AMT APR/MAY 2016

Australian Manufacturing Technology

Your Industry. Your Magazine.

apr may

Introducing the Haas F1 Team VF-16 The latest, fastest, most exciting “Machine� to carry the famous Haas VF prefix.

Defence & AerospacE Transport & Logistics

Robotics & Automation Material Removal Cutting Tools Welding Forming & Fabrication Quality & Inspection 1300 201 230 | www.Haas-Australia.com

Threading Inserts with 10 Cutting Corners This unique geometry is a 16 mm round insert with 10 cutting corners.

The new geometry provides the most economical price per threading corner (when compared with the popular 3 corner laydown inserts).

In the initial stage, ISCAR is introducing the most popular thread profiles and pitch sizes: • TTG-16E-ISO - ISO – Metric • TTG-16E-UN - UN – Unified thread • TTG-16E-A55 - Partial 55° profile • TTG-16E-A60 - 60° profile The tools that carry the new inserts feature coolant channels also designed for the use of high-pressure coolant.

Machining Intelligently

ISCAR HIGH Q LINES

ISCAR’s Winning Edge Grooving Innovations

Threading Inserts with

10

Cutting Corners

ISCAR AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD Tel+61 (0) 2 8848 3500, Fax+61 (0) 2 8848 3511, iscaraus@iscar.com.au

www.iscar.com.au

Aerospace Composite Solutions

DIA-BNC Diamond coated, fine pitch nicked router

HBC60 2-flute, herringbone cutter, bright

DIA-HBC4 DIA-MFC Diamond coated router for high precision finishing

Diamond coated, 4-flute, herringbone cutter

OSG’s patented ultra-fine diamond coating makes machining composites efficient and easy

www.osgtooling.com.au

006

Contents

Volume 16 Number 02 April/may ISSN 1832-6080

46

FEATURES

NMW PREVIEW NMW 2016: Reaching new markets

40

AEROSPACE & DEFENCE Manufacturers set for Budget boost Joining forces for optimum results Micro-X – Keeping security forces safe Lovitt Technologies – Laser-guided precision

46 52 54 56

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION Unique ABB solution increases throughput APAS collaborative robot unveiled Robotics brings massive changes in manufacturing Finding ROI in a digital strategy Robotic labelling at Prysm Industries

62 63 64 66 67

MATERIAL REMOVAL Haas F1 Team rolls out for Melbourne Grand Prix

72

CUTTING TOOLS Light cutting, versatile end mills Carbide inserts – Quantum leaps & steady progress Keeping local manufacturers at the cutting-edge

76 78 80

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS Maintaining loading capacity at Port of Newcastle Bike manufacturing on rise as cars take back seat Custom orders require flexibility

82 84 85

WELDING Driving down welding costs for mining manufacturer EB Fusion – Specialists in electron beam welding

86 87

FORMING & FABRICATION Complex parts made easy Simplifying metal fabrication

88 88

QUALITY & INSPECTION Focus variation for high-res optical 3D metrology Olympus helps keep the skies safe

90 94

REGULARS

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

8 10 12 14 16

INDUSTRY NEWS Current news from the industry

20

VOICEBOX Opinions from across the manufacturing industry

30

PRODUCT NEWS Our selection of new and interesting products

36

ONE ON ONE Chris Burns – CEO Defence Teaming Centre

58

COMPANY FOCUS Mincham Aviation – Riding the turbulence

70

AMTIL FORUM Forum Import/Export Forum OHS Forum IP Forum Business Management

96 97 98 99

Manufacturers set for Budget boost The Federal Government’s 2016 Defence White Paper reveals that around $195bn will be invested in defence capability over the next decade. With spending increases expected in areas such as antisubmarine warfare, air combat and amphibious warfare development, Australian manufacturers across the defence and aerospace sectors are seizing the opportunity for export success.

58 Chris Burns Chris Burns is the CEO of the Defence Teaming Centre and the national spokesperson for the Australian Made Defence campaign. He explains the purpose of the DTC its history, its achievements and its hopes for the industry’s future.

70 Mincham Aviation – Riding the turbulence

110

MANUFACTURING HISTORY – A look back in time

118

MagazIne.

apr may

technology

100

AMTIL INSIDE The latest news from AMTIL

Your IndustrY. Your AustrAliAn MAnufActuring

MANUFACTURERS’ PAVILION

In 20 years of operation, Adelaide-based Mincham Aviation has established itself as a highly-regarded specialist supplier to the aerospace and defence sectors. Its hard-earned reputation for quality and innovation is paying off with clients worldwide – as its recent contract with Northrop Grumman testifies.

Defence & AerospAce

Transport & Logistics

robotics & automation Material removal Cutting tools Welding Forming & Fabrication Quality & Inspection

AMT Apr/May 2016

Cover It is hoped that the proposed increase in defence spending by Australia’s Federal Government will provide increased business opportunities for Australian companies. Page 46

008

From the Editor William Poole

City of Churches, and entrepreneurs

There has been a lot of news coming out of Adelaide in the last couple of months, so it seems like good timing for our main feature this edition to be Defence & Aerospace.

The South Australian capital is home to a large proportion of Australia’s defence industries, so as we started work in this issue, I headed out there to conduct some interviews.

In conversations with people like Chris Burns (p58), Darryl Mincham (p70), and various other people connected with manufacturing in Adelaide, the impression I got was of a city in a state of transition.

With GM Holden set to cease manufacturing there next year, the fate of its factory in Elizabeth continues to cast a long shadow over the local industry. With a proposal by Belgian entrepreneur Guido Dumarey to take over the site now seemingly abandoned, the State Government appears to be investigating transforming it into a hub for driverless car technology. But for the remaining workforce at the Elizabeth plant, such a plan is unlikely to offer any great certainty or reassurance.

Your Industry. Your Magazine.

Australian Manufacturing Technology

Editor William Poole wpoole@amtil.com.au Contributor Carole Goldsmith Sales Manager Anne Samuelsson asamuelsson@amtil.com.au Publications Co-ordinator Gabriele Richter grichter@amtil.com.au Publisher Shane Infanti sinfanti@amtil.com.au

Elsewhere, however, signs are emerging of a revival in Adelaide’s manufacturing fortunes, and with them, new hope both for Holden workers and for companies throughout the automotive supply chain. One such case is ScreenAway, which recently joined with Adelaide Tooling to manufacture its innovative retractable flyscreen and block-out blind system.

Designer Franco Schena fschena@amtil.com.au

About 30 workers from Adelaide Tooling will begin transitioning from the company’s automotive business to ScreenAway, with another 70 new workers to be employed to work on the product over the next two years. A further 200 jobs are expected to be created during this period, either at ScreenAway or through other suppliers.

AMT Magazine is printed in Australia using FSC® mix of paper from responsible sources FSC® C007821

ScreenAway isn’t the only company in Adelaide offering a fresh start for car workers.

Micro-X (p54) recently set up operations in the city, where it plans to manufacture mobile X-ray machines, both for the medical industry and for defence applications. It has already taken on four staff from the Holden plant, and Micro-X’s management speak enthusiastically about the skills and experience that veterans of the car industry can offer across all manufacturing sectors.

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

Micro-X started life in Victoria before relocating to South Australia, attracted by a $3m loan from the State Government, and the opportunity to be based in the Tonsley precinct.

Sited on the former Mitsubishi car plant in southern Adelaide, Tonsley has been converted into an innovation hub bringing industry together with research bodies. When I first visited Tonsley a couple of years ago, it was still very much a building site, and it has come a long way fast since then.

Tonsley’s evolution reflects a wave of entrepreneurial innovation that is sweeping Adelaide.

In the last five years, the city has seen the emergence of some 116 innovation programs, including 18 co-working spaces and 13 incubator programs, coupled with networking events and start-up weekends. That palpable culture of entrepreneurship is proving a powerful lure for businesses. Along with Micro-X, GPS software company Bluedot is another Melbourne company that has relocated to Adelaide, citing the support available to start-ups there.

With the Federal Government naming the city as the location for its new Centre for Defence Industry Capability, Adelaide’s position as a hub for the defence industry, and for Australian advanced manufacturing in general, seems assured. The Holden closure will undoubtedly present challenges, but interesting things are happening in Adelaide.

Prepress & Print Printgraphics Australia

T 03 9800 3666 F 03 9800 3436 E info@amtil.com.au W www.amtil.com.au Copyright © Australian Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

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

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

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

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

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

Contact AMTIL on 03 9800 3666 for further information.

1303AMTaprmay2016

AMT Apr/May 2016

VIDEO DEMO ONLINE

010

From the CEO Shane Infanti – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

China dents global machine tool consumption

AMTIL has partnered with a number of other industry associations around the world and commissioned Oxford Economics to produce a bi-annual Global Machine Tool Outlook. The report looks at major industry sectors, economic indicators and machine tool production and consumption. Here is an overview of the latest report.

There have been a number of developments, but at the forefront is China. Downward pressure on the Chinese economy remains high following the collapse in the stock market while the latest PMI data point to a further deceleration ahead. However, China’s slowdown is not limited to the domestic economy. Indeed, China is casting a major cloud over the rest of the world, denting regional and global trade and investment. It is expected that Chinese growth could fall below 6% in 2016.

Moreover, despite interest rate cuts, the risks in China are on the downside given the slide in the stock market and the strength of the yuan over the last year.

The move to weaken the yuan in August suggests that growth may be well under the published headline numbers, and be followed by further currency falls.

Linked to the weakness in China, another development has been the renewed decline in global commodity prices. Oil prices are currently trading under $50/ barrel, down from a peak of $64 in May 2015. Consequently, the report forecasts an annual average of $54/barrel in 2016.

At a country level, with oil importers far more numerous than oil exporters, the net impact on sentiment from lower oil prices should be overwhelmingly positive but this has been limited by weaker demand from a number of emerging markets, particularly those with close ties to China.

Among the main emerging markets, Brazil and Russia are suffering the most. Interest rates in Brazil were hiked further despite the economy being in recession, while in Russia the renewed slide in oil prices and rouble depreciation could halt interest rate cuts and may choke off hopes for a modest recovery next year.

In the developed world, the US is continuing to grow steadily but a closer look shows that a stronger dollar is dampening industrial output. Meanwhile, economic activity in the Eurozone and Japan are being underpinned by declines in their currencies as a result of loose monetary policy. Furthermore, the risk of a Grexit (Greek exit) has receded, although it still remains a possibility, and this will help Europe’s recovery broaden out from a mainly consumer-led recovery to higher contributions from investment and exports. Overall, the report expects world GDP to expand by 2.8% in 2016, down from 3% in mid-2015.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Linked to the weakness in China, another development has been the renewed decline in global commodity prices.

At the same time, prospects for industrial production have also weakened. It is forecast that world industrial production will rise by just 2.8% in 2016. On a regional basis, forecasts have been revised lower across the three regions. Although Europe remains the drag, with industrial activity set to grow by 1.4% in 2016, the Americas too are unlikely to perform much better, edging up by 2.4% in 2016. At the same time Asian industrial production is expected to expand by 3.5%, much lower than the forecast of 4.9% in previous reports. This is largely due to much weaker prospects for China but also for the surrounding region. On a sectoral basis, those which are closely related to developments in emerging markets have typically seen the heaviest downgrades. But even in the relatively insulated aerospace sector, the outlook is less healthy than it was previously as the slowdown in China raises concerns that potential air travel demand has been overestimated. In contrast, although precision instruments will see growth contained

by a strong dollar, prospects in China are healthy as production there moves up the value chain.

Reflecting the bleak industrial production last year, the report highlights global output in the key machine tool sectors (machine tool-weighted output) expanded by a meagre 1.3% in 2015 but is forecast to rise by 5.8% in 2016. At the same time, world investment by the key machine tool customer sectors declined by 3.1%, the first drop since the global recession, before increasing by 4.2% in 2016. As with output, Europe will also remain the laggard in investment, with spending plunging by 13.8% last year before gradually recovering in 2016. Meanwhile, Asian investment is forecast to rise 4.3% after a fall of 0.1% in 2015 while investment in the Americas is forecast to rebound by 3.5% after a decline of 2.6%.

For 2015 as a whole, consumption plunged by 11.9% in US$ terms, with all three major regions experiencing falls in machine tool demand, before a recovery begins to emerge in 2016. A combination of deterioration in China, heightened uncertainty and subsequent concerns regarding the global outlook as well as falling commodity prices are all key parts of this outlook.

The full Oxford Economics World Machine Tool Outlook is available to AMTIL members. Please contact Shane Infanti at sinfanti@amtil.com.au for more information.

F3VIPR

A Member of The Linde Group

Smaller package. Same gas.

Our innovative new F3VIPR is available in Argon and a range of Shielding Gases.

33

LITRE

300 BAR

Inbuilt Variable Integrated Pressure Regulator (VIPR) eliminates hassle of acquiring, fitting and maintaining a separate regulator.

Enhanced portability due to shorter package height when compared to G/G2 size cylinders.

Higher pressure cylinder provides significant increase in efficiency with greater safety and convenience.

Track gas usage with contents indicator, showing the amount of gas left in the cylinder.

Higher pressure provides an increase in gas content compared to existing G size cylinders (up to 13% content increase for 065G ARGOSHIELD® Universal).

Standard 5/8" fitting works with existing hoses and connections (provided they meet the relevant Australian standards).

ARGOSHIELD® Universal*

Volume and size

G

Inbuilt regulator

065G 8.7m3

Portability

F3

065F3VIPR 10.0m3

Safety High pressure

Call us on 131 262 or contact your local BOC representative for more information.

Riverside Corporate Park, 10 Julius Avenue, North Ryde, NSW 2113 Australia ABN: 95 000 029 729 | boc.com.au | 131 262 *Images used are for illustrative purposes only.

BOC is a trading name of BOC Limited, a Member of The Linde Group. © BOC Limited 2015. MP15-0041|AMT|ML|1115

/bocsouthpacific

/bocsouthpacific

/user/boclimited

AV A NO ILAB W LE

BOC Limited

012

From the ministry The Hon Christopher Pyne MP – Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science

Advanced manufacturing and the defence industry

Australia has a reputation for developing cutting-edge defence capability. Our small, medium and large enterprises, along with our research institutions and academics, and the Department of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) have a track record for producing some of the world’s most innovative defence technologies.

Australia has many success stories in defence innovation. For example, the small company in South Australia that has developed computer hardware rugged enough for harsh environments where critical failure is not an option, like that on board the Air Warfare Destroyer. Or the Queensland company that manufactures and integrates high-technology sub-assemblies for a number of international aerospace projects, including the Joint Strike Fighter and the Super Hornet. Or the New South Wales company that developed a ballistic protection system to protect Australian soldiers for the Bendigo-manufactured success story, the Bushmaster.

The Government recognises that a resilient and competitive defence industry is essential to our nation’s security. This industry consists of a number of prime businesses, the majority of which are linked to global defence manufacturing companies, and more than 3,000 small to medium enterprises.

Defence companies generated defence equipment exports worth more than $1.8bn in 2015. The majority of manufacturing companies working in the sector also work across several other sectors including mining and energy, civil shipbuilding and advanced technologies. They provide significant benefits for the wider Australian economy, including in employment, knowledge transfer and innovation.

Any investment in our defence industry, of course, represents a significant boost to our advanced manufacturing sector. The Government has committed to investing over the next two decades in ensuring the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century, and has the best equipment it needs to protect our nation and our interests.

We are implementing a strategy for building surface warships in Australia, investing more than $89bn in ships and submarines for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The Australian Army is modernising its vehicle fleet to ensure it is prepared for the future battlefield. And the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is embarking on its largest technological upgrade in its history.

All of this provides a significant shot in the arm for manufacturing in this country, a sector which works hand-in-glove with the defence industry to build, maintain, sustain and improve the nation’s defence capability.

Manufacturing matters to Australia’s economy. In 2014-15, Australian manufacturing employed around 900,000 Australians and contributed about $100bn in Gross Value-Added in real terms to Australia’s GDP. As the prices for some of our commodity exports fall, manufacturing exports will play a greater role in contributing to our export income.

We’ve recently made some important announcements that will help us continue to capitalise on our strengths and enhance our global reputation for developing breakthrough defence technologies.

Measures announced in the Defence Industry Policy Statement, released in conjunction with the Defence White Paper in February 2016, will transform the defence industry. They will also complement many of the initiatives announced in the National Innovation and Science Agenda.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Together, the Defence Industry Policy Statement and the Agenda ensure a positive future for advanced manufacturing in Australia, delivering jobs and growth to the economy right across the nation.

The initiatives in the Policy Statement are designed to provide industry with the confidence to invest in the required skills, infrastructure and technologies to support the ADF into the future.

In short, the Policy Statement will transform Defence’s relationship with industry.

We will invest $1.6bn over 10 years in programs to build industry skills, drive competitiveness and export potential while harnessing Australian innovation and expertise. We’re doing this through three mechanisms.

Firstly, there is $230m for the Centre for Defence Industry Capability, the cornerstone of the Policy Statement. The Centre’s aim is to ensure the Australian defence industry is sustainable, internationally competitive, and aligned with our Defence capability requirements.

It will work with Australian businesses to build capability in complex technologies and supply chains.

The Centre will focus on delivering initiatives and services under the three core themes of industry development, innovation and business competitiveness and exports. The new facility, headquartered in Adelaide, will help Australian industry work closely with the nation’s defence forces.

The Policy Statement also provides $730m for a Next Generation Technologies Fund, and $640m for a virtual Defence Innovation Hub. The Next Generation Technologies Fund will invest in strategic technologies that have the potential to deliver game-changing capabilities. Some of the areas the fund will focus on include integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space capabilities, cyber-technology, advanced sensors and hypersonics.

The Defence Innovation Hub is all about turning research into capability. It will undertake collaborative innovation activities from initial concept, through prototyping and testing to introduction into service. The virtual hub will assist Australian companies, and academic and research organisations assess whether innovations have a defence application and will provide access to funding to collaboratively mature those ideas.

Through these three mechanisms we will continue to build defence industry capability so that our workers, our managers and our owners in the defence industry sector can thrive into the future.

The increasing pace of geopolitical, economic and technological change means it is critical that the ADF has continued access to the best innovation Australia has to offer. We are absolutely committed to using our defence industry procurement dollar to drive high-tech and advanced manufacturing in this country, because that is the future of manufacturing industry in Australia.

These investments in Australian industry and technologies will generate benefits beyond the defence industry, delivering jobs and encouraging innovation for regional businesses and communities across Australia.

Versatile milling in focus

When working with mixed production, investing in a versatile milling cutter is always a good idea. CoroMillŽ 390, equipped with size 07 inserts, is an extremely flexible concept designed for productive milling in a wide range of operations and materials. Thanks to the small inserts, a higher cutter-teeth density delivers superior productivity. Combine with the insert grade GC1130, produced with Zertivo™ technology, for an added dimension of security and predictability to your steel milling operation.

New CoroMillÂŽ 390. Made for Milling.

sandvik.coromant.com/madeformilling

014

From the industry Innes Willox – Chief Executive Australian Industry Group

Government must act to back growth

In this election year, the major objective of policy should be to lay the foundations for improvements in Australian living standards that will benefit business and the whole community.

There is a definite, albeit cautious, feeling of renewed hope across the business community, including in the Ai Group’s own Business Prospects survey report, which found Australia’s CEOs are more optimistic about general business conditions in 2016 than at any time in the past three years.

However, with the economy only edging its way back towards its potential growth rate, with the terms of trade likely to slip even further in 2016, and with the Australian automotive assembly industry winding down, there are a number of fundamental questions about the sources of future growth.

Specifically, the Ai Group’s focus is on these 11 key areas: 1. The Federal Budget will need to strike a delicate balance between the near-term need to lift demand (or at the very least, avoid detracting from it) and the need to map a convincing medium-term course back to a position of fiscal sustainability.

2. Making sensible improvements to the flexibility and integrity of our workplace relations arrangements is fundamental to the objectives of creating more competitive businesses and more high-productivity, high-wage jobs. The Government has an opportunity in its responses to the Productivity Commission Report and the Heydon Royal Commission to make real progress in modernising our workplace relations arrangements and practices.

3. Making the most of the current window open on taxation reform is critical. The challenge is to design and build support for a package of measures that lift the efficiency of taxation and reduce its costs while ensuring it supports the nation’s revenue needs and redistribution objectives.

4. It is likely that the most telling potential contributions to raising living standards rest on the investments we can make in developing the skills of the current and future workforce.

Whether in foundation skills such as literacy and numeracy; in improving the breadth and depth of science, technology, engineering, technology & mathematics (STEM) skills; or in the quality of our managers, there are very worthwhile opportunities for high-yielding investments and policy initiatives.

5. Improving Australia’s business capabilities should remain a major policy priority. Whether by better informing businesses of the opportunities available under Australia’s various trade agreements and for engagement in global supply chains; by investing in the Entrepreneurs’ Programme aimed at lifting performance of small and medium-sized businesses; by facilitated adaptation by businesses operating in vulnerable automotive supply chains; or by raising awareness of digital capabilities, threats and opportunities; there are important educative and facilitative roles for Government.

6. The Federal Government has made a very important down payment in the vital area of innovation. The challenges are to implement the initiatives it has announced – particularly in

the area of improved business-research collaboration and by encouraging innovation through government procurement; to encourage more organisations to look for new opportunities; and to better enable these opportunities to be realised and commercialised.

7. Several Government initiatives due in 2016 will bear on the development of the Australian defence industry and the considerable range of impacts it can have on the broader domestic economy. The anticipated announcements include the Defence White Paper, the defence industry statement, and the decision in relation to Australia’s future submarine capabilities.

8. The Ai Group will maintain our focus on ensuring that Australia’s energy markets work efficiently to deliver reliable supplies of competitively-priced energy for domestic industries and households.

9. Ai Group supports progressing Australia’s approaches to climate policy to ensure that near and longer-term targets can be met at least cost and in ways that ensure investment certainty and competitiveness.

10. We continue to support a strong program of investment in rigorously assessed and prioritised infrastructure.

11. Ai Group continues to emphasise the importance of maintaining a regular permanent migration program. We have urged an intake of 220,000 this year and a suite of flexible temporary migration programs linked closely to the demand for workforce skills.

The Australian economy faces substantial pressures from lower productivity, entrenched demographic trends and our over-reliance on volatile commodity prices. If significant progress can be made in the areas outlined above, it will lift business confidence and drive improvements in productivity.

“There is a definite, albeit cautious, feeling of renewed hope across the business community… Australia’s CEOs are more optimistic about general business conditions in 2016 than at any time in the past three years...

AMT Apr/May 2016

WHY

?

Over 100 years Of innOvatiOn, endurance, and perfOrmance.

Since their founding in the late 1890’s as The Cincinnati Shaper Company, CINCINNATI Incorporated has built its reputation on three principles: innovation, performance and endurance. From their modern plant and technical centre on a 700-acre site near Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Inc design and build machines to the standard of ruggedness required by industry - with premium engineering features that stand up to years of rigorous use in demanding environments. This philosophy is evident in their range of laser cutting machines and material handling systems. For further insight in how Cincinnati can benefit your business, contact us at Industrial Laser.

CL400 series CO2 laser machines for full range cutting to 30mm

CL900 series Fibre laser machines for ultra high-speed cutting

Cincinnati choose PRC lasers for their CO2 models, but you don’t need to buy a new machine to reap the benefits of PRC’s innovations: + Low Gas Consumption (via GEM Filter Technology) + Lifetime Electrodes and Glassware + No Turbine Rebuilds + Remote Diagnosis + 2 Year Warranty We can replace your tired laser with a 2.5kW PRC for as little as $135k; 4kW for only $175k.

Rental plans are available.

Sole Australasian Distributor: industrial laser sales & service Factory 8, 17 Keppel Drive, Hallam VIC 3803 AUSTRALIA T: (03) 9796 3055 E: sales@industriallaser.com.au www.industriallaser.com.au AUG2104

016

From The Union Paul Bastian – National Secretary Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Are White Paper promises watertight?

The AMWU has been a champion of Australia’s defence industry for decades.

This isn’t surprising given that our membership in defence industries is significant but our advocacy reaches wider than these skilled workers and their families. It’s about a view of Australia’s defence that sees industry as a central player in our ability to defend ourselves as an island nation in an uncertain and sometimes dangerous neighbourhood. It’s also about the broader economic role that a modern, high-tech and integrated defence industry plays, especially in support of the broader advanced manufacturing sector.

That’s why we have run a significant campaign about the importance of maintaining Australian shipbuilding capability and jobs, and the importance for the industry of moving to a continuous build for all significant shipbuilding projects. It is also why we lodged a strongly worded submission in the lead-up to the recent Defence White Paper, critical of the defence procurement process that too often places a narrow emphasis on contract cost at the expense of industry capability, skills and sustainability. In this submission, we argued for: • A continuous build program for naval ships and submarines.

• A defence procurement process and other initiatives that support and place much greater value on domestic capabilities, skills, technology and innovation, with resulting spill-over benefits to other industries.

• Greater investment and support of defence skills, both for industry and within the defence civilian workforce, which are widely acknowledged to be facing a severe crisis as baby boomers start to retire.

The Defence White Paper has belatedly arrived, with an encouraging emphasis on the role of industry in defence capabilities. But we know the devil is always in the detail. While this Defence White Paper does represent progress, it certainly doesn’t ensure a strong and sustainable defence industry into the future.

The Government’s release of a Defence Industry Policy Statement with the White Paper is also a welcome signal that industry does matter. It includes initiatives that promise much and are supported by significant resourcing – the Centre for Defence Industry Capability ($230m to 2026), the Next Generation Technologies Fund ($730m to 2026) and the Defence Innovation Hub ($640m to 2026).

But there remain crucial questions, the most important of which is how much of this funding is in fact new and how much of it is really just rebranding of old programs and old funds. The statement acknowledges that these programs represent a streamlining of existing programs. Nowhere does the statement allow a clear assessment of what is genuinely new, what policies have been scrapped and what the net policy change actually is. This isn’t a good sign, and based on past experience – especially with industry policy programs under the 2014 budget – one can be forgiven for being sceptical about how much of the stronger rhetorical focus on industry is backed up by real policy change, as opposed to window dressing. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is big on oratory but it’s follow-up that matters to workers and industry.

AMT Apr/May 2016

The Government should be transparent about these questions and provide enough detail for interested observers and the public to make an informed assessment.

This isn’t the case, and that can only lead to scepticism.

One clear development that everyone who cares about the defence industry should welcome is the explicit commitment to a rolling build program for the Future Frigate program, offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and the Future Submarine Project.

But none one of these projects have been brought forward to plug the severe collapse in work at all of Australia’s naval shipyards, the so-called ‘Valley of Death’. Nor has the Government reversed its decision to bar Australian yards from supplying replacement supply ships, cementing the devastation of our shipbuilding capabilities and jobs.

Reports in Spanish media at the time of writing seem to confirm the Government’s worst-kept secret, that it will be Navantia that will build those two vessels. So the Turnbull Government has effectively exported 3,000 skilled jobs to Spain while locking out local industry.

This is part of the policy failure that has already led to the closure of the Forgacs shipyard in NSW, left Victoria’s BAE Williamstown shipyard mothballed, and caused job losses at the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) in Adelaide.

So while the Government has committed to a rolling domestic build for the Future Frigates and OPVs, that industry will have to be built up yet again. The industry capability, skills and at least 1,800 jobs that a rolling build supports will be lost well before any build starts.

This will only increase the eventual cost of these projects. It leaves workers jobless, degrades shipbuilding skills, leaves capital idle and devastates communities. All for no benefit.

The situation with the Future Submarine Project is even less reassuring. We know now that we will have a fleet of 12 submarines, after the Government toyed with only manufacturing eight but dropped the idea under electoral pressure. But it still has not made a definitive commitment to a fully domestic rolling build for the biggest defence project in this nation’s history. The competitive tendering process leaves a full foreign build or even a hybrid build, where the first few submarines may be built overseas, as live options which the French, German and Japanese consortia are required to address in detail.

It is estimated that the ASC will lose its capability and 1,400 staff by 2019 if no additional work is found for the yard, effectively devastating its capability. Under this Government’s defence industry plan, Australia faces losing its defence shipbuilding capability just before it envisages we start continuous rolling build programs to support our defence forces.

The Defence White Paper promises much, but it does not deal with the illogical lack of industry planning it openly acknowledges must be ended. This not only includes our shipbuilding, but extends to a proper staffing and resourcing of our defence civilian workforce, which is the backbone of equipment support for the Australian Defence Force – a backbone now so brittle it risks breaking.

Production & Service Custom carbide tools Australian made Precision CNC grinding German made carbide In-house PVD coating 24-hour production facility Fast delivery times Email for quotation service@guhring.com.au For more information, call us on 1800 639 991 or visit our website: www.guhring.com.au

020

industry news

Australian Chamber-Westpac – Manufacturers’ confidence surges

Australia’s manufacturers have started 2016 with a surge of confidence after a sharp jump in the March quarter across a range of measures of performance in the Australian Chamber-Westpac Survey of Industrial Trends.

The Westpac-AusChamber Actual Composite index strengthened in the March quarter to 61.4, up 7.1 points, from 54.3 in December and from 56.4 on average in 2015. Strengthening of the Composite index in 2015 and into 2016 was evident across new orders, output, order backlog, overtime, and an emerging broadening to employment.

According to Andrew Hanlan, Senior Economist at Westpac, manufacturing is benefitting from a strong upswing in new homebuilding and renovation activity, stronger consumer spending over the past half-year, and a significant improvement in competitiveness following the near 25% fall in the currency against the US dollar since mid-2014. However, Hanlan stressed that the cycle remains constrained, with mining investment turning down sharply and amid persistent global fragilities.

“Exports are rising modestly, supported by the lower currency but are constrained by still sluggish world growth,” he said. A net 2% of firms reported a lift in exports. Expectations are positive. The Expected Composite index, despite edging one point lower, is elevated at 58.8, with firms’ anticipation a rise in new orders and output. Firms plan to respond to this strength by expanding their workforce, as well as increased overtime.

Quickstep to manufacture Ford Falcon XR6 Sprint parts Advanced manufacturing company Quickstep Holdings has received full global signoff from the Ford Motor Company to manufacture an innovative air duct for the Ford Falcon XR6 Sprint.

Ford is Quickstep’s first automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) client. The Falcon XR6 Sprint will be the first global massproduced Ford to feature a carbon fibre air intake system, providing a showcase for Quickstep’s automotive capability and the role of carbon fibre in the automotive industry.

“We are delighted to work with Ford on its groundbreaking technology,” said Quickstep Managing Director David Marino.

“During design and development we qualified materials, resins and processes that replace a thick-walled, injection moulding plastic component with a very thin-walled carbon fibre part. We are excited by this signature contract and believe the automotive growth opportunities for Quickstep will be significant.”

The air intake system was designed by Premcar, engineered and tested by Ford, and manufactured by Quickstep Automotive. It will be manufactured at Quickstep’s Waurn Ponds automotive facility and production has now commenced.

AMT Apr/May 2016

“Businesses are looking to 2016 to be a positive year for profitability, driven by increased turnover and a lower Australian dollar boosting export returns. A net 31% expect profits to increase.”

Investment intentions have strengthened, consistent with an extended trend reduction in the sector’s spare capacity and improving profitability. A net 33% of firms expect to increase equipment spending in the next year. The survey’s Labour Market composite rose to 56.9 in March, to average 55 over the past six months, up from 51 a year ago. The Index, which correctly foreshadowed the strengthening in economy-wide jobs growth evident over the past year, points to further solid gains in 2016.

“While the signs are encouraging, we need policy-makers to fortify the confidence of industry through undertaking a tough but essential agenda of reform, including to tax, workplace relations and competition policy,” said Tim Hicks, Acting Director of Economic and Industry Policy at the Australian Chamber. “Australia needs an efficient manufacturing sector if we are to compete against the rest of the world. Right now Australia stands 21st on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, but with sensible policy settings we should be able to reach the top 10 by 2030, if not earlier.”

Robert Gerard AO appointed first Australian Made patron Robert Gerard AO, former president of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has been appointed as the first-ever patron of the Australian Made Campaign.

Australian Made Campaign Chairman Glenn Cooper AM appointed Gerard at a dinner attended by the Australian Made Campaign’s Board of Directors, in the presence of senior business leaders from around the country and former Prime Minister John Howard OM AC, who relaunched the Australian Made Campaign in 1999.

In his role as ACCI President in the 1990s, Gerard was instrumental in forming the Australian Made Campaign, the not-for-profit organisation which administers and promotes the green-and-gold Australian Made, Australian Grown kangaroo logo. He served as a Director of the Campaign for 15 years, from 2001-2015, and was Chairman from 2001-2009.

Gerard is well-known nationally and internationally for his contributions to Australia’s business community and has also had a significant impact on Australia’s educational and sporting communities. He is the Executive Chairman of Gerard Corporation, the Chairman of the Hall of Fame Governors for the SA Sports Hall of Fame, a Director of the Order of Australia Association Foundation, a Patron of the Duke of Edinburgh Award in SA and World Fellow, and was once named 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Robert Gerard AO

11 - 13 May 2016

Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park

Experience Australia’s largest showcase of manufacturing innovation, information and inspiration.

REGISTER TO ATTEND FOR FREE AT nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au Find the latest 150+ EXHIBITORS advanced precision including Omax, Multicam, Raymax, Power Machinery, Fuji Electric, manufacturing TECHNI Waterjet, Amaero, 3D Printing Systems, Konica Minolta, Kemppi, HIWIN, Hitachi and many more products, and gain access to the latest 20 FREE PRODUCT DAILY industry insights. PRESENTATIONS SECTOR ZONES DEMONSTRATIONS

Organised by

Strategic Partner

Co-located with

022

industry news

Industry hails Defence White Paper

Industry leaders welcomed the Federal Government’s Defence White Paper, announced on 25 February by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Defence Minister Marise Payne. commitment to continuous build programs and maximising Australian industry involvement in the submarines’ construction complemented the recently announced National Innovation and Science Agenda.

The White Paper includes plans to increase defence spending by $29.9bn over the next decade to make the Australian Defence Force (ADF) “more capable, agile and potent”. The Government said in a statement: “These investments in Australian industry and technologies will generate benefits beyond the Australian defence industrial base which flow into the rest of the economy, delivering jobs and encouraging innovation for regional businesses and communities across Australia.”

Among the measures outlined in the White Paper was a continuous naval shipbuilding program, commencing with nine future frigates and 12 offshore patrol vessels, as well as plans for 12 new submarines. There were also measures to strengthen the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Army.

Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, praised the White Paper, saying it would offer Australia’s defence industry “a higher degree of certainty that it will be called on to deliver over the next decade and beyond the advanced equipment, systems and support required by the Australian Defence Force (ADF)”.

“The announcement of the Defence Industry Policy Statement and accompanying Integrated Investment Program provides

Photo: Richard Gale © Commonwealth of Australia.

further welcome guidance to defence industry as it positions to upgrade and replace the ADF’s existing stable of military equipment,” said Willox. “Australia’s defence industry is world-class, offering innovative solutions to thousands of engineering and technical challenges posed by the ADF. The emphasis given to building on this expertise is a positive for defence industry in this country.”

John Pollaers, Chairman of the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council (AAMC), said the White Paper was “a massive opportunity to re-tool Australia’s manufacturing sector”. He added that the

“By building strategic capability, Australia has the chance to upskill and sustain its own defence and broader advanced manufacturing industry, providing value for money as well as a more secure future for Australia – in every sense of that word,” Pollaers said. “The Defence industry commitment will see high-value employment opportunities for Australian talent.”

Chris Burns, national spokesperson for the Australian Made Defence campaign, said the announcement was a significant vote of confidence for the defence industry.

“The strong commitment to defence demonstrated in this announcement is a huge positive for industry and its workforce that have been doing it tough for years,” said Burns. “The economic benefits resulting from the extensive spending growth to 2% of GDP by 2020-2021, will be spread across the states to deliver employment, certainty and prosperity – and not just to the defence sector but by fostering growth, agility and innovation across a whole variety of sectors.”

Deakin, Vic Government partnership boosts ManuFutures Deakin University has welcomed a commitment from the Victorian Government to contribute to the build of ManuFutures – a $13m centre to lead innovation in support of advanced manufacturing in regional Australia.

ManuFutures will be built at Waurn Ponds and once operational, is expected to increase state output by over $220m annually, create over 100 direct jobs, around another 300 indirect jobs and increase wages by $34m each year.

ManuFutures will serve as a hub for start-up and established businesses.

In partnership with Deakin, businesses striving to harness their competitive advantage will combine their capabilities with the university’s creative imagination, industry-focused research strategies and smart business models. Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander said ManuFutures would house up to 15 companies at any one time.

“We are delighted the Victorian Government has announced it will support

AMT Apr/May 2016

this essential project with a $3m contribution through its Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund,” Professor den Hollander said. “It will allow commercial businesses to collaborate with leading research centres including the Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training, the Institute for Frontier Materials, the Centre for Intelligent Systems Research and faculties including Health, and Science, Engineering and Built Environment.

“Deakin University is committed to the communities we serve and ManuFutures is a key part of our commitment to ensuring new industry growth and job creation, not just in Geelong, but throughout the state. Typically, great Australian inventions are refined and monetised overseas, but in order to compete through a strong economy, Australia must link high technology innovation to new ideas

and do so quickly and competitively.”

Dimension Data Systems Integration Services Director Duncan Brown welcomed the opportunity for greater partnership between Deakin University and industry. Brown said Dimension Data’s collaboration with Deakin would include a project to address cyber security and how it applies to Victoria’s economy in areas as diverse as public transport, water, healthcare and financial services.

“This is all about keeping Victoria the most liveable place in the world and above all, creating jobs of the future for Victorians,” Brown said. “There is a local and global skills shortage in the cybersecurity industry and our economy depends on the security that these new jobs will deliver to our companies and government agencies.”

024

industry news

Industry IoT take-up set to surge

The Internet of Things (IoT) will move toward mainstream adoption in 2016 for many industries, according to the findings of a recent survey by Gartner.

The online survey included responses from 465 IT and business professionals spanning 18 business sectors in North America, EMEA, Asia/Pacific and Latin America.

Although less than a third (29%) of responding organisations are currently using IoT, an additional 14% are planning to implement IoT in the coming 12 months, with an additional 21% planning to implement after 2016. In other words, the number of organisations adopting IoT will grow 50% in 2016, reaching 43% of organisations overall.

In aggregate, the majority of organisations (64%) plan to eventually implement IoT. However, it is also important to note that another 38% have no plans to implement IoT, including 9% that see no relevance whatsoever in the technologies.

“While there is near universal acceptance of the importance of the IoT, less than a third of organisations surveyed were actively exploiting it,” said Chet Geschickter, Research Director at Gartner.

“This is largely because of two reasons. The first set of hurdles are business-related. Many organisations have yet to establish a clear picture of what benefits the IoT can deliver, or have not yet invested the time to develop ideas for how to apply IoT to their business. The second set of hurdles are the organisations themselves. Many of the survey participants have insufficient expertise and staffing for IoT and lack clear leadership.”

Industry adoption also varies widely with heavy industries such as utilities, oil & gas, and manufacturing leading adoption, and serviceoriented light or “weightless” industries lagging. Gartner estimates

that slightly more than half (56%) of businesses in asset-intensive “heavy” industries will have implemented IoT by the end of 2016, and approximately one-third (36%) of “light” or “weightless” will do so.

For those organisations that have already implemented IoT, the primary business case is internally focused, namely improved efficiencies, cost savings and enhanced asset utilisation (52% of total) versus the externally facing IoT benefits of enhancing customer experience or increasing revenue (40%).

“However, we are poised for a marked shift in focus toward customerfacing benefits for planned IoT implementations, positioning IoT as a key competitive marketplace weapon going forward,” said Jim Tully, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “The survey shows a dramatic jump in focus on customer experience, doubling in nominal terms from 18% to 34%. This indicates that we can expect a much higher IoT focus on end customers during the next 12 months.”

The survey found that the biggest IoT technology challenges for those that have already implemented IoT are cybersecurity, integration and managing business requirements. However, orchestration of workflows and processes looms as a major concern for those planning to implement IoT. “2016 will be a very big year for IoT adoption,” said Geschickter. “We are starting to see a wide range of IoT use cases across virtually all industries. But, the big challenge now is demonstrating return on investment. Executives need to validate the contribution that IoT can make in order to justify large-scale rollouts.”

Survey highlights recruitment concern for growing businesses

With unemployment rates sitting at around 6%, nearly two in five Australian businesses expecting to employ more staff in the next 12 months state that finding suitable recruits is their leading business concern, according to research by DBM Consultants.

DBM’s Business Financial Services Monitor (BFSM) found that 35% of these growing businesses mention recruiting suitable staff as a top three concern, compared to 16% of Australian businesses overall. DBM Account Director Tim Honcoop states that, despite a rise in unemployment levels, employment conditions elsewhere have created greater competition among Australian businesses looking for staff.

“With unemployment still relatively low, and job vacancies at a three-year high, businesses can expect fiercer competition in finding staff that are the right fit for their business,” says Honcoop.

“Mix this in with 28% of growing businesses also concerned about managing costs and overheads and you have Australian business decision-makers handling a financial balancing act between investing in good staff and managing costs.”

AMT Apr/May 2016

When it comes to Australia’s three largest employing industries – Construction, Manufacturing, and Education & Training – up to one in five businesses expects finding staff to be an issue in the next 12 months.

“This process could be a serious struggle,” Honcoop says.

“These three industries employ a quarter of the entire national workforce, which emphasises the role they play in buoying employment levels across the country.”

The three industries least concerned about finding suitable staff – Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Services; Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing; and Mining – also expect to reduce their staff count in the coming 12 months. Compared to 7% of all Australian businesses expecting to employ fewer staff in the next 12 months, for these industries this ranges between 10% in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing to 27% in Mining.

industry news

RMIT showcases 3D manufacturing with metals RMIT University opened the doors of its Advanced Manufacturing Precinct (AMP) in Carlton, Victoria, on 24 February, for a workshop on 3D manufacturing in metals.

Held in conjunction with SLM Solutions and its Australian distributor Raymax Lasers, the event drew a strong turnout, with 61 guests in attendance to hear about this cutting-edge field within the world of additive manufacturing. As well as offering an update on the latest developments in 3D manufacturing in metals, the event saw the announcement of a new collaborative partnership whereby RMIT’s experts will help to provide training for companies buying SLM machines.

Proceedings got underway with Professor Milan Brandt, Technical Director of the AMP, who gave an overview of what the event would cover, and detailed RMIT’s new collaboration with SLM and Raymax. Then it was straight to technical matters, with Associate Professor Martin Leary from RMIT’s School of Engineering. Prof Leary provided a broad round-up of the latest innovations in selective laser melting (SLM), a process that uses a high-power laser to create three-dimensional metal parts by fusing fine metal powders together. He discussed potential applications and commercial opportunities for the technology, as well as some of the challenges it faces as it develops.

The industry perspective was covered in the next presentation, from Stefan Ritt, Export, Sales & Marketing Manager at SLM Solutions. Ritt talked about the history of SLM Solutions and where it is today. Global demand for SLM machines is currently strong

RØDE’s Peter Freedman awarded Order of Australia Peter Freedman, Founder and Managing Director of RØDE Microphones, has been appointed a member of the Order of Australia in the General Division. The award is in recognition of Freedman’s service to business, manufacturing and export, and his philanthropic support of cultural events.

as the technology evolves to challenge more traditional milling processes, and Ritt explained how his company is tackling that demand, describing some of its current products and its activities worldwide.

Dr Cédric Chaminade of Raymax spoke next, with a shift of emphasis away from SLM to another metal 3D printing process. Laser metal deposition (LMD) uses a laser beam to form a melt pool on a metallic substrate into which powder is fed, and Raymax is the Australian distributor for French company BeAM EasyCLAD, one of the frontrunners in this field. Dr Chaminade described how the process works and its applications.

The final presentation was from Dr Maciej Mazur, a research fellow at RMIT’s School of Engineering, who provided a case study on using SLM to make injection moulding tooling. The RMIT project enabled significantly improved cooling system performance by allowing new design freedom in comparison with traditional manufacturing methods, a clear example of how additive processes can deliver new efficiencies throughout the manufacturing industry.

In addition to the presentations, the event included an opportunity to tour the Advanced Manufacturing Precinct, including a change to see its two SLM Solutions laser systems, and to discuss product trial and testing with RMIT experts. There was also opportunities to network among the guests at the event.

Cut material costs for your business

As a multiple Australian Export Awards winner, Sydney-based RØDE has in recent times been hailed as a leader in the Australian manufacturing sector by senior politicians and leading academics, with its sustainable high-tech approach setting an example for the future of Australian manufacturing. In addition, the company has been widely acclaimed by leading international associations and institutions for its outstanding innovation within design and manufacturing.

Resource Assessment Grants 2015–16

Freedman’s involvement in initiatives such as the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) and Microsoft’s Joined-Up Innovation initiative has established him as an opinion leader both locally and internationally. With a passion for the arts and a love for his home city, Freedman is also a sponsor of the Sydney Festival, and a founding member of the festival’s 40th anniversary fund. A long-time member of AMTIL, RØDE opened its doors to AMTIL members last year for an educational and informative plant tour.

Application closing date

“To be recognised at the highest level, by the greatest country in the world, and for work within an industry you love, is – for me – the pinnacle of success,” said Freedman. “To say I am honoured, and so very humbled, is an understatement.”

Grants of up to $10,000 are available for small to medium sized businesses to conduct a resource assessment of their operations.

Conducting an assessment can identify thousands of dollars in materials and other savings.

4pm, Friday 13 May 2016 – Final date for Materials Assessment, or combined Materials and Energy Assessment applications to be submitted.

For more information visit www.sustainability.vic.gov.au Email grants.enquiries@sustainability.vic.gov.au Call 1300 363 744

sustainability.vic.gov.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

025

026

Government news

Combet named new Vic defence advocate Former Federal Minister Greg Combet will champion Victoria’s defence capabilities in a new role as the state’s Defence Industry Advocate.

Combet brings significant experience and knowledge of defence industries to the role, having previously served as a Federal Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science. Victoria’s world-class defence sector contributes up to $8bn to the state’s economy annually. It includes more than 300 businesses and directly employs around 7,000 people who make equipment and provide services for defence activities.

Premier Daniel Andrews’ Labor Government has identified defence technologies as a key growth sector to drive Victoria’s economy and create jobs. Appointing a Defence Industry Advocate is intended to help achieve that growth. Combet will: • Represent Victoria on defence industry matters and be an identifiable champion of the industry.

• Advocate for Victoria’s defence industry to key stakeholders nationally and internationally.

• Identify opportunities for Victorian Government support and assistance to businesses and organisations to secure significant economic value for Victoria.

• Provide strategic advice on defence industry-related issues, particularly on actions to grow and sustain Victoria’s defence industry in the short, medium and long terms.

• Engage as required with the media in the promotion of Victoria’s defence industry.

“As Defence Industry Advocate, Greg Combet will be working to secure opportunities for Victorian defence businesses and promoting the state’s defence manufacturing capability both in Australia and around the world,” said Victorian Minister for Industry Lily D’Ambrosio. “We are the largest defence manufacturing state in Australia with 7,000 Victorians making equipment and providing defence services.

Appointing a Defence Industry Advocate will help grow the sector even further and create new jobs.”

Combet will finish work with the South Australian Government before commencing the role in April 2016 for an initial 12 month period.

“I welcome the opportunity to represent Victoria in this role. I will work hard with all stakeholders to secure defence industry jobs and investment for the State,” said Combet. “The recent Defence White Paper released by the Commonwealth Government presents opportunities for Victoria, particularly in defence technology. Securing a fair share of this work in the future submarine and naval frigate projects will be an important priority.”

Survey: businesses who import or manufacture materials

Queensland begins drive for manufacturing roadmap

The Department of Industry is running an evaluation of tariff concessions on manufacturing inputs.

The Queensland Government is developing a ten-year roadmap to help its manufacturers take on the world.

Certain Inputs to Manufacture Evaluation will examine tariff concessions relating to the following items: 46 (raw materials); 47 (metal materials); 48 (other inputs - chemicals, plastics and paper); and 49 (aluminium can sheet). Items 46 and 47 refer to the Certain Inputs to Manufacture (CIM) programme, while items 48 and 49 are standalone by-law concessions targeting similar industries. All four items are enabled under Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995.

State Development Minister and Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham released a discussion paper on 24 February to inform a ten-year roadmap and action plan for advanced manufacturing, the state’s third-biggest employer. Dr Lynham said the government wanted Queensland manufacturing companies to grow and generate high-value, highly-skilled jobs.

The CIM programme and items 48 and 49 were introduced for two primary purposes: to enhance competitiveness; and to increase the export potential of Australian industry. As such, the Department is seeking the views of stakeholders to evaluate performance and viability and to determine whether industry is accessing and utilising the concessions. The stakeholder groups are: • Applicants – importers and/or end users of imported goods under items 46, 47, 48 and/or 49.

• Local manufacturers – local suppliers of manufacturing inputs who may or may not have raised an objection under items 46, 47, 48 and/or 49.

• Third parties – customs brokers, consultants and other parties who facilitate an application process under items 46, 47, 48 and/or 49.

• Government/public service staff engaged in delivery or policy aspects.

The survey covers usage over the six financial years from 2009-10 to 2014-15. It should take 5-15 minutes to complete. consult.industry.gov.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

“Our manufacturing sector contributed more than $20bn to our economy in 2014-15. It’s our third-largest employer of full-time workers and that’s expected to increase in the medium term,” said Dr Lynham. “The future I want to see is traditional manufacturers transitioning to advanced manufacturing, accessing new supply chains and capitalising on changing markets and export opportunities. This discussion paper will fuel the 10-year roadmap and action plan that will lead us there.”

The discussion paper identifies opportunities for Queensland manufacturers, including outbidding cheaper, imported products and taking advantage of export opportunities in fields like medical instruments and pharmaceuticals. The paper also identifies challenges, including an ageing workforce, emerging competition from China, and Queensland’s high proportion of small companies.

Dr Lynham said the Government’s Industry and Manufacturing Advisory Group (IMAG) had provided expert input to the paper.

“Establishing the IMAG with high-level representation from industry, government and unions is an election commitment that is already contributing to advancing Queensland,” he said. “The IMAG will continue to guide the roadmap and action plan, including reviewing them at its next meeting in May.” The roadmap is one of a number of industry roadmaps to be developed as part of the $180m Advance Queensland initiative.

ADVERTISEMENT

BUSINESSES THAT INNOVATE ARE 60% MORE LIKELY TO INCREASE THEIR PROFITS. Australian Innovation System Report 2015.

The National Innovation and Science Agenda aims to encourage ideas and create opportunities for Australian businesses by: • providing new tax breaks to support businesses that take risks and innovate • encouraging businesses to work with researchers to create new products, processes and services.

Welcome to the Ideas Boom.

innovation.gov.au

#ideasboom

Authorised by the Australian Government, Capital Hill, Canberra. Printed by Print Graphics, 14 Hardner Road, Mount Waverly, 3149

028

government news

SA report highlights innovation key to economic transformation

The South Australia State Government on 21 March released a detailed report that highlights the need to improve the commercialisation of research in the state and better support innovative start-up companies.

The report, commissioned by the SA State Government and prepared by the Redfire Consulting Group, proposes that the Government: • Establishes a $50m Venture Capital Fund and a $10m Early Commercialisation fund to better support innovative South Australian start-up companies.

• Encourages a merger of the commercialisation arms of the local universities and the commercialisation of research from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).

• Develops a single Innovation Policy Statement that would provide the framework to consider support for innovation programs.

• Restructure and better support BioSA. The report states that if the recommendations were to be implemented, it would support more than 350 start-up businesses, and lead to the creation of more than 1,200 new jobs.

Premier Jay Weatherill said that growth through innovation is one of the Government’s Ten Economic Priorities and that the report makes an important contribution to the advancement of the State’s innovation agenda.

“We want to create an environment of innovation in South Australia, with the infrastructure, finance, information, institutions and people with the right skills and connections,” Premier Weatherill said.

“What’s critically important is that we develop our capacity to be part of the ‘innovation ecosystem’.

“We need to improve the links between industries and institutions, innovators and investors. The smart ideas being developed by our researchers and students need to be matched with entrepreneurs and the venture capital to commercialise them, so we can create the hightech jobs of the future.

“This report highlights the fact we can improve the way we SA Premier Jay Weatherill. support start-ups by being more coordinated, and pooling the talents across our business, government and tertiary sectors. We will be considering our response to the recommendations in this report in the lead up to our State Budget in June.”

The report was released as Premier Weatherill returned from a trip to the US, where he had witnessed first-hand the transformation of traditional manufacturing and industrial cities. Premier Weatherill visited Austin, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit and San Francisco where he met with Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Michigan (Mcity), Greensmith Energy, Tesla, Google and other leaders in innovation.

“Pittsburgh for example has taken the skills and capabilities of its old industries and applied them to new, high-tech industries to become an engine room of the US economy,” he said.

New appointments strengthen Innovation and Science Australia

A new-look Innovation and Science Australia Board was unveiled on 15 March by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Christopher Pyne.

A statement announcing the make-up of the new board said: “The Turnbull Government has, after a thorough process, appointed some of the best minds in innovation and science in Australia today.

The talent on this new board represents innovators and entrepreneurs with a proven record of success.”

The new board will have broader functions than its predecessor, Innovation Australia, including advising the Government on strategic innovation and science priorities and investment. The appointment of leading figures from the innovation and science sectors will add deep commercial and research expertise across areas as diverse as agriculture, biotechnology and software.

Innovation and Science Dr Alan Finkel AO, Chief Scientist.

Australia (ISA) is a new statutory board which will be tasked with placing innovation and science at the centre of government policy making. ISA will play a key role in helping to deliver the Turnbull Government’s $1.1bn National Innovation and Science Agenda, which is supporting the transition of the Australian economy.

• Mr Daniel Petre AO, Partner AirTree Ventures

The new board members and one reappointment are: • Dr Alan Finkel AO, Chief Scientist (Deputy Chair) • Ms Maile Carnegie, CEO Google Australia and New Zealand • Mr Scott Farquhar, Co-founder and CEO Atlassian • Mr Paul Bassat, Co-founder Square Peg Capital and Cofounder SEEK • Dr Chris Roberts, Non-Executive Director ResMed • Dr Michele Allan, Chancellor Charles Sturt University (reappointed) • Mr Bill Ferris AC has already been appointed as Chair of ISA.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Commonwealth Government Entrepreneurs’ Programme partnering with AMTIL

It’s all about you.

Business Management

The Entrepreneurs’ Programme (EP) is a Commonwealth Government flagship initiative focused on raising the competitiveness and productivity of eligible companies at an individual level. AMTIL is an industry partner organisation working with the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science in the delivery of the EP. The Programme offers support through three key elements: 1. Business Management 2. Innovation Connections 3. Accelerating Commercialisation To run a successful business, it’s not enough to have a great product or service. You need to understand your challenges and continually identify and leverage growth opportunities to improve business performance.

The Business Management element of EP provides practical support to help businesses improve and grow through sustainable, strategic management and capability.

EP’s Business Management element offers: • On-site support from an industry specialist Adviser or Facilitator who will give you objective insight and recommendations to improve and grow your business.

• Funding through matched grants of up to $20,000 to implement practical activities focused on supporting growth.

• Access to business networks, government services, and specialist assistance for growth and supply chain projects.

Plus depending on the results of the Business Evaluation, your company may be: • Given recommendations, and be eligible for funding, to improve your business and maximise opportunities; • Introduced to scientific researchers via Research Connections; • Given advice or financial assistance to rapidly commercialise new products under Accelerating Commercialisation.

Every business has different needs.

www.amtil.com.au

1302AMTILEP02

To find out what the Entrepreneurs’ Programme can do for you, call 13 28 46 or visit www.business.gov.au or contact Greg Chalker 03 9800 3666 or email gchalker@amtil.com.au

030

voice box Opinions from across the manufacturing industry

What is Industry 4.0?

If you listen to the business media there is a revolution coming to manufacturing. It is called Industry 4.0, a fourth industrial revolution based on emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, advanced automation and additive technologies. But, Tim McLean asks, is it really something new or is it just Groundhog Day? In fact Industry 4.0 is a term developed by German government to describe its high technology strategy for manufacturing. Like all trendy new buzzwords, however, it has been quickly grabbed by consultants and the media and turned in to a catch-all term used to describe, well, whatever people want it to describe!

So what is Industry 4.0? What is new and different about it, what does it change, and what should you be doing about it? I would argue that the answer to all three questions is “not much”. The reality is that we have become accustomed to a blistering pace of technological change in manufacturing over the past 20 years.

Industries as old and traditional as metalworking and printing have been transformed by the combination of highly automated digitally controlled machinery and highly integrated computer aided digital work flows. This transformation is continuing with, for example, most enlightened metal-working companies maintaining a close eye on the progress of 3D printing technologies for metal. I would therefore argue that Industry 4.0 is a term to describe a process of transformation that has been going on for a couple of decades and is only showing moderate signs of acceleration.

The cumulative effect of these changes are, however, quite significant. Firstly, in many sectors of manufacturing, the degree of automation and complexity has increased significantly. As a result, there is far less labour involved in actual production and (frequently) far more labour involved in what I call “pre-production” activities such as sales, design, specification, programming, artwork preparation and so on. The pre-production labour tends to be highly skilled (often performed by engineers). With manual tasks increasingly replaced with automated machines, the days of manufacturing being an attractive career choice for people without a good education are long over.

This also means that increasingly the focus for improvement and efficiency needs to be on these pre-production processes rather than the actual production process. In many advanced manufacturing companies, the combined number of people involved in engineering, procurement, programming, sales, sales support and design far exceeds the number of people on the factory floor.

In addition, the value delivered to customers is increasingly related to software, after-sales support and design rather than the physical product. Therefore an improvement focus solely on productivity in production will miss the largest opportunities to reduce waste and increase value in your business.

Another key change enabled by Industry 4.0 and by the general advance of digital technology is the increase in customisation.

Technology is enabling businesses to offer customers a one-off

AMT Apr/May 2016

product at a cost comparable to a standard off-the-shelf product.

The internet allows customers to “design their own” product in many cases. This is already happening in industries such as commercial printing and apparel. Customisation means that traditional approaches to lead time, inventory, supply chain and order processing are being stretched and challenged. This is a trend that is highly desirable to customers and it will continue.

In summary, manufacturing businesses need to keep up to date with emerging technologies to stay competitive. Their business improvement focus needs to go beyond the factory floor and encompass all pre-production processes such as sales, design, procurement and so on.

Constants in a changing world So, that is what is changing, how about what is staying the same? Well the answer is that there is a lot that is staying the same! Some of the key lessons I have learned about automation and technology over my years in manufacturing will not change: People. No matter how automated your factory or engineering processes are, no matter how much data you collect or how well you analyse it, the performance of your business depends entirely on the performance of the people your business employs. It is people who develop your technology, people who install and commission it, people who operate it and people who improve it. Therefore, the key to success in Industry 4.0 is the same as it has always been – excellent leadership. You need an effective daily management system to drive the day-to-day achievement of targets and everyday improvement and problem solving. You also need a strategy deployment process to align every level of your organisation with your strategy. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you as a leader need to demonstrate Lean leadership behaviours in everything you do. This means things such as always showing respect for people and their work, expecting high standards (and living by those standards yourself), asking questions before you give directions, and noticing improvement or problems on your frequent visit to the workplace.

Complexity Costs. The problem I have always had with automation is that engineers (like me) are very good at quantifying the benefits of automation and technology, but not so good at defining the costs. Increasing automation can increase the complexity of your business. As processes and systems become more interconnected, a risk of a failure at one point can impact the whole process.

Therefore, maintenance is critical, as is ensuring that staff have the skills to operate equipment properly. As equipment becomes more complex, problem-solving also becomes more difficult.

031

Expensive specialised resources may be required to diagnose and fix problems. This expertise may not always be available (it may not even be in your country) and so long delays can result. Likewise, systems to collect and manage data require resources to maintain the integrity of that data and to interpret it. I have seen factories that have become so automated that noone really understands them. Then when something goes wrong, the consequences can be severe. Often when all these costs are added up, technology that looks superficially attractive is actually not. More commonly, the factors listed above mean that when the whole business process (value stream) is considered, the investment in automation at one point in the process fails to deliver the expected returns. This is very common with software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and business intelligence systems. Indirect maintenance costs such as data cleansing are not factored in to the investment calculation and savings in areas such as inventory are often based on heroic assumptions on customer forecast accuracy.

Shareholder value is driven by Return on Assets. In business most managers are very focused on profit and return on sales.

However, for banks and shareholders, what matters is the return achieved on the money invested in the business. Businesses usually have choices how to invest that cash. Capital-intensive improvements such as automation and software may appear to offer an easy path to cost savings, but they come at a price on the company’s balance sheet. Applying Lean thinking, solving problems every day and engaging your people can create cost savings that are well above what automation has to offer and can delivered at a fraction of the cost.

Beware Stranded Assets. The very change that is driving the move to Industry 4.0 is also a key risk to investments in new technology. Business is changing and products are changing constantly. The products that you make today may not be what you make tomorrow, and the customers you have today may find an alternative to you tomorrow. Modern automation is flexible, but this flexibility has its limits. In robotics, for example, the majority of investment is usually in application-specific elements such as grippers, enclosures, programming and fixtures. If your product changes, often this investment is no longer usable. I have seen a lot of dusty robots sitting idle over the years.

Purchased Technology rarely provides a Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The competitive advantage you gain from new automated equipment or systems only lasts as long as it takes for your competitor to buy the same piece of equipment. The only know-how that will deliver sustainable competitive advantage is the know-how your business owns exclusively, which usually means know-how that you have developed yourself. I have worked in many industries where competitors have engaged in an “arms race” to purchase and install the best, fastest and most automated equipment. Competition then means that cost savings from these investments are inevitably passed on to customers as lower prices.

The winners are the customers and the technology suppliers, never the companies installing the technology. You may be forced to invest in technology to stay in the game, but don’t expect purchased technology to keep you ahead of the game.

So what is Industry 4.0? To summarise, I would argue that Industry 4.0 is not new, but simply a continuation of technology-driven change that has been occurring for more than two decades. If your business does not understand the new technologies entering your market and is not ready to invest in the right technology at the right time, then you will struggle to stay competitive.

Industries as old and traditional as metalworking and printing have been transformed by the combination of highly automated digitally controlled machinery and highly integrated computer aided digital work flows. This transformation is continuing with, for example, most enlightened metal-working companies maintaining a close eye on the progress of 3D printing technologies for metal.

However, remember the five basic rules: • People are the real driver of the success of your business, not machines or software.

• Recognise the true cost of any technology you install as well as the benefits.

• Process improvement through Lean will often deliver equal or better business performance improvements than automation, without the massive investment.

• Make sure that your technology investment will not be “stranded” if your products or customers change.

• Recognise that competitive advantage comes from know-how you develop yourself, not know-how you buy. Your competitor can (and often will) buy the same automated technology and match what you can offer.

Tim McLean is the Director of leading Lean consultants TXM Lean Solutions, and author of ‘Grow Your Factory - Grow Your Profits: Lean for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises’. www.txm.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

032

voice box Opinions from across the manufacturing industry

Innovation and STEM

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been talking up innovation since taking office in September, but how can those words be translated into policy? John Wayland offers some ideas.

The push of the Turnbull Government into the policy of innovation is to be congratulated and supported. It is early days for policy definition, which we know is still evolving, and accordingly it would be premature to be a critic. So in the spirit of ‘contribution’, there are some issues to be suggested by a team who have embraced this need for change and innovation for over 10 years. This is not a new economic theory to overcome the Chicago School or Marx’s theories. It is part of ISO 9000 and extolled by the management guru W. Edwards Deming in the 1950s. Constant improvement and adaptation are known to the best manufacturers in the same way Wheaties are an athlete – you have them for breakfast.

In the Hunter Valley, the business organisation Hunternet is the only business association that has the word on its website, and has done so for over eight years. Ten years ago, its then-CEO John Coyle embraced the need to bring about change to manufacturing. There have been innovation awards and conferences where he has invited me to speak.

The need for an emphasis on science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) has for some time been a clarion call from a number of owner-manufacturers seeking to employ new graduates, yet whenever it has been raised with various ministers it has been ignored. A change in policy is needed if this country is to a broadbased economy and not one dependent on coal and iron ore.

The Treasury’s policy of relying on primary industry has left companies that actually make things a disaster zone. Millions of dollars have indeed gone to the car industry and the sporting industry, but there are questions over the efficiency of this spend.

Every report on innovation and every submission to every Senate Inquiry has pointed out that Australia does not commercialise. The spend for research is over $18bn a year when you add the CSIRO and the R&D grants together, and that doesn’t include the Tech Voucher handed out by State Governments. As measured by the OECD, even New Zealand is better at commercialisation than we Aussies.

Needed: A broad spread of experience on boards May I suggest we look at the boards of the CSIRO and other advisory groups? We see

AMT Apr/May 2016

that they are all academics with PhDs. It’s a broad generalisation to say that academics are not business people, but the results speak for themselves. A researcher with a PhD is as different to a salesman. There are no business-people on those boards, nor trade union representatives. To some the suggestion that there be a trade union representative may sound heresy, but Paul Bastion’s call for a Manufacturing Finance Corporation (MFC) was an excellent initiative, as is the AMWU publication A Smarter Australia.

Needed: Ground-up collaboration Collaboration does not need big meetings in Canberra at great cost as recommended by the Smarter Australia recommendations .What is needed is small meetings between academics and factory owners in alternative premises so that each get to know the problems and what the other half are doing.

Needed: Innovatory Government In New South Wales there is a process under the Premier’s Department for unsolicited tenders. It is little known and not well promoted. I tried to use the process only to find that it too is bogged down in bureaucracy. I suggested a tunnel through the Blue Mountains, as opposed to a road upgrade. I was asked to send in detailed costings, which of course would cost thousands to produce. Later I found that the Department knows all these routes, have the costings, and have them shelved.

In 1981 I offered a solution for federally owned land in Phillip Street. I completed this project in 1987 as one of the first public-

private partnerships, but only after surviving a public tender process that I won against the major developers. This process can and does work in other situations and should be extended to the Federal and other State Governments.

Needed: A Prize In the 1600s, navigators needed to know longitude, so the British Government offered a prize. The Brits have resurrected the Longitude Prize to address the important issues and challenges facing us, such as resistance to antibiotics, or mobility for quadriplegics. This approach focuses the attention, rather than simply giving out prizes to any ideas or products suggested to a panel of experts to assess – as we have now with the News Ltd Innovation Prize .

Australia has different issues. How do we drought-proof the interior? Where do we house Nuclear waste ? But these are broad issues. What manufacturers need is a prize for a solution to an issue on their desk now.

Needed: The Cloud There has to be better use of online access to what is happening inside the institutions.

There is a need to have worldwide exposure to research, as happens with Nine Sigma.

It would be good to know what research is currently being undertaken inside the CSIRO and universities and what needs commercialisation.

These are some more ideas to add to what is a good move for Australia.

John Wayland is the founder of i2V (Innovation 2 Value). www.i2v.com.au

034

Tech News

USA: Successful testing of 3D printed scramjet component Orbital ATK has successfully tested a 3D-printed hypersonic engine combustor (a key scramjet component and one of the most challenging parts of the propulsion system). The component was subjected to a variety of high-temperature hypersonic flight conditions, including one of the longest duration propulsion wind tunnel tests ever recorded for a unit of this kind. The component met or exceeded all of the test requirements. This combustor is an example of a component that was impossible to build just a few years ago, and made possible only through the additive manufacturing process. Complex geometries and assemblies that once required multiple components can be simplified to a single, more cost-effective assembly. It is now possible to design features and integrated 3D printing could be used in components that could the development of hypersonic not be easily cast or craft similar to the X-43A otherwise machined.

Orbital ATK

Singapore: Eco-friendly food packaging doubles shelf-life Researchers have developed an environmentally-friendly and biocompatible food packaging material named Chitosan which is derived from the shells of crustaceans. Chitosan has inherent antimicrobial and antifungal properties and by fortifying it with grapefruit seed extract (GFSE), the product can slow down fungal growth, doubling the shelf-life of perishable food. GFSE is antioxidant and possesses strong antiseptic, germicidal, antibacterial, fungicidal and anti-viral properties. Chitosan’s mechanical strength and flexibility are comparable to synthetic polyethylene film commonly used for food packaging. Experiments showed that the shelf-life of bread samples packaged with chitosan-based GFSE composite films was two times longer than those packaged using synthetic packaging films.

National University of Singapore

USA: Sound used to reverseengineer 3D-printed object Researchers have demonstrated how a smartphone placed next to a 3D printer can capture acoustic signals that carry information about the precise movements of the printer’s nozzle. The recording can then be used to reverse-engineer the object being printed, presenting significant security risks. The team achieved nearly 90% accuracy to duplicate a key-shaped object. The source file (G-code), can be protected from cyberthievery with strong encryption, but once the creation process has begun, the printer emits sounds that can give up the secrets buried in the software.

One possible way for manufacturers to address the issue would be to mask the acoustic signals with white noise. At a minimum, companies using 3D-printers for commercially sensitive prototyping should prohibit smartphones being used in the general vicinity of production.

University of California, Irvine

USA: Solar cells as light as a soap bubble The thinnest and lightest solar cells ever produced have been demonstrated. The laboratory proof-of-concept shows a new approach to making solar cells, which is to make the solar cell,

AMT Apr/May 2016

the substrate, and a protective overcoating, all in one process.

The substrate never needs to be handled during fabrication, minimising exposure to dust or other contaminants and uses no solvents, unlike conventional solar-cell manufacturing. The ultrathin, flexible solar cells, including substrate and overcoating, are just one-fiftieth of the thickness of a human hair and one-thousandth of the thickness of equivalent cells on glass substrates, yet they convert sunlight into electricity just as efficiently. Whereas a typical silicon-based solar module may produce 15 watts of power per kilogram of weight, the new cells have demonstrated an output of 6 watts per gram — about 400 times higher.

MIT

USA: Boron nitride research points to tougher tools Researchers have discovered a new phase of the material boron nitride (Q-BN), which has potential applications for both manufacturing tools and electronic displays. They have also developed a new technique for creating cubic boron nitride (cBN) at ambient temperatures and air pressure. Q-BN is harder than diamond, holding an advantage over diamond when it comes to creating cutting tools. Diamond reacts with iron and ferrous materials. Q-BN does not. The team has created diamond/c-BN crystalline composites for next-generation high-speed machining and deep-sea drilling applications. Specifically, growing diamond on c-BN by using pulsed laser deposition of carbon at 500°C without the presence of hydrogen, creating c-BN and diamond epitaxial composites. c-BN forms a stable oxide layer on its surface when exposed to oxygen, making it stable at high temperatures, meaning it could be used to make solid state devices and protective coatings for high-speed machining tools used in oxygen-ambient environments.

North Carolina State University

Australia: World-first 3D-printed vertebrae Australian neurosurgeon Dr Ralph Mobbs completed a world-first 15-hour surgery for patient Drage Josevski, removing cancer-riddled vertebrae and successfully replacing them with a 3D-printed body part last December. Dr Mobbs designed Top two vertebrae replaced the radical surgical procedure, by a 3D-printed body part. ordering a custom 3D-printed, titanium vertebrae prosthesis to replace the cancerous vertebrae. The custom implant, designed and manufactured by Victorian company Anatomics, was based from CT scans of the patient’s neck. “It was a delight to put in, because after spending 15 hours taking out a very complicated tumor it was beautiful just to slot in the implant and have it fit so nicely and to be able to reconstruct the space left by the tumor” said Dr Mobbs.

ABC

UK: It’s a 3D printer, but not as we know it A team of engineers has developed a new type of 3D printing that can print composite materials, enabling a much greater range

Tech News of items to be 3D printed at home and at low-cost. The novel method uses ultrasonic waves to carefully position millions of tiny reinforcement fibres as part of the 3D printing process. The fibres are formed into a microscopic reinforcement framework that gives the material strength. This microstructure is then set in place using a focused laser beam, which locally cures the epoxy resin and then prints the object. The system can be added cheaply to an off-theshelf 3D printer, which then turns it into a composite printer with the potential to produce rapid prototypes with complex microstructural arrangements.

out oxygen, which is useful for bottling applications. Carbonate was combined with CO2 and furoic acid, and heated to 200°C to form a molten salt. The results were dramatic. After five hours, 89% of the molten-salt mixture had been converted. Work needs to be done to see if the process is viable at scale.

University of Bristol

Current carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) production often involves large, expensive equipment. However researchers have developed a method whereby CFRP is directly irradiated in a vacuum by infrared radiation. The method is fast and energy-efficient and suitable for smaller quantities as well as high-temperature plastics.

Usually, vacuum-based variotherm manufacturing take between 30 minutes and several hours, depending on the thickness of the component. But this approach takes less than 60 seconds.

Processing in a vacuum protects the material and the plastic does not oxidize. Trapped air and exhaust gases are sucked out and the process is very stable and easy to use. All forms of electromagnetic radiation are suitable. The consequent saving in energy, time, costs and materials will benefit smaller companies that cannot pay for expensive technology.

China: Geneva Motorshow wowed with Chinese supercar A hybrid automotive powertrain system that uses a micro-turbine as a range extender will be used to power China’s first supercar. Designed by Beijing automotive R&D firm TechRules, the Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle (TREV) system is claimed to be 50% more efficient than existing range extenders. The system differs from previous turbine-based automotive powertrains because the turbine is used exclusively to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Micro turbines are significantly more efficient than piston engines in range extender applications. Other key technical innovations are said to include the use of magnetic air bearing technology instead of traditional oil lubricants, a new thermally efficient heat exchanger design and a smart battery management system that gets around the problem of cells charging at different rates and enables the batteries to be charged more quickly. It claims that a vehicle powered by the technology will produce peak power of 768 kW, be capable of 0-100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, have a top speed of 350 kmh and have a range of over 2,000 km.

The Engineer

Australia/USA: Graphene filter could solve water crisis A new type of graphene-based filter, developed by Monash University and the University of Kentucky, allows water and other liquids to be filtered nine times faster than the current leading commercial filter and is so strong and stable that it can be used for extended periods in the harshest corrosive environments, and with less maintenance.

A viscous form of graphene oxide was developed that could be spread very thinly with a blade, allowing the filters to be produced much faster and in larger sizes. It may be used to filter chemicals, viruses, or bacteria from a range of liquids and to purify water, dairy products or wine, or in the production of pharmaceuticals. This is the first time that a graphene filter has been able to be produced on an industrial scale – a problem that has plagued the scientific community for years. The ability to control the thickness of the filter and attain a sharper cut-off in separation, and the use of only water as the casting solvent, is a commercial breakthrough.

Monash University

USA: Renewable plastic from CO2 & plants Scientists have discovered a novel way to make plastic from CO2 and inedible plant material which could provide a low-carbon alternative to plastic bottles and other items made from petroleum.

Many plastic products are made from PET (polyester) - producing significant amounts of CO2. A promising alternative to PET is called polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF) which can be sourced from biomass instead of petroleum and is also superior to PET at sealing

Stanford University

Germany: New CFRP production process

Fraunhofer

Australia: Revolutionary new graphene elastomer A new sponge-like material could have diverse applications including the creation of tactile robots. Graphene-based cellular elastomer, or G-elastomer, is highly sensitive to pressure and vibrations. Unlike other viscoelastic substances such as polyurethane foam or rubber, G-elastomer bounces back extremely quickly under pressure, despite its exceptionally soft nature. This unique, dynamic response has never been found in existing soft materials. The sensitivity and response time of G-elastomer could allow a prosthetic hand or a robot to be even more dexterous than a human.

Monash Centre for Atomically Thin Materials (MCATM).

Germany: New robotic gripping surface for sensitive devices During production components with highly sensitive surfaces have to be handled repeatedly by pick-and-place processes. The proprietary Gecomer® principle reduces the risk of surface contamination with residues, and of mechanical damage due to gripping. In their latest version, researchers have improved the adhesive force up to 20kg per 25 cm2. Within these new findings, it will be possible to use the same gripper for heavy, robust, lightweight and sensitive devices.

With the currently developed system, adhesive forces of more than 7.5 Newton per square centimeter can be achieved. The system has proved successful even after 15,000 cycles. Even slightly rough surfaces can be handled reliably. The development group is focussing now on the gripping of objects with non-planar surfaces.

INM - Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien gGmbH

“If a human wanted to walk up a wall the way a gecko does, we’d need impractically large sticky feet – our shoes would need to be a European size 145”: Walter Federle, Cambridge Department of Zoology, explaining why geckos are the largest animals able to scale smooth vertical walls. Larger climbers would require unmanageably large sticky footpads. This is why Spiderman cannot exist. In order to scale walls like he does, scientists estimate that a human would need adhesive pads covering 40% of their body surface.

AMT Apr/May 2016

035

036

product news

Seco T-style sialon ceramic inserts excel in unstable conditions

Seco has expanded the roughing and semi-finishing capabilities of its Secomax CS100 sialon ceramic grade by adding inserts with T-style edge preparation to the line. Featuring a free-cutting, extremely sharp geometry, the new inserts bring stability and performance longevity to the machining of nickel-based superalloys in unstable conditions.

Well suited for turning applications that require tight tolerances and low cutting forces, the T-style (chamfered) CS100 inserts are available in 20-degree chamfers that range from 0.05mm to 0.1mm in width. The sharp, negative reinforced cutting edges on these inserts help absorb some of the high cutting force and pressure that would otherwise be placed on the machine setups and workpieces.

As a result, these inserts eliminate the risk of workpiece deformation, especially in thin-walled components, as well as reducing excessive vibrations that shorten tool life and negatively impact surface finish.

The characteristics of the T-style inserts also complement the existing S-style (chamfered and honed) CS100 products designed to handle high cutting forces in rigid, stable machining conditions.

Very small brushless DC Flat motor An example of the extreme miniaturisation possibilities for test, research and exploration robotics, the 10mm diameter brushless flat motor supplied by maxon motor Australia features specific customisations for use in space.

This brushless DC flat servo motor (commonly referred to in Australia as a pancake motor and globally as a BLDC motor) has an outer diameter of 10mm and a motor length of just 3.25mm. The motor is capable of a top speed of 22,000rpm based on a 4,870rpm/volt constant (KV).

Brushless flat motors are characterised by a high torque per volume and normally have low speeds due to a “lever arm� effect. This tiny motor bucks this trend, achieving speeds normally only possible from traditionally shaped brushless motors. The motor is available with and without hall sensor feedback to broaden the motor control miniaturisation possibilities.

The emerging swarm robotics trend, miniature spacecraft and micro-satellites have an increasing demand for tiny DC motors that implement their gyroscopic effects to orientate the devices. A highly customised version of this motor has been adapted for use in outer space. In particular, a vacuum capable lubrication Braycote 601EF has been used in the ball bearings and the shaft has been specifically modified to suit the inertial load. www.maxonmotor.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

Collectively, the T-style and S-style inserts in the CS100 line have high abrasion resistance and superior toughness that extends tool life and allows for high cutting speeds when processing challenging materials such as Inconel, MAR, RENE and Waspaloy. In other words, manufacturers, especially those in aerospace and power generation, using these inserts will benefit from high productivity, consistent quality and a low cost per part.

Furthermore, Seco has added new ceramic insert holders to its comprehensive product portfolio. Available in standard shaft and Seco-Capto styles, these holders have special pocket designs and clamping systems that easily accommodate the different thicknesses and missing centremounting holes that are common with these types of inserts. www.secotools.com

Metal Manufacturing Industry Guide to Safety 2015/16 released Pro-Visual Publishing, in partnership with Australian Industry Group, has released the 2015/16 edition of the Metal Manufacturing Industry Guide to Safety, to highlight specific health and safety risks associated with metal manufacturing and how to reduce these risks.

Within the metal manufacturing industry, injuries can occur at any time, so it is essential for workers to be well-informed and up-to-date with safe practices. A Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty to ensure they are protecting the health and safety of any person from risks that might arise from the work conducted.

These duties include ensuring correct manual handling when transporting equipment. This will reduce risks that will likely cause injuries in the workplace as materials are commonly moved in and out from workstations and worksites. Consideration needs to be taken on how to safely aid the transportation of these materials.

Incorrect use of hand tools increases the risk of injuries, causing users to experience musculoskeletal disorders. When using hand tools, it is important to consider factors such as poor task, tool and workstation design as well as poor tool maintenance, which will help reduce the risk of hand injuries. www.provisual.com.au

5 AXIS MACHINING. MADE SIMPLE. • Versatility from the swivel head design and built in rotary table • Large table provides the flexibility of true 3, 4 and 5 axis machining in the same unit • Powerful 48HP Spindle • Large 120GB SSD storage capacity and powerful processor • Feature packed, yet simple to use conversational controllers

Call now

to arrange a demonstration of this revolutionary new machine

To find out more: Call: 03 9706 8066 Email: sales@appliedmachinery.com.au Visit: www.appliedmachinery.com.au 55 - 61 Nissan Drive, Dandenong VIC 3175 Australia

Connect with us socially

038

product news

Apex – The big task of managing small parts

While almost every other aspect of manufacturing has changed over the years through automation or computerisation, manual parts reordering systems like Kanban remain in use in manufacturing plants around the world.

For over 60 years, there has been little innovation in reordering procedures for manufacturers across the world. But according to Kent Savage, CEO at Apex Supply Chain Technologies, this is no longer the case. Apex has spent the last 20 years automating various aspects of the supply chain with industrial vending solutions. Today, its cloud-connected solutions are used by thousands of global clients to ensure supply chains are up and running as effectively as possible.

For Apex’s latest product, Savage turned his eye to solving the tedious and labourintensive issue of reordering small parts.

“In creating the Actylus Smart Replenishment Solution, we looked at all the challenges of tracking, managing and ordering small parts,” says Savage. “The result is a new, automated procedure that has been designed from the ground up to boost supply chain productivity by 30% and grow bottom-line revenues across a variety of industries and applications.

“If you run out of stock – your lines go down, it’s that simple. With our latest solution, Actylus, any business or manufacturer that relies on bins to manage stock is now able to replace the cumbersome manual counting and alerts of flags, labels and cards with a cloud-centric automated solution.” Actylus uses highly accurate scales under each of its bins to precisely monitor stock levels

and reorder based on weight. Bin sizes are totally flexible and weight levels are easily reconfigurable, meaning Actylus is capable of storing and monitoring any item traditionally stored in bins. This includes electronics, electrical components, auto parts, healthcare supplies, maintenance parts, plumbing, fasteners, to OEM parts and more.

“Actylus smart bin technology also determines when an individual bin needs restocking and sends automated restock alerts and re-order notifications to suppliers at any time of the day or night,” says Savage. “This eliminates counting trips, safety stock and emergency orders – which keeps lines up longer and frees up staff to concentrate on more important areas of the business.” Another key addition is the access to 24/7 business intelligence, providing far more operational visibility than other processes like Kanban ever could.

“Our proprietary Trajectory Cloud platform constantly monitors each Actylus system, so managers will instantly know when an item needs to be restocked, ensuring you never run out,” says Savage. “Usage patterns and trends are readily accessible through an easy to use reporting system.

Managers can even log on and check stock levels via phone or email anytime, anywhere.”

When it comes to implementation, all Actylus devices are shipped flat-packed and are supported by Apex Connect n’ Go Technology. Installation is as simple as plugging the device into a power supply and connecting it to the Internet, with no software to install or servers to maintain.

“We believe that Actylus is the next step in manufacturing efficiency,” says Savage. www.apexsupplychain.com/au

The new M350 from Kaeser – versatile and efficient

With a free air delivery of up to 34 cubic metres/min, the Mobilair M 350 is the new powerhouse in Kaeser Compressors’ comprehensive portable compressor range.

Positioned in the highest performance tier, the Mobilair M 350 offers significantly more than just impressive compressed air power; it is also exceptionally versatile, fuel-efficient with a robust design.

The powerful combination of an economical Mercedes Benz engine and an efficient Kaeser rotary screw compressor block with proven Sigma Profile rotors provides impressive compressed air delivery with minimal emissions and fuel consumption.

Developed by Kaeser and continuously enhanced ever since, the Kaeser Sigma Profile achieves power savings of up to 15% compared with conventional screw compressor block rotor profiles.

AMT Apr/May 2016

All Kaeser rotary screw compressor blocks feature this energy saving rotor profile and are designed to ensure maximum energy efficiency.

Additional innovations help boost savings even further. For example, the viscous fan clutch controlled via Kaeser’s Sigma Control Mobile can cut fuel consumption by up to 5%. Simple to use, the innovative Sigma Control Mobile compressor control system precisely matches power to actual compressed air demand. This significantly enhances both compressed air availability and fuel efficiency.

An extensive range of available options ensures outstanding versatility for near endless application possibilities from

availability with various pressures, to a stationary version, to specialised equipment for use in refineries. Air treatment components can be added to provide cool, dry, technically oilfree air of various classes to meet the special demands. Despite these additional features and a 20% increase in compressed air delivery, the M350 from Kaeser is barely heavier than its predecessor.

The Mobilair M350 portable compressor from Kaeser is available in four pressure stages between 8,6 bar (flow rate 34 cubic metres/min) and 14 bar (flow rate 24 cubic metres/min). www.kaeser.com.au

Genius at Work Please Come In CARBON FIBER CARRIAGE

INTELLIGENT PROCESS SENSORS

LINEAR MOTORS ON ALL AXES

SYNTHETIC GRANITE FRAME

PROPRIETARY CNC AND SOFTWARE

ECO-FRIENDLY

Laser Genius New. Lightning fast. With clockwork precision. Ideal for complex jobs. We call it Laser Genius and you will know why as soon as you see it in action. With superior performance through extraordinary speed and accuracy, the Laser Genius will make your work easier and dramatically increase your productivity. It also provides unlimited flexibility through its automation modules and suite of dedicated options.

Laser Genius is the new jewel in the crown of Prima Power’s 2D laser line, the first choice for those who aim high.

Prima Power. Next to you.

Partner of Prima Power

IMTS Machinery 110 Proximity Drive Sunshine West, VIC 3020 www.imts.com.au

The Bend | The Combi | The Laser | The Punch | The Software | The System

primapower.com

040

NMW preview

NMW 2016: Reaching new markets

This year’s National Manufacturing Week (NMW) will be held at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park from 11-13 May, providing a buoyant meeting place for businesses looking for ideas, technologies and solutions that can help their businesses get ahead.

NMW is Australia’s largest, longest-running manufacturing event, bringing the industry together to see, touch and discuss new and innovative manufacturing solutions. This year’s event takes place against a solid backdrop of manufacturing industry growth; the AI Group’s March figures show that Australian manufacturing has grown for eight consecutive months and is now at its strongest point this decade.

NMW 2016 will showcase hundreds of products and services from around the world, laid out in 12 Product Zones, ranging from Automation & Robotics to Digital Manufacturing, Intralogistics, Advanced Materials and more. Among dozens of firsts for NMW 2016 will be innovative materials handling systems from Magnet Sales and Millsom Materials Handling, next-generation LED lights from LEDified, as well as new 3D printing technologies – from Konica Minolta, Amaero Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing Systems, 3D Printing Studios, Sydney 3D Printing and more – that can help boost your production capabilities. NMW also gives you the opportunity to see new and innovative technologies in action: with a rolling demonstration program of next-generation robotics, welding and super-fast weld cleaning, CNC routing and more.

As Kevin Smith, GM of Millsom Materials Handling describes it: “You can tell people that our vacuum lifting technology means you effectively require only one person for a lifting task, but when you demonstrate vacuum lifting, people really get its potential for delivering OH&S and productivity gains. There’s just nothing like a physical demonstration, which is why we’re going to be part of NMW 2016.”

Alongside its impressive exhibition showcase, NMW will also present a powerful seminar program featuring industry leaders sharing new ideas and strategies that have delivered proven success.

Among the high-profile speakers will be Dr Keith McLean, CSIRO’s Manufacturing Flagship Director, who will be outlining some of the ways in which 400 Australian manufacturers have leveraged CSIRO research to help them target new, high-value niche markets. CSIRO, says Dr McLean, stands ready to partner with more businesses to develop new products, processes and materials that can give local businesses an edge.

Also at the NMW Seminar Theatre, Sam Bucolo, Professor of Design Innovation at UTS, will share his passionate interest in Design-Led Innovation, the approach used by global brands such as Apple, Nintendo & Alessi to generate creative product innovations.

There will also be a clear focus on reducing operational waste.

Speakers including Peter Meakin from the Opie Manufacturing Group will outline strategies for streamlining production, transport and even innovation processes, to free up time and/or resources for new programs.

Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo comes to Sydney!

Taking place alongside NMW, Inside 3D Printing Sydney will feature two days of conference sessions led by top industry experts, plus three days of exhibitions presenting the latest 3D printers, solutions and services.

NMW 2016 will also focus on emerging opportunities through its colocation with the Safety First Conference & Expo, Australia’s one-stop workplace safety event, as well as the Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo, the Sydney edition of the world’s largest 3D printing event.

The Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo has quickly grown to become the largest professional 3D printing event worldwide. Session topics will explore innovative ways to apply additive manufacturing to meet industrial and commercial needs across the full range of industries including rapid prototyping, product development, medicine, manufacturing, food, automotive, metals, software, and more.

NMW gives business professionals the most comprehensive, focused showcase of new ideas, technologies and strategies for being at the forefront of change and industry growth. So don’t miss out! Entry to the exhibition is free for trade visitors and registration is now open at the NMW website. By registering now, you’ll access a range of services, including updates via the NMW website for this year’s game-changing event.

What will be the top use cases for 3D Printing over the next five years? Which regions will see the strongest growth? Inside 3D Printing Sydney comprehensive coverage and analysis on where the 3D printing industry is today and what business opportunities are on the horizon. Whether you’re an additive manufacturing veteran or new to 3D printing, don’t miss the chance to stake your claim in the 3D printing business boom.

www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au

www.inside3dprinting.com/sydney

AMT Apr/May 2016

NMw Preview

AMTIL members and partner organisations will be well represented at NMW. Here are some of the companies that will be exhibiting at the show.

Amaero Additive Manufacturing Stand: 1604

Recently hailed for its contribution to the world’s first 3D-printed jet engine, Amaero manufactures metal alloy parts for aerospace, defence and biomedical applications by laser-based additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. Amaero has a combined experience of over 25 years in producing parts by this process and is expert in a broad range of materials including titanium, aluminium, stainless steel and nickel-based alloys. Visit stand 1604 to discuss:

Australian conditions. BAC works closely with you to ensure that you receive the right solution the first time, and then continues to support your equipment to ensure that you gain its maximum potential. If you are looking to fit more storage into less space, or if you need customised modular workbenches for your workshop, BAC prides itself on offering service that is second to none. www.bacsystems.com.au

Benson Machines

• Production of components directly from the CAD file

Stand: 1942

• Development of existing components to reduce cost and weight

Benson Machines is widely known as a supplier of a wide range of quality machine tools to meet all your manufacturing technology needs. It supplies and supports equipment from companies such as: Shigiya, for precision cylindrical grinding machines; Micron, for centreless grinding machines; Seedtec, for surface grinding machines; Dainichi, for heavyduty CNC lathes; Transfluid, for tube bending and processing machines, Seiwa, for gear hobbing machines; and Bardons & Oliver for cut off machines; to name just a few. Benson is able to provide solutions for the whole-of-life of all your precision manufacturing processes; from evaluating your needs and providing recommendations for the most appropriate solutions, through the supply, installation and ongoing support, to the disposal of redundant equipment. In addition to the machines, it is the exclusive Australian distributor for Englishmade Filtermist mist collection equipment, which will be featured at this year’s NMW. Filtermist is the world’s Number One supplier of mist extraction units, suitable for use anywhere where oil mist or steam is produced during a manufacturing process.

• An alternative process to casting for complex, difficult components • Feasibility studies for manufacture Amaero is the only company in the Asia-Pacific region to have the Concept Xline 1000 powder bed machine, which has the largest build volume in the world (630mm x 400mm x 500mm).

www.amaero.com.au

BAC Systems Pty Limited Stand: 2630

BAC Systems is an Australian leader in high-density storage solutions, and in industrial workshop furniture and equipment.

A true Australian manufacturer, BAC makes its range of awardwinning parts drawers, tool trolleys, racking and workbenches from the coils of steel to the finished product. The BAC Technical Sales Team can assist you in designing your new warehouse or workshop solution. It can complete complimentary surveys of your space and inventory and will then prepare a detailed proposal involving itemised product details and three-dimensional colour drawings.

Its products have been designed and built by Australians to suit

www.bensonmachines.com

Carl Zeiss Pty Ltd Stand: 1710

As a metrology innovation leader, Carl Zeiss IMT manufactures a complete range of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) for every quality control need, as well as form, contour and surface testers, micro-measuring system for extremely small parts such as medical components, and CT x-ray scanner solutions for nondestructive testing, measuring the interior of workpieces, reverse engineering and comparing geometries.

Carl Zeiss also offers complete system services, including retrofits, hardware service, software support, training and part measurement service. Carl Zeiss is a recognised partner to the automotive industry and its suppliers with 1300 employees from three manufacturing locations and more than 100 sales and service centres. All relevant modules, such as controllers, software, measuring systems and sensors are developed and manufactured in-house. The powerful Calypso CAD-based programming software for CMMs offers several key functions, options and features that reduce programming time and provide superior results. www.zeiss.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

041

042

NMW preview

ECi Solutions Stand: 2004

ECi Software Solutions is a leading provider of “best-in-industry” business management and e-commerce systems software for growing and midsize companies. ECi specialises in growthempowering software solutions for micro-niche vertical businesses for more than 30 years. ECi’s solutions are known for a combination of technological innovation, top-ranked customer support and business consultancy that can fuel the expansion and efficiency of every aspect of companies’ operations across the office products, furniture, equipment, lumber/building materials (LBM), hardware, janitorial/sanitation, retail and distribution industries. ECi is a company that has strength not only in its technology, but also in its people. ECi employees boast over 238 years of experience in the office products industry, 206 years in office machines, 116 years in office furniture, and 260 years in LBM and Hardware. www.ecisolutions.com

Leap Australia Stand: 1802

LEAP is an engineering solutions business — LEAP stands for Leading Engineering Application Providers. Its focus is on solving our customers’ engineering problems by combining its staff’s extensive real-world experience with market-leading technology. LEAP’s customers can expect high-quality products and support when they choose LEAP to assist them with their product development requirements. LEAP treats its customers’ businesses as it would its own. LEAP represents the largest CAD, CAID, CAM, DEM, FEA, CFD, CEM, PDM, DEM PLM and ALM reseller in Australia and New Zealand, supporting users of PTC and ANSYS products in the ANZ region. www.leapaust.com.au

LST Group Stand: 1302

LST Group (previously Laser & Sign Technology) offers 3D printing, laser and software solutions for use in additive and subtractive manufacturing. LST can show you great ideas from its clients across Australia that have been brought into reality for over 25 years. Its education and support team will ensure you don’t just buy a box, but will give you the tools you need to release your creativity.

LST works across all industries and will help create exceptional outcomes for your business.

With offices in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, Multicam machines are backed by a dedicated team of factory-trained technicians ensuring that you get quick, reliable service when you need it. See Multicam’s live demonstration on Wednesday 11 May. www.multicam.com.au

OMAX Corporation Stand: 1026

OMAX designs and produces advanced precision waterjet systems sold and operated worldwide. Its easy-to-use machines cut virtually any material without any heat-affected zone, eliminating the need for secondary operations. OMAX’s ultra-efficient pumps use less electrical power while delivering the highest nozzle horsepower in the industry. With two product lines, OMAX offers a large variety of table sizes and accessories for jobs ranging from one-off prototypes to mass production. Its extensive set of accessories allows you to do five-axis, taper-free and 3D cutting. All of its waterjet systems are designed, manufactured and tested at its USA facility before shipping to ensure reliable, accurate cutting from day one. With the largest in-house waterjet R&D team in the world, OMAX is able to make use of the latest technology advancements to provide faster cutting speeds and decreased downtime. See OMAX’s live demonstration on Wednesday 11 May. www.omax.com

OneCNC

Stand: 2330

Stand: 1820

OneCNC CAD CAM is a market-leading computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system for NC part programming. With unparalleled ease of use and sophisticated toolpath generation, it’s the only CAM system you’ll need for milling, turning and millturn machining, wire EDM, laser, plasma, router or flame cutting machines. OneCNC has versions that provide a wide range of capabilities in two-, three-, four- and five-axis machining.

Australian-made Multicam CNC routing machines are designed for profile-cutting sheet product and extrusions including aluminium and other non-ferrous metals, aluminium composite materials, plastics, insulation materials, foam, rubber, and timber products and laminates.

The programming flexibility extends to a comprehensive range of CAM functionality that can be applied to any type of CAD from almost any source. Multi Axis is the ultimate tool for full four- and five-axis positional and five-axis simultaneous machining of parts and OneCNC has solutions for these machines.

Multicam machines are an excellent alternative to plasma and laser machines and offer significantly reduced operating costs when compared to plasma and laser. Its range of specialist software solutions for insulation, ACM, cabinetmaking, shop fitting and kitchen industries are designed to give you the most from your investment. Multicam CNC routers also integrate with industry standard software.

www.onecnc.net

www.lstgroup.com.au

Multicam Systems Pty Ltd

AMT Apr/May 2016

Power Machinery (Aust) Pty Ltd Stand: 1420

Power Machinery Aust Pty Ltd and MEP sawing machines of Italy are excited to exhibit the latest in their metal-cutting bandsaws.

Rather than simply considering capacity and price, smart business owners think a little more strategically about their investments. After

NMw Preview all, their business will most likely rely on this machine for at least the next decade. MEP sawing machines have been sold in Australia

by Power Machinery for over 30 years – they are innovative and yet extremely robust. Parts for even the oldest machines are still available overnight from Power Machinery’s Sydney warehouse.

MEP sawing machines also offer high levels of accuracy. Straight cuts mean less time wasted on secondary operations such as machining or filling in gaps with extra weld.

An unfortunate effect of out-of-square cuts is blade life. When your saw starts cutting out of square the blade scrubs out on one side and pretty soon you are wasting more time and money replacing the blade. MEP saws feature full cast iron bows with no distortion even under extremely high band tensions (900kg+). This combined with good quality blades and patented carbide blade guides guarantees straight cutting.

Finally you should consider safety, ergonomics and operational features. Most cheaper saws, particularly those from China, have little consideration for safety and controls and adjustments tend to be clumsy. MEP saws lead the world in safety protection, from their low-voltage wiring systems to interlocked screens, large bases capturing all coolant even when mitring to smart operational software. MEP design brings the latest technological benefits to the operator at the touch of their fingertips. This is why MEP has over 1,300 happy installations Australia-wide. www.powermachinery.com.au

Rapid Advanced Manufacturing Limited Stand: 1600

Rapid Advanced Manufacturing (R.A.M.) specialises in metal 3D printing and is one of the few commercial operations offering a service to companies. 3D additive manufacturing enables design

freedom, limited only by imagination. The printing process simply follows this design freedom, easily and cost-effectively producing complex, high-spec parts that a traditional manufacturing process could simply not produce - and not just for prototyping but full production manufacturing. R.A.M. operates a number of machines, which increases material choice, with Titanium 6Al4V the most frequently used powder due to its strength, light weight, and corrosion resistant properties. Other common materials are stainless steel 15-5PH and Inconel 718, with other materials depending on volume of parts required.

R.A.M has a design service available to assist with the design process. Quality control is an important part of the design and manufacturing process. In-house testing includes tensile, hardness and density testing with full metallography including SEM. All testing equipment is regularly calibrated.

R.A.M. work closely with S.A.F.E Ltd, which specialises in customised forging, heat-treatment, metallurgy, chemical analysis, failure-analysis, and materials training for failure prevention. Hot forging (plastically deforming metal) creates the strongest structure by creating a directional grain flow in the product. This greatly

TECHNI Waterjet Cutting Systems are so clean & quiet, you could operate them just about.....anywhere QUIET

CLEAN

No water splashing on machine components and floor

Less than 68dBA with almost silent operation

Scan this QR code to hear how quiet the pump is!

Waterjet is the most versatile cutting process, capable of cutting anything up to 8” (200 mm) thick!

www.techniwaterjet.com

1800 15 9616 • sales@techniwaterjet.com

Innovation Through Passion AMT Apr/May 2016

043

044

NMW preview improves fatigue properties and tensile strength. Specialist products are forged in many high-strength alloys including consolidated titanium powder, an emerging technology. S.A.F.E’s forging and heat-treatment plant is 70% powered by solar energy. www.rapidman.co.nz

Renishaw Oceania Pty Ltd Stand: 1600

Renishaw is a global company with core skills in measurement, motion control, spectroscopy and precision machining. It develops innovative products that significantly advance its customers’ operational performance – from improving manufacturing efficiencies and raising product quality, to maximising research capabilities and improving the efficacy of medical procedures. Renishaw’s products are used for applications as diverse as machine tool automation, co-ordinate measurement, additive manufacturing, gauging, Raman spectroscopy, machine calibration, position feedback, CAD/CAM dentistry, shape memory alloys, large-scale surveying, stereotactic neurosurgery, and medical diagnostics. In all of these areas Renishaw aims to be a long-term partner, offering superior products that meet its customers’ needs both today and into the future, backed up by responsive, expert technical and commercial support.

Successful Endeavours Stand: 2216

Successful Endeavours makes electronics and embedded software work the way they should, saving you up to two out of every three dollars you otherwise would have wasted so you can manufacture your market-leading product in Australia at a profit. Successful Endeavours is a multi-award winning Australian electronics design and embedded software development consultancy focusing on small-to-medium-sized Australian manufacturers who want to improve their existing products, margins or market-share through development of their next generation of market offerings and who are also wanting to keep their core electronics manufacturing in Australia. Successful Endeavours has the technical credentials and business knowledge to understand that you need your product to work and also be profitable to manufacture and maintain.

www.renishaw.com

SLM Solutions GmbH Stand: 1602

SLM Solutions, headquartered in Luebeck, Germany, is a leading provider of metal-based additive manufacturing technology. Global demand for its laser systems has seen extensive expansion to over 240 members of staff in Germany, USA, Singapore and China. SLM provide a range of high-quality and efficient selective laser melting systems: SLM 125HL, SLM 280HL and SLM 500HL. Its varying laser configurations mean it can easily meet specific manufacturing requirements.

Additionally SLM supplies the most relevant metal powders suitable for the selective laser melting processes. The worldwide distribution of SLM lasers has seen uptake in aerospace, energy, healthcare and automotive industries. In Australia, SLM’s solutions provider is Raymax Applications Pty Ltd, located in Sydney, NSW.

www.successful.com.au

TECHNI Waterjet Pty Ltd Stand: 1626

TECHNI Waterjet focuses on developing waterjet cutting technologies to give its customers a competitive advantage. By finding innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of waterjet cutting, TECHNI provides waterjet cutters that generate the highest return on investment within the industry. TECHNI Waterjet is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of profile waterjet cutting systems.

TECHNI is the only waterjet company in the world which can offer complete waterjet cutter solutions, utilising its own patented inhouse technologies for everything from the revolutionary electric servo waterjet pump to the five-axis cutting head. TECHNI has been operating for more than 27 years and has an installation base of almost 1,000 waterjet machines or waterjet cutting systems spread across six continents and some 25 countries. TECHNI has dedicated sales and services offices in the USA, Australia, Asia and Europe, with spare parts, sales and service support throughout the world. TECHNI is committed to offering water jet cutter systems of the highest quality. All waterjet cutters are designed specifically for the very tough waterjet environment and offer the lowest running costs in the industry.

www.raymax.com.au www.techniwaterjet.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

Leading ERP software for growing manufacturers

TAKING SHOTS WITH THE WRONG TOOLS? There’s a better way.

From sales to fulfillment, ECi M1 business software helps manage processes and maximize profitability.

SALES

Visit us at

ENGINEERING

INVENTORY

Booth 2004 #

PURCHASING

PRODUCTION

QUALITY ASSURANCE

SHIPPING

ACCOUNTING

Contact us to learn how ECi M1 can help your business.

1300 130 241

ECi, M1 and the ECi Red Box logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ECi Software Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

www.ECiM1.com

M1@ECiSolutions.com

046

Defence & Aerospace

The Federal Government’s 2016 Defence White Paper released on 25 February reveals that around $195bn will be invested in defence capability and equipment over the next decade. With spending increases expected in areas such as anti-submarine warfare, air combat and amphibious warfare development, Australian manufacturers across the defence and aerospace sectors are seizing the opportunity for export success.

By Carole Goldsmith.

Sue Smith is the Executive Officer at the Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN)’s national and Victorian office. Smith hopes that the proposed defence spending will also provide increased business opportunities for AIDN’s 700-plus members. These are located Australia-wide, comprising mainly defence and security SMEs, plus Primes such as Boeing and Thales.

“The largest chapter is AIDN-Vic with 240 members,” says Smith. “We disseminate information to our chapters Australia-wide and run networking functions.”

This February, Smith, sponsored by AIDN-Vic. and 10 AIDN SME members, joined Team Defence Australia (TDA)’s exhibition and delegation at the Singapore Air show. A number of potential opportunities were identified

by AIDN-Vic members during the air show.

Smith explains: “TDA is an integral part of the Department of Defence, and it helps promote export of Australian industry products and services to international markets. TDA hires the exhibition space at international air

Sue Smith, Executive Officer, the Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN).

shows and Australian defence SMEs can exhibit free of charge.”

AIDN is also an integral part of the Defence Engineering Internment Program, a Department of Defence initiative. This program provides placement opportunities for third and fourth year engineering undergraduates to gain experience at defence SMEs. These placements are managed by AITEC, an educational project management organisation and AIDN, which does most of the student site visits.

Aviation/Aerospace Australia (A/AA)’s 70 corporate and 200 individual members, mainly represent the commercial aviation industry. It has a Memorandum of

Aviation/ Aerospace Australia (A/AA) Programs Director Tamara Bell.

Collaboration (MoC) with organisations in Singapore, Poland, China, Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) Geneva.

A/AA Programs Director Tamara Bell says the organisation is planning an international summit at which representatives of its MoC partners will be invited to attend. This will be held during the Australian International Aerospace and Defence Exposition at Avalon, Geelong, from 28 February to 5 March 2017. Bell highlighted two of its members – Swinburne University and Cablex – both of which have directors on A/AA’s Board.

Continued next page

AMT Apr/May 2016

Defence & Aerospace

AMT Apr/May 2016

047

048

Defence & Aerospace Professor Geoff Brooks, Pro ViceChancellor, Future Manufacturing.

as the BMW i3 has led to new innovative production processes.

“Swinburne is working with local and multinational partners to demonstrate these principles in the FotF. I was delighted to see how relevant and well received Swinburne’s activities were during my recent trip to the JEC (composites) exhibition in Europe and at meetings with the world leaders in this field.”

Copper braiding for EMI and RFI noise interference

Cablex – A leader in diversity Continued from previous page

Swinburne – Inside the Factory of the Future A new facility within Swinburne University’s Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology situated on its Hawthorn campus in Melbourne’s east, the Factory of the Future (FotF) is fast establishing itself as an emerging hub for aerospace-related research. Professor Geoff Brooks, Pro ViceChancellor, Future Manufacturing, explains that the FotF has excellent facilities for rapid design and prototyping.

“We have been designing a small helicopter in virtual space for an industry partner,” says Brooks. “Once we design it, we can then use 3D printing to produce components and prototypes in plastic and metal. Then we can test the component’s quality using our non-destructive testing equipment such as laser ultrasound gear.” Professor Bronwyn Fox, Director of the FotF, adds: “There’s a broad range of aerospace activities at Swinburne. Among these, Dr Matt Ebbatson from the Department of Aviation has conducted research to analyse the role of the human-machine interface in aircraft to improve safety.”

This project for Air New Zealand was part of a 737 cockpit aviation control study.

In another industry project, Swinburne researcher Dr Suresh Palanisamy has conducted research into machining aircraft composite components with high-precision cutting tools for Boeing. “We have been translating our experience from working with mass production in the automotive industry to aerospace industry applications,” says Fox. “The recent adoption of carbon-fibre composites in electrical vehicles such Professor Bronwyn Fox, Director of Swinburne University’s Factory of the Future

Heidi Krebs is a co-owner of Cablex and its Director of Business Development. She also serves as an AA/A board member and an SME Ambassador for the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council (AAMC).

Krebs is extremely proud of the company’s progress and its 200 employees, all of whom have contributed towards its success.

High voltage and insulation testing.

“We plan to employ an extra 50 people and expand our factory in the next 12 months, to manage the new and existing contracts’ supply,” she remarks.

As Australia’s leading globally recognised advanced manufacturer of custom cables and harness assemblies, Cablex services the defence, aerospace, transportation, telecommunication and electronic industries.

Based in East Bentleigh, in Melbourne’s south-east suburbs, the company has longterm partnering agreements with leading Australian and global aerospace/defence suppliers for manufacturing services and major contract joint bids. Key programs include supplying harnesses and avionics bays for the MRH 90 multi-role helicopters and the Tiger military helicopter for Airbus, as well as electrical harnesses for the MRTT (Multi-Role Transport Tanker) Program for Airbus Military.

Krebs explains the company’s history: “Michael Zimmer started the business in 1985. It was based in a Ferntree Gully garage. He moved into a small factory and employed around three people in 1988, when I started.”

In 1990 the business was incorporated and, anticipating the company’s potential future

AMT Apr/May 2016

growth, Krebs became a 50% shareholder.

Zimmer remains a co-owner and the company’s managing director.

“From a small idea, we have grown so much larger,” Zimmer says proudly. “We now make all the wiring and avionic bays that complete the electrical system for the Tiger and MRH90 helicopters.”

With the help of the Federal Government’s procurement process, Cablex secured the Airbus (then called Eurocopter) tender to manufacture helicopter harnesses.

The global aircraft manufacturer was so impressed with Cablex’s precision advanced manufacturing capabilities, quality and delivery performance that it engaged Cablex to supply Airbus France and Europe with all the cable harnesses for the Tiger and MRH90.

Krebs gives AMT a tour of the Cablex factory, warmly introduces several employees, many of whom have been with the business for more than 20 years. On the production floor, an operator named Heather is building the intricate cable assembly designed from the Airbus helicopter computerised files and programs.

“These design files inform our operators which pins they need to place on the end of each wire,” Krebs explains. “It also shows the pinouts and which tools are required to build the configuration. The pins are individually hand-crimped and inserted into connectors, then sent to a routing table. The workplace is set up for Lean manufacturing to ensure competiveness and efficiency. This line alone makes 2,500 different configurations of complex assemblies. All cables are bar-coded and tested for safety to ensure traceability and customer compliance.”

Another operator, Ramesh, demonstrates braiding, which puts a copper or Nomex braid onto the cable. He explains that this protects the cable and stops radio frequency and electronic magnetic noise interference in helicopters and defence vehicles.

“The braiding is a very important part of our differentiator advanced manufacturing,” Krebs adds. “In defence land vehicles, noise interferes with the RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) or EMI (Electro

Defence & Aerospace Magnetic Interference), so our six machines are an essential solution on how to reduce the noise.” Cablex has been working with Thales Australia for the past 12 months to build electrical harnesses for the Hawkei land vehicle. Krebs says: “We are currently its preferred supplier for electrical cable assemblies and harnesses.”

The GREENGUM and GREYGUM devices manufactured by Micreo as part of the REDWING Program.

Micreo staff during the manufacture of REDWING C-IED devices.

Cablex is supporting Thales to refine and enhance the vehicle’s harness design. This will help identify savings and maximise performance advantages for the production of a superior, innovative vehicle for the Australian Defence Force and potential global markets.

A leader in diversity, Cablex was awarded employer of the year at the 2015 Women in Industry awards. More than 60% of all its staff members are female, almost three times the Australian engineering/ equipment manufacturing average. Its diverse workforce consists of people from 26 different cultures. International food days have been a regular activity at this familyfriendly company.

Cablex prides itself on staff training and skill development, as well as keeping employees informed on projects and business operations. Krebs points to the large TV screens placed around the company to keep employees updated on quality improvements and recent new projects. The company is also an active participant in the Defence Engineering Internment Program.

Krebs says: “The key to our success are our people, many of whom are long-term staff who have stayed with us on our journey.”

Micreo – Award-winning innovation Micreo’s Managing Director Tim Shaw received a Defence Science & Technology (DST) Group Achievement award last December in Canberra. The award recognises Micreo’s role as a manufacturer in partnership with the DST Group, the Australian Military Sales Office (AMSO) and the Counter IED Task Force, who are responsible for the development, manufacture and deployment of specialised force protection systems for coalition partner security forces within extremely tight timeframes.

This is a great achievement for the Brisbanebased defence manufacturing and design engineering company that Shaw founded just 14 years ago. Currently employing 72 people, Micreo’s core business is the design and manufacture of products to transmit and receive signals in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These are known as Radio Frequency and Microwave Integrated Circuits, or RFMICs. Micreo’s products are currently installed in several of the world’s front-line military aircraft and ships.

Micreo’s Business Development Manager Mark Pezaro, an electronics engineer, explains how RF MICS transmit and receive signals in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum: “The majority of our RFMICs are used for frequency conversion. Ideally, a frequency downconverter covers a full input frequency range of interest, translating these signals down to a range that can be digitized by a high-speed analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) for communications and analysis purposes.”

Micreo’s RFMICs are usually installed on an aircraft as close as possible to receiving antennas that cover all points of the compass, to intercept all incoming radar signals.

“These signals feed into a system computer that analyses them, so that the pilot can obtain full situational awareness of the RF signals around him,” says Pezaro.

“The antennas are typically mounted in the outermost parts of the aircraft like the wingtips, so the RFMICs therefore need to withstand high levels of shock and vibration and extremes of temperature.”

our Chief Technology Officer is an Adjunct Professor at the UoQ,” says Pezaro.

Australian industry partners including Micreo Limited have collaborated under the Defence Department’s REDWING program to provide the systems for protection against remotely controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Two systems have been produced: GREENGUM, to equip dismounted forces; and GREYGUM, for fitting to light vehicles; along with a test device to support these two variants.

According to Pezaro, Micreo needed to employ additional staff to cope with the volume of work created by the contract for the manufacture of GREENGUM and GREYGUM. The rate of production required two shifts per day, so the company employed trainees and used its own fulltime staff to supervise as needed.

Micreo exports 85% of all its products, mainly to the US (its largest market), Israel, Spain, the UK and Germany. It usually sells its products to the Prime contractors and system integrators, not directly to governments.

Micreo has also developed a range of photonic products that allow for the transmission of broadband (up to 40GHz) RF signals across fibre-optic cable. They are used in world-leading military aircraft and ships.

On the company’s future plans, Shaw says: “Micreo has grown at an average annual rate of almost 20% since starting in 2002.

Based on our current work for existing customers and our prospects, we believe that level of growth is sustainable and will probably increase.

Pezaro describes the company’s in-house product environmental testing processes: “Due to the extreme environments our products are required to work in, we have the capability to do some of the environmental tests in-house to ensure that the design will work under high shock and vibration levels, temperature and humidity extremes. Once the design is qualified through extensive environmental testing, then the manufactured units are each submitted to testing to try to uncover any failures that may occur early in their lifetime.”

“The 2016 Defence White Paper reveals that Australian defence spending is increasing.

With the purchase of larger platforms such as frigates and submarines and new F-35 fighter aircraft, there is an increased need for industry collaboration amongst local companies, as well as with foreign suppliers. We hope to position Micreo as a viable partner for this new work in Australia and to use that as a springboard into the supply chains of the larger international Prime contractors.”

Micreo works closely with local universities to attract engineering talent.

“We sponsor engineering scholarships at the University of Queensland (UoQ) and

www.defence.gov.au www.aidn.org.au www.swinburne.edu.au www.cablex.com.au www.micreo.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

049

050

Defence & Aerospace

Rapid prototyping for the Hawkei

When Albins Performance Transmissions was asked by Thales Bendigo to deliver a prototype steering pump bracket for the Hawkei within one week, it turned to CSIRO and 3D printing for a solution.

Based in Ballarat, Albins is a key supplier for the Hawkei, a light protected mobility vehicle being designed and developed in Australia by Thales. When Thales Bendigo requested the prototype bracket, one option was to machine it. However, this would not have been representative of the cast production design – it would have created a different grain structure and material properties to a cast part.

Significant quantities of waste material would also have been produced.

Albins asked CSIRO to make a casting mould within two days. Working from a digital file of the bracket, CSIRO manufactured the mould over a weekend using its Voxel Jet VX1000 3D sand printer.

The bracket was then cast using the mould, within the one-week deadline. Importantly, the part delivered had the same grain structure and material properties as the production design. Thales and Albins were pleased with both the product’s quality and the fast turnaround time.

“This was a brilliant way to shortcut the prototype process and produce a lowvolume prototype with the exact properties of a production part,” said Albins CEO Steve MacDonald. “To produce a part for validation testing using conventional methods would have cost several times more in tooling costs with a significant

Left: 3D printed mould for the Hawkei steering pump bracket.

impact on the timeline of the project. To get a set of moulds produced so quickly was simply amazing! This has changed the way we think of new projects completely”.

Alex Henderson, Mechanical Engineer at Thales, added: “To receive a production intent component in this timeframe has allowed us to fast-track validating the design. We are now looking at using the technology for developing other Hawkei components.”

The Voxeljet 3D sand printer is located in CSIRO’s Lab 22 Innovation Centre.

Accelerating the adoption 3D printing or additive manufacturing technologies is Lab 22’s primary aim, providing Australian companies easy access to some of the most advanced additive manufacturing equipment available.

© Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence

“This is typical of the jobs we are asked to do on the Voxeljet,” said Gary Savage, Principal Research Scientist and Voxeljet machine lead. ”The Voxeljet enables companies to save both time and money by avoiding the need to make a pattern. As such, it is ideal for making prototype parts, for jobs requiring fast turnaround and for short production runs.” www.albinsgear.com.au www.thalesgroup.com.au www.csiro.au/Lab22

BAE Systems’ AMV35 ready to roll

BAE Systems Australia has announced its readiness to demonstrate its solution to the Australian Army’s mounted combat reconnaissance requirements and its plans to manufacture in Australia.

BAE Systems teamed with Finnish company Patria to produce the AMV35 for Phase 2 of the Australian Army’s Land 400 Program.

The vehicle integrates the combatproven CV9035 turret from BAE Systems Hägglunds onto a modern, agile, highly protected military-off-the-shelf (MOTS) Patria Armoured Modular Vehicle (AMV).

“Our three test vehicles are built and ready to go for the Army’s 12 months of rigorous testing in the Risk Mitigation Activity stage of the tender evaluation later this year,” said BAE Systems Australia Chief Executive Glynn Phillips. “We believe the AMV35 is technically superior to its rivals and is a value-for-money solution for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) which benefits the Australian economy through our commitment to manufacture in Australia.”

If selected as the successful tender, the BAE Systems/Patria team will manufacture,

AMT Apr/May 2016

will be opportunities for involvement and content for Australian suppliers.

“The fact that these vehicles are available now proves we have a low-risk solution,” added Phillips. “We look forward to the Commonwealth’s announcement of the tenders who have been down selected for these trials, and trust that we will be among those with the chance to demonstrate the exceptional capabilities and benefits of the AMV35.” assemble and support the AMV35 in Australia, with manufacturing, technology and intellectual capability transitioning to an Australian production line creating over 200 new Australian jobs. This will secure and retain in-country capability and contribute significantly to the Australian economy throughout the expected 30-plus year life of the vehicles. The decision to manufacture the vehicle in Australia assures that there

The Patria AMV and BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV9035 manned turret system are both qualified and in service with NATO nations. The Patria AMV has been selected by seven nations with more than 1,400 contracted vehicles. The CV9035 turret system is fitted to the successful CV90 family of infantry fighting vehicles operated by seven nations. www.baesystems.com

The E-volution in sheet metal working

INCREASE PRODUCTION

BY UP TO 30%

Now available for demo

E-Brake - Electric Series

H-Brake - Hydraulic Series

The most complete range of servo-electric press brakes in the world. Pressing forces from 20-300 tons and working lengths from 850mm - 4100mm. The innovative E-Brake is unparalleled in speed, accuracy, energy savings and durability. E-standards for efficiency, economy, ergonomics and ecology will give you as a sheet metal working manufacturer a head start.

SafanDarleys H-Brake range offers unsurpassed precision and productivity. Do not let the elegant design fool you, these machines are incredibly durable. Models are available with pressing forces from 175-1250 ton and working lengths from 3100mm - 10000 mm. The H-Brake is fully customisable and allows options such as tandem setups, laser angle measuring, cnc bending aids and much more.

30% faster bending The E-standard for Efficiency

E-Control Touch Screen The E-standard for Ergonomics

50% less energy energ The E-standard for Economy

100% electronic

w w w . s h e e t m e t a l m a c h i n e r y. c o m . a u

The E-standard for Ecology

The E-volution in sheet metal working

Sheetmetal Machinery Australia Pty Ltd | Tel: +61 (3) 9758 9377 | Email: sales@sheetmetalmachinery.com.au

052

Defence & Aerospace

Joining forces for optimum results

The properties of titanium are ideal in the aerospace industry where every gram counts. However, its hardness, toughness and low thermal conductivity make machining it a challenge. In collaboration with Walter, Dörries Scharmann Technologie (DST) has put together a machine-tool package for this purpose.

The collaboration between DST and Walter goes far beyond the supply of tools. Jürgen Senger, a field service employee at Walter, provides some examples: “We give training sessions at DST, work closely with the programming department on a permanent basis, and have been doing more and more project work together since 2012.”

The latest venture involves tools for the new EcoForce Ti machine for machining titanium. Thomas Troup, head of applications development at DST, says: “The collaboration between us is characterised by professionalism, we can rely on one another, and we have created an atmosphere of mutual trust as a result.”

DST enjoys an excellent reputation with aircraft manufacturers in particular. A walk through its production halls in Mönchengladbach soon makes the reason clear: the size of the machines reflects the huge dimensions of the structural components produced on them, while their sturdy design is indicative of their high performance.

With its EcoSpeed series of machining apparatus, DST has already established itself as one of the world’s leading suppliers in the field of machining high-tensile structural components made of aluminium. A high level of productivity is key.

For some structural components, up to 90% or more of the material is machined in order to produce a finely-worked finished part with an optimised weight from a massive block of aluminium.

“The main advantages of our machining apparatus for aluminium are the high spindle power of 120kW available over a wide range of speeds, the high-dynamic parallel kinematics of our Sprint Z3 processing head, and the horizontal spindle arrangement,” explains Dr Marcus Queins, head of technology at DST. “As a result, the chips can fall away unhindered in a downwards direction.”

This is regarded as just as important for titanium, which is far more difficult to machine, as it is for aluminium, because repeatedly cutting through the chips causes the indexable inserts to wear out quickly.

“This is why we also configured the EcoForce Ti with a vertical pallet in the operating area, thus providing optimal chip clearance,” adds Queins.

Titanium brings new requirements Machining titanium, which is far more solid and above all tougher, still depends more on torque than on cutting speed. However, the use of titanium is becoming quite normal in parts of the aircraft manufacturing industry, and so production engineers are taking increasing note of productivity. It is forecast that 85,000 tonnes of titanium will be machined worldwide by 2018, more than two-thirds of it using indexable insert and solid carbide cutters.

Walter has responded with an entire range of specialised tools. One example is Walter’s M3255 porcupine cutter. In a test configuration, the D80 Z6 version (80mm diameter, six rows of teeth around the perimeter) machines 315 cubic cm per minute, at a cutting speed of 45m per minute and a feed rate of 0.15mm per tooth of Ti AMS 4928 titanium alloy. DST used this expertise when it tested the new series of machines.

Boeing was a pioneer of new materials with the 787 Dreamliner, which largely consists of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). However, the structural components are still made of non-ferrous metal. The problem is that the expansion coefficients of aluminium and CFRP differ considerably, which makes them very difficult to combine.

On the other hand, the low expansion coefficient of titanium is similar to that of CFRP. In comparison with aluminium, it has a slightly higher specific weight, but despite this, some titanium components are

AMT Apr/May 2016

Dr Marcus Queins, head of technology at DST; Jürgen Senger, Walter field service employee; and Thomas Troup, head of applications engineering at DST.

even lighter than aluminium or even steel parts thanks to titanium’s much greater tensile strength. This is precisely what impresses the aircraft manufacturer, for whom every gram counts, and on the whole justifies the much higher price of the material. But this price has implications.

“Titanium components are increasing in complexity because the total weight of aircraft and therefore their fuel consumption can be improved only by optimising the weight and tensile strength of the superstructure,” says Queins, with reference to the first EcoForce Ti, which is now in the testing phase.

The EcoForce Ti should meet the aerospace industry’s two core requirements, namely higher machining rates and lower costs per part, without adversely affecting process reliability, of course. The five-axis machine has an automatic head-change system, which on the one hand can achieve very high torque of up to 5500Nm and corresponding feed forces during three-axis machining, but on the other hand can also carry out roughing and finishing operations with a very compact fork milling head in five-axis mode.

A machine like this can demonstrate its full performance potential only with tools suited to the machining process. According to Troup: “The requirements define the limits of what is technically feasible at Specialist tools for special tasks: DST and Walter have jointly developed a machinetool package so that titanium for aircraft frames can be machined in record time.

Defence & Aerospace Right: The Ecoforce Ti from DST can perform roughing and finishing for titanium on one machine with its automatic head-change system. The fork milling head allows five-axis machining.

present, and for that we need a coherent overall design. That is why we usually sell the machine and tools as a package.”

Walter’s experts adapted the tools for titanium machining to match the performance of the machine exactly. In tests on the machine, they determined the optimal machining parameters jointly with the DST developers.

Troup says this type of collaboration requires a partner “who thinks not in terms of tools, but in terms of technologies and integrated machining”.

“The way development is shared between us, the machine builder, and the tool supplier varies greatly depending on whether priority is given to the behaviour of the machine or the tools, for instance if they have to be very slim in order to reach deep pockets on the part,” he adds.

The objective is an integrated solution that meets customer requirements, because turnkey technology packages seem to be in vogue for customers too. Another important point in Walter’s favour is worldwide availability. “As a rule, when end customers buy packages like this, they expect to be able to purchase replacement tools anywhere in the world at a later date.”

The view is that Walter can ensure that customers receive not only the tools on site, worldwide, but also full support for them. As Senger points out: “Therefore, we notify our colleagues on site to liaise with the end customer in advance so that they can also provide support immediately.”

Both sides gain Both sides derive various benefits from this long-term collaboration.

“DST has the most efficient machines in the marketplace. We use these at Walter to test our latest developments,” says Senger. “We currently have a whole range of special tools in use at DST, which come straight out of development.”

In return, DST is always kept right up-to-date with the latest in tool development.

The project team has set itself ambitious targets for the future. As Troup says: “We now have our sights set on one litre of titanium machining volume per minute, and I’m convinced that we can manage it together with Walter.” www.starrag.com www.walter-tools.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

053

054

Defence & Aerospace

Micro-X – Keeping the security forces safe A South Australia-based company specialising in making lightweight X-ray machines for hospitals is now using the same technology to design bomb-detecting robots for counter-terrorism operations and the security forces.

Adelaide company Micro-X has recently won a contract with the Department of Defence to demonstrate the technology for stand-off imaging of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The company also has a contract with the Department of Defence to demonstrate a mobile X-ray unit prototype to be used in portable army hospitals and by “shock trauma platoons” on the edge of battle zones. Micro-X recently moved its headquarters from Victoria to South Australia in preparation for the production of its core product, mobile X-ray machines for the medical industry. Managing Director Peter Rowland said Micro-X had successfully produced an 80kg mobile X-ray machine – just a fraction of the size and weight of the 500kg-600kg machines that are traditionally used in hospitals. He said Micro-X had the rights to apply technology from a company in the US that was commercialising the carbon nanotubes as the electron emitter within the X-ray tube.

“The problem with what they are using is that to get the X-ray, you have to take the unit up to the device and put an imaging plate behind it. Sometimes you can’t get the plate behind it without disturbing it, and sometimes there’s a guy watching with a pair of binoculars and a mobile phone and he’s just waiting for the person to lean over the top before he detonates it. So they’re desperate to find what’s called stand-off technologies where they don’t have to put someone in harm’s way and they can still find out what’s inside the package.”

According to Rowland, the technology that Micro-X uses in its lightweight X-ray machines is ideally suited for backscatter imaging.

“In one of these 600kg monsters, the X-ray tube itself weighs about 26kg and if you think about holding that over a bed safely you need a vertical and horizontal support arm that’s quite strong and a cart that’s quite strong,” says Rowland. “By comparison, our tube is one kilogram and is about the size of a large grapefruit. Our task has been to reduce the size of the overall cart in the same ratio.”

The first units for the medical industry are expected to be in production for sale towards the end of the year, while the demonstration for the Department of Defence will be mid-year. The variant models would have a slightly higherpowered tube and a greater ground clearance to help cope with more rugged terrain. The IED detector unit is scheduled for demonstration early next year.

“We’re trying to accelerate it if we can but it’s a work in progress,” Rowland adds. “But the potential market for it is extensive.”

Out of harm’s way “At the moment, when they come across an IED in a military environment such as Afghanistan, or in a civilian environment like a suspicious bag in an airport, they X-ray it,” Rowland explains. “Because they’ve got to find out what it is, how dangerous it is, where it came from, and how they are going to make it safe. So X-ray is their friend.

AMT Apr/May 2016

thing is giant. So the idea that we’ve got something that would fit on a 1m-long robot and go up and interrogate a small parcel is groundbreaking for them.”

An innovation hub The company is located in the Tonsley precinct, the site of the former Mitsubishi car manufacturing plant in Adelaide’s southern suburbs. Tonsley has now been converted into a modern hub for high-value industries.

Other tenants on the site include Siemens, Flinders University and the South Australia Drill Core Library.

Micro-X was given a one-year, $3m loan by the South Australian Government to help it relocate in Adelaide and expects to be building saleable units of its X-ray machines for the medical industry by the end of the year. The company is sizing its initial factory to be able to build at a maximum rate of four units a day, which would amount to an output of about 1,000 units a year.

“We’ve designed this unit to be built in Australia,” Rowland continues.

“It’s cleverly designed so that the assembly operation is not labour intensive – if you can put them together in a very short time then the price of Australian labour doesn’t end up being a major determinant in the end cost of the product.”

As an engineer with many years working on innovation, particularly in defence and aerospace before moving into the medical devices industry about 15 years ago, Rowland believes that the Tonsley concept has been thought out very well.

“It’s kind of just like what Superman used to do, where you can just look at something and you can see inside it,” he says. “You don’t need to get the imaging plate behind.

We’ve concepted something for them that is small: you could put it on a little trolley or robot and you just drive it up and it shows you what’s inside without the need for anyone to go anywhere near it and that got them seriously excited.

“While the backscatter technology exists, because it uses a conventional X-ray tube and not a carbon nanotube source - the

“It’s going to end up like a trade show,” he says. “If you look at the kind of industry interaction when people bump into each other at a trade show walking between the booths, then that type of thing at Tonsley has the potential to be electric. Every one of my staff is going to find real value with the collaboration available there.

“Everyone bangs on about Silicon Valley being the cradle of innovation, and the only difference I see is scale and geography.

It would be lovely to think that Tonsley could create an atmosphere where what everybody is doing at Tonsley is the new normal because it just changes everyone’s perspective. I mean, you help each other but suddenly you don’t feel so lonely, there’s

Defence & Aerospace

Adelaide to host CDIC

Production Manager Adam Williams (left) and Team Leader Derek Rogers.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Defence Minister Marise Payne and Industry Minister Christopher Pyne have announced that the new Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) will be based in Adelaide. people you can talk it over with who are in a similar business and understand your problems.

“If we all can do that under one roof at Tonsley it could be amazing.”

A new road for auto workers Micro-X has recruited four workers from the Holden car manufacturing plant in Elizabeth, which is slated for closure in 2017, including its Production Manager Adam Williams.

“The idea of sourcing talent from the car industry has proven to be an absolute breakthrough because it’s a mindset that nobody – at least in my knowledge – has ever thought of applying to medical devices,” Rowland says. “What I love about the car industry is the rigour and discipline because you cannot achieve the quality and cost and reliability that the car industry achieves without a lot of discipline and a lot of hard work. Just bringing that thinking from Holden into our plant has been brilliant.

“Adam said ‘At Holden, there’s no variable speed on the production line. When you press go on a new model every operation has to take 100 seconds. It can’t be 105

A portable machine being constructed

because that stops the line so we put months and months of planning and checking and testing and training to make sure it happens in the number of seconds they budgeted every single time.’ The management out at Elizabeth is very enlightened. Their people (at Holden) are trained with a breadth of skills, a culture and a way of working that is spectacular.”

Rowland believes it offers hope for many other Holden workers that there are job opportunities waiting for them in industries they never imagined they would work in.

“It sends a message that the skills they have been taught at Holden are actually transferrable in industries they would not imagine,” he continues. “In fact they are more than just transferrable, they are world-leading, because no one’s put that quality and sophistication of manufacturing management into medical devices before.”

“Our manufacturing strategy is a final assembly strategy and that makes sense for a start-up, it’s the car assembly concept.

We’ll get fairly quickly to a dozen people or so.” www.micro-x.com

The CDIC will both foster and drive innovation in the defence industry right across Australia and open up export opportunities. A key initiative of the 2016 Defence White Paper, the CDIC will bring together the private sector, Defence and AusIndustry to transform the relationship between defence and industry to deliver the cutting-edge capability our armed forces require.

The Centre is a ten-year, $230m investment that will create jobs and drive growth in Adelaide and across the country. The CDIC will work with smallto-medium enterprises to promote defence industry competitiveness and guide the priorities across defence industry. It will also offer advisory services including mentoring, defence market access, export facilitation and global supply chain development. In addition to its Adelaide headquarters, the Centre will have a network of advisors in locations across Australia to engage directly with industry.

South Australia is at the forefront of the Turnbull Government’s plan to renew Australia’s naval fleet, and create a world-class, sustainable naval shipbuilding industry. An innovative and competitive Australian defence industry is critical to support the delivery of major capability projects, including the Future Frigates and Future Submarines. The CDIC, along with the Defence Innovation Hub and the Next Generation Technologies Fund announced in the Defence Industry Policy Statement will generate economic benefits, deliver jobs and encourage innovation across Australia.

The CDIC and the Innovation Hub will provide new ways for defence and industry to work together, and ensure closer alignment between industry’s investment in future skills and defence capability needs. The CDIC will commence operations in the second half of 2016. www.business.gov.au/CDIC

AMT Apr/May 2016

055

056

Defence & Aerospace

Lovitt Technologies Australia – Laser-guided precision

Quality and precision are important across the manufacturing industry, but they are especially vital when it comes to any component that will be going into aircraft. As a supplier to some of the world’s most demanding aerospace and defence OEMs, Lovitt Technologies Australia (LTA) knows this better than most companies, and it invests in the latest technology to ensure it continually surpasses its customers’ expectations.

Founded in 1954 as George Lovitt Manufacturing, LTA initially established itself as a manufacturer of cutting tools for the automotive industry. Over the ensuing six decades it has evolved continuously, being quick to anticipate the eventual decline of Australian car-making and branching into fields as diverse as communications, defence and food & beverage. However, it has been in the field of aerospace that the company has really specialised – and made its name – over the last 20 years.

Today, aerospace components account for around 95% of LTA’s business. In the commercial aviation sector, the company is a key supplier to Boeing, working on the 787 ‘Dreamliner’ – LTA’s biggest program – as well as the 747 and 737 airliners. In the defence space, the company supplies parts for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet and F15 Eagle fighter jets, the V-22 Osprey V/STOL military transport aircraft, P-8 Poseidon and the CH47 Chinook helicopter. It also supplies some components for smaller commercial aircraft such as the Gulfstream private jet.

“We are on a large variety of flying platforms,” says Bruce Ramsay, LTA’s Manufacturing Director.

“We make flyaway parts – major structural components that go on aircraft.”

Recent years have seen LTA undergo significant expansion, as the 787 program has settled into a steady rate production, and while other work in defence areas with Boeing and Lockheed Martin has increased. The company’s workforce has grown substantially, from 49 employees in late 2013 to a current headcount of 112. Capability has also been broadened with the acquisition in 2013 of Electromold, the only company in Australia that can prepare and coat components to Boeing and Lockheed Martin specifications in a production environment.

From its manufacturing facility in Montmorency, Victoria, LTA produces a diverse range of complex structures, working primarily in aluminium and titanium, metals whose lightweight properties makes them vital in aerospace applications. The company specialises in machining highly intricate components, with an emphasis on diagonal lines and slanted planes – characteristics that instil a greater degree of strength in a component than simple right angles would.

Parts of such complexity need to be produced accurately, particularly when you’re relying on them to keep your aircraft airborne.

Consequently LTA employs cutting-edge quality & inspection technology to ensure every component that leaves its workshop meets design specification. Its latest acquisition has been a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) from Mitutoyo, supplied by MTI Qualos.

AMT Apr/May 2016

The Mitutoyo SurfaceMeasure non-contact laser probe.

“We had a Mitutoyo CMM that we’d been working with for the last 20-odd years,” says Ramsay. “The reason to buy another is the back-up service we get from MTI Qualos, and the machine itself and its reliability. The Mitutoyo CMM has been good, and that heavily sways the decision to buy the same brand. This machine is to increase our capacity in the CMM area as our workflow demands.”

Everything in its right place The new machine is also equipped with a SurfaceMeasure non-contact line-laser probe from Mitutoyo. The SurfaceMeasure is a lightweight, high-performance probe designed to automatically compensate for environmental variables as well as workpiece characteristics. It enables CMMs to efficiently obtain workpiece shape data, even from artifacts with complex and/or rounded geometries. It uses digital signals to eliminate effects of signal deterioration over distance, thus enabling high measuring speeds.

Data is captured at 75 lines per second over a measuring area of 60mm by 60mm.

The decision to procure the SurfaceMeasure reflects the latest evolution in LTA’s strategy. Recently the company has begun moving up the value chain by diversifying into minor assembly work.

Rather than simply providing individual machined components, the company now delivers fully assembled structures, with as many as 50 or even 100 subcomponents attached.

Ramsay points out a floor structure from the F-35 joint strike fighter as an example. The main structure is intricately machined from a single piece of aluminium – the components that LTA produces can often comprise as little as a tenth of the original workpiece from which they were machined, the remainder ending up as swarf. Mounted on that structure is a variety of brackets, supports and other subcomponents, of differing sizes and orientations.

Most of us have experienced that sinking feeling when you’ve bought a piece of furniture from Ikea, got it home and assembled it, and when you’re done you’ve got one screw left over and you’re wondering where it was supposed to go. This might end up with a slightly wonky table or a rickety wardrobe, but there’s no room for such error in aerospace, and LTA’s customers wouldn’t tolerate such mistakes. Therefore, making sure that every one of those parts is present in its correct positions is essential. However, this does not require the same degree of precision as a machined component.

“From a machine tolerance point of view, machining of a component, the tolerances can range from basic structures of the part of +/–

Defence & Aerospace A floor structure from the F-35 joint strike fighter undergoing inspection using the Mitutoyo SurfaceMeasure probe.

10 thou (thousandth of an inch: 25.4 microns),” says Ramsay. “And then in various features you can have as tight a tolerance as +/- half a thou. And its relativity to some other feature may be quite tight.

Its relativity to each other is very important because it’s how the structure performs.

LTA’s headquarters in Montmorency, Victoria.

“Assemblies generally are not as tight a tolerance as they may be +/- 20 or 40 thou, because the position of where a bracket holds a wire isn’t as vital as the strength of a structure. They’re generally more relaxed tolerances, and therefore that’s why you don’t need to check it to that degree.”

For inspecting its machined parts, LTA uses contact probes, which deliver a very high level of precision, but take a relatively long time to do it. The Surface Measure laser probe does not achieve the same degree of accuracy as a contact probe, but it is much faster. For the assembled structures LTA produces, this is a worthwhile payoff, saving considerable time while delivering the required degree of precision.

“We added the laser scanning equipment as the next step,” says Ramsay. “We felt for a lot of our assembled items, it is a very efficient, definite and speedy way to check that we’ve got the assemblies correct. We’ve got the brackets facing the right way, they’re where they’re supposed to be; they’re not where they’re not supposed to be. And the fasteners are the right length in the right position, we’re not missing a fastener.

“If you’ve got a +/- 40 thou tolerance, it seems silly to check to an accuracy of .0001. So we don’t need to check to that accuracy, this enables us to speed that process up. It’s basically an electronic set of eyes to quickly go over the part and check that we’ve got it assembled correctly.”

Often this is simply a case of making sure everything is in its right place.

“One of the major things is ensuring the bracket is there where it’s supposed to be. Very rarely will we have an issue where the bracket is slightly out. We’ll have an issue where the bracket is missing. From our point of view, it’s critical that nothing could ever leave our place without knowing everything is correct.”

Untapped potential LTA had the new CMM and laser probe up and running from the day it was installed, putting in programs and checking parts, and Ramsay has been impressed with the way it has already speeded up processes in its quality & inspection department. However, he stresses that it is still too early to try and quantify the benefits it has delivered as his team are still getting to grips with the technology and what else it can do.

“There are lots of things we can do to make our laser measurement more efficient, such as speeding up over sections where we don’t need to be measuring anything,” Ramsay explains. “We haven’t finetuned it. We’ve had lots of training from MTI Qualos, but we’re still learning ourselves how to apply that training to our parts. And we’re still developing that.”

Nonetheless, Ramsay sees great potential in the technology that LTA can exploit. In addition, this hasn’t gone unnoticed with the company’s customers.

“I can see lots of improvements we can make from where we are today, but it gives us great efficiency,” he says. “And Lockheed Martin is very excited we’re doing this type of thing. When they see you’re that committed to making sure your parts are right. We could do it other conventional ways, but if you’re making a financial commitment to the quality of other peoples’ parts, they generally appreciate it.” www.lovittech.com.au www.mtiqualos.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

057

058

one-on-one

Chris Burns is the CEO of the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC), and the national spokesperson for the Australian Made Defence campaign.

He spoke to William Poole.

AMT: Firstly, what is the DTC and what does it do?

Chris Burns: The DTC was set up in 1996 by a number of small companies who wanted to be in the defence space. The contracts were big and there was a lot of work, but as individual companies, it was difficult because of the tender process. They realised by coming together, they could present as a stronger unit and win more contracts. And it was very successful. There were 24 companies in the initial DTC. Since then, it’s just grown. It’s now an incorporated industry association with over 200 member companies.

People think of the defence industry as people who build ships or maintain warplanes or make bullets. But it’s much broader than that. An air warfare destroyer (AWD) is just a hunk of steel until it has a trained crew on board, a maintenance base, logistic support and a command-and-control structure around it. To get those things coming together, people have to understand defence.

In our membership you’ll find engineers and manufacturers alongside accountants, lawyers and HR companies, all supporting the companies that are building military hardware. For a small company, sometimes a lawyer can be more important than an engineer, because if you mess up one of the regulations or you breach security, you’ll never work in the industry again. When you look at our membership, it’s very diverse.

What the DTC does is help companies understand defence. There are four key areas we focus on: membership (members services and networking); advocacy; capability development; and skills development. We watch all the tenders, we put the tenders out to the members, and if we think a tender suits a particular company, we’ll go and say “We think you should look at this one, but you probably can’t do it all yourself. You’d be smart to meet up with this guy here and this guy here.” It’s about networking, business-tobusiness matching, providing opportunities for companies to get to know each other through events.

The Australian defence industry really only has one customer, the Federal Government, and companies don’t like to talk out about the customer. If they’re unhappy, they have to keep quiet. We advocate on their behalf. I in particular am a bit outspoken in keeping pressure on the Government to honour their commitments. We’ve been running a campaign of late called Australian Made Defence, raising public awareness of the importance of the defence industry, not only in terms of jobs, but investing the billions of dollars of defence spending back into the economy, and the security aspects of having a reliable defence industry..

Then we look at areas where we can develop companies. We run workshops on Lean manufacturing, Defence 101… anywhere we can help members to improve their businesses. And the fourth area is skills development.

AMT Apr/May 2016

In a small state like SA, with only 8% of the population, having the skilled workforce is critical. While the workforce at GM Holden is very good, you can’t just take someone off the Holden line and put them into AWD construction. With some upskilling you can, but it’s not fully transferable.

We’re not a training organisation, but we look around at government grants for upskilling. There’s a whole bureaucracy around government funding for skills that just turns small companies off.

We’ll talk to the Government about doing an aggregated group bid; we’ll go out to companies, see what they need, get them to commit to the training and to paying their portion of it. Then we’ll negotiate and sign the contract with the Government and with the training organisations, and we’ll put the pressure on the companies to make sure they send people along.

AMT: Your membership is mainly in South Australia. How important is defence in the state?

CB: With the loss of white goods, the slump in the resource industry, and the automotive industry going away, defence is critical for SA. It’s a lynchpin of the economy. SA is the ‘Defence State’ with 8% of the population but 25% of defence work. We are the only state government with a strategic plan for the defence industry. We have an objective of 37,000 jobs in the industry, generating $2.5bn into the economy each year, by 2020, which is going to be a big ask.

AMT: And how is that progressing?

CB: Their figures are that we have 27,000 in the industry in SA, generating $1.9bn a year. With work in the pipeline, it should be achievable, provided the Government doesn’t penny-packet all the work around the country. That’s not saying SA wants all the work to ourselves. The fact is the timber for the bunks on a submarine comes from Tasmania. Steel comes from other states, componentry comes from other states. It’s a national industry; it’s not about SA. You might recall last August Tony Abbott came to SA and pledged $89bn for shipbuilding. The message was that’s all going to come to SA. But they wouldn’t break the figures down. So we did an analysis and said “Let’s break that $89bn up.” It was $50bn for submarines and $39bn for ships. The ratio normally is one-third for build, two-thirds for through-life support. And even if that one-third of build was in SA, not all of it would come here. For example, with the $8bn in AWDs, probably only $2bn comes to the SA economy.

You still have to buy combat systems from overseas, modules are made interstate, goods gets made and shipped here.

059

We worked out that when you broke the $39bn on ships down, WA is going to get this much, SA is this much, NSW will get this much, this much will go overseas. And we did the same for the $50bn for submarines. We put out a media release saying “Firstly, SA companies: stop thinking you’re going to get all the $89bn. And other states saying South Australians are whingers trying to get all this $89bn; you’re going to get your fair share too.”

Abbott took offence to that because it was published in The Advertiser, on the front page. And they clutched a figure out that only $8bn was going to come to SA. So Abbott said “The DTC is providing false and misleading information. When I said $89bn for shipbuilding, that was for acquisition only. No sustainment or through-life support.”

I rang the Minister of Defence’s office and said “Are serious about this? You’ve just said you’re going to spend $50bn buying submarines, despite the German bidding company saying they can build 12 submarines in Australia for less than $20bn?” There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the phone, and I said “You’re getting gold-plated submarines.”

We just looked around the world. Let’s say the cost to build an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) is $0.5bn. You buy 12, that’s $6bn. You buy nine frigates – you can buy a frigate for less than $1bn, but let’s say that’s $9bn for frigates. That’s $15bn of your $39bn. Where are you spending the rest? You’re not buying any other ships. Abbott was using it to secure seats. All we did was to break it down.

That’s one example of the advocacy side. Even though we’re SAbased, we really want to get the message across that it’s a national industry. And isn’t it better to invest those billions of dollars in the Australian economy?

People often forget why we built Collins submarines in Australia.

We were operating Oberon submarines, built in England. In the lead-up to the Falklands War, the British decided to phase out their Oberons and go to nuclear submarines. When the Falklands hit, they deployed their Oberons, and they had to say to Australia “Sorry we can’t give you spare parts, we’ve stopped making a lot of them and we need to corral all the spares we’ve got now we’re at war.”

We had our six Oberon submarines tied up awaiting parts. We had no submarines for defence. The Government of the day said “Never again. We will build our own submarines.” And the Cabinet papers specifically state they must be wholly built in Australia, we have to be part of the design from the outset. No hybrid build, no offshore build, and we have to partner to get a design we understand. What defied logic to us with the Abbott solution was: why would you build up this capability to build submarines and then give it away, effectively investing $50bn of taxpayer dollars in the Japanese economy?

Continued next page

AMT Apr/May 2016

060

One-on-one Continued from previous page

AMT: That highlights the two sides of the issue: defence sovereignty, and investing in Australia by building capability.

CB: Yes. And it’s not the only time. The French didn’t agree with Australia getting involved in the Vietnam War, so they said “If you deploy your Mirages, we won’t give you spare parts.” So we never deployed Mirages. The Swedes didn’t agree with Australia getting involved in Vietnam and refused to supply parts and ammunition for our Carl Gustaf anti-tank weapons, so we weren’t able to deploy them either. This is not a one-off. We’ve learnt through history time and time again.

That’s what sovereignty is about. I was in the army and I was on the German Leopard tanks, based in southern Victoria, in Puckapunyal.

The best thing on the Leopard was the heater. During a Puckapunyal winter, it was great to keep you warm. But when we moved to Darwin, we didn’t need the heater anymore. What German tanks don’t have is any cooling system. So how do you keep crews cool?

So a trial started, but to the day they were taken out of service there was never a cooling system, because we weren’t a part of the design philosophy. Every time they put something in there, it would throw the turret out of balance, or the electrics, or the hydraulics.

Things wouldn’t work. Submarines are second in complexity only to spaceships so it’s crucial that we are part of the design process from day one, otherwise we don’t have sovereignty over it and have to keep going back to the OEM when things don’t work to our standards.

AMT: What would you like to see Government doing to help?

CB: We’ve campaigned hard for them to get into a design philosophy of continuous build. You might have heard of the “Valley of Death”.

When we decided to build the Collins submarines, we were also going to build Huon mine-hunters in Newcastle, and Anzac frigates in Melbourne. We built up three workforces, built them as fast as we could to one design, and then let the workforce go. Then we decided to build the AWDs and fit out the landing helicopter docks in Williamstown, and we built workforce up again. So that’s your Valley of Death, where you lose the workforce and start again.

At the moment we’re going back into that Valley of Death. The Government has said they’ll build 12-20 OPVs starting in 2018.

Submarines won’t start till about 2023-25, with frigates to be built in Adelaide starting 2020. Our problem is we won’t have a workforce in 2020. The end of the workforce for the AWD is basically 2018. So we need to pick up the OPVs. The Valleys of Death are when you get peaks and troughs in defence contracting.

With the continuous build philosophy you say “I want 12 submarines, but I’m not going to build them as fast as I can. I don’t have a capacity to design a submarine, so I’ll buy a design overseas and build the first four to that design.” It takes four years to build a submarine, but what you do is start one every two years.

In that first 8-10 years you build the first four submarines to one design, and simultaneously you start rebuilding design capability in Australia. You take the upgrades in technology and what you learn from operating those first four, and upgrade the design, so the next four are more advanced. And you do the same for the next four.

By the time you get to 12 submarines, the Navy has the best, most up-to-date capability. You’ve rebuilt your design capability, so then you can design your own submarine. And that’s about 24 years.

The life of a submarine is 20-25 years, so when you’re finishing number 12, you start number 13, and then you take number one out of the water, take the crew and put them on number 13.

It’s a short-term vision to just build 12 submarines very quickly.

You’ll only have one design, because you won’t have the capacity to upgrade if you build them rapidly. You’ll have to get rid of the

AMT Apr/May 2016

workforce, and then replace them in the future. Continuous build gives you a highly skilled workforce, because industry will invest upfront in the innovation and automation that makes you efficient. You also say to the unions: you’ve got surety of work now.

But you can’t just do it with Naval vessels. We need a national shipbuilding plan. Canada did this five years ago. They’ve got the longest coastline in the world, big demand for ships. Not just Navy, but coastguard ships, arctic explorer ships, icebreakers, fisheries enforcement, immigration, border protection. They looked at the next 30 years and the ships they’d need, and they worked out if they programmed it right, brought projects forward, extended some ships, they could keep two shipyards constantly operating on a continuous-build philosophy. They have a national shipbuilding plan, but it’s not run by Defence. It’s run by their Department of Industry. It reached out to every government department and state government; all political parties signed off on it, as did industry, and the unions. They keep 15,000 people employed in those two shipyards, and it’s generating $2.5bn a year for the Canadian economy. That would normally have gone overseas.

The Federal Government has been talking about a naval shipbuilding plan and we keep saying “The Navy’s very good at operating ships, but they don’t have the first clue about how to build ships.” The Department of Defence gets a four-year budget, and from their perspective, if they have $10m and they need 200 guns, and they go overseas to a factory that’s been making rifles forever, 200 guns will cost $10m. An Australian company that isn’t building rifles continuously will say $13m-$14m. Defence wants the best value for money. It gets nothing back if it invests in Australian industry.

It’ll buy overseas. Whereas from a national perspective, you can get 200 guns and invest $10bn in the US economy, or you can pay $13bn and get 200 guns made in Australia, get all that innovation, get skills up, but also know that just under 40% of that money is coming back into the economy right from the outset in taxes. And the workers in the factory will invest in super, in real estate, in the retail market. But no-one in Defence is compelled to think about that. They just want the best value out of their four-year budget.

That’s why we keep making mistakes. It has to be national plan.

AMT: What are your hopes for the future of the industry?

CB: The realisation of the importance of a national defence industry.

If we got into long-term strategic thinking, we could start looking at exporting. Then you become globally competitive and your industry grows based on that. But if we keep lapsing back with these peaks and troughs, we’re never going to get anywhere. So the long-term hopes are a long-term strategic plan, continuous build, with the opportunity to export. The workforce will diversify into other industry sectors and take those skills with them, which makes those sectors viable too, and they can be getting into exports.

One thing we say to our companies is that if you aren’t diversifying, you’re not going to survive on defence alone. Companies in our membership might be doing 20%-40% of their work in defence, but they’ll be in at least two other sectors – infrastructure, resources, anything. And the beauty is that they’re taking those skills into those sectors.

The future for Australia is not manufacturing – it’s advanced manufacturing. Automotive is about high-volume, labour costsensitive, production-line automotive factory-type things. Defence is about low volumes, complex engineering, and almost everything is hand-made. That to me is the difference between manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. Where we can compete in the global market is advanced manufacturing. Not in manufacturing. www.dtc.org.au www.australianmadedefence.com.au

Centre for Additive Manufacturing

Your Partner of Choice for Developing Additive Manufacturing Solutions RMIT University’s Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CAM) brings together key research staff to generate critical research mass in additive manufacturing technology and design.

The Centre focuses on: — manufacturing processes and methods — materials science and the development of new powder alloys and polymer feedstock — advanced design using topology optimisation, and development of novel approaches to topology optimisation CAD model of a lattice implant

— applying design and optimisation of components into industrial based products.

The Centre assists industry through a range of services including: — contract research and development — consultancy — training in the latest additive manufacturing technologies — grant-based partnerships The Centre has the latest in metal and polymer based 3D printers together with high-end multi-axis machining centres making it a one-stop shop for industry.

A variety of organisations in the defence, aerospace and biomedical sectors are currently working with the Centre to develop innovative and economically viable addictive manufacturing products and processes.

Manufactured lattice hip implant

Contact Details For further information on engagement with the Centre please contact:

Al lattices for light weighting 14258 1215

www.rmit.edu.au

Professor Milan Brandt Centre Director Email: milan.brandt@rmit.edu.au Tel. +61 3 9925 4197

062

robotics & Automation

Unique ABB robot solution increases throughput at AstraZeneca

One of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca Australia, is now relying on ABB robot technology to pack and palletise asthma medication to meet rising export demand from China.

The ABB robots are part of an $80m investment in six new production lines at AstraZeneca’s North Ryde, NSW facility.

A further two lines are currently being installed and validated. The pharmaceutical company, which has been manufacturing in the Sydney suburb for more than 50 years, recently completed installation of the six new lines.

Each of the six existing production lines has the capacity to produce 65m units per year of AstraZeneca’s asthma medication, called Pulmicort Respules. Each line features a 4010 Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) with purposebuilt finishing and packaging system known as Respules 4010, culminating in a case packing and palletising cell which utilises an ABB IRB 4600 robot. Once all eight lines are in operation, AstraZeneca will have the capacity to produce 520m units per year of the Pulmicort medicine.

World-first system Plans for AstraZeneca’s North Ryde upgrade commenced in 2011 after the company signed a supplier agreement with the Chinese government, naming North Ryde the sole global site for the supply of Pulmicort Respules – which are used to treat a portion of China’s estimated 7m asthma sufferers.

In order to meet its increased supply targets, AstraZeneca engaged ABB authorised value provider Andrew Donald Design Engineering (ADDE) to develop a purpose-built packaging, verification and robotics palletising solution, to support six new production lines at the North Ryde manufacturing facility. Based in Bayswater (VIC), ADDE is a specialist in the design of industrial automation solutions, offering inhouse mechanical, electrical and control system design, procurement, manufacture, installation and support.

ADDE worked closely with AstraZeneca to develop the Respules 4010 packaging system, from the initial concept development and systems design, right through to integration into the production lines at the North Ryde facility. A completely new configuration, the Respules 4010 took 40 people nine months to perfect. At the heart of the world-first system is an ABB IRB 4600 robot, enclosed in a sterile glass cell, and employing ABB’s SafeMove technology to ensure the highest levels of operator and product safety.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Packing and palletising requirements According to ADDE Managing Director Barry Hendy, each of the four production lines or ‘bays’ feature two key areas: the product is processed on a finishing line at the back of the bay, and then fed to case packers and palletisers at the end of the line.

“The robot cells do the security sealing, as well as the serialisation for the track-andtrace system on each and every carton,” Hendy explains. “They then do the case packing and palletising of each case, putting them on to the slip-sheets, and feeding them out of the cells on to the trolleys.”

ADDE has been an ABB authorised value provider for a number of years, and specifies ABB robots for the majority of its industrial automation projects. The ABB IRB 4600 robot at the core of AstraZeneca’s new packaging system offers sharp path accuracy and motion control, an ultrawide working range, short cycle times, flexible mounting possibilities, and top-level protection for harsh environments.

“We looked at a number of the products in the ABB range and decided the IRB 4600 was the best fit in this configuration, with its long arm giving us the reach we needed while being able to fit within the required cell and perform all the tasks the customer demanded,” said Hendy. “One of the very unique and challenging things in this cell is that the safety guarding has been done with toughened glass – which is very good at keeping people out, but not so good at keeping robots in. So, to achieve the safety

standards that we needed, the robots are fitted with ABB’s SafeMove technology, which provides the safety to ensure the robot stays within the cell, and away from the glass, while the glass ensures that the operators stay out.”

Flexible, reliable solution According to AstraZeneca Australia Engineering & Operational Excellence Manager Paul Ives, the ABB robot solution has allowed the manufacturer to increase throughput at its North Ryde facility, while maintaining the pharmaceutical manufacturer’s extremely high product quality requirements.

“Our manufacturing process utilises blowfill seal technology that moulds molten plastic containers, fills and seals them, all within a grade-A sterile environment,” Ives explained. “The containers are then printed, inspected, and checked for leaks before final packing in the robot cell.

“Our case packing and palletising robot cell is extremely compact and versatile.

It applies a security seal and a unique serialised barcode before being packed, 18 at a time, into a shipper – this is also identified with a unique barcode. The pallet is then stacked, complete with slipsheet and pallet trays, all within the same enclosure.

“We’ve currently got around nine ABB robots in the plant, and we anticipate this will increase in the future. We’ve seen many benefits from using these robots, including reliability and dependable operation, as well as reduced labour costs and flexibility.”

www.abb.com

robotics & Automation

APAS collaborative robot unveiled at Bosch Australia event

Bosch Australia held an exclusive event at its headquarters in Clayton, Victoria, to mark the Australian launch of APAS, the mobile collaborative robotic production assistant that can work hand in hand with its human colleagues.

APAS is a family of automation solutions designed for the flexible, networked, smart factories of the future. APAS robots can take over dangerous, strenuous, monotonous and dirty jobs, leaving people free to do higher-quality work. Unlike many systems available on the market, however, they can safely be used as mobile and flexible solutions, without any guarding.

Visitors to the event had the chance to see the new APAS assistant up close, and to learn about its ground-breaking features, such as its innovative new ‘Sensor Skin’ safety technology, and its highly intuitive, user-friendly operator interface. The event also included a tour of Bosch’s diode manufacturing facility, where it was possible to see the APAS assistant in action in a manufacturing environment.

Bosch’s plant already boasts an impressive degree of automation, and the way that APAS had been incorporated onto the production line demonstrated the extent to which its standardised operating concept and interconnectivity allow flexible integration into an existing manufacturing setting.

Meanwhile, integrated cameras help it not only to register its surroundings autonomously but also to recognise parts for itself and manipulate them with precision.

“The APAS can be flexibly integrated into manufacturing processes,” says Andrew Bartlett, General Manager of Manufacturing Solutions at Bosch. “The factory of the future requires more agile machines and robots that can flexibly take over from fixed manufacturing systems along the entire production chain. At the same time, the possibility of direct interaction with humans and integrated safety systems play an important role.”

The APAS production assistants are designed to support technical staff with critical process steps, monotonous and messy jobs, and above all to collaborate directly with human beings.

The APAS inspector, for instance, is equipped with a highdefinition camera and an innovative 3D technology that enables it to inspect highly delicate surfaces or performs complete checks.

A family of solutions

Safe collaboration

At the heart of the APAS family is the ‘APAS assistant’, an automated production assistant equipped with a ‘Sensor Skin’ that enables it to avoid collisions. This makes it suitable for a wide range of applications in which it will work together with people in a guardfree workplace.

The safe interaction of humans and machines is at the heart of the APAS family. The APAS assistant is the first robot system to be certified for collaborative operations by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) association. It is equipped with a sixaxis industrial robot arm, a sensitive three-finger gripper and a 3D camera system.

Alongside APAS assistant, the APAS family offers two further automation devices for specific tasks. ‘APAS inspector’ is a mobile optical testing system with 3D imaging, while ‘APAS base’ is a flexible automation platform for specific tasks such as parts labelling. These can operate to the full breadth of their flexibility when working together with APAS assistant.

The APAS assistant is designed to be slim and compact. It has rollers and an easy-to-operate lock, meaning it can be put to work quickly and easily at various locations within a production facility.

APAS assistant’s sensitive three-finger gripper is capable of gently or firmly grasping a wide variety of parts with complex geometries.

As opposed to other robot systems, the gripper arm of the APAS assistant is covered with a highly sensitive sensor skin. Even without direct contact, this skin allows the system to realise whenever a member of staff comes too close. It then immediately stops its work and waits until the employee has left the danger zone, resuming operation automatically.

For example, a manufacturing worker can place empty pallets on a table in front of the robot. The APAS assistant will then position them correctly and load them, while the worker performs other tasks, such as optimising processes at other machines. The sensors fitted to the APAS assistant’s housing will detect whether its human colleague has come too close. It will stop before it touches its human colleague, and resume its work once its colleague has left the system’s immediate operating zone.

The APAS assistants have been tried and tested in Bosch facilities throughout the world. Now they are available in Australia for external customers.

“The decline of automotive manufacturing in Australia results in a need for advanced, competitive manufacturing solutions,” said Bosch Australia President Gavin Smith. “APAS alongside a full manufacturing solution by Bosch can ensure firms are globally competitive in Australia in advanced product and process manufacturing.” www.bosch-manufacturingsolutions.com.au www.bosch-apas.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

063

064

robotics & Automation

Robotics brings massive changes in manufacturing

Manufacturing continues to change at a rapid rate, from old-fashioned conventional turning operations with added milling less than 10 years ago, to today’s world of multifunctional machining. Complementing this now is robotics, driving further change by increasing machine utilisation, freeing skilled workers from routine work, and upskilling for even higher levels of efficiency.

One company at the forefront of these enormous changes has been Okuma, which has been a focal point with its leading-edge technology. Okuma’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Phil Hayes, recalls a study at the Ford Motor Company in Geelong some years back that identified that a part sat on a pallet for almost six hours before its next machining operation.

He also recalls the successful transition from a line of eight machines, each machining two features of an oil pump body at one set-up, to two machines machining every feature at 64 units at one set-up, commenting at the time that the maths was not difficult.

Hayes recalls that Ford implemented a huge number of efficient new processes and methods, but this did not save them from the short-sighted industrial climate of the time, which had nothing to do with the object of making parts efficiently and profitably for the companies who had invested heavily in new technology.

Today there are so many options to achieve greater efficiency but these require some investment, entailing modest and often high levels of capital. Coupled with this is the single most important challenge: a change in the philosophy of who should do what and the most effective utilisation of skilled labour.

Before the Holden Adelaide plant introduced robots to its chassis underbody welding line, Hayes had watched big men wield 100kg+ spot welding guns as they welded their designated section all day, every day. The introduction of robots in this area was a great win for efficiency, accuracy, consistency, and physical health and safety. With this change the valuable experience of the welders was not lost as they continued to contribute in identifying welding improvements, inspection, maintenance and other creative functions within the plant.

“Whilst not all companies can invest in plant and equipment to the level of major international corporations, the same benefits apply when applying robots to repetitive tasks such as loading and unloading,” says Hayes. “It dramatically reduces mental strain on employees, eliminates safety risks and the cost of labour, which is increasing every year. On top of this there is also the book write-down value every year on capital items.”

AMT Apr/May 2016

The flexible RoboJob system.

Hayes notes that the smallest machines at the once-known PBR Automotive operation were Okuma LB6s, LCCs and LCSs, with tiny on-board Okuma Gantry Loader (OGL) robots to load and unload disc-brake calliper pistons for mirror finish turning. These were destined for auto makers both here and overseas. Hayes keeps the one-millionth part on his desk from an LB6 machine and advised that LCC and LCS machines with OGL robotics would go on to produce well in excess of 3m pistons per annum.

OGLs come in capacities from 3kg up payloads. One company that has taken them on-board is KH Engineering, which has installed LB3000 lathes with OGL 10kg units attached in its advanced engineering shop.

Raising productivity “Basically the integrated OGL units allow us to reach higher levels of productivity without the usual expansion of overheads that were always necessary when you wanted to get more out of the day,” says Ken Horner, Director of KH Engineering. “They are a good piece of well-supported technology that is simply built, yet so sturdy that they are extremely reliable – just good engineering!

Today we have medium-sized production runs and once the operators are familiar with the set-up, changeovers are completed

quickly and efficiently. Like all advances in manufacturing, it is necessary to help yourself and take ownership of the future.

“No longer is this technology ‘unreliable black art’. It is seriously efficient from two of the most important viewpoints – productivity and financial,” Horner adds. “It has changed the dynamics of the work flow with the machine cutting out three operations, and it is virtually handling the work of five people.

The machine is consistently accurate to within 1,000th of an inch, which we have complete confidence in, as this is proven with regular concentricity batch tests.”

The stand-alone floor robots are even more flexible physically but in reality are more likely to be dedicated to a wider range of throughput, handling parts of more than half a tonne in weight. These require safety cells and compliance with strict safety standards, and the cell itself may also be somewhat Floor spacesaving OGL.

robotics & Automation OGL series shaft loader.

Multi-operation floor mount robot cell.

complex as the part may have to be washed, deburred, measured, inspected, packaged and quarantined. All this can be completed in one combined cycle and set up by a creative skilled operator who is likely to be tending three or four of these cells at once.

One of Melbourne’s best, most wellknown engineering jobbing shops, GW Kewder Engineering defeated the theory that long runs were required to justify robot installations.

“The installation of robots enabled us to close down the night shift yet still run the machines overnight,” said Kewder’s Managing Director Derek Warrington. “Text messages are forwarded automatically by the machine to key personnel at any time of the night should a malfunction or out-oftolerance occur.

“Robots have allowed us to reduce times on batch runs of 200-250 complex components from two weeks to four to five days. We now have three trained robot operators and this is allowing us to upskill other operators. On some complex jobs it is taking us a day to set the operation up; however on a repeat of that job, the set-up time is reduced to approximately two hours.

The new technology is simple and flexible, freeing up personnel from repetitive jobs and increasing productivity and safety.”

The third area of robotic technology or the middle ground has been developed by the entrepreneurial Belgian company RoboJob, which has developed a CE-marked compact safe-cell that allows easy access and has an interactive simple programming system with generic part stockers. This versatile unit allows the use or non-use of the robot as well as being relocatable to other machines.

Holinger Engineering manufactures arguably some of the world’s finest motorsport gearboxes, supplied to racing teams such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW and Audi. Holinger has introduced a RoboJob Turn Assist robot to its latest Okuma Macturn 250 2SW multi-task machine. The complete process from stock billets to a finished product is achieved quickly and efficiently, and for a company that receives urgent orders for sometimes 5-20 parts in a batch and specialises in small production runs, this set-up provides the ultimate in flexibility.

Holinger Managing Director Alan Smith comments that the RoboJob takes minimal time to set up, has increased machine hours per day, and can operate overnight without staff, lighting and so on. Moreover

the machine can send a text message to an operator if it needs assistance.

“Whilst we have experience with gantry loaders, this new robot is relatively new to our shop so we are still learning. It is however proving to be flexible, economical, is quick to program, it can be easily moved to another machine and is ideally suited to lower production runs,” says Smith.

“This type of technology assists us with the effective placement of personnel, often looking after more than one machine. It is allowing us to upskill operators keen to take on this new technology, and it has great occupational health and safety aspects related to the loading of billets and repetitive jobs.”

“With such advances in manufacturing technology, many of Australia’s leading engineering companies are competing effectively on the world market,” says Hayes.

“Today two out of every five machines that Okuma delivers are multitasking or multifunction machines, and one in every four multitaskers has a robot of some description attached to it.”

Phil went on to comment that those who have seen Okuma’s new Dream Site No.1 plant in Nagoya, Japan, will get the message that as a manufacturer, Okuma’s latest machines are built by the very latest Okuma machines and a host of automated and robotic technologies. Inevitably there will be some companies left behind in a changing market environment but those who have welcomed the inevitability of change and embraced this, will continue to grow and prosper. www.okumaaustralia.com.au

OGL series billet loader.

AMT Apr/May 2016

065

066

robotics & Automation

Manufacturing automation: Finding ROI in a digital strategy

With manufacturers increasingly embracing robotics on the shop floor, the benefits are well publicised, but the risks are addressed less frequently. By Jo-Anne Ruhl, Managing Director, Infor Pacific.

Modern IT technologies are set to reinvent the manufacturing industry and turn factories into digital enterprises. Since the introduction of advanced software and disruptive technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), cloud computing and social media, manufacturers have managed to keep up with the escalating expectations of the modern consumer and remain competitive.

retention. By embedding this collaborative platform into the organisational system, it operates as the company’s primary vehicle for facilitating connectivity and all employee interaction.

Whilst the use of automation has grown exponentially over the last five years, the degree of automation used by a particular organisation still fluctuates between the extremes of “nice to have” to an absolute necessity. The type of vertical industry, the business model and the size of the organisation all influence the degree of automation that is practical and costeffective.

These advances have seen the growing introduction of robotics in the workforce to assist in managing business efficiency.

Some tech enthusiasts even project a new era of “lights out factories”, which can largely operate without the need for human engagement.

And so this raises a number of questions: will this reliance on automation be a positive trend for manufacturing or will it bring with it unexpected risks? Can manufacturers rely too heavily on automation and fall into autopilot complacency?

These are certainly questions with no easy answers, but they deserve further consideration.

Ever-evolving automation The current state of shop floor automation has changed drastically over the last five years. IT capabilities bring advanced software functionality, highly flexible infrastructures and more options in deployment, including Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud computing. A Chief Information Officer must, at times, feel like the so-called kid in a candy store as these technologies bring a myriad of options for unprecedented functionality and automation.

In order to remain competitive, it is important for organisations to continually evaluate their current processes and look for opportunities for improvement.

When reviewing automation options, manufacturers should keep in mind that it is important to deploy a solution that is highly flexible and will allow for future expansion and enhancements. It’s also important to choose solutions that can be accessed through a variety of devices.

One example is robotic technologies, which have created a paradigm shift in the manufacturing sector. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) estimates that Australia is sitting at the world average level, with just above 55 robots per 10,000 employees, and some 139,300 industrial

AMT Apr/May 2016

robots sold in 2014 across Australia, New Zealand and Asia collectively. For SMEs, this automation provides a flexible solution to increase efficiency of production and remain competitive in their industry.

Customers are now offered greater speed, more product options and greater value.

For the manufacturer that needs agility and speed of implementation, cloud deployment offers a smart solution and is helping manufacturers keep up with the rising expectations of modern business. As well as benefiting from greater collaboration and increased mobility and flexibility, industry-specific cloud designs mean organisations can streamline production and improve quality. This provides accurate configuration-specific information to manufacturing, which can also lead to additional cost savings.

A recent survey conducted by IDG Research indicates that manufacturers are increasingly turning to cloud-based solutions in order to meet aggressive growth plans. Half of all respondents cited the need to keep up with complex regulation requirements as one important driving force. IT managers, in particular, said standardising locations, improving service speed and managing erratic supply and demand are all vital for their business growth and success — issues that cloud deployment simplifies.

Social business technologies such as Infor Ming.le have also recently become favoured for their potential to drive bottomline benefits. These include employee engagement and collaboration, faster decision-making and improved knowledge

Manufacturers must continually evaluate the results, not only in terms of increased productivity, but the improved insights into customer needs and enhanced ability to predict customer trends. Automation, when fully integrated into the company’s enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management tools, can help support a full customer-centric approach.

This differentiates an organisation’s services and provides an opportunity to gain an advantage over industry competitors. A focus on customer relationships helps to elevate loyalty, thus making buying decisions transcend price alone.

While automation is essential today, it is just one element of the smart manufacturing redesign. Manufacturing is still about innovation, customer insights and applying data for creative problemsolving. Machines, internet connectivity and advanced software solutions cannot replace the creative spark of the people who manage the automation. Similarly, building a successful social business strategy must consist of more than simply tacking a Facebook-like collaborative platform onto existing organisational systems.

Finding the right balance between convenience, speed and a measurable ROI is the critical part of this automation journey. Simply automating because “it’s possible” is a dangerous undertaking, which can divert valuable resources away from other IT initiatives that could provide meaningful results. Automation is a tool, but not the end-all solution. It frees people from the burden of repetitive tasks and allows them to focus on the truly essential elements that only humans can do: designing game-changing products and building relationships with customers. www.infor.com

robotics & Automation

Robotic labelling at Prysm Industries

Prysm Industries, a family-run contract plastic injection moulding company based in Victoria, deployed a Universal Robots UR5 industrial robotic arm to perform labelling tasks for its houseware production line. Since installing the UR5 in 2014, Prysm has seen increases in productivity, employee satisfaction, product quality and cost savings.

For more than 40 years, Prysm has manufactured containers such as garden pots and ice cream containers for companies across Australia. For businesses like Prysm, providing a highquality product while keeping costs down can be a challenge. With many of the items produced at Prysm headed for some of Australia’s largest retailers, consistency and accuracy are paramount.

“Many of our products require an adhesive label,” said Matthew Murphy, Production Manager at Prysm. “Previously, skilled operators would stand in one spot for hours at a time and apply labels to products every six or seven seconds. We decided to automate this repetitive task in order to reduce costs and to free up our staff for more varied and engaging activities.”

During the search for an automation solution, Prysm was introduced to Universal’s technology by Sensorplex, a Universal distributor for Australia.

“We helped Prysm select the UR5 as the best solution for their production needs and the payload they required,” said Herbert Ho, Director of Operations and Technology at Sensorplex. “We have since provided Prysm staff with basic training and we’re available for any ongoing support they may need.”

“The UR5 offered everything we were looking for in a robot,” said Murphy. “It has the flexibility to perform the tasks we need without being overly expensive and it has given us a quick return on our investment.”

A flexible, cost-effective solution According to Murphy, Prysm has achieved significant cost savings as a result of deploying the UR5: “Every day the UR5 is in operation Prysm saves $550 in labelling expenses alone. And the payback period for the robot was less than 12 months.”

Murphy noted that the UR5’s ability to work in confined spaces and to be easily repositioned are two of its best features.

“Our UR5 is typically positioned in a small corner at the end of a production line. It has no problem moving around and folding over on itself in a very tight space,” he said.

“We have other robots on our production line and they only stay in one spot since it’s too difficult to move them and not worth our time. Our staff easily reposition the UR5 every two-to-three weeks to accommodate various production requirements.”

Like all UR robots, the UR5 can be reprogrammed for other tasks in a matter

of minutes. A graphical user interface with a teach function enables operators to simply grab the robot arm and show it how movements should be performed.

The user-friendly interface then allows staff to drag and drop the routines to do their programming.

“When we do not require it for labelling, we use the UR5 to move and stack products,” Murphy noted. “It’s extremely easy to reprogram. The interface has a simple layout and uses non-technical language that everyone can understand. Plus, the robot can be reprogrammed either by moving its arm to show it how a movement should be performed, or by using arrows on the touchscreen. Even for our employees with no previous experience with robots, it has been quite easy to pick up.”

Safe for employees In contrast to traditional industrial robots, Universal’s small and lightweight robotic arms can work safely alongside staff (subject to a risk assessment). A state-of-the-art force limit safety feature automatically stops the robot from operating when its movement is obstructed. The robot will not exert a force greater than the limit specified in the adjustable safety settings, which can be set from 100-250 newtons for a UR5.

“The safety of our staff was a major consideration when choosing an automation solution,” said Murphy.

“Knowing our employees can work in close proximity to the UR5 without a safety cage

or concern for their wellbeing gives us great peace of mind.”

Prysm now uses the UR5 for all labelling projects. Positioned at the end of the production line, the UR5 picks up a container and orientates it in front of a labeller. Then, depending on the shape, the UR5 either runs the container across or around the labeller. With the UR5 handling all labelling needs, Prysm’s employees can focus on running other machines and engage in more interesting tasks across the factory floor.

“Using the UR5 ensures that labels are consistently applied crease-free and far more accurately than in the past,” Murphy said. “Plus, it can operate for days on end without stopping and our employees feel a sense of pride from having learned how to operate the robot.”

Murphy added that the UR5 has proven to be a huge selling point for Prysm: “It has helped us get quite a bit of work. People are really impressed by what the UR5 is able to do and it’s proven to be a point of difference to other moulders out there.

It shows that we’re a little bit ahead of everyone else.”

Prysm is planning to deploy a second UR5 soon, this one dedicated to minor assembly projects. www.prysm.com.au www.sensorplex.com www.universal-robots.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

067

Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions Your competive edge in manufacturing

With a breadth of industries and products that extend from the automotive

Automation

Process Technology

industry, to medical, pharmaceutical, healthcare, food, energy, power tools,

3 Assembly Line

3 Dispensing Systems

household appliances and whitegoods. On average, Bosch applies for 19

3 Assembly Equipment

3 Riveting

new patents every single day, for advanced and new technologies. With a

3 Material Handling

3 Tightening Systems

strong History in supplying Equipment to the Automotive supply chain,

3 Axis /Robotics

3 Vision Systems

Bosch Manufacturing Solutions now delivers into a diverse range of

3 Jigs & Fixtures

Industries. Key strengths in automation, Test and Measurement Equipment,

Engineering Services

Process Technologies underpinned by strong Mechanical, Electrical and

Test & Measurement

3 Feasibility studies

Software Engineering Capabilities are able to supply solutions for problems

3 Product Test Systems

3 Lean equipment design

large or small.

3 Communication Interfaces

3 Project Management

3 Data Analysis

3 System Integrators

3 Data Acquisition

The APAS assistant is a versatile automatic production assistant. As an intelligent and intrinsically safe robot system, the APAS assistant allows direct collaboration with people without expensive additional shielding. This is made possible by the unique sensor skin, which covers the robot arm of the APAS assistant and which reacts, as soon as somebody approaches.

APAS assistant flexible production assistant Sensor skin

Camera system

Learn more about the sensor skin of the APAS assistant.

Learn more about the camera system of the APAS assistant.

Operating surface

Universal gripper Learn more about the universal gripper of the APAS assistant.

Learn more about the operating surface of the APAS assistant.

Speed Switching Ask us and learn more about the Speed Switchingoption of the APAS assistant.

Learn more about the mobility of the APAS assistant.

To see the APAS in action, visit: www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdXQhcn_R3b_rfEjYe_Tyg

How can the APAS family support on the way to a flexible factory?

The standardized production assistants APAS assistant, APAS inspector and APAS

The APAS flexpress, as a stand-alone solution or in a manufacturing island, are designed for: assistant is a versatile automatic production 3 ad-hoc small series production

assistant. As an intelligent and intrinsically safe robot

3 semi-automation 3 pilot production for safeguarding a process 3 agile engineering with early interim results 3 quality tests

The APAS family has the following advantages: 3 modular design 3 efficiency by reuse 3 flexibility, many settings are configurable with software 3 mobility, no need for a permanent fixation at a workplace

To find out more contact John Croft (61) (0) 434 185 329 M john.croft@au.bosch.com E (03)9541 5086 (03) 9541 7872 BAMS.sales@au.bosch.com

T F E

www.bosch-manufacturingsolutions.com.au

070

Company Focus

Mincham Aviation – Riding the turbulence

In 20 years of operation, Mincham Aviation has faced some challenging times, but now its hard-earned reputation for quality and innovation is starting to pay off with clients worldwide. By William Poole.

Mincham Aviation has been contracted to manufacture components for the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV).

There’s been plenty of gloomy news surrounding Australian manufacturing in recent years, but we saw a welcome bright spot last August, an Adelaide-based firm won a supplier contract with Northrop Grumman. Mincham Aviation will manufacture aircraft structure components for the first low-rate production lot of the US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV).

Darryl is philosophical about the setbacks his company faced with the GFC. “We probably lost six or seven years of business, but so did the rest of the world, and there’s a lot of people who aren’t here now.

You can’t go backwards, you have to swallow it and move on, and learn from those lessons and look at how you can better mitigate the risks moving forward to build a successful business model.”

The contract is recognition of a company that over two decades has established itself as a specialist supplier to the aerospace and defence sectors, held in high regard both nationally and globally.

However, the company has faced its share of setbacks in that time.

As Managing Director and founder Darryl Mincham jokes: “There’s a saying in aviation. How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a large one.” Darryl spent 10 years in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as an aircraft maintenance engineer, where he built up a wealth of experience across aerospace design and manufacturing.

On leaving the RAAF in 1996, he set up his business and began picking up work fast. “I was working 18-20 hours a day, six days a week,” he recalls. “We started in a small, backyard facility, and after about 18 months we had large parts coming out of the driveway.”

Shifting strategy

By 2000 Mincham had moved to its current headquarters at Parafield Airport, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. Expansion continued, and around 2009 it became necessary to acquire a second facility, about twice the size of the Parafield site, in nearby Edinburgh Parks.

However, when the global financial crisis (GFC) hit, the company saw four major contracts cancelled. The workforce was cut by half, and the Edinburgh Parks facility was mothballed, today semi-leased while also serving as warehousing for Mincham.

“We had to restructure the company,” says Darryl. “But now we’re starting to get going again on a few projects. We’re pretty well back to pre-GFC days.”

Today Mincham employs around 15-20 staff, with annual sales of between $1m and $2m. The company is primarily a Tier Two/Tier Three supplier to the major defence Primes, and a Tier One to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

AMT Apr/May 2016

“For us it’s not about becoming the biggest company in the world,” says Darryl. “I have no aspirations to be a 2,000-employee company.

But if the work we develop here employs 2,000 people, I’ll be happy.

We aim to build good strategic partnerships where we can and be part of many large projects that employ lots of people. It’s all about building national growth; we can do it.”

In the wake of the GFC, Mincham set about overhauling its business model. Primarily service-based for its first 10-15 years, the company elected to invest in developing its own products, giving it greater control over its own destiny. Its products and developments have encompassed everything from UAV technology to composite rocket components, payload delivery systems to ballistics products.

One example is a lightweight pannier system that Mincham manufactured, about the size of a small car and able to carry more than a tonne of equipment, taken up by the Australian, Norwegian and Canadian air forces. Another interesting project resulted in the world’s first recoil-absorbing suppressor for a rifle – produced

by Spectre-Mincham in 16 weeks, the prototype has exceeded all expectations and the finished product will be on the market in the near future. The company has been working in the UAV field since the late 1990s, when it produced a geo-research craft equipped with a magnetometer that could be towed behind an aeroplane at low altitude and detect mineral resources in the Earth’s crust, enabling mining companies to do about 12 months geo-survey work in a week. The structure needed to be entirely non-metallic, a challenge that Mincham overcame using composites, an area in which it continues to specialise.

071 Meanwhile, the company’s contract work covers an array of highprofile defence and aerospace projects. Along with the Triton, the company supplies parts for the Chinook helicopter for Boeing, and most of the fairings on the P3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft.

Mincham also designs and manufactures aero-medical equipment for the Royal Flying Doctors such as lifting systems, specialised stretchers, restraint systems and cabinet systems.

“We eventually want to be a 50-50 sort of company – 50% our own product and 50% service-based,” says Darryl. “That service base also gets split up into national work, and global supply chain work.

Things like the Triton, the Chinook helicopter program and a few other little programs we’re playing with at the moment.”

Aerospace is the company’s primary market, accounting for around 80% of its work. Within that segment, defence and civil aviation respectively represent about 60% and 40%, though the ratio can fluctuate. However, the company isn’t entirely restricted to things that take off and fly. It makes lightweight lifting systems for the Army, and composite launch tubes for submarines, just to mention a few. It has also produced automotive components, and even built solar cars.

To cover so many areas, Mincham boasts a significant range of capabilities, with engineering design, sheet-metal fabrication and machining processes complemented by welding, heat treatment and painting. The company’s ability to work both with metals and advanced composites – its workshop includes an autoclave and two curing ovens –gives it a further advantage over its competitors “Well, an aircraft is made out of all structures,” says Darryl. “Anything to do with structures, that’s our specialism. It’s good because it gives us the skillsets to understand how to combine domains like sheet metal and composite.”

Darryl explains how the company’s capabilities have evolved since 1996: “Around the ten-year mark we realised we had full MRO (maintenance, repair operations) through-life support capability. Then in the early 2000s we got prototype manufacturing up – we built up that capability. Then we built up the capability of full component fleet upgrades, low-rate production. And then we went to global supply chain low-medium rate production. As we’ve built these capabilities we’ve had to invest in government programs and highend accreditations and the like.”

To bolster its own in-house capability, Mincham is smart in the way it collaborates with external partners. The MALIN (Mincham Aviation Laterally Integrated Network) is a group of about ten companies through which Mincham can outsource work, increasing the manpower and equipment available while mitigating risk. The company is also active in industry bodies such as the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC), and initiatives such as the Australian Aerospace Alliance and the Australian Technology Innovation Alliance.

“We’re currently working with partners out of Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria...” says Darryl. “Because at the end of the day, the rest of the world when they talk about global supply chains, they don’t care what state you come from. All they want to know is you’re from Australia. If we’re going to be successful globally, we need to be thinking globally.”

Problem solvers The diversity of Mincham’s work and the sheer variety of its capabilities reflect an overall ethos at the company that prioritises solving problems for its clients, rather than letting any particular process dictate what it can or cannot do. Darryl cites an example involving specialised antenna systems that it makes for the Australian Navy’s Sea Hawk helicopters.

“These antennae have what’s called a rotor-wash issue – erosion from rotor wash,” he says. “So we had to use a specialised paint system from the US, and when we got the paint, we found out it needed a specialised gun and the suppliers in the States couldn’t supply one. The Navy needed the systems badly, so we went away and designed and built our own spray gun to do the job. And now we

Mincham Aviation Managing Director Darryl Mincham (right) and Chief Engineer Dave Betteridge.

hold Australia’s indigenous capability for that particular paint system.”

Not surprisingly, Mincham places a strong emphasis on skills, and this covers not only the latest state-of-the-art technology, but also more old-fashioned techniques. Alongside all the cutting-edge CNC machining and fabrication equipment in its workshop is a decadesold English wheel. Moreover, when the company has a major project, it will actually seek out industry veterans to bring in as mentors – even bringing them out of retirement. Darryl believes the loss of key skills is the biggest challenge facing Australian manufacturing.

“It’s been neglected,” he says. “I won’t say we’ve dumbed it down, but we’re almost down to that critical point with skillsets, where if we lose any more, it’s going to be almost a 20-year cycle to rebuild those skills. What we’ve seen over the last 20 years is a lot of the really smart mentors are now grey-beards who are entering their early sixties. And we’ve been negligent in passing those skill sets on. We’ve been way too risk-adverse. And now we’re looking at the rest of the world: we used to be one of the most innovative nations on the planet, and now we’re round 15th, 16th? We need to be in the top ten.”

Despite these challenges, Mincham is looking to the future. Within aerospace and defence, there are new projects in the pipeline, including intriguing plans to move into the field of electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) weaponry. In addition, the company is looking at other sectors to branch into, with its experience working with the Flying Doctors setting up a likely move into the medical space.

“What’s the secret for surviving in our industry?” says Darryl.

“Diversification, and being able to have a business model where you can control your own destiny. That’s essential. That’s one of the lessons we’ve learnt. We’ve had a couple of hard cycles like the GFC, and it’s a risky industry we play in. We do a lot of R&D work where you’re pushing frontiers, which keeps the interest up for the boys.

“One thing we love is being told something can’t be done. That’s like a red rag to a bull. We enjoy that.” www.minchamaviation.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

072

material removal

Haas F1 Team rolls out for Melbourne Grand Prix

The Haas F1 Team made its long-awaited Formula One debut at the Melbourne Grand Prix last month, and to mark the occasion, Haas Factory Outlet (HFO) Australia held a special open-house event on 18-19 March at its showroom in Broadmeadows, Victoria.

Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation, is already a prominent figure in US motorsports with the NASCAR team Haas CNC Racing. Having first confirmed his intent to launch a Formula One team in January 2014 – the first US team to enter the contest in nearly 30 years – it has been a long road to the start line, and the sense of anticipation was palpable at the HFO open house.

“It’s very exciting. We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” said Frank Ramirez, International Business Manager for Haas. “Obviously we’re hoping to use the Formula One platform to grow our brand world-wide like we do in the US with Nascar. Today’s open-house event and we’ve had a very good turn-out, a lot of customers and a lot of upbeat optimism.”

“The open house has been excellent,” added George Buhagiar, Director of HFOAustralia. “We’ve had a mix of existing customers and new customers who had not considered Haas before. And I think they were surprised with how well we’re set up here, and in particular with the commitment that we have to the Haas product here.

The HFO event included demonstrations of a range of Haas machines, including: the UMC-750 five-axis machining centre; the VF-3 vertical machining centre with HRC210 high-speed rotary table; the ST30SSY Y-axis CNC turning centre; the DS30SSY dual spindle Y-axis CNC turning centre with servo bar feed system; and the TL-2 tool room lathe. For Ramirez the highly competitive, innovative world of Formula One offers clear parallels with Haas’s cutting-edge machine tools that bolster the overall brand.

also the Haas F1 Team exclusively using Haas machine tools to manufacture parts, we’re tying the machine tool side of it with high-end sport.”

Alongside the business of machine tools, the event was also a celebration of the Melbourne Grand Prix, with merchandise and raffle prizes for guests. Two lucky visitors had a chance to win tickets to join the Haas team at the race itself, while everyone present was entered into a global raffle for an all-expenses-paid VIP trip to the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. And as the Haas F1 Team travels the world from race to race, it represents a chance for Haas to engage its customers while supporting local manufacturing.

“One thing about the Haas F1 team is we’re lucky enough to have customers worldwide at every one of the races or venues we’re going to be at it, in case we need a part,” says Ramirez. “Like yesterday, we needed a couple of parts, so we went to a local customer here in Melbourne, NDZ Industries, who actually produced the parts for the F1 Team. We’re using local machine shops to machine parts we might need at the last minute.

“Having the ability to use our local resources in whatever part of the world we’re at does give a little bit of advantage. And our customer was very appreciative. He was like ‘Hey I got to make parts for the new F1 team’. He was very excited about that.”

The VF-16 – Haas’s latest machine The Haas F1 Team’s first racecar, the VF-16, is the latest, fastest, most exciting machine to carry the famous Haas VF prefix. The car was officially revealed to the press on

21 February at the Circuit de BarcelonaCatalunya in Spain, where it began preseason testing the following day. Of all the Haas machines with VF nomenclature, the four-wheeled, Ferrari-powered model has been perhaps the most eagerly anticipated.

The dark grey, light grey and red-toned livery of the Haas VF-16 was derived from that of Haas Automation’s CNC vertical and horizontal machining centres, turning centres, and CNC rotary tables and indexers. Gene Haas founded Haas Automation in 1988, and it has subsequently grown into the largest machine tool builder in North America, with more than $1bn in annual sales. Based in Oxnard, California, Haas Automation employs around 1,300 people, and exports approximately 60% of its annual production to more than 60 countries. There are close to 185,000 Haas CNC machine tools installed around the world, supported by a network of 170 Haas Factory Outlets (HFOs).

“Just as Haas Automation’s CNC machine tools evolve continually, becoming better and more efficient as time goes by, our methodology behind the VF-16 was to make it the best evolution of a good F1 car,” explains Guenther Steiner, team principal for the Haas F1 Team. “As we’re a new team, we studied what the successful Formula One teams were doing, so we had a strong baseline for the direction we needed to go with our design.

“We need to go out there and show that we can do the job – that’s our first objective.

Then show we can finish races, that we are respected by the fans and other teams in the paddock and, of course, that we can score points. That’s the goal!”

“Any fan of motorsports really is a gearhead,” he says. “They like to work on mechanics, they like to work on parts. By being able to associate Formula One with our products, where we have partnerships with Ferrari and other motorsports companies, and

The Haas VF-16 racecar.

AMT Apr/May 2016

material removal However, Gutiérrez’s misfortune came to benefit his teammate Romain Grosjean.

The accident prompted officials to display the red flag. With all drivers required to return to the pit lane, the Haas crew took advantage and changed Grosjean’s tires from softs to mediums. The switch proved crucial, allowing Grosjean to outlast and outrun many of his counterparts to finish an impressive sixth.

Haas’ latest DT-2 and DM-2 machining centres.

Expanded lines While its move into Formula One has dominated the headlines lately, Haas remains a frontrunner in the field of machining technology, continuously expanding its range in this area. Most recently, Haas expanded its Drill/Tap/Mill product line with a pair of high-speed, Lean-style machining centres – the DT-2 and DM-2 – that provide the same high acceleration rates, fast axis speeds, and short tool change times as their smaller counterparts, while offering an additional 203mm of X-axis travel and table length – with only a slight increase in footprint.

The new DT-2 and DM-2 are identical in specifications, except for spindle taper and tool changer. The DT-2 is a BT30 taper machine, with a 15,000rpm inline directdrive spindle and a high-speed 20+1 sidemount tool changer. It is available with an optional 20,000rpm spindle. The DM-2 is a 40-taper machine, with a 15,000rpm inline direct-drive spindle and a high-speed 18+1 side-mount tool changer. The new DT and DM both allow high-speed rigid tapping to 5,000rpm, with up to four times retract speed to shorten tapping cycles.

For efficient chip removal, the DT-2 and DM-2 feature steeply sloped internal sheet metal. Optional twin chip augers transport chips to exit at the rear of the machine, allowing multiple machines to be placed close together. A rear chip-lift auger is also available for higher-volume applications. A 170-litre flood coolant system is standard, with options for a programmable coolant nozzle, and high-pressure through-spindle coolant systems. A wide selection of options is available to further boost productivity, including high-speed machining software, wireless tool and work probing, fourth- and fifth-axis capability, and much more.

Race day After the open-house event, it was time for the Grand Prix itself, and for the Haas F1 Team there was no shortage of drama on the day. On lap 17, Haas driver Esteban Gutiérrez was taken out of the race in a spectacular accident when his left-rear was clipped by the McLaren driven by Fernando Alonso. The impact launched Alonso into the air and sent Gutiérrez spinning into the gravel trap. Fortunately the two men walked away unscathed, but both Gutiérrez and Alonso were forced to retire from the race.

The result surpassed expectations, earning the Haas F1 Team eight points to place it fifth in the constructor standings. The last time a Formula One team scored points in its debut race was in 2002 when Mika Salo finished sixth for Toyota. The team were right pleased with the outcome, though Gene Haas noted that there’s still a long Formula One season ahead.

“There’s a new F1 team on the block, and it’s an American F1 team, so we’re real proud of that,” he said. “But these other teams are pretty dang good at what they do. I wouldn’t sit here and say we’re going to be in front of them all the time, but today was a good day.”

“Before the race started I got the opportunity to ask Gene Haas what he would consider to be an excellent result,” added Buhagiar.

“And his answer was that if they were anywhere between 10th and 15th he’d be very, very happy. So to achieve a sixth place result was unbelievable.” www.haasf1team.com www.haas-australia.com

Both machines offer a 508mm x 406mm x 394mm work cube and a 864m x 381 mm T-slot table. The increased table size, longer X-axis travel, and larger work envelope easily accommodate multiple fixtures and multi-spindle rotary tables for increased production and setup flexibility. However, their compact footprint still allows multiple machines to be placed side-by-side for efficient use of valuable shop floor space.

The spindle on both machines features a 11.2kW vector drive system that provides 62Nm of cutting torque. The spindles are coupled directly to the motors to reduce heat, increase power transmission, and provide excellent surface finishes. Cutting feed rates for both machines are 30.5m/ min, and 61m/min rapids and high acceleration rates combine to shorten cycle times and increase throughput.

Gene Haas (left) with Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean, and team principal Guenther Steiner.

AMT Apr/May 2016

073

074

material removal

Ronson Gears diversifies its business with Studer Amid the challenging manufacturing landscape of recent times, Ronson Gears has concentrated on diversifying into a wider range of industries and capabilities, investing in the best available manufacturing technologies to support this.

Ronson was established in 1954 and has gone from a manual gear manufacturing and machining shop to a CNC production facility with a key focus on utomation. The company employs 37 personnel and is ISO9001 and AS9100C certified.

With a growing aerospace and defence industry, Ronson Gears has focused on developing relationships with some of the world’s largest manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in this field. To support its endeavours, it achieved AS9100C certification by enhancing and developing sophisticated manufacturing systems and verification processes.

The company also sought out a machine that will enhance its competitive advantage. Investing in a Studer S145 internal and external cylindrical grinding machine from Headland Machinery, it is able to manufacture tight toleranced parts for any market. Gavin New, grandson to founder Ronald New, says the Studer has improved lead times and quality by bringing work back in-house.

aerospace market and by having the Studer S145, it gives Ronson Gears every chance to do so.”

“Typically we subcontracted all of our grinding work,” he says. “But now with the Studer, bringing that work back gives us greater control over the throughput of work, quality and cost, which is already benefiting our existing customer base.”

Studer has been synonymous with precision, quality and durability for decades. With 100 years experience producing world-renowned machine tools, the Studer S145 Internal Grinding machine guarantees high productivity and production quality.

The investment of the S145 will allow Ronson Gears to tap into the growing aerospace market, and produce the quality of work demanded by this industry.

“Our investments enable us to manufacture products to a high standard, that continually exceed customers’ expectations,” Gavin says. “We invested in the Studer because they have the reputation as a market leader and after working with the machine for a few months now we can certainly understand why.”

“We always endeavour to raise the bar from a quality perspective, that’s where the Studer comes into play,” adds Gavin. “There’s potential to win a substantial amount of work in the commercial

www.ronsongears.com.au www.headland.com.au

Camtech completes Kellenberger installation Camtech Engineering recently took delivery of a Kellenberger Kel-Vista high-precision CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine.

Based in Labrador, Queensland, Camtech organised full training for Camtech’s Engineering specialises in servicing grinding section staff by a Kellenberger the tooling needs of the rigid plastics Customer Application & Services Engineer, packaging industry and is recognised as encompassing all aspects of the machine. one of Australia’s leading blow moulding The new Kellenberger machine has a and injection moulding manufacturers. working range of 349mm in diameter by Established in 1988, the company 1000mm grinding length, to finish-grind specialises in precision toolmaking, components that involve demanding Tony Thornhill of Thornhill Machine Tools and providing new mould design development tolerance. It is fitted with a wheel head that Kellenberger Customer Application & Services and production in the plastic industry for features three grinding wheels on same Engineer Carlo Scruik with the new machine. clients through Australia and abroad. In centre line, enabling external, internal addition it offers a comprehensive range of and face grinding. The machine comes equipped with a Fanuc support, repair, service and technology update options for existing 0i control system, which gives Camtech the option to perform a moulds and dies. variety of other tool room work, including small-batch and highCamtech has an advanced workshop facility with a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art CNC machine tools giving it the capability to deliver a high level of efficiency and service. Its modern machine shop has been designed primarily to ensure Camtech can maintain the high levels of quality, support and service in its work for clients in across the mould and die industry both in Australia and overseas.

volume production in cylindrical and internal grinding.

To meet the demands of its customers, the team at Camtech are continuously looking at ways to improve their processes and capabilities. Consequently, in February, the company completed installation of a Kellenberger Kel-Vista Type UR 175/1000 highprecision CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine.

The new Kellenberger machine will give Camtech further highprecision capability in its grinding section, help to ensure that the company can continue to meet the challenging demands of clients requiring high-precision moulds & dies work both in Australia and internationally. According to the team at Camtech, the new Kellenberger machine is part of a program of ongoing updates planned for the machines and equipment in its plant so the company can always remain in a position to offer its customers the highest degree if precision in its grinding and delivery of parts for moulds and dies.

The installation was arranged by Thornhill Machine Tools, the Australian agent for Kellenberger. Thornhill Machine Tools also

www.camtecheng.com.au sales@thornhill.com.au www.kellenberger.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

SIMPLY POWERFUL & POWERFULLY SIMPLE. Let the power of My Pages put you head of the manufacturing curve.

Look up cutting data. Check a test report. View product availability.

Order a tool. Download 2D and 3D models. Generate program code. Quickly complete routine tasks anytime, anywhere with this user-friendly app.

MY PAGES. Your Digital Portal to Everything Seco.

SECOTOOLS.COM/MYPAGES

YOUR JOB JUST GOT EASIER.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE.

076

Cutting tools

Light cutting, versatile end mills set new benchmark

One of the most common tools found in the automatic tool changer (ATC) stations of machining centres and multi-tasking machines is the light cutting shoulder mill. This is because, apart from shoulder milling being one of the most prevalent machining operations, the cutters are versatile enough to be used for face milling, slot milling, ramping and more.

CoroMill 390 from Sandvik Coromant has for a long time been seen as the state-ofthe-art square shoulder end mill, and now the company is extending this successful concept with the addition of the smaller 07 insert size. This becomes the first choice for small diameter, light cutting applications on low-powered machines, where it offers impressive levels of versatility and productivity.

The objective for the Sandvik Coromant design and development team was clear: to create an extremely versatile cutter for productive milling in a wide range of operations and materials. The solution had to offer trouble-free, reliable milling performance, as well as easy-to-use insert clamping to increase process security. The result was CoroMill 390 tools with size 07 inserts, a product that has close synergies with two other Sandvik Coromant innovations: the Coromant EH modular system; and the new steel milling grade GC1130.

Customer input As with all Sandvik Coromant innovations, each is designed to address genuine machining challenges highlighted through extensive market research and customer feedback. Mixed production machine shops face the daily uncertainty of not knowing what jobs will come through the door next. This scenario, with different components and materials, means that having an optimised tool for each component feature is unfeasible. Instead, a set of tools is required that allows machine shops to produce whatever components are needed. Having the CoroMill 390 family of cutters, particularly with the extended 07 insert size, can be the difference between being able to service the needs of customers and having to turn down a new order due to lack of capability to produce the components.

a limited inventory. The coupling is selfcentring and facilitates quick and accurate cutter head exchange, which saves costs in regard to eliminating the need for additional dedicated tool assemblies. This is of course vital for shops using small machining centres with a limited number of stations in the ATC unit.

What’s more, the short tool assembly of an integrated machine adapter and cutter head with Coromant EH coupling gives high

Cylindrical shanks are a flexible solution suitable for numerous toolholding options.

On multi-tasking machines, undersized shanks can be used in different lengths and materials for stability and clearance when milling with long overhangs. The combined modularity of Coromant Capto and Coromant EH offers accessibility for hard-to-reach features. The versatility of CoroMill 390 is also favourable when the number of tool positions is limited on turning centres with driven tool holders.

The concept of ‘producing more with less’ – an increasingly prevalent industry trend – is facilitated further by multi-purpose end milling cutters capable of delivering top level performance. Here, investing in the modular system Coromant EH when choosing the coupling type will result in optimised tool holding options with CoroMill 390 application

AMT Apr/May 2016

productivity when the gauge line is critical.

Modular systems, which allow users to achieve the required reach and accessibility with a series of different shanks and adapters, will also help reduce the number of tool changes required. Factors such as these help ensure consistent profitability, which is the bedrock of machine shop operations the world over.

Cutting tools

CoroMill 390 with EH adaptor side view and screwdriver.

Of course, there is a common viewpoint that versatile tools are good at many things but not great at specific operations. Aware of this, Sandvik Coromant set about refining the performance of the new CoroMill 390 end mills to ensure they achieve the highest levels in many different machining tasks.

The cutters have been designed as the ideal choice for mixed production, as well as when a square shoulder end mill for a specific component feature is required.

Cutting edge innovation So, what technical features underpin such elevated performance levels? Well, firstly the end mill cutter bodies are produced in a new material with increased heat resistance. Secondly, parts of the range have been optimised with differential pitch for applications that are particularly prone to vibration.

Process security also featured highly on the agenda when developing CoroMill 390 inserts. With this in mind, the light cutting geometries and high performance grades of this cutter concept are designed to give secure milling in all material groups. For steel milling, the new first choice insert grade is GC1130, which is produced with Zertivo technology. GC1130 offers a new level of process security thanks to long and predictable tool life with a clean and intact edge.

The objective for modern machine shops is to deliver secure milling in operations such as pocket milling, where one of the major challenges is ensuring the efficient and secure opening of cavities. Here, the typical solution would be to use helical interpolation and linear ramping to create pockets from a solid workpiece, but this requires strong insert face geometry. As a consequence, inserts are required that can adhere the stress caused by steep ramping or demanding interpolation, giving a lowvibration process with even tool life.

evacuation and vibration. Indeed, these issues are exacerbated when milling with large engagements as vibration often accelerates tool wear. Here, light cutting geometry in combination with a cutter featuring optimised differential pitch can take care of this issue and offer a low vibration milling process. In a customer example involving slot milling, a subcontractor’s productivity was limited by its end mill as the two-insert cutter could only manage a cutting depth of 2mm.

However, when switching to a CoroMill 390 cutter with three size 07 inserts, the cutting depth was increased to 3mm. Furthermore, cutting speed could be increased by 33%, and spindle feed speed by 50%. The upshot was a gain in productivity equal to 225%. As a bonus, the burr formation caused by the previous tool was nowhere to be seen when milling with the new cutter.

For key slot milling, specifically, the CoroMill 390 cutter with size 07 inserts is available in dimensions designed purposely for key slots. With a tool diameter 0.3mm smaller than the slot width, a suitable amount of stock is left for the subsequent finishing operation.

When it comes to face milling, the goal for machine shops is usually high metal removal rates with good surface finish – an ambitious combination that is not easy to achieve. For this reason Sandvik Coromant has designed geometries for milling with low cutting forces, which prove ideal for facing surfaces that demand a shiny finish and close tolerances.

Process security To further improve process security in all types of milling operations, a new torque key is delivered with each cutter. Its built-in spring functionality makes it easy to mount inserts with correct clamping force, giving reliable and consistent tool life. Maintaining the process security theme, the cutters also offer internal coolant in operations where chips tend to get stuck – for example slots – and for machining of materials where elevated temperatures are undesirable.

In short, the new CoroMill 390 equipped with size 07 inserts for small diameters offers capability that is ideally matched to component features that have a cutting depth of up to 5.8mm. The smaller inserts deliver higher cutter-teeth density, giving superior output in many different milling operations. In combination with the new steel milling grade GC1130, productivity can be optimised. www.sandvik.coromant.com

In shoulder milling operations, closetolerance inserts and an exact insert position help produce shoulders without steps. The smooth cutting action of CoroMill 390 limits radial cutting forces, which provides machining with minimal bending and good wall perpendicularity.

Slot milling offers a set of different challenges, typically centred on chip

CoroMill 390 with Coromant Capto for small and medium machining centres.

CoroMill 390 improves process security in a variety of milling operations including shoulder, pocket and slot milling.

AMT Apr/May 2016

077

078

Cutting tools

Carbide inserts – Quantum leaps and steady progress

The relentless ascent of the (not so humble) carbide insert is characterised by both revolution and evolution.

Cemented carbide is a hard material used extensively in cutting tools intended for machining. Within an industrial context, references to carbide or tungsten carbide usually refer to this cemented composite.

segments were known by several names, such as throwaway tips, interchangeable inserts, or replaceable inserts. However, today the more widespread, generic term indexable inserts is used.

Carbide cutters deliver many advantages.

In the vast majority of cases, they provide a better surface finish on the machined part, and allow faster machining compared with high-speed steel (HSS) cutters. In addition, carbide tools can withstand higher temperatures at the cutter/ workpiece interface than standard HSS tools, which is the principal reason for their faster machining capability. Carbide usually provides superior performance for the cutting of tough materials such as highalloyed steel or stainless steel, as well as in situations where other cutting tools would wear away faster, such as when performing high-quantity, extended production runs.

The technology used in the manufacturing of the indexable inserts is based on powder metallurgy, comprising several manufacturing processes:

Industries began using cemented carbide for cutting metals in the 1930s. Since that time carbide has become by far the most popular material for production of cutting tools. While some tools that feature relatively small sizes are wholly produced from carbide, others use carbide in the cutting area only. Originally the cutting area consisted of a carbide tip brazed or soldered to a tool body. However, in the 1940s cutting tool manufacturers began to produce cutting tools with the advantage of replaceable carbide segments mechanically mounted on to the tool’s body.

This innovation, and the use of mechanical clamping, which provides much greater strength compared with the previous brazed connections, are now recognised as memorable milestones, not only in the area of tool manufacturing, but also in advancing the efficiency of all metalworking industries.

It led to impressive improvements in productivity within the area of machining operations.

It was immediately possible to increase the load on the tool and to intensify operational metal removal rates. In addition to ensuring the simple, economical replacement of the cutting element when worn or in case of breakage, this cost-effective method allowed the manufacturing of cutting segment and tool bodies to be divided.

Depending on the shape of the inserts used, they could be quickly indexed, ensuring the rapid change of a worn cutting corner by several methods, such as rotating the insert on its axis or by flipping it upside down. Initially the new cutting

AMT Apr/May 2016

• Preparing carbide powder (mixing).

• Pressing the powder (compacting).

• Sintering compact.

• Post-sintering processing.

• Coating.

In principle these stages have remained unchanged over many decades, though at the same time progress in science and technology has significantly impacted the manufacturing process of inserts. In the past, inserts were produced with manual machines. Hence, the application of various complex powder metallurgical processes was very difficult or even impossible.

The introduction of more progressive industrial equipment, featuring advanced automation and computer control, made the technological processes more stable, controllable and reliable. Consequently, the mechanical properties of manufactured inserts became more uniform, predictable and repeatable; these factors allowed dramatic improvements in terms of the accuracy of sintered inserts by reducing production tolerances.

Today, a typical insert production press is a highly engineered device that is computer controlled. A moveable punch can be made from several “sub punches”, each operated separately. Some press designs encompass multi-axial pressing options. The remarkable progress in press technology enables the production of complex shaped inserts that are characterized by variable corner heights.

This capability enables the realization of optimal cutting geometry, which guarantees not only smooth and stable machining but also the increased accuracy of a machined surface.

The milling insert H690 TNKX 1005 features marked differences in the height of the inserts’ corners.

Additionally, the advantages provided by modern CAD/CAM systems make it possible to improve the design and the shaping parts of pressing die sets. Also, the ability to simulate the pressing processes related to new sintered products, when they are at the beginning of their design stages, allows further design amendments and enhancements to be made.

Advanced new techniques, related to sintering insert masters, improves process quality. Gradient sintering of multi-carbide substrate ensures a thin upper layer with high cobalt content. This gradient layer produces an excellent barrier against development of cracks and guarantees increased resistance to brittleness and fracturing. Today, substrates of this type are common in tools intended for turning operations.

Until the 1980s carbide grades were uncoated. To make grades more universal and applicable to machining various engineering materials, tool manufacturers invented grades that contained various additives. The adoption of coating technologies has dramatically changed the world of machining; now the vast majority of carbide grades are coated. The addition of this new technology permitted the grades to focus on cutting specific material groups. The substrates contained fewer additives; therefore their structures became more uniform and stable, which further improved control during production.

The introduction of coated carbides and ongoing developments in this area enabled significantly increased cutting speeds. For example 30 years ago, when turning grey cast iron, the cutting speed used was approximately 100 metres/min for inserts made from IC20 (Iscar uncoated carbide grade). Today, the coated IC5005 allows speed values of up to 600 metres/min.

In another case, the milling of martensitic stainless steel during the same years was performed at about 80 metres/min for IC50M (Iscar uncoated carbide grade), but now 300 metres/min is the acceptable value when using IC5500 (Iscar coated grade). These numbers provide an excellent illustration of how coated carbides have allowed leaps in progress to be made in the area of cutting speeds.

Coating technology continues to develop in two principal directions: Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) and Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD). The main result of progress within the area of CVD was the

Cutting tools based super-alloys used extensively for applications where the ability to withstand high temperatures and high corrosion resistance properties are required. The material is widely used in the aerospace industry, in components that are placed in the hot section of the engine, and also in the oil industry.

The nanolayer structure of the coating of the IC807 carbide grade.

introduction of Alumina ceramic coatings.

This allows machining at elevated speeds due to its excellent temperature isolation properties, high hardness and chemical stability at high temperatures.

PVD coatings were introduced during the late 1980s. PVD coatings performed a gigantic step in overcoming the complex problems that prevented progress within the field of nanotechnology. PVD coatings brought a new class of wear-resistant nanolayered coatings. Such coatings are a combination of layers having a thickness of up to 50nm and demonstrate significant increases in the strength of the coating compared to conventional methods.

Modern technology allows both methods – CVD and PVD – to be combined for insert coatings, as a means of controlling coating properties. In particular, Iscar’s carbide grade DT7150 features a tough substrate and a dual MT CVD and TiAlN PVD coating.

This was originally developed to improve the productive machining of specialpurpose hard cast iron.

of cutting geometry are intended for manufacturing indexable inserts to meet the requirements of efficient machining dictated by modern metalworking industries.

Iscar’s recently developed grade IC6025 is intended specifically for turning materials related to ISO M group (austenitic and duplex stainless steel). The grade coating is a multi-layered coating that features post-coated treatment. The grade enabled significant improvements in productivity related to turning materials in the aerospace industry.

Among the very latest advanced carbide grades, Iscar has developed the IC806 grade for turning and grooving high temperature alloys. Iscar grade IC806 is a new complementary Sumotec PVD-coated grade for machining high-temperature alloys, especially Inconel 718.

Iscar’s new grade for Inconel 718 machining belongs to a family of nickel-

The microstructure of Inconel 718 consists of an austenitic structure possessing high tensile and yield strength. The major problems encountered when machining Inconel 718 are characterised by very high temperatures on the cutting edge of the insert; this is due to the abrasive elements in the materials composition (high nickel content of 50-55% and chrome 17-21%), which can cause high wear rates, chipping, notching and insert breakage. These factors contribute to reduced tool life and high deformation of the cutting edge, even at low cutting speeds.

Another complexity associated with Inconel is its tendency to become malformed; this is due to its metallurgical sensitivity to residual stresses and self-hardening effects during cutting operations. Iscar’s aim is to effectively machine this unique material, and it has therefore successfully developed the IC806. This is a submicron grade with TiAlN and Iscar’s Sumotec coating resulting in superior wear resistant properties. IC806 has a hard submicron substrate with PVD coating and a special post-coating treatment that provides substantially improved tool life and better reliability. www.Iscar.com.au

Another major advancement in insert technology relates to post-coating treatments. For instance, Iscar developed Sumotec, a treatment method for the already-coated surface of an insert.

The advanced Sumotec post-coating technology delivers improved strength and wear resistance to carbide grades, enabling higher productivity.

In CVD coatings, due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the substrate and the coating layers, internal tensile stresses are produced. Also, PVD coatings feature surface droplets. These factors negatively affect a coating and therefore shorten insert tool life. Applying Sumotec post-coating technologies considerably reduces and even removes these unwanted defects and results in increasing the tool life of the grade, as well as greater productivity.

Continuous developments in carbide insert technology have initiated several areas of development. Advanced methods of pressing and sintering, coating processes and post-coating treatments, new options for surface treatment and optimisation

A CVD coating’s surface before (left) and after (right) Sumotec post-coating treatment

The effect of Sumotec treatment on a PVD-coated surface: A – untreated, B – treated.

AMT Apr/May 2016

079

080

Cutting tools

Keeping local manufacturers at the cutting-edge

With the shift in the Australian manufacturing sector towards small to medium-sized niche operations comes the increasing demand for specialist high-performance cutting tool solutions.

The machining of complex parts with intricate forms and profiles has resulted in the need for local suppliers to deliver special cutting tools with unique geometries and advanced ceramic coatings in rapid delivery times. For over 10 years, Guhring has supplied customised cutting tools from its Production and Service Division based in Melbourne.

The major growth area has been the supply of custom-made solid carbide rotating cutting tools. The high-performance range includes step drills, form/profile end mills, special reamers, compression routers and clay model cutters. Encouraged by this success, Guhring has just announced a major new investment in CNC grinding and PVD coating equipment to further support local manufacturers.

Complete value-chain optimisation “High productivity, excellent economic efficiency and optimal machining have been the hallmarks of Guhring products for over 100 years,” says Brendan Smith, National Sales Manager at Guhring.

Guhring customers’ trust is well-founded, with tool material, geometry and coating all perfectly matched to one another.

Guhring’s revolutionary coating technology complemented by state-of-the-art R&D ensure its technological leadership in rotary cutting tools worldwide.

Guhring Australia sources carbide rods exclusively from its production plants in Germany to ensure the highest-quality materials. The grinding of special tools is done on state-of-theart Guhring-built CNC grinding machines and PVD coatings are deposited using advanced coating technology developed at the company’s coating machine building division in Berlin, Germany.

Investing in world-leading technology A new five-axis Guhring-built CNC grinding machine has been added to the production grinding division in Melbourne. Also a major upgrade of the PVD coating machine has helped to reduce delivery times and increase the range of products available. The technology in grinding and coating hardware is the same here in Australia as can be found in the production plants in Germany. The result is the latest technological advancements in CNC grinding and PVD coating technology available in the world.

“We are fortunate to be able to harness global expertise locally to best meet the strict delivery requirements of the most technologically astute customer,” says Christof Richartz, Managing Director of Guhring Australia.

Super-fast special tool delivery The time required to supply special carbide cutting tools is influenced by three factors: the supply of raw materials; the machine capacity in the grinding division: and access to an advanced PVD coating chamber. Guhring is a major supplier of carbide rods in Australia and keeps a large range of carbide blanks in stock in Melbourne.

In almost all cases, Guhring will have carbide blanks in stock and ready for grinding. The Guhring grinding division operates 24 hours per day during the week, as well as regular weekend shifts to keep delivery times at a minimum. Its team of highly skilled staff are specialists in small batch production of complex and intricate cutting tools.

The new CNC grinding machine has further increased capacity to help reduce delivery times even further. Nowadays most metal cutting applications use advanced PVD coatings to increase the performance of cutting tools. The on-site PVD coating division at Guhring operates two shifts per day and provides a rapid coating service for special cutting tools. Urgent orders can be PVD-coated and ready for shipment within hours of grinding.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Cutting tools

Grooving and cutoff made easy – Beyond Evolution In a manufacturing world of growing complexity, a straightforward solution that works excellently and saves money can be a breath of fresh air. Acccording to Kennametal, in grooving and cut-off, Beyond Evolution is that solution.

Drawing on global design support Guhring has more than 47 service centres in all corners of the world.

To help maintain the highest standards in special tool production, the company uses a central tool design database located at Guhring’s Headquarters in Germany. This can be accessed online directly by the Melbourne office.

The online SAP-integrated database uses Guhring’s own standard tool templates for designing special tool types such as step drills, profile end mills and reamers. All special tools are designed to the highest international standards within minutes. The custom designs are then allocated a unique tool number. Production as well as customer approval drawings are issued via email.

Using such a centralised system allows Guhring to design special high-performance tools anytime, anywhere around the world to the exact same standard.

Minimising machine downtime An important aspect of maintaining short turnaround times for special cutting tools is to keep machine downtime to a minimum.

This is achieved by keeping all production equipment serviced and maintained to the highest possible level.

At Guhring, the machines are built by its machine building division in Germany. Service, maintenance and upgrades are done by the same technicians that built the machines in the first place. The production staff working at the subsidiaries and the producers of the machines in Germany work for the same company. This creates an alignment of knowledge that helps to minimise machine downtime and encourage the upgrading of machines with the latest hardware and most up-to-date software.

Performance snapshot The combination of a large carbide stock, in-house CNC grinding and PVD coating makes Guhring the one-stop-shop for the supply of special tools in the fastest delivery times.

The success of small-to-medium niche manufacturers of specialised and complex parts has resulted in a growth in demand for custom-made precision cutting tools. Guhring has recognised this growth and responded by expanding its local production and service division with the installation of a new five-axis CNC grinding machine and a major upgrade of its advanced PVD coating unit.

‘Easy to choose, easy to use’ became the foundation of Beyond Evolution’s development. The goal to offer a system that was less complicated to navigate and select, complemented by an equally simple approach to using it, but Kennametal didn’t stop there, according to Filosemi. In developing Beyond Evolution, the team questioned every detail to enhance our customers’ experience. With deep design and innovative engineering experience, Kennametal pioneered the most versatile highperformance platform to enter the market.

Beyond Evolution is a single-sided grooving and cut-off system for deeper grooving capability than double-ended systems.

A proprietary Triple V design with top, bottom, and backside V-shaped seating in the holder pocket creates a pull-in effect for exceptionally high stability for deep grooving, face grooving, side turning, and profiling, among other applications.

Beyond Evolution will groove deeper than doubleended systems, turn with 90% of the stability, and allow interchangeability regardless of geometry or application. It offers tighter indexing tolerances, longer cutting depths, and new plunge and turn geometries.

The most visible result of Beyond Evolution’s ‘one system for all applications’ design is the most requested: fewer items – up to 35% compared with competitors. This makes Beyond Evolution easy to choose in addition to easy to use, reducing inventory and expenses. And where conventional product launches focus on a single line item, Beyond Evolution will be launched in multiple grades for dozens of applications – a full line offering that promises higher performance and reduced costs immediately.

Whether you’re digitally native or prefer print, more details, including grade descriptions, feed and speed recommendations, and full ordering information are available in the new Innovations 2016 catalogue from Kennametal. Moreover, Beyond Evolution is available through Novo, Kennametal’s digital process knowledge application. Available on iPad and other digital devices, Novo helps users define machining features, such as profiling or grooving in specific work materials, and then immediately reduces the product set to those like Beyond Evolution that can do the job. This provides far more useful process knowledge than any online catalogue alone, all obtained in a fraction of the time. www.kennametal.com

The investment has significantly increased Guhring’s capacity to produce special carbide tools to meet unique customer demands.

Guhring has committed to delivering the fastest possible delivery times by operating the grinding division 24 hours per day and the coating service running two shifts per day. It all comes down to delivering sharper, more agile thinking required in today’s highly competitive manufacturing world. www.guhring.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

081

082

Transport & Logistics

Maintaining loading capacity at Port of Newcastle

Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) implemented a condition-based maintenance solution supplied by Rockwell Automation to ensure the long-term coal loading capacity at the Port of Newcastle. The Integrated Condition Monitoring (ICM) solution provides coverage of the coal loading operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week to minimise unplanned downtime and help improve overall productivity with minimal onsite personnel.

The Port of Newcastle is the largest bulk shipping port on the east coast of Australia and the world’s leading coal export port. NCIG owns and operates one of Australia’s major coal export terminals with proximate rail, storage and shiploading facilities and associated infrastructure.

The XM Series of Intelligent I/O modules from Rockwell Automation allows for the seamless integration of vibration and temperature monitoring sensors.

NCIG’s terminal has been operating since 2010 and services coal mines in the Newcastle, Hunter Valley, Gunnedah, Gloucester and Western Coalfields of New South Wales by providing access to port infrastructure to export mainly their thermal and sometimes metallurgical coal production to the world market. To meet the requirements of growing exports from the Port of Newcastle, the Terminal was expanded to provide an overall export capacity of 66m tonnes per annum (Mtpa) in June 2013.

A key focus of NCIG’s operational strategy is to operate continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the minimum number of staff. To achieve this, the latest integrated control systems were required to provide site-wide access to condition monitoring data in a timely manner. The Integrated Architecture platform from Rockwell Automation allows for the seamless integration of vibration- and temperature-monitoring sensors, providing the capability for NCIG to implement a preventative condition-based maintenance strategy.

Predictive monitoring perfection There are three key components of the NCIG terminal; the inbound system, stockyards and outbound system. The inbound system unloads trains and feeds coal into the stockyard area, it incorporates rail sidings and rail balloon loop, dump stations and two inbound sampling stations. There are five stockyards in total with four combined stacker reclaimers. The stockyard provides for stacking coal, then storing the coal before reclaiming the coal to send to the wharf. The outbound system loads coal into vessels and incorporates two buffer bins, two outbound sample stations, two shiploaders and three wharves.

The key objective of the condition monitoring solution was to provide an automated system that can help predict system failures and prevent and minimise downtime. According to Scott Liddell, senior electrical engineer at NCIG: “We load coal into our ships at around 10,500 tonnes per hour so every minute that we are down from an unexpected incident results in the loss of approximately 175 tonnes of coal. Each hour of downtime costs a whole train full of coal so we needed a reliable system that could predict any failures before they occurred.”

Stacker/reclaimer machines in operation.

AMT Apr/May 2016

The Rockwell Automation XM Series of Intelligent I/O modules were used to provide real-time processing of critical measurements used in assessing the health and predicting the future health of the system.

“The condition monitoring system deployed on site uses around 2,200 field sensors to provide an advanced warning if something is about to go wrong, allowing scheduled maintenance to be performed to avoid the costly downtime associated with unplanned stoppages across the whole plant,” said Gavin Black, Product Manager for CompactLogix, SLC, KNX and ICM at Rockwell Automation.

The Allen-Bradley accelerometers and temperature sensors are the two main types of field sensors used to measure vibration and temperature. These sensors were wired back into the XM series dynamic measurement module and connected via Ethernet to the ControlLogix automation controller to rapidly transfer information from the field module.

The Rockwell Automation XM system provides vibration data to the control system in multiple parameters including overall vibration, spike energy and frequency bands. The overall vibration levels provide a general condition of asset health, whilst the spike energy and frequency bands are specific to fundamental frequencies, providing both process and maintenance intelligent advisories when changes occur.

Transport & Logistics The Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group terminal.

Software saves downtime Condition monitoring data is used by the plant’s SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system to display in real time the vibration and temperature levels on all measuring points, as well as trends, and so alert the operator of any significant condition monitoring events that could potentially cause an unplanned stoppage of the plant. Additionally, data of vibration levels is stored in the plant historian, and detailed spectral vibration information is captured and stored using the Rockwell Automation Emonitor software, which is analysed by condition-monitoring technicians to detect equipment trending towards failure.

“The Emonitor software is a key to the success of the predictive monitoring system as it provides the capability for both historical trend analysis as well as real time data viewing,” says Liddell.

“Anything that is picked up as out of the ordinary with real-time monitoring of the vibration levels is then referred to the Emonitor system for further investigation.”

The terminal has already benefited from the early detection of faults that if ignored, could have resulted in catastrophic failures on numerous occasions.

and repaired before it could result in any unplanned equipment downtime.

Securing long-term loading capacity “The Integrated Control and Conditioning Monitoring is an important part of our everyday monitoring of the plant in real time,” says Liddell. “It shows us the failures we need to see to minimise any unplanned downtimes By integrating with the terminal’s existing networks and controls systems, the condition monitoring system provides an open source of asset reliability and introduces the capability for automated recommendations and actions.

“The condition monitoring system identifies at least ten pending failures per year,” Liddell adds. “And at an average repair time of ten hours per incident, the downtime saved is very significant to the business.”

As testament to the success of the system, NCIG is currently extending the condition monitoring capabilities across the remaining parts of the plant not yet covered by the system. www.ncig.com.au www.rockwellautomation.com

“The condition-monitoring solution identifies at least 10 vibration abnormalities each year that if left unchecked, would cause significant unplanned downtime,” explains Liddell.

Gearbox coupling faults are a common example of a situation where an abnormal vibration frequency has been detected and further investigated. In one case, a low-frequency vibration was detected throughout the boom conveyer gearbox that was identified as an output shaft turning speed. The trends of the fault were retrieved and analysed using the Emonitor software, the couplings were removed and tested and the coupling fault detected (a hairline crack).

In another example, excessive vibration at the frequency of input speed, together with harmonics, were detected throughout the gearbox and indicated excessive clearances surrounding the input shaft bearing. This gearbox input shaft looseness fault was verified

Coal train unloading in operation.

AMT Apr/May 2016

083

084

Transport & Logistics

Bike manufacturing on rise as cars take back seat

A high-end bike manufacturing industry is emerging in South Australia as the state’s car making sector winds down.

The global bicycle industry was worth US$48bn in 2014, driven by the sale of about 133m bikes. It is expected to reach an estimated US$65bn by 2019 on the back of rising fuel prices and growing traffic congestion. Boutique bicycle manufacturers Astir Frames, Bouwmeester Composites and Finch Composites are taking advantage of SA’s strong manufacturing history and access to university testing facilities to gain a foothold in the potentially lucrative cycling market.

and CEO Mello Bouwmeester brought the composites work to Adelaide after previously manufacturing overseas.

Astir Frames specialises in longlasting tailor-made titanium bicycles.

The bikes are built using parts from around the world and assembled in Adelaide. Astir’s founder James Moros said the decline of the automotive industry in the state was opening doors for him. General Motors Holden’s car manufacturing plant in Adelaide will close next year, costing thousands of jobs not only at the plant but also at component manufacturers that have supplied it for decades.

Finch Composites is another company showing promise. The company is working on prototype carbon wheels equipped with disc brakes for racing bikes.

“If there are factory machines that are idle, I’ll ask to use them. I’m not scavenging, but I’m utilising available equipment that other people aren’t using at the time,” he says. “Titanium is a beautiful material. It is precious, low maintenance, and you can leave it out for years without painting it.”

Moros has exhibited at the Tour Down Under, the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest cycling race, for the past two years, and said it was a great opportunity to showcase his brand.

SA has hosted the Tour Down Under since 1999. The state has also produced many of the nation’s best riders, including Rohan Dennis, Stuart O’Grady and Jack Bobridge.

“People who bought my bikes saw me and talked about how pleased they were with them,” says Moros. “It’s a testament that the bikes that I made for them are working fantastically.”

Astir Frames sold 30 bikes last year and is on track to increase sales by more than 30% this year.

Bouwmeester Composites is another company that has found success in SA. Since the launch of its product at the end of 2014, sales have been in line with the forecasts with 50% of sales contributed coming from exports. The company manufactures highperformance carbon-fibre wheels for off-road racing bikes. Founder

AMT Apr/May 2016

“We wanted to have total control over our manufacturing and intellectual property,” he says. “Manufacturing in SA allows for us to speed up our R&D cycle and also maintain strict quality control practices. A wheel set sells for $3,500, which is competitive against some of the big overseas brands that predominantly have their wheels made in Asia.”

The International Cycling Union is allowing the use of disc brakes in 2016 and if this testing phase is a success, disc brakes will be permitted across the sport from 2017. Finch is looking to partner with car component manufacturers who are looking to shore up new business ahead of the Holden closure. Finch co-founder Ben Tripodi says he was able to work with one of the local universities to test the quality of the products.

“We partnered with Flinders University last year and we had access to their computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which allowed us to simulate many different wind conditions,” says Tripodi. According to Tripodi, disc brakes increase the stopping performance for cyclists and the extra responsiveness makes them safer.

“It allows them to brake a lot later so they can keep their maximum speed a lot longer into a corner, particularly downhill,” says Tripodi. “Our target market really is professionals like lawyers and accountants who like to ride on the weekend but have the money to spend and demand the highest quality and professional racers. We believe the majority of them we can sell in Australia however, we do really want to target the American market.”

Prototype manufacture and final testing of Finch’s carbon wheels is expected to take place in the coming months, with the first production run coming towards the end of the year. www.astirframes.com www.bouwmeester.com.au www.finchcomposites.com

Transport & Logistics

Custom orders require flexibility in production and logistics

Eliminating waste and reducing inventory are key principles of Lean production. Unfortunately, this goes against everything needed for a flexible, made-to-order production line. However, factors such as operating equipment and materials can still be used economically and efficiently if the production concept is flexible enough.

With the internet, customers can create a dream car in moments. Model, colour, equipment, engine… you can customise almost every detail. However, this has an immense impact on production and logistics. All components must be ready for the production line for the car to be ready as soon as possible. The real challenge is making sure exactly the right components are available at exactly the right time.

Thanks to the RFID solutions by SICK, this is possible.

Mass-scale production is a thing of the past; nowadays, products are made-toorder. As such, there is always a risk that a particular piece of equipment will not be available at the point in production when it is required. Now, using the right combination of automatic identification technology solutions, companies can know exactly where a component is at all times. As a result, production downtime is minimised.

The higher the degree of customisation, the more information the manufacturer must collect, process and evaluate during production. Every stage of the process must be monitored and documented using the same form of technology, leaving no margin for error. Moreover, until recently the need to ensure continuity and traceability across all stages posed a real difficulty for manufacturers and their sensor suppliers.

Once a car body has been painted, bar codes and Data Matrix codes become invisible, while individual punched plates and active RFID tags are too expensive for consistent use. Furthermore, identification labels attached to assembly carriers are not a safe enough solution. Vehicles move between different assembly carriers several times throughout the construction process, meaning that this solution could result in a great deal of confusion. The car body must be clearly labelled at the start of the production process, using a solution that remains visible throughout every stage in the production process – even in the paint shop where temperatures can reach up to 220 degrees Celsius.

In a bid to solve the issue, SICK took the requirements and used them to adapt RFID technology. The result? The RFU630 read/ write device using UHF (ultra-high frequency) technology. Its read/write attributes have been adapted to the applications used in the automotive industry. Specially designed

for easy integration, the RFU630 meets all the requirements set out for vehicle production processes.

The transponder is a stable RFID label, which is resistant to extreme temperatures, but still cost-effective. Attached to the body’s lower platform, the reliable label accompanies the vehicle right from the start of the production process. The body-ID also manages to survive the paint process unharmed, making mix-ups almost impossible.

Mercedes-Benz’s plant in Rastatt, Germany, manages its tagged vehicles using UHF-RFID devices at a various work and treatment stations, right to final assembly. After pre-treatment, car bodies are dried in an oven at approximately 180 degrees Celsius. This would put stress on most RFID systems because highfrequency reflections can impair data transmission between the transponders and the read/write devices. However, SICK’s RFID systems can withstand all hot and metalwork-heavy production processes. With approximately 350,000 readings per day in the system, accuracy is vital. SICK’s RFID solutions offer a reading accuracy of 99.98 %.

Ford is currently running a pilot material management project at its plant in Saarlouis, Germany, where it is testing an electrical overhead conveyor for engine components. The plant currently produces around 1,600 vehicles a day. Using SICK’s RFID technology, Ford has been able to document all stages of its production process, from construction of the car body to delivery of the finished product to the customer. In future, this could be extended to include repair processes, special applications, and management of loading processes. According to Dr

Klaus Schmitz, Project Manager at Ford, ensuring flexibility across all production and logistics processes would give Ford a real advantage.

Until the completed cars are ready to be picked up and transported to dealerships, they are left in large parking lots. The problem occurs when it comes to finding a car that must be transported. If a car is parked in the wrong area, it may take hours to locate it. However, when information is stored on an RFID tag, the correct car is can be located and loaded up in no time.

Traceability helps companies avoid costly recalls and limit the extent of damage. For example, if a faulty component is found in a car, the company must find out which parts were used. More importantly, it must find out how many other cars are equipped with the faulty component. To ensure complete transparency in vehicle parts, manufacturers are planning to document every single component in every single vehicle in future. To achieve this, they will mark all important components with transponders, which are captured in their assembled state during the production process. SICK has created suitable RFID gates for this purpose and also offers customers its expertise in commissioning and improving reading points. Likewise, it provides manufacturers’ suppliers with RFID technology at component level.

The high-resolution identification technology enables manufacturers to trace every individual step, so they always know which models are affected and what numbers are involved. In the event of a recall, they can identify all cars that contain the component that must be repaired or replaced. www.sick.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

085

086

Welding

Cryospeed – Driving down welding consumables costs for mining manufacturer

Mining manufacturer 3D Engineering Services contracted BOC to implement an end-to-end Cryospeed gas supply solution that has delivered a 20% cost reduction in welding consumables and enabled the company to deliver superior products to its large mining customers.

Based in Mackay, Queensland, 3D Engineering in Mackay is one of the top mining suppliers of engineering solutions in Australia and manufactures heavy earthmoving equipment, buckets and truck bodies. With over 80 years combined experience in the management team in servicing the mining, agriculture and coal ports sector, 3D Engineering offers integrated engineering solutions for its customers by combining workshop facilities, on-site labour and support, site measurement and design/drafting capabilities, quality control and safe work practices. Mining customers include many large companies operating in the Bowen Basin, such as Rio Tinto, Thiess, Downer EDI, DBCT, BMA and BHP Billiton, along with local industries.

BOC approached 3D Engineering to help increase efficiencies in its manufacturing workshop and improve the company’s ability to service customers after a slowdown of mining projects across Australia. According to Tony Muscat, Business Development Manager at 3D Engineering, a significant amount of time was being spent by the team to manually keep an inventory of manifold cylinder packs (MCPs) being used for its welding operations.

“Our welders were working at welding bays that were connected to a MCP,” says Muscat. “When you factor in the ten minutes it took to replace and reconnect an empty MCP, it was becoming quite costly.

We also had to keep two reserve MCPs so we had to pay significant rental fees for each.”

The solution After conducting a full analysis of 3D Engineering’s workshop gases and welding infrastructure, BOC’s expert technicians identified that its Cryospeed solution could immediately produce greater efficiencies that would reduce production costs and save money. Cryospeed is an intermediate gas supply solution between MCPs and bulk supply. Cryospeed is ideal for mining workshops and facilities that use between 50 and 450 cubic metres of welding gas per week.

BOC worked with 3D Engineering to transition its storage setup from MCPs to a single Cryospeed Cryotank gas storage vessel installed outside its workshop. A copper pipeline was utilised to supply

AMT Apr/May 2016

gas from the vessel to each individual welding bay.

“This unique mid-size storage solution was perfect for us because our gas supply needs were greater than MCPs but not enough to warrant getting a bulk storage vessel,” says Muscat.

Since adopting the new storage and gas supply solution to its welding workshop, 3D Engineering has reduced its welding consumables costs by 20% and saved significant time, which the team can now spend servicing its customers.

“Migrating to the Cryospeed solution has provided us with a fast, steady supply of gas and has eliminated the need to reorder our gas,” Muscat adds. “Our team no longer needs to keep an inventory of MCPs as our Cryospeed vessel is replenished automatically by BOC’s Cryospeed truck.

Our supply is now lasting us 14 days instead of seven days, which has reduced our service and delivery costs.

“It has also reduced the space needed to store multiple MCPs on site and improved safety as welders do not need to manually connect the MCP to the workshop’s welding mains.” www.boc-limited.com.au

BOC launches EWM Taurus range BOC has announced the latest addition to its EWM welding product line with the launch of the EWM Taurus range, featuring four welding machines suitable for light engineering projects right through to heavy industrial tasks.

With the Taurus range, BOC brings the latest German welding technology to Australia, offering patented upgrades that will increase welding efficiencies for stainless steel, carbon steel, low alloy steel and aluminium alloy fabrication.

According to Richard Fowles, BOC Welding Product Manager, the range has three basic models and one advanced model, all featuring a modular design allowing easy customisation of the welding packages during their lifecycle.

“The modular design of the Taurus welding range offers excellent flexibility with the power source, wire feeder and trolley – all separate components, making it easier to upgrade or conduct maintenance checks,” says Fowles.

“They are also smaller, lighter and more efficient than previous models.

“The Multimatrix Taurus 405 Synergic model contains several patented

controlled processes, giving the operator more control and better efficiency in the workshop. It is also compatible with the recently launched EWM xNet welding software, giving operators the ability to record and track data from the machine in real-time.”

The Taurus range caters for a wide range of markets from light to heavy engineering. All four machines include a three-year warranty on the power source and an extended warranty period on the rectifier and transformer. www.boc.com.au

087

welding

EB Fusion – Specialists in electron beam welding

Based in West Melbourne, EB Fusion specialises in electron beam welding (EBW), a metal joining technique used to create high-integrity welded joints.

The advantages of EBW include a high power density with very low overall heat input and therefore minimal distortion. EB welded parts require a minimal, if any, post-weld machining and unlike other fusion welding processes, they require no shielding gases. The weld quality is exceptional, with deep penetration and a narrow fusion zone resulting in near parent metal strength.

EBW is used for joining ferrous metals, light metals, and precious metals and their alloys to themselves or to each other, such as aluminium, nickel, copper, stainless steel, platinum, titanium, tungsten and tantalum. Typical applications include aerospace, automotive, marine and integrated electronics.

The low heat input means that, for example, internally mounted, heat sensitive electronic packages may be sealed in a welded enclosure without damage.

EB Fusion provides a unique EBW service to industry Australiawide, in conjunction with high-precision CNC turning and engineering capabilities, with a specific focus on metals and engineering thermoplastics such as polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

The electron beam welding system The EBW system is composed of an electron beam gun, a power supply, control system, work piece motion equipment, and vacuumwelding chamber. Fusion of the base metals eliminates the need for filler metals. The vacuum requirement for operation of the electron beam equipment eliminates the need for shielding gases and fluxes.

The electron beam gun has a tungsten filament, which is heated, freeing electrons. The electrons are accelerated from the source with high voltage potential between a cathode and anode. The stream of electrons then passes through a hole in the anode. The beam is directed by the magnetic forces exerted by focusing and deflecting coils.

This beam is directed out of the gun column and strikes the workpiece.

The potential energy of the electrons is transferred to heat upon impact with the workpiece and cuts a perfect hole at the weld joint. Molten metal fills in behind the beam, creating a deep, finished weld. The electron beam stream and workpiece are manipulated by means of precise, computer-driven controls, within a vacuum welding chamber that consequently eliminates oxidation or contamination.

EBW offers a variety of benefits. It delivers the maximum possible weld penetration with the least amount of heat input, while causing minimal distortion and a narrow heat-affected zone (HAZ). EBW offers a high welding speed and can often reduce the need for secondary operations. Due to it being a computer-controlled process, EBW allows extreme precision and high levels of reproducibility, producing a clean, strong, homogenous weld under vacuum without the need for filler material. The vacuum environment also eliminates atmospheric contaminants in the weld. Exotic alloys and dissimilar materials can be welded. EBW frequently yields a zero-percent scrap rate, and it can be employed to salvage and repair both old and new components.

The vacuum chamber dimensions at EB Fusion measures 300mm x 300mm x 300mm, with a range of chamber extensions developed for specific job requirements. The system at EB Fusion can be configured to produce circular or rotary orientated weld paths, utilising a CNC rotary axis drive. www.ebfusion.com.au

EBW allows the welding of dissimilar metals such as nickel and copper.

Your advertising never sleeps with AMT

Market your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from only $250 per week.

Your Industry. Your Magazine.

1305aMT

AMT & AMTIL Digital Media Kit 2016 Call Anne Samuelsson at AMTIL on 03 9800 3666, mobile on 0400 115 525 or email asamuelsson@amtil.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

088

Forming & Fabrication

RAS XLT Bend: Complex parts made easy Want to form complex precision sheet metal parts – such as cassettes, panels and boxes – and improve productivity at the same time? The RAS XLT Bend UpDown folder is a perfect fit.

The shortage of skilled workers is expected to grow, but customers are always looking for intelligent solutions to produce faster, more efficiently and more accurately. Where once long programming times and high expertise were necessary, today one click is all it takes. This is where the RAS XLT Bend comes into a world of its own.

Now available in Australia from Sheetmetal Machinery Australia, the RAS XLT Bend is an impressively flexible UpDown folding machine, with 4,060mm x 2.5mm or 3,200mm x 3mm mild steel capacity.

Along with innovative mechanical components, the CNC’s OneClick Programming is certain to be a production highlight.

The folding beam is a revolutionary new design that has been proven to reduce deflection by 20x over the bend line, without the need for adjustment. Bent parts no longer need to be flipped, as the folding beam is capable of automatically avoiding prebent flanges.

Even the folding beam pendulum, critical for changing the folding beam direction, is driven with two servo-electric motors. This eliminates the mechanical changeover of pendulum blocks when using different folding beam tool widths, shortening the tool setup process and achieving additional productivity.

automatically clamped in place. Between the lower beam tools, it is possible for the back-gauge fingers to move as close as 10mm from the bend line.

The latest innovation from RAS is a brand new hybrid gauging system. The blank is held in place against the backstop fingers by a vacuum system, so that subsequent bends can be positioned without the help or handling of an operator. As soon as the blank needs to be rotated, the pop-up fingers descend automatically below the table surface, in order to ease the operator’s manipulation of the workpiece.

Where experience and expertise were formerly required for programming, this intelligence is now embedded in the machine software. Either the operator on the floor or engineer in the office directly imports STEP, DXF, or GEO files, and that’s it! A mouse click is all that’s required to program the complete set-up and bend sequence automatically.

RAS has enlarged free space in front and in the rear of the XLT Bend’s upper beam tools. The 155mm tall tools continue to have the strength for the maximum capacity of the machine. Additionally, it is now possible to have tooling up to 300mm tall, permitting even deeper box depths for additional capability. The upper and folding beam tool segments are simply placed into the tool rail and are

To complement the newest folding concept, the RAS XLT Bend includes two 60cm monitors for operation. These are mounted on the machine sides, with the ability to tilt and adjust for the most ergonomic use by any operator. RAS makes it possible for the XLT Bend to be operated from either the front or rear. An integrated light band indicates the operation status of the machine.

When several strategies are available to form the imported part, the CNC control shows alternative sequences and ranks each with a five-star rating to simplify the best strategy for production.

The operator has the option to simulate each strategy in 3D. Once the operator evaluates and selects a strategy, all that remains is to press the Start button to begin the precision forming. www.sheetmetalmachinery.com.au

SecturaFAB: Simplifying the business of metal fabrication SecturaSOFT LLC, an emerging leader of web-based metal fabrication business applications, has unveiled its newest offering: SecturaFAB. Developed especially for the metal fabrication industry, SecturaFAB streamlines sales, production and invoicing processes through a platform that easily integrates with existing CRM, CAD/CAM, and financial systems.

SecturaFAB is designed for steel fabricators, job shops and service centres seeking to boost efficiencies while slashing time and costs of ineffective quoting systems.

SecturaFAB brings benefits by integrating the sort of time-consuming tasks that can drive down profitability. An intuitive quoting module guides sales staff to create consistent estimates or quotes, which estimates and quotes can then be converted into orders/work orders for financial and production team members to track. The system is scalable to grow with changing customer requirements, and as a web-based application it accessible from anywhere.

“During my 25 years in the metal fabrication industry I talked to countless metal fabricators,” says SecturaSOFT President & CEO, Pierre Slabber. “The more I listened the more convinced I became that software tools were part of the problem rather than the solution.

Software had become needlessly complex, rigid, and costly.”

“While other manufacturing software vendors continued their race to add needless complexity, we at SecturaSOFT concentrated on delivering the core concepts of simplicity, reliability, and integration,” adds Slabber. “SecturaFAB ties together all areas of the business – from quoting through production and invoicing. It’s that simple.” www.secturasoft.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

Hotspots is proudly owned and managed

by AMTIL

Look further from a higher vantage point.

•

You need a specific component made, but don’t have the capabilities in house.

•

Your company has landed a major project, but your workshop or your workforce just aren’t big enough to handle the volume required.

•

Your business is diversifying into an area where the expertise available within the company is not sufficient.

HotSpots is a service designed to connect AMTIL members with opportunities to help their businesses grow. That piece of work that you need done might be just the sort of opportunity they’re looking for. And by featuring that opportunity as a HotSpot, you gain access to a wealth of Australian manufacturing capability and expertise.

Our regular AMTIL HotSpots email goes out to over 1,000 people every month, making HotSpots an incredibly powerful way to reach large numbers of key decision-makers from across the manufacturing sector.

Provided your opportunity meets our criteria for listing, inclusion in AMTIL HotSpots is free. If you have something you feel will meet our criteria, please forward it to AMTIL for assessment by emailing info@amtil.com.au with the subject line HOTSPOT. www.amtil.com.au/Membership/Hotspots

1285AMTIL2016/2

090

Quality & Inspection

Focus variation – A technology for high-res optical 3D surface metrology Optical non-destructive methods for 3D surface metrology have become increasingly important in contrast to traditional tactile measurement techniques. Alicona’s InfiniteFocus optical 3D measurement system utilises focus variation technology to perform quality assurance processes both in the lab and in production.

In contrast to traditional tactile methods, InfiniteFocus is able to perform 3D measurements without touching the surface. It measures whole areas instead of only surface profiles, and delivers true colour information in addition to the 3D data.

Focus variation combines the small depth of focus of an optical system with vertical scanning to provide topographical and colour information from the variation of focus. The main component of the system is a precision optic containing various lens systems that can be equipped with different objectives, allowing measurements with different resolution.

With a beam splitting mirror, light emerging from a white light source is inserted into the optical path of the system and focused onto the specimen via the objective. Depending on the topography of the specimen, the light is reflected into several directions as soon as it hits the specimen via the objective. If the topography shows diffuse reflective properties, the light is reflected equally strongly into each direction. In case of specular reflections, the light is scattered mainly into one direction. All rays emerging from the specimen and hitting the objective lens are bundled in the optics and gathered by a lightsensitive sensor behind the beam-splitting mirror.

Due to the small depth of field of the optics, only small regions of the object are sharply imaged. To perform a complete detection of the surface with full depth of field, the precision optic is moved vertically along the optical axis while continuously capturing data from the surface. This means that each region of the object is sharply focused.

Algorithms convert the acquired sensor data into 3D information and a true colour image with full depth of field. This is achieved by analysing the variation of focus along the vertical axis.

The vertical resolution depends on the chosen objective and can be as low as 10nm. The vertical scan range depends on the working distance of the objective and ranges from 4.5mm to 23.5mm. In contrast to conventional techniques, the vertical resolution is achieved regardless of the scan height, leading to a vertical resolution dynamic of 1: 500000.

The XY range is determined by the used objective and typically ranges from 0.16mm x 0.16mm to 5.63mm x 5.63mm for a single measurement. By using special algorithms and a motorized XY stage the XY range can be exceeded up to 100mm x 100mm.

In contrast to other optical techniques that are limited to coaxial illumination, the maximum measurable slope angle is not only dependent on the numerical aperture of the objective.

Focus variation can be used with a large range of different illumination sources (such as a ring light), which allows the measurement of slope angles exceeding 87 degrees. Basically, focus variation is applicable to surfaces with a large range of different optical reflectance values.

As the optical technique is very flexible in terms of using light, typical

AMT Apr/May 2016

limitations such as measuring surfaces with strongly varying reflection properties, even within the same field of view, can be avoided. Specimens can vary from shiny to diffuse reflecting, from homogeneous to compound material, and from smooth to rough surface properties. Focus variation overcomes the aspect of limited measurement capabilities in terms of reflectance by a combination of modulated illumination, controlling the sensor parameters, and integrated polarisation. Modulated illumination means that the illumination intensity is not constant, but varying. The complex variation of the intensity can be generated by a signal generator.

Through the constantly changing intensity, far more information is gathered from the specimen’s surface.

In addition to the scanned height data, Focus-Variation also delivers a colour image with full depth of field that is registered to the 3D points.

This provides an optical colour image which eases measurements as far as the identification and localisation of measurement fields or distinctive surface features are concerned. The visual correlation between the optical colour image of the specimens’ surface and its depth information are often linked to each other and are therefore an essential aspect of meaningful 3D measurement.

Since the described technique relies on analysing the variation of focus, it is only applicable to surfaces where the focus varies sufficiently during the vertical scanning process. Surfaces not fulfilling this requirement such as transparent specimen or components with only a small local roughness are hardly measurable. Typically, focus variation delivers repeatable measurement results for surfaces with a local Ra of 0.009 microns at a lc of 2 microns.

Focus variation is used to perform high-resolution 3D surface measurement for quality assurance in production as well as research & development activities in the lab. Key applications are surface analysis and characterisation such as in tool & mould making, aerospace industry, precision manufacturing, automotive industry, all kinds of materials science, corrosion and tribology, electronics and medical device development. Due to its technical specifications the focus variation technique is used for form and roughness measurements.

Focus variation in modern manufacturing Globally, industry deals with the need to manufacture complex high-tech products with tight tolerances and a high degree of automation.

Consequently, there is a tremendous pressure on companies to invest in state-of-the-art technology that meets both efficient

The InfiniteFocus G5 laboratory system

Quality & Inspection

Important real-time information on the state of the process and product is received through the fast supply of reliable measuring data.

Deficient workpieces are early recognised and expensive resources conserved.

A schematic visualisation of the focus variation technology. The small depth of focus of the optical system is used to extract depth information with registered true colour.

processes and efficient resource management. Here, inline metrology, achieved for example with a robot in combination with a high-resolution optical 3D measurement sensor, and closed-loop manufacturing are the key to success, especially for miniaturised products. Both concepts are based on production-integrated metrology, which contrasts with the traditional handling of manufacturing and quality assurance as two independently achieved processes.

Metrology-wise, several requirements have to be met to obtain real-time data about process and product. First, measurements have to be area-based instead of only being profile-based. Second, measurements have to be traceable, in a high resolution and with high repeatability. Third, there has to be a high measurement speed together with a large number of measure points that are processed.

Another option to achieve fully automated production integrated quality assurance can be a robot-based metrology solution.

A robot enables flexible positioning of the measurement system, allowing its use in an assembly line. In one measurement cycle all necessary parameters at various positions can be measured. Also, the measurement of one selected parameter on several workpieces is possible by one simple command. Again, an immediate evaluation shows if all values are within the geometrical tolerance. Similar to the closed-loop concept, high-resolution measurements of complex components depend on production-ready optical metrology.

Real3D – How to measure undercuts In combination with Real3D, users measure surfaces from numerous perspectives. Components are measured in 3D from various perspectives and then automatically merged into a full 3D dataset. High-precision and calibrated rotation and tilt axes ensure automated, repeatable and traceable measurement of form and roughness on the whole measurement object. Users are able to visualise and measure surface features such as diverse flank angles, thread pitch and undercuts. With Real3D a component is measured at various rotation and tilt angles. Based on the registered true colour

Alicona’s focus variation technology is designed to fulfil exactly these requirements and to consequently enable the interaction between machine and measurement. In particular, this is enabled by the high measurement speed and the high vertical resolution across small and large measurement volumes. Also, the capability to measure complex components with steep flanks and varying reflection properties has to be taken into account when it comes to advanced manufacturing processes. Focus variation is also suitable for high resolution measurements in production. Alicona measurement systems are robust against vibrations, insensitive to ambient light, and can be easily integrated in existing systems.

Manufactured right first time Closed-loop manufacturing is achieved through a productionready optical measurement sensor that is directly integrated in a machining centre, enabling self-optimised production and an up to fourfold increase in machining accuracy.

Components are measured directly in the machine, and the internal measurement evaluates possible deviations from the target geometry. Based upon internal evaluation, the machine automatically modifies the process parameters for further manufacturing.

A technical sketch on how focus variation works

information of each measurement point, the single measurements are transformed into a joint coordinate measurement system.

The single, overlapping measurements are then precisely merged into a complete 3D data set.

Alicona offers several options for Real3D measurements.

The Advanced Real3D Rotation Unit is equipped with a motorised tilt axis and motorised rotation axes, whereas the Real3D Rotation Unit is based on motorised rotation axes and a manual tilt axis. Both models are used for full form measurement of typically round tools.

The fully motorised version can additionally be applied for the automatic measurement of cutting dies, micro-hole measurement and reverse engineering. Further, users are able to measure the trail and main edges of their drill, cutting miller or other tool in only one measurement circle. The compatibility of both units with a number of clamping systems allows precise and rapid interaction between processing and measurement. In addition, various adapters enable 360-degree rotation and components without rotational symmetry.

Alicona products are distributed and serviced in Australia and New Zealand by Met Optix. www.metoptix.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

091

092

Quality & Inspection

GD&T – A simplified approach

From the time the first engineering drawings were created, manufacturing tolerances have existed. Tolerances allow parts to deviate from nominal within specified limits.

The function of the part and system capability drives the designer to allocate the ‘acceptable’ amount of deviation to the perfect part, while ensuring mating parts fit properly and function as intended.

The goal of tolerancing is to achieve the best balance between high cost with tolerances too tight, and low cost with tolerances too loose. Traditional tolerancing methods were simple – every dimension had a ± allowance. If the drawing dimension stated: 10.00mm ±0.10mm, then an acceptable part would measure between 9.90mm and 10.10mm.

Progression in the engineering process and part design drove a new method of implementing tolerances: geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T). Using relatively simple tools, GD&T allows for more comprehensive, consistent tolerances for key dimensions, with a focus on part function and feature relationships rather than the traditional ‘trial and error’ approach. The benefits of GD&T are well documented and wide-ranging: it helps avoid rejection of functionally acceptable parts, simplifies gage design, allows for bonus tolerances for increased part acceptance, improves the quality of your product, and maximises efficiency through every stage of the manufacturing cycle, to name just a few.

Despite the clear benefits, many engineers were still reluctant to adopt GD&T for their product. Unfortunately, many mistakenly viewed GD&T as making tolerances tighter, parts more expensive, or that GD&T is not applicable to their product or was too difficult to learn.

The introduction of coordinate measuring systems such as fixed and portable CMMs, 3D scanners and video (vision) inspection

systems went a long way to alleviating some of the perceived complexities of GD&T, with measuring and reporting of even the most complex of GD&T requirements being as simple as ‘click and report’. Now we are seeing a growing number of manufacturers adopting GD&T throughout their product range; from the very basic to the most complicated parts.

The advantages of GD&T are being embraced at all levels of organisations. Ease of measurement utilising this type of equipment may have helped solve the measurement dilemma, but in many cases the interpretation of the results and what changes need to be made (either to the process or the design) would become the next sticking point in the process.

GD&T itself is not complex and introducing a broader knowledge base of GD&T for employees – from managers to designers to the shop floor – with even a basic level of understanding of GD&T will improve workflow and efficiency throughout the organisation and help overcome some of the confusion that still seems to plague many organisations.

Hi-Tech Metrology recognises this need and offers training programs with hands-on exercises in GD&T using coordinate metrology, bridging the gap between engineering requirements and interpreting the measured result, and assisting many companies in their GD&T evolution. Approaching GD&T from a simplified and practical viewpoint will dispel some of the myths preventing companies from experiencing its benefits, while also assisting organisations in the overall understanding of their manufacturing processes. www.hitechmetrology.com.au

Smart 3D imager arrays from Faro

Faro has released the Cobalt 3D Imager, a metrology-grade non-contact scanner that uses blue light technology to capture millions of high-resolution 3D co-ordinate measurements in seconds.

The Cobalt 3D Imager is equipped with dedicated on-board processors – an industry first – and a smart sensor that allows unique multi-imager array configurations. An unlimited number of 3D imagers can be placed in array configurations virtually anywhere in a manufacturing process, all scanning simultaneously and controlled by a single computer.

making it an exciting new product that enhances the FARO portfolio for in-process or near-process inspection. The price and capabilities of Cobalt make it a cost-effective, versatile, and convenient tool that delivers a rapid return on investment for customers in a variety of metrology and product design applications.”

Ideal for integration within the production environment, Cobalt can also be installed in more conventional ways, such as in conjunction with a rotary table, robot, or industrial inspection cell.

Cobalt captures and processes millions of 3D data points in seconds. With high resolution, automatic exposure and high dynamic range, Cobalt can handle complex parts with fine details, varying colours, textures and reflectivity. Cobalt delivers fast, consistent measurements, independent of the operator, for quality inspection and reverse engineering applications on parts, assemblies, and tools.

Dr Raab added: “We are particularly proud of Cobalt’s patent-pending on-board processing feature, which ultimately helps simplify the integration of the sensor into advanced production environments.

Coupled with Faro’s CAM2 Measure 10 software, an unlimited number of Cobalt sensors can simultaneously capture large surface areas or complex assemblies. The configurable field of view, intelligent on-board point cloud processing and resolution can adapt to multiple measurement needs.”

“The FARO Cobalt 3D Imager delivers reliable and accurate 3D scan data within an automated workflow,” stated Dr Simon Raab, FARO’s President and CEO. “With no restrictions on the number of sensors in an array, the sky is the limit for improving inspection cycle time,

AMT Apr/May 2016

The Faro Cobalt 3D Imager is designed for quick and easy integration onto the production floor, and seamlessly connects with the fullfeatured Faro CAM2 Measure 10 metrology software. www.faro.com/3DImager/sg

THE HISTORY OF

M.T.I. QUALOS CELEBRATING 70 YEARS IN BUSINESS. M.T.I. Qualos is proud to announce their 70th Anniversary of our business on 21st May. We believe that this is a significant milestone in Australian business and wish to share this with our long time distributors and product users.

Below is a history of how it evolved.

S

ince the inception of M.T.I. Qualos Pty. Ltd. in 1946, then called simply ‘Qualos (for quality) Machine Tools Pty. Ltd.’, our product lines have changed a great deal.

Sourcing leading precision machines and tooling has been the backbone of the company’s longevity and success. However, product diversification is now contributing significantly.

When Qualos was established just after World War II by founders John L.T. Pring MBE and the late Tod Waite, the company supplied, serviced and provided spares for machine tools, which were in high demand.

The site was located in North Melbourne and start up capital totalled 3,000 pounds.

From the beginning, Mr. Pring’s marketing and administration know-how were vital in building the business. Combined with Mr. Waites’ engineering skills, the vision of the company was firmly based on seeking and providing new and improved manufacturing methods and products to Australian industry.

Post-war, demand for machine tools dropped and the founders went their separate ways.

Mr. Pring maintained the essence of the original business and expanded to become the sales agent of a number of imported machine tool manufacturers. He built up strategic distribution channels, initially in Victoria where much of Australia’s manufacturing was based. In 1956, an office in Ultimo, New South Wales was established to service that State and Queensland.

At about the same time, Mr. Pring saw a need to harness additional international expertise and brought into the business Mr. Max Ammann. Max contributed significantly with his vast knowledge of the European machine tool industry and was pivotal in expanding the sales of machine tool product from that region.

The next step was to expand the product range beyond capital equipment to the supply and sales of a broad range of small tool products including precision instruments such as micrometers and calipers.

A masterstroke for Qualos was when Mr. Pring negotiated sole supply rights in Australia of all Mitutoyo product lines. At the time, Mitutoyo was virtually unknown.

However, Mr. Pring recognised that Mitutoyo provided a world class product range, and would not be thwarted by the initial resistance to Japanese products in Australia, believing quality would prevail.

The decision did have an initial cost. Sales were slower than expected due to buyer reluctance because of the brand. However, Qualos overcame the hiccup by expanding

distribution channels throughout Australia and working hard on relationship building with distributors, including product education. Not only did Mitutoyo product sales increase, but so too did the other product lines supplied by Qualos.

With continuing growth, company headquarters undertook a series of moves to provide much-needed space, moving initially to Clifton Hill, Melbourne.

In 1974 Mr. Ian Smith joined the company having worked with a Qualos distributor.

Soon after Qualos was renamed M.T.I. Qualos Pty. Ltd. - Machines, Tools and Instruments.

Although growth had been constant, major challenges have included dealing with a downturn in machine tool demand as Australia’s automotive industry has progressively reduced in size. Also, given the relatively small size and growth of the Australian market, there has been a natural shift from supply of capital equipment to accessories.

In 1986, Mr. Smith purchased the then recently retired John Pring’s shareholding.

In conjunction with Max Ammann, who initially replaced Mr. Pring as Managing Director, he set the company in the direction in which it continues today.

Like the founders, the management knew the value of diversification and during 1973 took on the agency to manufacture clear P.V.C. swing and strip doors.

In the early 1970’s Max Ammann saw the plastic doors while overseas and considered them a great opportunity. Through Max Ammann’s efforts, M.T.I. Qualos obtained licenses from Sigerist and later Seuster, Swiss and German companies, for sole rights in Australia to tailor-make and distribute the doors here. The product is found in supermarkets, factories, hospitals and hotels – anywhere that temperature and air quality must remain constant or where noise needs to be minimised.

M.T.I. Qualos has achieved a record for measuring instrument supplier Mitutoyo, having gained the highest International percentage of market share outside Mitutoyo’s own domestic market. Behind the scenes, M.T.I. Qualos draws on the skills of a team of about 30 employees from Melbourne and Sydney, many on the factory floor who have been with the company for a large part of their working lives.

The competition in our core business is very tough, and likely to get tougher, so we must continue to compete on product range, quality, effective distribution channels and prompt fulfillment.

094

Quality & Inspection

Olympus helps keep the skies safe

Australian aircraft fly millions of kilometres each year, so it is imperative that the aircraft and engines are safe and airworthy at all times. One instrument that maintenance engineers regularly use to inspect the inside of aircraft engines, and so ensure optimal performance, is a videoscope.

Remote Visual Inspection (RVI) of materials, components and structures allows engineers and technicians the ability to inspect internal surfaces and other features of an engine, motor or machinery. Videoscopes are used to carry out inspections without causing damage to delicate parts of an aircraft. Olympus — a world-leading manufacturer of optical, electronic and precision engineering products — has been at the forefront of videoscope development for many decades.

A videoscope is an inspection instrument that consists of a small camera mounted on a length of cable. The camera can be controlled remotely by an operator while it is inserted in the cavity to be inspected.

Modern videoscopes incorporate powerful LED light sources that are delivered through the tip of the probe, as well as motors to move the lens tip assembly.

According to Sean Fogarty, Senior Sales Specialist at Olympus in Queensland, the greatest advances and improvements for videoscopes during the past two to five years have been in battery and LED technology.

“Batteries are smaller and lighter so videoscopes continue to get smaller,” says Fogarty. “The limitations of original videoscopes were getting light into the area being inspected and the size of the power supply.”

An Olympus videoscope is used to see if there are any signs of wear or damage and using a fine tip probe allows maintenance teams to inspect the insides of components and obscured parts of the fuselage for signs of cracking or fatigue.

Aircraft maintenance from the inside Wayne Thomson, Technical Manager Asia Pacific with Dallas Airmotive, travels extensively throughout Australia and SouthEast Asia inspecting aircraft engines to either prepare a quotation for the repair of gas turbines or to approve the airworthiness of a powerplant. Thomson has more than 20 years of experience maintaining and repairing gas turbine engines. During his professional career, Thomson has worked on engines manufactured by General Electric, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell.

In the Asia Pacific region, Dallas Airmotive has field service technicians located in Brisbane, Perth, Bangkok and a Regional

AMT Apr/May 2016

An Olympus iPlex videoscope.

at large, well developed international airports to a wide variety of remote and, at times, challenging grass or dirt airstrips.

Aircraft also operate in a range of climatic conditions, from baking dry in the deserts to high humidity in the tropics.

All aircraft have a specified maintenance schedule whereby they are regularly inspected and engines are serviced after a designated number of flying hours. After a longer period, engines also undergo a major overhaul, which involves the engine being removed from the airframe and refurbished.

Turbine Centre in Singapore. The company operates 24 hours every day and its engine services are OEM-authorised which means it can support most of the turbine engine models that power business aircraft today, and many of the engines used in government, military and commercial applications. It also offers comprehensive engine-specific warranties.

Aircraft maintenance technicians usually refer to themselves as A&Ps, which is shorthand for airframe and power plant mechanics. A&P licence holders are certified to inspect, perform, or supervise maintenance of aircraft and aircraft systems.

A&P mechanics are certified to accomplish their duties on both commercial and private aircraft. Dallas Airmotive delivers unmatched expertise from field service technicians who have an average of 16 years of experience, hold an A&P licence and an Inspection Authorisation (IA) rating.

One of the main tools of the trade is a videoscope, like the Olympus iPlex model used by Thomson.

The basic Time Between Overhaul (TBO) and Hot Section Inspection (HSI) interval is designated in the maintenance manual for a particular engine model. The TBO interval depends on the specified operation of the engine, which the operator may adjust if required, based upon operating experience, but must also get the approval from the appropriate airworthiness authority, such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia.

Typical engine maintenance actions include: engine washing; compressor and turbine desalination; foreign object damage and corrosion inspection of the compressor and inlet case; fuel nozzle inspection; and borescope inspection of the combustion chamber, compressor turbine vane and blades. Engines operating in sandy or dusty environments, or in smog- or saltladen atmospheres, should be subjected to additional inspections for corrosion and compressor erosion.

“The Olympus videoscope allows me to see clearly inside the engine which provides a very good idea of the parts required to repair the engine inspected,” he says. “This allows me to give the customer a far more accurate estimate for a repair which, along with researching the engine log books, provides us the information that we need to have all the parts required on-site at the time of the repair. This enables us to complete the repair in a very short time, reducing the need for a customer to have a rental engine.

“Compared to other instruments we have used, our iPlex videoscope is the best tool out of anything we have purchased so far.”

A plane might fly for thousands of hours each year, often in adverse weather conditions. There is also a range of landing strips throughout Australasia, from runways

An Olympus iPlex FX in the nacelle of an aircraft’s gas turbine engine.

Quality & Inspection Accessing an aircraft wing with a portable, compact iPlex videoscope.

“It is far easier and more cost-effective to insert a videoscope into an engine to inspect the hot areas compared to that of disassembling a whole engine,” Thomson added.

For an aircraft operator, it is important to minimise the time when an aircraft is not able to fly. Thomson suggests that certain inspections be coordinated with other maintenance procedures. One engine Thomson frequently works with is the Pratt & Whitney PT6A, which is a lightweight free-turbine engine incorporating a reverse-flow combustion path. It utilises two counter-rotating turbines: one driving the compressor, and the other driving the propeller through a reduction gearbox.

The latter turbine is “free” or independent of the compressor turbine. The design of the PT6A engine allows it to be split into two major parts, called the power section assembly and the gas generator assembly.

“For example, a PT6A Series engine may require the removal and cleaning of the fuel nozzles every 400 flying hours,” stated Thomson. “Co-ordinating this with a boroscope inspection allows me to use the fuel nozzle openings to look at the hot sections of the engine where most deterioration occurs.”

The results can be quickly checked against the maintenance manual criteria to determine the serviceability of the engine.

“The latest videoscopes are lightweight and can be used on the flightline,” Thomson said. “The monitor can be placed in the engine bay and I can use the pistol grip to control the camera to inspect the core of the engine.”

The camera and cable of a videoscope connect to a monitor where images can be viewed in real time. Data can also be recorded and reviewed for faults which may have been initially missed.

Inspecting a fuselage interior with an Olympus iPlex videoscope.

The large, daylight viewing screen of the latest iPlex range also allows them to be used as a training tool. An inspector can be watching the screen at the same time as a trainee maintenance engineer and explain what is being shown. A less obvious advantage of the smaller size of the iPlex videoscopes is that they are easier to transport between international jobs.

“We used to travel with a large borescope case which was checked in and now it is carry-on baggage,” Thomson says. “This also allows for ease of travel at airports not waiting for checked baggage and smoother transitions through customs.”

Meeting the needs of customers Olympus has been leading the world in the development of LED technology used in RVI instruments. Olympus is also willing to work with customers to adapt or modify instruments to meet their needs.

“We have supplied inspection equipment to aircraft operators for many years,” says Fogarty. “With the latest, lightweight, untethered videoscopes, maintenance engineers can quickly inspect an engine on the flight line if necessary, rather than bringing it into the hangar.” www.olympus-ims.com

AMT Apr/May 2016

095

96

Forum Import/export

Overseas commercial travel: Returning with unwanted baggage

Avoid delays, trouble and unexpected costs associated with travelling with commercial goods, explains Chris Roberts.

You may or may not be aware that It is a requirement for all commercial goods valued at over $2,000.00 leaving our shores to be declared and cleared for export. Yes, this includes carry-on goods such as samples or testing articles that you are taking with you on board a flight. Your destination will have requirements in this regard also. If you are intending on returning with the goods, the most appropriate option is to apply for an ATA Carnet*. Timelines however do not always allow for this to happen, so best consult your Licenced Customs Broker to ensure compliance.

Much consideration needs to be given to exporting requirements and restrictions - such as items that are possibly listed on the Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL) which include goods, software and technology. Dual-use goods, sanctioned destinations and entities and goods containing ozone-depleting or synthetic greenhouse gasses to name a few. There are items included on this list that might surprise you as being restricted. An excellent search tool can be found at http:// www.defence.gov.au/deco/DSGL.asp Failure to adhere to your obligations, especially in regard to sanctions, will be met with severe penalties and possible incarceration. Similarly, and from my experience, it is a little known fact the commercial goods when arriving on board a flight as carry-on luggage is required to have a Formal Import Declaration (FID) lodged prior to your arrival in Australia.

This has caused many a frustration for our clients when they discover this upon arrival after 24 hours in transit. Make no mistake, The Australian Border Force will seize your goods and hold them pending an Authority to Deal (ATD).

Other considerations are that even if your goods are returning Australian goods, as soon as they leave the country they are considered the same as a foreign originating good as far as Biosecurity (Quarantine) Legislation and regulations are concerned.

Again and to ensure the smooth re-entry of yourself and your accompanied goods, it is best to ensure you have provided the relevant documents and information and requested your Licenced Customs Broker here in Australia to have completed a FID and achieved ATD prior to you leaving your last foreign airport. This will ensure you have access to the entry documents and

AMT Apr/May 2016

evidence of the Authority to Deal when declaring your accompanied commercial goods to the Border Force Officers upon arrival and should ensure speedy processing at the border gate.

In a competitive environment, a well-planned supply line is not only the intelligent way of designing your product, but a necessity to avoid unexpected delays and intrinsic costs.

We all know that the cheapest is generally not the best, so having a well-planned and pre-considered supply line is the logical way to get that product landed in your factory or to your customers for the right price. When it comes to cross- border transactions, a Licensed Customs Broker is the only qualified professional who is licensed by the Australian Border Force to provide advice and carry out the transaction on behalf of importers. Considerations include prohibited and restricted imports and export (advice and permits), vehicle import permits, biosecurity (quarantine) import and export permits, non commodity and packing material requirements, biosecurity treatments both pre and post arrivals / exit, GST exemptions, tariff concessions, duty drawbacks, Free Trade Agreement and other preferential requirements both documentary and schematics to minimise duty liabilities.

This list is not exhaustive, and many of the before-mentioned considerations have “before you ship” requirements associated with them. Everything you import or export does and will have different requirements, all of which can very easily blow-out the cost of landing goods. A cost that could make your product the non-competitive one! With the right thinking, all these considerations can be included in your planning and therefore be identified as “the real cost” to supply or acquire. No one likes a surprise that costs in delays or currency, so consulting your Licensed Customs Broker

regarding your venture is solid and sound advice. To explain and highlight to the unaware of what it takes to be a Licensed Customs Broker, there is a requirement to complete an approved course of study.

This course is generally made up of 18 individual topics all of which have a pass rate of 80%. A “Distinction” is therefore the minimum for a broker to be considered for their License. The applicant must also be able to prove through references and other mediums that they have the “Acquired Experience” necessary to be a Licensed Customs Broker. Generally two (2) + years operational experience and testimonials of Senior Brokers as to what functions you have performed during your time, must form part of your License application. From here the applicant is interviewed by NCBLAC (National Customs Brokers Licensing Advisory Committee) which is comprised of Commonwealth Representatives and longtime serving Industry Representatives. This committee then decides if the applicant will be recommended to the Australian Border Force to receive their License. For the most part, four (4) to five (5) years of study and experience is required to obtain an Individual Customs Brokers License. Your cross border transactions are therefore in good hands.

Chris Roberts is Director/Founder, licensed customs broker/freight forwarder of 3DL Logistics – specialist supply chains solutions: Local Knowledge – Global Capabilities.

A family-owned and operated business.

Should you need assistance with regard to border clearance functions, we are suitably qualified and only too happy to assist. ph: (07) 3268 1797 www.3dlogistics.com.au *An international customs document that permits duty-free and tax-free temporary import of goods for up to one year.

97

Forum ohs

Unfair dismissal: Receiving support in making the OHS change

Whilst the case study referred to here relates to a quarrying operation, the safety culture principles are equally relevant to all Australian businesses including AMTIL members within the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector. Jeremy Cousins explains.

The decision of a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in Metro Quarry Group Pty Ltd v Ingham [2016] FWCFB 47 handed down on 4 February 2016 (MQ case) illustrates the difficulties an employer may face in improving its safety culture but emphasises the level of support an employer is likely to receive from the FWC for making such a change.

Metro Quarry (MQ) operates a sand mining operation in the South Gippsland region of Victoria and a sand distribution business on the south eastern outskirts of Melbourne. MQ acquired the operations from a previous owner in 2013. In doing so, MQ also acquired a “lackadaisical” safety culture with numerous compliance issues.

The culture and historical issues inherited by MQ were evidently of significant concern to MQ. Indeed, in 2010 an employee was killed while operating an excavator.

After the acquisition of the business in 2013, MQ took steps to change the culture, putting in place a new management team and creating a new safety manager role to embed best safety practices in the business. Relevant to the issues in the case, in doing so MQ established new safety polices including policies relating to personal protective equipment (PPE) and zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol and hardened its position towards continued breaches of safety policy or expected safe behaviours.

The relevant employee in the MQ case was employed as a maintenance worker and had been working in the business for over 10 years. MQ formed the view that the employee was not prepared to adjust to the new safety culture and terminated his employment summarily and without notice. The employee brought an unfair dismissal claim in the FWC challenging MQ’s decision.

MQ relied on five key incidents to support the termination of the employee’s employment: • An incident in relation to a “bagging machine” in July 2014 (where the employee allegedly re-wired the machine without detaching the main power supply).

• Not wearing a safety harness whilst working at heights.

• Failing to wear safety glasses (PPE).

• “Impertinently” wiggling his fingers and stating to MQ’s safety officers that because he still had all his fingers, he knew how to be safe and knew all about safety.

• Presenting for work impaired by alcohol.

At first instance, the Commissioner upheld the employee’s claim and found the dismissal to have been unfair. One of the key reasons for this decision related to MQ’s reliance on the bagging incident which took place some time ago, in 2014. MQ then lodged an appeal of the decision which was heard by a Full Bench of the FWC.

Outcome The Full Bench upheld MQ’s appeal, quashed the Commissioner’s decision at first instance and found that the dismissal was not unfair. Importantly, and helpfully for employers looking to make improvements to its safety culture, the Full Bench said that “the notion of a fair go all around [when considering an employee’s unfair dismissal claim] in relation to breaches of safety procedures

needs to consider the employer’s obligations and the need to enforce safety standards to ensure safe work practices are applied generally in the workplace”.

The Full Bench seemed baffled as to why the Commissioner had found the employee to have engaged in “unacceptable safety conduct combined with an element of defiance of the company’s tougher stance” yet these findings had been overridden by a perceived defect in relation to the warning over the bagging incident in 2014.

Ultimately, the Full Bench found that MQ had terminated the employee’s employment after a series of safety breaches culminating in him attending for work in breach of the zero-tolerance alcohol policy. The Full Bench considered that there was a valid reason for the termination and MQ had adopted an acceptable procedure in allowing the employee an opportunity to respond to its concerns.

Impact The decision emphasises that the unfair dismissal laws contained in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) are not so skewed so as to prevent employers making changes to safety culture by dismissing recalcitrant employees in the event of blatant non-compliance with modernised safety requirements.

Jeremy Cousins is a Principal of Whitehall Workplace Law. Whitehall Workplace Law is able to assist AMTIL employer members with all employment law, industrial relations and occupational health and safety matters. Please contact Jeremy Cousins at j.cousins@whitehallworkplacelaw.com.au or call (03) 8605 4841. www.whitehallworkplacelaw.com.au

If your workers aren’t safe, then neither are you WorkSafe Victoria has launched a powerful new public awareness campaign showing the impact that a serious injury can have on a workplace and is aimed squarely at employers. Inspectors visit workplaces anywhere, any day, any time and the message is a blunt one: if your workers aren’t safe, then neither are you.

Last year, 20 Victorians lost their lives at work and more than 26,000 workers were hurt seriously enough to receive compensation”. As at February this year, there have already been four workplace deaths in Vic. “That is why we make no apology for delivering this blunt message to employers that they must do everything they can to protect the health and safety of their employees” said WorkSafe Chief Executive Clare Amies.. Manufacturing as an industry had the highest number of injuries in Victoria last year at 4274 claims.

Visit www.worksafeeveryday.com.au for more information on how you can improve the safety of your workplace.

AMT Apr/May 2016

98

Forum IP

3D Printing and intellectual property: strategies to meet the challenge

In the absence of copyright protection, there are other options available for manufacturers to protect against business loss resulting from the manufacture of copied products. Guy Provan explains.

3D printing poses a challenge to manufacturers by providing a means by which products or spare parts can be easily manufactured by competitors or customers. Generally, the law of copyright does not assist manufacturers because the making of a copy product does not infringe copyright where the copyright owner or a licensee has already made and sold the original product. There are exceptions (e.g. where the product is a work of artistic craftsmanship) but most manufacturers will not be able to rely on copyright protection.

In the absence of copyright protection, manufacturers will need to look elsewhere among the other intellectual property (IP) regimes and other areas of law to devise a strategy which reduces the risks posed by 3D printing. There are no easy answers but a customised IP strategy can make a difference.

Patents: the benefits of an innovation patent A patent gives the owner a monopoly in relation to a product or process as claimed in the patent. Generally, any product is capable of being subject to patent protection provided it meets the requirements of novelty and inventive or innovative step in light of the prior art. In Australia there are two types of patent: a standard patent where the requirements are novelty and inventive step and which lasts for 20 years; and an innovation patent where the requirements are novelty and innovative step and which last for eight years. There are detailed rules as to what is inventive or innovative but it is easier to meet the requirements to obtain an innovation patent.

Further, the procedures for applying for an innovation patent are quicker, easier and less expensive than the procedures involved in applying for a standard patent. This means that it is more commercially attractive for a manufacturer to consider patent protection. Small changes in the product can be sufficient to meet the innovative step requirement and the costs are much more manageable. Usually the reduced term of eight years is not a problem because the commercial lifespan of the product is less than this. In resent years, owners of innovation patents have had some significant success in enforcing them in the Australian courts.

Registered designs A registered design protects the look or appearance of a product and is infringed where a product is made which is identical to, or substantially similar in overall impression to, the registered design without the licence of the owner. So a slavish copy of a product is likely to infringe a registered design. If the original product is scanned and a copy made by a process of 3D printing, it is likely to infringe the registered design covering the original product.

In the past, the registered design regime has been criticised because it has been relatively easy to avoid infringement by making minor changes to the product being made. But the process of scanning and 3D printing produces identical copies which are caught by the infringement test. So there may well be an increase in the use of the registered design system to protect against 3D printing.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Trade marks Where a person makes an unauthorised copy of a product, that person cannot sell that product using the trade mark of the original product owner. Ideally, the original product owner wants the customer to purchase only the genuine trade marked product and this gives the owner a commercial advantage.

Ensuring that relevant product names are registered as trade marks makes it easier for them to be enforced.

But there are limitations as to what trade marks can achieve. It is not infringement for a trader to make a copy part and say that the part is “suitable for use with” or “compatible with” products sold under the trade mark.

Thus, for example, a trader making coffee pods can say that the pods “are suitable for use with Nespresso coffee machines” but cannot say they are “Nespresso coffee pods”.

The law of misleading or deceptive conduct can also be relied on where a trader makes misleading statements as to the origin of products. There is also scope for arguing that consumers are likely to be misled if, for example, representations are made as to the quality or source of products which are not true. Generally, the law relating to misleading or deceptive conduct is very wide-ranging and may provide a remedy where copy products are being sold using dubious practices.

Contractual restrictions Another way in which a manufacturer can seek to control the manufacture of products or spare parts is by having appropriate restrictions in its contacts with customers. Obviously, this does not stop others in the marketplace who may choose to copy a product on the open market. But, for example, a restriction on a customer manufacturing its own spare parts, or procuring those parts from a third party, may preserve a valuable market. Care must be taken that any contractual provisions do not amount to an illegal restraint of trade or a breach of competition laws.

In summary, there are a number of options open to manufacturers to protect against loss of business which may result from the manufacture of copy products or spare parts whether by 3D printing or traditional means. Most proactively, by applying for innovation patents and registered designs, a manufacturer can seek to keep the copiers at bay and preserve its market.

Guy Provan is Director, Legal Professional Services, Watermark.

Australian-owned Watermark has a proud 156-year history in Intellectual Asset Management. Services include: Patents and Designs, Trade Marks, IP Lawyers, IP Strategy & Management, R&D Tax and Competitor Business Intelligence Services. Watermark has offices in VIC, NSW and WA and the international presence is strengthened with a global network of Associates in over 50 countries, giving access to local support in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Asia and the sub-continent.

Ph: 08 9222 0113. Email: g.provan@watermark.com.au www.watermark.com.au

99

Forum Business Management

Advanced manufacturing requires greater leadership investment

There is a chronic shortage of people with effective leadership skills in Australian workplaces and this is having a devastating impact on businesses which are left unable to compete on a global scale. Evidence shows that investing in leadership training early in someone’s career makes a significant difference to individuals and their organisations.

Prof. Peter Gahan explains.

For more than 25 years, Australia has experienced continuous growth – the longest stretch of continuous economic growth since Federation. We survived the global financial crisis with limited impact on unemployment and productivity. Despite the generally gloomy outlook for the manufacturing sector, the benefits of this period of economic growth have benefited all sectors, including manufacturing.

With the end of the mining boom, the economic outlook is less certain – growth has slowed, profitability across sectors has taken a hit, and a dip in consumer confidence has followed. This reversal of fortune has had a devastating impact on the manufacturing sector with many companies thinking about survival rather than growth.

The pressures on our manufacturing sector will, over the course of the next decade continue to intensify. Competition from the likes of China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and Korea, new technologies that transform work and production systems, integrated global value chains, among other developments mean that without innovation and change, Australian manufacturers will find it increasingly difficult to compete, grow and create jobs of the future.

With this prognosis, it would be easy to take the position that manufacturing has no future in Australia. However, there are many great success stories of highly innovative Australian manufacturers competing on the world stage. For example, Siemens Australia has opened a third service centre in Australia to keep up with the new era of digitalisation and to embrace hi-tech service to produce more at lower costs. Caltex Australia is maximising on solar power technology, with several solar powered fuel outlets being set up in remote areas to power the pumps. Boeing Australia is the company’s largest operation outside the US, and relies on its links with Australian research to drive its innovation. CSL is one of Australia’s great global companies and develops and manufactures vaccines and plasma protein biotherapies.

Less well known are companies like Marand, which supplies engineering for the world aerospace, defence, rail and mining sectors, and Cook Medical.

These are just a handful of Australia’s 3500 advanced manufacturers, most of which do not gain the recognition in Australia they deserve.

These companies share one thing in common: strong leadership that invest in skills and innovation to make their company competitive on the world stage. These are the companies that demonstrate the value of finding new opportunities, and a willingness to adapt to a complex and rapidly changing world.

These companies also demonstrate the importance of investing in capable managers and leaders.

Leaders capable of taking responsibility for ensuring internal systems and processes work seamlessly together. Leaders and managers that create workplace cultures that place value in taking risks, and taking on the world.

The reality is, however, for Australian manufacturing to generate far more high-performing businesses such as these. Without them, we run the bigger risk of losing out on the next generation of great businesses that will underpin our future growth and prosperity.

Australian manufacturing needs to invest in better leadership and management capabilities. This cannot simply be left to learning on the job. It means giving managers and aspiring leaders the formal support and training to develop the blend of technical, business and creative skills required to create high performing, value-added manufacturing.

This requires investing in frontline leaders as well as senior leadership development. The research evidence demonstrates that leadership is a long journey and that skills are developed over years, not months.

The most effective leaders are those who started to learn about and develop leadership skills early on in their careers, and build on skills and experience over time.

The earlier we can provide future leaders with support and development, the more successful we will be in creating a pipeline of emerging leaders who understand the importance of the commercialisation of innovations, winning hearts and minds, continuous learning through experimentation, the need to embrace failure and the benefits that deep diversity can bring to a company.

Our manufacturing sector may be facing big challenges and Australian manufacturing will remain small compared to some of our major competitors. But we have a history of ‘punching above our weight’ when it comes success. We need to continue this tradition to grow and prosper. Investing now in better leaders and managers is an important step in ensuring this happens.

Prof. Peter Gahan is Director of the Centre for Workplace Leadership, University of Melbourne. The University of Melbourne has launched its first online Professional Certificate in Workplace Leadership – a 16 week graduate course - to give emerging talent the knowledge and skills they need to become Australia’s next generation of business leaders.

This course is one of the few in Australia to support people in their early careers and the first to be delivered online. It provides students with the opportunity to connect with academics, their peers and industry.

More information about the new online Professional Certificate in Workplace Leadership, which is available to people within Australia and overseas can be found on https://online.unimelb.edu.au/business-andperformance-courses/workplace-leadership For expressions of interest to study the course, email: study-online@unimelb.edu.au or call: 03 8344 01490

AMT Apr/May 2016

100 Manufacturing matters in Australia.

Our manufacturers lead the world in numerous products and industries.

Australia’s manufacturing industry is a major contributor to our economy each year, and our manufacturers employ large numbers of people, offering them challenging, rewarding work, and providing the basis for stable, diverse communities.

Welcome to the Manufacturers’ Pavilion, the section of AMT Magazine dedicated to celebrating some of the best, most dynamic, most innovative manufacturing companies working in Australia today.

AMT Apr/May 2016

The Manufacturers’ Pavilion highlights the capabilities of Australia’s precision engineering and advanced manufacturing industry. Over the following pages, we will look at companies delivering products and services across a variety of industrial sectors, and employing a diverse array of processes.

It builds on the successful Manufacturers’ Pavilion exhibition area within the Austech trade show and is sure to enhance the profile of the leading edge manufacturers in our sector.

If you feel your company should be featured in a future edition of the Manufacturers’ Pavilion, please contact AMTIL Sales Manager Anne Samuelsson, on 03 9800 3666, or by emailing asamuelsson@amtil.com.au

Manufacturers Pavilion

Custom components for clients across the globe Victorian-based repetition engineering company Jodek manufactures a wide range of custom machined components to customers worldwide.

The family-owned business has more than 25 years industry experience and uses the latest in CNC technology specialising in machining components to its customers’ designs and drawings. Jodek provides its clients with the very best products and customer service.

Jodek Managing Director Derek Hyde says the company is one of the bigger component manufacturers in their field, with a total of 21 CNC machines, most of which run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Running 24/7 enables us to offer our clients quick turnaround times on products whilst also keeping our running costs to a minimum,” says Hyde. “Our main strengths are in the high-volume repetition field where we can run jobs in the quantities of 3m plus per annum.”

Jodek has supplied components either directly or indirectly into many of the major projects worldwide including mining, construction, rail, oil and gas over the past 20 years. Recent projects have seen almost 50 tons of finished machined components shipped to Hong Kong for use in the

construction of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai– Macau Bridge.

“Without a doubt, you would be hard pressed to find a completed major project within Australia that does not contain something manufactured at Jodek,” adds Hyde, who believes the dedicated team at Jodek is what gave the company its competitive edge.

“We have a workforce of 23 people, most of whom have been with the business longterm,” he says. “They have the experience and the knowledge required to produce the goods.”

At present, around 60% of Jodek’s components are exported. Jodek is ISO 9001 accredited and every item shipped is fully traceable. The components are made from various materials including mild and high tensile steel, stainless steel, brass and copper, aluminium and alloys, tool steels, machining of castings and engineering plastic. For more information on Jodek and how it can cater to your next project visit www.jodek.com.au

Jodek 17 Mills Road Braeside, Victoria 3195 T: 03 9587 4677 F: 03 9587 4977 W: www.jodek.com.au E: info@jodek.com.au Derek Hyde Managing Director T: 03 9587 4677 E: derek@jodek.com.au Jodek is a leading manufacturer of precision machined components situated in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The company is a familyowned husband and wife team who have each spent more than 25 years in the industry. Jodek currently has 21 machines in a manufacturing operation of 2,400sqm with 20 employees.

Precision CNC Machining Jodek has forged a reputation that can be truly envied. Our attention to detail and innovative approach enables us to deliver precision componentry reliably, within budget and on time – getting it done right first time.

• CNC Turning & Milling • Multi Axis Machining • CAD CAM • Finished Product Assembly • All industries serviced 17 Mills Road, Braeside, Victoria 3195 • T: 03 9587 4677 • F: 03 9587 4977 E: info@jodek.com.au • www.jodek.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

101

102

Manufacturers Pavilion

Industrial workbenches and storage cabinets from BAC Systems for the oil and gas industry BAC Systems has been providing industrial workbenches and heavy duty drawer storage cabinets to the gas industry for many decades and is accepted as the benchmark for this industry.

BAC Systems is the first choice for most of the major oil and gas producers of the region, including Exxon, Shell, Inpex, Santos and Woodside. Whether it is on an oil platform, a support vessel, or in a shorebased facility, BAC has you covered for your workshop, tool store and warehouse needs.

Maryon was also impressed with the level of after-sales service given by BAC Systems to ensure that all of the equipment was properly installed and was operating to the high standards that BAC customers have come to expect.

BAC Systems 193-195 Power Street Glendenning, NSW 2761 T: 02 9832 2777 F: 02 9675 3645 W: www.bacsystems.com.au E: bacsales@bacsystems.com.au Robert Griffin BAC Technical Sales T: 02 9832 2777 E: Robert.griffin@bacsystems.com.au BAC Systems is an Australian manufacturer of quality workshop and storage equipment. For nearly 40 years it has been providing customised warehouse storage, industrial workbenches and high-strength storage solutions to industry in Australia and world-wide. Contact BAC’s Technical Sales team to arrange a complimentary site visit where we can survey your storage requirements or workshop layout needs.

In recent years, BAC Systems has become a major supplier to oil and gas producer Santos. During the major growth phase of the Santos facilities for the Gladstone LNG project on Curtis Island, BAC provided highly customised industrial BAC workbenches and high-density BAC spare parts storage cabinets.

Maintenance Superintendent Tim Maryon had his team work closely with the BAC Technical Sales Team to ensure that the systems that were supplied suited the operational and spatial requirements of the facility. Maryon stated that his choice to select BAC equipment for GLNG Downstream was “due to the high quality of the product, and the ability to customdesign for each application.”

BAC Spare Parts Storage & Industrial Workbenches World-Leading Warehouse Drawers & Workplace Systems

Support AUSTRALIAN Innovation

Fully Modular Systems customised to suit your space and inventory

BAC Systems Pty Limited - 193-195 Power Street, Glendenning NSW 2761

Tel: (02) 9832 2777 Fax: (02) 9675 3645 Email: bacsales@bacsystems.com.au

www.bacsystems.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

Manufacturers Pavilion

Integra Systems - Make Your Vision Real Empowering you to ‘Make Your Vision Real’ is what drives Integra Systems.

Breakthrough product and engineering design, followed by elegant execution, is Integra’s method.

Since 1991, Integra Systems has worked with hundreds of Australian businesses and helped them enjoy prosperity in both local and export markets with product designs that blow their competition out of contention.

Integra is proud to be a 100% Australianowned family business, supporting its customers globally.

With innovation as the cornerstone of its culture, Integra enables and empowers clients in key areas of industrial design, product design engineering and mechanical engineering, followed by empowerment through highly efficient inhouse manufacturing systems and project management expertise. Integra focusses on working collaboratively with clients to enable them to secure new market opportunities and overcome complex design challenges in a diverse range of industries. Overlaying its unique design process across this diverse range of industries is what distinguishes Integra, and provides clients with the ultimate solution. Integra’s industry recognition for this is supported by the many awards Integra has received.

The company’s diversity provides deep knowledge and insights, as clients have been empowered in the areas of: • Architectural facades, building and construction.

• Architectural, commercial and industrial lighting.

• Civil construction and street furniture.

• Mechanical engineering and finite element analysis (FEA).

• Consumer interfacing products and technology.

• Custom point-of-sale and retail solutions.

• Heavy vehicle development, fit-out and sub-assemblies.

• Electrical and IT infrastructure and enclosures.

• Public transport and commuter systems.

Integra Systems 197 Northcorp Blvd Broadmeadows, Victoria 3047 T: 03 9359 3133 F: 03 9359 3166 W: www.integrasystems.com.au E: enquiries@integrasystems.com.au Paul Hughes Managing Director T: 03 9359 3133 E: paul@integrasystems.com.au For over 25 years, Integra has empowered clients to achieve their aspirations through three divisions: Integra Development: Innovative product and engineering design, testing and prototyping.

Integra Manufacturing: In-house globally competitive manufacturing and project management facility for fully specified products and components.

Integra Products: A unique proprietary product range developed from concept through to distribution.

• Telecommunications.

Integra’s business relationships are centred around its ability to ‘Make Your Vision Real’.

www.integrasystems.com.au

Break-through product design and execution.

Empowering you to ‘Make Your Vision Real’

AMT Apr/May 2016

103

104

Manufacturers Pavilion

Collaborative robots expand automation options Andrew Donald Design Engineering (ADDE) is a leading automation solution provider to the Australian manufacturing industry. Founded 20 years ago, the company brings together a highly experienced team of designers, programmers and technicians to build robotic and automation solutions tailored to client’s specific needs.

“All projects start with a thorough understanding of the customer’s requirements” says Barry Hendy, Managing Director. “From these requirements we can then develop concepts and solutions that bring together the best combination of equipment and systems.”

The real challenge is finding the right balance to deliver the optimum value to the client’s operations. Almost anything is possible, but what is needed is what gives the best return on investment, including consideration of product quality, health and safety as well as productivity and labour savings. The team will then take that concept through to the completion of a turn-key solution installed and operating in the client’s plant.

While some solutions are best achieved with special purpose machinery, more often than not, a robot-based system provides an effective solution. ADDE has developed robotic solutions from small packing operations to the largest palletiser in the

AMT Apr/May 2016

country using the ABB range of industrial robots across almost all industries including the pharmaceutical, food and general manufacturing.

“We have been watching very closely as the new class of collaborative robots has developed over recent years. The Universal Robots have certainly been the leader in this field so we were very keen to be able to offer these collaborative solutions to our clients.” says Hendy.

ADDE is now a Universal Robots distributor and integrator, adding the option of simple, unguarded systems to the solutions being proposed. This enables a whole new range of opportunities for simpler and more costeffective solutions, only limited by your imagination. ADDE can now expect to see UR robots deployed in a wide range of manufacturing and packing applications, as well as the unexpected opportunities these small, capable and affordable collaborative robots enable.

ADDE 6B 841 Mountain Highway Bayswater, Victoria 3153 T: 03 9760 9600 W: www.adde.com.au E: info@adde.com.au Barry Hendy Managing Director T 03 9760 9605 E: barry@adde.com.au Andrew Donald Design Engineering (ADDE) serves the local manufacturing industry with innovative, custom automation solutions from concept to completion. ADDE designs and builds turn-key systems to your unique needs, from simple end-of-line packing using collaborative robots to complete manufacturing, inspecting, packaging or palletising systems.

Manufacturers Pavilion

Ecochrome – An alternative to electro-plated chrome and more!

Ecochrome is an innovative process that is a greener and quicker alternative to electro-plating chrome. It has a further advantage, in that other metals such as stainless steel, brass, titanium and various other metal alloys can also be used. Moreover, unlike electro-plated chrome it does not lift, peel, blister or bubble.

Ecochrome is also RoHS and REACH compliant. It is a dry process with no chemicals using plasma to coat. The process is a decorative physical vapour deposition (PVD) process that is quicker and less costly than electro-plating.

With the use of different metal alloys, a wide range of colours and gloss levels can be achieved, as well as a full or translucent finish. Being a low-temperature process, most plastics can be done without any warpage. Glass and metal parts can also be coated.

The process is performed in a vacuum chamber. At high vacuum a plasma is created using argon gas, which displaces the metal from a sacrificial target that is deposited onto the parts to be plated. By changing the gas to nitrogen, a nitride of the metal can be deposited.

This technology is used for cosmetic/ conductive and reflective coatings, for a range of industries including automotive, marine, lighting, signage, homewares and furniture, among others. Current customers for the Ecochrome process includes gaming machine parts, plumbing, signage, lighting reflectors, lawn mowers, perfume and cream bottle caps, garden pots and office furniture to name a few.

Ecochrome is a division of Décor Engineering. Having been in business for more than 40 years, Décor primarily does EMF coatings of copper and nickel for the electronics industry, and powder coating and chroming of automotive wheels.

Ecochrome 4 Brett Drive Carrum Downs, Victoria 3201 T: 03 9775 1339 F: 03 9775 0401 E: info@ecochrome.com.au W www.ecochrome.com.au www.decorengineering.com.au Tim Dash Director T: 03 9775 0433 E: tim@decorengineering.com.au Ecochrome is a division of Décor Engineering (Aust) Pty Ltd, which has been in business for more than 40 years. Décor has been making masks, painting and has been involved in vacuum metaliser operations since the 1970s, and leads the way in green technology.

ecochrome is an Australian owned and operated company, specialising in environmentally friendly chrome plating. Our team have been involved in high tech manufacturing and vacuum metaliser operations for over 45 years and have built a reputation on a commitment to deliver innovative solutions and premium products that are also safe for the environment.

Ongoing investments in environmentally friendly chrome plating research (PVD) and cutting-edge equipment keeps us at the forefront of the surface coating and finishing industries, so you can be assured you’ll only ever receive world class services and expert advice.

Leading the way in environmentally friendly chrome plating

4 Brett Drive, Carrum Downs, Victoria, 3201 Australia Tel: +61 3 9775 1339 www.ecochrome.com.au

AMT Apr/May 2016

105

106

Manufacturers Pavilion

High-quality regrinding for superior results With Mutech’s standard sharpening performance now eclipsing new tools from major OEM suppliers, the traditional drawbacks of resharpened tools no longer apply.

Mutech sharpened cutters allow the raising of baseline tooling performance without the expensive outlay incurred with new tools.

Nearly all cutters in the Australian market are now made with quality micro-grain carbide.

The number one difference between tool performance is only the quality of the geometry.

MuTech tailors geometries for their specific application. Mutech does not copy other manufacturers but develops its own technologies for repeatable and superior productivity. The company has dedicated geometries for hardened and unhardened steel, stainless, aluminium, titanium, plastics and even wood and composites. With this broad range of proven products, any new material application is rapidly mastered and adopted into its range.

With sharpening usually costing only a fraction of a new tool, MuTech offers the cost benefits without the performance and quality drawbacks traditionally associated with sharpening. Add to this the increase in hidden benefits like machine time, part quality, reduced labour, reduced tooling stock and substantially reduced new tool

AMT Apr/May 2016

purchasing, the flow-on benefits soon add up to a substantial net gain.

Based on its success with sharpened cutters and from continual customer requests, MuTech is now expanding into the manufacture of new carbide cutting tools.

Mutech can guarantee 100% consistent performance, whether the tool be brand new from the packet or back after its tenth resharpen. Quality and performance, every time – this is the speciality.

“Since adopting Mutech as our sharpener, our new tool purchasing has almost evaporated. Cutters come back like new every time and our staff happily use sharpened tools on production runs” says Gary Clayton, Director at Total Precision.

Cheyne Forbes, Director at Omega technical Engineering adds: “We were compromising productivity with our operators changing machine speeds because of variable sharpening. Switching to MuTech solved our issues immediately. We no longer notice a difference using sharpened tools”.

If you’re throwing money away on single use or poor-quality tooling, try Mutech.

MuTech Pty Ltd 7/173 Salmon St Port Melbourne, VIC, 3207 T: 03 9646 2261 F: 03 9645 3310 W: www.mutech.com.au E: info@mutech.com.au •

Precision CNC tool and cutter grinding.

•

Developers of special application tooling and parts manufacturing.

•

Developers of grinding systems software and original technologies.

Manufacturers Pavilion

Quality equipment, powerful software for gas and multiple industries Gasgep Industries Pty Ltd and its manufacturing division, Stahl Engineering, commenced operations more than 20 years ago.

With expertise in both gas welding and cutting equipment manufacture, and servicing multiple industries with machinery that facilitates production, CNC turning and milling, as well as general engineering.

Gasgep ultimately offers a customer-specific manufacturing service in a wide range of materials like brass, stainless steels, engineering plastics, aluminium and other ferrous metals and alloys.

Gasgep has also had long-standing experience in developing products in the gas Industry. This is attested to by its current diverse range of Australian manufactured items, such as balloon gas and other industrial gas regulators, like oxygen, acetylene, argon, nitrogen and air, laboratory equipment regulators, beverage and manifold systems and accessories, which are all supported by spare parts and repair servicing. Other gas industry services offered include a licenced gas cylinder testing station covering welded and braised cylinders with a hydrostatic testing capacity of up to 600 bar, as well as service exchange and repair on all

other makes of gas equipment, specifically cutting attachments, handles, multipurpose blowpipes and machine torches.

Gasgep can offer these services for one-off projects or large production cycles. It has expanded its capabilities to include a Fortus MC250 3D printer. This equipment offers a 254mm x 254mm x 305mm build envelope using production grade ABS in nine colours, allowing sketches to be rapidly manufactured into 3D reality, resembling finished products in both looks and durability. This, combined with powerful SolidWorks software, enables Gasgep to offer a whole newn up-to-date range of products and services.

With research and development being the hallmark of today’s catch-cry – innovation – it has never been easier with this combination of quality equipment, powerful software and 25 years experience in engineering and equipment manufacture. This CAD modelling and rapid prototyping service is now fully functional and available.

Gasgep Industries Pty Ltd 1 Acheson Place Coburg, Victoria 3058 T: 03 9354 9911 F: 03 9355 8675 W: www.gasgep.com.au E: enquiries@gasgep.com.au Paul Crocitti Director T: 03 9355 8664 E: paul@gasgep.com.au Gasgep Industries Pty Ltd is a family-run business that offers customer-specific manufacturing for multiple industries and in particular for the gas industry throughout Australia. This is achieved through extensive equipment and resources for general engineering, such as CNC turning and milling, 3D printing and production engineering.

Gasgep also provides an obligation-free quotation service for your convenience.

1 ACHESON PLACE COBURG VIC 3058 | PHONE 9354 9911 | FAX 9355 8675

EMAIL ENQUIRIES@GASGEP.COM.AU | WWW.GASGEP.COM.AU AMT Apr/May 2016

107

108

Manufacturers Pavilion

World-class builder of a wide range of products Global Manufacturing Group (GMG) is an Australian metal manufacturing company dedicated to customer service, exceptional and consistent quality and advancements in technology, equipment and infrastructure.

Established in 1982, GMG operates from two sites – Maryborough and Central QLD. GMG boasts over 7000sqm of factory workspace, with modern worldclass equipment and Lean manufacturing management principles. GMG offers a total turnkey operation, employing trained and qualified personnel operating on rotating rosters, delivering diversity and control.

GMG provides clients with high-quality products and an operation that can be relied upon. GMG manufactures all metal components; from simple to intricate, light to heavy, small to large. GMG services many diverse industries including mining, engineering, construction, transport, rail, gas & oil, energy and medical. Some projects include:

GMG is a fresh, enthusiastic company, rapidly expanding to meet industry demands.

The company is attentive in planning and accuracy of work, and meticulous in its attention to customers and their needs.

ISO 9001 Certified QMS, Environment & OHS management systems are integrated into MRP software, enabling real-time and eternal traceability of every aspect of the manufacturing operation. Project managers oversee client orders from quote to delivery.

• Full structural package for Central Qld Gas pipeline.

The dedicated, professional team at GMG have experience in all facets of metal fabrication and surface coatings. The fitters, welders, fabricators, machinists and trade assistants are available for on-site services for construction, installation and maintenance projects, large or small.

AMT Apr/May 2016

• Structural steel for Curtis Island Projects 1, 2 and 3.

• Drive conveyor modules.

• Tilt Train, Locos, Brisbane and Perth passenger cars (metal components, electrical ducting & junction boxes.

• WICET site services and structural steel components.

• Under-rail control systems.

• Galvanised substation steelwork.

• Lake Vermont coal project guards/ skirts.

• High-voltage power line components.

• Components for hospital equipment.

Global Manufacturing Group 92 Kent Street Maryborough, QLD 4650 T: 07 4122 4244 F: 07 4123 1389 W: www.gmqld.com.au E: sales@gmqld.com.au 11 Dalrymple Drive Gladstone QLD 4680 T: 07 4979 3068 F: 07 4979 3075 Phil Dowling T: 07 4122 4244 E: sales@gmqld.com.au GMG offers a Specialist Total Turnkey Operation of YOUR PRODUCT, with in-house control over all facets of the manufacturing processes. GMG offers customers a complete manufacturing service.

Your IndustrY. Your MagazIne.

Feb mar

AustrAliAn MAnufActuring technology

AustrAliAn MAnufActuring technology

AMT magazine is by the industry, for the industry and trusted by the industry.

Your IndustrY. Your MagazIne.

apr may

AMT reaches over 40,000 readers. It provides detailed coverage of all aspects of advanced precision manufacturing, with a special focus on metal machining, cutting and fabrication.

Features covers various areas of the industry, news, interviews and much more. AMT assists to develop your business interest.

Motorsport & AutoMotive

Defence & AerospAce

Cutting tools Forming & Fabrication Material removal additive Manufacturing software Compressors & air technology

robotics & automation Material removal Cutting tools Welding Forming & Fabrication Quality & Inspection

Nanotechnology & Micro Machining

Transport & Logistics

Print and digital advertising opportunities available.

For further information or advertising rates visit www.amtil.com.au or contact Anne Samuelsson, Sales Manager on 03 9800 3666 or email asamuelsson@amtil.com.au 1305aMT

110

Amtil Inside

Analogy between business and golf I spoke recently to a group of young students and thought it might be interesting for you to share the message I gave our next generation of businesspeople. Let me start by saying that, as a baby boomer, and having recently been told that Gen Z can tell in the first 15 seconds whether they are going to pay any attention to a presentation or not, I was a little apprehensive. Combine this with the fact that I am not into League of Legends or Minecraft and don’t know the meaning of the terms Gigaflop or Wavecore, and I think you will understand my quandary.

So, seeing as I get on the golf course with my two mid-twenty-year-old sons, I thought I would use the analogy of golf in my presentation as a way of bridging the generation gap. These graduates have just spent three or four years training, practising and learning their craft, on the range so to speak, getting ready to join the tour. Hopefully they had some fun along the way but have been disciplined enough to ensure the training has been beneficial and will stand them in good stead for what they want to achieve in the future. One of the first challenges is to decide where you want to make your mark. Deciding what industry or job sector you want to work in is a bit like deciding what tour to play on. It will depend on your skills and interests, but more importantly what you have passion for.

Now they are ready to stand on the first tee and ready to mix it with the big boys. So what is the first step? As any golfer will tell you, it’s important to get the first drive down the middle. This is a nervous time: wanting to make a good impression, feeling anxious about your capabilities, and trying to control your excitement. Keeping a positive attitude and faith in your ability (trust your swing) are key messages to remember. Now we have hopefully got down the first fairway, we need to look ahead. There is a target that has been set, usually by somebody else, and your challenge is to get to that target in the most effective way. This is where you need to be thinking all the time. More often than not there are hazards and sometimes the target can be tricky to get to. Being innovative in your thinking and positive in your efforts can make the outcome easier to achieve. It is important to remember that it is never going to be smooth sailing all the way. You are going to go in the rough at times, maybe even hit it out of bounds. How you recover from adversity and learn from your mistakes so that you don’t make them again is an important lesson. And remember, spitting the dummy is not an option.

How do we score our efforts? Like golf, success in business is not a one-off special effort, but a combination of many holes and rounds over many different courses. When you make a bogey, learn from what you did wrong. Remember that par is what you are expected to do and keeps you at the same level as the majority of your competitors.

Birdies are special. They show everybody you are capable of performing at a level better than average. The overall outcome is to have more birdies than bogies if you want to share in the winnings. The next stage in the analogy refers to your caddy.

This person is here to help you. He can mentor and assist you to get where you are going. He probably stands to benefit as well if you achieve what you want to, so use him to his fullest ability. Even if you think you know better, it doesn’t hurt to get his opinion. Experience and knowledge are more often just as important as attitude and skill. Success awaits with the X factor. A lot of your colleagues are going to be able to perform as well as you do. Being the Jordan Spieth of the professional world requires something special. Determining what your X factor is and being the best at it will be an area of continuous improvement as others catch up. Staying on top of the game is a big challenge that not everybody can do.

By far the biggest lesson for you to take into your business future is that the journey is so much more enjoyable if you have fun and get along with your playing partners.

Enjoying the workplace and getting on with people (even bridging the generation gap) is essential to success in business, and golf! Play well.

AMT Apr/May 2016

111

Amtil Inside

Eight ways to trigger an ATO audit

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) makes it clear in its annual compliance program that it will be active in its review and audit practices. For example, it expects to data-match over 640m transactions to tax returns this year. Damian Sutherland of William Buck outlines eight common ways that private businesses risk triggering an ATO audit.

What these triggers show is that your business’ tax compliance – in particular the annual income tax return – is more than a routine process. The ATO uses this as a key method to assess audit activity and select businesses for review. Businesses demonstrating best practice will have an active tax risk management process in place, involving senior management and key external advisors.

1. Financial performance out of kilter with sector

6. Unusual or incorrect items in annual tax returns

As a matter of course the ATO will statistically analyse your business’ tax returns. For manufacturers one aspect is performance compared to industry peers. If your data is inconsistent with the industry, this can be an indicator of tax issues. The ATO releases industry benchmarks, though they are limited for the manufacturing industry due to the diverse range of businesses in the sector and the inconsistency of the data. More information can be obtained from the ATO website.

The tax return is the main way the ATO gathers information on your business. Making mistakes in disclosure items can inadvertently cause that business to be flagged for review. There are internal checks in the returns (such as superannuation, cost of goods and withholding tax) and disclosures that are easily verifiable against publically available information or other information collated by the ATO (such as the existence of international transactions). Get these disclosures wrong and the ATO is likely to call. The ATO will compare tax returns year on year. Big fluctuations in financial position or particular line items can trigger an inquiry. The ATO regards three loss years out of five as indicative of problems. There may be genuine reasons, but the ATO is likely to investigate.

2. Don’t pay correct superannuation to employees If employees complain to the ATO that their employer has not paid the right amount of superannuation, or not paid it on time, this is a surefire way to get a review or audit. These audits can begin as a review of superannuation guarantee obligations, but quickly escalate to include income tax, general sales tax (GST) and fringe benefits tax (FBT) if the process isn’t appropriately managed.

3. Variance between tax returns and business activity statements Reconciling information on business activity statements and tax returns is a crucial part of tax risk management. Large variances between tax returns and activity statements for the corresponding period are likely to trigger an audit. Recently, a business was selected for an audit primarily because disclosures of capital and noncapital items on the activity statement differed from expenses and depreciable assets reported in the income tax return for that year (even though correct GST and income tax had been paid to the ATO).

4. Have a poor record of lodging returns on time It’s not just lodging income tax returns on time, but all compliance obligations (including activity statements, employee-related reporting, FBT, etc) and on-time payment of liabilities. Good compliance history can be invaluable in improving the ATO’s perception of a business.

5. Own vehicles, but don’t lodge an FBT return The ATO receives data from state and territory motor vehicle registries regarding individuals or businesses that have purchased vehicles (generally valued at $10,000 or more). For businesses, the ATO matches these purchases with information in tax returns and activity statements, with at least some private use expected. If the company or trust fails to lodge an FBT return showing private usage, or doesn’t include a ‘fringe benefit employee contribution’ in the income section of the tax return, an ATO audit is likely to be just around the corner. If an audit is triggered by the business owning a vehicle, the audit will generally cover income tax, GST and FBT.

7. Have international transactions International transactions are a key focus area for the ATO. Transactions with international related parties or tax havens, and material funds transfers in and out of Australia are examples that can raise a red flag. Defensive strategies, such as transfer pricing documentation, can often be the best way to manage this risk.

It is not just large businesses that are the focus in this area. SMEs with any international transactions should seek appropriate advice given recent legislative changes that increase the personal risk directors bear when their company conducts international transactions.

8. Be in the papers The old adage may be that all publicity is good publicity, but when it comes to tax risk, being in the papers can easily attract the attention of the ATO. A major transaction or dispute reported in the media will undoubtedly be seen by the ATO. Many business owners are selected for a review after the sale of a high-value asset (often the family home) is reported.

ATO audits can be quite involved and costly. It is worthwhile that businesses are aware of how they record and report information, and work in conjunction with external an accountant to ensure their statutory obligations are on time, accurate and cross-referenced.

Damian Sutherland is a director of William Buck (Vic) Pty Ltd Chartered Accountants. AMTIL has a service partnership with William Buck as an exclusive benefit to our members. For more information, contact AMTIL’s Corporate Services Manager Greg chalker at gchalker@amtil.com.au. Damian Sutherland can be contacted on 03 9824 8555. www.williambuck.com

At your service.

AMTIL supports its members through its select range of AMTIL Service Partners.

1271AMTIL

www.amtil.com.au/Membership/Service-Partners

AMT Apr/May 2016

112

Amtil Inside

Save on capital investment – Know your OEE Imagine the scenario: you have a lot of back-orders, can’t meet demand, production is crying downtimes, and output of equipment is just not happening. Lack of a daily measure is not helping to find a solution to the problem. Everyone advises to make investment for an additional line. By Vineet Ahuja.

What if there was ONE parameter that on a daily basis describes comprehensively what happens, and is linked directly with the bottom line? Just one number sent to you wherever you are at that moment that means you know if the facility made or lost money.

Well there is a measure, and it is called Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

1) Total Available Time = 365 days x 24 hours 2) Total Operating Time Planned

Unplanned

3) Actual Running Time

Downtime

Let’s look at the diagram pictured right: 1) The Total Available Time per year is 365 x 24 hours, and this is what the banks charge you interest on. Banks do not reduce your interest premiums if you only work one shift.

2) The Operating Time Planned is the manufacturing time planned, which could be one shift or whatever. The balance time not planned for is called Unplanned.

3) Actual Running Time is the time taken to produce the output. Output is zero during downtime.

4) In the time the lines run, there is a Standard Output possible, the design rate of the line. Better would be the average of the seven highest outputs in the past, called Maximum Demonstrable Rate (MDR). Normally, Standard Output is conditioned by existing constraints and average case scenarios.

5) Actual Output is the quantity made in the Actual Running Time. The difference between Standard and Actual Output is covered as Speed Losses (where output ran slower than expected).

6) From this Actual Output, there may be some rejects. Quality Accepted is the product ready for dispatch, and is what customer revenue comes from.

7) The difference between Quality Accepted and the potential output is the Capability Gap of the business – the capability not utilised to generate revenue, or in other words what the business is losing out on.

So what is the Capability Gap of your business? Let’s see how OEE helps you understand it.

The diagram shows that any improvement in Quality Accepted product to the Total Time or Planned Time will increase revenue.

Which is another way to say your assets are not being utilised effectively in adding value to your business. This is OEE – a low OEE means underutilisation, and any improvement means higher revenue.

AMT Apr/May 2016

4) Standard Output in this actual time Speed Losses

5) Actual Output done 6) Quality Accepted

Defects CAPABILITY GAP (Based on OEE Industry Standard, V2, August 2003

Therefore OEE measures the effectiveness of the equipment/assets in adding value. So how can we get an OEE number to come to you daily?

The overall performance of a single piece of equipment or even an entire factory will always be governed by the cumulative impact of three OEE factors: Availability, Performance and Quality. Let’s look at how we can calculate this in terms of the variables identified in the diagram.

OEE = Availability X Performance X Quality Availability = Actual Running Time / Total operating time planned (2) Performance = Actual Output / Standard Output Quality = Quality Accepted / Actual Output For example, take a single shift operation.

The Planned Time is 8 hours, while Actual Running Time is 7 hours. Standard Output expected is 100 units and Actual Output is 90 units. Out of this 90 units produced, 88 are accepted for quality. Then the above calculations show as below: Availability = 7/8 = 87.5%, or 0.875 Performance = 90/100 = 90%, or 0.9 Quality = 88/90 = 97.7% or 0.977 OEE = 0.875 x 0.9x 0.977 = 76.9% World-class companies have an OEE of 85%, so anyone claiming 100% efficiencies is not telling the complete truth as it is virtually impossible to achieve 100%. The measure of OEE against Total Available Time (365days x 24hrs) is called Total Equipment

Effective Performance (TEEP) and gives the total Capability of the assets.

The advantages of measuring OEE are: • It becomes a capital expansion decision parameter. If OEE is in low – say, 50%-60% – then getting a second line is not needed just because you can’t meet demand. Improve OEE and save capital to spend somewhere else. This then increases the life and effectiveness of the equipment and processes.

• It stops criticism of the people and concentrates on processes.

• It identifies the reason for low values in terms of downtime, breakdowns, lower speeds against design, quality problems and so on, so as to apply resources to improve.

• It is an immediate indication of ROI. A 1% improvement in OEE means a 1% direct improvement in revenuegenerating output.

There are many ways to measure OEE, from simple Excel worksheets, to software like Australia-made OFS or OEEToolkit. You don’t have to wait for next day’s written report to know what is happening in your plant but get a live real-time value on your PDA at any time of the day.

Vineet Ahuja is a Business Adviser with the Commonwealth Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme (EP). AMTIL is a partner organisation working with the Department of Industry in the delivery of the EP. www.business.gov.au/EP

ManufactureLink proudly owned and operated

by AMTIL

Follow our members on

Go Get linked!

Manufacturelink is your directory for all things Manufacturing. processes. services. technology.

1186AMT

We’ve got the link to make it happen.

Visit www.manufacturelink.com.au to learn more.

114

Amtil Inside

AMTIL Events – Dates for your calendar AMTIL has been working on its program of events for the coming year, and now we have some details for your diary.

We recently conducted an extensive survey looking at what sort of events you would like to see in future, what form they should take, and what content they should cover. This program has been designed in response to that survey’s findings, incorporating regulars such as our annual general meeting (AGM) and our Christmas Golf Day, as well as educational site tours, breakfast seminars and networking functions.

The events listed below will be added to as the year continues, so keep an eye on the AMTIL website for more information as it emerges.

AMTIL Tour of Australian Synchrotron Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Victoria 8.30am-10.30am, Wednesday 13 April The Australian Synchrotron is a world-class national research facility that uses accelerator technology to produce a powerful source of light – X-rays and infrared radiation – a million times brighter than the Sun. It supports a broad range of high-quality research, with applications in sectors from medicine and nanotechnology to manufacturing and mineral exploration. Its highly advanced techniques and passionate staff are contributing directly and demonstrably to scientific advances and industrial innovations with medical, social and economic benefits for all Australians.

Australian Synchrotron

AMTIL Business Mastery Breakfast Seminar – “Show me the Money”.

The Centre Ivanhoe, Ivanhoe VIC 7:30am, Thursday 5 May The Business Mastery Seminar is one of a number of breakfast events we have planned that will focus mainly on business development topics. The Business Mastery event will address two topics: • What is your business worth? – Three key considerations for valuing manufacturing companies. William Buck’s Corporate Advisory Director Tony Hood will discuss the three core elements for determining a manufacturing business’s value, how to increase it, and how to determine potential share value as an employee retention strategy.

• How are you being paid? – Best practice remuneration strategies for business owners. William Buck Business Advisory Director Damian Sutherland outlines the best practice for structuring your manufacturing business to legitimately minimise tax paid by your business for your salary while ensuring work safety regulations are met.

AMTIL Perth Networking Function Metro Bar & Bistro, Perth, Western Australia.

4:00pm, Wednesday 1 June For our members in Western Australia, this is a chance to join AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti for a drink, learn about AMTIL’s latest plans and have input into our future activities, enjoy casual networking with other members and industry representatives.

AMTIL Annual General Meeting Riversdale Golf Club, Mount Waverley, Victoria Thursday 20 October You spoke, we delivered: in response to your feedback in our events survey, we have decided to move our AGM from an evening to a morning event. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to have their say on AMTIL’s activities, network with other members, and find out how to get the most from their AMTIL membership. www.amtil.com.au/events

So long and best wishes

AMTIL said good bye to a key member of the team in February, as Rebecca Bates left to take on fresh challenges after five years as our Administration Coordinator.

Rebecca joined AMTIL in February 2011. During her time she kept a tight grip on the vast array of administrative duties that keep AMTIL afloat, from updating memberships and chasing up invoices, right through to keeping the office in stationery supplies, and ensuring that the biscuit tin in the kitchen was regularly replenished. She took a lead in AMTIL’s fledgling social media activities, and was generally on hand to provide ad hoc support with everything from IT questions to visitor parking.

Rebecca has left to pursue new career in teaching. She has been accepted into a Masters of Secondary Teaching, and also has some work lined up in a secondary school as a student wellbeing counsellor.

AMT Apr/May 2016

Rebecca’s role has now been filled with the appointment of Julie Lovemore. Julie spent the past eight years with Professional Association Management Services (PAMS) working in various roles including office administration, member services and database management.

Consequently she is well equipped for her new role at AMTIL with a good understanding of the non-profit sector.

AMTIL President Paul Fowler said: “We wish Rebecca well with her new career and know that she will make an excellent teacher. Of course, we welcome Julie with open arms.

Her experience with non-profit organisations, office administration and member services makes her a perfect fit for our organisation.”

Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited

Keeping it Simple.

One Membership, Many Benefits.

connect.inform.grow.

MeMbershIp pAckAges AvAILAbLe AMTIL membership for companies, individuals and supporters within the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector.

For more information visit www.amtil.com.au or contact corporate services Manager greg chalker on 03 9800 3666 or gchalker@amtil.com.au

1220AMTIL

www.amtil.com.au

116

Industry Calendar

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

INTERNATIONAL Hannover Messe Germany, Hannover 25-29 April 2016 Integrated Industry – Discover Solutions.

Includes wide range of themes and exhibits – R&D, industrial automation, IT, industrial supply, production engineering and services, energy and environmental technology. www.hannovermesse.de/home MTA Hanoi Vietnam, Hanoi 26-28 April 2016 Precision engineering, machine tools and metalworking exhibition http://mtahanoi.com/en/home Metal & Steel Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, Riyadh 1–4 May 2016 Steel fabrication and metallurgy event, colocated with Fabex. www.metalsteelsa.com AmCon Design & Contract Manufacturing Expo USA Kansas City: 3-4 May, 2016 Phoenix: 24-25 May, 2016 www.amconshows.com Industrial & Tool show USA Oklahoma: 4-5 May 2016 Arkansas: 11-12 May 2016 West Texas: 8-9 June 2016 Missouri: 26-27 October 2016 Showcase of industrial products and services. www.expoindustrialshows.com Fabtech Mexico Mexico, Mexico City 4-6 May 2016 Metal manufacturing exhibition. Co-located with AWS Weldmex, Metalform Mexico and COATech. Includes latest innovations in the metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industries http://mexico.fabtechexpo.com Taipei Manufacturing Technology Show Taiwan, Taipei 5-8 May 2016 Manufacturing technology, includes automation, machine components & accessories; CAD/CAM, inspection/ measurement; metal cutting/forming machine tools; composites. www.mtduo.com.tw Intertool Austria, Vienna 10-13 May 2016 Manufacturing technology in the metal processing sector. Includes machine and precision tools for separating and forming work piece processing, and technologies along the entire process chain. www.intertool.at FIMAQH Argentina, Buenos Aires 10-14 May 2016 International trade show for machine tools.

Includes microfabrication ,sheet metal

AMT Apr/May 2016

forming, cutting, deburring, milling, boring and moulding machines, rapid prototying, automation, metrology and other high-tech production processes. www.fimaqh.com/2016

industrial fasteners and fixings, assembly and installation systems, storage and logistics services, fastener manufacturing technology and construction fixings. www.fastenerfair.com/delhi/english

AsiaBLECH China, Suzhou 11-13 May 2016 International sheet metal working trade fair. BLECH China has been rebranded as AsiaBLECH, creating clear parallels with EuroBLECH. Subdivided into 20 technology sectors, this event demonstrates the entire sheet metal-working technology chain and includes forming, fabrication, tube, finished products, component assembly, robotics, CAD/CAM, tools/dies, metrology. http://www.asiablech.com/en

Metalloobrabotka Russia, Moscow 23-27 May 2016 Integrated technologies based on highperformance machines, tools, and equipment for modernisation of factories Includes metal cutting, forming, welding, dies & moulds, CAD/CAM and associated equipment. www.metobr-expo.ru/en

Lamiera Italy, Bologna 11–14 May 2016 Machines and equipment for the machining of sheet metal, pipes, sections, wire and metal structural work and dies. welding. heat treatments. surface treatment and finishing and accessories. Co-located with BLECHItaly. www.lamiera.net/en Intermach 2016 Thailand, Bangkok 11- 14 May 2016 International industrial machinery and subcontracting exhibition. Includes the latest technology in sheet metal fabrication. www.sheetmetalexhibition.com IndExpo Industrial Exhibitions India Indore: 13-15 May 2016 Jaipur: 17-19 June 2016 Hyderabad: 1-3 September 2016 www.ind-expo.com Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show Canada, Montreal 16-18 May 2016 Manufacturing event specialising in machine tools, tooling, metalworking, additive manufacturing, automation, design and physical asset management solutions. www.mmts.ca

Metaltech Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 25-28 May 2016 Malaysia’s largest exhibition for the metalworking and machine tool industries.

Includes sheet metal technology and machine tools (cutting, drilling, deburring, grinding, ECM) metrology, CAD/CAM, mould/die, material handling and associated machinery. www.metaltech.com.my BIEMH Spain, Bilboa 30 May–4 June 2016 Metal cutting & forming machine-tools, robotics, metrology & quality control, automations, welding, electrical & electronic equipment, workshop & company services, other machinery. http://biemh.bilbaoexhibitioncentre.com// en EMEX New Zealand, Auckland 31 May – 2 June 2016 Largest national trade event for the NZ manufacturing, engineering, machinery & electronics industries. Includes welding, forming and cutting tools, automation, software, metrology. www.emex.co.nz Metalform China DongGuan: 2-6 June 2016 Beijing: 21-24 September 2016 Features the whole industry chain of metal stamping, fabricating and forging. www.chinaforge.com.cn/en

RAPID 2016 USA, Florida 16-19 May 2016 Preeminent event for 3D printing, scanning, and additive manufacturing. www.rapid3devent.com

Guangzhou Intl. Metal & Metallurgy China, Guangzhou 12-14 June 2016 Includes sheet metal machinery, metal processing, robotics, die casting. www.julang.com.cn/english

Mecanica Brazil, Sao Paulo 17-21 May 2016 Includes machine tools/accessories, automation & process control, measurment, welding, surface treatment, machinery for plastics processing. www.mecanica.com.br/en

IMTS USA, Chicago 12-17 September 2016 Held every two years. Premier manufacturing technology show in North America. Over 2000 exhibitors and more than 15,000 new machine tools, controls, computers, software, components, systems and processes. www.imts.com

Fastener Fair India India, New Delhi 19-20 May 2016 Exclusively dedicated to fastener and fixing technologies. Covers a wide range of

Industry Calendar local LNG18 Perth 11-15 April 2016 18th international conference & exhibition on liquefied natural gas. Features the largest number and highest level of LNG industry leaders worldwide as plenary speakers. For the first time the CEOs from Shell, Chevron and Woodside will jointly open the plenary program “The Transformation of Global Gas. www.lng18.org Connect Expo Melbourne Exhibition & Conference Centre 19-20 April 2016 Australia’s leading and fast-growing business technology and innovation trade show. It consists of a large scale tradeshow with themed technology zones combined with a multi-streamed conference program. The event is backed by the Victorian Government and the world’s leading tech companies. www.connectexpo.com.au Mining & Engineering Western Australia Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre 3–5 May 2016, Biennial mining industry exhibition & conference focussing on the unique needs, challenges and opportunities facing WA’s mining industry www.miningandengineeringwa.com.au National Manufacturing Week Sydney Showground 11-13 May 2016 Fully integrated annual manufacturing exhibition showcasing the latest products and constantly evolving technologies in the expanding manufacturing market. www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au Adelaide Boat Show Adelaide Event & Exhibition Centre, Wayville 30 June – 3 July 2016 Leading recreational marine and boating event, showcasing large & small boats and accessories. www.adelaideboatshow.com.au Queensland Mining & Engineering Exhibition Mackay Showground 26–28 July 2016 Includes latest mining products, technologies & services. www.queenslandminingexpo.com.au Sydney Boat Show Darling Harbour & Glebe Island 28 July–1 August 2015 The largest recreational marine event in the southern hemisphere www.sydneyboatshow.com.au

Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo Sydney 10-11 August 2016 Categories include: waste services companies, landfill owners/operators, independent contractors, government, compost professionals, organics recycling, waste generators, recycling firms, trucks, machinery and equipment manufacturers, healthcare distributers, legal, insurance, financial firms. www.awre.com.au Melbourne Home Show Melbourne Exhibition Centre 18-21 August 2016 Melbourne’s longest running Home Show for all the latest products, services and innovations for home improvement. www.melbournehomeshow.com.au Land Forces 2016 Adelaide Convention Centre 6-8 September 2016 Australia’s premier land defence exhibition and a leading land defence forum for Australia, Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. An international industry exposition to showcase equipment, technology and services for this region. Includes conferences and seminars.

Showcase for manufacturers, systems integrators, maintenance and logistics specialists. www.landforces.com.au All-Energy Australia Melbourne Exhibition & Conference Centre 4-5 October 2016 Australian Sustainability Conference. Includes solar, alternative technologies, energy efficiency and storage. Comprehensive coverage to all sectors of the clean and renewable energy industry. www.all-energy.com.au Ausrail 2016 Conference & Exhibition Adelaide 22-23 November 2016 Largest rail event in Australasia and is supported by the leading industry associations www.ausrail.com Motor World Sydney Sydney Motorsport Park 30 November – 4 December 2016 Inaugural event which presents the Australian automotive industry to Australian and Asia Pacific visitors. Comprehensive program for motoring enthusiasts includes education, product and technology presentations, entertainment and retail precincts.. www.motorworldsydney.com

Advertiser Index ADFOAM 53 Alfex CNC cover, 18-19 AMTIL AMT Ad 87, 109 AMTIL EP 29 AMTIL Hotspots 89 AMTIL ManufactureLink 113 AMTIL Membership 115 Andrew Donald Design Engineers 104 Applied Machinery 37 BAC Systems 102 BOC 11 Complete Machine Tools 33 Compressed Air Australia 23 Dept. Industry, Innovation & Science/ 27 ECI Solutions 45 Ecochrome 105 Gasgep Industries 107 Global Manufacturing Group 108 Guhring 17 Hare & Forbes 9 Headland 120 Hi-Tech Metrology 95 IMTS 39 Industrial Laser 15 Integra Systems 103 ISCAR 2-3 JODEK Pty Ltd 101 Machinery Forum 119 MTI 93 MuTech 106 Okuma 7 OSG Tooling 4-5 Reed Exhibitions - NMW 21 RMIT 61 Robert Bosch 68-69 Sandvik 13 SECO Tools 75 Sheetmetal Machinery 51 Sustainability Victoria 25 Techni Waterjet 43 Your Industry. Your Magazine.

Jun JUL

Australian Manufacturing Technology

MINING & RESOURCES The lead feature in our June/July edition looks at how Australian manufacturers are uncovering rich prospects for growth in the mining and resources sectors.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CUTTING TOOLS FORMING & FABRICATION

Advertise in Australia’s No. 1 precision and manufacturing magazine

MATERIAL REMOVAL

Call Anne Samuelsson of AMTIL on 03 9800 3666 or email asameulsson@amtil.com.au

COMPOSITES & ADVANCED MATERIALS

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MOTORS & DRIVES

AMT Apr/May 2016

117

118

history

Big wheels & little wheels – the story of Sir Laurence John Hartnett (1898 – 1986)

Part 12

Taking a liking to the Vikings UK-born Sir Laurence Hartnett arrived in Australia in 1934. The visionary Sir Laurence became known as Australia’s ‘Father of the Holden’ – and much more. But before Sir Laurence sets foot in Australia, GM’s Swedish & Finnish automotive enterprises must be established. There’s plenty of ice to break (literally), schnapps to pour and 15,000 cars to sell. The year is 1927-28.

A

waiting me was a hectic period of travel throughout Sweden and Finland - countries that were completely new to me, whose languages I could not speak.

Getting the Swedish automotive factory built and the production-line rolling was one part of our job. Selling the cars was another. As sales manager that was very much my responsibility. A Buick distributor had been established for a long time in Sweden before we arrived. But if we were to clear the great volume of vehicles to be assembled at the new Stockholm plant, it would be necessary to establish an efficient dealer network to cover almost every part of the country. Advertising campaigns had to be launched and field men appointed to find and look after the dealers in the new areas. The same thing had to be done in Finland where cars in volume had not appeared. We had to set up distribution for six makes, and four of them for volume sales namely Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Despite that fact that I could not speak the languages, it did not hamper my work much.

Many Swedes spoke good English, and I picked up new words of Swedish each week.

Before long I was making myself understood.

Since GM, New York had allotted Finland as part of our sales territory, I went across to that country to organize a distribution set-up, spending a lot of time there, and eventually coming to understand the Finns.

The Finn is the toughest character I’ve ever met. He has to be, I suppose, to live in such a severe climate. He works hard, drinks hard, fights hard. He develops a stamina that must be comparable to the Spartans. Prohibition was in force in Finland in 1928, and this provided Latvian and Estonian smugglers with a roaring trade in bootleg alcohol. Vodka or schnapps is the normal drink, but the only thing going during prohibition was a concoction the Latvians made. It was really potent! Every second Finn carried a medicine bottle of the stuff which he’d swig at intervals. It knocked many of them with only one or two swigs. They’d collapse in the snow, come to, and stagger off home. Anyone not acclimatized to Finland would probably have died on the spot.

Finland is a bi-lingual country, speaking Swedish and Finnish.

The original Finns lived for hundreds of years in the mountains of the inland, where they’d been pushed by invaders. There was bloodshed after the 1917 Russian revolution, but thankfully there was a halt to the fighting and they settled down to live in peace with the Swedish-speaking Finlanders. The Finns resurrected the very

old Finnish language, however, and made it the official language.

Finnish must be the most difficult language for any other European to master. It has made the letter “a” king. The Government, carefully nurturing the newly resurrected old language, formed a special committee to examine every application made for a Finnish translation of the words of other languages. All this took an embarrassingly long time. Once our catalogues were held up for ten days while the “word-making” committee decided on the correct translation of the words: “down-draught carburettor”. The translation, when it came, was a word of about seventeen letters and most of them were a’s.

Finland had never had a countrywide car-sales distribution setup until we came along, so we not only had to select a likely concern to be a dealer, but we had to explain just how the whole scheme worked: showrooms, parts stock, service, selling, ordering and the whole business procedure from scratch.

Our first combined convention for dealers from all over Sweden and Finland was a three-day riot. The schnapps flowed in the social sessions, and the babble of tongues flowed unceasingly. Standing on the stage bashing out the sales features of the new Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick or Pontiac, I had in each wing of the stage, in a glass cubicle, interpreters for repeating my talks in Swedish and Finnish. In this way all could follow what I had to say. I used to employ all the tricks of the game: a pocket knife to try to scratch the new, first-to-appear, chrome plating and demonstrations by big and little men and pretty girls, of the comfortable seating. During all this I would throw in a good sprinkling of humorous remarks. It was a comedian’s dream. Three sets of laughs for one joke! First those who understood my English guffawed. Then, half a minute later, the Swedes would roar as their interpreter caught up. Then, anything up to a minute later, the Finns would get the joke and give out great bellowing laughs.

The severe Scandinavian winter slows things down, including carbuyers. As shipping closed because of ice, and with Finns impatient for their cars, we wondered: could we use old German warships as ice-breakers?

To be continued…

Above: GM commemorative 1928 Swedish medal depicting a Viking ship and GM car of the era. Inscription reads: “A car for every purse and purpose”

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

AMT Apr/May 2016

lean

salvagninigroup.com

Panel bending without limits

Flexibility

Unique bending tools for parts, panels and profiles from 0.4 to 3.2 mm.

Productivity

Automatic tool set-up in masked time with no set-up times.

Intelligence

Automatic compensation of variations in sheet behaviour thanks to MAC 2.0.

Simplicity

Easy programming and 3D simulation of bending process with EDITP4 2.0 software.

Automation

Intelligent automation for stand-alone, in-line operation or factories 4.0.

ONLY 9 kW

UNIQUE BENDING TOOLS

ZERO SET-UP TIME

ZERO SCRAP

Lean generation: Today's solution. For your tomorrow.

3.000 installations in 75 countries and 40 years of experience: this is panel bending by Salvagnini.

Machinery Forum NSW Pty Ltd 43 Brodie Street, Rydalmere NSW 2116 Phone: +61 2 9638 9600 - Email: machinery@mafosyd.com.au

FIRST PART GOOD PART