AMT MARCH 2015 by AMTIL

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Volume 15 Number 02 March 2015 ISSN 1832-6080

contents

MOTORSPORT & AUTOMOTIVE Harrop – Six decades of engineering excellence CME retains GM supplier excellence award Monash win Formula SAE-A title for sixth year running Australian automotive aftermarket going strong Shifting Gear – Design, innovation and the Australian car

40 41 42 44 45

MATERIAL REMOVAL DMG MORI helps build Nissan Supercars success Deburring and edge finishing – automating the “feel” Miller Camera Support Equipment

48 50 52

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 3D SLM – Tips for successful prototyping Darkly Labs creates laser cutter with 3D printing 3D printing – Game changer?

56 57 58

SOFTWARE Closing the customer experience gap with ERP PolyWorks 2014 – From scanning to tactile probing hyperMILL ShopViewer – greater safety and clarity The Factory of the Future –a lean mean machine

60 62 62 63

SAFETY Australian access control system wins global acceptance Australian and international safety standards

64 66

From the Editor From the CEO From the Industry From the Union

8 10 12 14

INDUSTRY NEWS Current news from the industry

PRODUCT NEWS Our selection of new and interesting products

COMPANY FOCUS Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes – Leading the pack

FORUMS Recruitment Law Lean OHS

68 69 70 71

Manufacturing History – A look back in time

AMTIL INSIDE The latest news from AMTIL

mar15 AustrAliAn MAnufActuring technology

your industry. your Magazine.

Motorsport & Automotive: Step on it PAGE 36

.Motorsport &

6 |

.Material Removal AutoMotive .Additive Manufacturing

.Software .Safety

AMT March 2015

Brad Jones Racing – Tooled for success Brad Jones Racing has one of the strongest pedigrees in Australian motorsport, and its success begins in the workshop, employing the very best in manufacturing technology. The work behind the scenes to get the race cars to elite level is beyond what anyone on the outside could imagine.

ONE ON ONE: The Hon Lily D’Ambrosio MP Following state elections last November, The Hon Lily D’Ambrosio MP was appointed Minister for Industry and Minister for Energy and Resources. She speaks to AMT.

Cover V8 Supercar racing is big business, where there are no margins for error. Apart from this high-performance sector, many automotive suppliers are repositioning themselves to use their existing capabilities to create new economic opportunities. Page 36

Closing the customer experience gap with ERP Manufacturing in Australia is undergoing radical changes. In the face of challenging times, flexible, industryoriented ERP can help manufacturers automate routine operations, reduce raw material and energy costs, and improve performance and customer satisfaction levels, as explained by Epicor.

FROM THE

Editor William Poole

Automotive at the crossroads It’s hard to believe a year has passed since we last dedicated AMT’s main feature to all things all automotive. Back then the industry was reeling from the announcements by the last remaining car-makers in Australia of plans to cease production here. And if time has flown since then, it’s indicative of how quickly it will pass before we’re in 2017, when the factories finally close. This time round, we’ve flipped the title of the feature, from Automotive & Motorsport, to Motorsport & Automotive. It’s a deliberate change of emphasis, reflected in many of the stories we’ve rounded up for this edition, stories that celebrate Australia’s continued excellence in the field of motorsport – a bit of fun after last year’s doom and gloom. But it shouldn’t be seen as a move to disregard the broader automotive industry in this country. Australia still has a thriving industry making auto aftermarket products. Australia still has a significant truck industry. And while the announcements from Ford, Holden and Toyota were undoubtedly a devastating blow for manufacturing companies operating in their supply chains, many have already transitioned to sectors such as defence, aerospace and medical supplies. Others will follow, bringing formidable capabilities, skills and talent with them. Meanwhile, the car industry globally is undergoing massive upheaval. For example, in January, Google unveiled a working prototype of its self-driving Google Car. Google’s previous experiments in autonomous vehicles involved modifying existing models from established manufacturers, and seemed a bit of a gimmick. The new prototype, which it plans to manufacture itself, signals that Google is taking driverless cars very seriously indeed.

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

It’s not alone. Most major car-makers are jumping on-board the driverless train. Ford has stated its aim to produce the first mass-market autonomous vehicle, while Nissan has signed a five-year R&D partnership with NASA. Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its F 015 Luxury in Motion concept, with a lounge-like interior, swivel chairs and multiple display screens, at the same show that BMW demonstrated a car that drops you off, goes and finds a parking spot, then comes and picks you up when summon it via smartphone.

All this might seem a bit conceptual, the sort of ‘blue skies’ ideas that wow the crowds at trade shows but rarely troubles the real world. But driverless vehicles are already out on the road. A concept car from Audi recently completed the trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas – almost 900km – without a driver. According to Boston Consulting Group, driverless cars could account for almost 10% of global vehicle sales by 2035 – around 12 million cars a year.

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

And autonomous cars are one of a host of disruptive technologies that are sending shockwaves through the car industry. There are lightweight materials, data communication systems, and of course alternative power sources. Currently hogging the headlines in that area is Tesla Motors, Elon Musk’s electric car company whose factory is an old GM/Toyota plant and which now employs 11,000 people, many previously laid off by traditional car-makers. All these changes represent opportunities, and opportunities Australia is well placed to grasp. There’s a reason why both GM and Ford will retain design or R&D facilities in Australia after they cease manufacturing here. It’s the same reason that Australian designers were behind three of the headline cars at January’s North American International Auto Show. And it’s the same reason Australia punches above its weight in motorsports.

© Australian Manufacturing Technology (AMT). All rights reserved. AMT Magazine may not be copied or reproduced in whole or part thereof without written permission from the publisher. Contained specifications and claims are those supplied by the manufacturer (contributor)

Disclaimer

AMT Magazine is dedicated to Australia’s machining, tooling and sheet-metal working industries and is published monthly. Subscription to AMT Magazine (and other benefits) is available through AMTIL Associate Membership at $165 (inc GST) per annum. Contact AMTIL on 03 9800 3666 for further information.

Automotive is an Australian obsession, but the industry’s changing. And we’ve got the talent and the passion to be at the forefront of that change.

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AMT March 2015

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FROM THE

CEO Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

We need decision-makers and leadership The recent instability within Canberra and massive swings in the Queensland and Victorian electorate highlight the fickle nature of politics but also highlight the demand the general public are putting on our politicians to show leadership. What we want in our leaders, at both State and Federal level, are decisions and action that will give us quick impact on our economy. Queensland is an interesting case. Just over four years ago the nation looked on as Queensland went through devastating floods. Then premier Anna Bligh earned high praise for her management and performance during that time. Her handling of the disaster and the media during that time was, in the eyes of most Australians, inspirational. Roll forward 14 months and that respect stood for nought as she underwent the heaviest defeat in the state’s history. Interestingly, it appeared it was the policies of the Labor party around privatisation of public assets to reduce state debt that delivered the killer blow. After 14 years of Labor government, and with such a massive swing, Campbell Newman would have been forgiven for thinking his job was safe for at least two terms. And it probably should have been. It appears Campbell Newman’s sin was his arrogance, Jeff Kennett style. The difference between Newman and Kennett was that Kennett made things happen quickly enough through the 1990’s that he got away with his egotistical style for a number of years and is now looked upon as a Premier that had the wherewithal to get the job done. Interestingly, Newman’s pre-election proposal of a series of asset privatisations to reduce state debt seems to be the killer blow. Maybe he should have just made it happen during the three years he had in power. The message seems to be crystal clear – the people are willing to throw out a government that won’t listen, won’t change and won’t act. And so we come back to Labor and the mammoth task that now faces Annastacia Palaszczuk. She could also be forgiven for thinking she has six years in the job. Of all Australian states and territories, Queensland has the highest net debt per capita by a country mile, followed by Western Australia. Addressing this is going to require strong plans and policies that can be implemented quickly. It will be interesting to watch whether Ms Palasczcuk has the strength to force change, deliver outcomes, reduce debt and, dare I say it, ignore the inevitable opinion polls and media scrutiny that will no doubt come. Whilst Victoria’s debt, relative to Queensland, might be said to be under control, it still needs a government prepared to make the tough decisions and to act – quickly. Victoria needs its freeways joined up and a train to the airport. Outgoing Premier Denis Napthine’s promise of an East West Link was a decision that he made and went to the electorate with. If he would have made the decision at the start of his term rather than the end of it, the project would have started. What we have ended up with now is a mess. A huge fight over compensation payouts, no project and hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly a billion, of wasted taxpayers’ money. There is no doubt in my mind that the East-West Link will go ahead - probably now not for another decade - and will end up costing twice as much as first thought. Herein lies a fundamental issue with our political system. Whenever we have an election or a change of government there are these lengthy caretaker periods or handover periods that simply waste too much time, money and resources. Our government terms are too short to have this amount of time spent on non-productive effort. New Labor leader Daniel Andrews has a clear mandate to get on with providing a manufacturing environment that allows business to generate job growth. Yet four months into his term most government

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AMT March 2015

programs targeted at helping Victorian manufacturers are still on hold. Governments simply must act quicker when they get into power. At Federal level we have a number of examples of this. Following the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd fiasco of late 2013, during which our levels of business confidence dropped to all time lows, it was expected that the Liberal Party under Tony Abbott would provide the impetus to our manufacturing sector that would reinvigorate it. Yet almost half way into his term, we have seen many government programs held up and a number of initiatives stymied, not to mention the less than satisfactory effort to keep our automotive industry alive. A really good example of the slow decision-making process is around Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs). A proposed Innovative Manufacturing CRC has attached to it $41m cash and $162m in-kind support from industry and research participants over a seven year period. The vision of the IM-CRC is to accelerate Australia’s rapid transition into high value-add, high knowledge-based manufacturing. It has met all the requirements that a CRC needs to, the government mechanism and funding is available and yet is has been with Minister Ian Macfarlane for over eight months. It is further being held up by a review of the CRC Program and an uncertainty over how CRCs and the proposed Industry Growth Centres (refer to my column on page 74) will work together. Meanwhile, the participants committed to the CRC have to just sit around and wait, rather than getting on with reforming our manufacturing sector. Governments at all levels must act quicker and more decisively, particularly in the first year of their terms.

The message seems to be crystal clear – the people are willing to throw out a government that won’t listen, won’t change and won’t act.

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FROM THE

Industry Innes Willox – Chief Executive Australian Industry Group

R&D cuts – Shooting ourselves in the foot Legislation passed to enact changes to Australia’s Research & Development (R&D) Tax Incentive will see a cap of $100m imposed on claims, with retrospective effect from 1 July 2014. While this has been hailed by the Government as an important budget savings measure, Ai Group is strongly opposed to this measure, and has made numerous public statements to that effect. Cuts to the R&D Tax Incentive were originally proposed by the previous Government. From the start, the arguments in support revealed an absence of insight into the value of commercial R&D and a preoccupation with the cost of the Tax Incentive. Although directly aimed at very large businesses, the legislation looks likely to reduce overall levels of expenditure on R&D in Australia, with flow-on effects felt by small and medium businesses and public-sector research organisations. The retrospective nature of the legislation will also jeopardise existing R&D investments made on the basis of the former policy. Data indicates that the share of R&D spending by larger businesses has risen over the period that R&D tax concessions have been in place. The 2014 Senate Inquiry into the legislation received convincing evidence that cuts to the R&D offsets that could be claimed by very large R&D investors will lead to job losses as investment moves offshore where more generous tax offsets exist. This is problematic because large businesses make a disproportionate contribution to Australia’s R&D effort; are more likely to generate newto-the-world innovations; and lend considerable support to Australia’s broader innovation system through their relationships with other innovative businesses and organisations. International experience also points to a strong positive correlation between the level of government support for R&D and the level of R&D investment in a country. The amendment was proposed by the Palmer United Party (PUP), in a deal with the Government, and was only tabled in November 2014, five months after it took effect. It suffered from inadequate consultation and assessment. Moreover, the proposal to cut back on eligibility for the R&D Tax Incentive is not only poor policy – it cuts against the Government’s more general policy objectives and priorities to boost innovation and, in particular, to lift commercial-related R&D. It is all the more perplexing because the biggest direct impacts will fall on applied and commercial R&D. Yet in other areas, the Government is arguing that the country should be lifting commercial-related R&D. This is a policy objective that is very broadly supported and the Government is also talking the talk. With the cuts to R&D, however, it is not walking the walk. Our research points strongly to the fact that corporate investment in innovation is being hindered by policy uncertainty. The R&D Tax Incentive has been under constant review since 2008. We argued that it needed a decent period of stability to assess its effectiveness. While ideally we did not wish to see it amended, at the

Increasing business expenditure on R&D is critical to the future success of the Australian economy. This is especially important at the moment because we have a legacy of low productivity growth to address and because there is a need for new sources of growth to emerge. very least we thought any proposals to amend the existing legislation should have been put to a committee to ensure that resulting policy was properly designed. We made it clear that this included dropping the retrospective nature of the policy. Increasing business expenditure on R&D is critical to the future success of the Australian economy. This is especially important at the moment because we have a legacy of low productivity growth to address and because there is a need for new sources of growth to emerge to assist the economy rebalance as the boom in mining investment wanes. Australia desperately needs bipartisan support for innovation and a strategic long-term view. It is important that innovation is recognised for its critical role in driving growth and competitiveness and improving our standard of living. Innovation is not a program that needs to be delivered, but a way of thinking and acting that needs to be integrated into all aspects of government policy. Innovation policies should recognise and build on Australia’s strengths and define the key challenges we face and seek to manage them. We recommend they focus on: • Incentivising investment in innovation; • Facilitating networking opportunities; • Ensuring we have the human capital and skills required to achieve commercial success; and • Providing support for institutions and organisations that generate and disseminate knowledge. Regulatory and taxation policies that are competitive, workable, predictable and efficient will be critical to incentivising investment in innovation. Make no mistake, this legislation is harmful to Australia’s long-term prosperity. We should be encouraging innovation. Instead, these measures will reduce spending on R&D. While Parliament may have failed to reject it, this legislation should now at least be put to a committee so the damage can be minimised.

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FROM THE

Union Paul Bastian – National Secretary Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Government needs to reconnect The need for the Federal Government to improve its dialogue with industry, unions and the Australian population at large had been clear for many months before the instability that engulfed the Prime Ministership at the beginning of the Parliamentary year. The heat was on Prime Minister Tony Abbott after his Australia Day decision to knight Prince Philip, but it has been the economic decisions of the Treasurer and Finance Minister, backed by the entire Cabinet, that have shown a disconnect with the realities faced by manufacturers and workers. These range from the rush to sign trade treaties with South Korea, Japan and China that will further erode our manufacturing base, to cutbacks to industry R&D and the goading of Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry to close. The boost to be gained by a more modest value for the Australian dollar and the February cut in interest rates is welcome, but political stubbornness and uncertainty in Government remains bad for our sector. If the Government understood the situation facing the economy, they would know that our economic challenges cannot be addressed by a Productivity Commission inquiry into the industrial relations system. Labour productivity isn’t the problem – last year it grew at 1.3%, according to the Bureau of Statistics, after 3% growth in 2012-13. No doubt, the Government’s budget played a part in this slowdown, but it is undeniable that workers have been working harder and smarter. The same cannot be said for the other factors of production. Multifactor productivity, which measures how productive our technology is, grew by just 0.1% in 2014, after a decade in which it failed to grow by more than 1% in any year. Even more sobering, capital productivity fell by 2% in the year to June 2014, after 12 years of falls of over 1% per year. It’s capital and technology, and the managers who make (or don’t make) investment decisions, that are dragging us down, not the efforts of the workforce. At the same time, real wages are falling, with wage growth confined to just 2.5% through the year to September 2014, lower than inflation for the same period. Hours lost to industrial disputes are near record lows but income and wealth inequality are growing, with the top 1% of Australians now owning as much wealth as the bottom 60%. These facts alone make it clear Industrial relations are not responsible for stagnant capital and technological productivity, anaemic business investment and sluggish growth. You would think the Government would conclude the industrial relation system was doing its job and would instead be looking into why our capital stock is now less productive than it was 12 years ago. You might expect it to be instigating a major inquiry into why the massive technological advances we’ve seen in the last 12 years haven’t translated into productivity growth. But our Government looks at these facts through its inflexible ideological prism and arrives at Groundhog Day – blame the workforce, unions in particular. Round up the usual suspects and haul them before a Productivity Commission inquiry into industrial relations, an inquiry demanded by the biggest firms in the big end of town. Freeing employers to cut wages, conditions and workers’ rights won’t solve our economic problems; they will only make them worse. They will only fuel further rises in inequality, when it is already so stark that the seven richest Australians own more wealth than the bottom 20% – or 1.7 million households combined.

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AMT March 2015

Inequality is an economic plague that US President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and even media baron Rupert Murdoch have recognised, but Abbott is yet to join the dots and realise his policies are accelerating this worldwide trend in Australia. It is never a good time to attack the minimum wage, penalty rates, leave entitlements, bargaining rights and countless other benefits generations of Australian workers have led the world on. It is never a good time to further erode spending power within the economy and make working people’s lives harder. Worldwide, it is being recognised even by conservative politicians and organs including The Economist that the argument linking a lower minimum wage with boosting employment is flawed. At the same time, the Government imposes massive cuts to the fundamental services that lift people out of poverty and generate prosperity – particularly by shifting the cost burden for tertiary education and training onto ordinary Australians. This is a recipe that will deter young people and lower- and middle-income groups from studying to achieve their dreams and build the very human capital that will drive future national wealth. Manufacturing employers also know that Government has an essential role in fostering a fertile investment environment so firms have the capacity to innovate and tap new markets. But dismantling programs aimed at fostering innovation, like Commercialisation Australia, Venture Australia and Industry Innovation Precincts, does the opposite, as do cuts to the CSIRO. Added to this anti-innovation, anti-worker and anti-investment agenda is a refusal to back Australian industry, even when our national security demands it. A prime example is naval shipbuilding, where BAE Systems in Melbourne and Perth, and Forgacs in Newcastle, are set to begin rounds of redundancies because they have no clear indication that this Government will proceed with vital contracts. The tender process for a new icebreaker to replace the Aurora Australia has fallen into disarray, with one foreign firm left in the race. The local industry desperately needs some assurance on future navy projects, if they are not to lose capability, skills and workers, undermining their ability to support our navy in good times and bad. We need a solid guarantee that the future submarines as well as the future frigate project will be built in local shipyards. There is no reason why the Government can’t accelerate the frigate project and immediately announce contracts to build the new Pacific-class patrol boats required. Australians aren’t silly – they can see this Government’s plans don’t extend to building a strong, diverse economy that can provide a prosperous future for them and their children. Manufacturing workers – and I believe many of their employers – can see this Government is on the wrong course in relation to how the manufacturing sector can survive and prosper. When it comes to securing a strong manufacturing future and avoiding hitting a manufacturing iceberg, we don’t just need to change the captain of the ship of state. The ship needs to change course.

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industry news

Australian PMI: Lower dollar lifts exports The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) increased by 2.1 points to 49.0 in January, indicating broadly stable conditions across the sector. Manufacturing activity was boosted in part by a lift in manufacturing exports off the back of the lower Australian dollar. Readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity, with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease. Three of the seven activity sub-indexes were above 50 points this month. Manufacturing exports expanded for a second month (up 3.0 points to 54.0), while supplier deliveries (up 4.3 points to 52.9) and stock levels (up 6.0 points to 51.4) returned to expansion after contracting in December 2014. Although the new orders (up 3.9 points to 47.6) and production (up 2.7 points to 48.6) sub-indexes improved in January, they both remained below 50 points. Manufacturing sales contracted for an eighth consecutive month (down 1.1 points to 45.3). “While manufacturers opened the new year with reductions in sales, production and new orders, the healthy lift in exports is a welcome sign that the fall in the value of the Australian dollar will be a fillip to the sector over coming months,” said Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox. “In the meantime, however, the depreciation has also been something of a mixed blessing as it has increased prices for imported inputs including capital equipment.” Three of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded in January. The large food, beverages & tobacco sub-sector continued to expand (up 2.5 points to 62.9), as did the smaller textiles, clothing & furniture (up 0.7 points to 59.3) and non-metallic mineral products (up 5.9 points to 68.4) sub-sectors, which both expanded for a third consecutive month. The non-metallic mineral products sub-sector mainly produces building materials and has benefitted from the recent improvement in residential building activity. The machinery and equipment (down 0.8 points to 42.1); petroleum, coal, chemicals & rubber products (down 2.2 points to 40.7); printing

and recorded media (up 5.9 points to 46.1) and metal products (up 2.2 points to 43.1) sub-sectors all continued to contract this month. Wood and paper products contracted for the first time since September 2013, following its 10.5-point drop in December 2014 with a further fall of 6.0 points to 45.1. Manufacturing employment contracted in January (down 5.0 to 47.5) after a brief expansion last month. Input costs remain elevated (down 2.9 points to 67.3 points), while selling prices stabilised in January (up 4.6 points to 49.7). The wages sub-index was almost unchanged at 53.5 points. “This adverse impact of the lower dollar, together with the loss of sales from the sharp drop in mining investment, the wind-down of auto assembly in Australia and generally weak business investment indicate that the headwinds facing the sector will continue well into 2015,” Willox added.

SMEs uncertain amid stuttering economy Confidence among small and medium sized businesses is patchy with a mixed picture across the states and between metropolitan and regional areas, according to the latest Sensis Business Index. The Index, which reflects the views of 1000 small and medium businesses, revealed 51% of small and medium business owners are feeling positive about the year ahead, with 24% reporting being worried. Overall confidence levels are slightly down on last quarter at a net balance of 27, being the difference between the positive and worried businesses. The report uncovered a growing gap between the experience of metropolitan and regional businesses, with declining confidence among regional businesses being the main source of declining confidence overall. “Regional Australia is doing it tough. Confidence levels vary across the states, but in general, regional businesses are significantly less confident than their metropolitan counterparts about the coming year,” said Sensis Chief Executive Officer John Allan. “Metropolitan businesses are more positive about the current state of the economy and more optimistic about the future of the economy than regional. They reported higher performance across all indicators and are clearly more optimistic on profitability. “Much depends on the local factors driving the indicators we track. Factors such as the Australian dollar, taxation and levels of construction are important. Location also plays a big part, as evidenced by the results.” On a state by state comparison, the SBI indicates the multispeed economy continues. Confidence dropped in New South Wales and Queensland as well as in the Northern Territory and the

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AMT March 2015

Australian Capital Territory. Tasmania and Victoria both saw a big leap in confidence, while Western Australia and South Australia also experienced a rise. “In a mixed economic environment, some businesses continue to grow and invest while others are experiencing harder times,” said Allan. “This year is shaping up to be a year that sees a patchy economic recovery with a great deal of variation across the different states, and between metropolitan and regional areas.” The picture is also varied across industries. Confidence in the finance and insurance sector, business services, transport and storage, as well as health and community services sectors is strong. The manufacturing sector continued its trend of having the lowest confidence levels, below retail and construction sectors. Across the states, SME perceptions of the Australian economy in 2015 are mixed. South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory are more pessimistic than other locations. Those in Tasmania were most positive, with over 30% of SMEs believing the Australian economy will be better by the end of 2015. Attitudes towards Federal Government policies are negative overall. South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory SMEs are all showing overall negative attitudes. Positive attitudes were recorded in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland with the Northern Territory being neutral. SMEs comprise 99% of all businesses operating in Australia.

industry news

Search begins for Australia’s best emerging tech companies The 2015 Australian Technologies Competition will be launched on 24 March, with entries open until 19 May. AMTIL has partnered with the Competition on the Advanced Manufacturing Award. Now in its fifth year, the Australian Technologies Competition finds mentors and celebrates the country’s best emerging technology companies across six industry categories. Through its business accelerator program, 30 semi-finalists selected from over 220 entries each receive intensive mentoring, make connections with investors and gain exposure into international markets. To deliver industry-specific outcomes, the Competition has a strong commercial focus, and seeks the participation of customer markets across each of the Award categories. The winner of the Manufacturing award in 2014 was Rheology Solutions with its online process control instrument. The OnLine Rheometer measures flow curves for a liquid in a pipe, delivering realtime data to afford better quality control for production processes. In the advanced manufacturing sector, previous winners and finalists have included: GreenSync’s energy demand management solutions for production facilities; Bluglass’s low-temperature, low-cost LED manufacturing solution; and Elevare Energy’s energy storage and management solutions. The competition program has seen some great success stories including alumni companies winning substantial increases in orders, entering international markets and securing investment. Companies such as CINTEP and AquaHydrex, a 2011 finalist, have secured major investments, while the 2014 Energy Technology Award winner, RayGen Resources, signed a $60m deal in China as a result of the competition trade mission and has now established an advanced manufacturing facility in Melbourne for its solar technology.

In 2014, the coveted Australian Technology Company of the Year title went to Targ Safelash, for its safer, cost-saving lashing system, which could save the shipping industry 10bn litres of fuel annually while preventing deaths and container losses at sea. On winning, Robin Bean, CEO of Safelash, said: “We are thrilled to be named Technology Company of the Year and to have gained the experience from the Business Accelerator program. For us, this isn’t about winning an award; it is an opportunity to get practical assistance and coaching to improve our business. The Competition’s primary funder and manager is Australian CleanTech. John O’Brien, Managing Director of Australian CleanTech, says he is on a mission to turn great technologies into great businesses: “We aim to find the best companies, provide them with the best mentoring possible and connect them with global partners. We want to help create multi-billion dollar global success stories.” The Principal Sponsor of the Competition is software company Autodesk. In addition to offering highly subsidised access to its design software through the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program, the company mentors competition finalists on how they can use technology to optimise product. The Competition is also supported by AusIndustry’s Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme. Award categories in 2015 will seek technologies that provide solutions for Advanced Manufacturing, Food and Agritech, Energy Technologies, Mining Technologies, Built Environment and Global Development. In addition there will be a new award in 2015 for the city or region that is judged to provide the greatest support to emerging technology companies. Further information is available at www.austechcomp.com

Walter joins forces with Mapal in Australia Mapal Australia and Walter Tools have entered into an exclusive arrangement as of 1 March for Mapal to distribute and support the Walter range of tools for the Australian market. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the prestigious German tooling company Mapal, Dr Kress KG, Mapal Australia, has distributed metal cutting tools and metal working fluids since 1968 to the Australian manufacturing industry. Walter, with headquarters in Germany and a product range of around 49,000 catalogue tools for milling, drilling, turning and threading, is a complete service provider for the metalworking industry. With the two companies joining forces in Australia, customers will benefit from Mapal’s extensive network of highly experienced sales engineers, as well as the comprehensive product portfolios of Walter, Walter Titex, Walter Prototyp and Walter Valenite. “This partnership is the perfect fit for Mapal Australia,” said Mike Fullerton, General Manager at Mapal Australia. “The quality of the Walter product and the extensive range available really complements the Mapal product range and allows Mapal Australia to provide our customers with an extensive selection of product for all applications, and the ability to utilise Mapal as a one-stop-shop for their tooling and cutting fluid needs.”

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Fuller cited a number of ways in which Australian customers in the metal-cutting space would immediately benefit from the new partnership by having immediate access to the Walter range through Mapal. These include Walter’s M4000 series system tools, which can be used universally for a wide variety of machining requirements, reducing complexity and susceptibility to errors in production, as well as the Walter Titex DC170 solid carbide drill. Customers would also benefit from the extended range of Walter Cut-SX single-edged grooving system, which makes it possible to achieve deeper grooving and parting-off cuts because cutting depth is no longer limited by insert length, while a new self-clamping system ensures that the cutting inserts are securely located, even under high stress. “We are very excited to be working with Walter and look forward to a long-term partnership,” Fuller added. For more information, contact Mapal on 1300 825 267 or at www.mapal.com.au

industry news

Mark Bernhard named as new GM Holden Chairman General Motors (GM) has announced that Mark Bernhard will return to Holden as Chairman and Managing Director. Bernhard began his career in the automotive industry at Holden in 1986, undertaking senior finance roles across GM’s global operations over the past four decades. He is a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of GM Holden and his current position is Vice President and CFO of Shanghai GM. He also was a member of the GM-SAIC joint venture’s Executive Committee. Stefan Jacoby, Executive Vice-President and President of GM International, said that Bernhard’s background and experience made him the right person to lead GM Holden. “Mark’s knowledge of GM Holden, our region and GM’s global operations will serve him well in his new role,” Jacoby said. “He will champion the ongoing transition of GM Holden to a National Sales Company and the repositioning of the Holden brand for long-term growth and profitability.” Bernhard will take up his new role in the third quarter this year. He will succeed GM Holden Interim Managing Director and CFO Jeff Rolfs. “I want to thank Jeff for taking on leadership of GM Holden on an interim basis,” Jacoby added. “Once the transition with Mark is complete, Jeff will continue to play an important role at GM Holden as CFO.”

Bernhard has a Bachelor of Business (accounting) degree from Monash University, as well as a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Deakin University. Having begun his career with GM Holden in 1986, he relocated to Zurich, Switzerland, in 1996 as Manager of Budgets and Consolidation for the then GM International Operations. In 1998, he was appointed Director of Financial Reporting and Analysis for GM International Operations in Detroit. Two years later, he took on the role of Director of Special Projects at GM Asia Pacific in Singapore, working on the acquisition of Daewoo Motor Company. In 2002, Mark became Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Shanghai GM. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the GM China Group in 2005. He returned to Australia in 2007 as CFO and Executive Director of Finance for GM Holden, navigating the global financial crisis.

SME exporters remain optimistic despite finance challenges The number of Australian SMEs expecting access to finance to become more difficult over the next 12 months has doubled since the beginning of last year, according to new research from Efic, Australia’s export finance agency. Despite these concerns over access to finance, SMEs are generally feeling more optimistic about international sales, with 38% expecting an increase over the next 12 months, up from 36% in February 2014. The research, which surveyed 859 SME exporters, is the fourth of a regular quarterly series conducted by Efic to provide key insights into the outlook of Australian SME exporters. The number of Australian SMEs expecting access to finance to become more difficult over the next 12 months has more than doubled from 22% to 57% since February 2014. This strain is felt more keenly in businesses with a turnover of less than $1m, with 88% of those in this category expecting access to finance to become more difficult over the year ahead. Half of respondents indicated this concern was based on their recent experiences with a financial institution, a finding that has remained consistent across the last two quarters. This perception may be related to SME exporters’ funding requirements typically not matching the standard lending criteria of financial institutions such as banks, which often require significant assets as security. The research also looked into alternative sources of funding used by SMEs to support export and international business growth. Of 33% of exporting SMEs that engaged unsecured lending, nearly one in four relied on a business credit card and 9% leant on family and friends for this support. 84% of SME exporters with a turnover of less than $1m reported that they used some form of unsecured lending, such as credit cards or personal loans, to support their export growth.

Stronger overseas demand and improved sales strategies appear to be the key drivers in more SME exporters feeling optimistic about the year ahead, with 45% of respondents citing these as the main reason for an expectation of increased international sales. It also appears exporting is becoming a larger part of SMEs’ broader business strategies, with the proportion of revenue attributed to export sales reaching 15%, an increase of 21% since the beginning of 2014. SME exporters also felt that growth in export costs will slow over the next 12 months. In terms of the most important export markets for SMEs, the number of respondents who pointed to China as their most important export market increased by 7% since February 2014 to 26%. This increase may be linked to SMEs’ perceptions of increased opportunities in China flowing from the free-trade agreement signed in November 2014. India continues to emerge as a key export market, selected as the most important export market by 11% of all respondents, the highest percentage since the index started at the beginning of 2014. “SME exporters remain optimistic about the year ahead, with expected increases in overseas sales and slowing growth in export costs helping to drive this improvement in sentiment,” said Andrew Watson, Executive Director – SME at Efic. “And while access to finance continues to prove difficult for SME exporters, I would encourage those that are unable to secure finance with their bank to consider other opportunities available.”

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industry news

New funding for start-ups Private investment firm Manifex has announced the opening of its second round of investment funding to help start-ups commercialise their hi-tech products. Funding will be available to support companies that have developed technology in the advanced materials and advanced manufacturing sectors. Manifex was established in early 2014 and to date has been working with companies being incubated and assisted by the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM). VCAMM incubates companies and their technologies from very early conception through to investable businesses.

Based in Geelong, Cytomatrix’s technology is designed for patients with leukaemia and other conditions that require treatments such as bone marrow or cord blood transplants. The company is now eyeing the global transplant market, which is valued at more than $1.5bn. This figure doubles if the technology is also used as an adjunct to chemotherapy. Part of Cytomatrix’s technology suite includes a short-nanofibre production machine and platform developed by Cytomatrix and partners Austeng and Deakin University.

Manifex Managing Director, Iain Ralph, said its first round of investment is proving very successful and its Asian and local investors were now looking at more opportunities and ventures in which to invest.

Circa, which was incubated by VCAMM, has developed the world’s first continuous process for the manufacture of an important and highly flexible molecule from waste cellulose. This molecule is a platform chemical that can be used in a wide range of multi-billion dollar markets. Founded four years ago by Tony Duncan and Warwick Raverty when they were working out of a home garage with ‘beakers and pipes’, Circa was recently able to move into its own manufacturing facility in Coburg and expand the company staff. It has already started processing orders from large chemical companies in Europe.

“As an evergreen fund we have the ability to raise capital as required to support the needs of our growing portfolio of firms to facilitate the commercialisation of their technology and assist in the ongoing growth of the business,” said Ralph. At the announcement of the new round of funding, Ralph and Brad Dunstan, CEO of VCAMM, indicated that further investment capital will be made available to VCAMMincubated companies. Manifex’s interest is often in establishing an early relationship with a company that’s working with VCAMM, making it easy to “pass the baton” between VCAMM and Manifex for ongoing commercial investment at an appropriate stage of commercialisation. Manifex is co-located with Scoresby (Melbourne)-based VCAMM, which had provided critical assistance over a number of years to companies that received capital injections as part of Manifex’s first round of

funding. Two of these were Cytomatrix and Circa Group, both of which have developed world-first technology and now benefit from Manifex’s ongoing support.

“Australia has some great minds and great opportunities for advanced manufacturing,” said Ralph. “Manifex and its investors have a knowledge and passion for new product businesses and I believe that with the injection of appropriate early stage investment to qualified ventures, Australia will realise substantial economic dividends.”

Call for ACT wind farm initiative to use Aussie steel The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has called on the winners of the ACT Government’s wind energy contract auction to commit to using Australian steel for the new wind farms. Three projects have been awarded contracts to generate wind energy for the ACT, with wind farms to be built in Bendigo and Ararat, Victoria; and Port Augusta, South Australia. AWU National Secretary Scott McDine said that the production of Australian steel adhered to high standards on energy efficiency, as well as supporting thousands of jobs, and the new projects presented an excellent opportunity to boost the sector. McDine commended the ACT Government for investing in the energy infrastructure,

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and said the economic boost to Australia should be well spread. “The announcement today of new wind farms in Victoria and South Australia to generate clean energy for the ACT is an excellent development for Australian jobs,” McDine said. “These are very significant infrastructure builds at a time when the economy could use the boost. These new builds provide a terrific opportunity for a winwin for Australian jobs, as long as Australian steel is used in their production. That way we will see jobs created through the

construction and maintenance of these wind farms, as well as in the production of the steel required to build them. “It would be a great shame if a bold environmental initiative like this one was compromised through the use of Chinese or other foreign steel, which is not produced with adherence to the strong environmental standards of Australian steel. Chinese steel may be cheap, but because it is dirty and carbon-intensive to produce it would, ironically, create dirty renewables.”

Fully integrated performance

M4000 – High performance made universal. Whether with a shoulder milling cutter, high-feed milling cutter or chamfer milling cutter – the system indexable inserts powered by Tiger∙tec® Silver can be used in all tools within the M4000 range. Invest in the future: From procuring the raw materials, developing and manufacturing through to packaging and storage – the entire volume of CO2 required by the M4000 range has been calculated, documented and offset in accordance with ISO 14064.

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government news

Cutting IP red tape for Australian businesses Australian businesses will have less red tape to deal with when protecting their hard-won intellectual property (IP), following the passage through the Senate of the Federal Government’s Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2015. The changes are designed to help ensure that Australia has an efficient and streamlined IP system. The Act introduces changes that will simplify aspects of Australia’s IP framework, making it cheaper and easier to protect and enforce certain IP rights. “This new legislation will streamline business between Australia and New Zealand by simplifying the process for innovators seeking to patent the same invention in both countries,” said Karen Andrews, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Science. “It allows for a single patent attorney regime and a single patent application and examination process, making it easier for businesses to protect their IP in both countries.” Among those who will benefit are farmers, nursery owners and others who work with new plant varieties, as the plant breeders who supply these industries will now have simpler and more cost-effective means of enforcing their rights in the Federal Circuit Court. The Act can also help people in developing countries who face life-threatening illnesses such as malaria, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis.

Businesses urged to consider first ERF auction With the first auction for the Federal Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) set to take place in March, it is time for businesses to assess their position when it comes to participating, according to RSM Bird Cameron.

“Generic drug manufacturers will now be able to apply to Australia’s Federal Court for permission to manufacture patented drugs – drugs that would otherwise be too costly – and then export the medicine to a developing country facing a health crisis,” Andrews said. “This reflects Australia’s role as a good international citizen, and meets our commitment to implement the Protocol amending the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property.”

Karen Andrews

The Act reduces red tape and regulatory costs for Australian business, while also giving Australia the ability to help those in need. It is intended to make it simpler for developing countries to get help in dealing with major public health crises. More information about the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2015 can be found on IP Australia’s website. www.ipaustralia.gov.au

Applications open for new $476m skills fund Australian businesses can now apply for support to boost the skills of their workforce under the Federal Government’s new $476m Industry Skills Fund.

The ERF is the centrepiece of the Federal Government’s policy suite to reduce emissions and will provide incentives for emissions reduction activities across the Australian economy. The ERF will operate alongside existing programmes that are already working to reduce Australia’s emissions growth, such as the Renewable Energy Target and energy efficiency standards on appliances, equipment and buildings. “The ERF auctions are voluntary but there are benefits and opportunities for businesses who choose to participate,” says Tim Pittaway, principal of RSM Bird Cameron. “To take advantage of this, businesses need to identify projects within the organisation that could qualify now. Part of this is deciding how they plan to bid in the auction and the price they will go in at.”

Assistant Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the Fund, which will provide up to 200,000 training places and skills advice for businesses over the next four years, was a key element of the Government’s Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda.

The ERF will support Australian businesses and households to take practical, direct action to reduce emissions and improve the environment. The objective is to help achieve Australia’s 2020 emissions reduction target of 5% below 2000 levels by 2020. The Government has provided $2.55bn to establish the fund, with further funding to be considered in future budgets. “For new projects that are going through business case development and capital raising, companies should consider if participation in the ERF could fund part of the project,” adds Pittaway. “Businesses that get in early on the right types of projects may find that their bid price is accepted because nobody knows what the price will be. This could be particularly beneficial for the first auction, which is unknown territory.

Priority will be given to small and medium-sized businesses, including micro businesses, as well as to businesses looking to grow in the sectors in which Australia enjoys a competitive advantage, such as food and agribusiness, medical technology, mining equipment, and oil, gas and energy resources, as well as in advanced manufacturing. “The Industry Skills Fund is a key part of the Abbott Government’s ambitious program of vocational education and training (VET) reform to lift the quality of both training providers and their courses, enhancing the contribution VET makes to the employment prospects of students and the competitiveness of Australia’s economy,” Birmingham added. “In contrast, Labor wasted billions of dollars on skills programmes that failed to deliver training that led to real jobs. The era of training for training’s sake is over.”

“Businesses wanting to participate need to get moving now and ensure they have a good risk management strategy in place. It is critical that businesses can deliver the project as required if they participate in the ERF as that is what they will be signing up to. If they don’t deliver as per the contract they could find themselves having to purchase carbon units through another market to address any shortfall.” www.rsmi.com.au www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/ emissions-reduction-fund

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“This is a new way of providing support to businesses that need to upskill or retrain their employees to enable their business to grow, diversify, adopt new technologies, or take advantage of new market opportunities,” said Birmingham. “For the first time, employers will be supported to decide what training is needed in their business, and which training provider they want to work with, to boost their business productivity and competitiveness.”

Businesses wanting support to train workers will be required to make a contribution between 25-75% to the cost of training. The co-contribution rate depends on the number of employees, with smaller businesses receiving higher levels of support. www.business.gov.au

VOICE-BOX Opinions from across the manufacturing industry

Staff fraud – What employers can do Harder financial times and a slowing economy are fuelling employee fraud. By Damian Sutherland. In difficult economic times the typical fraudster is more able to rationalise their actions and more motivated to engage in misconduct to maintain their lifestyle requirements. Evidence shows the range and types of fraud increasing, with the most common types including: • Manipulation of source data, including pay rates, new suppliers or employees and bank accounts. • Falsifying invoices and expense claims. • Electronically transferring funds into personal accounts. • Receiving ‘kickbacks’ from suppliers. • Masaking unauthorised adjustments to financial statements. • Misappropriating company assets or inventories. So what can business do to counteract this growing trend? Those charged with governance can impact the level of opportunities available to employees to commit and engage in misconduct without the risk of being detected. Evidence tells us that the typical fraud is committed by trusted long-term employees who are acting alone, and the most significant factor in detecting committed fraud is the internal controls employed by an organisation. The internal control environment – and more specifically, segregation of duties among your employees – is the key to preventing or detecting fraud. As an example, assume your payroll officer is able to create new employee records within the accounting system, alter source data such as pay rates, process the weekly pay run, and approve the physical EFT payment through the bank account. This leaves a significant opportunity for the employee to adjust their own pay rate or create a false employee with their own bank account details to misappropriate funds of the business. Now assume that the process is segregated: the creation of employee records and amendment of source data can only be completed by the Human Resource Manager, while the approval of the physical EFT payment is completed by the Finance Manager. This reduces the opportunity to misappropriate funds, involving more people within the process and effectively increasing the risk to the potential fraudster of being detected. Typically segregation of duties is best achieved through system access restrictions and authorisation processes, for instance by ensuring: • Employees processing transactions such as payroll or creditor payments cannot access, create and amend source data within the system. • Employees processing these transactions cannot access and process physical payments. • Independent authorisation controls are in place, specifically around the bank reconciliation process, creditor payments process, credit note issuance and expense claims. • Physical restrictions are in place with regard to accessing cash, cheques and valuable assets or inventories. Given that adequate segregation of duties relies heavily on a larger accounting function, small-to-medium-sized manufacturing businesses often ask: “What if we are unable to segregate our processes due to the size of our accounting function?” The answer is that, though it is not practical in some instances to implement system restrictions within a small team due to back-up and support requirements, a number of controls can be implemented that effectively increase the chances of detecting fraud sooner, and therefore deter potential fraudsters.

These controls come down to authorisation and checking. Using the payroll processing function again as an example, an organisation would implement and communicate policies such as: • Source data changes within the payroll system must be approved by an independent and more senior employee. • Payroll EFT payments are independently approved with the underlying detail as part of this approval. • Higher-level analytics are provided to senior management to review, based on their expectations, with any abnormalities documented and followed up. These controls are effective if they are operating throughout the period as expected, and given that they are more easily overridden than a system segregation, employers should include a process to verify the controls have been followed. This can be facilitated by an internal audit function that can easily spot-check compliance. Controls that can be implemented within a small team to increase fraud detection include: • Ensuring independent authorisation controls are in place, specifically around the bank reconciliation, creditor payment, credit note issuance, expense claims and journal processing. • Ensuring physical restrictions are in place with regard to accessing cash, cheques and valuable assets or inventories. • Running and reviewing a source data change report regularly. • Having operational managers peruse and sign off on departmental staff details and supplier details on a regular basis. • Ensuring timely management reports are being reviewed and analysed by senior management, with any discrepancies outside of expectations being followed up without exception. • Utilising computer-based audit techniques that can easily identify discrepancies in accounting systems and source data, such as a creditor having the same bank account details as an employee. • Having an audit function that verifies compliance with authorisation and segregation policies throughout the year. Finally, the foundations of any organisation need to be aligned with internal control objectives. This includes: • Having an appropriate code of conduct and communicating this to employees. • Screening new staff to gauge their fit with the organisation. • Having a fraud policy that documents and communicates to employees what constitutes a fraud within the organisation and the measures that will be taken in the event of a fraud. • Providing relevant training to employees on integrity and values. • Ensuring that the leadership of the organisation are all aligned with the values communicated. • Ensuring that you have reviewed your systems and procedures to prevent the fraud. Many mid-sized manufacturing businesses will have a high volume of transactions through the course of a year, yet the accounting and finance function is left to a very small team. This dramatically increases the business’s susceptibility to fraud and the potential for it to be of a material nature. If you have any queries please contact Damian Sutherland or Tony Mitchem from William Buck Chartered Accountants on (03) 9824 8555. www.williambuck.com AMT March 2015

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Tech news

Germany: New composite provides corrosion protection A new composite material which prevents metal corrosion in an environmentally friendly way, even under extreme conditions is presented. The key is the structuring of the layer – the protective particles arrange themselves like roof tiles, resulting in a self-organized, highly structured barrier. The protective layer is just a few micrometers thick and prevents penetration by gases and electrolytes. After thermal curing, the composite adheres to the metal substrate, is abrasionstable and impact-resistant and can withstand high mechanical stress. It is suitable for steels, metal alloys and metals such as aluminum, magnesium and copper, and can be used to coat any shape of plates, pipes, gear wheels, tools or machine parts. It does not contain chromium VI or other heavy metals. INM Leibniz Institute for new materials

International: Breakthrough technology for 3D metal powders A unique manufacturing technology for metal powders to be used with 3D printers has been developed. Using metal hydrides synthesis, it has significant advantages over traditional techniques: high productivity, superior quality of synthesised hydride, lower energy consumption, ecological purity and safety. The development of a new generation of hydrogen-containing materials, including those based on refractory metals, nano-modified alloys and certain inter-metallides groups, is key for additive 3D printing technologies. Zecotek

Switzerland: Protection for jets A new coating protects jet interiors against fire. Not only is the agent more environmentally friendly; it can also be applied more quickly. This new coating could also be used in textiles and wood-based furnishing and architectural systems. The agent does not require chlorinated and brominated chemicals and achieves the flame-retardant effect purely due to its especially heavy molecular weight. Additionally, the flameretardant material does not evaporate and only needs to be applied once – instead of in several layers. EMPA

Japan: Transparent oxide glass with rubber-like property Researchers have developed a new form of ‘rubber-like’ glass which may have applications in high temperature or strongly oxidative environments. The so-called mixed alkali metaphosphate glass – behaves quite differently when it is stretched from a supercooled liquid state, expanding and contracting like rubber at a temperature close to the ‘glass transition temperature’. Upon heating and elongation, the straight chain molecules in the glass became highly orientated, and the glass itself became rubber-like. When the researchers heated the glass still further, it contracted in size by several tens of percent, before returning to its original state. This is the first time that a type of glass has been shown to display it. This glass could be considered for applications in high temperature, oxidizing environments in which organic polymer rubber could not cope Tokyo Institute of Technology

USA: New battery technology could make airliners safer New battery technology should be able to prevent the kind of fires that grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2013. The innovation is an advanced barrier between the electrodes in a lithium-ion battery. Made with nanofibres extracted from the insulator Kevlar, the barrier stifles

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the growth of metal tendrils that can become unwanted pathways for electrical current. The material can be made very thin – so that the same battery cell can accommodate more energy (or the cell size may be shrunk). University of Michigan

Australia: Energy from sun, printed on plastic Solar cells are being tested that are virtually indestructible, flexible, and now, printable. There is a need for other types of solar cell materials than the familiar silicon-based technology on roof tops. The new technology can be printed, moulded into shapes, is durable, and even wearable. Uses include durable organic solar cells on the back of a mobile phone to provide energy through a low battery situation. The concept is that organic chemicals can set up positive and negative charges. The international race has been on to find the best combination of printable organic chemicals. The team has discovered the highly sought-after ‘nematic liquid crystals’ that have improved the positive charge transport, leading to vastly improved organic solar cell performance. Eventually it will lead to more competitive pricing. Melbourne University

Australia: Leap for 3D printing A biomedical engineering team has developed a new low-cost method for producing bone replacement implants for severely damaged skulls. The new 3D printing technique enables clinicians to produce a patientmatched implant in days rather than several weeks. The new rapid templating scaffold implant method makes it possible to generate patient-matched, safe, sterile cranioplasty implants using polymer based bone cement within days. Existing 3D printed implants are weaker; there is also a higher risk of contamination.. A sterile template of the patient’s damaged region is created, then bio-compatible polymer bone cement is applied to produce their personalised implant. University of Sydney

USA: Giant robot will create space-age materials NASA’s Langley Researcher Center unveiled its new seven-ton, twostory tall composite materials robot – ISAAC (Integrated Structural Assembly of Advanced Composites) – on 26 Jan. The $3 million system - one of just three of its kind in the world, and the only one dedicated to research - turns 3D computer drawings into precisely made, lightweight, super-strong components suited for spacecraft. It spins parts from spools of carbon fiber blended with epoxy - gliding along a track, reaching, retracting, pivoting, hovering with cyborg agility and efficiency. The robotic system will play a key role in the development of significantly improved aerospace components NASA

Australia: High-value products from lobster scraps In a bid to reduce waste from the harvest and export of southern rock lobsters – a multimillion dollar industry in South Australia – researchers are finding innovative ways of using leftover shells and parts. A variety of items have been extracted, including protein hydrolysates, chitin, chitosan and oil, from lobster parts that would usually be thrown away and transforming them into high-value products for the food or pharmaceutical industries. The extraction uses cutting-edge advanced manufacturing processes such as supercritical CO2 extraction and microwave-assisted extraction; producing products that currently do not exist on the global market Flinders University

Product news

Walter M4000 – High performance made universal Walter’s M4000 range of system indexable inserts is now suitable for more milling applications than ever. System tools – tools that can be used universally for numerous machining requirements – reduce the complexity of production and its susceptibility to errors, thus making it more cost-efficient. The latest example of this product philosophy from the Walter Group is the new M4000 range of system indexable inserts. The M4000 comprises four square indexable inserts that can be used in three different types of milling cutters to master many common milling operations, such as face milling, shoulder milling or chamfering, in all steel, stainless steels, cast iron, and even difficult-tocut materials. M4000 inserts can therefore be used more universally than their specialised relatives in the Walter Blaxx and Walter Xtratec ranges. However, just like its two cousins, it is coated with the highperformance cutting material Tigertec Silver. The flank faces on the four cutting edges are provided with a wave profile that displays the geometry of the indexable insert. The more waves that are visible, the more positive the geometry. The system indexable inserts have a positive basic shape with a clearance angle of 15 degrees. The effect is that less power is required for milling, energy consumption is reduced, and economic efficiency is increased. Currently the stable (D57) and universal (F57) geometries are available. Applications can also be further extended because the M4000 mills can accommodate special indexable inserts. For the M4002 highfeed milling cutter, there is a circumference-sintered insert with facet for improved surfaces. A special insert with a larger corner radius guarantees increased cutting edge stability when working with the high-feed mill and shoulder mill. For the M4132 shoulder mill in particular, an indexable insert with a fully ground circumference is available, which can also come with additional facets. As a result, the support in the tool body is more precise, and the low vibration tendency increases the tool life. The rake face has markings to ensure unmistakeable orientation when changing the cutting edge.

Moreover, the M4000 is the first Walter product to completely record and balance its CO2 footprint – from the delivery of the raw material, to when the finished product is shipped to the customer. The second step of Walter’s global system concept is CO2 compensation. As part of efforts to contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gases, Walter supports a climateprotection project on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. Tools that are manufactured with CO2 compensation carry the Walter Green Flag. Wolfgang Vötsch, Senior Product Manager for Milling at Walter, explained why the M4000 range is the right product at the right time: Increased cost-effectiveness and efficiency: “One insert for several tools,” says Vötsch.”Since system tools can be used for a wide range of applications, this reduces storage and procurement costs for the user. In field tests, we were able to reduce cutting costs by half for each workpiece. The power requirement was also reduced by approximately 15%.” Simple handling reduces complexity: “With the M4000, we are introducing a new type of laser engraving – even on the smallest tool diameters, we can now include all the important information, such as details about the assembly parts and torque. New packaging makes it easier to retrieve tools.” Using resources sensibly and conserving them: “For us and our customers, sustainability is an increasingly important competitive factor. Consumers want to know how something was manufactured. Added to this is the fact that many raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce and, as a result, increasingly expensive. The M4000 therefore involves an initial approach to recognising the CO2 footprint and to then being able to optimise it.” www.walter-tools.com

BAC Warehousing – The modular concept The dynamic global market of today demands that manufacturers must be flexible, and storage systems are no exception. BAC Systems, an Australian manufacturer, is leading the world in the production of Modular Warehousing Solutions. A modular warehouse or store is one that is built of small units, or modules, to create the complete system. This makes adapting to changes less dramatic, and ensures that custom storage systems fit like a glove.

BAC Drawer Storage Modules are the perfect example of a modular storage component. Each BAC Module is individually configured to suit a particular inventory, but their modular nature gives them both adaptability and portability. www.bacsystems.com.au

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product news

Kaeser Compressors supplies Kwinana Power Station Four Kaeser DSG-2 series dry-running rotary screw compressors are supporting one of the world’s most efficient simple-cycle gas turbines at the Kwinana Power Station in Western Australia (WA), supplying absolutely clean compressed air that is free of oil, water and dirt contaminants. Synergy’s Kwinana Power Station (KPS), is located 40km south of Perth and is connected by 66,000V, 132,000V and 330,000V transmission lines to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS). SWIS is the primary electricity grid in WA, supplying the bulk of the South-West region - an area which stretches north to Kalbarri, south to Albany and east to Kalgoorlie. KPS is unique in WA in that it is capable of burning three fuels: coal, natural gas and oil. In 2012, UGL was commissioned by Synergy to build two high-efficiency gas turbines (HEGTs) on the Kwinana site. These were to be installed to replace two decommissioned 120MW steam-powered generators. Requiring compressed air to aid the operation of the new HEGTs, and having previously worked on several other projects together, UGL called upon Kaeser Compressors Australia. The production of absolutely clean compressed air was paramount to the project. As a result UGL chose to install four Kaeser DSG-2 series dry-running rotary screw compressors. As Jeff Coyle, Engineering Manager at Kaeser Compressors Australia, puts it: “UGL had very explicit clean air requirements for the turbines which the DSG2 series dry-running screw compressors from Kaeser could meet.” The proven DSG-2 series dry-running rotary screw compressors from Kaeser produce high-quality, oil-free and ultraefficient compressed air at all times. At the heart of every compressor is a tried and tested dry-running, two-stage rotary screw airend. Providing optimum performance and dependability, every airend ensures maximum efficiency throughout its entire service life.

Two Kaeser compressed air stations were subsequently installed next to each of the HEGTs. Each station consists of two Kaeser DSG 220-2 dry-running rotary screw compressors, two desiccant dryers, a 13,000-litre capacity air receiver, a Sigma Air Manager and carbon filters. “Their key task is to keep the turbines bearings in position… during operation and cool-down,” says Matthew Weston, Site Manager at KPS. “We also use low-pressure clean air for insulation purposes during isolated phase bus operations.” Even with WA’s arid climate, these compressors are able to run smoothly at ambient temperatures of 45°C or higher. One compressor in each station is on continuous run, whilst the other provides full standby cover. The machines are rotated regularly to

maximise the life cycle and efficiency of the station. “The compressors [when maintained properly] will meet or exceed the life of the HEGTs,” Coyle concludes. “They will continue to proficiently support the stateof-the-art HEGTs that generate such an important energy source throughout Western Australia.” Powerful, durable and efficient, the Kaeser DSG-2 series dry-running screw compressors feature water- or air-cooling as required with drive powers up to 355kW and free air deliveries from 13.5 up to 50 cubic metres/min (fixed speed) or 6.8 to 51.8 cubic metres /min (frequency controlled). www.kaeser.com.au

T-Clamp Ultra Plus reduces vibration In order to maximise rigidity, stability and increase productivity, TaeguTec has launched the T-Clamp Ultra Plus, a reinforced type blade with screw clamping for additional strength in parting and grooving. In order to reduce vibration on the tool as well as the machine, the new T-Clamp Ultra Plus TGBR/L type blades are thicker than the current line. This makes it perfectly suited for machines equipped with main and sub-spindles, as well as in long overhang machining using multiple spindles. For additional rigidity, the blade used for the T-Clamp Ultra Plus also includes a screw clamp which enhances the existing

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blade’s performance between main and sub-spindles of turn-mill machines, while also reduces tool setting times and also machining downtime. The reinforced blade is an excellent tool for parting and grooving applications in any industry and on any material. www.taegutec.com

product news

Rota-Rack – Letting lathes keep working while you’re sleeping Too often, when the lights are turned off and employees leave, production comes to a standstill, but with a Rota-Rack, production is maintained right through the night. Royal Products has been designing and building precision metalworking accessories to help manufacturers squeeze every last drop of performance out of their machine tools.

Dimac Tooling is the sole agent for the patent-pending Royal Rota-Rack, a lean, cost-effective device that safely collects finished parts as they come off a CNC lathe, providing a competitive advantage to manufacturers by enabling their machine tools to run unattended for extended periods of time. “Equipping your bar-fed CNC lathes with a Rota-Rack enables you to continue making parts long after the last employee leaves for the night or weekend,” says Dimac Managing Director Paul Fowler. “Crucially, it eliminates part damage and can give you up to ten extra hours of unmanned production every single day.” One of the most important aspects of the Rota-Rack is that no machine interface is required, electrical or mechanical. The unit simply plugs into a 240V AC outlet and the operator sets the index functions with a simple touch-screen PLC. The unique rotary spiral gently guides finished parts to the centre as the turntable rotates, while a low-friction UHMW material covers all contact surfaces for superior part protection. The Royal RotaRack is especially good at protecting straight edges of milled parts – often a difficult task

with other collection methods.

“The Rota-Rack is reliable, doesn’t take sick days, and will keep your machines running long after your last employee has left for the night or weekend,” says Fowler. “And with very competitive pricing, the Royal Rota-Rack typically pays for itself within the first few months of use. Quite simply, if you barfeed, you need this product.”

Its universal design adapts to virtually all CNC lathes. The unit is height adjustable from 280mm to 1100mm and can be mounted to the left or right side of the machine. The degree of rotation is easily adjusted, enabling the Rota-Rack to handle short and long parts. The large-capacity 900mmdiameter turntable provides over 0.5 sqm of surface area, while the heavy-gauge steel construction enables the Rota-Rack to handle up to 300kg of parts.

Dimac has over 30 years’ experience in CNC machine tool accessories and are agents for many highly respected brands such as Kitagawa, Cooljet, Reven and Eron. The company also manufactures soft and hard jaws in their own CNC equipped machine shop. Fowler concludes: “Like all the products we sell, Rota-Rack is supported by the full back up and support of Dimac technical personnel to ensure the machine operates at optimum performance.”

Rota-Rack is manufactured in the USA by Royal Products. For more than 65 years,

www.dimac.com.au

Up-and-Down – Meeting demand for bi-directional bending For newly developed folding machines, the current trend is moving increasingly towards bi-directional bending. This can be seen through analysis of recent machinery sales for Schröder Maschinenbau, distributed in Australia by Complete Machine Tool Services. More than 75% of Schröder’s customers are ordering machines with a bi-directional bending option, such as the PowerBend Professional motorised folding machine. With its Up-and-Down function, the folding beam is able to move around the workpiece, being able to bend from below and from above. For counter-foldings, the sheet therefore does not need to be turned over. Besides time-saving aspects and increasing efficiency, customers cite several arguments for investing in folding machines with Upand-Down function. While in the heavy sheet metal segment, the clearly simplified handling of big and heavy sheets saves time and effort for the operator, in the thin sheet metal area the surface-friendly handling is emphasised.

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“We were quite surprised by the dynamics of the thin sheet metal area. Also here, today far more machines with an Up-and-Down folding beam are being ordered than without.”

“Our analysis shows that almost four out of five new machines with the option Upand-Down are being ordered,” explains Matthias Schröder, Director of Schröder Maschinenbau. “In the heavy sheet metal segment this is easily understandable. Here each turn-over of big and heavy sheets is a manpower- and time-consuming process that so far often required several employees. With the Up-and-Down technique one single person operates the machine.

Customer surveys from sales reveal many application-specific reasons for investments in Up-and-Down solutions. Workpieces with counter-folds on several sides – such as switch cabinets – can be bent out of one single sheet with the Up-and-Downtechnique. With traditional machines they would need to be put together. In the thin sheet metal segment each turnover of the sheet contains the risk of surface damage. Modern folding machines with an Up-and-Down technique are valued by customers as a much more gentle approach. www.cmts.net.au

product news

Tungaloy – No need for finishing cuts Tungaloy has announced a wiped insert for its DoFeed high-feed milling cutter series. DoFeed enjoys a strong reputation, especially in the mould-and-die industry, for its ability to increase customers’ productivity. The series features inserts with low cutting forces and close-pitch cutter bodies. Generally, high-feed cutting allows users to machine their workpiece materials efficiently, but the disadvantage of this method is that it leaves a rough surface finish. Consequently, subsequent processes, such as semi-finishing and finishing applications, are usually required afterwards. In this respect, DoFeed was not an exception. The wiper insert is a new addition to the DoFeed series that solves this problem. It completely changes the common knowledge of high-feed cutting, and upgrades the machining efficiency to an unprecedented level in the metalworking industry. The new insert has a wide wiper edge in addition to the conventional main cutting edge. This combination provides excellent surface finish while maintaining the ability to machine at high feed rate. As a result, the DoFeed wiper insert minimises or even eliminates subsequent operations and drastically improves efficiency in the overall machining process. The wiper insert also helps increase the machining efficiency in the subsequent semi-finishing and finishing applications themselves, depending on the required surface quality. With a rough surface finish, the depth of cut in the finishing operation varies greatly, and the tool life becomes unstable. With a good surface provided by the wiper insert, such variation in subsequent processes is reduced, resulting in stable tool life as well as a reduction in the number of tool changes and machine downtime.

The DoFeed wiper insert is an innovative tool that has overcome a major problem many customers faced with increased feed rate. The product provides outstanding surface finish in high-feed machining, which will ultimately help customers reduce their total manufacturing cost. Key features include: good surface finish with no reduction in feed rate; highly efficient machining due to elimination of semi-finishing or finishing applications and double-sided insert with two corners. www.tungaloy.com.au

CNC Software unveils Mastercam X8 CNC Software has announced the release of Mastercam X8, a new suite of programming tools focused on delivering speed, automation, and efficiency for all machining jobs. Mastercam is Windows-based CAD/CAM software for twothrough five-axis routing, milling and turning, two- and four-axis wire EDM, 2D and 3D design, surface and solid modelling, artistic relief cutting, and Swiss machining. Mastercam X8 introduces new Solids features, user interface enhancements, usability/workflow improvements, and more. Dynamic Motion is a new and exciting approach to creating toolpaths. Dynamic Motion follows a proprietary and sophisticated set of rules that take into consideration a broad data set. To create the most efficient cutting motion possible, dynamic toolpaths calculate not only the area where metal will be removed; they also take into account the changing condition of the material throughout various stages of machining. The Solids interface and workflow has been completely redone for Mastercam X8, and now makes constructing and editing solids easier and more intuitive than it’s ever been. Every existing Solids function has been updated to reflect this new workflow. Along with the new interface, there are new features such as Live Preview and Hands-on Drag Controls, while Direct Editing has been improved to make the process of model preparation easier. Mastercam X8 delivers improved usability and the ability to customise the way you work. Panels can now be automatically hidden, docked to either side of the window, or undocked and placed outside Mastercam. The graphics display has been upgraded to provide cleaner aesthetics, and clearer, more responsive selection, while delivering a much improved overall look and feel. In addition, new icons provide a consistent colour palette that is modern, clean and colour-blind friendly.

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Other powerful tools in Mastercam X8 include: • 2D high-speed toolpaths have been greatly improved. • Mill-Turn includes the ability to define and select reference positions for the approach and retract moves in operations. • Multi-axis Roughing is a new strategy, which allows for the easy creation of multi-axis pocketing toolpaths to rough out pockets based on a floor or ceiling shape. • Lathe toolpaths can now be included in stock model operations, which can be used for subsequent milling operations. • The new Contour Roughing toolpath is designed to take passes parallel to chained geometry. www.mastercam.com

Product news

Mazak introduces new hybrid multi-tasking technology Mazak Corporation has unveiled the new Integrex i-400AM, a fusion of additive manufacturing technology and Mazak’s most advanced multi-tasking capabilities. The Integrex i-400AM is designed to significantly reduce part cycle times while providing high-efficiency Done-In-One processing. As a turnkey system, the machine offers manufacturers a new innovative alternative to conventional processing in terms of part design and machining. The technology is especially well suited for small lot production of very difficult-to-cut materials, such as those used in the aerospace, energy and medical industries. With the additive capability, manufacturers can easily generate/clad near-net-shape component features then quickly complete them with high-precision finish machining operations – as well as laser mark parts if needed. In operation, the Integrex i-400AM melts metal powder using fibre laser heat. Cladding heads, or additive manufacturing nozzles, apply the molten material layer by layer, each of which solidifies as the desired shape grows. Moreover, the system can join different types of metals to one another, a capability beneficial in the efficient repair of existing worn or damaged components, such as aerospace turbine blades. Cladding heads are stored in the Integrex i-400AM’s tool magazine, and the standard automatic tool changer loads them into the machine’s milling turret. Mazak offers two types of cladding heads – high speed or high accuracy. Users select the appropriate head based on the intended process and the particular metal powder to be used.

On the multi-tasking machine side, the Integrex i-400AM provides full five-axis capability to easily process prismatic parts from solid billets or castings (chucked or bar fed), round parts, highly contoured parts and now those with features built using additive technology. The machine provides -30/+210 degree B-axis movement in its milling spindle, full C-axis contouring with its turning spindle and an NC tailstock that is fully programmable. The Integrex i-400AM (additive manufacturing) represents a highly innovative alternative to conventional processing in terms of part design and machining. www.johnhart.com.au

SigmaTEK releases SigmaNEST Version 10.2 SigmaTEK Systems has announced the latest release of its industry-leading SigmaNEST software. Powered by an advanced CAD/CAM nesting engine, SigmaNEST drives cutting and punching machines accelerating cutting cycles while slashing material waste. The program’s flexibility allows fabricators to drive multiple machines with a single software solution regardless of type or brand. SigmaNEST Version 10.2 contains a number of new features and enhancements making cutting machine programming even more effective and easy. Among the notable new features are a split window, allowing different areas of the work-space to be viewed simultaneously. Users may also manually nest parts across the split windows and onto other sheets. This provides quick nesting of parts onto multiple sheets without having to select the layout from the list. Additional enhancements to SigmaNEST Version 10.2 include: • Laser destruct. • Centre of gravity tabbing. • Conditional tabbing for drop doors. • Special lead-ins with manual tabs. • Quick search in parts, sheets, and work order list. • Horizontal line cropping. • Punching enhancements. “SigmaNEST version 10.2 offers a range of new features benefitting novice and advanced users alike,” says SigmaTEK Director of Product Management, James Lindsey. “While the complete list of enhancements is extensive, the common thread is usability.

“As cutting machines continue to offer more advanced features, it’s important for software to keep pace. This latest release optimises machine performance by providing the industry’s most sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, programming software.” SigmaTEK has also announced the opening of a new office in Melbourne, the company’s second office in Australia. Under the direction of Regional Sales Manager Neill Kapp the Melbourne office will serve fabricating companies throughout the southern regions of the country. Kapp is joined in the office by Applications Engineer Marcus Langson. Northern Australia and Indonesia will continue to be served by Sales Manager John Salsbury out of SigmaTEK’s Queensland office. www.sigmanest.com AMT March 2015

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Motorsport & Automotive

Brad Jones Racing

Tooled success for

Brad Jones Racing (BJR) has one of the strongest pedigrees in Australian motorsport, and its success begins in the workshop. The teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cars are manufactured to the highest levels of quality and precision, employing the very best in manufacturing technology.

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Motorsport & Automotive

Run by brothers Brad and Kim Jones, BJR has won ten national titles in five different categories in over 20 years of professional motorsport. Highlights include winning championships in Auscar (four times) and Nascar (once), before spending five years as the official Audi Australia factory team, during which time it won the driver’s championship and manufacturers crown twice. In 2001 BJR entered the world of V8 Supercars, and since then it has been building its business, and claiming countless race wins, pole positions and podium positions along the way. Recent years have seen the best results yet for the team, and the momentum continues to grow. V8 Supercar racing is big business, where the hunt is always on for the competitive edge and where there are no margins for error. Race weekends are where the cars are pushed to the absolute limits, with every component of the cars being tested and put through their paces to ensure they’ve got what it takes to get across the finish line. The work behind the scenes to get the race cars to this elite level is more than anyone on the outside could ever imagine. BJR runs Team BOC, Freightliner Racing and GB Galvanizing Racing, plus three Dunlop Series development cars. Its Albury workshop is an impressively large production facility, manufacturing more 500 components and pieces of equipment for its racecars. To achieve this, the team utilises the latest, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, and maintains close relationships with its technology suppliers.

One such supplier is Iscar Australia, which provides the tooling it needs to produce the vital components for cars that compete in the V8 Supercar Championship. BJR has had a strong relationship with Iscar for over five years now. Iscar Australia is a subsidiary of the IMC Group, owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Iscar’s success as a market leader continues as a result of its culture of innovation and its desire to provide customers with the very latest, most efficient metal-cutting technology. Iscar is a full-line manufacturer, supplier and engineering consultant, providing some of the world’s finest standard and specially tailored cutting tools covering the full scope of metalworking applications. It supports a number of different metal-cutting industries including the automotive, aerospace, medical and heavy industries. Iscar provides much of the tooling and equipment that BJR needs to machine parts. The team can start with a simple piece of aluminium or steel, and the Iscar tooling is the fundamental product used to cut and shape the material to make the exact components that they need. Producing the parts is an extensive process, especially when the team decides to manufacture and test a new component – they don’t simply create themselves and become race ready. So how do the BJR team bring components to life? Continued next page

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Motorsport & Automotive

From previous page

From concept to completion The first step in the process is concept, the inception of an idea, answering a series of basic questions. What is the goal? What does it need to achieve? What material should we use? Will it work? Then the design phase is started, and all the components need to fit together perfectly. Size, weight, durability, functionality and capability all come into account. Specialised software is used to help the idea to take shape, in detailed models and drawings. Manufacturing is the next step, and marks the point when it must be decided which are the right Iscar tools to use to actually produce the component. For example, when a block of steel is used there may be over 70% of it that is cut away into swarf to leave the finished product; it just depends on the component that is being manufactured. In addition, certain components may need welding before being put on the car for testing. Each item will get tested and checked by the race team. Feedback will be given to the engineering & production team, and if the item ticks all the required boxes, it is race-ready and that component will be produced in greater numbers. If the component is not approved, the team goes back to the drawing board to make further improvements. It is a time-consuming process, and a necessary one; the standards the team require are at the highest level, leaving no room for error, no option for components to be at only 99% of their potential. BJR’s Production Manager David Moris-Fontes oversees the building and repair of products. He says: “We use Iscar tools in our CNC machining centres to make a range of billet products and perform a lot of post-machining and repairs to existing components. Anything manufactured from steel, aluminium, plastic, stainless, nylon; there is a whole list of parts and materials that we use.”

Quality, accuracy, efficiency “I know how important it is to use quality tooling,” he adds. “There are three things we need in terms of outcome for the products and parts we manufacture and that is quality, accuracy and efficiency. I always talk about accuracy of the component; it is vital for the consistency and repeatability. At the end of it, it comes down to quality control. If you were to use poor quality products you are not efficient and you are not going to get the product that you need or want.”

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Having in-house facilities to produce this equipment means BJR has full control over its production and quality control. This saves on purchasing all its components and allows the team to upgrade components as needed to keep up with the latest technology, which is constantly evolving at a swift pace. The machinery being produced today is more advanced and more cost effective than ever before. Time is another factor in the production process, and trying to increase the speed in machining cycle time, delivering fast metal removal rates while still maintaining the quality, has always been a focus for Iscar. If it can get its clients a quicker output to help increase their productivity, they know that it also helps reduce downtime in other areas of the business. In terms of what products the team utilises from the Iscar range, MorisFontes says: “We use a product from each of their lines, everything from turning, threading, milling, boring and more. There are so many multi-functional tools.” The workshop has three CNC machining centres and two manual machines, all running Iscar tooling. These machines run full-time when the workshop is open, from a minimum of eight hours to a peak of 18 hours per day, depending on the work requirements. There is no such thing as a quiet period in the V8 Supercars season, only – as Moris-Fontes puts it – varying levels of “lots of work”. With the CNC machines’ capabilities to remain running all the time, shift work is called on at certain points, so the team can keep running the workshop in order to continually produce components. There really is no downtime.

Motorsport & Automotive

Production of a component can take as little as one minute for a small turned part, while other more complex, multi-axis machined items can take over a week. Some components even require post-machining after a fabrication process to ensure the component remains accurate following the distortion that can occur as a result of the welding process.

A two-way partnership “We occasionally get tools given to us to test,” says Moris-Fontes. “So that is one way that we can support Iscar in return. We are able to test new products and give them feedback.” When Iscar develops new products they get feedback from a number of different people from the varied industries they provide tooling for. This means the products get tested on a number of levels and in a variety of settings. With the feedback they receive, they have a diverse array of opinions and can better gauge the product’s potential. “This is a great way of doing business as then, when we receive a new tool, we can be assured it is of a high standard and has the life expectancy you need in a product,” Moris-Fontes adds. “On the other hand, if I want to know more details about a tool that is listed on their website, there are a number of different contacts within Iscar that I can call on and speak to. The website also lists details of what the tools can do and what they are used for. Also if I have another idea about what I could use that tool for, they will be able to tell me whether or not I could use it. We’ve always got that support from them, it’s invaluable.”

Using the tools and database of information collaboratively is a very important part of the process. With multiple tools having a multitude of capabilities, knowing exactly what each tool is capable of is really beneficial to doing the work required. If the information regarding the tools is used correctly it will increase the longevity of the tools. This means the team is able to get the most out of the tools each time it uses them. The support is there and BJR takes full advantage of this. The team can view and order all its products online at any time; even if it’s on the road it has access to product information wherever it may be, either through the website, or a variety of Iscar apps. “It’s all about the quality,” Moris-Fontes concludes. “If we use quality tools from the outset to make our parts, it ensures we get the quality outcome that we need. It’s one piece of the puzzle that helps us achieve our goal as a race team, which is, in order of priority; safety, reliability and performance.” www.bradjonesracing.com.au www.iscar.com.au

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Motorsport & Automotive

Harrop – Six decades of engineering excellence Celebrating its 60th year in Australian manufacturing, Harrop Engineering has grown with the industry and is now entering into a new era of precision excellence. Founded by Len Harrop in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick in 1955, Harrop Engineering was a family business originating in specialist general engineering for the textile and general trucking/ haulage industries. As the business grew, Len and Elsa Harrop’s son Ron joined after completing his boilermaker apprenticeship. Ron had a strong interest in modifying cars and motorsports, and this passion, combined with Len’s technical knowledge, evolved into a business venture for Harrop, opening the company to the world of automotive performance parts. It was on this foundation that Harrop is built. The production of performance parts continued to gain momentum through Ron’s car racing, with the iconic Harrop Howler, through to touring cars with the Holden Dealer Team (HDT), and then engineering Holden Racing Team Commodores. Harrop had enormous on-track success, accumulating a rich history of decisive roles in the design of precision performance products for racing teams over the past 30 years. In 2008, Harrop was acquired by Adrad Group, a family-owned conglomerate of companies from Adelaide. Established in 1985, Adrad is primarily a specialist heat exchange business, which manufactures and markets through various entities including the Natrad franchise. In addition to servicing the automotive industry, Adrad is a major supplier to the trucking and mining industries through the Air Radiators entities. Today Harrop remains focused on precision engineering and manufacturing, for both trade and consumer. Its capabilities rest in its manufacturing abilities, including aluminium castings, machining and fabrication. The company has traditionally provided businessto-business engineering services and components, either for manufacturers direct or specialist technology providers. The business offers several core product groups – supercharging and induction, braking, driveline and cooling – over several different market segments, alongside its industrial manufacturing capabilities. Harrop continues to maintain its family connections in this new era with Len’s grandson Tim Harrop performing a pivotal role as Operations Manager. Currently, Harrop is a Tier One supplier for OEMs such as Lotus and Ford, providing supercharger systems for their performance models. Harrop’s further capabilities as a Tier Two supplier has enabled it to become a total one-stop-shop solution, with aftermarket products sold through various channels, from performance workshops to warehouse distributors, trade customers and even retail markets. Under the leadership and direction of General Manager Heath Moore, Harrop has identified further opportunities and pursues them with vigour. One key area of expansion, in response to technological advancements within the global aftermarket sphere, has led to Harrop’s development of a world-first supercharger kit for the BMW M3, using Eaton VS technology.

“The M3 has consistently been a popular global performance platform, with the V8 version very popular in the USA,” explains Moore. “The US enthusiast has the tendency to modify and upgrade the Euro platforms because of their relative affordability in the US market, much like an SS Commodore in Australia.” Another significant development has been the move into the fourwheel drive market. Previously Harrop was primarily focused on street and race-car products, including Holden V8, but as the market evolved Moore identified a new opportunity for the company to use its engineering capabilities. Leveraging its partnership with Eaton, Harrop utilises Eaton technology with its quality design and manufacturing capabilities to produce a comprehensive range of ELocker differentials. An electromagnet-operated traction device, it is inherently more reliable than air-based differentials – technologically advanced yet simple in its operation. At its premises in Preston, Vic, the company employs 55 full-time staff, in one state-of-the-art resourcing and infrastructure centre, including the Harrop Casting Technologies facility. The centre houses over 25 Mazak precision machining centres, numerous manual machines, the aluminium foundry, and a comprehensive array of auxiliary equipment. Harrop’s ability to offer quality control and reliability of supply without resorting to the offshore outsourcing that has become prevalent in the industry, has been a major advancement for Harrop domestically as well as a decisive step for the future. Offering an all-inclusive solution, Harrop’s core competencies also include 3D CAD modelling and analysis, tooling design and production, prototyping, CNC machining,

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aluminium casting, assembly and quality assurance systems speaks volumes to Harrop’s capabilities. The vertical integration provided by the foundry coupled, with it engineering design capabilities, is the foundation for Harrop’s longevity. The company prides itself on being solutions-focused, both in its own proprietary performance products, and in customer programs ranging from rail to defence. “We are proud of our customer programs, which include engine component supply to Kenworth trucks as original equipment and braking and driveline components for Advance Braking Technology Limited,” says Moore. Today, Harrop is a respected provider of design, manufacturing and engineering solutions. Building on 60 years’ experience, the company fosters talent and creativity to create opportunities and solutions across the precision and automotive engineering industries. www.harrop.com.au

CME retains GM supplier excellence award Composite Materials Engineering (CME) has been awarded the 2014 Supplier Quality Excellence Award by General Motors in Australia. This is the second consecutive year that CME, based in Bayswater, Vic, has received the award, in recognition of its ongoing commitment to providing high quality, lightweight composite components to the automotive industry. The Quality Excellence awards are determined by Metric Selection Criteria, where Tier 1 suppliers and their performance is measured against a table of 13 key requirements. At the same time, CME has expanded production of both materials and products to become Australia’s largest supplier of composite moulded products. It has been a long, gradual process, requiring multi-million dollar investment in new technologies and R&D with international collaborators, to develop and introduce composite components for Ford and GM Holden. “Few people, even in the industry, realise how much composites are in Australian cars today,” says CME Managing Director Brian Hughes. “We have had to compete on a commercial and technical basis, as well as demonstrate we can meet the high volume and other critical production-line requirements.” CME uses Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) and its own long glassfibre propylene to press and punch out its automotive products. According to Hughes, this technology is common across the industry globally due to the weight, cost and design advantages it offers. Hughes continually monitors developments in carbon-fibre technology, but says the cost differential remains a big barrier to adoption for the mainstream automotive markets. “CME has relationships through Europe and Asia where we collaborate in composite technology transfer and bring in technology that is working in the auto sector,” he adds. CME’s drive to continually identify opportunities for new products and markets and invest in development of new technologies led to the development of the Commodore’s spare wheel tub, an innovation that secured the company’s position as GM’s global expert. Hughes estimates the technology required an investment in the order of $8m, including sending CME chemists and engineers to Europe. “We were able to take 5kg out of the current Commodore with our composite spare wheel tub,” he explains. “That was an enormous weight saving.” The technology was quickly adopted by GM globally. Similarly, the CME composite body panel on the HSV took 6kg off that vehicle range. Other composite components in today’s Australian-made

GM Holden fleet include lightweight tailgates on the Holden Utes, underbody aerodynamic shields, noise insulators, jack-boxes that double as structural cross-beams, structural seating components and pocket trims. CME had previously done a lot of work with Ford but as its interest in product development in Australia, dropped the company turned its attention to GM, says Hughes. He is not daunted by the GMH closure announcement. “We actually see good opportunities in the auto sector ongoing, but not in the same form as today,” says Hughes. Over the past decade CME has diversified its business to include the design and manufacture of a large range of products used in industries such as building and construction, food handling, electrical, and transport and logistics – with a focus on weight reduction and material substitution. Now CME is anticipating a busy year ahead with the launch of new products into the building industry and logistics industry, as well as continuing the growth of their business into the food handling industry. www.composite.com.au

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Motorsport & Automotive

Monash win Formula SAE-A title for sixth year running The Monash Motorsport team has won the championship title in the 2014 Formula SAE-A student engineering competition for the sixth consecutive year. The Formula SAE-A competition has been held annually in Melbourne since 2000. The Formula program originated in the US in 1978, and has grown into an international program with events held each year in the UK, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Germany, USA, Austria, Hungary and Australia. It is the largest student engineering competition in the world, with approximately 400 university teams competing globally each year.

Monash University Motorsport won the Formula SAE-A student engineering competition for the sixth successive year.

The 2014 Formula SAE-A competition was held on the 11-14 December at Calder Park Raceway, in Melbourne. A total of 26 teams registered to compete, including seven international teams from Japan, New Zealand, India, South Korea and Poland. Monash Motorsport, from Monash University in Melbourne, achieved a stunning first place across six of the eight design and performance events, achieving a total score of 915.5 from a possible 1000. This was its second-highest score since joining the competition at its inception in 2000. Edith Cowan University (ECU) Racing placed second with 881 points, only 34.5 points behind the leader. Third place was awarded to The University of Auckland with 871 points, narrowly trailing ECU Racing by ten points. RMIT University Electric earned the championship title for the Electric Vehicle category and achieved seventh place overall with 696.5 points. “Congratulations to Monash University for their sixth year as champions of the Formula SAE-A competition,” said SAE-A President Adrian Feeney. “Also to RMIT Electric, the champions of the Electric Vehicle (EV) category. The SAE-A would like to thank to the Formula SAE-A consortium members, the 130-plus volunteers and judges, Calder Park Raceway and all the 500-plus students for their shear hard work at making this 2014 Formula SAE-A a successful event that prepares students for industry.”

Feeney is a great supporter of the student competition. “The Formula SAE-A is a training ground for young, upcoming engineers to learn the basics of engineering in a real-world application, taking them out of a classroom and placing them in a team and goal driven environment. What they learn can be applied in any industry, including automotive, aerospace, business, medical, mining or rail.”

Monash makes it six in a row Monash Motorsport won the championship with a total of 915.5 points. The team also collected six out of a possible eight first place trophies, for Presentation, Design, Skid Pan, Auto-Cross, Endurance and Efficiency events. Monash was awarded the inaugural Professor Harry Watson Efficient Performance Award, presented to the team with the best combined results from the endurance and acceleration events. Professor Watson was instrumental in bringing Formula to Australia in 2000. Dr Scott Wordley, Faculty Advisor for Monash Motorsport, said: “The team

Edith Cowan University delivered a strong performance to secure second place.

at Monash did an excellent job in 2014, producing their best car to date.” Monash’s design, the M14, is powered by a KTM 450 SX-F that has been turbocharged for increased power and torque. The suspension utilises 10-inch wheels, direct-acting shock absorbers and outboard suspension components utilising topology optimisation and 3D-printed titanium components from Lab 22 at CSIRO. A large aerodynamics package was again a prominent part of the Monash vehicle, incorporating for the first time a pneumatically activated Drag Reduction System. Wordley commented on the strength of the competitors: “The level of the competition at the 2014 Formula SAE-A has continued to step up, with Edith Cowan University, the University of Auckland and the University of Melbourne in the hunt for the championship title all weekend; it was a tight finish in the end. “The strength of the Monash team is in its knowledge retention and information management. It’s an engineering competition but it’s also a management competition, and the Monash guys have been working very hard on getting the best management structures they can in place. We’re trying to be the best team in the world at doing that.” Failing to complete the Endurance event in the German Formula competition earlier this year, the Monash team felt they had a lot to prove in the Australasian competition. Looking ahead to the 2015 competition, Wordley stated that next year “will be a complete clean-sheet redesign for the Monash vehicle to suit the major rule changes”.

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Motorsport & Automotive last three years of competition they hadn’t finished an Endurance event. The aim for 2014 was to implement systematic testing and development processes to maximise reliability.”

RMIT Electric retained the Electric Vehicle Champion title and placed seventh overall.

The University of Auckland achieved second place in the Efficiency event, the highest-placed combustion vehicle in the competition. The team had implemented a weight reduction program. “The car weighed in at 162kg (without driver),” said Mallinson. “Our first cars were 220kg; achieving 170kg seemed like a dream, so to weigh in at 162 was a remarkable achievement.”

RMIT – Electric champion The University of Auckland’s third-place position proved that cars with a smaller engine are still highly competitive.

Edith Cowan University – consistent improvement Achieving its second podium finish in its last two appearances, ECU Racing were runners-up to Monash, scoring 881 points, 34.5 points behind the leader. In addition, ECU Racing achieved a podium finish in five out of a possible eight individual events, including 1st in Acceleration. Dr Kevin Hayward, Faculty Advisor at ECU, stated: “We are incredibly happy with how the team performed this year and we will are looking forward to coming back stronger next year.” In 2010 the ECU Racing team chose to move from a space-frame chassis to a monocoque chassis using a cut-and-fold technique with panels composed of carbonfibre skins and an aluminium honeycomb core. This led to a reduction in weight and improved vehicle performance, with the team finishing fifth overall in that year. Since then, ECU Racing has continued to develop its car, to achieve third in 2011 and second in 2012.

gearbox and a gear-driven final drive, a high downforce aerodynamic package, singlepiece wheel/hubs and a full monocoque chassis. “It was a little disappointing coming away from the competition having come so close to winning. We were further behind Monash in points at the UK event, but we closed that gap in Formula SAE-A,” said Dr Hayward. “We’re planning for a win in 2015.”

University of Auckland – best result yet The University of Auckland team achieved its best ever result in the Formula SAE-A since its first appearance in 2004. The team achieved third place with 870.6 points, in addition to five podium placings in eight individual events, including Presentation, Acceleration and Efficiency.

“The team has consistently improved results over each year of the competition,” said Dr Hayward. “We planned for over 800 points, we did that - and then some.”

This year’s vehicle, the ‘M014,’ is the 11th car the Auckland team has produced and is the product of 37 students’ hard work and determination. The vehicle has an aluminium and nomex honeycomb monocoque structure and is powered by a Yamaha WR450 engine. Gordon Mallinson, a Faculty Advisor at the University of Auckland, was very impressed with the team’s result.

ECU competed in the Formula Student competition in the UK earlier last year, gaining valuable direct feedback about the car; the team could make significant improvements to the vehicle’s performance in the lead-up to the Formula SAE-A. Key features of ECU’s 2014 car include a custom 600cc in-line fourcylinder engine with an integrated two-speed

“One word: fantastic,” Mallinson said. “The team was extremely professional and well prepared in their approach to the 2014 competition. They developed some excellent strategies to produce a product that performs very well, as demonstrated at this year’s competition. “The main challenge for the team was reliability; in the

RMIT Electric Racing was the Electric Vehicle Champion, scoring 696.5 points and placing seventh in the overall Formula SAE-A standings. Grahame Holmes, Faculty Advisor for RMIT Electric was very proud of the team’s result and its ability to reach its goals. “They had a particular set of parameters to meet in 2014, which was to build and integrate a whole new powertrain and to improve on last year’s tenth place,” said Holmes. “To their credit they met all of their goals, they built a car that was completely reliable and finished well within the top ten.” Starting from seven students in 2008, the RMIT Electric Racing team now consists of more than 50 dedicated students. Holmes praised the team members for demonstrating great initiative and passion in putting in the extra time and commitment required for the project. “Michael Butler, the team leader, did a fantastic job of motivating and keeping the team together,” he added. “The team has a great rapport, they get on very well with each other and are learning and growing from year to year.” RMIT Electric Racing was the first team to develop an electric vehicle for the Formula SAE-A competition in 2008. A new design from the ground up in 2014 sees the most significant development in the team’s history. The completely new electric powertrain has a single, permanent-magnet AC motor paired with a limited-slip differential to maximise lateral acceleration. The 2014 vehicle has significantly increased power and accumulator capacity compared with previous years, with only a small increase in weight. It also incorporates a customdesigned control board and battery management system. “The [electric] system from last year was power-limited and it wasn’t possible to get any more out of it, so the target for 2014 was to go with a system with four times the amount of power,” said Holmes. “This year we got the cars new powertrain up and running; next year we want to realise its full potential.” www.sae-a.com.au AMT March 2015

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Australian automotive aftermarket going strong The impending closure of Ford, Holden and Toyota’s factories has been seen as the death knell of Australian automotive manufacturing. However, as Ray Keefe, Managing Director of Successful Endeavours argues, there is still a thriving industry in this country in the aftermarket sector. Did you know that the car assemblers aren’t the only automotive manufacturers in Australia? With the automotive industry effectively being kicked out of Australia, there has been a lot of mixed reporting on whether this was a good move or not. But what has been overlooked by most is what will be left. Up front, I need to declare an interest in this debate. I run a company that designs electronics-based products that are intended to be manufactured in Australia. Our clients are local manufacturers. I have a strong interest in manufacturing remaining alive and well in Australia. This article is written from the premise that making stuff here is good, and that we should keep doing it. Manufacturing has many benefits, including creating the fundamental value that the service industries need to leverage off, sharing wealth through the community more evenly than any other industry, creating new industries, and supporting the knowledge economy. Manufacturing creates more problems that need solving than any other industry, and is a primary driver for both public and privately funded research. Successful Endeavours develops products across a wide range of industries, including the automotive and transport industries. Some of the products we have designed for the automotive industry include specialpurpose products for vehicle management systems and aftermarket electronic control units (ECUs), to make adding systems to recreational vehicles easier and to give users control of those systems. The list of the areas where we are involved in product development for automotive and transportation encompasses:

• Driver identification and authorisation systems.

An automotivegrade active RFID reader

• Vehicle-monitoring and remote telemetry. • Water-fill and waste disposal metering. • Lighting and accessories control. • Tyre-pressure monitoring. • High-precision GPS tracking. • Container-handling systems. • Shock and impact detection. • Stability control. • Inverters and battery chargers.

of 2017 will be the end of it entirely. However, if you look beyond that, there are some very encouraging statistics:

• Active RFID-based proximity alert systems.

• Australia is the world’s 13th largest economy.

• Electric bikes.

• Our GDP growth is above the rest of the developed world and predicted to stay that way.

• Vehicle-mounted electric winches.

Some of these cover transportation of goods and are not in automotive on their own, but have components of the system that are fitted to passenger-class vehicles. And there are plenty of local aftermarket manufacturers that make products in Australia and supply both local and international markets. Australia is of course still making trucks, recreation vehicles, caravans and body fitout systems to tailor production vehicles to specialist applications. There are over 20,000 caravans a year sold in Australia, and more than 80% of these are made right here, in this country. Trailers and caravans are now a $2bn industry in Australia, according to an IBISWorld report published in 2014. So I remain upbeat about the opportunities that still remain. The reporting we get from the regular news services would make you believe that manufacturing in Australia is almost dead and that the car companies leaving our shores between now and the end

• Government debt percentage of GDP is amongst the lowest in the world. • Manufacturing remains part of the mix as one of the top six industry sectors. • Australia is a highly diversified economy and is therefore resilient to variations in any one sector. We are seeing strong growth in enquiries and new projects from the automotive aftermarket sector. Exactly the same skillset needed to supply the car assemblers is required for this market, so the transition from supplying to the OEM car assemblers to supplying aftermarket items is not a difficult transition to make. We expect this trend to continue as suppliers for the car assemblers reposition themselves to use their existing capabilities and create new economic opportunities. www.successful.com.au

Australian safety: forward by looking behind Engineers at Bosch Australia in Melbourne have developed a new reverse auto-braking system designed to prevent driveway accidents and deaths. On average seven children under the age of 15 are killed every year in Australia and 60 are seriously injured after being run over by reversing vehicles. The new technology developed by Bosch Australia, Back Over Avoidance (BOA), aims to mitigate and prevent rearward drivewayassociated accidents using sensing technologies. The system works at low speeds and actively brakes the vehicle

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if an object is detected in a reversing situation. With funding secured through the Australian Government’s Automotive New Markets Initiative (ANMP), Bosch Australia is quickly developing competencies in radar and video through the development of the BOA concept. The project kicked off in January 2013, with the aim to have a robust and reliable system that can be offered

to vehicle manufacturers and help to reduce the incidence of driveway accidents. Bosch Australia President Gavin Smith believes BOA is “a huge step forward in preventing driveway fatalities and injuries”. “The Back Over Avoidance system has been a major project over the last 18 months for the Bosch Australia Automotive safety team,” said Smith. “We are extremely proud of this innovation.” www.bosch.com.au

Motorsport & Automotive

Shifting Gear – Design, innovation and the Australian car From steam-powered ‘horseless carriages’ and the classic Aussie ute to muscle cars, racy V8s and dazzling concept vehicles, Australia has a rich legacy of innovative car design. In a first for an Australian art gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria will celebrate this history with Shifting Gear: Design, Innovation and the Australian Car. Shifting Gear will display 23 of Australia’s most iconic vehicles alongside ephemera including photographs, models, sketches, illustrations and archival materials, exploring this country’s important and proud history of automobile design and engineering. The exhibition will also look to the future of the Australian automobile industry and its shift from manufacturing to being a global contributor through specialist design knowledge. “Shifting Gear will be the first major exhibition of Australian car design,” says Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV. “As part of the NGV’s commitment to showcasing design, this exhibition will uncover how the modern automobile is far more than simply a means of transport; it is a sophisticated design object that reflects contemporary aesthetics and social values.” Shifting Gear will present the stories behind some of the great Australian vehicles and the designers who developed them. Many iconic Australian designs will be presented, including the Ford coupe utility, or ‘ute’. Lewis Bandt designed the great Aussie ute in 1934, following a request from a Victorian farmer’s wife for a vehicle suitable for attending church on Sunday and carrying livestock around the farm on Monday. The ute was an immediate success, copied by carmakers in Australia and overseas. Exceptionally rare concept vehicles, never put into production, will also be exhibited, including the futuristic Holden Hurricane (1969), the Holden Efijy (2005), and the Brian Tanti-designed FR-1, a 21st century hot-rod produced by the AutoHorizon Foundation to showcase the future of motoring in Australia. The development of the high-performance production car is also an important part of the story of Australian car design and engineering. From the late 1960s until the early 1970s Australia produced some of the world’s fastest production vehicles, such as the Chrysler Valiant Charger E49 (the fastest accelerating car in the world at the time of its release in 1971), Holden Monaro and Holden Torana. Shifting Gear: Design, Innovation and the Australian Car will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square from 6 March to 12 July. ngv.vic.gov.au

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One on one

Following state elections last November, The Hon Lily D’Ambrosio MP was appointed Minister for Industry and Minister for Energy and Resources. She spoke with Shane Infanti. AMT: Let’s start with your professional background and how you came to your current role. Lily D’Ambrosio: Well, I’ve worked in a number of different workplaces over the years. I went to Melbourne University, where I did an Arts degree. I then worked in the union movement. I represented OHS needs through that work, but also a lot of employees in the manufacturing sector. Then I did some political work, party-political work for a number of years, and then electorate-office work. I did a lot of community engagement and helped a number of community members, organisations and individuals in terms of their particular needs and relationship with the government services and council services. And then I was elected into parliament in 2002. I served as a Minister in the last year of the previous Labour government – there was a vacancy in Community Development, and I had the opportunity to serve. I was very thankful for that, and I’m certainly thankful that there is another opportunity here now, and very pleased to have both Energy and Resources, and Industry. They are very important portfolios in terms of the economic development of the state, and the potential for job opportunities too. AMT: So talk us through the new government’s plans for manufacturing in Victoria. LD: Well, manufacturing has been and remains a very significant part of Victoria’s economy, an important contributor of jobs, and a major contributor in terms of investment opportunities to the Victorian economy. But it’s changing, we know it’s changing, so we’re very clear from the Victorian government perspective that we need to identify – and have identified – the industries that have the greatest potential for growth, in terms of jobs, but also economic benefits for the state of Victoria. If you have a look at the agenda that we went to the state election with, it is very much squarely based on growing jobs and creating employment opportunities through four state initiatives. One of those is the Back to Work Act, which was the first piece of legislation this Government introduced into the Victorian Parliament, such is the importance of the job ahead of us and the commitment we’ve made to creating 100,000 jobs. The Back to Work Act will see $100m invested to give payroll tax relief to businesses in Victoria that are willing to take on people who’ve been long-term unemployed, young people who are finding it hard to get a job, or retrenched employees. It’s got a very clear, focused agenda to give immediate relief and support for those businesses to grow, but also for people who are on the cusp of losing work, or have been in long-term unemployment, or young people – to get them into work and give them the opportunity to actually make a living and give something back to the community. There are three other important initiatives. One that I am responsible for in particular is the Future Industries Fund. That is $200m in grants for six key growth industries for Victoria.

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We believe that, when that money is strategically invested, those businesses will produce improvements in the development of those industries and the prospects for ongoing employment. Another element is the Premier’s own Industry Investment Panel, which is a $500m panel that will look at strategic projects across the state that can get our infrastructure moving and get the investment and jobs growth that we need. The Premier will be driving that. We also have a $200m fund for regional jobs, and of course regional Victoria is so important to the success of this state in terms of our economy and job opportunities. We believe we’ve got a very robust offering and a plan to get the jobs that we say we’re going to create actually created. Of course the Future Industries Fund is the one where I’ve been working very closely with in those six key industries to ensure that we maximise the value of that investment from the state, assisting or facilitating the growth of those industries, sustaining their businesses, and ensuring that the jobs are there. AMT: And those key industries have been identified? LD: Yes. They are Defence and Transport, Food and Fibre, New Energy Technologies, Professional Services, International Education, and Medical and Pharmaceuticals. They are areas that we believe clearly have the potential for growth, and it makes sense for us to work with those industries and develop them so that we can have Victoria better placed as an economic hub for the country, and as an important employer. And manufacturing is an important element of that. AMT: Transport and Defence would seem to be the logical one for a lot of those companies in automotive supply chains to transition into. LD: Absolutely! And complementing that is an additional commitment to the Geelong Industry & Innovation Fund to assist with that transition, our commitment for Melbourne’s north in terms of the Industry & Innovation Fund, and importantly the Geelong Defence Procurement office, which we’re making progress on having established as soon as possible. They’re the hallmarks of our government’s commitment to manufacturing, to industry more broadly, and to high-level, highskilled jobs. There are new ways of doing things, new types of manufacturing, new types of technologies that are out there that we need to be alive to, to ensure that Victoria is well placed to take the opportunities where they present themselves, but also help to facilitate and create those opportunities at the same time. AMT: That’s interesting – a key interest for AMTIL is investment in innovation and technology, and seeing companies investing in technology that makes things smarter and better. LD: Exactly. And that’s where Australian industry needs to spend more effort on and focus, and I know that many of the businesses have done exactly that. But we’re facing a real crisis in terms of jobs. Unfortunately we also had a Federal Government that challenged our three automotive manufacturers to leave the country, and that’s exactly what they did, so that wasn’t any help. We have a situation where we’re going to see some real crunch in terms of jobs, and we’re working and acting as quickly as we can, with real investment with a real vision of what we can do as a state.

But we certainly would hope that the Federal Government understand that they need to pull their weight and support Australian jobs and support Australian industry. I’m playing a strong advocacy role in that regard. The Defence industry is one that is being treated as a hot potato federally, but we need some security in terms of the pipeline of work that’s got to come. And the Federal Government’s got to make a decision that it will commit to certain projects over a period of time, and get the order book out and start putting in some orders and tenders released. I’m meeting with [Defence Minister] Kevin Andrews to talk about these issues; I wrote to him, congratulating him on his appointment, but also seeking from him the decision to actually award some more AWD blocks of work to BAE Systems. I’ll keep pressing on that and advocating as strongly as we can for Victoria. We have to defend our jobs, and defend a sector that really can only exist with a foreseeable pipeline of work. Because once we lose that capability, you just don’t get it back. And we’ve got tertiary institutions here like Melbourne University that produces fantastic engineering graduates that work very well with the needs of the defence industry or the aviation industry. They’re the things that we need to have an eye to

protecting, and the Federal Government’s got to pull its weight and realise very quickly that they’re on a course of action that is going to see us hitting a brick wall very soon. AMT: AMTIL works closely with the Industry Capability Network and we want to see supply chains improve. For example, there’s a company called Lovitt Technologies that is a major supplier to aerospace OEMs. How do we help them build a supply chain under them so they can go overseas and get more work? LD: We are doing a body of work to drill down into those businesses out there that are quietly doing what they’re doing and have got those contracts. How many rely on state contracts? How many rely on the global market? We need to understand that better. Over the last four years we lost a wealth of knowledge in Victoria under the previous government. We need to know what’s going on out there and we’re not going to waste any time getting to the bottom of that. Once we know and have got a clear map of what it looks like, we can be more strategic in the assistance that we can give and the facilitation that we can offer in terms of helping their development. I think the community expects governments to act in this space. We went to the election with a very clear agenda. People want to see governments acting to support their jobs and the future of their kids. And to achieve that, we have to have viable industries that are given a fair opportunity, whether it’s through state procurement, federal procurement, innovation, R&D – everything that allows us to offer good jobs, high-skilled jobs, high-paid jobs. And let’s not forget the importance of the education sector in all this, making sure young people get the best start they can. AMT: And there’s no magic wand. LD: No, there’s no magic wand. I don’t think anyone in the community would expect us to make statements that are magically promising the world, because people know the reality of the situation. But we know there are things that can be done. And we’ve made it clear what will be done under our Government. We believe we’ve been given the confidence of the community in Victoria to do just that. They will be our priorities in terms of delivering on the commitments we made.

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Material Removal

DMG MORI helps build Nissan Supercars success Ten years as a professional racing driver, and an understanding of machines gained from a childhood spent tinkering on engines, gave Todd Kelly the experience and confidence to make the decision in 2009 to start his own V8 Supercar Series racing team. Running a high-performance motor racing team is a very stressful undertaking, made even more difficult when you discover you need to literally build your racing car from scratch. To achieve podium finishes within less than five years is a remarkable achievement, testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of all the members of Kelly Racing, now known as Nissan Motorsport. The Kellys’ Nissan team was the first to sign up for the V8 Car of the Future programme. Unlike other teams, Nissan does not produce a production sport sedan that could be modified. However, the company did suggest their Altima four-door sedan might be a possible platform for Todd and his younger brother Rick Kelly. To convert a family sedan into a race-winning car with 650hp under the bonnet required the team to design and build virtually every component of the vehicle. The team did approach commercial suppliers around the world but often found that the weight, diameter or mounting points were not quite right for the vehicle they were developing. “It is very expensive to compete in motor racing, especially at this level,” says Todd. “We made the decision to bring everything in-house because the cost of outsourcing components or manufacturing could not be controlled. We would have also had no control over supply times for a part.” After extensive research, Todd and his engineers selected lathes and milling machines from DMG MORI to help them create their race-winning motor cars.

These machines all feature DMG MORI original technologies including: DDM (Direct Drive Motor), which achieves zero backlash and is produced in-house for maximum reliability; DCG (Driven at the Centre of Gravity), which controls vibration and improves acceleration; and ORC (Octagonal Ram Construction), which offers high-speed, high-precision feed.

Mauricio Pereira, Area Sales Manager for DMG MORI, with Todd Kelly holding a cylinder head machined on the team’s NTX 2000 mill-turn machine.

“For our success it has been critical to get the right designers, the right machines and the best software,” he adds. The Kellys invested more than $1.5m in five multi-axis milling machines and lathes from DMG MORI, along with the design and control software that can turn a rough sketch into a beautifully machined piece of metal in a matter of days. “We supplied three milling machines to Nissan Motorsport initially,” said Mauricio Pereira, Area Sales Manager for DMG MORI. “Within six months they decided to purchase two more to meet the demand for the components to make their Altima competitive on the track.” The machine shop contains a five-axis and a three-axis milling machine, a mill-turn multiaxis lathe and two standard industrial lathes.

These features allow the mills to complete all machining in one clamping except for the part being gripped, and achieves highefficiency, high-quality machining of even complex-shaped workpieces. The machines also use what the manufacturer calls Boxin-Box construction that guides and drives the centre of gravity of the moving parts with excellent balance. The construction also improves the servo-motor’s responsiveness, making unprecedented speed and acceleration possible. The NTX 2000 integrates turning and milling to enable complex-shaped workpieces for a variety of industries, including aerospace, medical equipment, automobile, mould-anddie, and precision equipment. Three of DMG MORI’s original technologies enable excellent machining with higher precision and higher efficiency, thus improving productivity. Nissan Motorsport’s whole production process has been fine-tuned during the development of the cars. “The chain from design to machine to production has been critical,” explains Todd. “Without our machine shop we would be running with 35 less horsepower.” “We have built a beautiful racing machine but there are probably only 12 components common with a car you might buy from a dealership,” adds Lauren Batchelor, Partnership Services Manager for Nissan Motorsport. “It may look like an Altima, but underneath it is a very different machine. “We are a V8 team with full Formula 1 capabilities, as we are structured around the F1 team blueprint.”

Motorsport in the blood

Technicians preparing the four Nissan Motorsport Supercars raced by the Kelly brothers and their team.

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Nissan Motorsport is co-owned by Todd and Rick, both of whom drive for the team. Todd also takes the role of Engineering Director and Rick is the team’s Commercial Director. Motorsport is in the blood of the brothers; they grew up near Mildura in rural Victoria and were riding motorbikes and driving gokarts from a very early age. Their parents both worked in the construction industry, so

Material Removal

practises all aspects of a pit-stop to make sure every member of the team knows, almost instinctively, where they have to be and what they have to do. “Everything has to be trialled,” Batchelor adds. “With a target of approximately seven seconds for a pit-stop, any delay could put a car several places down the grid.” Todd Kelly in action on the track in 2014

machinery was always part of the boys’ lives. They had their own shed where they spent their spare time modifying, and then building, engines for their bikes, karts and boats. “When I look at the way the DMG MORI machines turn out our components today, it makes how we did things as kids seem almost prehistoric,” muses Todd. A competitive streak saw the brothers entering and winning amateur races in their teens. Success saw Todd turn professional and drive for the Holden Racing Team for 10 years. “It was quite a change when I was a pro driver,” he recalls. “All I was required to do was to turn up with my helmet and drive the car. I was not allowed anywhere near the engines or bodywork.” Testament to the racing success of the brothers are two large display cabinets filled with trophies, medals and awards at the team’s headquarters in suburban Melbourne.

Getting ready for the track Between race meetings, the cars and engines are returned to the uncluttered and remarkably clean Nissan Motorsport workshops, where highly skilled technicians dismantle and rebuild their engines in preparation for the next event. At any time there can be up to half-a-dozen engines in various stages of being stripped down or reassembled. According to Batchelor, the mechanics and technicians know that the cars need to be ready to race in time for every event. “We usually work on a four-week timeframe between events to strip the engine, repair or replace bodywork and rebuild the cars,” she says. “However, everyone knows that the challenge is greater with only two weeks between the races in Darwin and Townsville.”

turn out replacement components, including steering racks, timing gears, manifolds and exhaust systems. The team employs five design engineers who devise and digitise the required parts. The computer drawings can be stored in the design library or sent directly to the appropriate machine for immediate manufacture. The library allows technicians and mechanics to know the entire history of every part and component. “Not only do we machine the required engine components,” says Sam Barclay, Lead Technician in the team’s manufacturing department. “But we also make the tools which are used to make other components, such as panels or the mounting jigs for fitting components to the vehicles.” Nissan Motorsport technicians plan each car to have two engines available for every race meeting, with a spare engine travelling with the car in the support truck. Batchelor adds that the Kelly team always has a ninth engine in the workshop that can be used to test proposed modifications and model their impact on performance before applying them to the race vehicles. On race days, there is a dedicated team for each car, consisting of mechanics and engine technicians and one or two extras for moving equipment and tools around the temporary garage at the event.

Maintaining power-to-weight ratios According to Batchelor, driving and supporting each race car is a real team effort. The team has a dedicated building where it

The Kelly brothers also know that a slight variation in their weight can upset the balance of their vehicles and decrease performance, so all the drivers follow a strict fitness regime. Similarly, the pit crew must maintain a high level of fitness in order to lift and manoeuvre wheels and tyres or hold a refuelling gun in place during a race pit-stop. To achieve and maintain peak fitness levels, all staff members are encouraged to make use of the team’s gymnasium facilities, with two compulsory sessions every week for the whole team.

Meeting the needs of customers DMG MORI works closely with its customers to ensure they have the machines, tooling and control instrumentation to meet their needs with the investment supporting both mass production and single item manufacture. “These types of flexible machines are the future for anyone having to produce highvalue, high-accuracy components,” stated Pereira. Todd is looking forward to the challenge his team faces in using all the features of the DMG MORI machines to build the best cars to win races in any future Supercar Challenge series. “If the proposed changes to the format of Supercar racing go ahead, our machine shop and all the other departments will adapt and be ready,” he said. Batchelor concludes that the changes would allow more manufacturers to participate in the Supercar series. “Nissan would love the opportunity to beat other Japanese manufacturers on the racetrack.” www.dmgmori.com www.nissanmotorsport.com.au

Todd says all his team’s members are dedicated professionals, willing to put the effort in to make sure the cars always perform at their peak: “Enthusiasm of the staff is important. Passion for what we do is key to being successful.” Where necessary, the five DMG MORI machines in the CNC machine shop will

The cockpit of Todd Kelly’s 2015 Nissan V8 Supercar

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Material Removal

Deburring and edge finishing – automating the ‘feel’ Quantifying and adapting the ‘feel’ of the abrasive against the part is a critical step toward successfully automating this labour-intensive offhand operation. To sustain profitability in today’s competitive market, manufacturers are increasingly examining options for automation. Many advanced options are now available to move far beyond the well-known ‘pick and place’ tasks of traditional robots. Sixaxis robots are a popular solution for much more complex tasks, including advanced material-handling, painting and spot welding. As further enhancements continue in offline programming, vision systems and sophisticated end-of-arm tooling, shops can be well served by automating traditional labour-intensive processes. Take deburring and edge finishing, for example. This process usually requires an operator to manually introduce the workpiece to an abrasive media or, in other instances, the abrasive media is brought to the workpiece with portable handheld tools. Abrasive media, typically seen in deburring, fall into three categories and are available in various shapes: • Coated abrasives: belts, discs, flap wheels, specialty shapes. Coated abrasives are comprised of a resin and abrasive mix applied to a backing, generally a cotton or polyester cloth. • Non-woven abrasives: wheels, belts, discs. Non-woven abrasives are also a mixture of resin and abrasive grains, but applied to a fibrous material which can then be formed. • Abrasive brushes: radial wheels, cup wheels. In wheel form, the fibre acts as a bonding system that wears away with product use. In belt or disc form, a backing (“scrim”) is used in a similar fashion to a coated abrasive. Abrasive brushes utilise abrasive-impregnated nylon filaments configured to a wheel. Most of these tools are used in a manual setting that increases the risk for operator injury, as well as the time and overall cost of the operation. Due to these challenges, shops are increasingly shifting to automate them, with each application presenting a unique set of circumstances. Since many of these operations are based on an operator’s interpretation of the ‘feel’ of the abrasive against the part, it can be difficult to make this transition. However, the ‘feel’ of an abrasive media is quantifiable in terms of cut rate, wear rate, compliance, and conformability – which means a good understanding of these attributes is important as a shop takes steps toward automating this process.

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these general terms, ceramic alumina grain has better MRR and longevity characteristics than its silicon carbide and aluminium oxide counterparts. Using a premium grain may be required to maximise the efficiency and reduce overall costs in the operation. Though the products may be more expensive, the abrasive costs are negligible in comparison to the savings associated with reduced cycle times. Coated abrasives are comprised of a resin and abrasive mix applied to a backing, generally a cotton or polyester cloth.

Material removal rates The cut rate of an abrasive is also known as its material removal rate (MRR) and can be used in terms of volume (cubic centimetres per minute) or weight (grams per minute). For any given abrasive, this value will vary with material, the amount of force in the cutting zone, and the speed of the abrasive (which affects the forces in the cutting zone). MRR is the key piece of information used in determining achievable cycle times for processing a given part. One simple test commonly used by our application engineers is recording the workpiece weight before and after grinding, and the total grind time, or contact time. Material removed divided by grind time gives the rate at which material is removed. This is the MRR. Variations of this simple test method can provide valuable insight into feasibility studies when determining how to process a particular component. It is also helpful to quantify the amount of material to be removed from the workpiece. One approach that can be taken is to define the volume of material to be removed to generate a given radius. Once this volume is determined, an abrasive or sequence of abrasives can be chosen based on their material removal rates and the allowable cycle time. Also, by comparing the MRRs of nonwoven discs of different aggressiveness, from coarse to very fine, the resultant data can be used to make informed decisions when selecting a product for the process.

Wear rates Wear rates are an indication of how quickly an abrasive media reaches its so-called “end-oflife,” which varies depending on the abrasive and the workpiece. How quickly these conditions are reached and at what rate are important factors to take into consideration when developing an automated system. Some examples that characterise the end of the abrasives usable life may include: • Significant reduction in MRR; geometric tolerance requirements not being achieved. • Surface finish requirements not being achieved. • Reaching wheel stub size. When wear rates are determined, programming or feedback measurements can be put into place to account for these changes. Examples of these could be: • Software programming that increases the penetration into an abrasive brush face by 2% after ten cycles to maintain a required cut rate. • Counting programs that are predetermined to signal an abrasive media change based on the number of cycles an abrasive media can maintain a surface finish. • Probing or vision devices that can account for the reduced diameter of an abrasive wheel.

One of the most significant variables that will affect MRR is the type of grain used in the abrasive product. Speaking in general terms, there are three major types of conventional abrasives used for deburring: aluminium oxide, silicon carbide; and ceramic alumina. When selecting a product for an automated system it is important to consider that, in

Non-woven abrasives are a mixture of resin and abrasive grains, but are applied to a fibrous material that can then be formed.

Material Removal

Abrasive brushes utilise abrasive-impregnated nylon filaments configured to a wheel.

When compensating for wear characteristics, the consistency of the abrasive plays a major part in the outcome of the final results, especially for tighter tolerances. As an example of using wear rates, the magnified view in Figure 6 shows a conventional abrasive structure and the magnified view in Figure 7 shows a NoRaX engineered abrasive structure. These are both classified as coated abrasives. The NoRaX controlled pattern allows for consistent cut rate as well as surface finish. Understanding that wear rates of engineered coated abrasive follows a more linear trend will increase the controllability of the automated process.

Compliance and conformability Although similar, compliance and conformability refer to different parts of the automated system. Compliance, typically used when describing fixturing or tooling, refers to the ability to control the amount of force between the workpiece and the tool. This is often achieved with a combination of pneumatic cylinders and/or mechanicalelectrical controls that regulate the air pressure or electrical current and thus, the force at the grinding interface.

Conformability is the ability of the abrasive to match, or reach, the various contours and intricacies of the workpiece. A nylon abrasive brush conforming to a corner, edge or complex geometry is a good example. Each filament has the flexibility to bend and pull across the workpiece and introduce the abrasive grains, taking small repeated cuts until the edge finish condition is reached. These two attributes are especially important when finishing irregular features. Generally, the more complex the features are to deburr, the more conformability and compliance will be required in the system. In summary, automating a manual operation can pose several unique difficulties, based on the incoming workpiece and its finish and geometric requirements, but the benefits of reduced costs and increased safety for operators, far outweigh the difficulties. From an abrasives standpoint, adapting the process to fit the specific needs of the application can be made manageable by identifying, understanding and quantifying these four key characteristics: MRR, wear rate, compliance, and conformability. With these key elements,

Magnified view of conventional abrasive-grains dispersed randomly based on the coating method.

Magnified view of NoRaX engineered abrasive.

the transition from an offhand operation to an automated abrasive process can be successful and profitable. Reprinted courtesy of Fabricating and Metalworking magazine. Robert J. McNamee is an application engineer with Norton. www.nortonabrasives.com

For example, think about a robot carrying a workpiece to an abrasive belt grinder that is outfitted with a constant force pneumatic cylinder to allow it to ‘give’ when force is applied. This give, or compliance, allows the force to be nearly constant at the area of contact between the workpiece and the belt, assuming the area of contact does not change. Even if the robot’s position accuracy or repeatability is ±0.002 inches, the compliance can help account for variations by allowing an interference to be programmed at the area of contact. This is also true for situations where the tool is compliant and brought to the work-piece. Overall, it helps to increase the accuracy and consistency of the results of the robot by allowing for positioning error at the tool centre point while maintaining an acceptable force. In terms of abrasives, this allows the system to control the MRR. Compliance fixturing and tooling is well known among robotic manufacturers and integrators.

A nylon abrasive brush that matches or reaches various corners, edges, contours or complex geometry of the workpiece is a good example of conformability.

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Material Removal

Miller Camera Support Equipment – 60 years of quality and innovation Australian precision manufacturer Miller Camera Support Equipment, a world leader in the manufacture and supply of innovative camera support equipment, recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. Founded in 1954, Miller has gone on to become a world leader in the specialist field of camera support equipment, providing support for the world’s leading camera operators. The company designs, manufactures and delivers professional fluid heads and tripods that are used by global news networks, international film production houses, corporate, educational, government institutions, and photography professionals in more than 65 countries. Miller’s advanced innovative designs are frequently used during electronic news gatherings (ENG), electronic field production (EFP), and digital video applications. Miller holds the first patent for fluid head design for film cameras, which it obtained in 1946. From its inception, the Miller fluid head revolutionised film-making by giving operators the freedom to shoot more creatively and at the same time reducing production costs of film that would have previously ended up on the cutting floor. Innovation, precision and quality of the highest standard have been the hallmark of the company with a string of exciting new products and industry awards throughout its six decades. These include such items as: the first Miller tripod, exported to Hollywood in 1958; the DS75mm fluid head series, released globally in 1992; the launch of the SOLO tripod series, the world’s lightest and lowest tripod in 2003; the new Sprinter ll tripod, offering news crews speed without compromise in 2003; the Arrow 25, 40 and 55 models in 2006; plus further worldleading products in 2008, 2012 and 2013, culminating in the release of the 150mm Cineline 70 fluid head in 2014 for the passionate and creative film maker. With more than 100,000 systems sold worldwide, Miller has revolutionised film

“A revolution in our manufacturing processes over the last four years has further refined tolerances and hence product quality and reliability,” said Miller’s Managing Director, Mark Clementson. Precision components play a critical role, and in this area the company has made significant investment in the most advanced plant and equipment, notably two Okuma machines. An MA 40HA horizontal CNC machining centre will soon be followed by delivery of the Okuma LB3000EX horizontal lathe. The relationship with Okuma Australia, backed by its outstanding access to the latest technology and service, provides the ideal partnership for Miller to remain dominant in this field through precision quality and competitive pricing in the world market.

making by giving photographers the opportunity to shoot more creatively. The company produces the smoothest panand-tilt movement fluid head equipment available on the global market to meet the widest range of applications. Continual advancements and developments are underway to design pan and tilt heads that fully meet the demands of professional cinephotographers as film technology advances.

A revolution in precision Research & development for this innovative Sydney company revolves around its customers worldwide, where 3D models and practical prototypes are developed based on customer feedback and practical experience from the professionals and then trialled in the field by experts prior to production. Consequently Miller was awarded the Australian International Good Design Award in 2010 for the Compass series, and the Good Design Award for the Skyline 150mm tripod system in 2012. Component quality is paramount with corrosion resistant alloys, high-strength impact polymers, dust and moisture proof housings all combining with sleek exterior designs to result in the strongest, lightest products available on the international market. Miller has extended its warranty period on its complete fluid head, tripod and accessory range to three years.

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“We’ve been a supplier to Miller for many years with a number of products and they have always set a strong pace for development and product improvement,” says Phil Hayes, Okuma Australia’s Managing Director. “It was very important that we had the resources to keep pace with them. I recently visited Miller and witnessed the stunning and exceptionally high quality of their camera supports. It was overwhelming and reinforced just how critical it is for suppliers like Okuma to measure up. “Miller seized the opportunity to join our sponsored tour of Okuma’s new DS-1 factory in Japan in 2013,” Hayes adds. “It was a great opportunity to witness firsthand the manner in which other precision manufacturers operate. It’s imperative these days that we continue to innovate and invest, as Miller has done so well.” www.millertripods.com www.okumaaustralia.com.au

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company focus

Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes – Leading the pack Founded on a bedrock of automotive expertise and a passion for motorsport, Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes has evolved into a world-beater in a fast-moving and highly competitive marketplace. By Jack Baldwin.

Located in Greenfields, South Australia, not far from the where many general automotive manufacturers used to operate, Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes (PPG) is a small business with big potential on the world stage. It was set up by Simon Pfitzner around 15 years ago, spun out of his father’s business - Pfitzner Performance Engineering - which machined industrial gears. Simon learnt his trade there, eventually seeing the opportunity to take his hobby – gearcutting and machining for motorsports – and turn it into a profitable business. “That’s where we’re at today,” says Richard Sanders, PPG’s Business Development Manager. “PPG is probably now one of the leading manufacturers of quality gearbox components for motorsport vehicles such as Subaru and Nissan. The Tremec gearbox we’ve just started producing gear sets for will go in vehicles such as the Commodore, and a lot of American cars like Mustangs and Camaros.” That constitutes a growth area for PPG, because of the huge worldwide market in motorsports. The company’s gear sets are commonly used in off-road rally cars, as well as in street racing – predominantly drag and drift. “It’s a very busy little business. Because we are working at that cutting edge of motorsport, the business is very attuned to changes in the market to modify gear sets, to customise gear sets,” Sanders says. “The business has that reputation globally. It keeps us very busy with short-run, boutique manufacturing of gear components to suit a fairly wide range of vehicles. It’s almost a battle to keep up with the work and the changing marketplace.” Pfitzner’s shopfloor is clean and bright, with wide hangar doors letting in a lot of natural light, overlooked by the administrative offices. It’s quieter and calmer than might be expected. Posters featuring Lean manufacturing concepts such as the Seven Wastes and the tenets of 5S adorn the workstations. “Our work is very automated, using modern CNC lathes to turn the gear blanks,” says Sanders. “We use high-grade tool steels that come out of places like Sweden to make the blank gear components, and then use CNC gear-hopping machines, milling machines, to give the quality of finish we want.” PPG’s gear sets are basically 100% Australian-made. Some parts of the process are subcontracted out to other local engineering shops, including heat treatment of the components before they’re returned for final inspections.

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Richard Sanders, Business Development Manager at PPG.

“It shows that in South Australia we are capable of competing globally in what’s quite an aggressive marketplace with a bit of a hightechnology, boutique type product.” This is where Sanders sees the future of Australian automotive – not in the general automotive marketplace, where the international competition is too great, but in the high-tech niche scene. “If you’re trying to compete with places like Korea, China, Japan and even Germany, there’s just not the volume here,” he explains. “The production costs are too high for competing on a mass production scale. Australia is very competitive in innovative, short run, high-tech manufacturing.” Sanders acknowledges that, in a lot of ways, PPG is fairly lucky (and smart) to have found a fruitful market position that allows for high value add, premium priced products: “It’s difficult to find niches where these kinds of businesses can survive and they need a lot of specialty knowledge in that product area, and most general engineering shops in places like Adelaide unfortunately don’t have that.”

Expertise is the key asset Simon Pfiztner himself is where a lot of PPG’s know-how originated. A talented engineer, innovative thinker, and completely immersed in the motorsport scene, he takes care of a good slice of the engineering work. In total PPG employs around 15 staff, from admin to engineering, as well as highly qualified CNC machinists. It’s not a huge staff, but Sanders says that combined they have “very good niche knowledge that really integrates together”.

company focus

PPG’s workshop in Greenfields.

“There’s that synergy of activity from the very innovative design work to the guys on the machines being able to interpret the design into machined parts,” he adds. “That gives the business that cutting-edge advantage to create things like sequential shifters that the customer is looking for.” An advantage of its fairly small staff is that the business is naturally quite flexible when it comes to specialty production runs. The nature of the business means that PPG has to be in close contact with the industry it’s servicing. “We work quite closely with the race teams to see where they have problems,” Sanders explains. “They’re looking for very small percentage gains because everyone is using a very similar vehicle with similar horsepower. They’ve tended to chase horsepower in the past, but there’s a point where you can only get so much more performance out of a certain engine.” Currently the company is working with Rocket Rally, looking at the transmission to see how it can squeeze out a ratio advantage from the gearbox to give even the tiniest of advantages – the tenths of a second coming out of a corner or down a lap that will ultimately win them the race. “It’s coming down to these finite gains, working with them to show us where we need to help them to be more aggressive in their racing, giving them that competitive advantage to win,” says Sanders. “That’s what we want – people winning with our products. What they want is to stay in the race.” As for selling out of South Australia, Sanders doesn’t see it as a problem. The internet has evened the playing field on all sides. Ordering parts from anywhere in the world is more than acceptable, and the level of service they can provide is as good as anywhere else. While freight costs are an issue, they’re not a significant obstacle due to the premium, short-run nature of PPG’s products. In fact, a key part of PPG’s value proposition is that it can get its key components out to a race team with the shortest delay possible. It’s all ready to go. “It’s based on the quality of the product, the quality of service. People will shop anywhere in the world where they can get that.”

Developing an edge Pfitzner were recently awarded with a Manufacturing Innovation Voucher from the South Australian Government. The voucher is essentially a $50,000 grant to assist a manufacturer in developing new products or procedures that will give them an edge in wider markets. “That’s really helped us develop,” Sanders says. “Whilst we can come up with a basic idea for a sequential gearbox like the Tremec, the problem is then the enormous cost to formalise the drawings, the parts diagrams, to get that to market.”

Essentially, you can have the best idea in the world – but to build it properly, to catalogue all the parts and get the drawings in a satisfactory state, requires hours and hours of work. To help with the process, PPG used the proceeds of the grant to start a strategic partnership with Innovact, which specialises in design and CAD drawing. For a company like PPG, which only has two people working on engineering drawings, the workload is near impossible when there’s hundreds of parts involved in some of their designs. The risk is simply too big for a sole proprietor, sole owner to take on and grow a business of their size. “Those sorts of grants are absolutely imperative if smaller businesses are going to grow in South Australia,” says Sanders. “We’re looking and realising big Primes are moving out of the state. We’ve got to grow small, niche businesses and make sure there’s that government support both in innovative grants and equipment to help them grow.” The roll-on effect of those grants can’t be underestimated, Sanders believes. With mining not turning out to be the cash cow the state government was hoping for, money needs to be turned towards small outfits with big ideas. “People see one company winning a grant for something and tend to think they’re lucky, they’ve got that bit of work, that’s good for them – but what about the rest? Well, the effect is actually much, much greater in supporting other engineering shops, supporting steels suppliers, carbide suppliers and even machine tool suppliers.” An example of that is in PPG’s recent venture to the Performance Racing Industry trade show in the United States. PPG’s National Sales Manager, usually based in the UK, attended the show with four gearboxes demonstrating the company’s work. “It created a lot of interest there in those products for Subaru, the Tremec gearboxes, and we can just see that growing from strength to strength,” Sanders says. “The effect of that for the Australian economy is not just for PPG. To produce such a wide range of product in a short time, we have to subcontract work. So we’ll be feeding that out to two or three other contractors, and that has a roll-on effect on the local economy. We can’t hope to produce effectively double our production without massive investment in infrastructure, so rather than doing that, it’s subcontracted.” For the guys on the floor, there’s certainly a pride in seeing their product out in the marketplace and winning races. Sanders believes it keeps them conscious of the high quality that has to be maintained throughout the production process as well. “Giving them that cutting edge they need, those tenths of a second, that’s what it’s all about. I think it’s exciting to see a company like this in a place like South Australia having a huge impact in Europe and England and America with those race teams. Obviously we don’t need a great market share in any of those markets to have a very successful business here.” www.ppgearbox.com.au

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Additive Manufacturing

3D SLM – Tips for successful prototyping Selective laser melting (SLM) has emerged as one of the leading additive manufacturing techniques, but many engineers are still a little bit nervous about the process. The design team at Rapid Advanced Manufacturing (RAM) offer a few hints and tips to demystify the process. SLM is an additive process, not a removal process. Often in conventional machining, material gets left on because it is too expensive to remove. In SLM, think the opposite, any superfluous material can make the part heavier, thus more expensive. At RAM, we suggest that if it is not needed, remove it from the model. Likewise, hollow out any solid structures. This can result in a part that is lighter and more cost effective than the original. The biggest consideration when designing a piece is the part shape. Here are a few guidelines to help you design specifically for the SLM process: • The part needs to have a surface that is able to be attached to the build plate with a reasonable amount of support. At RAM, we add the support, but where these supports are placed, remember that this does tend to leave the roughest surface finish. • From the bottom surface, we can build up at an angle of above 30 degrees to horizontal without any support. Surfaces less than 30 degrees will require additional support. • Try to ensure that all features of the part build up from an existing body. One way to think about it is to picture building a tree. The correct way up will only require support at the bottom of the trunk. However, if we were to try to build it upside down, then each leaf will require its own individual support, making it very difficult, time-consuming and costly to clean up afterwards. • Avoid large changes in section as this can induce internal stresses into the part. • Fillets, curves and complex freeform shapes are no problem. In fact, this often assists with the printing process by smoothing the transition between areas of the part.

Victory Knives’ XTB titanium sailors blade.

• Large, thin sections are often built on edge because the distortion and support needed is much less. • Where possible, circular sections are built with the axis vertical to achieve the highest accuracy. • Hollow parts are possible and will reduce the deformation due to stress and weight, and consequently the cost of the piece. However, a piece cannot be hollow unless there is a hole for the residual powder to escape through. Don’t forget to allow for this in your model. • When designing hollow parts, consider the shape of the inside as well as the outside. Any support inside a hollow part is generally impossible to remove and will therefore contain un-melted powder, making the piece heavy, thus more costly to produce. • Some parts allow many various options for orientation and support. Often, flat surfaces are easier to clean the support off, however curved surfaces are often less critical areas in terms of performance. When supplying the model, do make it clear if there are any areas where support should be avoided. • Occasionally, it will be necessary to add material such as a rib or fin so that the part will build as correctly and as accurately as possible. This material will be removed after the part has been stress relieved and removed from the build plate. • Surfaces requiring a high tolerance or specific surface finish will generally require post machining. Always add sufficient material to the surface to be machined, say bearing and sealing surfaces. Between 0.3mm and 0.5mm is usually sufficient.

Titanium SLM pieces ready for delivery.

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RAM has become a leading player in the SLM field, following on from a significant testing and research program. In recent months, the company has celebrated several design successes with various clients, with many prototypes now moving into full-scale

Titanium SLM pieces inserted within the overall equipment piece.

SLM production. One recent client success concerned Victory Knives’ XTB titanium sailors blade. Made using advanced 3D printing and hardening capability, this knife was designed initially for the Americas Cup Sailors and is now rated as the ultimate rope blade. More recently, RAM has moved into production with a client who has replaced an intricate piece of specialised equipment that was previously made in the more traditional manufacturing method. The new titanium SLM-designed pieces are easily modified by the client and much more cost-efficient to produce. Most importantly, these pieces can be modelled to be an exact, specific fit within the overall piece of equipment. RAM’s clients can step into the world of metal 3D printing simply by sending a Solidworks model. The company’s design engineers are able to use specialised industry knowledge to provide model advice, build suggestions, costings and post-processing options. www.rapidman.co.nz

Additive Manufacturing

Darkly Labs creates laser cutter with 3D printing Darkly Labs has achieved great success since the launch last year of the Emblaser, an entry-level laser cutter and engraver kit developed by the Melbourne-based company to fill the gap in the market for affordable desktop laser cutters. Domenic Di Giorgio, the founder of Darkly Labs, took an innovative approach to funding, designing and manufacturing the Emblaser, challenging the traditional methods of developing a product. This involved the use of crowd-sourcing and 3D printing to get to market faster and at a lower cost. The company utilised 3D printing to build most of the components for the Emblaser, as it was more cost effective for producing a low volume of laser cutters. It was also a great solution when it came to making prototypes as well as actual parts, because modifications to designs could be easily managed by the Darkly Labs’ team. Darkly Labs launched the Emblaser in 2014, selling over 800 units to hobbyists in the US, Asia, Australia and Europe. The product can be used to cut or engrave flat sheet materials such as paper, wood, plastic and fabric. Universities also use it for research and student projects in many departments.

Creating and launching a new product Darkly Labs faced many challenges in developing the Emblaser, with the first hurdle to overcome being funding. The company financed the project by raising more than $500,000 on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter. This was the third-largest amount of funding raised for an Australian Kickstarter project in 2014. The enthusiastic response also proved that there was a viable untapped market segment. The second dilemma was to create a hightech piece of technology for the mass market with a very small team and limited time. This was overcome by working with experts

Darkly Labs used 3D printing to manufacture many key components of the Emblaser.

The Emblaser laser cutter and engraver kit.

in the field and advanced manufacturing techniques. Darkly Labs decided to use 3D printing for the design and manufacture and looked for suppliers who wanted the team to succeed. As a result the company didn’t follow the industry-accepted method of production, preferring an innovative and flexible approach. The team was able to use 3D printing to design and manufacture components for the laser cutter. It was also reliable, ideal for testing components and made assembly of components an easy process. Finally, Darkly Labs needed to find efficient ways to support and educate its customers as they were introduced to a new piece of technology. “We spent a great deal of time developing documentation as customers assembled the kits and needed to have clear instructions,” says Di Giorgio. “The aim was to keep it simple and informative”.

Low-volume manufacturing Darkly Labs purchased a Stratasys Dimension Elite 3D printer from local supplier Tasman 3DPrinters.

“We had previous good experience with Stratasys’ 3D printers and the local distributor Tasman 3DPrinters was able to provide fantastic and expert technical support,” says Di Giorgio. “The reliability and accuracy of the Dimension Elite 3D Printer was a key requirement for us. “Tasman 3DPrinters had a great understanding of our need and had excellent customer service for any technical enquiries and ordering of material supplies. They supported us as we developed our product and launched it in the market.” According to Di Giorgio, the Stratasys machine, along with support from Tasman 3DPrinters, have been crucial in allowing Darkly Labs achieve its goals. “Setting up the Stratasys 3D printers in our business resulted in real benefits. The time required to design, create prototypes and test timeframes was significantly lower compared to traditional methods. The development costs were lower and small production runs were possible”. www.tasman3dprinters.com.au www.darklylabs.com

The Emblaser can be used to cut or engrave a wide variety of flat sheet materials.

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Additive Manufacturing

3D printing – Game changer? Industrial revolution? Or old news? The rapid growth in 3D printing over the last five years has been staggering, yet there are still many who remain sceptical about additive manufacturing and its potential. Additive manufacturing has been adopted to some extent across the entire manufacturing spectrum. Its influence has been transformative, directly impacting on every sector of the industry, from initial ‘blue sky’ design concepts, through to personalised commercial end-use products. 3D printing now provides robust, high-resolution and – most importantly – functional prototypes and products, significantly reducing development times while allowing for more efficient design solutions to be developed.

A test injection moulding tool produced in Objet ABS-like material for real-world trials with an Australian injection moulding company.

However, despite the ever-growing number of examples of the technology’s significant positive impact, the terms 3D printing and additive fabrication are still often greeted with a dismissive air of scepticism. It is possible that this attitude is a legacy of earlier 3D printed prototypes, from a time (not long ago) when 3D printers were only used to produce fragile demonstration models. The massive hype surrounding 3D printing has led consumers to think that it will solve all needs. A naïve one-machine-fits-all assumption often results in a would-be consumer’s disappointment with the entire technology. The truth is that 3D printers are just another addition to the existing set of workshop tools. And just like in any workshop, each tool is suited to own special role. The term 3D printing covers a vast range of technologies. There are now printers for plastics, metals, ceramics, bio-materials, even chocolate! The common denominator is that all of these technologies are ‘additive’. Components are produced by adding material until the final structure has been completed, in much the same way as a wall is built. If the structure being produced is very complex, with features such as overhangs or arches, it is possible to build the component with two materials: one acts as a supporting material that can be removed once the part has been completed – a scaffold of sorts. So why the scepticism? It comes down to expectations. Most people are first introduced to 3D printing by seeing hobbyist or entry-level fused deposition modelling (FDM) systems in operation, the type of printers you can now buy in a stationery store. These systems have their place in the market, but they have their limitations. The parts they produce generally have layer thicknesses of 0.25mm, can be rough in texture, and visually cannot compare with a precision injection-moulded plastic part. At first glance, they may not meet some expectations. But does this matter? Certainly not if the part is only required in small numbers, will likely go through design revisions, does not justify the cost of tool production, and – most importantly – is fit for purpose. Aesthetics play a huge role in people’s perception of 3D-printed parts, and that is where there is a lot of expectation, but some industries don’t care as much about aesthetics and prefer to class 3D-printed parts on function. For those who require glossy surface finishes more akin to injectionmoulded parts, there are alternatives, but now we are starting to move outside of the hobbyist realm and into professional series printing systems. Here we are confronted by another expectation: cost. There is a misconception that for a small cost you will receive an intricate model that looks like it has fallen straight out of a moulding machine. Unfortunately, this is not true. Expectations are often based on the costs of consumer goods, but these goods are mass-manufactured in volumes that offset the costs of machining production moulds. In general, 3D-printed parts are produced in low volumes from proprietary materials, and have to be hand-finished.

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Bridging the gap However, right now this is probably the most exciting space in 3D printing. The industry leaders and many emerging competitors are acutely aware of the market’s demands, driving print resolution higher and material choice even broader. In this sector, detail is key – the single-nozzle extrusion-based systems are swept aside and replaced with precise inkjet technology. Small droplets of a UV curable resin are deposited with fine accuracy from multiple inkjet print heads with tens of nozzles operating simultaneously. Each layer is then polymerised in-situ when exposed to a UV light that transverses the build volume along with the printhead assembly. In an almost hypnotic process, ultra-thin layers of the build material are deposited and solidified with each step. Finished components can easily rival injection-moulded parts for accuracy and in some cases surface finish too. Based in Illawarra, New South Wales, CammPro has adopted such technology and is working with Australian injection-moulding companies to take the process one step further and bridge the gap between 3D printing and precision-moulded parts. CammPro’s approach is to use 3D printing to directly produce moulding tool inserts. The incentive driving this is the capability for moulders to perform early design and material validation trials and compliance testing before committing to the much greater expense of final tool manufacture, potentially avoiding tool reworking. There are also benefits in lead time reduction, which could be as much as 90%. Unlike the delicate 3D-printed materials of old, CammPro has used a durable composite material from Objet called ABS-like in producing trial tool inserts that are compatible with thermoplastics. Practical candidates include PE, PP, PS, ABS, TPE, PA, POM, PC-ABS and glass-filled resins. Produced tools are ideal for low production runs and tests of mid-sized parts, with quantities typically five and 100 units. Operating parameters have to be tailored to the mould but generally run at lower injection speeds and longer cooling cycle times. There may still be sceptics, but 3D printing has advanced to the point where the practical benefits are undeniable. It is a set of tools that rewrites the rules. www.cammpro.com.au

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Software

Closing the customer experience gap with ERP In challenging times, it is vital for metal fabricators to strengthen their business and open up new sales markets, mature in their understanding of customer experience, and better grasp the vital role that modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) plays. By Craig Charlton, Senior Vice-President – Asia Pacific for Epicor. Technological advancements, market shifts and innovation are disrupting many industries, and it’s no different for the automotive industry, or manufacturing in general. Amid recent announcements impacting future on-shore production, it is fair to say manufacturing in Australia is undergoing radical changes. In the face of such change, flexible, industry-oriented ERP can help manufacturers automate routine operations, reduce raw material and energy costs, and improve performance and customer satisfaction levels.

cites several metrics that underscore this statement.

The customer experience gap

These outstanding results demonstrate how Chirch is succeeding in its goal of helping its customers “compete with anyone...anywhere in the world”. It does this by bringing customers a winning combination: globally competitive prices; access to Chinese resources to support US manufacturing expansion; local customer service, distribution and just-in-time delivery; with adherence to the highest quality standards.

A recent IDC Manufacturing Insight white paper, Get Customers Inspired — A Call to Action for Metal Fabrication Manufacturers, revealed that there is a big gap between companies with a mature customer experience strategy and those with an immature strategy – a factor which directly influences their competitiveness. The white paper highlights that, while the majority of metal fabricators agree that improved customer experience is increasingly important to generating growth and boosting profitability, they do not have a clear understanding of how to enhance their overall customer experience, the critical business benefits it can deliver, and the central role technology can play in providing a superior customer experience. Companies in the metal fabrication sector face a unique set of challenges within the manufacturing industry. Many are moving away from producing standard, cataloguebased items, to manufacturing items to custom orders. This means that no order is the same and customer service becomes absolutely paramount. A manufacturer’s ability to deal with prospects and customers more efficiently, from product design to configuration and production, becomes essential to beating the competition and creating long-term customer loyalty. Many still believe, however, that the most critical factor influencing customer loyalty is meeting their price expectations, overlooking the vital link between operational excellence and its impact on the customer. Metal fabrication manufacturers need to understand the significant role played by factors such as concerns around supply reliability, poor product quality and long lead times, and how they negatively impact the customer experience. The solution is to

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Return on Equity (EBITDA/Equity) exceeded 50% in 2010. With regard to top-line growth, sales revenues increased by 17% from 2009 to 2010, and Chirch saw the addition of new customers in new industries, diversifying the company’s customer base. The company also saw gains in employee productivity; the number of full-time employees was reduced by 31% from 2009 to 2010, while concurrently driving top-line revenue growth and throughput.

improve customer and market insights and address these critical operational factors head-on. Metal fabrication manufacturers face a clear call to action. Epicor believes that these manufacturers have a great opportunity to gain competitive advantage by taking a more mature approach to customer experience. With nearly twice as many metal fabricators than in any other industry still believing that price is the main influence to customer loyalty, the gap is widening between the mature and immature companies. There is a significant opportunity for those that take the leap to differentiate from their competitors, sell value-added services and increase market share. Epicor urges metal fabrication manufacturers to assess their maturity level around customer experience and look at how modern, next-generation ERP capabilities can help them achieve a more customer focused strategy.

Reaping the rewards Some manufacturers are already seeing the benefits of making such a change to their strategy. US fabricator Chirch Global was started by Anthony L Chirchirillo in 2002. The company offers cost-effective precision metal fabrication, stamping, progressive die tooling and sub-assemblies manufactured in Northern Illinois and China. As a result of the company’s global business model and its investment in Epicor, Chirchirillo says the company has made a quantum leap and

Another example is Sapphire Aluminium, a 100% family-owned Australian finishing company located in Somersby, NSW, providing bespoke anodised colour finishes for aluminium components across Australia and Asia Pacific. Its ERP tool of choice is the Epicor Product Configurator, a configureto-order (CTO) system that accelerates the transfer of knowledge from engineering to sales and manufacturing by predefining models, options, conditional rules, Bill of Materials (BOM), routings, and pricing.   For Sapphire Aluminium, reducing the delays associated with engineering each bespoke order was of great importance. By promoting standardisation, the Product Configurator increases product variety and decreases production variability by reducing the number of custom-engineered orders.   A customer relationship management, or sales management system, linked to the Product Configurator enables sales or customer service reps to make quick determinations on the company’s ability to deliver the exact product a customer is requesting. “Epicor helps us to deliver to our customers a quality product that enables us to stay competitive in the market today and into the future,” says Clynton Husband, Managing Director, Sapphire Aluminium. “Using the Epicor configurator and its combination of

Software

Integrated CAQ system enhances process transparency By introducing a computer aided quality (CAQ) system, German component manufacturer LiebherrComponents Biberach increased the transparency of its production and improved process capability.

dashboard and scheduling tools, we are able to quickly identity where we can maximise efficiency to meet client deadlines.” When the configurator is part of a fully integrated ERP system, the company can also tell the customer whether the parts required to build the product are readily available, and if it has the available production capacity to fill the order in a reasonable timeframe.

Covering all the angles Commodity prices, production costs and product quality are critical economic factors in the metal fabrication industry and these are influenced by numerous interdependent parameters. An ERP system should cover them all, linking – for example – inventory control with material requirements planning (MRP), and offering functions for buying suggestions to ensure that materials are delivered on schedule and reduce just-intime deliveries. ERP should enable each production run to be analysed to identify overall and detailed costs for materials, material requirements, wages, subcontracts and overhead costs. ERP can be used to fulfil strict requirements regarding the traceability of product and material certifications, another important factor in the metal fabrication industry. It is also possible to manage quality assurance

and processes with stocks that are controlled serially. Visibility of such details along the manufacturing process enables proactive and effective communication with customers to improve the overall customer experience. “Communication is critical to customers; knowing when they are going to get something, what it is going to cost, and is it on time, are vitally important to customers on short lead times,” explains Husband. “Epicor allows us to break down our projects into bite-size chunks, so we are able to first of all cost the product, put in customised comments within the configurator that allow each production step and operation to be broken down and understood by the people that are doing that operation, and then put that back together into a story that’s conveyed to our customer, so that they also know what we are doing and when it is going to happen.” An open and modern ERP platform that leverages mobile technology and provides more collaborative and customer-facing capabilities including quality, service and warranty management and CRM is central to creating a superior customer experience which can improve competitiveness. Metal fabrication manufacturers need to act now in order not to lag behind.

Liebherr-Components Biberach develops and produces drive components that are used in applications such as wind turbines and automotive technology. To increase the process transparency of its production and improve batch traceability, the company has implemented the CAQ=QSYS Professional software system from IBS AG, a Siemens business. Integrating CAQ and manufacturing execution systems (MES), CAQ=QSYS was chosen primarily due to its process orientation, integration capability and modularity. The introduction and launch of the CAQ system at Liebherr involved the installation of around 100 terminals and the provision of training for around 700 employees. By linking Production Data Acquisition (PDA) and CAQ under a simple, intuitive graphic user interface, it was possible to eliminate the need for fault-prone double inputs and achieve a high level of integration. Since the new solution was implemented, Liebherr has been able to transfer production orders from the PDA system to CAQ=QSYS, from where the relevant test order can be initiated. At the same time, it is now possible to trace which order is currently at which stage of production and at which machine. The test results are recorded in parallel with the production process, and are made immediately available for further analysis. By ensuring continuous monitoring of each individual component at every point of the production process, trends can be picked up at an early stage and processes optimised accordingly. By documenting and allocating batch and serial numbers, it is also possible to trace back the entire history of the part through the different production steps. All batches introduced to the process can also be traced. This allows rapid troubleshooting and the timely initiation of preventive actions to avoid further faults. www.ibs-ag.de/en

www.epicor.com

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Software

PolyWorks 2014 – From scanning to tactile probing From part and tool design and prototyping down to final inspection of assembled products, the PolyWorks software suite offers advanced solutions to cover the complete product development cycle. and precision that can occur from operator to operator, and accelerates learning for new scanner operators.

PolyWorks 2014 brings enhancements to many of its key features to meet the demand for productivity, quality and profitability from the start of the manufacturing cycle to the end. At the cutting edge of 3D metrology, PolyWorks is designed to maximise productivity, quality, and profitability when integrating 3D measurement technologies into an industrial manufacturing process. Interfacing directly with all major brands and technologies of single-point and non-contact scanning and 3D measurement devices, PolyWorks is a ‘universal 3D metrology platform’. It supports a vast array of point cloud and mesh file formats, making it a logical choice for streamlining facilities with multiple measurement devices. With a fully customisable user interface and powerful, user-friendly macro programming language, PolyWorks is one of the most adaptable software solutions on the 3D metrology market. This flexibility allows customers to successfully develop and deploy automatic inspection processes or guided operator-driven workflows for effective shop-floor operations, delivering significant productivity gains. PolyWorks allows users to build solid CAD models from scans by creating geometric entities on digitised polygonal models and transferring these entities to feature-based solid CAD modeller, to guarantee the creation of parametric, associative, and fully editable solid models. Using parametric 2D sketches in planar entities, such as arcs, lines, circles,

and splines, defined on a plane embedded in 3D space, sketches are used to create solid base features by performing Extrude, Revolve, Sweep, and Loft operations in one’s preferred solid modelling solution (such as CATIA, NX, Creo, SolidWorks, and Inventor). The solid modelling possibilities are unlimited with PolyWorks. Meanwhile, with its new real-time quality meshing technology, PolyWorks introduces the first systematic and objective metrological approach to laser scanning. PolyWorks can now create polygonal models of digitised parts in real time, as well as compute quality metrics that flag ineffective scanning methods. Laser scanning operators are now able to review the areas that do not meet predefined quality criteria and scan those areas until quality metrics reach their prescribed values. The real-time quality meshing technology enhances the quality and precision of all laser scanning measurements, eliminates the variations of point cloud measurement quality

PolyWorks also features powerful geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) tools for encoding the functions of each feature of a part and specifying manufacturing tolerances to guarantee assembly and operation. Release after release, PolyWorks has sought to differentiate itself by offering only the rigorous mathematical algorithms prescribed by the international ASME and ISO standards while making them easy to use, providing a fully automatic result that hides the complexity behind measuring GD&T. Thanks to its multipiece project format, PolyWorks is capable of automatically computing and updating a statistical process control (SPC) database of multi-piece statistics for object dimensions and surface deviations. SPC databases and related analysis tools, including trend charts and statistical colour maps, are very powerful tools to diagnose manufacturing or assembly issues, or to approve a tool or a part before production. Hi-Tech Metrology provides the ongoing supply and support for PolyWorks at industrial manufacturing organisations within Australia and New Zealand. According to Hi-Tech Metrology, by providing real-time feedback about quality, PolyWorks 2014 will deliver an immediate return on investment to all customers operating probing and scanning devices. www.hitechmetrology.com.au

hyperMILL ShopViewer – greater safety and clarity OPEN MIND Technologies has released hyperMILL ShopViewer, a proprietary visualisation solution for the workshop that provides a complete overview of the upcoming CNC program right through to simulation and ensures that only safe, checked CNC programs run on the machine. Although the digital process chain from design through CNC programming already exists in many companies, there is often a break in the chain when it comes to the production environment. The actual programs are forwarded to the controller via the network, but the associated information is not normally transferred. Machine operators can usually only take advantage of static aids like drawings, tool reports, screenshots and PDFs. It is a different picture with a viewing system, which provides the operator with all the information related to manufacturing data, as well as geometry and component structure. hyperMILL ShopViewer makes it possible to view and examine data from hyperMILL and hyperCAD-S in more detail directly next to the machine. “The viewer typically allows the machine operator to view everything but not modify anything,”

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explains Wolfgang Weiss, Product Manager for CAD at OPEN MIND. “hyperMILL ShopViewer features an uncluttered interface, where the user can only see what he or she needs at any given time.” ShopViewer was developed specifically to the requirements of hyperMILL users. The information visible on the ShopViewer workspace includes 3D models with the ability to measure features, CAM program, 3D clamping plans and tool data. By providing this information, the operator can simulate the actual manufacturing process and gain a better understanding of the milling process in the machine. The hyperMILL operating concept allows users to work in their usual interface, reaching their goals quickly. www.openmind-tech.com

Software

The Factory of the Future – a lean mean machine As the manufacturing industry faces challenges throughout the supply chain related to logistics, warehousing and the outsourcing of manufacturing processes, smart businesses are seeking ways to make operations more efficient. By David Arkles, ANZ regional sales director, Zebra Technologies. It is no secret that the Internet of Things (IoT) is set to change the future of the manufacturing industry. With integrated connectivity solutions creating real-time visibility into organisations’ assets, people and transactions, manufacturers can expect improved efficiency, business agility and reduced costs. The advent of the IoT and the acceleration and convergence of mobility, data analytics and cloud computing, coupled with the ability to place sensors and computing devices virtually anywhere, create an enormous opportunity for manufacturers to gather intelligence that is fundamental to improving visibility within their operations. A global study by Forrester Consulting revealed that senior IT decision makers inside key industries believe that the IoT is transformational – a belief more apparent across Asia Pacific than in any other region in the world! The same study showed that Australia and New Zealand have a particularly high rate of adoption, with nearly 50% of businesses expected to have implement IoT solutions before the end of 2015. ANZ businesses also ranked Wi-Fi tracking as the most important element of IoT solutions, followed by mobile computing and GPS tracking. The strength of IoT technology in making a more visible supply chain allows manufacturers to unravel the relationship between assets, processes and transactions. Information is made visible through Big Data, thereby deriving insights that can improve end-to-end efficiency and operability throughout the value chain. Technologies including barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), GPS and sensors turn the physical into the digital to give operations a virtual voice. This enables manufacturers to know the real-time location, condition, timing and accuracy of the event occurring throughout their value chain. These technologies can be brought to life through correct implementation of Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technologies, such as RFID, for example. Not only can you see where everything is, you also know what it’s doing.

Barcodes and radio frequency identification Used mainly as a means of tracking stock, barcode applications have spread throughout the manufacturing sector

to include processes like warehousing, package delivery, as well as the assembly line operation itself, helping to improve data management and accessibility, and reduce costs. For manufacturing enterprises looking to optimise efficiency and accuracy, this is critical. Barcoding is one of the most costeffective tools that manufacturers have to ensure data credibility and reduce the impact of human error. Besides improving accuracy, RFID and barcode data collection is faster than manual collection, which improves labour productivity. Replacing paper forms with much smaller barcode labels and embedded RFID tags produces immediate savings that frequently reach six figures annually, even for companies with relatively moderate levels of production tracking and shipping activity. As customers demand built-to-order and just-in-time deliveries from their suppliers, traceability and data collection at the item level is critical. A relatively small investment in an RFID tracking system will ensure scheduling and materials applications will deliver benefits, leveraging the investment in those more expensive planning applications.

Real-time locating systems

technologies to deliver precise, real-time visibility of critical assets across the value chain. For manufacturers with geographically dispersed sites, this means having end-toend visibility and traceability of all containers, pallets, and packages, enabling intelligent management and flow of all critical assets, whether in the facility or in the yard. With RTLS solutions, enterprises can easily identify the exact location of any particular asset on the value chain quickly, track data to monitor and optimise processes, as well as improve the workflow cycle time and dwell time. Essentially, manufacturers need to recognise that there is significant potential in adapting existing processes to work with greater precision. Embracing advances in technology will enable supply chain managers and business leaders to gain visibility and control over their operational events – assets, transactions and people – in real time, enabling them to see more and do more. When this visibility is aligned to singlenetwork connectivity, it creates an integrated production environment with data excellence at its heart. www.zebra.com

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Safety

Australian access control system wins global acceptance An innovative Australian access control system is winning the support of leading companies around the world. The inexpensive, easy-to-use AccessPack technology significantly reduces both occupational health & safety (OHS) and business risk associated with industrial equipment use. First aimed at high-risk equipment, it is now being installed on a huge variety of equipment across a range of industries around the world due to its simplicity and versatility. Major existing users of AccessPack include companies such as Schlumberger, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, FMG, Weatherford, UGL, Komatsu, Hitachi, Disney, Rolls Royce and the Whiting Corporation. AccessPack, from Western Australian company CASWA, uses smart card technology to prevent unauthorised operators from using high-risk or critical equipment. This improves OHS outcomes by requiring users to have current and appropriate ‘tickets’, including qualifications, accreditation, training and/or inductions, in order to operate the equipment. It records who uses the equipment, which creates and maintains a culture of operator accountability and typically improves availability as authorised users instinctively take greater care. According to CASWA, it also provides HSE staff with access to information required for effective incident investigation and proactive training needs analysis. AccessPack is radically different from typical access control systems that are designed to prohibit use by merely restricting perimeter access. Not only do these systems need expensive communications infrastructure to work (between the control point and a backend computer), but also, once people have passed security, there is typically nothing to actually stop them from operating any individual machine they can get their hands on. “AccessPack is fitted to the actual device you want to manage,” says the technology’s developer, Paul Kelly, Managing Director of CASWA. “So it will only operate for individual persons that have been authorised to do so, and only for the period that this authority is valid. Machines will simply not start for anyone else.”

Health, safety and environment benefits “Controlling devices individually also enables us to tackle the difficult part of the HSE equation - the people part,” adds Kelly. “This is the bit that is typically ignored because, let’s face it, changing people’s behaviour is really hard. Maintaining it is harder still. “AccessPack logs authorised use and thus achieves behavioural change by merely providing the means by which people can be held accountable. This change will often stay with the operator when they then use other equipment. It’s cultural change you can buy off the shelf.” AccessPack doesn’t rely on any communications system to operate, so it can be installed quickly and inexpensively on a wider range of equipment. Kelly adds: “With AccessPack, you can finally control access to mobile and battery-powered equipment that isn’t bolted down and can easily wander in and out of wi-fi or 3G range.” Paul Kelly drew on a lifelong interest in developing rocket flight control systems to form CASWA.

Applications for AccessPack include cranes, metal-processing plant, heavy vehicles, forklifts, cranes, security boxes, mining and civil engineering equipment, through to entire sites and plants.

According to Kelly, this feature has allowed AccessPack to become a universal solution for all types, makes and models of equipment. Organisations are now finally able to employ a single access control technology across their entire operation, with only one associated management system. The range of equipment commonly fitted with AccessPack includes cranes, production-critical machines, hydraulic power packs, lathes, presses, CNC plant and breakout machines, as well as vehicles such as forklifts, diggers and elevated lifting platforms. The system can also replace most logbook-controlled cabinets or rooms by fitting an AccessPack to an electronic safe or door. AccessPack uses extend through to entire sites and plants, such as those in the oil and gas, mining, energy, manufacturing and processing industries. There is also no limitation to the number of units or different equipment types on a site. Installations can be a single machine on one site, a type of machine across multiple sites, or a total enterprise solution for all types of critical or hazardous equipment. It is infinitely scalable without incurring any sunk cost along the way. “Most importantly however, our hardware is simple and hassle-free to use,” adds Kelly. “After you fit an AccessPack to a machine, the operator just replaces pressing a start-switch with swiping a card. Thus we don’t get much push-back from users.” The system also prevents unqualified personnel from being pressured into using hazardous equipment by over-eager or time-stressed supervisors. “So it’s win-win for everyone,” says Kelly. Other features of AccessPack include the ability to track when maintenance or servicing is due, thus keeping equipment in good working condition and further ensuring operators’ safety. Equipment can be tagged out if this is required for any reason, or if mandatory maintenance intervals are not done in the required period. In this mode, no operator, certified or otherwise, can physically use the equipment until it is safe to do so.

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Safety

WHS leaders to gather for Safety in Action Brisbane More than 2500 decision-makers from workplace health & safety (WHS), operations, maintenance, technical and engineering backgrounds will gather in Brisbane on 22–23 April for the Safety in Action Brisbane Expo. Machines fitted with an AccessPack will work only when the user swipes a valid RFID card.

Administration is just as simple. A secure web interface enables access rights to be granted or changed using a few drag and drop actions. Recently, CASWA signed a licence agreement with the Whiting Corporation, a major manufacturer of overhead cranes, foundry equipment and rail maintenance lifting equipment in the US, for distribution throughout North America. According to Whiting Corporation’s Product Director Joel Phelps, the technology is “brilliant”. “It is simple to install and use and is already proven in service in some of the most challenging markets and physically challenging locations on Earth,” says Phelps. “From Australasia, Asia, Africa and Russia to Western Europe and the US, AccessPack is proving itself to be the Seventh Sigma of excellence in process improvement. “We love it here because it pays for itself by easing compliance with safety regimes. Importantly, AccessPack also helps to eliminate downtime by empowering workers to take responsibility for the assets they use. Quite apart from saving compliance headaches and avoiding downtime – which are major issues here – it prevents accidents from misuse of fixed and mobile plant that can kill people.”

How it works The system consists of a ‘control puck’ – a sensor assembly containing a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader and other smart electronics. This is fitted to the machine and programmed with relevant information about the machine and its location. Machines will work only when the user swipes the puck with a valid RFID card. As soon as the logged-in user finishes using the equipment, smart sensors and electronics within the AccessPack detect this event and he/she is automatically logged out to prevent usage by unauthorized personnel. RFID cards are programmed with ‘tokens’ for each respective piece/ type of equipment that a particular operator can use, based on the person’s inductions/training/certifications and associated expiry dates.

Formerly the Queensland Safety Show, Safety in Action Brisbane is the only safety exhibition in the region. The event will feature an exhibition with more than 100 exhibitors and a unique seminar program at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre. It’s estimated that work-related injuries cost the Australian economy more than $60bn a year, specifically impacting small businesses. Safety in Action Brisbane will explore the latest in work health and safety measures, as well as discuss how to minimise the economic burden of work-related injuries. Mental health and wellbeing will be a key focus of the seminar series, which will feature an impressive line-up of industry professionals discussing the 2015 theme ‘Realising proactive safety methods to encourage workplace health and wellbeing’. Confirmed speakers include: Nick Arvanitis, Senior Project Manager from beyondblue; John Fell, General Manager at Advanced Safety Systems Australia (ASSA); Sally Kirkright, CEO of AccessEAP; and Marc McLaren, Director of Generative HSE. Many more key industry spokespeople will also be on hand to share their knowledge on workplace safety, regulatory compliance, culture change and leadership. The Safety in Action Brisbane Expo will feature a number of acclaimed exhibitors from around the country showcasing a range of innovative products, services and the latest safety developments. Key exhibitors include WorkCover Queensland, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Millsom, Myosh, Bradley Australia, Atom Supply Group, beyondblue and Aegis Safety. A new feature of 2015 is Innovation Hour: a fun, fastpaced and informative demonstration of the latest products/ services from five to six exhibitors. Co-located is the Safety Institute of Australia’s Brisbane Safety Conference, taking place alongside the Safety in Action exhibition. The conference will provide professionals with highlevel, in-depth analyses of safety legislation, regulation and workplace WHS policies across Queensland. Attendance at Safety in Action Brisbane is free and open to any business and professional with a safety interest. You can register your place at the event online. www.safetyinaction.net.au/brisbane

Unlike traditional access control hardware that relies on communication between the access control point and a central management computer running a database of permissions, AccessPack is a standalone system with all the information required to grant/deny access being contained on the user’s RFID card. This is the key to its wide applicability and cheap installation. A wide range of applications kits have been developed so AccessPack is currently able to be fitted to any equipment powered from 2 to 415V, AC or DC. www.caswa.com

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Safety

Australian and international safety standards â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Designing the future Adopting safety standards can lead to improved flexibility, expanded markets, and better use of technology. Modern quantitative standards may not be as simple to use as their qualitative predecessors, but they give designers the tools to work with the current generation of complex machinery safety systems. By Wayne Pearse, safety consultant Rockwell Automation. Safety systems have come a long way in recent times. They have evolved from simple mechanistic shut-down functions to technologies such as safety-capable logic, which can react to machine conditions and improve productivity. To use modern safety systems effectively, designers need new tools.

Wayne Pearse

Current Australian and international safety standards provide quantitative methods to calculate risk and reliability. This is a big shift from the simple qualitative approach of machine safety standard AS4024:1501 (EN 954), which did not require designers to assess the reliability of safety components. To keep Australia and New Zealand in line with international standards, the AS 4024:2006 series of standards, which comprised 26 parts based on international standards, has been revised. The new AS/NZS 4024:2014 series was released in July 2014. The parts are direct text adoptions of the international standard, meaning that all references in the parts represent international standard numbers. There are many compelling reasons to adopt international standards. For example, machines exported to Europe must comply with International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 13849-1 or International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62061 (also known as AS 62061-1:2005). Manufacturers can also take advantage of the framework provided by safety standards to homogenise the operation of their plants around the world. This brings cost savings in training and maintenance, as well as increased safety for workers and equipment. The quantitative approaches of AS/NZS 4024:1503 (ISO 138491:2006) and IEC/AS 62061:2005 are also useful for engineers seeking to explain the need for a particular safety system in an application, or to justify the cost of a safety upgrade in terms of actual risk reduction. Safety standards allow companies to demonstrate compliance to customers, and give them confidence that their machines will operate safely, with reduced down-time resulting from component failures. This can be augmented by employing certified functional safety engineers.

Horses for courses Sometimes there are competing international standards governing an aspect of the design process. This is illustrated by the two competing

safety standards in Europe. Both contain a framework and tools to analyse the functional safety of a systemâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; the parts of the control system that ensure the safety of plant and personnel. For designers, the choice of which standard to apply can be confusing. The ISO and IEC recognise the problem, and are participating in a joint working group to merge ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061:2005. The process began in 2011 and it is likely that it will take several years to complete. In the meantime, the main consideration for engineers is to choose a standard that they feel comfortable working with and select safety systems that meet the requirements of the operating environment and machine function. The IEC standard already operates in Australia as AS 62061-1:2005. It applies to programmable devices, such as safety PLCs, and should be used for these applications. The standard describes risk, and the ability of the system to reduce it, in terms of safety integrity levels (SIL). SIL 1 is the lowest risk and SIL 3 the highest. ISO 13849-1:2006 is also applicable in Australia, and has recently been referenced and referred to in AS/NZS 4024:1503. It applies to electrical, mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic systems. Under AS/NZS 4024:1503, mean time to dangerous failure (MTTFd) for the system is calculated in years. Instead of SIL, risk and system performance are described using performance levels (PL), ranging from PL a to PL e, where PL e is the highest.

Diagram 1: Graphical determination of performance level.

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A key difference between the two international standards is the work involved in the calculations of system performance. Unlike AS/NZS 4024:1503, AS 62061-1:2005 does not consider mean time to failure in years, and uses considerably more complex methods to determine the probability of dangerous failure per hour (PFHD).

Safety

Far Left: Diagram 2: Risk Graph from Annex A of EN ISO 1384-1. Left: Diagram 3: Risk Graph from Annex B of EN 954-1.

Safety lifecycle

System reliability

Integrating safety and machine functionality during the concept and design phase can deliver a system that minimises risk, meets functional specifications and reduces training requirements. Specific gains can be made through sharing components between the standard and safety parts of the application and using intelligent safety systems to enhance operations.

AS/NZS 4024:1503 uses MTTFd (years) as a measure of system reliability. The MTTFd of a single-channel system or subsystem is the average of the MTTFd of each of its elements. This value can be calculated using the simplified formula provided in the standard. For a dual channel system or subsystem, the MTTFd of each channel needs to be calculated separately.

The safety lifecycle of a machine starts with a system risk assessment that then flows into the development of the functional requirements for the system. Once the risk assessment and functional specification are complete, it is time to put your chosen international standard to work in the design and verification process. The design flow of AS/NZS 4024:1503 will be used to discuss factors such as performance level, system reliability, diagnostic coverage and common cause failure.

The MTTFd is limited by the standard to 100 years, though in some cases it may be higher. The average MTTFd of each system or subsystem is categorised as low, medium or high depending on its value. This reliability range can then be used to determine PL as shown in Diagram 1.

Performance level structure (categories) Performance levels are the basis for quantifying the ability of the safety related parts of a system to respond to risk. They are based on the system architecture (category); the reliability of the system, represented by the mean time to dangerous failure (MTTFd); and the effectiveness of the system in checking for faults using diagnostic coverage (DC) and common cause failure (CCF). Many engineers are familiar with the use of categories to describe control system architecture. This terminology is used in AS4024:1501 and the now obsolete EN954-1 but remains an integral part of AS/NZS 4024:1503. A graph relating performance levels to categories and average mean time to failure is shown in Diagram 1). In this diagram, DCavg is the average diagnostic coverage which is a measure of the test quality applied to components of the system. The risk graphs from AS/NZS 4024:1503 and AS 4024:1501 (EN 954-1) are shown in Diagrams 2 and 3. In these diagrams, S1 refers to the risk of an incident resulting in a minor injury, such as a cut finger, and S2 to incidents with more serious outcomes. The main difference is that the S2 branch now subdivides, requiring more careful consideration of the safety measures for those systems have inherently lower risks. For a safety related control system, there are five categories: B, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Category B has no specific fault tolerance, but is the basis for the higher categories. In Category 1 systems, fault prevention is achieved through the use of simple design, and stable and predictable components and materials. The three highest categories (2, 3 and 4) require that if faults cannot be prevented, they must be detected and the system must react appropriately. Redundancy, diversity and monitoring are the key concepts employed in reaching this outcome.

The different categories of safety system have varying levels of diagnostic testing. Diagnostic coverage (DC) is the term used to describe the system’s effectiveness in detecting faults. The failure rate within a system is expressed as Lambda (λ). DC is defined as the ratio of dangerous failures which are detected (λdd) to total dangerous failures (λd) expressed as a percentage (DC= λdd / λd). The failures that pose the greatest threat are the dangerous undetected hazards (λdu). DC is divided into four basic ranges: none, for values below 60%; low, from 60% to 90%; medium, from 90% to 99%; and high, for values equal to or exceeding 99%.

Common cause failure One of the important principles of AS/NZS 4024:1503 is the need for designers to determine whether the possibilities of faults in both channels of a dual channel system are separate and unrelated. If failure of a component in one system causes faults in other systems or components, this is considered a single failure. Events that cause more than one component of the system to fail are called common cause failures (CCF). CCFs are many and varied, and it is necessary for engineers to employ a diverse arsenal of methods to combat them. The approach outlined in the standard is qualitative. Simply put, designers need to analyse the possible CCF of their application and mitigate the risk of them occurring. Annexe F of AS/ NZS 4024:1503 lists various measures—including the technological diversity of the design, physical separation of signal paths and electromagnetic compatibility—which can be taken to minimise CCF and assigns a score to each type. To demonstrate compliance with the standard, designers need to achieve a score of 65 or greater. Safety standards not only support global markets and complex safety technologies. They give designers tools to quantify risk and provide a structured framework to implement integrated safety lifecycle design. There is no right or wrong when choosing between AS/NZS 4024:1503and IEC/AS 62061:2005: engineers must do their research and decide which standard best suits their design parameters and provides the most workable tools for their application. www.rockwellautomation.com AMT March 2015

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forum – recruitment

New employment opportunities for Australia’s manufacturing industry Dave Storey shares his forecast for Australia’s manufacturing sector and his insight into global trends that are set to impact local manufacturing businesses. Australia’s manufacturing sector has experienced a challenging period over the past decade with high labour costs, increasing offshore investment and until recently, an increasing Australian dollar. Hiring activity for manufacturing professionals has remained steady over the past 12 months, Figures from the 2014/15 Michael Page Australia Salary & Employment Forecast reveal hesitant sentiment amongst employers in manufacturing. Only 26% of those surveyed are expecting to increase headcount in the coming months, with a resounding 65% not expecting to make new hires. Manufacturing is Australia’s fourth largest employer of skilled professionals, however over the past 10 years there has been a consistent decline in hiring activity. However, some industries are seeing consistent demand, with the highest levels of hiring activity currently occurring in food, biomedical, pharmaceutical and niche healthcare sectors, particularly in the technical and new product development field. Specifically, demand will be strong for professionals in the areas of site management, production management and operations management over the coming months. Turnover within the manufacturing sector is high, with 43% of employers expecting staff turnover in the coming months. This has been driven by both macro- and micro-economic factors, including the declining Australian dollar, subdued growth within the global manufacturing sector and an increased competitiveness from overseas companies, as well as lower consumer confidence. The closure of Australia’s car manufacturing industry, and the ensuing loss of some 40,000 jobs has contributed to declining consumer confidence. This is in addition to an already unstable market where we are still seeing unemployment rising. From a macro-economic perspective, the end of taxpayer support will potentially fuel growth by helping to lower the cost of vehicles domestically to the consumer and redeploy labour into other areas of manufacturing, thereby increasing overall growth in the sector (namely food, dairy, processing, agriculture and infrastructure). The declining automotive industry will further create greater redeployment opportunities as skilled mechanical and electrical professionals will be diverted into new advanced manufacturing hubs. The federal government’s recently announced Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda is set to make a positive impact on advanced manufacturing, with the industry targeted as one of five growth sectors across the economy. The Agenda places particular focus on foreign investment which has the potential to drive significant growth in new areas for skilled manufacturing professionals in the employment market. Currently, Australia is ranked 81st in the world in terms of the efficiency of our innovation system in manufacturing (according to recent international rankings released by graduate business school Insead). We can improve on our global ranking by creating greater global alignment with industry affiliations as well as having strong government support and funding to educational vehicles (i.e. higher education and universities). The industry needs to have a consistent push on core manufacturing growth markets and sectors that will directly benefit Australia, such as food, beverage, infant produce and high tech solutions.

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Manufacturing is Australia’s fourth largest employer of skilled professionals, however over the past 10 years there has been a consistent decline in hiring activity. Only 17% of Australian manufacturing businesses rank company performance as much stronger in comparison with Asia operations. With the economic powerhouse of China on our front doorstep, can Australia compete? We are facing ongoing challenges in the manufacturing sector as we compete directly with Asian operations. This is primarily due to the high cost of labour in Australia and the associated expense of manufacturing goods. The recent free trade agreements with China will have a positive impact on the manufacturing sector across Australia. Naturally, there are some clear winners as well as areas of concern apparent from the China Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA). Some of the positives are: • Australia and China will forge a deeper relationship which will create upswing in the Australian economy. • There will be greater flow of investment between Australia and China, making business between the two countries easier. • Restrictions will be lifted when it comes to trade/tariffs over numerous sectors/industries which include dairy, wine, processed food, pharmaceuticals, processed metals, cosmetics etc • Australian manufacturers investing and setting up further operations in China. The inroads into the Chinese market is good news for Australian manufacturers as they will be able to incorporate Australian manufactured products in their offerings – for example: architects can partner with local suppliers, and healthcare providers can similarly partner with the Australian biomedical industry to tackle the Chinese market. Also, a relaxation of restrictions on services in resources processing will potentially clear the way for Australian mining equipment and technology suppliers. Manufacturing in Australia continues to be a diverse and important sector for the employment market. The vitality of the sector is crucial to Australia’s future prosperity, however it is no secret that Australian manufacturing continues to face challenging conditions. Success will come from firms and employees who focus on innovation and invest in research and development to find their niche offering. In addition, the FTA between China and Australia will result in Australian manufacturing continuing to prosper across the agribusiness, consumer, medical, food and beverage sectors which have their prospects set on the domestic market and on exporting throughout the Asia Pacific region in 2015. Dave Storey is Regional Director of Technical Divisions (Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement & Construction) for Michael Page – a global leader in specialist recruitment services. Phone: 03 9607 5681 Email: davestorey@michaelpage.com.au www.michaelpage.com.au

forum – law

Inquiry into the future of Australia’s automotive industry Uncertainty surrounding the future of Australia’s automotive industry has prompted a new Senate inquiry. As part of the inquiry, proposals and opinions are invited, as explained by Evan Stents. On 25 November 2014 the Senate referred an inquiry into the future of Australia’s automotive industry to the Senate Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by 1 November 2015. This will be a wide-ranging review concerning all aspects of the future of Australia’s automotive industry, with particular reference to: 1. Maintaining the capacity for Australia to engage in advanced manufacturing, by ensuring skills and industrial capabilities that have been sustained by the automotive industry are not lost. 2. Reducing Australia’s dependency on commodity exports by diversifying the country’s economic base, noting the importance of advanced manufacturing, including the automotive industry, in this diversification. 3. The role of all sectors of the automotive industry - including but not limited to motor vehicle production, component-making, after-market manufacturing, engineering, servicing, retail motor trades, other forms of sales support, and the training of apprentices - in supporting an advanced broad-based economy. 4. The special difficulties faced by component makers in the transition to global supply chains and to other forms of manufacturing, especially as a result of the closure announcements made by the motor vehicle producers. 5. New technologies influencing the automotive industry, both in Australia and internationally, especially new and developing forms of propulsion, such as hydrogen, electric engines and hybrid engines. 6. New business models for the industry, including employee share models and attracting international venture capital and private investment. 7. The possible effects of early closure of motor vehicle producers, including risks and consequences for the industry, skills, capabilities and the broader economy, including social consequences, and what policy actions could mitigate or exacerbate these risks and consequences. 8. The need to synthesise and consolidate the findings, recommendations and knowledge of other reviews and inquiries pertinent to the automotive industry, in order to identify key policy inconsistencies, regulatory burdens and factors for growth and investment. 9. The importance of long-term, stable employment for workers in the automotive industry, and the need for greater access to transitional training and career opportunities. 10. Any other related matters. These terms of reference embrace every aspect of the automotive industry, and are likely to impact on motor dealer distributers, dealers, component manufacturers and the aftermarket industry. In particular for dealers, the Inquiry will likely consider the outcomes of the Competition Policy Review and the review of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (Cth). It is also likely that the Inquiry may consider other recent policy matters including the new Franchising Code of Conduct and the potential extension of unfair contract term protections presently being considered by Treasury. The Senate Inquiry also comes in the wake of the Productivity Commission’s Final Report, released on 26 August 2014, setting out its recommendations on the future of government funding of the automotive industry. In their Report, the Productivity Commission

observed, among other things, that government funding of the automotive industry needs to be considered in the following context: 1. Motor vehicle producers operate in highly competitive global and domestic automotive markets and are moving to global platforms and investing in large-scale plants in low-cost locations in regions of growing demand such as Brazil, China, India and Thailand. 2. Australian motor vehicle production would need to at least double or triple its output to be cost-competitive for global manufacturers, and has been unable to withstand relentless pressure to lower manufacturing costs throughout the automotive supply chain. 3. The ability to increase Australian motor vehicle production to cost-competitive levels has been constrained by Australia’s small and highly fragmented new car market, a lack of exports, the high value of the Australian dollar and international barriers to trade. 4. Australia is the second most expensive country in which to manufacture automotive components (behind Japan), has the highest transportation and utilities costs and the third highest labour costs. As a result, there has been a progressive reduction in locally sourced automotive components by motor vehicle producers. 5. Industry-specific assistance risks locking firms into loss-making ventures and hinders rather than promotes businesses from adjusting to changing market conditions. Governments should not provide any further ongoing or ad hoc assistance, including capital subsidies to the automotive industry, beyond what is already committed through the Automotive New Markets Program and ATS. Certain policy recommendations of the Productivity Commission may also fall within the terms of reference of the Senate Inquiry. In particular, the Commission’s recommendation that 1. the Luxury Car Tax be abolished; 2. Australian Design Rules be harmonised with their European counterparts; 3. the $12,000 second-hand import duty be abolished; 4. the 5% tariff on vehicles imported into Australia be abolished; 5. there be no further ‘ad hoc’ automotive industry funding assistance by government; and 6. funding be redirected towards job searching and basic skills training, such as under the Automotive Industry Structural Adjustment Program (AISAP), scheduled to run until 2017, or otherwise redirected towards policy targeted at increasing productivity and competitiveness of the economy generally. The Senate Economics References Committee invites individuals and organisations to send in their opinions and proposals in writing. If you would like details of how to make a submission to Senate Committee Inquiry, please contact Evan Stents on (03) 8644 3509. Submissions close on 29 May 2015. Evan Stents is a partner of HWL Ebsworth and the National Litigation Group Head. Evan is considered one of the leading automotive industry lawyers in Australia and has acted for OEMs, component producers, automotive service providers, automotive dealers, automotive aftermarket suppliers and a number of automotive industry group associations. www.hwle.com.au

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forum – lean

The purpose of becoming Lean There are many subtleties that are fundamental to Lean success, as explained by Troy Taylor. On my initial meeting with an organisation’s Leader, the first thing I need to know is “Why Lean and what are your aims and goals of this engagement?” This question, and asking it right at the outset of the engagement achieves two things for me. Firstly it gets the executive thinking in an open-minded way and presents me with a window to challenge that thinking, and secondly, it allows me to assess the Leader’s mindset and consequently the organisation’s culture. Unfortunately most organisational leaders immediately begin to speak of cost reduction. It is only truly enlightened leaders that have a vision beyond short-term cost reduction, and these leaders speak of growth, expansion and improving the working lives of their people. I see it as my challenge to help the less enlightened see how these things are the drivers for a truly successful transformational change effort. To understand this, one must first understand the purpose of Lean and, in my opinion; the best place to get this information is direct from the horse’s mouth.Taiichi Ohno is considered by many to be the father of Lean. He was a Japanese businessman whose work was fundamental in building Toyota’s production system which was later adopted in the US and named “Lean”. On describing the Toyota production system (and therefore Lean) Ohno says: “All we are doing is looking at the time-line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the timeline by reducing the non-value-adding wastes.” This statement has no mention of cost reduction, only time reduction and, in practice, when you analyse the improvements that are made by the application of Lean tools, they are all measured in time, not currency. Of course we all know that time is money but Ohno’s statement is just one example of the many subtleties that are fundamental to Lean success and sustainability. It requires the correct mindset. A good organisation will focus constantly on safety, quality, on time delivery and its people as well as cost in equal measure. Favouring one over the others can result in catastrophic failure. For example what do you suppose might happen if an organisation focussed on DIFOT (delivery in full on time) over all other measures (SQCM)? As it becomes apparent that this measure is in danger of being missed, panic ensues: more people are thrown into the mix, corners can become cut and work-arounds become the norm. Consequently safety is at risk. An organisation that has been on their Lean journey for a little while will soon begin to realise that they are now able to achieve much more with much less. They will also realise that they now have a decision to make: how do they manage all of this extra time?

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1. Put extra effort into filling the newly created capacity with more product or new revenue streams. 2. Reduce costs by removing people from the organisation and continue to produce the same volumes. Be aware that any organisation that chooses option 2 also chooses to immediately end their Lean journey. Lean requires the people from within the organisation to be fully on board and engaged with the effort. There is nothing more guaranteed to kill an organisation’s morale than redundancy. A truly Lean organisation is constantly shifting focus between sales and R&D, in order to fill capacity, and operations, to create the capacity for new revenue streams and increased sales.

For managers “I just don’t have the time” or “I’m too busy”, are common statements I hear from managers all the time. Managers are generally time-poor. They work on short-cuts and work-arounds just to get the job done and inadvertently, they damage the organisation which they are so passionately trying to protect. What Lean does for managers again, is give them back time. It aims to engage the Manager’s people in solving their own problems (with guidance, of course) and have the problems removed once and for all, never to return. However Lean also aims to ensure that they never run out of problems on which to work. This we call continuous improvement.

For the workforce Making people’s life easier or better in some way is what drives me, and it is this that makes my work worth the effort I put into it. It is for this reason that I have worked with Lean for almost 20 years. Visualising the workplace and standardising it through the application of Lean tools, presents everybody with the opportunity to optimise their work, their workplace and their working situation. In Ohno’s statement he speaks of “reducing the non-value adding wastes”. These things are generally the same things that people do not like having in their work - those things that create low morale - so anything that supports their removal can surely only be a good thing. The morale of the workforce soon begins to lift as they realise that they are spending more time on adding value and much less on those things that get in the way of them doing so. Troy Taylor has almost 20 years of Lean experience both as a practitioner and Lean consultant across many industries including automotive, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas and bio technology. Troy can be contacted on ph: 0477 428231. www.chaseperformance.com

forum – ohs

Safety when using forklifts Forklifts continue to contribute to deaths and injuries in Australia. Brendan Torazzi recommends some simple safety tips. Forklifts are used to lift, stack and transfer loads in workplaces across Australia. They generally come in two types: (a) equipped with a mast and an elevating load carriage with a pair of fork arms or other attachment or (b) order picking forklift truck where the operator’s control elevates with the load carriage/lifting media. The use of a forklift or an industrial truck makes light work of moving heavy materials, but while the task may appear straightforward, using or working near a forklift safely can be tricky business and each year they continue to be associated with workplace deaths and/or injuries. The Safe Work Australia Manufacturing Fact sheet (November 2013) states that over the five years from 2007–08 to 2011–12, eight manufacturing workers died from workrelated injuries involving conveyors and lifting machinery such as cranes and forklift trucks, while another five deaths involved packaging, fittings and lifting equipment. Whilst forklifts are designed to be manoeuvrable and compact, a standard two tonne forklift can weigh approximately five tonnes when fully laden. Even at low speeds, forklifts can cause serious injuries and fatalities. It is not just the worker using the forklift who can be injured; pedestrians can be struck by a forklift or by its load. Some simple safe practices include:

Traffic Management Plan A traffic management plan is a combination of rules and physical barriers that keep operators and pedestrians separate and safe. Qualifications and Training To safely and legally operate a forklift you must be licensed and competent to operate that particular forklift and follow safe operating procedures including following the traffic management rules at your workplace.

Lift Heights A forklifts load carrying capacity is significantly affected by lift height or maximum fork height. Forklifts with high masts have a greater carrying capacity at lower lift heights than at maximum lift heights, therefore, forklifts with high masts may have a dual capacity rating at the maximum lift height, allowing the forklift operator to work with heavier loads at low heights. Operate at a safe speed • Never proceed past the speed limit. •

Take corners and any turns slowly to minimise risk of tipping. • Make any changes in direction or any stops gradually and slowly. Avoid Hazards • Steer clear of any bumps or uneven ground surfaces along with slippery conditions.

• Steer clear of loose ground objects which could cause loss of control over the equipment or a load to move around. • Use the horn when closing in on a corner or doorway/entrance and around people to alert pedestrians • Keep a safe distance from other trucks in case they move in an unpredictable manner. • Make sure that you always have enough space to stop safely. Forklifts are for Carrying Loads only • Operators must not let others ride on the equipment unless another seat is fitted safely to the forklift for a second person. Ensure your load is stable and secure • Check the loads carefully before moving them for stability and damage.

To be eligible to obtain a licence you must be at least 18 years of age and have completed a recognised training course with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and have been assessed as competent by an assessor working for the RTO.

• It is important to ensure that the load is tilted back with the forks sitting low whilst transporting in order to increase truck stability.

Responsibilities

• Make sure loads are correctly stacked and positioned across both forks.

As a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), you are responsible for providing a safe work environment; safe systems of work; safe and well-maintained machinery; proper and adequate information, instruction, training and supervision. Workers also have responsibilities to ensure safety by not putting yourself or others at risk and working with the PCBU and co-workers to improve safety. Also required is awareness of the effects of a loadweight, shape and size on a forklift, the correct way that a load should be fitted and the difference between the model number on the forklift and the forklift’s load capacity plate. Operators need to be aware of the forklift load capacity as more forklift options and attachments become available, A forklifts load capacity is determined as the maximum weight that a forklift is able to safely carry at a specified load centre. If the load is not centred at the precise position then the forklifts capacity and stability will be reduced.

• Check for any overhead objects before lifting or stacking loads. • Do not lift or move loads that are not safe or stable.

• Stack the load on the pallet or skid safely and correctly. • Use securing measures such as ropes or bindings if required. Keep Clear of the Mast • Do not allow anyone to stand or walk under the load or forklift machinery - The load can fall causing injury or death. • Keep hands and feet clear of the cross members of the mast Serious injury can be caused if the mast is lowered while your hand is on it. Brendan Torazzi is CEO of AlertForce - a Registered Training Organisation. AlertForce specialises in compliance training for Workplace Health and Safety by offering quality online, face-toface and/or blended training approaches to create fast, flexible and competitive OHS training & compliance solutions. Ph: 1800 900 222 . www.alertforce.com.au

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manufacturing history

Part 1

One of the most important interviews of my life

UK-born Australian Sir Laurence Hartnett was known as Australia’s ‘Father of the Holden’. But he was more than that. His contributions to Australia included serving as Director of Ordnance Production in World War II, setting up the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation and numerous other ventures. Sir Laurence loved his adopted country, which he took calculated personal and financial risks for, as he dedicated himself tirelessly to a visionary “Made in Australia” campaign which commenced upon his arrival in Australia in 1934. Our previous instalment described the young Laurence’s love of all things mechanical. Our second instalment details the teenage Sir Laurence’s launch into the trade which would eventually greatly benefit Australia’s fledgling automotive industry. But all that is in the future. For now – young Sir Laurence must lay his foundation in production engineering – despite his family’s initial opposition! The year is 1914

less my family: they agreed that if engineering was to be my life’s work, they would do everything they could to get for me the best possible start. Whom did they know in engineering? Who could help the 16-year-old Laurence?

Vickers factory, early 1900s

One of mother’s friends or relatives remembered that he knew Sir Trevor Dawson, the head of Vickers, the great UK engineering firm. An introduction soon followed, and I found myself eventually in Sir Trevor’s big London office, and the photographs on the walls told me I was in the right place: Maxim machineguns, destroyers, ships, rifles, electric generators, and the like. Sir Trevor was a great fellow, obviously sympathetic to my ambitions. He’d seen enough engineers to recognize a lad completely sold on production engineering as a calling. He heard me out, and then said, “Very well, young man. Vickers can make an engineer out of you if you’re prepared to work.” “Oh, I am sir, I am!” I assured him fervently. “Our training is very thorough, but it is hard work, too,” he said. “If you can stick to it, study hard, and work hard on the practical side, you’ll do well. Now, this is what I have in mind for you, young man; each year we take on about a dozen management student apprentices, and I can arrange for you to be one of them this year. “ Sir Trevor went on: “As an apprentice you will be given the opportunity to learn everything. You’ll work in the machine-shops, in the toolroom, the forge-shop, the foundry and the drawing-offrce-and while you’re doing all that you’ll be going to technical schools at night. This programme will develop your hand and your brain. If you want to be an engineer you must have the practical skill as well as the theory. “We watch you very closely all the time. And we check your progress. If you come through, you will be an engineer. But I must warn you, Hartnett,” he said, looking at my well-pressed suit and shining shoes, “you’ll get very dirty at times, and no one will want to sit near you on a tram, because you’ll smell of oil or cast-iron. You’ll probably be sent to some places like Birmingham and Barrow. Do you know what it’s like to start work at 6.30 or 7 a.m. and go home at 6 p.m. after a really hard day?” “No, sir, but I think I’d like it,” I told him. That was one of the most important interviews of my life. It set my course firmly on an engineering career, and opened the door for me to the great Vickers training scheme, probably the best apprenticeship plan in the world in those days.

I left Epsom College (Surrey, UK) at the end of the: term, and a week or so later reported for work at the Vickers plant at Erith. The year was 1914. The Vickers factory at Erith in Kent, was a collection of old buildings, rambling and dirty. But I didn’t notice the grime as I walked through the door on my first morning. All I could hear was the sound of machinery running and the high-pitched screech of metal being turned in the lathes and cut in milling machines. Like any youngster starting his first job, I was scared and excited at the same time. And then came an anti-climax. The manager greeted me with the news that I would not be working at Erith. There had been a change in my posting, and I was to report to another Vickers plant at Crayford, a few miles away. That, as it turned out, was a very lucky break. Crayford, a much smaller plant than Erith in 1914, was destined for almost unbelievable expansion in the years ahead. The First World War had just started, and Britain’s engineering industry mushroomed as orders for engines and weapons came flooding in. As a management student, I found that right from the start I was to be under the watchful eye of the plant’s top men.

This is an extract from ‘Big Wheels & Little Wheels’, by Sir Laurence Hartnett as told to John Veitch, 1964. © Deirdre Barnett.

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To be continued…

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Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

Governments must act quicker If you have not already done so, please refer to my column on page 10, in which I highlight the need for Governments at all levels to act quicker and more decisively, particularly in the first year of their terms. It may be hard to believe, but the Abbott government is already half way through their three year term of Government. When I take a critical look at what they have done to provide an environment that stimulates a manufacturing sector that can prosper into the future, I am struggling to come up with a lot of positives. That is not to say that they have no initiatives in place, it is just that they are another government that has failed to act quick enough on the ideas and concepts it started with 18 months ago. Take the example of the Productivity Commission report into the Automotive Manufacturing Industry, which, in part, led to the Government’s economic action strategy, the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda. The Productivity Report was submitted to Canberra in March 2014, six months after Labor came to power. That is not bad, considering the friction and uncertainty around the auto sector during that time. It was expected that a quick response from the Government would take place but it was not until October last year when the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda was released. That means it was over one year since Labor was elected that its new policy direction for Australia’s industry was published. A key initiative of this Agenda is the establishment of Industry Growth Centres. This is an initiative that AMTIL supports and we have written to the Minister and his department to confirm our commitment, along with our thoughts on what the Growth Centres could look like. This is where, I have to say, the wheels in Canberra turn far too slow. Industry Growth Centres were expected to roll out from early 2015. It was expected that Chairs would be announced late last year and an open tender for facilitators would commence early 2015. These facilitators would then work with the Chairperson to develop an initial plan followed by an industry consultation period before Growth Centre concepts being proposed, signed off by the Minister and implemented. This in itself is a lengthy process but one I have to say I totally agree with. So there was certainly an expectation that each step of this process would need to be performed quickly and decisively in order for Growth Centres to be in place, let’s say, by mid 2015. At the time of writing this article, the Chairpersons for the five proposed Growth Centres have not been announced. This initiative was launched on 14th October last year as the “centerpiece of the Government’s new industry policy direction”. Why it is taking so long is a mystery to everybody I talk to in the industry. So, knowing that nothing can be done until a Chair is appointed, we continue to wait for this announcement. Then we will work through the rest of the process as outlined above. Being realistic, I do not expect Industry Growth Centres to be in place until at least the third quarter of this year, which will make it two years from the last election and less than one year before we go to the polls again. This is frustrating but compounded even further due to the impact that the proposed Industry Growth Centres have on other activities and initiatives such as the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre that I mentioned in my article on page 10. The IM-CRC is well overdue, is ready to be implemented now, has over $200m in cash and in kind commitment from industry and research providers over seven years, has an industry portal mechanism supported by AMTIL and the Ai Group and will transform some of our collaborative research into high value add, high end manufacturing. The sign off on this CRC needs to happen with some urgency. Then, once the Growth Centres are established, we can identify how the two agencies will work together. But, again, despite some feeling that the sign off on the IM-CRC would happen around July/August last year, we continue to wait. My growing concern is that the CRC will be held up even further by the Industry Growth Centre process and this simply won’t be acceptable to the many stakeholders that have made commitments to the IM-CRC, most of them more than 18 months ago. So I plead with Minister Macfarlane, we want to work with you and your department to get these initiatives in place and make things happen but we need you to act quicker and more decisively so we can get on with transitioning our manufacturing sector to a new age.

AMTILinside

Austech 2015 – All the world’s leading machine tool builders under one roof Visitors to Austech 2015 will experience how the shape of manufacturing equipment is changing. Those who walk through the doors of Australia’s premier advanced precision manufacturing and machine tool show, at Melbourne’s Convention and Exhibition Centre from 26 to 29 May 2015, will have a world of manufacturing opportunities open before their eyes. Of course it takes all areas of manufacturing, including tooling, workholding, software and systems integration, to come together to create a complete solution, but machine tools are one important piece of the manufacturing puzzle. This year, Austech will once again host all the world’s leading machine tool builders under one roof, showcasing the latest machine tool configurations and also stylings that are notably different and fresh. The slowly recovering but still very challenging conditions of the Australian market for machine tools and other equipment make Austech of keen interest to local suppliers. “Given the current conditions inside Australia’s metal manufacturing sector, it’s important that business owners and operators can examine the next investment steps in manufacturing technology they must take to rebuild their competitive position in the global arena,” comments Phil Hayes, Managing Director of Okuma Australia & NZ. “The machine tool field has been somewhat difficult for the past three years but that has not prevented us from making available the very latest, marketleading and innovative technology from Okuma.” Okuma will showcase three levels of new technology, including fiveaxis machining, as Hayes explains: “New advanced technology machine models of five-axis milling with turning and ten-axis turning with milling, amazing advances in the user-interface of Okuma’s own OSP controller technology, and packaged, kit-style automation solutions – these are central to the technology investments Australian manufacturers must make to keep pace with overseas manufacturing trends that are well advanced.” Rebuilding a competitive position requires local manufacturers to do several things: investing in new and highly-efficient equipment; automating; and training and retraining. One of the recent major trends in machine tool technology is five-axis machining. Now, many manufacturers might think they don’t have five-axis work. And yes, very often three-axis machining or machining cells of several more affordable machine tools might be more efficient, depending on the job. However, every shop has work that would benefit from a five-axis machine, as a five-axis machining centre also facilitates five-sided machining, for instance. Even if there are no parts requiring simultaneous five-axis work, such as impellers or turbines, the parts produced can be more profitable when machined on a five-axis machining centre. Automation solutions and efficient and innovative control systems are indeed important pieces in the manufacturing puzzle for those who want

to stay competitive. And there are amazing developments happening. Today, the CNC systems used to run machines are morphing into units that imitate our mobile phones, tablets and other portable devices. DMG MORI, for instance, has recently released its innovative CELOS user interface, which provides a uniform user interface for all new high-tech machines from DMG MORI. A unique 21.5-inch multi-touch screen displays all CELOS apps, which provide the user with integrated management, documentation and visualisation of order, process and machine data. Additionally, machine operation is simplified, standardised and automated. Many of our local manufacturers will have already seen this innovative technology at overseas shows such as IMTS in Chicago last year, and Austech organiser AMTIL is hopeful that visitors will get a chance to see CELOS at the show in Melbourne. Of course, five-axis machining, mill-turn or turn-mill machining are just a few examples of the considerations manufacturers can take into account when thinking about increasing their shop’s efficiency to remain globally competitive. Companies like Alfex CNC, John Hart, Amada, Headland, GWB, Techni Waterjet or Stratasys will show how we are shaping workpieces, with additive processes, subtractive processes, or even both processes on the same machine. They show how we use lasers, waterjets, ultrasonics, electrical discharges and vibrations to shape and change materials.

Exciting technologies, not to be missed! “As Australia’s premier manufacturing technology event, Austech provides Australian industry with a local opportunity to view and assess new and emerging global technologies with a view to keeping their businesses lean, efficient and competitive,” is how John Hart’s National Marketing & Sales Manager Mark Dobrich put it when asked why companies should visit the show. We couldn’t have put it better ourselves! Austech will be an important event in Australian manufacturing, in the sense that it will be an indicator of the shape manufacturing is in. We look forward to welcoming you to our show. For more information about Austech 2015 or to enquire about booking exhibition space, please call AMTIL on 03 9800 3666, or email Events Manager Kim Warren on kwarren@amtil.com. au. Alternatively, visit the Austech website, where you can now register as a visitor. www.amtil.com.au/austech

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Software – Making the right selection Neil Clarke is an AMTIL Research Connections Facilitator with the Federal Governments Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme (EIP), providing advice on IT issues for Australian SMEs. He offers some tips on how to ensure successful selection and implementation of new software for your business. Software is an asset for any company, and its purchase should be treated in a similar way to any high-value asset. To get a return on it you must get the right thing at the best price with the best reliability, closest fit for purpose, and good support should it break down. Easy right? You first need to understand what your requirements are. You need to understand what functionality is non-negotiable, what is flexible in its form but is a ‘must have’, and what is ‘nice to have’ but is just icing on the cake. Software assets differ from typical physical assets (or the ubiquitous motor car that so many people like to compare software against). For example, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software will be required to run across all areas of the business, with multiple stakeholders with many different requirements. Other assets only need perform one well-defined job, such as a production line or forklift. The first step in any software purchase should be to ensure you clearly understand what functionality the system must provide. Detail this in plain English, avoiding ‘tech-speak’ – it is up to the vendor to apply their system to your requirements and convince you that it is up to the task. Start with a spreadsheet with a page for each business area (Finance, Production, and so on). Add a row for each significant area within the business area. Finance may have rows for chart of accounts, general ledger, foreign currency, etc. Add in sub-rows for each process that needs to be catered for in the prospective software. Under Planning in the Manufacturing sheet there may be items like ‘Aggregate requirements by date for planning’. These lines will be things that you are currently doing (often on spreadsheets) that will be moved into the new system so that the reliance on ‘silos’ of information is reduced. Keep examples of the way you do these things currently, so that the vendor can see clearly what and how you do things now. Once this is compiled and agreed upon, make an estimate of where savings may be made; it could be headcount reduction, error reduction or stock reduction. This is rarely accurate in the final analysis, but at least you start getting an idea of how much you may save. Vendors offer stories of how a system was implemented and saved hundreds of man hours in the first year and paid for itself in six weeks. Usually there is truth in these, but you need to be able to apply it to your business. There is one more thing to consider before engaging with vendors – what level of technology risk you are comfortable with. With SoftwareAs-A-Service (SaaS) systems you now have the option of eliminating upfront costs for software and moving to a monthly rental basis (you will still need to fund the implementation effort, which varies from $900 up to $100,000 or more for larger ERP systems). SaaS systems are ‘all found’, removing the need for a suitable office ERP server, but adding a significant bottleneck via the internet connection. This can be costly to overcome in Australia as the main solutions involve cabling fibre-optic to the premises for good bandwidth

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and reliability. The National Broadband Network (NBN) would help to nullify this issue. SaaS ERP systems offer other advantages, including easy access from anywhere with an internet connection (for example small branches can access the system easily), automatic upgrading and version control, and availability of functionality usually only found on much larger systems. Examples of SaaS products include NetSuite, JCurve, MYOB Advanced and Cin7. You must fully understand the risks with cloud-based systems and their mitigation prior to implementing one. With the list of requirements and estimated savings, a budget can be determined. Now you must select which vendors have applicable products. This is the toughest part for many, but there are several ways of getting a start. Speaking with industry peers often provides answers. Usually this uncovers a few products common in your industry, often accompanied by a non-biased view of them and the supporting company. The Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme (EIP) can conduct a phonebased review of your requirements and budget, and author of a report on what systems may be most applicable to your requirements, fully funded by the Federal Government. There are also commercial options for consultants to assist. Most industries have one or two well-known consultants that can provide excellent knowledge on what is working well for others. Finally the fun part! When engaging with vendors, you should initially discuss your requirements and share the documentation you have generated. Once they understand what you are seeking they are in a far better position to give an accurate demonstration and quotation. Whilst it is rare that you will get a fixed price upfront, the name of the game is minimising the budget overruns. When dealing with vendors make sure you have a high level of comfort with them, their approach and ethics. An ERP implementation is not a short-term project; you will be dealing with the vendor for many years to come. Try to meet some of the people that will be supporting you and the person who will make decisions on any complaints or issues. Make sure these people ‘fit’ with your company. Software is an asset that needs to provide return on investment across your entire organisation. By thoroughly understanding your own requirements, sharing these with any prospective vendor, and making your selections on a basis of ‘fit’ with your company rather than just cost, you will dramatically increase your chances of success when implementing a new system. For more information about the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme, please contact AMTIL’s Corporate Services Managers Greg Chalker, by telephoning 03 9800 3666, or emailing gchalker@amtil.com.au www.business.gov.au/advice-and-support/EIP

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Stay ahead, with HotSpots What are the key industry events you might want to attend? Where can the latest up-to-the minute market data be accessed? What options are available to your business in terms of government assistance? With these questions and more, help is available with Industry HotSpots. HotSpots is a service designed specifically for AMTIL members, providing information and resources concerning our industry and the workplace, as well as various useful services for your business. Many of the items featured are available exclusively to our members only. HotSpots are broken down into four categories, loosely defined as: • Industry – These are industry-wide notices that AMTIL feels are of import to its members. • Service – AMTIL has developed relationships with expert service providers in various disciplines and is able to offer these services exclusively to our membership. • Opportunity – These items offer a chance to quote or connect with a contract, available only through the Members Only area of our website. We wish all our members good luck with their tender.

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• Networking – Here is where AMTIL provides members with notice of events and activities that offer chances to network with other like-minded business leaders and collaborate on strategic activities. • Workplace – From time to time, AMTIL is able to provide information to our members that they really should be aware of with regard to the manufacturing environment we work within. HotSpots is one place where AMTIL will try to make you aware. To access the detail behind the HotSpot, AMTIL’s members simply need to follow the links, and log in using their Username and Password. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact our office and an AMTIL staff member will help you with your membership details. If you are interested in gaining access to these HotSpots or you have something you feel will meet our criteria for listing, please forward them on to AMTIL for assessment by e-mailing info@amtil.com.au with the subject line HOTSPOT.

AMTIL team visits ANCA AMTIL staff enjoyed a morning out of the office when they paid a visit to ANCA and ANCA Motion, in Bayswater, Vic. Founded by Pat McCluskey and Pat Boland as Australian Numerical Controls and Automation in 1974, ANCA has gone on to become a world leader in quality CNC grinding machines and CNC systems. In 2008, sister-company ANCA Motion was founded to focus exclusively on OEM CNC applications. ANCA Motion produces CNC control systems, IO devices, servo drives and motors to suit a range of machine tool and motion control applications. One of the few Australian companies producing machine tools today, the ANCA Group has been identified as a true ‘Hidden Champion’ of the manufacturing industry worldwide. Led by Pat Boland, Director and Co-Founder of ANCA, and Lucas Hale, Product Specialist at ANCA Motion, the AMTIL staff enjoyed a detailed tour of the companies’ facilities. There was also a fascinating talk about the ANCA Group, its history, its current activities and its future ambitions. “These site tours are a great opportunity for AMTIL staff to learn about the industry first-hand,” said AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti. “ANCA is a great example of the best in Australian manufacturing, and it’s been fantastic for the team to get a look behind the scenes.”

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connect.inform.grow. MeMbershIp pAckAges AvAILAbLe AMTIL membership for companies, individuals and supporters within the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector. For more information visit www.amtil.com.au or contact corporate services Manager greg chalker on 03 9800 3666 or gchalker@amtil.com.au

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industry calendar

Please Note: It is recommended to contact the exhibition organiser to confirm before attending event

INTERNATIONAL WIN Automation Turkey, Istanbul 19-22 March 2015 Leading trade fair for the high-growth automation, electrotech, hydraulic & pneumatic and materials handling sectors www.win-fair.com/en/index.html Automate USA, Chicago 23-26 March 2015 The full spectrum of automation technologies and solutions for a broad array of industries. www.automateshow.com/index.cfm Blech Russia Russia, St Petersburg 24-26 March 2015 Exhibition for sheet metal working which encompasses all core sectors of the sheet metal working process www.blechrussia.com/english MECSPE Italy, Parma 26-28 March 2015 Eight trade shows: Macchine e Utensili (machine tools); Eurostampi (moulds); Plastixexpo (plastics show); Subfornitura (subcontracted industrial processing); Motek Italy (Installation, assembly & manipulation); Logistica (logistics); Control Italy (metrology); Trattamenti e Finiture (surface treatments & finishing); Fabbrica Digitale (digital factory). www.senaf.it/MECSPE Industrial Automation Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 25-27 March 2015 Platform for manufacturers and providers of components, production systems and processes. Co-located with Electric, Power and Renewable Energy Malaysia 2015. www.asean-ia.com/home/home.php Shenzhen International Machinery Manufacturing Industry Exhibition South China, Shenzhen 30 March – 2 April 2015 Metal-cutting/forming machine tools; intelligent robot integrated tools/ moulds, special steel, precision products, 3D technology. Forum: “Advanced Manufacturing changing China” www.simmexpo.com Metal & Steel Saudi Saudi Arabia, Riyadh 6-9 April 2015 Leading B2B gathering in the Gulf region for steel, steel fabrication and metallurgy industries www.metalsteelsaudi.com Industrie France, Lyon 7-10 April 2015 Showcases the equipments, products, consumable and services that are necessary to any industrial production factory. Includes additive manufacturing, forming, cutting, sheet metal working, robotics, materials handling. http://industrie-expo.com/

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Metal Japan Japan, Tokyo 8-10 April 2015 Includes alloy, metal, metalworking equipment, testing/analysis; recycling. Concurrent shows: Plastic Japan;FilmTech Japan; Finetech Japan; Photonix Expo www.metal-japan.jp/en

Fabtech Mexico Mexico, Monterray 5-7 May 2015 Co-located with AWS Weldmex, METALFORM Mexico and COATech. Includes latest innovations in the metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industries. http://fabtechmexico.com

Hannover Messe Germany, Hannover 13-17 April 2015 Core themes of the industrial value-adding chain – from individual components to the complete smart factory. Current hot topics such as Industry 4.0, energy efficiency and lightweight construction will be discussed. www.hannovermesse.de/home

Eastec USA, Massachusetts 12-14 May 2015 Includes design, engineering & rapid technologies tooling, workholding & machining accessories, automation, precision manufacturing equipment. www.easteconline.com

MTA2015 Singapore 14-17 April 2015 Asia’s leading precision engineering exhibition. Serves high-value sectors such as aerospace, complex equipment, electronics, energy, medical technology and oil & gas, marine & offshore engineering. Meets these industries’ growing demand for fully integrated precision engineering capabilities. www.mta-asia.com Intermold Japan 15-18 April 2015 Machine tools; metal forming/grinding/moulding machines, CAD/CAM and related equipment www.intermold.jp CIMT China, Beijing 20-24 April 2015 14th China international machine tools show. Brings together the most advanced machine tool products in the world. www.cimtshow.com PMTS USA, Ohio 21-23 April 2015 Precision Machining Technology Show. For manufacturers of precision machined parts. Includes cutting tools, automatic screw machines; lathes, CNC turning centres, EDM equipment, accessories. www.pmts.com Blech India India, Mumbai 22-25 April 2015 Exhibition for the sheet metal-working industry. www.blechindia.com/2015 Aistech USA, Ohio 4-7 May 2015 Iron & steel technology conference and exposition. Includes ICSTI 2015 the International Congress on the Science and Technology of Ironmaking. www.aist.org/conference-expositions/ aistech

Intermach Thailand, Bangkok 13-16 May 2015 Sheet metal fabrication technology and machinery exhibition. Co-located with Subcon Thailand and Sheet Metal Asia www.intermachshow.com FEIMAFE Brazil 18-23 May 2015 International machine tools and integrated manufacturing systems trade fair. Machine-tools and quality control in Latin America www.feimafe.com.br/en Metaltech Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 20-23 May 2015 Event for the machine tool, metalworking and manufacturing industry, hosting providers of metalworking and machine tools technologies www.tradelink.com.my/metaltech Amtex India, Mumbai 29 May - 1 June 2015 Asian machine tool exhibition. Includes machining centres, metal forming machine tools; drilling and boring machines; milling and grinding machines; CAD/CAM. www.amtex2015.com/event.html The Big M USA, Detroit 2-4 June 2015 Latest ideas, innovations, and technologies and .dynamic and immersive technology experiences. Includes Expert manufactures share how they’re achieving success and transforming manufacturing. www.bigmevent.com West Texas Industrial & Tool Show USA, Texas 3-4 June 2015 Industrial products and services that supply this rapidly expanding industrial region. www.expoindustrialshows.com/westtexas. htm Intec India, Coimbatore 5-9 June 2015 Industrial trade fair. IncludesMachine Tools and Accessories, automation, material handling, software. http://intec.codissia.com

industry calendar local The Australasian Oil and Gas Exhibition & Conference Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre 11-13 March 2015 Australia’s largest oil and gas event www.aogexpo.com.au Auspack Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 24-27 March 2015 Specialised trade exhibition for packaging and processing machinery www.auspack.com.au Australian Motoring Festival Melbourne Showground 26-29 March, 2015 Showcasing a cross-section of vehicles ever assembled in this country, including new and historic cars and motorcycles, SUVs, and special interest vehicles. www.australianmotoringfestival.com.au Australian Auto Aftermarket Exhibition Melbourne Exhibition Centre 16-18 April 2015 Auto parts, equipment, accessories tools www.aftermarketexpo.com.au Safety in Action Brisbane Exhibition & Convention Centre 22-23 April 2015 Dedicated workplace health & safety event www.safetyinaction.net.au/brisbane DesignBUILD Sydney Showground 28-30 April 2015 Australia’s largest and most comprehensive trade event for the domestic and international design and building industry. www.designbuildexpo.com.au

CeMAT 5-7 May 2015 Sydney Olympic Park Materials handling and Logistics exhibition, including materials handling, intralogistics and logistics solutions. Features Australia’s key players in the process manufacturing, retail and FMCG www.cemat.com.au Australian Construction Equipment Expo Brisbane, Eagle Farm 14-16 May 2015 A broad spectrum of the latest equipment and innovations in the construction sector. http://aceexpo.com.au/queensland Austech Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 26-29 May 2015 Australia’s premier advanced precision manufacturing and machine tool exhibition. Targeted at the metalworking, machine tool and ancillary market. Concurrent show: The new Safety First Conference & Expo: Australia’s complete safety event: B2B exhibition showcasing the latest technologies, products and services to improve WHS standards and compliance and reduce safety expenditure. Includes industry-leading high-level speakers delivering information for the protection of businesses from workplace safety hazards. www.amtil.com.au/Austech-Exhibition National Manufacturing Week Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 26-29 May 2015 Fully integrated annual manufacturing exhibition showcasing the latest products and constantly evolving technologies in the expanding manufacturing market www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au

Advertiser Index Hare & Forbes 11 Alfex CNC 13 Industrial Laser Impact Card 66-67 Amada Oceana 82-83 ISCAR 9 AMTIL AMT Ad 39,, 59 Machinery Forum 73 AMTIL Austech 2-3 MAPAL 22-23, 53 AMTIL Membership 79 45 MTI Qualos AMTIL ManufactureLink 77 OKUMA 7 Applied Machinery 34-35 OSG Asia Pty Ltd 4-5 BizTechWrite 12 Sandvik 15 Bristow Laser Systems 29 SECO Tools 31 Compressed Air Australia 17 Tungaloy Impact Card 50-51 DMG Mori FC Walter AG Singapore 21 ECI Solutions OBC Hardman Brothers 8

Australian Energy Storage Conference & Exhibition Sydney, Australian Technology Park 3-4 June 2015 Deals with the energy storage industry at all levels – utilities, energy businesses, building management and the emerging electric vehicle markets. The expanded conference will incorporate ‘Lighting & Building Automation’ and ‘Emergent Business Technologies’ zones. www.australianenergystorage.com.au Adelaide Boat Show Adelaide 25-28 June 2015 Showcase of vessels large and small, products and accessories, services and expert advice, seminars and workshops, holiday destinations and entertainment. www.kjex.com.au/Boat%20Show.html AIMEX Sydney Showground 1-4 September 2015 Asia-Pacific’s international mining exhibition. Featuring the latest in mining innovation www.aimex.com.au Safety in Action Melbourne Exhibition Centre 15-17 September 2015 www.safetyinaction.net.au/melbourne Australian Sustainability in Business Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 7-8 October 2015 Will look at the core fundamentals for a company’s sustainable future and how sustainable innovation improve their profitability and social responsibility while reducing their impact on the environment. www.australiansustainability.com.au

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FOL 3015 AJ ser er La Fib

FLC 3015 AJ ser er La Fib

LCG 3015 AJ ser er La Fib

Comparison of Electric Power Consumption Fiber versus CO2 Process fiber

Fiber Laser Input Power

Many mirrors

CO2 Laser Input Power

7kW

33%

Discharge

Laser Output 2kW

FLC 3015 AJ ser er La

Fib

Efficiency

Lineup

Thick Mild steel Process range

It is three times higher than conventional CO2 model. Therefore electric power consumption is reduced by almost 70%.

Fib

Productivity Mid-thick material stable processing

Initial cost

Accuracy

Linear motor 340m/min. 2000W/4000W Overwhelming high productivity, high accuracy High-End machine

Efficiency

Lineup

Thick Mild steel Process range

Disc Laser CO2 Laser

LCG 3015 AJ ser er La

Fib

Productivity

Fiber

AMADA Fiber laser conversion efficiency is 33%.

FOL 3015 AJ ser er La

25% 10%

AJ Fiber (AMADA)

70% reduced

30%

23kW

Productivity Mid-thick material stable processing

Initial cost

Accuracy

Linear motor 170m/min. 2000W/4000W High balance of productivity, workability

Efficiency

Lineup

Thick Mild steel Process range

Mid-thick material stable processing

Initial cost

Accuracy

Rack & Pinion 170m/min. 2000W High productivity on thin sheet metal & energy saving performance that is overwhelming to the CO2 laser

Amada Oceania Pty Ltd www.amada.com.au

KEEPING PACE IN SHEETMETAL MANUFACTURING “We went to Japan and were very impressed with their setup. We ordered the machine straight away.”

“It used to take one person over an hour to weld one of our heater boxes. With the FLW robotic cell we get away with 11 minutes.”

Eric Woodgate, Managing Director, Shamic Sheetmetal, Melbourne

To remain competitive and to stay ahead of the competition in a constantly evolving environment of manufacturing is a challenge. Today, shops must be willing to embrace innovation. Melbourne-based Shamic Sheetmetal has done that and invested in the latest technology, which has propelled them to the next level of productivity. Eric Woodgate founded the company together with his wife back in 1978 and transformed the one-man-business into a market leader in wood and gas home heating, offering an unparallel range of stylish heaters from leading brands such as Coonara. Apart from heaters, the company is also a contract manufacturer to a diverse range of industries, including electrical, automotive, whitegoods, electronics or communications. Shamic Sheetmetal constantly seeks to improve product quality and delivery time.

Thus, Eric and his team are always on the lookout for ways to remove process bottlenecks and inefficiencies. In order to eliminate the high amount of manual work in his operation, Eric went to the Amada factory in Japan to experience the advanced sheetmetal technology first-hand. And his expectations were not disappointed. “We were very impressed with the Amada setup in Japan. While we were over there to see the robotic bending cell we discovered at the local AUSTECH exhibition three years ago, we came across the FLW fibre laser welder and the FOL AJ fibre laser cutter, both equipped with automation,” he says. “This was all new technology to us. We realised we could do things we thought we were never able to do with that machine.” Meanwhile, the company is operating all three Amada machines, which enable a significant portion of production to run in

unattended, "lights-out" operation. The company prides itself on its efficiency, speed and quality – and did so even before switching to Amada for most of its fabrication needs. But the technology and service provided by Amada moved the company to the next level. “It used to take one person over an hour to weld one of our heater boxes,” Eric explains the efficiency gains. “With the FLW robotic cell we get away with 11 minutes. That’s a huge difference, especially when you make a few thousand heater boxes a year!” Apart from its efficiency, Eric is particularly happy with the robotic welder’s quality. “The finish is superb. Some of the heaters we were manually welding were buckling and distorting, but with the minimum heat input of the fibre laser technology, the distortion is minimal. That’s a big saving in labour and time!”

High quality: Amada’s rotating lens FLW-4000 M3 Y uses the patented “weaving” process, which makes it possible to reliably bridge larger gap sizes than were possible in the past. The result is that less material is deposited, the heat input is reduced and precisely defined weld edges that require almost no retouching are achieved. Automation: Productivity improvement of 500%: Shamic Sheetmetal has reduced the welding times for some of its heater boxes from 60 minutes (manual welding) to 11 minutes each using the robotic cell. Fibre laser technology: Minimum heat input results in minimal distortion of the component; consistent, repeatable welds; small heat affected zone; high strength welds; high accuracy; easy automation

Sydney 02 8887 1100 Unit 7, 16 Lexington Dr., Bella Vista NSW 2153 Melbourne 03 9020 1400 Unit 1, 3-4 Anzed Court Mulgrave VIC 3170 | Perth | Brisbane

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