline, and steadily). But since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) there have been more substantial declines. Unsurprisingly the metals and non-metallic minerals sectors have held up the best, but more surprisingly machinery and equipment did as well. In more recent times, the extent of closures seems to have accelerated, with the automotive sector at the forefront.

What is the root of this pressure on the manufacturing sector?

The exchange rate is most often blamed, and it has been a problem. The price manufacturers have received for their products has increased 1.5% per annum over the period since the GFC (or 1% pa less than inflation) – and much of this would be due to needing to remain competitive, discovering export markets and import competition. It needs to be recognised that movements in exchange rates are more pronounced against the US dollar than against other currencies.

Labour costs are also talked up, and again while there are some issues in that wage rates have increased at 54 JULY 2014 Manufacturers’ Monthly

around 0.5% per annum above general inflation, the impact for the sector as a whole has not been extreme, in that labour costs represent only around 15% of production value in manufacturing.

Some of the pressure has certainly been found in more general costs, and specifically energy, water and compliance costs. These are huge issues for doing business and, for example, electricity prices have increased by over 10% per annum over the last 5 years.

One issue that is not often mentioned is the impact of interest rates.

Australia has had consistently higher real interest rates than most developed economies over the longer term, which

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The statistics show that, as a nation, we work as hard or harder than many other nations. impedes investment. Even recent declines need to be compared to very low and even negative real interest rates in many other countries. Risk related shifts mean that - post GFC - higher relative interest costs are borne by smaller businesses.

There is no short term fix to these pressures – it is unlikely they will go away over the remainder of this decade. Nor really do we want them to – as for example higher exchange rates keeps consumer prices for petrol and consumables down.

Other than what is driving the pressures, the other question that is often asked as to whether Australia needs a manufacturing sector. At a regional level, there is no question that

some regions will bear the brunt of the restructuring. Recent work I did with John Spoehr (as presented to the Productivity Commission) suggests that the supply chain linked to automotive manufacturing sees up to 15,000 jobs lost in South Australia from Holden’s closing (from the base as at 2011).

At the national level, while it was written for the previous government, the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Task Force non-government members report makes a strong case for policy adjustment to maintain a manufacturing base, and presents evidence that other high cost economies have highly effective manufacturing sectors.

They look at the importance of manufacturing in terms of not just its contributions to employment and exports, but also its linkages within the economy, and its role in research and development. It also points to the need for a diversified economy to ensure that adjustments within one sector have offsets.

In South Australia, we have Professor Goran Roos as a strong advocate of the importance of a dynamic manufacturing sector – and I suggest people should take the opportunity to read his insightful work.

What all of these reports have in common is that while we can have a viable and prosperous manufacturing sector it will be different to that of the past. They suggest that the manufacturing sector will increasingly be based on value added on natural resources (obvious for minerals based, but the new opportunities are seen to be in food products) and on smarter end manufacturing (based on creativity and innovation and higher value products).

As the Asia Pacific continues its strong growth demand for a variety of food products – and Australia has a strong competitive advantage in quality product (including the environmental context), this provides opportunities to add value and therefore create employment and income in manufacturing activities.

It should be remembered that these businesses would in turn require inputs, providing further opportunities.

It seems to me that there are formal and informal processes requiring significant attention to make this work. Given my role in Australia’s newest University(Torrens University Australia), one of my observations is that people cannot really work harder (the statistics show that, as a nation, we work as hard or harder than many other nations.).

Therefore the solution is surely to work smarter. The Australian Workplace and Productivity Association recently gave a consistent message to this, highlighting the need for intelligent manufacturing with the ability to export.

To do this, we need to introduce better products and processes on the one hand, better management practices on the other, and improved and innovative education and training has a very important part to play.

[Barry Burgan, Academic Director at Torrens University, has worked extensively in the private sector, in government and in academia]. manmonthly.com.au

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2014-06-10T15:33:52+10:00

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