Manufacturers' Monthly December 2022

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MANAGEMENT >> TECHNOLOGY >> SOLUTIONS

DECEMBER 2022

BluGlass The next evolution of GaN technology

Official Industry Partners

INSIDE >> 39

Endeavour Awards Winners

24

IMCRC’s six year journey

16

SuperCool’s intelligent compressor

>>

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DECEMBER 2022

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Manufacturers’ Monthly Contents­­­­­­ 4 Editor’s Note

30 Digital Transformation

5 Weld Australia Comment

32 Additive Manufacturing

7 News@MM

34 Metal Engineering

12 Manufacturer Focus

36 Generators

16 Engineering Focus

37 Machine Tools

20 Industrial Gases

39 Endeavour Awards

22 Automation & Robotics

57 What’s New

24 Innovative Manufacturing CRC

58 Last Word

Y m w th so re a co te su

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The opinions expressed in Manufacturers’ Monthly are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated. © Copyright Prime Creative Media, 2021

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The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the

28 Aluminium

magazine format.

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DECEMBER 2022

This year’s Endeavour Awards was a reminder of the passion which exists in our manufacturing industry. In many cases, people are taking a huge risk to develop something they believe in – we need risk takers to continue the drive for Australian Made. This year’s winners show the benefits of investing in our ability to create uniqueness by designing and engineering complex products, processes, services and solutions that are significantly value add, digitally enabled and exportable. This will drive much-needed business investment in research, development and innovation.

As well as a full review of every winner from the night,

the December edition is packed with industry insight, reviewing a massive year for manufacturing. The IMCRC’s journey may be coming to an end, but we find out about the legacy of its six years in action and how it will continue to impact Australian innovation.

RSM Australia highlight the key considerations for SMEs looking to make the jump into the digital world, in a piece which shows the benefits of well-thought-out digital transformation. AME summarises the critical areas all manufacturers can focus on to strengthen operations, solidify the principles of success and exploit opportunities over the next five years.

BluGlass The next evolution of GaN technology

Official Industry Partners

INSIDE >> 39

Endeavour Awards Winners

24

IMCRC’s six year journey

16

>>

SuperCool’s intelligent compressor

manmonthly.com.au

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Editor’s Note

BILLY FRIEND – Editor, Manufacturers’ Monthly

Why Australia?

F

OR manufacturing, the big ticket item in this year’s federal budget was the announcement of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.

Off the back of a Government spending audit, the budget hopes to reprioritise existing funding to further strengthen Australia’s manufacturing ecosystem.

Under the National Reconstruction Fund initiative, co-investments will be made with the private sector in seven priority areas including advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, clean energy and manufacturing and critical technologies.

Outside of this, the significant increase in skilled visas under the Albanese government will also hopefully help with the labour shortage currently impacting many manufacturing businesses.

Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, said the Government is delivering the investments Australians voted for, beginning with rebuilding manufacturing capacity, with targeted support for businesses to ensure Australian workers

have secure, well-paid jobs.

“We want to be a country that makes more onshore – and that means backing the businesses that are making things here and supporting manufacturing in regional Australia,” Husic said.

According to Jessica Olivier, RSM Australia Manufacturing National Leader, the budget’s investment in key national priority sectors and a reconstruction fund is a winning strategy.

“New, targeted manufacturing initiatives will help support, diversify and transform Australian industry,” she said.

“However, the redirection of $303.7m funding previously committed to the Modern Manufacturing Initiative and Modern Manufacturing Fund may significantly disadvantage manufacturers unless such support is appropriately redirected and distributed.”

“Manufacturers will welcome the commitment of $135.5m to support Australian industry to develop domestic manufacturing capabilities and upskill

the manufacturing workforce.”

“It’s also notable that there were no Budget announcements in relation to the R&D Tax Incentive which is positive news for current and future beneficiaries of the program.”

The skies ahead aren’t all blue just yet, however – a strong ecosystem of research and development in conjuction with the right foreign investment might be needed to weather the storm.

Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said in many ways, the budget was a placesetter for the budget in May of next year.

“It’s clear the Government has been trying to portray this budget as one of restraint by holding back on spending at a time when the Federal Treasury believes the economy is heading into a period of slowdown,” Willox said. “Growth forecast has been reduced and there is certainly a view that the economy is going to significantly slow as we grapple with domestic and international factors pushing against us.”

Despite encouraging foreign investment seemingly at odds with growing sovereign capacity, it is completely necessary for Australia to grow.

You need only look as far as our defence sector to see that sovereign capability can and should be built in strategic, targeted areas, and in partnerships with other countries and key industrial players within those nations.

Australia has a long and proud history of manufacturing. Every month, I learn something new about the skills and ingenuity we have in this country.

We have a rich abundance of academic and research capability. We typically share common rules of law and standards of governance, respect for intellectual property, as well as common languages with other industrialised nations and strategic partners. Thanks to the brilliant and strategic minds in this industry, I am confident other nations will continue to see more and more the benefits of investing in Australia.

Treasure Jim Chalmers announced the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.

4 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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Comment

GEOFF CRITTENDEN – CEO, Weld Australia

Radical approach needed to overcome skilled welder shortage Weld Australia estimates that, unless action is taken now, Australia will be 70,000 welders short by 2030.

The number of welding trades workers is dramatically falling.

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HIS urgent issue is not unique to Australia; the US$5.5 billion US fabrication industry will face a shortage of 500,000 welders by 2030. By 2050, Japan’s demographic downturn will result in a 50 per cent loss in their welding workforce; Japan will need around 250,000 welders. In the United Kingdom, BAE is having trouble recruiting enough welders in Glasgow to keep the Type 26 Frigate project on track.

This global shortfall of welders is driving most developed nations to implement extraordinary measures to resolve it – Australia must follow suit.

Statistics from the ABS demonstrate that the number of tradesmen identifying as welding trades workers fell from 83,400 in 2012, to 75,800 in 2014, and again to 69,600 in 2019. Weld Australia estimates that the total is now less 60,000. It is also important to note these individuals ‘identify’ as welders – they are not necessarily qualified welders. Weld

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Australia suggests that less than half of these 60,000 individuals have completed an apprenticeship, or are otherwise suitably qualified.

Clearly, Australia does not have the welders to deliver the nation’s critical energy, defence, rail and infrastructure projects. Access to the global supply chain for fabricated steel products will be a high-risk, expensive proposition. We will be unable to deliver on the Federal Government’s promises, like renewable energy targets.

Australia’s transition to renewables will necessitate the manufacture of thousands of wind towers and transmission towers, solar panel structures, hydrogen plants and battery processing plants, as well as thousands of kilometres of transmission lines. All this will require a highly skilled workforce, including thousands of qualified welders.

While our governments can wish, and hope, and make public pledges

about funding for Australia’s transition to renewable energy and other major infrastructure projects that create jobs, we simply do not have the sovereign manufacturing capability to make this a reality.

We need a practical, actionable plan that can be implemented now to overcome the welder skills shortage – not political posturing and promises that cannot be kept.

Weld Australia is proposing a fourpronged approach: 1. A radical overhaul of welding apprenticeships 2. Tapping into hidden sources of talent 3. Refocussing STEM training in schools 4. Investment in TAFEs nationally

A radical overhaul of welding apprenticeships The current welding apprentice system is typified by limited resources and patchy employer training. Graduates are often

unable to pass a welding qualification, such as AS/NZS ISO 9606 Qualification testing of welders – Fusion welding as required by industry. This demoralising learning experience, when combined with the length of the course, encourages students to opt out of training.

The existing Certificate III in Engineering (Fabrication) is a nominal 720 hours of face-to-face teaching at a TAFE interspersed with practical experience in the workplace via an apprenticeship. This is spread over three years.

Weld Australia proposes that the current course is condensed into one year. The existing training package will remain unchanged but will be taught in two 24-week blocks consisting of 14 weeks of face-to-face training, and 10 weeks of Structured On the Job Training (SOJT) in the workplace.

As is currently the case, the SOJT Training Plan should be individually designed to meet the needs of the Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 5

apprentice and their employer or Group Training Organisation. However, each apprentice will be allocated an Apprentice Manager to ensure the training is completed to the required Standard. This process will be audited by the appropriate authority.

Once an apprenticeship is complete, competency will be assessed and the Certificate III qualification awarded.

Graduates will then be required to qualify to ISO 9606, the internationally recognised standard for welding competency.

The shorter course will be less daunting to school leavers and will encourage mature aged applicants.

Training will be more intensive and is therefore likely to be more efficient. The number of apprentices graduating should increase, and the skills of welders should increase dramatically.

Skill sets: tapping into hidden sources of talent A change in Australia’s immigration quota may offset the skills shortage but it will not solve the problem. To resolve the welder shortfall, we must tap into often unrecognised sources of talent by offering a learning pathway to those who feel estranged from the skilled employment

market: the long term unemployed; women; Indigenous Australians; those completing prison sentences; people transitioning from carbon-based industries; and others.

An analysis of people identifying as welders indicates that less than 50 per cent have any formal welding qualifications. Clearly, there are a significant number of welding jobs that require a skill set (practical competence) without necessarily having the full range of trade skills.

Skill sets are ideally suited to upskill the workforce by providing an internationally recognised certificate of competency. Furthermore, Skill Sets provide a clear pathway to an apprenticeship for mature-aged workers.

Weld Australia has had significant success in offering skill set training – based on existing Units of Competency in the Certificate III in Engineering (Fabrication) – to disadvantaged Australians. This training ultimately leads to employment as a welder.

Weld Australia proposes that a series of courses covering basic welding skill sets are funded and included in the scope of all Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that teach welding.

Refocussing STEM Training in Schools

It is critical to the future of industry in Australia that STEM training in schools be refocused to showcase the opportunities in trades and encourage women and other underrepresented groups into careers in STEM. Weld Australia has been working with the New South Wales Department of Education for the past three years on an Advanced Manufacturing School Outreach Program for schools. Over 50 augmented reality welding simulators have been installed in 25 high schools and used to help students develop an understanding of welding in a completely safe and controlled environment.

The results have been amazing.

Children of both sexes have been engaged in the learning and the feedback from students and teachers alike has been outstanding.

Weld Australia proposes that the Advanced Manufacturing School Outreach Program be rolled out nationally.

Investment in TAFEs Nationally Whilst free TAFE initiatives have been successful in increasing the number of students entering VET, course completion and skills distribution outcomes remain unclear.

It is imperative that sufficient

investment be made in the TAFE system to ensure that it is a world class technical teaching organisation capable of meeting Australia’s demand for skilled tradespeople.

Funding for welding courses at TAFEs across the nation is woefully inadequate.

As a result, many TAFEs do not teach the full range of welding courses, and those that are taught suffer from inadequate resources. Funding must reflect the cost of infrastructure, equipment, time, and materials required to teach to internationally recognised Standards. To offset costs, Weld Australia recommends that resources are focussed on regional Centres of Excellence (CoE) equipped with the latest simulator technology for teaching hand and robotic welding.

TAFE and industry need to work together to facilitate the employment of experienced, qualified Welding Supervisors and Welding Inspectors to act as practical trainers, without the need for a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. This is the only way to meet the increasing demand for highquality teaching staff. Furthermore, investment should be made in skillsbased professional development and nationally accredited learning and assessment resources.

Weld Australia suggests the certificate for Fabrication could be condensed into one year.

6 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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News @MM Queensland’s new $500 million glass manufacturing facility Visy, a global packaging and resource recovery company, broke ground on its new $500 million glass recycling and remanufacturing factory outside Brisbane.

The facility, which represents the largest investment Visy has ever made, will recycle up to 200,000 tonnes of the state’s glass annually to produce 1 billion bottles a year.

Visy executive chairman Anthony Pratt was joined at the ground breaking

by Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Palaszczuk said the project was ground-breaking for Queensland jobs, manufacturing, and the environment.

“This new glass and manufacturing facility will support over 600 construction jobs and around 200 jobs once operational. Queensland is currently a net importer of glass packaging and currently doesn’t manufacture enough to supply the local market.

“When complete, it will manufacture 1 billion glass containers annually and support the growth of Queensland based beverage companies like Queensland Exporter of the Year Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, Asahi, CUB, Lion, and Coca-Cola,” Palaszczuk said.

“Recycling is an important weapon against climate change and the technology employed in this factory will help enable Australia to go from an average of 30 per cent recycled glass content in bottles to 70 per cent, which is moving towards world’s-best practice,” Pratt said.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk joined Visy executive chairman Anthony Pratt at the ground breaking ceremony of Visy’s new facility.

“So this ensures the majority of Queensland’s recyclable recovered glass containers from the state’s Container Deposit Scheme and kerbside recycling bins can be remanufactured right here in Queensland.”

The facility, in Stapylton just south of Brisbane, will be built next to Visy’s current box factory and beverage can plant and is expected to be operational in 2025.

It will support about 200 green-collar manufacturing jobs once operational and bring Visy’s Queensland workforce to more than 1000 people.

“This investment is made possible by the leadership of premier Palaszczuk, and her Government’s support for Australian manufacturing,” Pratt added.

“They are also to be congratulated for their support for practical environmental measures, like recycling, that all Queenslanders can participate in.”

The project represents a massive expansion of Visy’s Queensland recycling and remanufacturing operations and is underpinned by a long-term partnership with Asahi Beverages, and agreements with its customers Lion, Bundaberg and Coca Cola.

It is also a part of Pratt’s 2021 pledge to invest $2 billion in Australian recycling and clean energy infrastructure over the ensuing decade, creating thousands of new green-collar, well-paying Australian manufacturing jobs.

And it brings Visy’s total investment in Australia to over $11 billion.

Visy will relocate its current glass re-manufacturing operations from South Brisbane in 2025, paving the way for the site along the Brisbane River to be used as the International Broadcasting Centre for the 2032 Olympic Games.

New biopolymer coating could provide fast food packaging solution Flinders University materials researchers and German biomaterials developer one•fıve are using seaweed extracts to develop next-generation biopolymer coating materials that could solve packaging waste dilemmas for the fastfood industry.

The new non-pollutive biomaterials are designed to replace conventional fossil-based plastic coatings used in greasemanmonthly.com.au

resistant fast-food packaging.

Grease-resistant paper is typically coated with plastic and other environmentally harmful chemicals, such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), but the new prototype coating meets the functional requirements of conventional grease-resistant packaging materials while also presenting an environmentally circular solution.

The result represents a landmark achievement in creating a next-generation sustainable and ecologically responsible biopolymer.

“We are able to reduce harmful plastic pollution with this product, and we are also using feedstock that is environmentally regenerative,” said Claire Gusko, one•fıve co-founder.

“Seaweed cultivation helps to naturally

rehabilitate marine environments, reduce greenhouse gases, and mitigate coastal erosion. It’s important for us to use sustainable inputs upstream to ensure our products are environmentally safe, from cradle to grave.”

This development – which took extracts from certain seaweeds, added modifications and formed degradable bioplastic films – has been led by Dr Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 7

News @MM Zhongfan Jia, lead researcher from the Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology and research colleague Peng Su in association with the Flinders Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development.

“The seaweed extracts have a similar structure to the natural fibres from which paper is made,” Dr Jia explained. “Our novel specialist treatments boost the grease-resistance feature of the seaweed via simple modifications while not affecting biodegradability nor recyclability of the coated paper.”

Biomass for the new coating formulation is made from natural polymers extracted from seaweeds native to the South Australian coastline – which

is a key reason why the Flinders University researchers studied it for more broad scientific application.

These extracts are transformed through a proprietary processing methodology to produce functional biopolymer sheets that can be cut or coated onto various surfaces, depending on the application.

Flinders University and one•fıve are now working towards transferring laboratory-scale processing to produce industrially relevant volumes of the natural polymer coating.

This initiative aims to have a transformative impact on the global packaging and plastics industry by significantly reducing reliance on highly pollutive conventional plastic.

Flinders University researchers Peng Su, Chanaka Mudugamuwa and Zhongfan Jia.

Manufacturing co-investment drives real growth The Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre’s (AMGC’s) 2022 project report has revealed its co-invested manufacturing projects are forecast to create 4,288 Australian jobs and generate $1.62 billion in revenue into the economy from a cofunded investment of $137.2 million.

AMGC has released its 2022 Project Report – demonstrating manufacturing transformation and revealing a significant positive industry impact.

The report provides an overview of the organisation’s 141 co-invested manufacturing projects and showcases the economic contribution from its first 31 completed projects.

Analysis of the organisation’s 141 projects provides evidence of real jobs and revenue growth generated from the initiative. Of the 31 completed

AMSL Aero founders Andrew Moore and Siobhan Lyndon with their electric aircraft Vertiia.

8 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

manufacturing projects, a total of 430 new or upskilled roles have been created while an additional $188 million in revenue was injected into the Australian economy via domestic and export sales. The revenue creation represents an average return on investment of 9:1, based on a co-funding investment of $20.26 million ($7.15 million derived from Federal funding and the remainder from industry in cash and in-kind).

Speaking of the Project Report’s impact, federal minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, said, since its inception, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre’s (AMGC) contribution to Australia’s innovation landscape has been immense.

“Crucially, it [AMGC] has a focus on funding innovative projects that have the potential to make Australia’s

manufacturing industry more productive and competitive, but might be in areas where companies may not have the capacity or expertise to tackle the task on their own,” Husic said.

“I am looking forward to seeing more AMGC success stories in the near future, as we all work together to cement Australia’s reputation as a smart, skilled, innovative nation.”

AMGC’s portfolio of co-invested projects demonstrates the depth and breadth of manufacturing talent present in Australia, with projects addressing local and global needs in the areas of; value add to resources, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; transport; medical sciences; renewables, and low emissions technology; defence, space and, enabling technology – such as AI and robotics.

Managing director of AMGC, Dr Jens Goennemann said AMGC’s program successes were proof of the manufacturing industry’s readiness to invest, advance, scale, and export if highly targeted assistance is afforded to those who wish to commercialise and scale.

“AMGC knows what works, where opportunities exist, and how we can generate returns from investment. We can manufacture amazing things in Australia, provided we focus on being better, not cheaper, that we add value to our abundant natural resources, and we embrace advanced practices and processes – our 2022 Projects Report is proof that we can do so much better than Australia’s current ranking of 91st in global

complexity rankings,” he explained.

“If the past two and a half years have taught us anything, it is that we are resourceful, we are resilient and we are innovative when we need to be, now we must be. By focussing on capability and what we do best, Australia has the potential to transform from being a lucky country to a smart country.

“AMGC has demonstrated time and time again that by empowering manufacturers, through appropriately sized and supported initiatives, we can create prosperity for Australians and establish the country as a manufacturing powerhouse – we just need long-term commitment at all levels of Government to give the industry the confidence to invest where it matters.”

AMGC’s expansive portfolio of projects encompasses smart shoe soles produced via additive manufacturing (3D printing) to green steel manufacture, a highperformance EV motorbike and biomanufacturing of algae for food, agri and medical use, and Australia’s first locally manufactured lithium-ion batteries.

AMGC’s projects are underpinned by strong industry and research partners, with collaboration at the centre of their success. These projects serve as a guiding light to AMGC’s 4,000+ membership base, the broader industry, and state and federal governments.

Key forecast impact from AMGC projects: • 141 co-funded industry projects • $137.5 million in co-funding investments manmonthly.com.au

News @MM • • • •

~4,288 direct and 15,436 indirect jobs are expected to be created ~$1.62 billion in estimated revenues generated 434 nation-wide collaborations Upon completion of a co-funded project, participants contribute to a substantive finalisation process.

The data collated on from the first 31 completed projects revealed:

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Increased revenues of $188 million from local ($136M) and international ($52M) sales The creation, or upskilling, of 430 direct jobs Average Return on Investment (ROI) ~168 per cent All participants reported an increase in • Profit – 77 per cent of participants • Range of products and services – 83

per cent of participants Productivity – 83 per cent of participants • Profit Margin – 57 per cent of participants Majority of project participants reported improvements at all points along the manufacturing value chain Many project participants engaged in collaborative endeavours, with:

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8 per cent of completed project participants rating working with research institutions as ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ Of the 31 completed projects, 89 per cent of participants increased activities around exports, niche or underserved markets All projects reported an increase in their business resiliency strategies

Lockheed Martin Australia and STEM Punks launch space education program Lockheed Martin Australia and STEM Punks have launched a space-focused educational program to educate and upskill Australia’s future space workforce.

STEM Punks, an award-winning Australian Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Education provider, will develop and implement a ten-year space-focused curriculum that encompasses high-school, university, and early-career level activities.

The program will employ a hybrid delivery model with both immersive online modules and face-to-face workshops, classes, and activities. Over its life, the program will be rolled out to 80 schools across Australia with at least a quarter representing regional and Indigenous communities.

The flagship STEM program was launched at Armidale Secondary College in New South Wales.

The two-day intensive education experience involved 150 students across years seven to ten learning new STEM skills in radio frequency communications and coding through a mix of online and face-to-face modules.

One of Lockheed Martin Australia‘s principal researchers also spoke to the group about career pathways.

“Lockheed Martin Australia’s partnership with STEM Punks represents part of our broader commitment to building a more robust and resilient Australian space industry,” said David Ball, regional director for Space at Lockheed Martin Australia.

“By bringing space to life for young Australians, we can engage and equip them with critical skills needed to support our nation’s burgeoning manmonthly.com.au

industry long into the future.”

Armidale Secondary College is located near Lockheed Martin’s Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) ground station at Uralla, where the company has been supporting satellites in orbit for over 20 years.

“It’s pleasing to see that STEM Punks’ program, which included vital industry input from Lockheed Martin Australia, resonated so deeply with Armidale’s students,” said Michael Holmstrom, STEM Punks CEO and co-founder.

“Over the life of this partnership, STEM Punks will engage a diverse array of students in 80 primary and secondary schools across Australia. By working closely with Lockheed Martin Australia, we can provide these students unparalleled opportunities to connect with industry and learn from some of our nation’s leading experts in space,” Holmstrom added.

“The STEM Punks team were exceptional in their delivery of the course, and ensured total engagement of the students,” said Tobie White, head teacher of science, Armidale Secondary College.

“They demonstrated the real-world application of design, experimenting and coding, which captured the imagination of the students and allowed them to practice these skills through problem solving-scenarios.”

In addition to working with students in class, STEM Punks and Lockheed Martin Australia will implement a national program to help enable secondary students to advance into areas of need across the Australian space industry.

At a vocational level, the partnership

will deliver a program for industry mentorship and skill development for individuals and groups within Australia’s space sector and adjacent industries.

Lockheed Martin Australia‘s partnership with STEM Punks was announced in November 2021 to help fuel the workforce in supporting the development of Lockheed Martin Australia’s proposed JP9102 solution – a next-generation, sovereign military satellite communication (MILSATCOM)

capability to the Australian Defence Force.

To complement its work with STEM Punks, Lockheed Martin Australia has also engaged an extensive Australian industry network to deliver solutions and supply chain opportunities for JP9102 and beyond, including Inovor Technologies, Av-Comm, Calytrix Technologies, Clearbox Systems, Conscia, DXC, EM Solutions, Linfox, Ronson Gears and Shoal Group.

STEM Punks will develop and implement a 10-year hybrid program to upskill and inspire Australia’s future space workforce.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 9

News @MM Nyrstar Australia to receive $50 million in federal funding The Federal Government announced $50 million in Commonwealth funding in this year’s budget towards the construction of Nyrstar Australia’s new $400 million Electrolysis Plant.

The Government recently announced that it is strengthening Tasmania and the nation’s manufacturing capability by helping Nyrstar modernise its Hobart zinc smelter.

Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic said the Nyrstar Hobart zinc smelter is an important contributor to the Tasmanian economy, securing local jobs.

“This investment will help strengthen Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability of valuable metals necessary to our transition to net zero by 2050,” Husic said.

Nyrstar is an international producer of critical minerals and metals essential for a low carbon future with mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, the United States and Australia.

Nyrstar Australia is a national multimetals processing and manufacturing

business, operating in Port Pirie and Hobart for over 100 years to produce lead, silver, zinc, and many other materials that are essential for the manufacture of products used by everyone, every day.

According to Nyrstar, the new plant will ensure the long-term sustainability of 1,300 direct jobs and over 5,000 indirect jobs in Hobart and through Nyrstar’s interlinked operations in Port Pirie in South Australia, according to Nyrstar vicepresident Dale Webb.

It is expected the project, also supported by the Tasmanian Government, will take approximately 28 months from commencement and will employ 200 people at the peak of construction.

“Today’s announcement by the Federal Government demonstrates again the value of what we do in Australia and the importance of this new Electrolysis Plant to our sector and Tasmania,” said Webb.

“This ensures that the next generation of employees and businesses in Tasmania will continue to play an important role

in the manufacturing of zinc, a mineral critical for the transition to a low carbon world.”

“Nyrstar plays a vital role in the production and supply of metals such as zinc, lead, silver and copper,” Husic added.

“This upgrade will create an advanced manufacturing facility, helping to secure a long-term future for zinc metal refining in Australia.”

The project will commence late in 2022 with construction expected to take 28 months and finish in 2024-25.

Nysrtar Australia vice-president Dale Webb pictured with Federal Minister for Science and Resources Ed Husic.

Lower carbon aluminium for Australian manufacturers Capral, Australia’s largest distributor and manufacturer of aluminium products, has introduced LocAl®, a lower-carbon primary aluminium option available across its locally manufactured extruded aluminium products.

The LocAl® offer includes two lower carbon aluminium options – LocAl® Green with carbon emissions of 8kg CO2e/kg Al and LocAl® Super Green at 4kg CO2e/kg Al. They are amongst the lowest carbon aluminium available globally and provide Australian manufacturers access to cleaner, greener, more sustainable aluminium for their projects.

In 2022 Capral committed to reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050, a significant step change, driving rapid innovation and cultural evolution throughout the business, most notably within procurement and operations.

The introduction of LocAl® demonstrates a deliberate shift in Capral’s procurement strategy for primary aluminium billet.

10 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Luke Hawkins, Capral’s general manager of Supply and Industrial Solutions said this is a strategic change for Capral, driven by their desire to make lower carbon aluminium accessible to Australian manufacturers.

“In 2022, 22 per cent of the primary aluminium billet Capral uses in its eight local extrusion presses has a carbon content lower than eight kilograms CO2e per kilogram of aluminium. Approximately 300 tonnes have a certified carbon content lower than 4 kilograms of CO2e per kilogram of aluminium,” Hawkins said.

Aluminium is often touted as the “sustainable metal”, its versatility and recyclability earning it this reputation.

However, there are significant variations in the carbon emissions generated by smelters during the production of primary aluminium.

One could say that some aluminium is considerably more sustainable than others.

The main contribution to the carbon emissions of aluminium comes from the electrolysis process used in aluminium smelting. Around 60 per cent of the aluminium sector’s GHG emissions

are from the production of electricity consumed during the aluminium smelting process.

Combined, the four Aluminium Smelters producing primary aluminium within Australia consume approximately 10 per cent of the national energy grid.

The carbon emissions in primary aluminium production range from under 4kg CO2e/kg Al to over 20kg CO2e/kg Al, is largely dependent upon the energy sources used.

The current global average carbon emission for primary aluminium is

The new lower-carbon option significantly decreases carbon emissions. manmonthly.com.au

News @MM approximately 16.8 kg CO2e/kg Al. “At eight kilograms of carbon emissions per kilogram of aluminium, the LocAl Green offer has 50 per cent lower carbon emissions than the current global average for primary aluminium,” Capral general manager of Marketing and Technology, Michael O’Keefe explained.

“At 4 kilograms, LocAl Super Green is 75 per cent lower; this is a significant reduction. It gives Australian manufacturers an important opportunity to make more responsible procurement decisions when they source extruded aluminium.”

In addition to lower carbon emissions, the primary aluminium offered under the Local® brand is sourced exclusively from Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certified smelters.

ASI is a global non-profit organisation that brings together producers, users and stakeholders in the aluminium value chain. ASI is a cornerstone of sustainable aluminium procurement for the worlds leading aluminium organisations

delivering robust standards and transparency.

Capral joined ASI in July 2022.

“Being able to offer LocAl aluminium sourced from ASI-certified smelters gives us the added assurance that the aluminium we buy has been produced responsibly with consideration given to sustainability and societal impact,” Hawkins said.

“It helps us stand behind the product we sell and tell our customers we’ve done the best we can to deliver you a product that has been produced responsibly at all stages in the value chain.”

Industry sectors, including construction, renewable energy, transport and marine, are increasingly looking for lower carbon options for their products to meet customer expectations.

“There are many reasons businesses would consider using LocAl for their projects. Reducing carbon emissions is critical for our environment, and Capral is proud to be in a position to deliver the LocAl Green and Super Green to the

Capral’s aluminium billets in the factory. industry right now so that businesses can actively choose cleaner, greener options for their aluminium,” O’Keefe added.

LocAl® aluminium is available across Capral’s locally manufactured. extruded aluminium products including customdesigned aluminium sections, standard extrusions, geometrics, transport sections,

solar rail, and marine.

LocAl® Green will be supplied as standard on all Capral proprietary window and door systems from November 2022.

“We hope that in 2023 more and more of the aluminium we source will be LocAl to meet our customer’s demands,” Hawkins concluded.

$54 million boost for infinite recycling startup Samsara Eco Australian National University (ANU) backed enviro-tech startup, Samsara Eco, has raised $54 million in a Series A funding round as it prepares to scale infinite recycling.

Samsara Eco’s ground-breaking technology creates ‘infinite recycling’, using enzymes to break plastic down to its core building blocks, which can then be used to recreate brand-new, virginquality plastic, again and again.

The new capital comes as Samsara Eco sets its sight on building its first plastic recycling facility later this year ahead of full-scale production in 2023. This will allow Samsara to recycle a massive 20,000 tonnes of plastic a year from 2024.

Samsara’s new investors include Breakthrough Victoria, Temasek, Assembly Climate Capital, DCVC and INP Capital. Other co-investors in the Series A funding round include founding and returning investors – Main Sequence, Woolworths Group and Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) Innovation Fund, managed by Virescent Ventures.

The capital round is also being used to grow the company’s engineering team manmonthly.com.au

and develop its library of plastic-eating enzymes. Samsara is also looking into expanding its operations into Europe and North America.

Samsara launched in 2021 in partnership with ANU, having developed a new way to infinitely recycle plastic to help end the plastic pollution crisis.

“Plastic is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century and provides enormous utility because of its durability, flexibility and strength,” said Paul Riley, CEO and founder of Samsara.

“Yet, plastic is an environmental disaster, with almost every piece of the nine billion tonnes ever made still on the planet.”

Instead of mining for fossil fuels to create new plastic or relying on current recycling methods which result in less than 10 per cent of plastic waste actually being recycled, Samsara takes plastic that already exists to infinitely recycle it.

ANU vice-chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said Samara is an example of the power of research-powered innovation.

“It will take a real team effort to turn the tide on plastic pollution – and that’s

exactly what we’re seeing with Samara and its investors,” he said.

“I’m proud ANU is a driving force behind Samsara, bringing to life technology that can have real impact in the world.”

W23 managing director, Ingrid Maes said Samsara is at the forefront of recycling. “We’re excited about the potential of Samsara and its ambitious plans, which have the power to positively disrupt the role of plastics in supermarkets and retail environments.”

“You can’t solve the climate crisis unless you solve the plastics crisis. Unlike other alternative recycling practices, our process is economical, with a low carbon footprint and allows for the effective recycling of challenging plastics including coloured, multi-layered or mixed plastics and textiles. Our technology means we have enough plastic in the world already and with our technology you never need to produce plastic from fossil fuels again,” Riley added.

As it gears up for commercialisation, Samsara is working alongside its first partner, Woolworths Group, to bring

the potential of infinite recycling to supermarket shelves.

The first enzymatically recycled packaging is set to be launched in Woolworths next year, serving a key milestone for Samsara’s roadmap to recycling 1.5 million tonnes of plastic per annum by 2030.

Around the world, legislators have set increasingly high standards to mandate a move towards plastic waste reduction.

Geopolitical and social forces are aligning to put pressure on governments and corporations to tackle the plastics problem, and now technology innovation is serving a solution for effective plastic recycling management.

“Every minute of the day, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic ends up in our oceans. By 2050, the volume of plastic by weight will exceed fish in the sea,” Riley explained.

“We’ve had fantastic growth so far, but the plastic problem is growing faster. Access to this funding will enable us to accelerate the capabilities of infinite recycling and scale our technology which breaks down plastics in minutes, not centuries.”

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 11

Manufacturer Focus Local company making an impact in the global semiconductor market BluGlass is a semiconductor manufacturer of cutting-edge, custom laser diodes for the global industrial, biotech, defence and scientific markets. Billy Friend explores how the company is pioneering GaN laser technology with a unique value proposition to carve out a niche within the fast-growing sector.

BluGlass offers custom GaN laser solutions.

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OR many years, Taiwan has been the world’s primary manufacturer of advanced semiconductor chips and technology. Extreme chip shortages over the past few years have highlighted the pitfalls of this dependency, prompting many countries to pass legislation and funding initiatives to support the development of domestic semiconductor industries.

12 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

A recent paper by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) called on the Australian government to invest $1.5 billion to facilitate an industry for the single most important technology underpinning leading-edge applications semiconductors. According to the report, “bold action is warranted. Continuing to do what we did before is not an option because it will undermine the national

interest. A new approach is needed that’s in part heretical to our old market-based approach but is driven by necessity: government intervention that works in tandem with industry expertise and drive.”

New South Wales is leading the charge with stage two of its Western Sydney Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility to focus on manufacturing of

advanced semiconductor and electronics to address sovereign capability needs in defence and aerospace. A signatory for the new facility is BluGlass Limited, Australia’s only vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturer.

BluGlass’ executive chair James Walker explained Australia has to be smart when choosing where to spend its semiconductor dollars to grow a real ecosystem. manmonthly.com.au

ManufacturerFocus “When I think of the semiconductor space, it’s going to be really hard for Australia to create a brand-new mainstream, high value industry without carving out a unique niche,” he said.

“You’re competing against countries which have been pioneering and manufacturing this technology for years and their technology is very advanced and their scale and maturity means costs are now really low. I believe BluGlass has the right strategy – we’ve picked a high value niche where we can have an influence. Australia, for example, should look to focus on creating a compound semiconductor industry (new disruptive semiconductor materials starting to displace traditional silicon semiconductors due to their higher power and other unique advantages) which, will in turn support many advanced industries, including our local renewable energy and quantum computing sectors.”

Spun out of research from Macquarie University in 2006, BluGlass was initially focused on commercialising its proprietary gallium nitride (GaN) remote plasma chemical vapour deposition (RPCVD) manufacturing technology. The company listed on the ASX shortly after its inception to raise capital, with a view to replace the more common manufacturing process called metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in the LED market.

“With 93 patents around the world, BluGlass has the keys to this RPCVD technology,” Walker said. “Compared with MOCVD, it offers manufacturers (such as BluGlass) several commercial advantages due to its lower temperature, and low hydrogen growth process enabling higher brightness and higher power GaN lasers. RPCVD also uses less dangerous chemicals, meaning it can be manufactured safer, cleaner and hopefully, it should be more cost effective.”

The company has come a long way since its early R&D beginnings, transitioning over the past two years to focus on direct-to-market GaN laser diodes in in-demand and underserved wavelengths and offering the market flexible form factors.

“GaN is going to become one of the most important semiconductor materials in the world, including in the manufacture of, blue and green lasers, manmonthly.com.au

particularly for industrial manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality applications and quantum computing,” Walker added.

A pivot to laser diodes The first silicon semiconductor device was made commercially available in 1954. The silicon transistor experienced a meteoric rise through the 70s and 80s, but engineers have since looked for an alternative due to the slowdown of silicon’s innovation capacity. This is where compound semiconductors such as GaN come into play. GaN material is not a new discovery, but the use cases for the technology have become much more defined, geared toward high-performing products such as industrial cutting and welding, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, electric and autonomous vehicles, renewables, medical diagnostics, and quantum computing. Essentially, GaN provides higher efficiency, higher power, faster speeds, and lower costs than traditional silicon.

Despite its many competitive advantages, GaN laser diodes currently suffer from significant optical and resistive loss compared to GaN-based LEDs with conversion efficiencies around 45 per cent (compared to 90 per cent in LEDs). Contact and series resistance can account for up to 50 per cent of the power consumed in GaN based laser diodes.

BluGlass’ RPCVD technology enables novel laser designs to address this

BluGlass Epitaxy Scientist, Dr Josh Brown unloads GaN wafers from the deposition chamber.

Bluglass RPCVD deposition reactor BLG-300II during wafer growth.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 13

Manufacturer Focus performance loss, creating higher brightness and higher efficiency lasers.

These novel designs replace the highly glossy materials in traditional laser diode designs by combining the best of traditional nitride growth techniques with its own unique low temperature, low hydrogen nitride growth process. Walker explained BluGlass’ journey so far: “In the early years of BluGlass, the key focus was commercialising the company’s unique deposition equipment and process in the LED market. As LED technology has scaled and matured, it has become increasingly commoditised.

Laser diode chips can sell for anywhere from 100-1000x more than LED chips. the capital equipment market also presents significant challenges. Moving away from being a hardware manufacturer, and the challenge of licencing technology to the big players; and their need for low prices and huge quantities.

“About two and a half years ago, we had a review to identify where we can apply our unique technology to have

an influence on that market. Looking at markets where we can create a niche and become a self-reliant company by applying better technology to ultimately make the whole market better and larger.”

This review led BluGlass to GaN laser diodes, which is a US$2.5 billion burgeoning market, with very few competitors and high barriers to market entry.

“The shift in focus has been completely deliberate, leveraging our patented technology and manufacturing equipment to make GaN-based laser diodes. Within this market we’re focusing on three sectors - industrial applications, medical diagnostics, and research - which are a combined US$780 million opportunity.

When you start to think about the numbers, the impact an Australian company can have on the world stage becomes impressive and significant.”

With epitaxy infrastructure (the first stage of laser diode manufacturing) already in place at its Silverwater facility, Walker said BluGlass used its years

“It’s been game-changing. We’ve got all the early skills and patented technology here in Australia with downstream processing capability in Silicon Valley.

Importantly, we’re hiring laser diode experts to help us build our Australian laser diode products.” of experience making GaN LEDs to transition to GaN laser diodes.

“From a technology point of view, it wasn’t too much of a leap in manufacturing the first laser diode stages but we didn’t have the downstream processing capability . In the last year, we’ve strengthened the Board by adding Jean-Michel Pelaprat, the founder of one of the most successful blue laser diode companies in the US. That then allowed us to change the executive team, where we brought in Jim Haden who has over 30 years of experience specifically in the laser diode space.”

As Australia does not have laser diode manufacturing talent or infrastructure, BluGlass’ initially planned to outsource its downstream processing stages to contract manufacturers in the US, with the view of one day bringing those skills and processes in house. With Jim Haden at the helm, BluGlass took advantage of a ‘once-in-alifetime opportunity’ to acquire a laser diode manufacturing facility lease in Silicon Valley in May this year.

“It was a significant milestone for us in that the $160 million worth of wafers we can make in Silverwater, we now have the capacity to turn into $160 million of laser

BluGlass is a global provider to the GaN photonics industries.

14 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

manmonthly.com.au

ManufacturerFocus

Image credit: Phil Carrick diodes at our Silicon Valley fab,” Walker said.

“Our facility in Silicon Valley has almost all of the manufacturing processes already and we have obtained the requisite EPA approvals. The facility was an indium phosphide laser diode fab, so we are converting it to GaN laser processing and slowly bringing in-house our processes from contract manufacturers.”

Walker estimates BluGlass’ US$2.5 million fab acquisition would have cost the company roughly US$40 million cost to build from the ground up.

“It’s been game-changing,” he emphasised. “We’ve got all the early skills and patented technology here in Australia, with downstream processing capability in Silicon Valley. Importantly, we’re hiring laser diode experts to help us build our laser diode products.”

Globally, there are only two other manmonthly.com.au

Executive chair, James Walker at the Silverwater facility. major manufacturers of GaN laser diodes focusing on blue light: Japanese company Nichia and Osram based in Germany. Walker said BluGlass’ major point of difference is its flexibility across wavelengths, packaging and order volumes.

“We think it’s important to be nimble to produce a range of wavelengths to suit different needs. At present, customers have to adapt their downstream processing to match the limited laser diode packaging. We can package our lasers in different form factors to make it easy for customers to integrate them into end-products. We’ve got quite a few potential customers who are excited about a smaller, nimble supplier entering the space.”

In June this year, BluGlass shipped its first laser diode product prototypes to an initial customer to gain valuable customer feedback. These alpha products

BluGlass was spun out of Macquarie University in 2006. have undergone internal preliminary performance and life-time reliability testing and are at a stage where customers can assess the products in their own development stage applications.

Walker told Manufacturers’ Monthly BluGlass’ laser diode performance improvements are ongoing with its 405nm and 420nm products progressing towards commercial reliability.

“Jim Haden has come into the team to solve the challenge of ensuring our lasers last as long as we need them to for the industries we are focused on,” he said.

In parallel, BluGlass is educating the local industry and investor community about its technology and market opportunity. The company recently hosted a webinar with Nobel Laureate and inventor of GaN semiconductors, Professor Shuji Nakamura.

“We are really trying to educate Australian investors about the importance

of semiconductors. Shuji believes that GaN chips will be used for almost everything going forward.”

While Australia is trying to establish a semiconductor manufacturing base, Walker warns that we must find the balance because of our small population and clear challenges.

“Building a semiconductor industry, picking the right industries and materials where we can play, and then creating a local skill base, will enable us to become less reliant on overseas supply chains.

The industry shouldn’t be completely government funded, but we need to build the right skills and infrastructure here to support innovation and manufacturing sovereignty. Australia’s research and development scheme is world leading but semiconductor development and commercialisation takes time and we are very much at risk of being left behind.”

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 15

Engineering Focus An intelligent compressor for electric vehicles SuperCool has collaborated with Griffith University to develop a truly innovative semi-hermetically sealed electric swash plate compressor. Billy Friend caught up with managing director Mark Mitchell to discover how the company’s sometimes unconventional engineering leads to exceptional performance.

Unicla Australia eDrive development team.

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UPERCOOL’S early history dates back to Australia’s motor vehicle manufacturing era, where cars didn’t have air-conditioning fitted as standard and all the components were made and fabricated independently.

40 years ago, SuperCool’s workshop in the Gold Coast gained a reputation as a go-to destination for car air conditioning systems for different vehicles, particularly for European vehicles like Porcshe and Mercedes. This success sprouted into five workshops in the Brisbane and Gold Coast area, and eventually expansion into transport refrigeration, compressor manufacturing and the importation of parts. Mark Mitchell, 16 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

SuperCool managing director, said despite more diversity in products and capabilities, the business has always stayed in its lane, playing to its strengths in mobile transport refrigeration and air conditioning.

Eventually, the Japanese Unicla brand of systems and components became synonymous with the SuperCool name, culminating in the eventual purchase of Unicla by the Australian company in partnership with Peter Yee and his Hong Kong based IAEL Engineering Group in 2005.

As a follow-on effect, SuperCool established joint-venture partnerships with the Burgaflex and Euroscan brands

in Asia-Pacific, and built one of the largest, most advanced HVACR testing centres in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Peter and I relocated the factory from Japan to China,” he said. “Our Australian business maintained really strong activity in terms of engineering, research and development while also running the sales and marketing department. A lot of the sub-components are assembled in Australia.”

To support continued innovation, Mitchell falls back on the principles of listening, curiosity and persistence.

“When developing products with a heavy amount of engineering around them, persistence is key. It’s so easy to give

up half-way through with so much going against you, so people get disheartened and then someone else takes the idea and is taken offshore,” he said.

Striking up a balance between what you feasibly can and can’t make onshore is a dilemma all manufacturers face.

While we have pockets of manufacturing excellence and exemplars across the nation, most of our manufacturers are micro-businesses focusing primarily on production. This transformation was partly brought upon by the collapse of Australia’s car manufacturing industry, where local manufacturers had opportunities to export and expand internationally as part of a global manmonthly.com.au

EngineeringFocus Shingo Kawabata adds the final touch to the compressor.

network. With the reality of not being able to make everything domestically, Mitchell explained how Australia can still increase its sovereign manufacturing capability by striking a balance between imports and local production.

“We’ve kept as much in Australia as we can,” he said. “You have to keep all of the sensitive bits here, but we do everything which isn’t feasible – like forging aluminium components in an Aluminium Smelter – in China because it can be done for 80 per cent less. I think it’s important to recognise your strengths and weaknesses in manufacturing in Australia so that there’s some long-term view to your processes. We pride ourselves on working really hard over the years to get that balance right.”

swashplate compressors in 1974 to bring to the Australian market. Compared to the standard five- or six-cylinder platforms, Unicla’s 10-cylinder is very well suited to electric vehicles. With this knowledge at hand, the company set

out five years ago to make changes to its existing design to develop an electric compressor.

Current mobile air-conditioning and refrigeration compressors designed for combustion engine vehicles and belt

drive systems don’t meet the technical requirements for electric vehicles and equipment. The production of electric vehicles and equipment is advancing globally, but the development of suitable mobile air-conditioning solutions for commercial transport and heavy vehicles has lagged.

To overcome this challenge, SuperCool saw an opportunity to create a smart electric compressor under the Unicla brand that will meet the technical requirements for future electric vehicles in this sector.

“We always knew this advantage, and theorised that if we changed the crank case and made some modifications we could increase the isentropic efficiency of the compressor for it to sit and be installed in a stationary environment in an electric vehicle, rather than being mounted on a diesel or petrol engine with a big fan cooling it all the time,” Mitchell said.

The big players like Bosch, Denso or Valeo dominate market share in the passenger car world, which is why Unical focuses on compressors for big, heavy machinery.

“There’s a lot of good electric compressors out there, but ours has a few added features which the current generation of electric compressors don’t have. The current ones are lightweight, economically made and rely on very high-

The eDrive SuperCool’s international hub of the business, Unicla, started making compressors for vehicles in the 1960s.

Understanding the extreme operating conditions in transport applications, the solution required advanced engineering for the time, which culminated in the company’s revolutionary swashplate technology.

Unicla invented the 10-cylinder manmonthly.com.au

A master at work – SuperCool’s ingenuity enables consistent proogress.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 17

Engineering Focus speed operation, without a long service life. Our compressor is the opposite – it’s quite robust and guarantees 15,000 hours of service duty.”

With heavy machinery and transport applications, many technicians are called out late at night. Quick and easy to diagnose and troubleshoot a system run on the eDrive, the technology was initially dubbed the ‘midnight technician project.’

Fast diagnosis is made possible by the interface connected with eDrive called eConnect, which has built in communication protocols, so system integrators and technicians can choose the preferred method for compressor control, real time communication and access to live and historical data. CAN bus, Ethernet, Bluetooth, USB and analogue/ digital data are supported by every eDrive compressor, allowing the technician to access data through a laptop, tablet, or smartphone on-site. The interface is designed for technicians and shows graphical data sets for all key parameters, allowing fast data interpretation, or diagnostic assessment of comprehensive historical data sets.

“The eConnect takes much of the guess work out of the equation,” Mitchell

Mobile air-conditioning pioneer, Tetsuo Nobata honours SuperCool with a visit in 1991.

18 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

added. “Data generated from these systems will provide valuable information for quality control, maintenance and development, leading to a shorter product improvement cycle and providing service provision to end-users.” eConnect’s customisable interface monitors individual and combined data plots, historical event logs, suction pressure, discharge pressure, vapour temperature, compressor supply voltage, switch temperature, motor temperature and torque, motor fan speed and power, thermostat demand, safety limit range, fault control and other factors.

Leveraging expertise from Australian universities According to Mitchell, SuperCool wouldn’t have been able to achieve what it has without the funding from IMCRC and collaboration with the Griffith University’s mechanical engineering department.

“Prior to the commencement of the research project, I didn’t realise how vital science would be to achieving a research outcome,” he noted. “Our compressor product is a complex, high-energy device, and it was the science that delivered the solution for our project in the end. We wouldn’t have been able to achieve these outcomes without the university and IMCRC.” Coupling an electric motor to a refrigeration compressor brings a whole new world of thermal influences, according to Mitchell.

“You need to accurately know what the heat losses are across the motor and what power is required by the motor to drive the compressor at certain conditions so that it cools the cabin of the vehicle adequately,” he said. “The university helped us greatly, particularly with those thermal calculations. We did two years of different design ideas virtually before we even drilled into a piece of aluminium to make something. We ourselves didn’t have the software or the total skills to execute that.”

IMCRC’s funding allowed SuperCool to hire a highly skilled electronics engineer, who designed all the electronics and participated enormously to the overall design. Another software engineer

SuperCool at Busworld Europe in 2017. was hire to write all the firmware. In Germany earlier this month, Mitchell recounted several German engineers being blown away by the workmanship of the electronics and the dashboard.

Further to this, the CRC’s Future Map program was used as SuperCool’s project milestone management system as a means of measuring its progress through the project.

“The milestones and meetings set by IMCRC were very helpful. They held us to account, and we needed that diligent discipline to help us work effectively to achieve our goals. Their processes, reporting systems and paperwork are all very straightforward,” he said.

“As a result of this project, we’ve created five new jobs in Australia and

moved from a belt to an electric driven product. We’re now an electric vehicle device manufacturer and a firmware company.”

SuperCool has been able to forge on with its capability because of the research and development tax incentives from the federal government. Undoubtedly, all of us in the manufacturing sphere will keep a close eye on this year’s budget announcement.

“That policy embraces the whole idea of Aussie ingenuity,” Mitchell explained. “All of the design, research can be done here in Australia due to these tax incentives. SuperCool files all its patents here and globally, but you can’t be so foolish to think you should make everything here.” manmonthly.com.au

Industrial Gases Quality, Reliability and Innovation — The winning formula Air Liquide delivers innovative gas solutions and technologies to manufacturers around the Globe. Manufacturers’ Monthly explores how the industrial gas experts are helping a highly regarded Australian fabricator continue to grow.

Air Liquide has installed bulk vessels at Rockpress’ Queensland facility.

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ELEBRATING its 50th year, Rockpress – Rocklea Pressed Metal – has a reputation for custom-made fabricating work, either for one-off projects or higher volume demand. After years of development, the company owns six buildings at its facility in Queensland, with more than 13,000 sqm of factory floor space and over 100 staff.

Allan Mortensen, assistant manager, explained Rockpress’ journey over the years, including a vision to continue to expand its manufacturing capability.

Having been with the company for 33 years, Mortensen said the expertise inhouse is a key reason for the company’s success.

“Our key staff – from our General Manager, Estimators, Designers, through to our workshop team – are all trade qualified. That means every person 20 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

involved in your project will understand its unique requirements in detail,” he said.

Rockpress is not an OEM, rather focusing on making to-order, custom builds. Having the quality assured stamp of approval across manufacturing (ISO 9001), workplace health and safety (ISO 45001), and environmental (ISO 14001) work practices, the company is able to serve the semi-trailer industry efficiently.

Its workshop capacity and engineering scope means the company enters a range of other industries, including heavy transport, mining, food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, electrical engineering, Defence and architectural.

Among its capabilities, Rockpress provides an end-to-end service with design aid, metal fabrication, welding, CNC Machining and Milling and surface finishing.

“We start in shed 37 with laser cutting

and bending,” he said. “It then moves into whatever fabrication section is required – sheet metal, heavy fabrication and machining are all in separate sheds. Once it’s been manufactured and processed through those sections, it’ll then move down to our coding section in most cases. In our coding segments, we have garnet blasting, powder coating and wet spraying.

“Once the design has been finalised, Rockpress will review the criteria and specifications to get the best results for the project, including the most costeffective approach. It is an extremely organised company.”

This organisation leads to excellence and needs to be reflected in the critical supply of gas for different manufacturing operations. Air Liquide has recently partnered with Rockpress, installing a number of vessels at its expansive site.

Reliable supply leading to further efficiencies Air Liquide supplies industrial products in both gaseous and liquefied volumes for medium to large customers. Air Liquide manufactures Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide and many other products in large-scale production facilities throughout Australia and delivers them to customers. Their expertise extends to the installation, maintenance and monitoring of liquefied gas storage systems. Offering safe and reliable supply systems in a range of sizes and flow capacities to meet the needs of many industries.

With quality and reliability being key considerations, Rockpress wanted to improve their gas supply to keep up with continued growth, and Mortensen said Air Liquide is well and truly meeting this challenge.

“Everything they say they will do, they do. It’s been a very positive start with Air Liquide,” he noted. “One of our main problems in the past has been running out of gas, specifically nitrogen, for our lasers.

Onsite, we mix our own gas for welding, which is part of what Air Liquide provides us.”

Reliability of supply is critical in a manufacturing environment, considering the disastrous impacts downtime can have on capital. Behind the innovation in which Air Liquide prides itself on, is a strong backbone of technical support and innovation. To sit customer-side, the company has an experienced team of operators and can leverage off its global network to solve any more advanced problems.

“What we were looking for above all is service,” Mortensen explained.

“If anything breaks down, we need reactions. We’ve got four lasers, which cost us around $8 every minute they aren’t operating.”

Earlier this year, at Rockpress’ facility, Air Liquide installed: • Two vertical (15,000L and 10,000L) high pressure Nitrogen vessels that supplies LASAL Nitrogen to Multiple Lasers.

• One vertical (2,500L) Oxygen vessel that supplies FLAMAL Oxygen for plasma cutting.

• One vertical (5,000L) Argon vessel & three (176L) Carbon Dioxide vessels with three gas mixers for welding. The gas mixes supplied are ARCAL 8, ARCAL SPEED, ARCAL PRIME & ARCAL FORCE. manmonthly.com.au

IndustrialGases

Operations manager Luke Freeman walks through Rockpress’ workshop.

LASAL for laser cutting

Air Liquide’s telemetry system

The LASAL™ range is full range of lasing gases with the industry’s highest purity standards for every laser resonator. The choice of lasing gas directly determines the reliability of the laser, lifespan of the optics and output power. Thanks to its research and development prowessin Japan, France and around the world, Air Liquide has pioneered the laser industry standard for effective and consistent control of impurities.

All bulk vessels installed at the Rockpress facility are linked to Air Liquide’s telemetry system, which provides visibility and forecasting of their usage. The telemetric control system monitors the level of residual product in the storage vessel, in a round-the-clock regime, and automatically transfers data to Air Liquide servers. The information collected from the telemetry systems provides realtime analytics on current product levels and consumption rates which assist in scheduling and ensuring a sustained supply at all times.

For Rockpress, this kind of reliability is integral to its plans of further expansion.

“We want to expand and with that expansion we embrace the new technology with the supply of gas,” he said. “We’re looking for someone we can partner with that can supply us with the most up to date technology. This is why we made the move to Air Liquide.”

FLAMAL for plasma cutting FLAMAL™ is Air Liquide’s brand of specialised gases used for oxy-fuel applications including cutting and heating. The stable, propylene high energy fuel gas, is a cutting-edge alternative to acetylene, propane, blended fuels and natural gas. When used for cutting, brazing, metalising and heating applications, FLAMAL combines the best performance characteristics of acetylene with the safety of propane to produce better results.

ARCAL for welding Air Liquide’s, ARCAL™ brand is its dedicated welding gas range. With five ready-to-weld argon mixture solutions that cover virtually all welding application needs. Each mixture was designed to be reliable and simple, yet high-performing.

Air Liquide also have a range of Technical mixtures for those unique applications.

manmonthly.com.au

ambitious challenge: maintaining its growth dynamic and improving its profitability while meeting its commitments to reduce CO2 emissions and investing in the markets of the future.

2. Decarbonising the planet ADVANCE will enable Air Liquide to consolidate its leading role in the decarbonisation of industry and the advent of a low-carbon society in which hydrogen plays a decisive role.

3. Unlocking progress via technology Innovation and technology are two of Air Liquide’s major strengths that have always enabled the Group to play a pioneering role. Today, these assets make it possible for the Group to contribute to the development of five key sectors of the future (Hydrogen mobility, Electronics, Healthcare, Industrial Merchant and High technologies) where it intends to strengthen its positions through the ADVANCE plan.

4. Act for all As a civic-minded company, Air Liquide strives to ensure that everything it does is in the interests of its shareholders and, beyond that, of society as a whole. Mindful of the changing world, Air Liquide understands how to act in the public interest, where its contribution can make a difference. The Group is involved in long-term community projects in the countries in which it operates. Through the Air Liquide Foundation, it supports scientific projects and employment programs.

In partnership with NGOs, the Group is eveloping initiatives to increase access to medical oxygen.

Air Liquide spends more than €300 million on innovation every year, with more than 50 per cent dedicated to the energy transition and digital technology.

Thomas Sors and Lan Kim from Air Liquide visit the Rockpress site.

Working towards a sustainable future “ADVANCE”, Air Liquide’s new strategic plan for 2025, is a milestone in the company’s history. It places sustainable development at the heart of the Group’s strategy and is built around four pillars; 1. Delivering strong financial performance With ADVANCE, Air Liquide is taking action today while preparingthe future. The Group is rising up to an Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 21

Automation & Robotics

Beckhoff HQ in Germany.

The gold standard for automation technology Manufacturers’ Monthly gains insight into Beckhoff’s Solutions Provider Program, and discover how the initiative supports system integrators doing incredible work in the manufacturing world.

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FTER success overseas, Beckhoff introduced its Solutions Provider Program (BSP) in Australia last year. Key to its business philosophy, Beckhoff isn’t restricted to a purely vendor-to-client setup, rather focusing on partnering with customers. The company’s solution providers share a verve for progress, something founder Hans Beckhoff has instilled into the organisation from top to bottom.

“Engineers must save the world,” Beckhoff said. “It is our task to develop products and automate production processes in such a way that they consume fewer raw materials and less energy than in the past. Every year, effectiveness and productivity must be increased to meet the worldwide desire for more prosperity in an ecologically sustainable way.”

Supriya Suhale, BSP coordinator, said innovation is the key to Beckhoff solving problems using its high-performance PC-based EtherCAT powered automation technology.

“We work with a lot of system integrators who are doing incredible work in the automation space and share our vision and philosophy,” she said.

“They offer expert solutions in machine building, turnkey projects, programming, commissioning, and backup support 22 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

to end users on a wide range of control solutions. They have extensive Beckhoff knowledge and are experts in their field.”

The program identifies these specialists, so Beckhoff can work with them in going that extra mile to support projects and customers who use Beckhoff products and technology. But what makes a Beckhoff expert?

Experts use Beckhoff’s technology to implement pioneering application solutions, with an extensive knowledge of the Beckhoff system and the underlying products and technologies. They can design, manufacture, install, program, commission and maintain a wide range of control solutions for all automation applications using Beckhoff hardware and other complementary technologies.

“We often have end users who come to us looking for someone who can support them with their projects,” Suhale explained. “They might want project support, someone to write a particular code, retrofit or upgrade a machine because they don’t have the required experience themselves. We can provide the link to these particular experts in different fields, whether it’s processing, manufacturing, food and beverage. It streamlines the process of providing the end user with the expertise they require.”

Companies in the BSP have exclusive access to members only information sessions, product updates and are informed up close. They also get early access to new hardware, priority demo equipment and on demand support in both sales and tech. Beckhoff believes cross-promotion can help grow industry towards its vision of continued innovation.

“Companies will be featured on our social media platforms, websites, and media partner features to ensure maximum exposure,” she noted. “We have been promoting these expert partners on a smaller scale even before the inception of the Solution Provider Program. We get requests from end users who need varied levels of support. Some might be new to our platform and others

With the robust baseplate and plug-in function modules from the IPC, I/O, Motion, Relay, and System segments, the MX-System provides a highly flexible automation solution without a control cabinet in IP67 protection rating.

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Automation & Robotics

As a modular automation suite that has been successful for over 25 years, TwinCAT seamlessly combines standard control functions with additional functionalities such as robotics, machine vision and artificial intelligence. might not have the expertise to support a machine that was made by an OEM. In all these cases our solution providers have offered their skills and service in solving these problems. Time and again we have recommended them to represent us and have had mutual success. Their locations and resources have proven very

advantageous when remote support is needed.”

Beckhoff has partnerships with solution providers in every major city across Australia. Nonlinear Solutions, based in Western Australia, exemplifies the effectiveness of the program, offering out-of-the-box solutions for

projects within a range of industries.

The industrial automation, robotics, and engineering company catering to Industry 4.0 has applications across manufacturing, mining, oil and gas and defence.

Nonlinear Solutions partners with Beckhoff to build end-to end systems that incorporate future-proofed software and integration with IoT infrastructure. The company can facilitate design concepts, CAD modelling, fabrication, and rapid prototyping using large-scale 3D printers.

Utilising Beckhoff’s TwinCAT portfolio, Nonlinear Solutions can integrate real-time control for PC-based systems, benefiting from its advanced functionality and flexible runtime environment. Director Isaac Monteath explained that the concept for the company came out of working in the industry, and finding a lack of available solutions.

“It’s important to us that we work with a platform that we trust, and one that is flexible enough for us to deliver these kinds of out-of-the-box alternatives,” he said. “User experience and interface

design are important, and Beckhoff is really leading the way by giving clients an intuitive product. We also benefit from being able to work closely with their excellent support team.”

Another stellar example of the BSP at work is AIE Global, undertaking projects such as a trigeneration power plant at the Melbourne Airport, robotic mango harvester and copper pipe bending machine.

Electrical engineer Gary Brown said there isn’t a “one size fits all” solution when it comes to Industry 4.0 concepts.

Instead, from its Victorian headquarters, AIE Global has been implementing advanced methodology to promote Australian innovation through process control and automation systems since 1985.

“The more I investigated the Beckhoff product range, the more I liked what they offered,” he said. “EtherCAT I/O has allowed us to considerably reduce installation costs without any latency issues, and their CPU performance has meant that running out of memory is a thing of the past.”

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Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 23

Innovative Manufacturing CRC Carbon Revolution’s high pressure resin transfer moulding.

A legacy of innovative manufacturing The Innovative manufacturing CRC’s time is coming to an end after six years of extraordinary work for Australian manufacturing. Manufacturers’ Monthly reviews the CRC’s journey and outlooks for the future of Australia’s manufacturing SMEs and broader ecosystem.

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NTRODUCED by the Australian government in 1990, the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program has been a success story. By bringing industry and research organisations together to collaborate, the program focuses on research applications that help solve real-world problems and improve the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industry.

Under this umbrella, the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC) was established. Its mission was to catalyse investment between Australian manufacturers, universities and government to deliver research and commercial outcomes for participating businesses, and more broadly, to transform Australia’s wider manufacturing and innovation ecosystem.

By purposefully investing $34 million of Commonwealth and other funding in 71 research and development (R&D)

24 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

projects, IMCRC has helped to catalyse more than $230 million investment in smart manufacturing research and innovation.

IMCRC’s beginnings Six years ago, IMCRC set out to help drive the transformation of Australian manufacturing, collaborating with 13 leading universities and the CSIRO, a number of industry partners, trade associations and state governments. To assist Australian manufacturers transition to high-value and locally competitive manufacturing, IMCRC set up four multidisciplinary research programs, the fundamentals of which have remained the same throughout the CRC’s tenure.

The programs are: advancing additive manufacturing processes; building critical mass in robotics and assistive technologies; designing, engineering and applying new technologies for high value product development; and

raising awareness and thus advancing the wider cause of Australia’s industrial transformation through industry education and advocacy.

Despite recent advancements in areas such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence, these four focus areas remain crucial for manufacturing development today, driving the translation of cutting-edge technologies and business models into industry practice.

up of 90 per cent small businesses formed IMCRC’s approach to research collaboration. We knew only focusing on a handful of larger companies wouldn’t build the manufacturing capability and capacity we envisioned for Australia.

“Instead, we had to identify, support and use manufacturing exemplars to stimulate and motivate businesses to invest in research, embrace new technologies and create new business models and opportunities.”

Engaging industry

Removing barriers for participation

As an organisation that set out to be specifically industry-led, IMCRC knew from the outset it had to encourage and enable a range of different businesses, including small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), to participate in collaborative research.

David Chuter, IMCRC’s CEO and Managing Director, said, “Recognising that Australian manufacturing is made

To drive collaboration, one of IMCRC’s key focus areas was removing barriers for industry, and particularly SMEs, to participate in research projects with universities. Critical to this was changing the way businesses both perceived and engaged with research institutions.

“One of the first obstacles we removed was around the ownership of knowmanmonthly.com.au

InnovativeManufacturing CRC We’ve got incredibly ambitious people and Australians, when they travel abroad are so well received for their fresh thinking and their collaboration, but we don’t exercise that capability here at home and part of it is the structure to drive industry forward is missing.”

David Chuter has lead IMCRC since 2016. how and intellectual property. Early on, we decided that the CRC itself should not own any share or equity in new intellectual property created as part of an IMCRC project. In other words, we had no vested interest in the research other than seeing the idea brought to us being commercialised. And because we were impartial, we could come up with the right business model to ensure there were no barriers to commercialisation,” Chuter said.

“Focusing on who was best placed to commercialise intellectual property enabled a more seamless process once projects were approved. Companies could concentrate on the successful outcomes and return on their investment, and not get bogged down by costs or ownership of the intellectual property, factors that can build up a bit of tension over time.”

By creating a level playing field for industry-research collaboration and proactively addressing SMEs’ concerns about working with much larger research organisations, IMCRC has shifted the paradigm and eliminated common obstacles on the road to commercialising innovative products and services.

“80 per cent of our projects have been with Australian-owned small and medium businesses. So, if anybody tells you that SMEs can’t do innovation, can’t do R&D and don’t work with universities, I will contest that. You just need to get the business model right,” Chuter said.

that clearly measured the translation of research from proof of concept through to readiness to commercialise. With its stage-gated design, the framework ensured only projects with real commercial potential advanced through each stage.

“By implementing a collaboration model that is transparent on the cost structure, outlines every research milestone and is time-based, deliverable and success focused, you eliminate concerns about researchers not understanding business priorities and commercial pressures. At the same time, the transparency offers manufacturers unique insights into research practices and capabilities,” Chuter said.

“Holding both industry and research

partners accountable to their work builds trust. In turn, this trust leads to long-term research partnerships. We have seen a large proportion of our industry partners carry on working with universities well after their IMCRC projects are finished, which demonstrates there’s a business model that is really workable, including for SMEs.”

Looking to the future The concept of sovereign manufacturing capability has become a hot topic in Australia, and rightfully so, as the double hit of the pandemic and geopolitical issues has exposed significant gaps in Australian manufacturing capability and capacity. Australia’s manufacturing landscape is unique and lends itself

to focusing on developing industrial capability in specific, targeted sectors where the nation has a comparative advantage (including through access to local inputs and resources).

When looking to the future of manufacturing, Chuter noted, it’s important to understand where Australia is different from other developed and industrialised nations and accommodate this in its policies, strategies, and investments.

“We are a nation of SMEs predominantly, but when we compare ourselves with other countries, our definition of a small business is more like a micro business. These businesses are spread geographically across the country, both by state, but also urban versus regional. There’s a lot of manufacturing capability out in the regions that we shouldn’t overlook.

“But one of the big challenges we’ve had in Australia is that compared to other industrialised nations, we don’t have the industry structure where you have a handful of large global multinationals at the top of the supply chain that drive procurement opportunities and best practice through the supply chain. We lost the last big industry that did this when we lost car The IMCRC team posing for a photo together.

A focus on milestones Another of IMCRC’s key differentiators was its collaborative framework, which required industry and research partners to commit to, and meet, milestones manmonthly.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 25

Innovative Manufacturing CRC production. This is not to say that model was perfect by any means, but companies like Toyota, General Motors and Ford were genuinely interested in developing Australian suppliers and providing opportunities – if they were good enough – to participate in their global supply chains. Without that structure, and compared to other manufacturing nations, we are missing the mechanism to improve Australian capability, productivity, and help these companies to be better than they thought they could be.

“Moving forward, consideration must be given to the uniqueness of the Australian ecosystem. We need programs that encourage local businesses to be more transformative, to significantly raise productivity and to invest in Australian design and engineering. And these programs need to acknowledge that Australia is a nation of micro businesses and that we need to lift the capability of the owners and leaders of these micro businesses. Simply copying other nations’ approaches to research and innovation won’t lift Australia’s manufacturing capability up to where it could be.

There’s no doubt we have incredibly smart and ambitious people in Australia.

When they travel abroad, they are well received for their fresh thinking and their collaboration. Unfortunately, we don’t leverage their capability here at home, and part of it is that the infrastructure to drive industry forward is missing.”

Although IMCRC concludes at the end of this year, Chuter believes it has left behind a clear framework for research collaboration and commercialising manufacturing innovation – one defined

by its capacity to remove barriers for SMEs and build enduring and productive relationships between university and industry. With this structure in place, Australia can truly build its sovereign capability.

Manufacturing success stories In 2016, IMCRC embarked on a mission to help catalyse the transformation of Australia’s manufacturing sector through collaborative investment, research impact and innovation.

Many success stories have been told in this magazine throughout the years, highlighting the brilliant minds in Australia’s manufacturing industries – here are just a few examples of this country’s innovation capability, picked from IMCRC’s portfolio of more than 70 research collaborations.

Alcolizer Using existing manufacturing expertise and drug testing application technology, Alcolizer, in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), has been developing a cost-effective COVID-19 test that can detect SARS-CoV-2 virus antigens in under 15 minutes while providing the same levels of detection as a PCR test.

Being the first project to be funded through IMCRC’s activate initiative, the UTS research collaboration focused on advancing the design and testing of the rapid saliva test prototype to accelerate its commercialisation.

The test device will also be GPSenabled and connected to cloud reporting tools, offering authorities assistance with contact tracing.

Alcolizer’s COVID-19 test can detect SARSCoV-2 virus antigens in under 15 minutes.

Typically, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are used to detect the virus, but they take several hours to deliver a result and require the assistance of trained scientists and specialised laboratory equipment.

General manager of Alcolizer, Roger Hunt, noted that the IMCRC activate project was, “The simplest and most efficient grant process we’ve been involved in.

“The IMCRC team understood the time sensitive nature of this approval process, so it was a simple process that moved along at a rapid pace.

“We were able to scale up and start transitioning the idea from a research project out to a manufacturable, commercially viable product quickly. In six months, we successfully documented all operating procedures and processes and developed a prototype along with several hundred test cartridges.”

Carbon Revolution

IMCRC has collaborated with BAE Systems to create world leading smarts for shipbuilding.

26 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

In 2018, carbon fibre automotive wheels pioneer Carbon Revolution and Deakin University formed a $15 million research and development (R&D) partnership facilitated and part-funded by the IMCRC. The three-and-a-half year project saw multiple streams of materials and process improvement R&D brought under the one umbrella agreement with access to Deakin’s core materials science and engineering capabilities.

According to Dr Ashley Denmead, Carbon Revolution’s Engineering & Design Director and Founder, the IMCRC project was notable for its seamless integration into Carbon Revolution’s operations as much as the innovations it delivered.

“All of the Deakin researchers employed by the project were based on site and fully integrated into our teams,” he said.

“As our R&D program was very much focused on achieving commercial outcomes, the full immersion of researchers within our engineering, development and process engineering teams worked extremely well.”

BAE Systems Maritime Australia BAE Systems Maritime Australia’s partnership with IMCRC includes two distinct research projects for the Hunter Class Frigate Program: a research project with Flinders University that involves local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and focuses on driving digital transformation through advanced robotics, assistive manufacturing and readiness for Industry 4.0 utilisation; and a data visualisation research project with the University of South Australia.

According to Sharon Wilson, BAE Systems Australia’s Continuous National Shipbuilding Director, the IMCRCfacilitated projects are a benchmark for industry-research collaboration.

“As a key enabler of the Government’s vision for sovereign defence capability, we have a responsibility to drive innovation in manufacturing and engage with Australian research and industry partners on that journey,” she said.

“Our engagement with our research and industry partners through the IMCRC has made a significant impression on multiple areas of our business, at both technical and non-technical levels.”

IMCRC’s investment with BAE has led to multiple SMEs engaging with BAE manmonthly.com.au

InnovativeManufacturing CRC through the Tonsley Line Zero and Factory of the Future facility.

Urban Art projects With funding from the IMCRC, Brisbanebased Urban Art projects (UAP) embarked on a design robotics research project in partnership with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and RMIT University.

The project not only helped UAP to achieve a greater competitive advantage through high-value product development and transformed manufacturing processes, but it was also the catalyst for establishing the Advanced Manufacturing in Robotics (ARM) Hub, where manufacturers and SMEs can explore robotics and design-led manufacturing.

According to UAP’s Founder and Managing Director, Matt Tobin, the IMCRC-facilitated research project was proof positive that the digital transformation of manufacturing is reinvigorating the sector.

“Industry 4.0 technologies such as the robotics we are integrating into our processes are changing manufacturing, and in turn changing the profile of people who are attracted to manufacturing,” he said.

The project has had a profound impact on UAP’s culture that went far beyond the project’s technological advancements.

“We knew that bringing such a disruptive technology into what was a very traditional workshop environment would require some adjustment,” he said.

“Our strategy to build trust in the project and encourage collaboration within and across teams was to empower some of our younger team members with greater input opportunities and decision making responsibilities.

“Through sharing and demonstrating their enthusiasm and passion, the impact was immediate and sparked a new energy for innovation across the whole team as we supported each other on our technological learning curve.”

The IMCRC project has driven the digital transformation of UAP, resulting in increased sales, an increase in onshore manufacturing and the addition of many new employees.

Stryker Leading global medical technology company, Stryker, partnered with RMIT University (RMIT), the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), University of Sydney, University of Melbourne and St Vincent’s Hospital in the development of a revolutionary treatment for bone cancers and tumours.

With a total value of more than $18 million in collaborative research effort catalysed by IMCRC, Stryker and its university research partners are combining 3D printing and robotic surgery to create tailored bone implants that deliver better patient outcomes.

Beyond its many technological advancements, the project includes consideration for how the treatment pathway translates effectively into a healthcare system in terms of its integration with patients, clinicians and funding models.

According to the director of Stryker’s R&D lab, the IMCRC industry collaboration model has had a significant impact on their approach to R&D globally.

“Traditionally, our innovation relationships with universities have been on a contract research basis. Our engagements with Australian universities

UAP is embracing robotics, transitioning from a traditional workshop environment.

manmonthly.com.au

3D printed bone implant by Stryker, who IMCRC helped to launch its first R&D facility in Queensland.

via the IMCRC have been a game changer.”

This has led to the establishment of Stryker’s R&D Lab in Brisbane, which opened this September.

futuremap – an IMCRC legacy With futuremap®, IMCRC has designed a business diagnostic and education platform that takes a holistic approach and helps manufacturing businesses, particularly SMEs, demystify the concept of Industry 4.0 and its broader potential.

As part of a workshop or in their own time, manufacturers (business owners and executives) use futuremap to assess their current business capabilities across 13 key areas of industrial and manufacturing competitiveness. By prompting them to reflect on their business’ competencies in areas such as leadership, innovation and digital manufacturing as well as encouraging them to think ahead two years, futuremap helps them identify new areas of innovation and define their own pathways to integrate Industry 4.0 technologies across their organisation.

Since its launch in 2018, over 750 Australian manufacturing SMEs have participated in futuremap and taken their first or next step in their digital transformation journey.

“The findings we’re seeing through an independent evaluation undertaken

by Swinburne Business School demonstrate that companies that have done futuremap, compared to a very carefully matched equivalent control group of similar companies that didn’t,

have growth in turnover, employment, wages, investment in organisation. So we now know that an education awareness program designed to incentivise other companies, invest in Industry 4.0 and business strategies and service models and so on, has had an impact out in the market,” said David Chuter, IMCRC’s CEO and Managing Director.

Off the back of the success of the futuremap program, IMCRC, with the input of Swinburne University, is developing another program based on the same principles, but to help companies on their path to decarbonisation.

“We have focused very specifically on transformation and finding those companies who’ve got business leaders who are willing, ambitious, want to collaborate and invest in Industry 4.0 and how can we help those companies go from good to great – that’s really been our ethos,” he explained.

“What we’re seeing now is that the futuremap platform is scalable to add in other meaningful elements and give companies pathways. We’re in the process of developing the ’Towards Net Zero’ diagnostic. Beyond our CRC, while we no longer fund programs, I’m very hopeful that one of the major legacies IMCRC will leave behind is the futuremap platform. We’re very hopeful that this will carry on post-IMCRC – whether that’s us supporting, or licencing, or an entity that is with another party in the ecosystem, we’d very much like to see that futuremap legacy continue because we know its value,” Chuter concluded.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 27

Aluminium Innovative aluminium service bodies for Australian trade vehicles In the latest Crafted with Capral installment, Manufacturers’ Monthly finds out how a long-term partnership is helping continue the momentum of continued innovation for a leading supplier of aluminium service bodies.

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HEN Andy Park and his business partner began a Perth fabrication business 20 years ago, they looked for a gap in the market where they could apply their creativity.

Then, badgered by an electrician friend, they built the first Bull canopies and were soon creating a small run of bespoke canopies. They had identified a need in the vehicle build-up market for a standardised, scalable and fit-for-purpose solution. They began perfecting Bull Motor Bodies’ manufacturing processes and automated production.

The Bull team designed a new way of

fabricating vehicle canopies to streamline the process, shed excess weight and create a more stylish body. The resulting AeroBody range led to interstate contracts with large fleets.

But managing director Andy Park says they realised there was scope for their business to innovate further.

“In 2007, we decided to take all we’d learned so far and start again with design.

We invested in 3D software and looked at the whole thing differently,” Park said. “How would a car manufacturer make this product? How could we use new technologies?”

The partners wanted to use their

essential material, aluminium, more smartly, using engineering, adhesives and new processes.

Using a clever mix of technology, premium aluminium and automotive plastics, the company created a range of strong yet lightweight, stylish chassismounted modules to suit all light utilities on the market.

Fast forward to 2013, and Bull Motor Bodies opened its first interstate operation in Queensland and then its national distribution centre in 2018.

Today, 20 years from its modest start, Bull Motor Bodies is the preferred provider for some of Australia’s largest

Premium aluminium and modern technology combine to make chassis mounted modules for all light utilities.

28 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Bull Motor Bodies has built up over 13,000 vehicles in its 20-year history.

fleets and has built up over 13,000 vehicles.

Bull motor bodies withstand Australia’s harshest conditions, servicing mines and supporting emergency services and utilities. For instance, the bespoke northwest mining sector utilities run 24 hours on off-road corrugated tracks.

Its largest single client sector is mining, with Bull building directly for all large mining companies and businesses servicing the mining sector.

“We work long and hard with our big clients to understand what their technicians do on-site, what tools and weights they carry, what terrain they travel over and how it’s going to be compliant,” Park explains.

“We sit with them, visit their sites, talk to their people and try to understand what works, what doesn’t, what is essential and what is nice to have.”

Bull provides design concepts for review before creating prototypes to trial in the field for evaluation, with feedback informing final designs.

Its bespoke solutions draw on a wide range of standardised and proven parts, saving its clients time and money.

From the early days, Park says the Bull team found aluminium the best medium to work with. In 2007, Bull looked for a supply partner which ticked the right boxes in who they were and what they could do and offer.

“We knew we needed lots of extrusions; we needed an experienced Australian company with local diemaking facilities able to turn things around quickly, with the capability to manmonthly.com.au

Aluminium

Bull prides itself on using the highest grades of Australian materials.

advise us on aluminium use. An Australian company that could service us as we grew,” he explained.

Capral matched Bull’s brief and has become the most important part of the company’s supply chain, providing more than 30 unique and standard extrusions along with aluminium sheet in different thicknesses, grades and widths.

Park said the ability to design custom extrusions with Capral is part of what differentiates Bull motor bodies in the market.

“It takes all the complexity out of the day–to–day build but adds all the smarts of the design into it,” he added.

As a long-term Capral customer, Park reflected on their relationship as more of a partnership, commenting that transparency has become one of the great benefits to both parties.

“We have cooperation as to future needs, warehousing, logistics we work really well as partners rather than a distant supplier. Capral are the most important part of our supply chain” he commented.

Park stresses that a highly skilled, stable workforce capable of crafting highquality vehicle bodies has been central to Bull’s success.

“The level of detail that’s been

designed into our vehicle bodies has not stopped moving forward. Every time we touch any part of our work, we are thinking how it could be better and what we can improve. We have a culture of innovation; everyone feeds back, and in, we push forward.

“We live and breathe crafting our products; we are all dedicated to making sure our products go out the door perfect. The laser cutting, 3D designs and extrusions give us a head start.We don’t lose people. When they join us, we look after them, and they hang around. It’s a good place to be.”

Park said his focus is on pushing the

business forward by making things easier to do, making Bull a better place to work and producing designs other people wouldn’t dream of.

“We challenge ourselves daily to be more sophisticated as a supplier.”

To watch the video of Bull Motor Bodies’ story, scan the QR code.

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Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 29

Financial Services Unlocking digital transformation Manufacturers’ Monthly speaks with RSM Australia’s national manager of Digital Advisory Laurel Grey about the keys to picking the right software and digital solutions to enable real business growth.

SMEs are increasingly adopting more affordable and powerful digital technology.

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EICHT’S CIA is an Australian owned and operated, family business that manufacture cattle handling equipment; focusing mainly on cattle crushes. Known as producers of ‘intelligent livestock equipment,’ Leicht’s makes traditional and fully automated equipment from the ground up, with input from Australian cattle farmers.

A manually operated business, Leicht’s wanted to begin its digital journey, but faced the challenge of not knowing where to begin.

Already engaged in Leicht’s annual compliance, RSM Australia completed a full system review to help Leicht’s select the most suited business technology solution. The business was working with software on desktop, away from the cloud, and was about to sign off on a major, expensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

Laurel Grey, national manager of the Digital Advisory division at RSM Australia

30 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

explained how the review process saved Leicht’s tens of thousands of dollars, while exposing a solution which made sense for its unique business operations.

“After going through the review process with them, we helped them choose a lighter weight solution while migrating them across to Xero, saving on the total cost of ownership per year,” she said. “You have to create a system which is sustainable – to actually start to build out their bill of materials properly, educate their customers around the new order process and start to get their team on the floor away from writing everything down in a notebook or on a whiteboard.”

Emily-Jane Leicht, explained the rationale behind digitally transforming the family business.

“The decision was to keep production and our business up to date with the modern technology that can make our workshop more efficient for our staff,” Leicht said. “We see the change

streamlining our production and even the administration side of things. Technology is always changing in our industry, so we need a system that will help us keep up effectively.”

From end-to-end, RSM Australia’s review process with a particular business takes four-five weeks, while selection is usually a three-week process, including demonstrations and sending out requests for information and proposals to vendors on behalf of the client.

Across all RSM’s 32 offices in Australia, there is at least one local digital advisor, who is trained to help clients through the digital transformation process at the local office level. RSM also has a NetSuite practice, as well as Data Analytics and Cyber Security teams to round out the technology requirements of SMEs up to larger organisations.

“Businesses often don’t know how to articulate what they’re looking at improving and what they might be doing

really well,” Laurel Grey said. “We provide them with that information in the form of a system review. The next step is our very comprehensive software selection service.

Once you have your overall roadmap, you need a process in place to make that selection and have it signed off by all the right stakeholders in the business.”

Grey explained that a system review is about laying everything on the lawn in order to properly centralise information.

“We lay out all the current IT systems, whether they’re manual or there is already a Software as a System (SaaS) application in place, or maybe an on-premise system. This helps to get an ecosystem mapped out and helps identify areas in the business which are very manual processes or have no digital applications,” she said.

Not through the lens of just one stakeholder, but through multiple teams, RSM Australia conduct workshops to go through a checklist with the manmonthly.com.au

FinancialServices manufacturing business to work out exactly what it is doing in each of those areas, where the pain points are, and then what the ideal scenario is.

“We overlay all those findings so the main stakeholders of the business get a clear image around what the key people’s opinions are,” Grey noted.

“It’s something most businesses don’t do when they approach technology change – they only approach change through the lens of one or two people, without properly consulting staff on the ground floor. For example, do they really want to be clocking in and out of each individual job on the floor when they’re going through a complex manufacturing process?”

According to Grey, the main pain points for manufacturers can be a persistence to continue to organise production planning in Excel, on a whiteboard or paper, which leads to less visibility on what a business makes and when. From a materials perspective, the manual approach makes it more challenging to know which suppliers to order from and plan future incoming goods.

A myriad of business technology solutions on the market have unlocked new efficiencies for Australian manufacturers, but the number of choices can be frustrating and overwhelming for businesses starting from ground zero. There’s no one right path to digitally transform any business, but making a start is becoming more and more essential.

“The conversation around moving

your processes to cloud-based technology should be one that underpins your business,” she said. “Transitioning into a truly digital company often starts with the accounting process, but it’s by no means a final solution. The decision to ‘go cloud’ should be done as part of an overall review of the company’s ecosystem and assessing the work and information flows of the business.”

‘Going to the cloud’ is a common phrase in this conversation but can be easily misunderstood by business owners.

SMEs can often assume that cloud computing is only for the accounts team and doesn’t need to be integrated across the business, which loses the advantage of accessing and easily sharing better data.

“It’s not just about accounting software, but operations solutions as well,” Grey noted. “In moving to a cloudbased solution, you do compromise somewhat because you’re not able to easily customise a SaaS, but you get amazing cost benefits, automated backup and security, the ability to provision and deprovision users and often a full audit log to see everything that’s happened in the system, which is really important for working across big teams.”

Making incremental changes along the way can work for manufacturers, but ‘digital’ shouldn’t be considered a separate problem for any business, reaffirmed Grey.

“Digital transformation in the Australian market is about the journey,” she said. “We get a lot of medium-sized businesses who think they’re ready for an ERP. Then we look into their systems and

Leicht’s CIA manufactures cattle handling equipment. they’re using an old version of MYOB, Excel or an on-premise accounting system and we reassess. If businesses can go to a basic accounting package and a basic add on to start with, it can be a more natural journey than the jump to an ERP solution.

“It sounds silly, but don’t be embarrassed by where you’re at as a business. The reality is most businesses are treading water, waiting to be pushed in a certain direction. It’s all about taking that first action and assessing different possibilities.”

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A summary of RSM’s manufacturing services •

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RSM partners with different manufacturing businesses to help them choose the right type of digital transformation.

manmonthly.com.au

Strong accounting systems, processes & records – Accurate accounting is critical for manufacturers. We have deep experience in manufacturing accounting, and advise on system, process and software solutions for all of your manufacturing specific accounting requirements.

Transaction Advisory – Through M&A lead advisory, debt advisory, due diligence, and technical services such as valuations, tax advisory and financial modelling we assist manufacturers from growth and funding stages, through to business sale.

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Data Analytics – for insights into your manufacturing chain in areas such as business process improvement, customer growth, data management and more.

Transfer Pricing – Assistance for manufacturers with international related party sales and supply chains.

R&D and Government Incentives – Access a potentially refundable tax offset for clients using new technology in their manufacturing processes or new or improved products, processes and equipment. R&D and government grants can be a critical funding source for innovative manufacturers, particularly those in start up and growth phases.

Software – Offering advice on the right digital ecosystem for a manufacturer, including ERP and other digital solutions for manufacturers who need more sophisticated platforms for cost accounting, inventory and other manufacturing accounting requirements. We walk you through your digital journey.

Management Reporting – customised management reporting and dashboarding, tailored to give manufacturing business owners and managers better business oversight and insights.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 31

Additive Manufacturing A vision of manufacturing resilience and flexibility Markforged is collaborating with Australia’s brightest minds to push the envelope for additive manufacturing capability. Manufacturers’ Monthly spoke to Markforged’s CEO about how its platform creates digital inventory to build Australia’s sovereign production.

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FTER nine years in the Israeli Navy, Shai Terem, President and CEO of Markforged, was set to enter the finance world. He decided to leave global leader in financial services Morgan Stanley, to pursue what he called creating real value in the world.

“When I left, I began to learn as much as I could to eventually lead a company that focuses on disruptive technologies which could have a positive impact on the world,” he said.

Many years later, Terem is leading Markforged to create high-value, enduse manufacturing applications which are printed at the point of need to solve today’s supply chain challenges – a feat which surely ties back to making a difference to real-world problems.

Based in the US, Markforged generates yearly revenues of around US $100 million, which is no small feat in the additive manufacturing industry. The company uses its flagship composite base material called Onyx™ for the foundation of its composite parts. The material is a micro carbon fibre filled nylon that yields accurate parts with near flawless surface finish, offering high strength, toughness, and chemical resistance when printed alone, and can be reinforced with continuous fibres to yield aluminiumstrength parts.

The company went public in July 2021, which has helped to accelerate innovation through US $361 million in public funds and doubling of its engineering team.

In Terem’s ten years in digital printing, he has seen two major waves from US government. Before President Joe Biden’s recent support of additive manufacturing, the Obama administration created a lot of awareness and demand for 3D printers in 2014.

“The problem was at the time, the technology helped with prototyping but wasn’t mature enough to really help manufacturing,” he said. “In recent years, everyone felt and continues to feel the pain of not being able to get parts, which created a real inflection point. The technologies are coming to a point now where you can print the part – stronger than aluminium – with a $20,000 printer in-house.”

At Swinburne University, Australian manufacturers now have access to the ground-breaking new composite 3D printer. The FX20 printer at Swinburne’s Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub (AIR Hub) will be the first FX20 printer openly accessible to industry in Australia for use in research and development, helping promote new aerospace development and support the continued growth of the sector locally.

The Australian journey From no presence in Australia five years ago, Markforged now has hundreds of customers, eight-figure revenue and employs over 200 people with its partners.

Richard Elving, Senior Director Australia, was a part of that journey and explained establishing partners which share Markforged’s vision was key in the early days.

“We own joint demonstration centres.

Whether you are in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane there is a

Markforged local partner and a local demonstration centre. As we added customers, we had to prioritise sameday service and support,” Elving said.

“There is an opportunity to do more in-house manufacturing and reduce our dependency for parts on countries outside of Australia, especially China.”

The pain of being isolated from the rest of the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic brought on a shift to make parts locally, prompting an additive manufacturing renaissance.

Swinburne University’s Factory of the Future will play host to the FX20.

The Markforged FX20 printer.

32 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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AdditiveManufacturing During the pandemic, it is true that most public additive companies focused on prototyping went down in sales.

Markforged, however, continued to grow because of its manufacturing prowess, helping customers with mission-critical applications.

When asked how Australia compared to other nations in the adoption of additive manufacturing, Shai Terem believes we are not lagging behind.

“I think there’s an internal driver in Australia which combines innovation culture with real manufacturing capabilities,” Terem said. “For Markforged, we are manufacturingfocused and in Australia, there is a real need and real adoption.”

For Terem, there are two major bottlenecks to the adoption of additive technologies: the sophistication and effectiveness of the technology itself and the knowledge of the end users.

Markforged places importance on industry collaboration to accelerate the application of its unique technology, which is why the CEO recently visited Victoria’s Swinburne University.

“The engineers of the future play a huge role in advancing this technology,” he said. “Today, most of the decision makers in the manufacturing world have grey-hair and weren’t exposed to additive when they were in university themselves.

Even worse, they may have ventured into additive when the technology was poor and they lost trust.”

“The new generation is what’s making the difference. It’s important to collaborate with as many education facilities as we can and teach them what can be done in designing for additive manufacturing, which is very different from designing for traditional manufacturing. We have seen many examples of young engineers entering the workforce and almost immediately driving cost savings for manufacturers because of their knowledge.”

As well as universities, companies like Markforged leverage relationships with government and industry associations.

The AMGC and IMCRC are part of the charge of pushing technology to its limits.

“They have a direct link and are directly involved with shaping Australia’s future budgets, but also their mission is to work with politicians to tell them how Australia is really reinventing manufacturing,” Richard Elving noted. manmonthly.com.au

“We are trying to do something very significant, something some people don’t believe can be done. It requires a mega effort and collaboration in order to change an industry, which is why universities and government is important.”

Markforged CEO Shai Terem (second from the left) at Swinburne University.

The biggest, most capable printer yet Markforged’s latest printer, the FX20, brings the Digital Forge and Continuous Fibre Reinforcement to a new realm of parts, problems and industries. The Markforged FX20 printer is primarily designed for high-strength end-use parts in the aerospace, defence, automotive and energy industries.

AIR Hub Director Dr Adriano Di Pietro, said the state-of-the-art printer will be a game-changer for Australian businesses.

“AIR Hub is bringing industry together with cutting edge technology to support the growth of aviation and aerospace in Australia,” he said. “We’re proud to be hosting Australia’s first openly accessible FX20 in Swinburne’s Factory of the Future.”

The FX20 prints nearly five times larger builds and is up to eight times faster than Markforged’s existing line of composite printers. It also features a heated build chamber capable of maintaining a temperature of up to 200°C to print flame-retardant, highperformance thermoplastic material.

“There are multiple differentiators for the FX20 compared to our original solution,” he began. “The first is it’s much faster, which helps customers to really push the envelope in production.

Instead of only the shoebox size, we can now make larger parts. Thirdly, it is the first time we can print high temperature materials. We believe that with the FX20 with continuous fibres in heightened materials, which are lighter, stronger, easy to fabricate and cheaper with no corrosion, we can really push the envelope into these industries.”

Markforged has 10,000+ connected printers globally. All these systems, including both composites and metal solutions, are connected through the company’s Digital Forge, a digital manufacturing workflow composed of software, printers, and materials working seamlessly on a unified platform. The system is purpose-built to integrate into an existing manufacturing ecosystem,

eliminating barriers between design and functionality and helping to generate and analyse data about real usage.

“I believe Digital Forge is one of the most reliable platforms out there because it is very intelligent, gets better over time and is very easy to use,” Shai Terem noted.

“When adoption of a platform like this for mission critical parts happens, you will see more and more parts go from physical inventory to digital inventory, which means more cost savings and efficiency in the entire ecosystem. This will help to overcome global supply chain challenges and reduce carbon emissions.”

Shai Terem explained Markforged’s collaboration with Australian industry is apart of a higher purpose – to make manufacturing more resilient and flexible in this country.

“I really hope to collaborate with Australian innovation and to have millions of parts printed here for the products that are being innovated and produced in Australia,” Terem said. “And we want to take it further, to ensure that the IP created in Australia will still be owned by Australian companies, but can be produced anywhere else in the world, which we can do because our solution is on the cloud.”

Richard Elving has lead Markforged’s value-based channel ecosystem in Australia.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 33

Metal Engineering Trends and challenges in parts manufacturing Manufacturers’ Monthly sits down with David Green, Sevaan Group CEO, about current trends in component manufacturing in a hectic and dynamic marketplace, challenges and how Sevaan Group is preparing to meet the highs and lows of tomorrow.

Inside Sevaan Group’s state-of-the-art facility in Minto, NSW.

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YDNEY-BASED Sevaan Group is a contract manufacturing firm that employs about 50 staff and specialises in precision manufacturing of metal parts and products for OEMs in a range of industries including defence, mining, agriculture, gaming, space and robotics, electronics and transport.

Established in 1997 and formed as a merger between Proline Technologies and Wisby & Leonard in 2010, Sevaan Group has gone from strength to strength.

Today, Sevaan Group’s unique and highly integrated operation consists of sheet metal fabrication, machining and finishing at scale.

The company produces parts and products in a range of materials including steel, stainless steel, aluminium, nickel, 34 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

copper, and brass. Its end-to-end capability means it offers customers component and product design, production, finishing and assembly under the one roof at its state-of-theart facility in Minto. Its operational processes include CAD/CAM controlled laser cutting, bending, folding, punching, machining, and welding and finishing.

Current component manufacturing trends According to Sevaan Group CEO David Green, one of the key trends in component manufacturing is the move by larger manufacturers to bring in-house some parts of the component manufacturing process. These tend to include processes such as laser cutting,

folding and bending, general machining and finishing.

“The move to in-house component manufacturing by firms is probably an attempt to better control the component supply chain and their total manufacturing costs,” explained Green.

“However, in many cases, they often cannot handle the additional demand and we end up supplementing their capacity or becoming involved in the development and production of new parts.”

Another trend that Sevaan Group has noticed in component manufacturing is that companies have been increasingly choosing to source their parts in Australia.

“Whereas several years ago, companies took some of their parts supply sourcing

overseas, particularly to Asia, there has been a shift back to sourcing parts locally.

“At the heart of this trend are a range of factors including quality control, availability of components, particularly in light of the havoc that COVID 19 has caused on supply chains, and cost management, especially for Australianbased assembly,” he said.

The demand for high-quality components has also surged, according to Green.

“Regardless of the industry, firms are placing more and more emphasis on the need for the production of precise and high-performing components in increasingly shorter lead times. This is partly because the components are critical to the overall performance of the manmonthly.com.au

MetalEngineering

David Green, CEO, Sevaan Group end product, partly because firms are more environmentally aware and require components that provide durability and longevity. And partly because long-term they can be more cost-effective,” he added.

Challenges in component and product manufacturing These component manufacturing trends will likely be ongoing and offer both opportunities and challenges for those in the industry. Green explains that he expects demand for component and product manufacturing to build, and that having the capacity to deliver quality metal components and products is key.

“Quality is a given actually when you consider that our parts need to be fitted by the customer precisely into their product offering, be it mining conveyor equipment, components for rolling stock or electrical enclosures housing sophisticated electrical circuitry,” he said.

Maintaining on time delivery in the face of rising demand will be another challenge for firms. Component parts are crucial for the creation of customer end-products and on time delivery drives product reliability, better customer collaboration and builds loyalty.

“The founders of Sevaan have invested heavily in technology in all areas of production to ensure we have the ability and capacity to serve our customers in terms of variability of requirements and maximising production efficiency.”

Green also pointed out that a firm’s ability to schedule effectively is integral for on time delivery. Firms that have systems in place to establish manufacturing schedules based on equipment capability, availability and that can follow-up during the manufacturing manmonthly.com.au

process to track individual projects and spot delays against timeframes will be more successful in meeting deadlines.

Rising demand and labour shortages will also place pressure on firms to have the right skills mix.

“It will become increasingly important for manufacturers to have a highly flexible and skilled workforce in all areas of the process including project handling, planning, scheduling, and production,” he explained. “At Sevaan, our philosophy of developing a flexible workforce means that staff can work in different areas of the manufacturing process to help ensure quality production and on time delivery.”

Preparing Sevaan Group for the future To continue to meet both the manufacturing of quality parts and on time delivery, Sevaan Group intends to increase its production capacity by investing in sophisticated equipment with higher levels of automation to speed up processes.

The company is also exploring

acquisition opportunities.

“We will be assessing businesses that offer us the potential to grow quickly, and bring in technology and expertise while adding to our market reach,” said Green.

Simultaneously, the company is reviewing its environmental procedures and establishing an Environmental, Social and Governance policy.

“We will be reassessing our overall energy and waste practices and their impact with a view to minimising our carbon footprint,” he added.

As Sevaan expands it will also be recruiting new staff in several areas of the business, from shop floor roles to customer service and business development. Staff will also have the opportunity to upskill to manage automated systems.

According to Green, Sevaan has a tradition of employee focus being a high priority thanks to the company’s founders, Jim and Artemis Tzakos. The culture of the organisation strongly supports employee development based upon what the business needs and also

the career motivation of the individuals concerned.

The company has established the concept of “the Sevaan Academy” – a philosophy aimed at individual training and development for its employees in all functions of the business and for new employees and apprentices .

The plan is to develop the concept towards a formal training entity which would collaborate with other stakeholders to develop individuals for the digitalisation and advanced manufacturing techniques required within the industry.

It is also assessing collaboration and partnership opportunities with educational institutions where it can offer the experience and expertise in its operations and leverage the technical developments and talent available within Australian educational institutions.

“This year Sevaan Group celebrates 25 years and we are very optimistic about our future,” Green said. “With our focus on technology, people, and growth, the challenges are many but exciting.”

Producing metal parts to exact specifications.

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 35

Generators Business as usual during a power outage Australian manufacturers need to consider the risks associated with a potentially unreliable power supply. CAPS Australia explains how a multitude of processes critical to manufacturing plants could be adversely affected by any prolonged interruption from an unscheduled grid failure.

Who is CAPS Australia?

CAPS Australia’s complete solutions provides a system design via its in-house engineers, built in its Australian ISO accredited manufacturing facility.

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HAT would be the cost of losing production, plant, fridges, computers, lights, and staff not working for one hour, two hours or more?

With the recent run of natural disasters in Australia, and a reluctance by power companies to build new coal or gas fired power stations, it is little wonder that many businesses are investing in backup generators. By using an auto-start equipped generator and an automatic transfer switch (ATS) connected into mains power, your business can continue to operate efficiently with little interruption during a power outage.

Complete in-house solution Delivering a back-up diesel generator, especially for the manufacturing segment, involves several challenges, such as real estate constraints, rapid start-up along with performance and emissions issues.

This is why, CAPS Australia’s complete solution provide; system design via our in-house engineers, build in our Australian ISO accredited manufacturing facility and commission a custom-built system, perfectly matched to individual requirements.

Our generators However, a wise tip is to always buy a quality generator, as it will last for many years and work when it needs to work.

Buying the cheapest unit could be a false 36 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

economy and not provide the reliable power you are aiming for. Afterall a cheap generator that will not start when needed is the same as having not installing a generator at all.

CAPS Australia only supply quality generators including the KOHLER range from France. KOHLER has 100 years’ experience in the power generation segment. CAPS has also introduced its own newly released range of generators built in Europe.

Both are made to the highest standards and have built a solid reputation as dependable mains backup generators.

With sizes starting at 9kVA and going right up to 4,500kVA, CAPS can assist you with any backup generator requirement.

National sales manager, Gordon Gellatly said, “CAPS Australia can provide advice on how to select the right generator for your business, and most local electricians can connect the generator and transfer switch to your power system.

KOHLER is one of the world’s leading generator suppliers and is widely used and trusted in critical applications including high-rise commercial buildings, airports, water authorities, data centres and RSL clubs to mention a few. We are also excited about the recently launched CAPS range which features quality components and an exceptional build standard.”

CAPS Australia is a leading Australian agent for KOHLER and have branches throughout Australia to provide sales,

technical support, service support and parts.

24/7 rapid response service To ensure your back-up power equipment is always ready to perform when needed, CAPS offers a nationwide service network with the ability to service and repair your equipment. Our highly trained technicians continually update their knowledge, and they have the model-by-model knowledge required to give you piece of mind.

Safety is a core value of CAPS, and our goal is never to put people, plant or the environment at risk. You can be confident that our technicians will be completely compliant to any site-specific safety requirements you have.

CAPS Australia is a privately owned and proud Australian company intent on remaining at the forefront of compressed air, gas generation and power generation solutions. We serve the manufacturing, mining, food & beverage, wastewater treatment, construction, oil & gas and much more nationally and internationally.

• Over 40 years of experience in the Australian market.

• 9 branches reach right around the country with over 160 employees.

• 60 service technicians covering the full national footprint with a 24/7 service offering.

• A vast inventory of spare parts.

• An independent company with the flexibility to search globally for the best products and technologies that best serve the Australian market’s needs.

• CAPS has world-renowned partner brands such as Ingersoll Rand, Kohler, AIRMAN, Sauer, Pedro Gil and many more.

• Custom design, manufacturing, supply and service • ISO 9001 accredited facilities For further information, call your local CAPS Australia office on 1800 800 878 or visit our website www.caps.com.au

CAPS Australia only supply quality generators including the KOHLER range from France.

manmonthly.com.au

Machine Tools Not just good on paper: A proven track record for Dryer Roll Bearings Manufacturers’ Monthly finds out how installing NSK’s TL Series Spherical Roller Bearings has helped a major paper mill solve problems with its production process.

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APER is a valuable resource in many aspects of day-to-day life.

From printing and packaging to mail, publishing, and documentation, its production generates thousands of jobs, predominantly in rural and regional areas of Australia. In addition to pulp and paper mills, recovery and recycling operations serve to create a circular and more sustainable industry, with flow-on effects for forestry and manufacturing sectors.

Within a standard paper making machine, dryer cylinders work to remove any remaining water from the paper, after it has gone through vacuum and pressing stages. They also encourage the fibres to bond together using a controlled heat transfer process. The steam-heated cylinder rolls, make up the largest part of the overall machine, and are usually grouped in sections that are each operated by an independent drive.

Many years ago, when a large paper mill in Victoria began experiencing issues with their dryer cylinder bearings, Motion Australia representative Mark

Bristowe collaborated with NSK to develop an effective alternative that would prove long-term. After installing the TL Series Spherical Roller Bearings, the site began experiencing much longer change-out intervals and fewer machinery breakdowns.

“This customer sources a range of critical parts through Motion Australia, and the TL Series Spherical Roller Bearing is one that they have been using successfully now for a long time,” said Bristowe, who manages Motion Australia’s BSC Sunshine branch. “I worked in conjunction with NSK to implement this solution, which has eventuated in lower maintenance costs and increased equipment reliability on the plant.”

According to Nitin Verma, Business Development Manager at NSK, inner ring cracking in spherical roller bearings used in dryer cylinder rolls is a common issue in paper machines due to high temperature variations within the bearing. For this reason, NSK developed the TL Series as a purpose-built bearing for the papermaking industry.

As Verma explained, “the steam flowing through the dryer cylinder rolls creates a temperature differential within inner ring and the shaft which creates excess hoop stress in the inner ring leading to its cracking. NSK’s TL carburised steel is capable of handling increased hoop stress compared to standard bearing steel countering the inner ring cracking issue.”

Verma elaborated that this customer now has the TL Spherical Roller Bearings in service across five of their high-volume paper machines. On each machine, there are multiple sets of dryer cylindrical rolls which slowly heat the paper ‘web’ before feeding it through to be trimmed and finished.

Designed to deliver on high performance expectations despite extreme temperature conditions, the TL (‘Tough and Long-life’) Spherical Roller Bearings ensure dimensional stability of the bearing up to 2000 C. This is achieved by doing special heat treatment on patented carburised bearing steel which also allows higher wear resistance

enabling longer life in tough operating conditions.

As part of the broader Tough Technology range, this NSK innovation serves to address an industry-specific problem commonly seen on papermaking machinery. According to Mark Bristowe, being able to identify the root cause of these vulnerabilities and apply extensive industry knowledge is where the collaboration between Motion Australia and NSK shines through.

“We have had an excellent relationship with NSK over the years and working alongside Nitin to service this customer has been very successful,” he reflected.

“He has a great relationship with their engineers, and on the rare occasion when something faults prematurely, he will carry out analysis and offer solutions.”

“Because of the ongoing communication between our two businesses, customers can get answers to their engineering concerns, and quickly implemented solutions. Our product experts are well versed to address similar issues in a broad range of industries.”

The TL Series is a purpose-built bearing for the papermaking industry

manmonthly.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 37

COMPRESSORS Compressors play a crucial role in countless of manufacturing sectors and applications. Today’s compressor must meet a wide range of requirements.

In February 2023, we will look at the advancements in compressors which are limiting downtime, saving on energy consumption and ensuring safe and efficient operations.

In every edition of Manufacturers’ Monthly, we’re proud to work with our commercial partners on content that helps connect you with your future customers.

Booking deadline: 13 December 2022

To book contact DANNY HERNANDEZ now danny.hernandez@primecreative.com.au | 0431 330 232

Endeavour Awards 2022 Excellence recognised at 2022 Endeavour Awards Once again, Manufacturers’ Monthly was thrilled to celebrate Australian innovation and excellence at the 2022 Endeavour Awards. This year’s winners exemplify the passion which exists in Australia’s manufacturing community.

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HERE was so much energy and passion in the room at this year’s Endeavour Awards.

Hearing from some of industry’s most prominent voices, the excitement around continued innovation in this country was encouraging. Indeed, it is important that we nurture our own ideas so they aren’t just shipped overseas, and this year’s awards saw a high calibre of entrants representing Australia with new ideas, technologies and

the best in supply chain strategies.

Recognised as the premier Awards program within the manufacturing industry, the evening was an opportunity for all involved in manufacturing across Australia to celebrate the many successes, to help share these successes with a broader audience, to network, and to learn more about the many remarkable personalities and enterprises that

make the industry great. Industry sponsors helped to make the night the success it was – thank you to Weld Australia, BDO, SEW Eurodrive, VEGA, IBSA, ICN, Beckhoff and Bestech for supporting the awards.

It’s no secret that Australian manufacturing has been challenged by the economic climate brought about by COVID-19, so the event was dedicated to the entrants, finalists and

winners who embraced change and hard work to advance the industry.

Global supply chains, labour shortages and rising costs remain big challenges for Australian manufacturing, but it is encouraging to see so many success stories within our industry.

Manufacturers’ Monthly congratulates all the winners and finalists and was so pleased by the large turnout to the prestigious event.

Experienced industry professionals and innovative minds converged at this year’s Endeavour Awards.

manmonthly.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 39

Endeavour Awards 2022 Sponsored by

Manufacturer of the Year — Hypersonix Launch Systems

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HIS year’s top prize landed with a truly deserving winner.

Hypersonix is using scramjet technology and clean energy to form the basis for the manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. Australia’s burgeoning space industry is continuing to grow, which is encouraging considering around 50,000 small satellites are expected to launch by 2030 around the world, according to McKinsey.

In 2018, after many years of research in their separate fields of engineering, David Waterhouse and Michael Smart combined their respective knowledge of satellites and aerospace to form Hypersonix Launch Systems – an Australian “new space” engineering, design and build company that specialises in scramjet technology: the fastest and most efficient way of flying through the atmosphere.

With Waterhouse’s expertise in

electrical engineering and Smart’s capabilities in mechanical engineering, they built a team of aerospace and composite specialists focused on building hypersonic aircrafts that are both sustainable and more affordable.

Vessels such as the Space X Falcon 9 polluting the atmosphere with over 425 metric tonnes of CO2 per launch – the equivalent of 395 transatlantic flights – does not bode well for the environment.

Hypersonix’s solution looks to be a part of the solution.

“We launched more satellites last year than in the entire history of humankind – and it’s just going to get bigger and bigger,” he said. “That’s created this huge market and we particularly fit that market well because we’re high cadence, which means we can launch frequently. We’re green and reusable, which is going to be a big driver going forward because I can reuse my

David Waterhouse and Nina Patz with Bestech’s Arend Wieringa and Jeremy Bryceson.

40 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

vehicle hundreds of times, not just one or two times, and because we’re using green hydrogen, we don’t produce any pollution, methane gas or CO2.

The other thing is because we’ve got a vehicle with wings, we can launch in any direction and then change our orientation to fit into any orbit. If you’re trying to do that with a rocket – if you can do it at all – it burns a lot of fuel. What that means in practice is you must have multiple launch sites to service a particular network. Our technology fits that really well.”

Waterhouse and Smart have now established a unique Australian aerospace engineering design and build company specialising in scramjets and hypersonic vehicles for Defence and Commercial applications. Hypersonix’s unique core technology is the SPARTAN scramjet engine: a fixed geometry (no moving parts), self-igniting, hydrogen powered,

3D printed, reusable scramjet capable of speeds from Mach 5 to Mach 10. According to NASA, sound waves travel at around 340 metres per second on the ground. Any faster than this is supersonic, and five or more times faster is hypersonic. A scramjet engine is defined by the supersonic airflow within the engine, which is greater than the speed of sound.

The engine can be turned off and on at will, thus enabling unique trajectories. In line with Australia’s sovereign capability initiatives, it is reliable, high performance, and can be manufactured at scale using 3D printing of high temperature alloys or high temperature composites.

With an underlying focus on sustainability throughout their operations and processes, hydrogen fuel is at the heart of all of Hypersonix’s technologies.

According to Waterhouse, the fuel has a high ISP, burns cleanly and its only byproduct is water. By pulling the hydrogen from the water using solar power, no CO2, methane, or noxious gases are produced.

“The problem is, historically rocket companies have been looking at other ways of doing things. For a lot of them, the solid rockets are frankly just burning plastic. That wasn’t an issue if you were doing a dozen launches a year, but now they’re looking at putting around 50,000 satellites into orbit over the next few years.

Even SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has the equivalent of about 395 transatlantic flights in terms of emissions.”

Additionally, by creating reusable components Hypersonix can fundamentally change the impact that such vehicles have on their environment.

“When looking at the carbon footprint, you actually have to take into account the manufacturing side of things as well, including the manufacturing of the materials and the transport,” Waterhouse said. “Most rocket companies just throw their rockets away after a single use – so there’s a huge CO2 footprint, let alone a pollution footprint, because they are either burning it up in the atmosphere causing pollutants or dumping it in the ocean causing pollution, or a combination of both.” manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Technology Application Award — Hypersonix Launch Systems

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S a pre-revenue company, Hypersonix’s SPARTAN scramjet engine was introduced to the market in December 2021.

SPARTAN is the only reusable fixed geometry scramjet technology — unlocking new possibilities for hypersonic technologies. The hydrogen-powered SPARTAN is the world’s first 3D-printed fixed geometry scramjet, delivering performance, reliability, lead time and cost advantages over more traditional manufacturing methods.

Hypersonix ‘flies to space’, powered by 5th generation scramjet technology it uses the atmosphere to provide oxygen and lift. SPARTAN is powered by green hydrogen fuel and has Zero carbon dioxide emissions, only water vapour. SPARTAN’s combination of green hydrogen fuel — using solar power to generate H2 from seawater — and fully reusable design is an innovative scramjet technology approach, in an industry that can waste materials and energy.

“What we’re trying to do is make that whole thing as reusable as we can. We have a first stage we’re calling Boomerang and that basically has a deployable wing system. We’re able to do that with wings rather than the rockets that SpaceX does because we’re only travelling to 20 kilometres in altitude. Also, because we’re only travelling at about Mach 5, if you compare that with a normal rocket, it could be travelling up to 120 kilometres to speeds of between Mach 10 or Mach 15; then it’s a much harder problem to bring it down safely,” Waterhouse said.

Hypersonix can inject satellites in any LEO orbit from any launch site, with precise, high cadence launches. As a fixed geometry engine: there are no moving parts and it is simple, reliable and inexpensive to produce. The engine is self igniting, fuel efficient, fast and allows intermittent operation.

Other scramjet engines in the market are kerosene based. They fly at a speed of Mach 6 (six times the speed of sound) and are used for hypersonic missiles.

The green hydrogen fuel has a higher ISP (thrust) and therefore can accelerate 42 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

David Waterhouse and Nina Patz with Beckhoff managing director Nick Psahoulias. between Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and Mach 12 (twelve times the speed of sound). SPARTAN is self-igniting, so the engine can be switched off and on as many times as required during flight.

This helps make the flight profile less predictable and gives the ability to skip layers in the atmosphere.

SPARTAN was used in the HIFiRE program – a Hypersonic initiative between Australia and the US worth US$54 million.

Hypersonix was awarded the ACA grant from the Australian government in August 2020 and completed this project successfully in March 2022.

The company conducted highpressure hydrogen gas flow tests through its additive manufactured scramjet combustor at Bulwer Island on test rigs designed by its engineering team. The hardware in the loop (HIL) bench top tests were the final series of steps required by the Accelerating Commercialisation grant awarded to Hypersonix in 2020.

The successful tests have proven that the scramjet engine fuel system is working as designed and will inform future builds of the fuel system.

Hypersonix Launch Systems 3D printed the SPARTAN scramjet engine in Australia with Amiga Engineering to Hypersonix’s precise specifications.

It was delivered to undergo a series of measurements and tests, initially using Nitrogen and then hydrogen, through the first quarter.

“The SPARTAN scramjet powers all Hypersonix’s unmanned hypersonic UAVs currently under development,” Hypersonix managing director David Waterhouse said.

“There is also a composite version of the SPARTAN scramjet engine currently in development.”

Both the Delta Velos Demonstrator and Delta Velos Orbiter will use four SPARTAN scramjet engines. The Delta Velos Orbiter is the large-scale hypersonic

vehicle designed to place small satellites into Low Earth Orbit.

In partnering with universities, such as the University of Sydney and University of Southern Queensland, Hypersonix has plans to work towards closing the gap between research and development and commercialisation.

“What we’re starting to find with some of the better universities, they are trying to get at least to that TRL 5-9, so the programs we’re doing with universities are around CRC-Ps, and the CRC-P programs is where industry leads the research. So, it’s designed with a specific commercial outcome in mind. As part of our long-term industry capabilities plan, we want to support that in Australia because that helps us in many ways for everything from supply chain to cost to knowledge of management knowhow. That’s why we wanted to build that capability up and we’re happy to help the universities steer that later level research towards an industrial outcome.” manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Most Innovative Manufacturing Company Award — RoboHelix

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ROM starting out in a Sydney garage in late 2015, RoboHelix now exports globally. RoboHelix’s founder and CEO, Hayel Smair, said he started the company as a response to what he saw as major deficiencies within the flight manufacturing industry. What was most evident, he said, was that the sector had failed to innovate and keep up to speed with advances in technology.

“The flight manufacturing industry has been stuck in the same process for over 100 years, with traditional machines used to produce flights using a hydraulic press system which forces them into shape using dyes or dye plates. This manufacturing process has been around since the industrial revolution,” Smair said.

RoboHelix is a Sydney based design and manufacturing company, providing the world first and only robotic solutions to the flight manufacturing industry.

‘Flights’, also referred to as ‘screw segments’, are annular steel discs which are formed into a spiral shape.

Flight manufacturing machines form these discs into the spiral shape. ‘Flights’ are used in over 7 sectors on the global market including products such as screw

conveyors, augers and mixers. Major sectors include agriculture, construction, mining, food processing, material handling, livestock feed and sustainable dam ecosystems.

RoboHelix robotic machines eliminate trial and error methodology that is used with all of the traditional flight forming machines, eliminates human errors and interaction during the forming process.

This has enormous safety benefits providing a completely safe working environment for the operators, compared to other flight forming machines which require a skilled operator to continually handle the flight during the forming process.

“RoboHelix machines are electromechanically driven and can save up to 300 times in power consumption in comparison to existing hydraulics forming machines,” Smair explained.

“Our technology also eliminates any requirement for protective coatings on materials, and increases production rates.

For example, setup time on traditional technologies takes close to an hour on average, whilst the RoboHelix setup is fully automated and is done within a few

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Hayel Smair has taken RoboHelix from his Sydney garage to the world stage. seconds. Because RoboHelix technology safely produces outstanding flights with very high tolerance at an extraordinary speed and without the requirement of an experience operator, we have opened a new market for end users to bring flight manufacturing inhouse, which is larger than the dedicated flight manufacturers market.”

RoboHelix keeps a tight control on machine quality, sending its partners detailed drawings and tolerance 3D CAD models; quality and tolerances check is done first by the manufacturing partner

and then RoboHelix carries out its own quality control when receiving any of the parts.

“This guarantees that everything is built to our standards,” Smair said. “All the designs on the machine are modular, so we can easily adapt any customisation into the design without changing any of the base units.”

This also enables production to be carried out in parallel via multiple manufacturing partners – thus reducing production time – before finally being assembled at RoboHelix assembly plant.

Environmental Solution of the Year — Curvecrete

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STABLISHED in 2019 through the support of the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology, curved concrete and robotics manufacturing company, Curvecrete, was founded by CEO Daniel Prohasky and CFO Warren Rudd.

Prohasky’s love for the idea of creating exciting architecture, to construct high quality buildings using low carbon, and less wasteful materials drove the creation of the new advanced manufacturing company.

The robotic concrete moulding technique was originally invented by Paul Loh, David Legget, and Prohasky at the

44 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

University of Melbourne. It produced bespoke curved concrete panels – making a simpler, faster, zero waste production process.

Curvecrete’s curved concrete panels use 87 per cent lower-carbon emitting geopolymer concrete utilising coalfired power plant waste by-product fly ash and blast furnace slag from steel manufacturing processes.

“With the addition of alkali activators, Curvecrete are able to create a product with equivalent structural properties to Portland cement-based concrete, faster, and with a higher quality finish,” he added. “We produce our curved panels on

Curvecrete’s low-carbon lightweight curved concrete canopy for Flinders Street, Melbourne. our zero-waste curvy robot production process.”

“This advanced method allows us to introduce intricate textures that are easy to fabricate, cost-effective, and add a tactile dimension to our projects. As local manufacturers, we ensure that all our low-carbon concrete products have strict

quality control, providing engineering and manufacturing specifications meeting Australian standards. If all concrete was made using our material, 7 per cent of all global CO₂ emissions would not be emitted and, if it was made using our robotic method, 220,000,000 tonnes of casting waste would not be wasted.” manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Global Supply Chain Integration of the Year — RoboHelix

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OBOHELIX fills a gap in the international market. The flight manufacturing industry has not developed from its basic principles in the past 100 years, according to Hayel Smair.

RoboHelix is the world’s first and only robotic flight forming machine.

“RoboHelix is an 8-axis CNC servodriven robot which produces accurate, cost effective and superior flights without the requirement of an operator during forming,” he explained. “This patented technology as well as unique mathematical algorithms used in its cloud base software has allowed RoboHelix to hold monopoly on the entire flight forming technology globally.”

The Australian company has established a reputation around the world. The ability to produce flights with complex geometry has also led RoboHelix to expand its end user market.

“As an example, we were approached by a potential customer from the Czech Republic, who have invented a new method to extract filtered water out of sludge,” he said. “Their invention requires a flight with complex geometry that couldn’t be successfully made using traditional flight forming methods.

We work with them and successfully conducted R&D and solved this issue, in turn we were able to secure a sales contract. But more importantly this has also allowed RoboHelix systems to become a technology enabler for these types of flights, and hence we will be able to generate more sales in the future by offering this advancement to other potential buyers that are in need of these particular flights.”

Due to the world-wide supply chain and global geopolitical issues, RoboHelix has seized on the trend by end users to

manufacture components in-house for the use in their products.

“These customers are after a high quality, safe and easy to use machines that

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are able to produce these superior quality flights on demand at a cheaper cost than those previously bought from their flight suppliers.”

RoboHelix is the first and only robotic flight forming machine.

Outstanding Start-Up Award — Needlecalm

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AUREN Barber, CEO of NeedleCalm, set about developing and commercialising an Australian made medical technology that could drastically reduce the discomfort in

patients who experience severe anxiety during needle procedures.

Barber has been a registered nurse for around 12 years, originally trained at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga,

Lauren Barber started NeedleCalm in 2016 to help treat patients with needle-related anxiety.

46 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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NSW. Upon studying cosmetic dermatology and beginning work for a dermatologist in Sydney, she received a needlestick injury during a procedure on a young patient, which required surgery.

This was the catalyst for the development of a medical device that could reduce the discomfort associated with needles.

“I started thinking about a lot of the patients that I looked after in the past and noticed a strong correlation between healthcare avoidance and chronic comorbidities that they had,” Barber said.

“These patients have often had a poor experience when they were younger with needle procedures that can range from being held down and restrained, having lumbar puncture, watching siblings go through lots of procedures or having type one diabetic parents inject insulin.

In my mind, there was a strong view that something needed to be done that was quick and easy for clinicians to use.”

Using both temperature and texture, NeedleCalm utilises your body’s natural response to certain stimuli to prevent pain signals from reaching the brain.

The company’s signature product, the Needle Desensitising Device, is a Class One Medical Device approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which is disposable but retains a long shelf life. It is designed to be used in over 60 per cent of Australia’s needle procedures carried out each year, including injections, immunisations, venepuncture, and intra venous catheterisations.

The concept behind the device is known as gate control theory, which modulates the perception of pain. By stimulating the skin near the site, the flow of pain signals to the brain are blocked. The key is administering the Needle Desensitising Device in quick succession to ensure the patient registers a cooling, pressurised sensation instead of the needle. manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Excellence in Manufacturing Skills Development — HYDAC

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IGITAL and virtual learning programs were already on the rise before COVID-19 struck, but the past 12 months have pushed businesses to think outside the box and adapt their training programs and delivery.

HYDAC Australia, a leader in fluid power technology, has created a Mixed Reality Training and real-time assistance solution to provide students and staff an opportunity to participate in instructor or self-guided hydraulics maintenance training in virtual reality; as well as realtime assistance by a master technician through augmented reality technology, whilst they are performing maintenance tasks on location.

The Mixed Reality Training brings students and trainers together from across the country, all interacting in realtime in the same virtual space. The cutting edge technology allows for the first time, the unique possibility for students and trainers, all to be in different locations, and virtually come together in a bespoke virtual training space. It allows direct interaction with the equipment, real time instruction, feedback, verification of skills, and more.

In partnership with Deakin University,

the research project focuses on enhancing the features and functionality – 3D content generation, product visualisation and user interaction – of the current VR/AR prototype which was designed and developed in collaboration with Deakin University’s Motion Lab. A 12-month project with the Innovative Manufacturing CRC has advanced the prototype into a commercial application that can be used for on-demand training, on-site maintenance, and remote support.

The success of the program relies not only on the skills gained by the participants that complete the program, but also in helping businesses to address challenges they are facing today, in terms of training staff based in remote areas, training people in a safe environment as well as supporting field technicians on the job.

Participants of the program will be more skilful, as they benefit from being more confident to conduct maintenance work on the real machine, as the VR establish realistic expectations of the real operation. In terms of knowledge retention, VR training is more effective than video or verbal instructions – doing the tasks in VR helps participants to

Graeme Russell, IBSA chair with HYDAC’s Vishal Bhatt.

48 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Sponsored by

HYDAC’s Mixed Reality Training was recognised for developing manufacturing employees’ vocational skills. remember what they need do to in the real machine. HYDAC has enquiries from a number of mobile machinery manufacturers with good possibility for customised development in the area of training, and maintenance field support.

Local and interstate businesses are invited to a face-to-face demonstration of the technology on HYDAC’s premises.

Businesses participate in a facility tour to know more about the company’s capabilities in general, then they have an opportunity to experience the new Mixed Reality Training.

Mark Keen, managing director at HYDAC Australia, said the IMCRC project had supported significant research advances into HYDAC’s mixed reality technology.

“Working closely with IMCRC and Deakin’s Motion Lab, we’ve developed a virtual environment that overcomes access issues and safety risks posed by

in-person training, while supporting realtime instruction, feedback and verification of skills,” he said.

“We started this project believing the technology would be for internal use only.

But our research collaboration has been so successful that we are now looking to include this training solution as part of HYDAC’s commercial offering moving forward.”

HYDAC technical training manager Paul Marley says the award affirms HYDAC’s commitment to innovation when it comes to training in various formats.

“Everyone is aware of the skills shortage, but it is especially acute in the maintenance and repair of fluid power equipment,” Marley pointed out.

“It’s here that we offer unique industry focused training courses to empower engineers, technicians and students in gaining the know-how they need to maximise machine profitability.” manmonthly.com.au

Identifying emerging trends and skills shortages Helping Australian businesses transition to advanced manufacturing Converting industry skills needs into national standards Engaging with industry and government Shaping future training and qualifications

Endeavour Awards 2022 Sponsored by

Excellence in Growth — REDARC Electronics

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O meet demand, REDARC Electronics have almost doubled employee numbers since 2019.

Well placed to continue this momentum, REDARC is fast becoming the market leader in off-grid power and monitoring for any moving vehicle that uses battery power including cars, boats, rail, trucks, mining equipment, bus and emergency vehicles in Australia, Europe & USA. REDARC is a 100 per cent Australian owned and managed designer and advanced manufacturer of market leading electronic power and control systems. A combination of focused strategy, ongoing product innovation and advanced manufacturing capability has propelled REDARC to being a market leader supplying the global OEM, automotive aftermarket and RV industries.

REDARC’s Lachlan Wray explained that Innovation, a culture of process improvement along with investment in new manufacturing techniques and machinery are a considerable investment for any business.

“Winning an Endeavour Award validates this approach and sets and even stronger foundation for future investment and growth, whilst motivating employees, our business partners and highlighting to current and future customers that we are a valued and respected business,” he said.

To cater for growing demand in the global aftermarket industry, REDARC had to expand the production capabilities of many of our most popular products. In February 2021, a new Print and Apply System was installed into the Electric Brake Controller Production Cell. The introduction of this system brought about a significant decrease in label related production downtime brought about by fluctuation in variables like label adhesion, label to label pitch and factory humidity to which the old system was unable cope with. This system is being used to place labels reliably and automatically on each electric brake controller that is manufactured at REDARC. New products and programs were able to further take advantage of this surge in demand. The new REDARC REDNetwork certified installer program was launched

50 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

REDARC prides itself on being ‘Born in Australia’ and committing to R&D to advance the mobile power industry. in 2021 to provide additional installation support and training for the aftermarket industry.

The new GoBlock portable dual battery system was also released in this time. The perfect blend of rugged simplicity and technical capability, the GoBlock was destined to perform well in a market demanding more ways to improve their outdoor travel experience. As the world’s first portable dual battery system, the GoBlock requires zero installation, making it an attractive option for those with less experience or those that would prefer not to modify their vehicle.

When REDARC’s products were paired with a powerful eCommerce platform,

the Australian company led the charge on allowing Australians to shop and add to their off-grid setups without having to leave their home.

With growth, REDARC saw continued investment into people and resources, creating capability in-house in 2019 for REDARC to launch its Defence arm, REDARC Defence & Space Pty Ltd. Growing its business in the defence market has seen REDARC supply battery monitoring and power management solutions to defence platforms globally.

Its capabilities in innovation and R&D coupled with advanced manufacturing and testing facilities – which included a significant capital expansion and

upgrades that took place in 2018 worth $22m – has positioned the company to support specific defence requirements.

“REDARC’s significant investment is reflected internally, with manufacturing backed by the best people, technology, research and development. REDARC not only employs over 350 people nationally and internationally but has a team of over 50 full time in-house engineers that bring decades of experience in a range of design, development, manufacturing, testing and validation fields. The future holds plans to continue to build on this investment, framing our targeted audiences & industries around global demand for mobile power,” Wray said. manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Best Industrial IoT Application — Roobuck

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OOBUCK is a leading provider of Mining Cap Lamps, Safety Signal Lights, other Explosion-proof products and MineIoT Solutions.

Roobuck’s IoT Safety and Operations Solution featuring a cordless IoT WiFi/ BLE cap lamp and supporting device management platform is designed for ease of complex and customisable integration into mining automation and enhanced safety projects.

The cordless cap lamp is multifunctional and provides a powerful light source to underground miners while functioning as a tracking tag, zoning alert, kiosk sign in tool, upstream emergency alert/panic button, large scale data acquisition tool and highly customisable mine systems integration bridge.

By using non-proprietary de facto industry standard IoT messaging protocols such MQTT/JSON, the

Roobuck IoT cap lamp and Roobuck IoT configurator (RIoTC) has been designed to be a part of collaborative METS sector ecosystem. By working together, Australian and international METS companies can provide more advanced, project/site specific IoT solutions to smart mines to improve site safety, productivity and efficiency.

Dane Zielinski-Nicolson, research and development manager, said it was a a great honour to receive the award for Best Industrial IoT Application.

“Our R&D and production teams have worked extremely hard to design, test and deploy the hardware used in conjunction with our software package,” he said.

“Our IoT Safety/Operations Solution aims to increase the safety of miners working underground and improve the productivity of mine site operations and efficiency of METS technology

Roobuck increase safety and efficiency of underground mines.

52 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

integration projects. Our cordless IoT cap lamps allow for tracking and highly customisable two-way signalling, allowing for site specific solutions to digitalise their operations. We want to work together with METS technology partners to expand the capabilities and reach of both of our solutions through joint collaborations using our scalable and versatile IoT products.”

Through a combination of IoT cordless WiFi/BLE cap lamps, the RIoTC device management emergency alert platform, and MQTT/JSON based third party integrations, the Roobuck IoT safety and operations solution is successfully improving the efficiency and safety of underground hard rock mines.

By reducing idle time of key equipment and personnel, significant cost-savings can be achieved, according to Zielinski-Nicolson.

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“The solution minimises critical time wastage due to the limited communication and tracking capabilities of existing operations,” he said. “The Roobuck cordless IoT WiFi/BLE cap lamp enables underground mines to make significant improvements to the productivity and efficiency of operations by reducing the amount of confirmation/wait time of personnel underground.”

Personnel can be tracked entering and exiting cross-cut entries and stopes via BLE beacons being scanned by the lamps and forwarded to the control room via WiFi. Any individuals within blast or drill zones can be notified to leave the area prior to firing via flash sequences of the cap lamp sent via WiFi. This enables a significantly faster notification and response time when compared to direct ultra high frequency (UHF) radio based communication. Firing or drilling can be done safely when all signed in underground personnel are accounted for in real time in an enterprise tracking platform.

The safety of personnel working underground is enhanced by allowing them to send and receive emergency alerts with location information attached. Emergency alerts can be delivered rapidly to all underground personnel within WiFi network range, and their location and delivered timestamp is forwarded to an enterprise tracking platform.

Individual contact base pages can be sent to specific personnel or work groups with customisable flash patterns to fit with the policies and procedures of a specific site. Flash patterns are customised by adjusting the duty cycle, frequency and duration of the main LED lighting cycle. If work scheduling changes are required due to any unforeseen circumstances, individuals and work groups in range of a WiFi network can be instantaneously made aware to contact the control room without triggering a site wide emergency evacuation. manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Australian Industrial Product of the Year — Successful Endeavours

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The Successful Endeavours team celebrating with award sponsor VEGA.

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HE number one way that plumbers die on Australian worksites is electrocution. The Plumb Guard by Successful Endeavours was originally designed as a self-contained unit to check that no hazardous voltages were present. The latest version includes Bluetooth IoT technology to connect to a mobile phone so that hazard alerts can also be provided to site supervisors.

The App also uploads to a secure web service to provided traceability for larger construction work sites as well as for individual plumbers working in small teams.

Successful Endeavours is an Australian Electronics Design and Embedded Software Development consultancy focusing on small to medium sized Australian manufacturers who want to improve their existing products, margins or market share through development of their next generation of market offerings and who are also wanting to keep their core Electronics Manufacturing in Australia.

54 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Ray Keefe founded the company in 1997, which has developed to a point where Successful Endeavours are saving lives. For instance, the company recently received a letter confirming that one plumber, without the Plumb Guard, would have passed away at work.

“We are very pleased to be recognised with this award,” Keefe said. “We have a great team so this is a credit to them for their good work and good outcomes for products like this. Successful Endeavours designs electronic products that are intended to be made in Australia. The Plumb Guard is a great example of this. It is designed in Australia and in this case made by us in Australia. Many of our clients make the products we design for them but we have a growing number who get us to supply either programmed and tested Printed Circuit Board Assemblies or complete products.

These we manufacture in house in niche quantities or through Australian CEMs (Contract Electronics Manufacturers).

This award is an encouragement to keep on with our purpose to change the Australian economy through designing and manufacturing high technology, commercially competitive and defensible products right here in Australia.”

There are several unique features of the Plumb Guard: • waterproof • robust - able to be loaded into the ute from 5 metres away, 2 metre drop test • bluetooth connectivity to a phone App for site supervisor alerts and Internet logged OH&S audit trail • phone App and internet service • self test required every time you start the unit (to prove the leads as well as the unit operation is still protecting you) Like the preceding versions of Plumb Guard, other products are not IoT enabled and most do not provide much protection, according to Keefe. The most commonly sold alternative is a Volt Stick device which can provide an indication that a wire or pipe is live, but the thresholds are too high

for plumber’s safety where a 6VDC or 6VAC reading can be an indication that a hazard is present and if the pipe is cut this could become lethal. The actual shift in hazard detection can be very rapid so a monitoring in place 100 per cent coverage solution is the only option that works, said Keefe “Successful Endeavours plans to continue with more of the same,” he noted. “We have grown 28 per cent per annum (compound) since winning Casey Business of the Year in 2010 and see that as being able to continue having put an additional layer of management capability in place. We are currently starting a new product development every 2 days and in fields as broad as high voltage power distribution, water metering and management, air quality monitoring, logistics tracking, circular economy dispensers, odour management, digital musical instruments and professional audio to name some of our current projects.” manmonthly.com.au

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Endeavour Awards 2022 Safety Solution of the Year — Pilz Australia

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ILZ Australia won this coveted award for its safety solution for the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE), housed in the multi-award-winning Tyree Energy Technologies Building (TETB) of the University of New South Wales. The leader in automation technology was engaged to supply, design, build, install and commission a SIL 2 Life Safety System that includes new safety PLC panels and connection to all in field safety devices such as floor leak detectors, oxygen depletion sensors, toxic gas monitors, emergency stops, fume cupboards, emergency eye wash / showers and air flow velocity sensors, but also with a comprehensive SCADA system.

In the past, SPREE managed a simpler LSS system which had no connection to mechanical systems thus, limiting its monitoring function to ensuring air exchange rates are observed in the event of an exhaust or mechanical failure. The goal was to replace SPREE’s base built, restrictive LSS which had limited monitoring and coverage of critical engineering safety controls. Pilz met the mission of increasing the usability of the laboratories with a greater level of user safety without the need to reduce access to other parts of the building.

A Pilz Australia spokesperson said being awarded the Safety Solution

Pilz Australia’s Rob Stevenson accepting the award with the night’s MC Anthony Lehmann. of the Year brings a great sense of achievement for the team.

“The solution would have not been possible without the hard work by many in Pilz,” they said. “The award also recognizes that the safety solutions we provide to our customers

Pilz Australia prides itself on being an automation specialist committed to safety.

56 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

are of winning qualities. This speaks volumes as to how much value we put in the work we do – products, services and engineering.”

The Life Safety System consists of 56 safety PSSu PLC’s, 10 PSSu Remote IO devices, all networked together across 7 floors and accessible via 8 HMIs running a customised SCADA system providing interaction and data on over 1200 safety devices, ventilation systems, alarms, and event logs.

“The Pilz SIL2 Life Safety System was arguably one of the biggest and the most complex system Pilz has been involved with in its many years of business in Australia. The solution monitors over 1200 sensors and interacts with the Building Management System (BMS) to keep people in the building safe based on safety requirements specifications and a Cause-and-E¬ffect Matrix. It also monitors safe working conditions in multiple rooms and laboratories over

7 levels of the building. The system has level-by-level independence which addresses safety concerns without the need to interfere with the operation of other laboratories, classrooms, and common areas of the building.”

The integrated system allowed SPREE to maximise resources and reduce cost by conducting integrated audits and assessments, helping them use their resources the best way possible. The new system also offers a more efficient and productive day-to-day operational use. It offers a user-friendly monitoring system that provides positive impacts on specific management system components such as improvement in quality, safety, risk, and productivity. Today, after more than a year from the project completion since 11 May 2021, SPREE’s staff and students feel more confident and safer when conducting groundbreaking research and experiments with the new Life Safety System. manmonthly.com.au

What’sNew

Brought to you by

Wide Temperature Industrial Computer with 8th/9th Generation Intel Core i Processor Interworld Electronics has released the BOXER-6641-PRO multi-core embedded controller from Aaeon. The unique fanless “Graphene” heat sink chassis design of the BOXER-6641-PRO ensures an unprecedented operating temperature range of -40°C to 70°C and features eighth generation Intel® Core™ i socket type processors, extensive I/O support, compact size and robust construction to provide users with unmatched flexibility and performance.

Two BOXER-6641-PRO Models are available. The BOXER-6641-A1 is based on the Intel® H310 while the BOXER-6641-A2 is based on the C246 chipset. Both models provide a state-of-the-art multicore embedded platform with support for 8th/9th Generation Intel® Core™ i9-9900T, i7-9700TE, i7-8700T, i5-8500T and i3-8100T processors. The BOXER-6641-PRO is equipped with two SODIMM sockets supporting up to 64GB ECC or non-ECC DDR4-2666 system memory, four Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet connectors and six RS- RS-232/422/485 ports. The BOXER-6641-A1 provides four USB 3.2 ports and four USB 2.0 ports while the BOXER-6641-A2 provides eight USB 3.2 ports. The BOXER6641-PRO includes an Intel HD graphics engine which supports high resolution displays and features two HDMI outputs.

• Wide Range DC 10~35V Input Two 2.5” SATA HD/SSD drives can be internally mounted for operating system and data storage.

In addition, the BOXER-6641-A2 offers RAID 0/1 support.

Other features include support for audio Line-out and Mic-in, a power button and reset button as well as a remote power switch connector. System expansion is possible via two full size MiniPCIe slots.

The BOXER-6641-PRO can be powered from a 10~35V DC source. An optional 240VAC power pack is also available.

For more information contact Interworld Electronics.

Company: Interworld Electronics Phone: (03) 9593 7555 Website: www.ieci.com.au/products

Features Include: • • • • • • • • •

Wide Operating Temperature Range -40°C to 70°C Extreme Computing Power & Graphic Display Capability Desktop Grade Socket Type Core™ - i3/i5/i7 (CPU TDP 35W) Up to 62GB DDR4 ECC or Non-ECC SODIMM Supports RAID 0/1 (A2 Model) 4x Intel® GbE LAN (i211 x 3 + i219 x 1) 2x HDMI Dual Display 8x USB 3.2 (A2 Model) or 4x USB 3.2, 4x USB 2.0 (A1 Model) 6x BIOS Selectable RS-232/422/485 Com Ports

ICP Electronics Australia MDCL-705i Modbus Data Concentrator with Ethernet, RS-485 Serial Ports and Dataa Logger Heading ICP Australia is proud to introduce ICP DAS’s MDCL-705i Modbus Data Concentrator with Ethernet, RS-485 Serial Ports, and Data Logger.

The MDCL-705i is used to collect and store data from multiple Modbus slave devices over the serial communication interface and make the data available to the back-end management system via Ethernet communication. In this way, conventional devices can be attached to a modern control system and through the Modbus TCP protocol easily

communicate with most SCADA/HMI systems and PLCs. Thus, the management system can poll the MDCL-705i for the data from several Modbus devices at once; making the process much more efficient.

The MDCL-705i can help you build a cost-effective data acquisition solution for reading real-time data from meters, sensors, and more. The ability to integrate with SCADA systems and other industrial devices and the reliable real-time data collection in combination with the data logger makes MDCL-705i one of the most cost-effective products of IIoT.

Key features: • • • • • • •

Support Modbus Master/Slave; Supports up to eight Simultaneous Modbus TCP Connections; Up to 250 Sets of Modbus RTU Commands and Built-in 9600 Modbus Data Registers; Support CSV (Comma-Separated Values) File Configuration, easy to use and maintain; Built-in MicroSD Memory Card for Storing Modbus Data Records; Each Data can contain 120 Parameters; The Data Record can support the Ratio Conversion Function, which converts the Original Modbus Data into actual Engineering Units.

• Isolated RS-485 with 2500 VDC Isolation Voltage Protection.

Company: ICP Electronics Australia Phone: (02) 9457 6011 Website: www.icp-australia.com.au/

manmonthly.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 57

The Last Word

TIM ODOKEYCHUK – President, AME Australia

Stronger ships weather greater storms

F

OR over 20 years, we at AME Australia have been privileged to inspire Members to seek relentless and unwavering continual improvement with their teams, suppliers, customers and critical stakeholders as they build resilience and strive for success. Those who have pledged their commitment to excellence invest these efforts with a clear purpose that steers their direction and plans to how to get there, built with engaged and aligned teams that own the actions to make it all happen.

Leaders, Owners and Executives of these organisations exemplify this by following a rigorous process, living foundational principles of human relations and resisting ‘delegating’ excellence - instead choosing to lead from the front. The strongest do this with a steeled mindset knowing that standing still is not an option and being prepared is the battle half won.

It is no secret that, broadly, Australian Manufacturers have recently been in a state of reaction to political & snap public health decisions, global disruption and waves of demand and constraints one after another. As a result, many are exhausted and finding their next breath to keep their momentum or rediscover stability.

The responses and outcomes from this period have left many investing in significant deep learning activities from familiar issues, namely: • The impact on inventories & lead times driven by raw material and supply chain reliability challenges; • Exposed gaps in capacity & capability

from deliberate reshoring or necessary increases for local production; • Rapid inflationary pricing being passed on in response to mitigation of risk, whether real or perceived; • Demand on Leaders created by the rapid adoption of digital/hybrid operating environments and the evolving needs of their teams.

Regardless of any findings, it is undeniable that no person, function or operation has been left untouched, ultimately having to undergo some degree of transformation to see themselves through, not to mention readying themselves for whatever the future holds.

No matter how well any of us have fared, Manufacturing Leaders are now contemplating critical questions to chart new courses to skirt headwinds and exploit opportunities into the foreseeable future.

In recent AME surveys and focus groups, we have been fortunate to hear the voice of our Members who sum up these questions into the key areas of Capacity, Capability and Culture: How Do I Get the Resource Equation Right?

• Resource Quantity – The risk of having too little or too much • Resource Alignment – Onboarding people and partners and sustaining their adherence to process, policy or direction • Resource Effectiveness – The risk of the inconsistency of quality or reliability What Skills Do We Need For The Future to Build and Balance the Right Capabilities?

• Leadership Growth – The demand on the organisation to evolve Leaders at

Designing competitiveness into an organisation is an important step towards excellence, says AME.

You may be saying that winning new markets, attracting and retaining talent while harmoniously operating systems that keep the organisation on track all sounds good. However, we all know the reality is that these are all outcomes of a significant amount of investment and concentrated effort of leaders and their teams sharing the same passion for succeeding together. the speed needed to be most effective for today and the future; in addition to the individual to adapt to the changing landscapes they and their teams face • Organisational Responsiveness – Predicting and initiating changes across the entire value chain ahead of the need, then leading through volatile operating conditions with a balance of certainty as well as the opportunity to adapt & learn along the way • Foundational & Technical ProblemSolving – Supporting the development of problem-solving aptitudes for more complex situations while continuing to strengthen core competencies.

What Can We Do To Keep the Culture On Course?

• Connection – New ways of working are creating challenges for Leaders and their teams to create flow and more harmonious environments to thrive • Consistency – Increased reactionary operating environment disrupting Leadership priorities at the expense of activities less “mission critical”.

Opportunities ahead for those fostering excellence Against this backdrop, the good news is that organisations already committed to excellence are ‘building stronger ships’ and have a jump start in global competitiveness against those who are uncertain about their strategies, inconsistent in their methods or have lacked a shared pathway with their people.

Even if you’re beginning your excellence journey, AME sees 3 critical areas that all Manufacturers can focus on to strengthen operations, solidify

58 DECEMBER 2022 Manufacturers’ Monthly

the principles of success and exploit opportunities over the next 3-5 years to help shape your future. #1: Stabilise Your Core • Ensure that your Leadership has formed and communicated a clear Vision to your team. Ensure a Constancy of Purpose remains to follow through on your best-known course of action.

• Uphold Frameworks and ways of working that are adoptable and predictable so your team can follow them. This is necessary to achieve the discipline needed to stay on course together.

• Ensure there’s a best-known way (or standard) for each process. From the Top Floor to Shop Floor, without a common language of work, visualpreferred, it will be difficult for you to build flexibility into work and investigate improvements. #2: Seek to Become The Employer of Choice • Begin with a foundation of mutual respect for all people & the communities you operate in.

• Nurture professional and personal growth for your team members by providing them with personalised development opportunities.

• Engage people on both personal & team levels to touch hearts and make winning together the aim.

• Recognise that a fair-value exchange for talent is necessary.

• Leverage your diverse make-up of backgrounds, experience & perspectives to strengthen the whole. #3: Design Competitiveness Into Your Organisation manmonthly.com.au

•

•

•

Work with your Customers, Suppliers and Owners to optimize flow and minimise the cost to operate your entire value chain. Consider consolidation horizontally for flow and quality and vertically to eliminate burdens between entities.

Seek to be renowned for keeping promises and solidifying your market position through quality and delivery reliability.

Explore new market creation by designing solutions and ventures to best serve unmet needs while ensuring the capabilities and capital are in place to execute them right-first-time.

What Leaders Can Do Now To Shape Their Future You may be saying that winning new markets, attracting and retaining talent while harmoniously operating systems that keep the organisation on track all sounds good. However, we all know the reality is that these are all outcomes of a significant amount of investment and concentrated effort of Leaders and their teams sharing the same passion for succeeding together.

At the root of things, the long-term success of any sustained commitment to excellence requires a promise to oneself & each other not to waver from a shared purpose, a continual understanding of where you are and where you want to be; and the enablement to move from here to there.

Getting started is often the biggest hurdle but falling into the prioritising trap of having ‘no time to improve’ is the culprit for losing sight that problems you solve today are capacity and knowledge able to be used tomorrow. [insert squarewheeled wagon here, of course!]

There are many things Leaders, and their teams can do now to build stronger ships together and enjoy smoother sailing even into rough seas.

Pledge a Commitment to Excellence If it’s meant to be, it starts with ‘me’.

As a Leader, you have been gifted the privilege to set the tone, pace and behavioural examples that others will follow. Uncertainty within oneself will quickly become apparent to others and faith will quickly be lost. Yet, a Leader with resolve and respect for others will provide direction in the now and guides how the team moves forward towards the future.

Our Members have chosen the manmonthly.com.au

latter, and to live by example which we’re honoured to see in each of our interactions with them. Your own personal pledge to excellence can start today in a few simple ways: • Cease accepting the current situation and fighting fires on a daily basis.

Instead, remove the cause of today’s problem to build tomorrow’s capacity.

• Turn conflicts into collaboration by investing energy to find and reinforce Win-Wins, for those involved will experience IF they solve the problem together. Give them structure and support but space to create the best way and watch how time-wasting debates turn into time-creating efforts that remove waste from your business.

• Emphasising your shared purpose should be woven into the way you communicate with all. It’s important your team has certainty of why their efforts matter and how they relate to the mission you’re on together. Clarify what is coming, what can be and how it is all connected.

Know Where You Stand & Carve Your Pathway to Excellence Ensure your team understands what world-class is, AND inspire them towards the next achievable milestone to strive towards. Leverage the AME Past Excellence Award Winner’s channel on YouTube as a quick way to get an inside view into some of the world’s best and most mature organisations.

You can also consider joining our 2023 AME International Study Tour to have a guided experience to engage first-hand with some of those companies.

Are you already aligned and inspired?

Then focus on learning where you should invest your efforts.

There are many types of assessments, audits and evaluations any business must undertake to understand its risks, strengths and opportunities. When it comes to a holistic, 360-degree and evidence-based Excellence maturity-level defining assessment, AME has developed the AME Lean Sensei™, which allows organisations to benchmark, define measurable gaps against priorities and prepare a Pathway for Excellence, an allin-one framework.

The Lean Sensei™ penetrates vertically, horizontally and across value streams in areas of Management Systems, People Centric Leadership and Improvement Methods, including recent

demonstratable business results to inform the best picture of where you are today.

With visual outputs (scorecards, radar charts, ‘the pyramid’) to help you pinpoint areas of improvement, you’re directly linked to video and written resources to help move you forward on your priority areas that match your objectives.

Provide Your Team What They Need To Get There Any business requires the competencies to execute its objectives effectively.

Needs-based learning & development opportunities need to be documented and programmed in advance to create awareness, deliver knowledge, provide experiences to apply new learnings and embed them into practice.

Beyond their Internal Organisational Development programs, our Members work directly with us, our Solution Providers and Partner Educational Institutions to help them access the knowledge, skills and processes required to build mastery across their organisations. They also leverage AME’s on-demand Members Portal for onboarding content or to support sustained awareness of principles, improvement methods and tools over time.

Don’t Go It Alone - Connect and Collaborate. They say if you want to go fast (for a little bit), go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

No one organisation has a monopoly on the best ideas, methods or results.

Work to open your team’s perspectives to other organisations, industries and cultures to deepen appreciation for

approaches that might get you better results. A few ways to do this are to: • Share, learn and grow with your related industry group, with us at our in-person and virtual AME networking events, conferences here and abroad.

• Create relationships with other Leaders that can appreciate the journey you’re on and you can trust for advice. For example, the AME Executive Round Table was created to forge relationships with business owners and executives to get invaluable support tailored to their situations.

• Going to see and experience excellence in action is one of the most rewarding experiences anyone striving to improve can have. AME Site Tours help our Members share their Excellence Journeys to inspire others and allow them to receive feedback towards further improvements they can make.

• Get world-leading perspectives and trusted advice from an expert.

Whether you find your own specialist or wish to choose to use an AME Coach, leveraging an experienced external professional can pay dividends to help you break out of cycles that inhibit growth and puts your future at risk.

Stay the course and remember, “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit” – Aristotle Manufacturers’ Monthly DECEMBER 2022 59