AMT APR/MAY 2019

AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY YOUR INDUSTRY. YOUR MAGAZINE

APRIMAY19

5

AUSTECH PREVIEW Shipping, Rail & Logistics State Spotlight: Western Australia

AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY YOUR INDUSTRY. YOUR MAGAZINE

APRIMAY19

AUSTECH PREVIEW Shipping, Rail & Logistics State Spotlight: Western Australia

hydRauliC NC

GuilloTINES

HG-4012

(Order Code: S948)

$43,950

ex GST

44 Models Available Online

METALMASTER GUILLOTINE FEATURES • Hydraulic individual sheet material clamping system with nylon inserts to protect material from indentation from clamping cylinders.

• Bottom shearing blade made from 6CrW2Si quality composite and has four cutting edges minimising down time in blade rotation.

• Three photo electric rear guards are fitted to the steel side gates ensuring that the machine will be disabled when person enters rear of machine, even if in use.

• Ezy-Set NC-89 Go-To digital display control provides up to 1000mm travel via hardened ballscrew backgauge, and a stroke counter and stroke adjustment dial.

• Electronically welded steel main frame ensures maximum penetration, and the cutting beam has been stress relieved eliminating any distortion after manufacturing.

• Safety reset button for guarding system located at rear of machine.

• Control unit mounted on swivel pendant arm to allow access to the control from the side.

• Transfer balls inserted into work table allows material to be easily moved to the cut position and squaring arm.

• Top shearing blade made from 6CrW2Si quality composite and has two cutting edges, minimising down time in blade rotation.

• Shadow line lighting provides a clear cutting line on the work piece.

• The heavy duty squaring arm is fitted with a graduated rule, adjustable flip-up front stops and mitre guide, allowing operator to the required size from the front of machine. Flip over stops can be set to repeat cutting length.

• Sliding material chutes are fitted with inserted ball transfers allows the operator to retrieve cut pieces without disabling machine.

• Mild steel capacity is rated on hot rolled material with 250MPA

Available at

www.machineryhouse.com.au Specifications are subject to change without notice. All prices exclude GST and are valid until 31-05-19

02_AMTIL_050419

• Blade gap adjusting dial from 1 - 12mm mounted on the side of the machine.

Hydraulic CNC

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PressbrakeS

PB-200B $65,950 ex GST

(Order Code: S912F)

31 Models Available Online

METALMASTER PRESSBRAKE FEATURES • Hydraulic/Mechanical ram, synchronised positive stop design. Electronically controlled by CNC FASFOLD Programmable control for accurate repeatability.

• Includes sliding steel fabricated sheet supports. Sheet supports are adjustable vertically to support material with return bends already folded.

• CNC FASFOLD 202 programmable hardened ballscrew backgauge with adjustable height finger stops.

• Adjustable sliding blocks control the machine's beam to provide desirable opening height to the mute bending point. Locking knobs for quick adjustment enables accurate repeatability.

• Segmented heavy duty 86° offset top punch for return bend clearance

• Metal safety guarding with rear sliding door and micro switch ensures operator safety. Clear access panels to view tooling and work piece during bending.

MetalMaster specially design gates to suit Australian safety requirements.

• Multi vee ('V') bottom die is made from one 4000mm solid die block, safety edge vee ('V') is incorporated in bottom die block.

• Manual crowning system allows operator to adjust table bed to correct deflection.

• Mono-block steel frame design.

• Enclosed rear gate with micro safety switches complete with sliding rear door for easy access.

NSW

(02) 9890 9111

1/2 Windsor Rd, Northmead

• Hydraulic MPA pressure gauge with quick adjusting pressure control knob allows operator to set the required pressure, incorporated with hydraulic overload protection.

QLD

(07) 3715 2200

625 Boundary Rd, Coopers Plains

• Welded steel fabricated synchronised torsion bar horizontally supporting main bending beam to provide consistent parallelism that also can be adjusted for taper correction.

• The vertical supporting slides are treated to provide greater ware resistance and increased accuracy.

• Reinforced side frames providing additional support strength to machine throat.

• Australian made Foldsafe closed loop safety control system with European light curtains that continuously monitor machine performance.

• Mild steel capacity is rated on hot rolled material with 250MPA

VIC

(03) 9212 4422

4 Abbotts Rd, Dandenong

WA

(08) 9373 9999

11 Valentine St, Kewdale 02_AMTIL_050419

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CONTENTS

Volume 19 Number 02 APR/MAY 2019 ISSN 1832-6080

FEATURES AUSTECH PREVIEW AUSTECH 2019 – The Biggest Show Yet

44

NATIONAL MANUFACTURING WEEK Industrial evolution the focus for NMW 2019

74

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION Soft robots – Refreshing robotics Robots improve safety in manufacturing logistics Unleash the power of AI in manufacturing

78 80 82

ADVANCED MATERIALS & COMPOSITES Ultrathin graphene - New concept for solar

83

MATERIALS HANDLING Konecranes analysis tool ensures compliance

84

FORMING & FABRICATION Yawei laser delivers quality and speed Multicam – Sponsoring our future engineers

86 88

SHIPPING, RAIL & LOGISTICS Incat delivers to Malta Oz invention to improve road construction

94 95

STATE SPOTLIGHT: WESTERN AUSTRALIA Future Engineering builds strong profile Manufacturing in WA – Times are a-changin’ Bull Motor Bodies grows with Narva

98 99 100

CUTTING TOOLS Optimum machining for tough materials Iscar – Parting for productivity

102 104

MOTORS & DRIVES Bonfiglioli marks 30th year Down Under

106

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

10 12 14 16 18

INDUSTRY NEWS Current news from the industry

22

VOICEBOX Opinions from across the manufacturing industry

30

TECH NEWS

34

PRODUCT NEWS| New and interesting products

36

ONE ON ONE Dr Stuart Thomson

90

COMPANY FOCUS Amiga Engineering – Adding capability

96

44 AUSTECH 2019 – The Biggest Show Yet As it marks its 20th anniversary year, Austech 2019 gets underway on 14 May - and it’s set to be the biggest Austech yet.

78 Soft robots – Refreshing robotics Robots’ capabilities are poised for exponential growth thanks to a new category of robots arriving on the scene: soft robotics.

90 Dr Stuart Thomson Dr Stuart Thomson is the CEO & MD of the Rail Manufacturing CRC. He spoke to AMT about rail manufacturing’s potential in Australia.

96

AMTIL FORUMS

108

AMTIL INSIDE The latest news from AMTIL

112

Amiga Engineering – Adding capability

118

After three decades in business, Amiga Engineering has continued to innovate - with its aim to offer Australia’s first privately-owned turnkey service for 3D printing in metals.

MANUFACTURING HISTORY A look back in time

AMT APR/MAY 2019

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FROM THE EDITOR WILLIAM POOLE

The B-word I’d really started to hope I might get away with it. Nearly three years had passed since the vote; the deadline was so close… Somehow it looked like I might get through the entire process of the UK leaving the European Union, without once writing about Brexit.

But no. At the time of writing, the UK has been granted a postponement to resolve the parliamentary stalemate over the terms of its exit. By the time you read this, the UK Parliament may have finally agreed to leave under Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal; it may still be hurtling towards a perilous “no-deal Brexit” as political infighting remains unresolved; or it may be preparing for a second referendum – wherein the whole process might be scrapped altogether.

You see why I’m a little reluctant to write about Brexit?

As an expat Pom, I often get asked about Brexit, and it’s hard not to answer with: “How long have you got?” People with little connection to the UK seem understandably baffled by the subject. But it’s hard to convey its complexity, or its implications in so many areas: the healthcare system, Northern Ireland, the reliability of food supplies, commercial aviation... Hard to distill all that and more, not least for a magazine about manufacturing.

Recently, however, manufacturing moved front and centre in the Brexit debate. On 4 February, Nissan announced it was shelving plans to build its X-Trail SUV at its Sunderland plant in north-east England. Two weeks later, Honda stated it would close its factory in Swindon in 2021. After three years of warnings about the economic implications of Brexit, real consequences finally seemed to be materialising.

Both carmakers downplayed Brexit’s role in their decisions. And it’s true other factors would have a credible influence. The global car market is shifting – at increasing speed – towards electric vehicles, particularly in Asia; retooling UK factories would make little commercial sense. Moreover, on 1 February, a free-trade agreement between the EU and Japan came into force, wiping out one of the key advantages of having a UK manufacturing presence: tariff-free access to Europe.

And yet, it’s quite a coincidence: two corporations downgrading their UK presence just weeks before Brexit, amid mounting uncertainty and political deadlock. It’s also to be expected that both companies would resist openly blaming Brexit; those 17 million Leave voters are still 17 million potential car-buyers.

But both companies had long raised misgivings over Brexit. They had good grounds for concern. Two years ago, senior Nissan executive Colin Lawther explained to a UK parliamentary committee that the Sunderland plant gets through about 5 million parts every day, while only holding stocks for about a half a day’s production. Around 85% of those parts are imported, mainly from Europe. Anyone familiar with modern manufacturing knows how vital reliable supply chains are, and Brexit threatens to put a big kink in those chains – not just for two car plants, but right across UK manufacturing.

Of course, Brexit might go ahead and become a resounding success – who knows? But once the UK is out of Europe, it won’t benefit from that Japan-EU trade agreement – the world’s biggest free trade deal – and will have to negotiate its own deals instead. And the chaotic political climate surely won’t strengthen its hand in negotiations, or reassure investors.

Strange times for the country that gave the world the Industrial Revolution.

YOUR INDUSTRY. YOUR MAGAZINE.

AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

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

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012

FROM THE CEO SHANE INFANTI – Chief Executive Officer AMTIL

AMTIL launches Unlimit3D conference AMTIL has recently unveiled details of its Unlimit3D Conference, scheduled to be held on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 May at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. With the theme ‘Unlocking Additive Manufacturing Opportunities’, the Conference will feature speakers from around the world as well as local companies that have implemented additive manufacturing technology into their production processes.

As a keynote presenter at our conference, we are pleased to have Rob Gorham, Executive Director of America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute at the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). America Makes is the US’s leading collaborative partner in additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation.

Structured as a public-private partnership, America Makes innovates and accelerates additive manufacturing and 3D printing to increase the US’s global manufacturing competitiveness.

Rob previously served as the Director of Operations and Deputy Director of Technology Development, where he led the development of a robust member-driven additive manufacturing roadmapping methodology and shaped the America Makes’ project call process, which has resulted in a $300m research & development portfolio.

Rob also led the NCDMM, Siemens, and Deloitte team in the creation of the America Makes Digital Storefront, an innovative PLM-based data management tool to access and consume America Makes’s intellectual capital assets.

Prior to joining America Makes, he was Senior Manager of the Manufacturing Exploration and Development Group at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics – Advanced Development Programs, also known as The Skunk Works. In this position, Rob was responsible for leading the transition-focused development and application of affordable manufacturing technologies for Lockheed Martin.

Rob will give the America Makes story and make some comparisons to where Australia currently sits with the establishment of the Additive Manufacturing Hub. Another highlight of the speaker program will be Bruce McLean, currently an Advisor with international additive manufacturing consultancy The Barnes Group Advisors. Bruce has broad qualifications and experience in aircraft engineering with both the New Zealand and United Kingdom Royal Air Forces, including A&P Mechanic, Aeronautical Diploma, Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a post-graduate Aero-Systems Engineering Degree.

More than half of his 40-plus years of experience have been in aviation-related industries – both in military and commercial airline operations, maintenance, repair & overhaul and design.

Bruce was a founding partner and the Senior Engineer with Zenith Tecnica in New Zealand since early 2014, which led to the successful commercialisation of electron beam melting (EBM) additive manufacturing for the aerospace, space, motorsport, medical and marine sectors among a global customer base. Consequently, Bruce has established a worldwide reputation as a technology and industrialisation specialist with EBM technology.

Elsewhere during the conference, John Croft will be providing an overview of the opportunities that the Additive Manufacturing Hub has to offer. Led by AMTIL and generously supported by the Victorian Government, the AM Hub has been established to grow and develop additive manufacturing capability. Its goals are to: promote and market additive manufacturing capabilities; support the creation of high-quality additive manufacturing jobs; provide a forum for dialogue and communication for the additive manufacturing industry, to encourage R&D, innovation, collaboration and provide a strong, cohesive voice on additive manufacturing sector development.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

John is uniquely well placed to oversee the direction of the Additive Manufacturing Hub, having been at the forefront of the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in Australia for more than two decades. In the early 1990s he launched Interact Plastic Services, the first private company in this country to move into AM, having purchased a Stratasys FDM 2000 3D printer.

Joining Rob, Bruce and John will be Stefan Ritt, Director of 3YOURMIND, a German-based additive manufacturing solutions firm, and Rolf Frohberger, Business Development Manager of SLM Solutions also based in Germany.

The speaker program also includes a number of companies that have implemented additive technology into their business, including Bastion Cycles, voestalpine, Aurora Labs, Conflux, BAE Systems and Anatomics. Their stories, trials and tribulations will make for interesting listening.

I look forward to seeing many of our readers attending this new event.

Tue 14 May 2019: 8.00 am Wed. 15 May 2019: 8.00am-12.30pm Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hospitality Suite 3, Exhibition Centre Door 4, 1 Convention Centre Pl, South Wharf, VIC 3006 The Unlimit3D Conference will take place alongside Austech and National Manufacturing Week, running from 14-17 May at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Austech will also house the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, a dedicated exhibition space for additive manufacturing technology.

To register for the Unlimit3D Conference; visit: www.amtil.com.au/events/unlimit3d-conference-2019

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FROM THE MINISTRY THE HON KAREN ANDREWS MP – Minister for Industry, Science and Technology

Don’t be afraid of innovation People innovate every single day. In fact, just about every business out there is already doing it. Innovation, after all, simply means coming up with new ways of doing things.

It doesn’t mean leaving the past behind and only focusing on the future, it’s about helping bring yesterday into today and tomorrow.Our traditional industries like mining and manufacturing actually benefit from innovation; it’s what allows them to flourish and in turn grow the economy and create jobs.

Innovation is about creating practical solutions, whether they’re new products, processes or services. It’s about embracing change and doing things differently to take advantage of new opportunities. And it’s about creating, sharing and adapting new ideas to improve our lives through what we make, what we do, and how we do it.

When you think about it, everything we have around us has been created, in some way, by people who imagined doing something in a different way. In other words, we wouldn’t be where we are today without creative, forward-thinking people with ideas.

My focus, as the Minister responsible, has been to normalise the whole innovation debate. As I’ve been emphasising of late, innovation isn’t a word to be scared of. It represents opportunities for established companies to grow their businesses and their markets.

It’s more than just support for start-ups, and the Liberal National Government has a very strong focus on engaging all Australians in the innovation and technology space.

Australian businesses, small and large, young and established, from cities to regional communities, are looking to how they can work better and smarter, to generate wealth and create jobs. Automotive manufacturing company AW Bell, based in Victoria, is a great example.

AW Bell manufactured complex metal parts for the automotive industry. Responding to the declining domestic automotive industry, AW Bell switched its focus to producing metal components for the international aerospace and defence industries, particularly the United States’ Joint Strike Fighter program. The business essentially reinvented itself. This move meant AW Bell could manufacture for the international defence and aerospace industries, where there were new market opportunities.

The Government, through my department, was proud to help AW Bell on its journey.

The business accessed several grants and advisory services, including the Automotive

AMT APR/MAY 2019

“Innovation isn’t a word to be scared of.

It represents opportunities for established companies to grow their businesses and their markets.

New Markets Program, and the Enterprise Connect Program. This helped it pursue a more efficient business model and diversify its market reach, resulting in its emergence within the aerospace and defence industries.

AW Bell also leveraged the expertise of CSIRO to produce its innovative metal casting process, which allows the company to produce extremely high-quality aluminium components. This capability gave AW Bell a competitive edge and opened the door to a number of international markets.

We’re also supporting companies with bold ideas to solve everyday problems.

Companies like Perth-based electronic product solutions business Atamo, which is helping safeguard Australia from diseases brought in by mosquitoes and other bugs.

Atamo was started in 2003 by senior engineers who were keen to help others take their novel ideas and turn them into technically and commercially successful products.

And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Planes have long been a way for mosquitoes and bugs to hitchhike into Australia – but Atamo has come up with a solution.

Atamo’s portable, automated spectrometer system measures pyrethroid residues on internal surfaces of aircraft. In other words, it automates the process of regular testing for mosquitos and other bugs, and helps to ensure airlines are compliant with Australia’s strict bio-security requirements.

Atamo received help from the Coalition through the Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII). BRII provides SMEs with grant funding to develop innovative solutions for government policy, test and refine the device and its technical elements, and to produce prototypes. The success of Atamo’s BRII round one project has created opportunities for the business on a global scale.

Atamo is now involved in international discussions to rid the world of malaria – including possible future work with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium, to develop technologies to combat malaria and other deadly mosquito-borne diseases.

Both these companies reinforce my mantra that innovation isn’t something to be afraid of. In fact, it’s something we should embrace. Atamo and AW Bell are taking on challenges that require innovative solutions.

And there are thousands of others like them, across the nation and from all sectors of the economy, that are bursting out of the blocks and creating hundreds of thousands of new job opportunities.

I want to help every business improve the way they are working, whether that’s better systems, better processes, or better materials. I can’t think of anything more important than providing the foundation we need to generate more growth, secure more jobs, higher incomes, and a better standard of living for all Australians.

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FROM THE INDUSTRY INNES WILLOX – Chief Executive Australian Industry Group

Australia’s tertiary education system requires a comprehensive policy overhaul Tertiary education is vitally important to Australian society and the economy. From an industry perspective, the sectors within tertiary education provide both the skilled and qualified entrants to the workforce, as well as the reskilling or upskilling of our existing workforce.

Ai Group has just released a wide-ranging report into Australia’s tertiary education system which identifies formidable challenges that need to be addressed to deliver better outcomes for industry, our community and the economy. The report – Realising Potential: Solving Australia’s tertiary education challenge – identifies those challenges and makes recommendations that would add greater coherence to the policy framework that controls all post-secondary education in Australia.

It highlights that we have now entered an era of mass tertiary education and the achievement of higher-level qualifications that were only dreamt of in the past. But despite this impressive growth, the sectors are beset with a range of challenges.

Chief among these is seriously unbalanced participation between the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, which includes TAFE colleges, and the higher education sector dominated by universities. The recent dramatic falls in VET participation have also been accompanied by declining funding levels, which seriously jeopardise the sector.

For example, over the ten-year period from 2005-06 to 201516, higher education expenditure grew rapidly by 52.6%. But the reverse was the case in the VET sector, which saw expenditure fall by 4.7% over that period.

There is a lack of overall policy direction and governance of the system. Consideration needs to be given to the formation of a central and independent co-ordinating agency to provide common approaches across the sectors and levels of government.

While more effective methods of governance require more than addressing funding levels, a more equitable funding strategy needs to be developed.

The VET sector is in need of immediate attention in this area. In this context, demand-driven funding models need to be retained but improved to be more equitable than existing practice. The current situation concerning student loans is discriminatory and unacceptable. A way needs to be found to introduce a loans scheme with common characteristics across the sectors, initially for diploma level courses and above.

Other key findings and recommendations from our report include: • There is a need to establish a long-term policy view for tertiary education rather than short-term attempts to address components of the overall system.

• While recognising the distinctive features of higher education and VET, there is a need for a more coherent and connected tertiary education system to be established.

• Given the increasing diversity of learner needs, it is desirable to have a greater variety of provider types within the tertiary education system.

• Given the low volume of student transfer between higher education and VET there is a need for a model that includes more systematic methods to facilitate movement between the sectors.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

“We have now entered an era of mass tertiary education and the achievement of higherlevel qualifications that were only dreamt of in the past.

But despite this impressive growth, the sectors are beset with a range of challenges.”

• Maintain both the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) as respective regulators for their systems while establishing joint functionality in appropriate and agreed areas.

• Promote workplace learning as a recognised key delivery component in all tertiary education.

• The qualifications structure in Australia needs to be reviewed to consider the emergence of micro-credentials and any other developments impacting on the key outcomes of tertiary education.

These are formidable challenges, but we can find solutions.

We need to rise to the occasion for a comprehensive reconsideration of the state of tertiary education in Australia.

Download the full report here: www.aigroup.com.au/policy-and-research/reports

018

FROM THE UNION PAUL BASTIAN – National Secretary Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

Time to put enterprise bargaining out of its misery Our system of collective bargaining in Australia is in crisis. Wages aren’t going up and as a result consumer confidence is down. Even Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe is reminding business with every opportunity he gets that flat wages are a drag on the economy.

It’s clear that enterprise bargaining is no longer able to deliver improved productivity, better standards of living or increased wages.

And that’s a problem.

The original purpose of collective bargaining was to allow workers to have a seat at the table when wages and conditions were being negotiated. When enterprise bargaining was working properly, it delivered improved productivity and wages growth by working with employers to improve skills and productivity in the workplace.

But the current system no longer delivers on these objectives.

Many of these shortcomings have been created by employers who have undermined the bargaining system, both directly, with sham agreements and threats of termination, and by undermining the employer-employee relationship that the system relies upon. Through casualisation, contracting out and labour hire, fewer workers are being engaged as permanent, full-time, directly engaged employees.

These employment models are designed to frustrate the ability of workers to bargaining effectively, and to undermine existing enterprise agreements. When labour hire or sub-contracting is at the core of the employment relationship, workers are left out. The value of their labour has already been set, without them having any say.

There are now millions of Australian workers who find themselves in this situation and our current system is simply unable to deal with it.

It’s the reason enterprise bargaining is delivering profit increases but is doing nothing to lift wages or productivity.

Even in situations where employers can negotiate with their employer directly, the current system fails them. In 2017, during enterprise bargaining, AMWU members at Streets, the ice cream manufacturer, were given an ultimatum: agree to a substandard pay rise and cuts to conditions or the employer would go to the Fair Work Commission and seek to terminate the existing agreement and cut their pay by up to 46%. But the workers stood their ground and with the support of the community, managed to secure an improved agreement and fair pay rises.

Other have not been so fortunate. Union members at Esso in Victoria have been locked out for over 600 days with their employer undermining hard-fought pay and conditions.

Employers have used bargaining as a cost-cutting exercise, focused on increasing profits, not productivity. This focus on profits has led to a chronic failure to invest in skills, training or capital improvements and has resulted in record low wage growth in recent years.

We need to change the rules that govern how workers negotiate for improved pay and conditions. The vast majority of Australian workers are now not covered by a collective agreement and have no real prospect of being covered by one in the future. As it stands, millions of workers have no say in the rules that govern their wages and conditions.

The system is broken and must be repaired if Australia wants to deliver a strong economy and a more equal society. It is critical that our wage fixing arrangements move to a model where the same work – whether it is carried out by a direct employee, a contractor or a labour hire worker – is paid at the same rate. Which is why unions are campaigning for the right to bargain across industries and along supply chains.

Industry bargaining is common across most of the industrialised world. Last year, German manufacturing workers won fair pay rises and the right to work reduced hours through industry bargaining.

We need to agree on a new mechanism which no longer rewards those employers who exploit shortcuts in the system allowing them to reduce wages and claw back conditions. Bargaining shouldn’t be an exercise in pressuring employees to see how little they will accept when it comes to wages.

It should be about rewarding workers for productivity gains and the increased profits that their effort adds to the success of an enterprise.

But what’s critical in the relationship is a fair split of the proceeds of productivity increases between workers and shareholders. Which isn’t happening at the moment.

We believe industry bargaining can be the starting point to return fairness to our wage fixing system. We need a system that encourages strategic discussions around training, skill development and industry policy. We need a system to help guide workers and major industries as they struggle with the impact of technological advancement, global supply chains and economic diversification.

We believe industry bargaining will deliver increased wages and flexibility, and productivity gains. It’s high time Australia moved passed enterprise bargaining and embraced a new approach.

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AMT APR/MAY 2019

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AMTIL Digital Media Kit 2019 Call Anne Samuelsson at AMTIL on 03 9800 3666, mobile on 0400 115 525 or email asamuelsson@amtil.com.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Hydrogen gives new life to Toyota’s Altona plant The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on 19 March announced funding for Toyota Motor Corporation Australia to start the transformation of part of its decommissioned car manufacturing plant in Altona, Victoria, into a renewable energy hub to produce green hydrogen for transport.

The $7.4m Toyota Australia Hydrogen Centre is part of a larger transformation planned for the former car plant. On behalf of the Federal Government, ARENA will provide $3.1m towards the Toyota Australia Hydrogen Centre project. The Hydrogen Centre will include solar PV and battery storage to cover the incremental energy requirements for the production of renewable hydrogen through electrolysis and utilisation for both mobile and stationary applications.

The project will aim to demonstrate an end-to-end process for the hydrogen creation chain, from producing hydrogen through electrolysis to the compression and storage of hydrogen, and electricity generation via hydrogen fuel cells. The Hydrogen Centre will also include an education centre and Victoria’s first commercialscale hydrogen vehicle refuelling station infrastructure on site to allow refueling of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The project will produce at least 60kg of hydrogen per day, with on-site solar PV and battery storage to contribute to the incremental energy requirements of the whole site.

Hydrogen is set to play a larger role in the transition to a lowcarbon economy. A report last year prepared for ARENA by ACIL Allen Consulting has shown that Australia is in a strong position to take advantage of a future hydrogen export market. Hydrogen could potentially be used as a way for Australia to export renewable energy to other countries, particularly in Asia. Japan has already set a 10-year strategy to become a large-scale importer of renewable hydrogen. As an emission-free fuel, hydrogen can also power vehicles and also act as a form of energy storage, because it can be stored within the gas network and used to power gas appliances.

ARENA Chief Executive Officer Darren Miller said Toyota’s Hydrogen Centre would demonstrate hydrogen as a viable fuel source for transport and as an energy storage medium: “Australia holds a competitive advantage to play a global role in the emerging hydrogen export market due to our existing expertise and infrastructure.

We’re excited to see Toyota add their skills to the mix and be a major player in increasing the uptake of hydrogen applications in different sectors.”

Toyota Australia’s President and CEO Matt Callachor said the Hydrogen Centre was a step towards the company meeting its target of zero emissions from sites and vehicles by 2050: “This is a very exciting time for Toyota Australia. Today’s announcement aligns with our global drive to promote sustainable mobility and to play a leading role in the transition to a decarbonised future.”

SMEs delay key decisions till elections Australian small businesses are concerned about the impact of the impending Federal Election and are delaying critical business decisions, which could impact job growth and investment, according to new survey results in the Westpac Small Business Report.

The report reveals 50% of small businesses are worried or uncertain about the impact election policies will have on their operations, and they are choosing to delay decisions such as staffing and investment.

An estimated 40% of new jobs in the economy are created by small businesses each year, equivalent to 107,000 jobs in 201718. Small businesses invest an average of around $530m each month, so if the net effect of the election was to delay some proportion of small business investment by two months, overall investment levels could decline for that period.

However, not all businesses are curtailing activity. According to the report, the most profitable businesses are less likely to delay decision-making, with 56% stating the election does not affect their timing for hiring staff, compared to just 41% of other businesses.

Moreover, 58% of this group do not consider the election when buying equipment compared to 40% of other businesses.

Ganesh Chandrasekkar, General Manager of SME Banking at Westpac, said: “With the increasing pace and unpredictability of change this quarter, it’s encouraging to see many small businesses adopt a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to decision-

AMT APR/MAY 2019

making. We do appreciate not all businesses will share the same level of confidence, and that is why they’re more cautious and delaying decisions after the Federal Election.”

According to the report, the most helpful thing the Government could do to help small business is decrease energy costs, reduce regulation and red tape, and increase small business grants.

“Our customers tell us that small business tax cuts, less regulation and red tape and energy policy are a top priority in the upcoming election,” Chandrasekkar said. “The recently announced plans to fast-track tax cuts for small business will offer some support; but more can be done to help, particularly with grant funding. There is a significant number of government grants available but over 40% of small businesses are unaware of what’s available and almost 80% cent say the government grant process is too difficult to navigate.”

Commenting on business conditions for 2019, Chandrasekkar said: “Looking ahead, the economy is facing a more challenging year. With the Federal Election likely to impact business decisions, 2019 is already shaping up as a trickier year for small business; it will be important we work together with government to ensure they are supported and can continue to operate with certainty.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Marand partners with Vestas for Geelong wind turbine facility AMTIL member Marand Precision Engineering has entered a partnership with global sustainable energy solutions provider Vestas for its new wind turbine manufacturing facility in Geelong.

The partnership will allow Vestas to bring its wind turbine assembly and testing capabilities to Victoria, thereby supporting and expanding the Victorian renewable energy sector. Located at the former Ford manufacturing site on the Princes Highway in Geelong, the facility is part of the Vestas Renewable Energy Hub, a multidisciplinary industry development initiative designed to support the Victorian Renewable Energy Target and Victoria’s New Energy Technologies strategy.

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The facility will be responsible for making 4MW drivetrains and hubs and component testing for the Dundonnell Wind Farm and Berrybank Wind Farm projects, both of which were successful in the first auction under the Victorian Renewable Energy Target. The facility will also support future wind projects in Australia.

“Vestas is committed to building new skills in the local workforce in Geelong, and with our wind turbine component assembly and testing capability, we are helping build on Geelong’s background as a heavy manufacturing hub and use that to establish a renewable energy hub”, said Clive Turton, Vestas Asia Pacific President. “In Marand, we are partnering with an experienced manufacturing service provider with outstanding capabilities and skilled personnel.

Their experience in automotive, aerospace, defence and rail industries meets all of our requirements around quality and technical expertise.”

Under the agreement, Marand will supply facility space, personnel and equipment to meet Vestas’ manufacturing requirements. Vestas will provide testing equipment, assembly line layout, production training and supervision, and transportation of all components to the assembly area.

“We look forward to this strategic partnership with Vestas,” said Marand CEO Rohan Stocker. “Marand has decades of experience across a variety of industries, where our manufacturing expertise and business systems truly set us apart from our competitors. We look forward to adding value to the renewable industry, and this partnership will greatly help us expand our capability in this growing field. We are particularly proud to be able to carry out this work in the former Ford Geelong facility.”

In addition to the wind turbine assembly facility, the Hub also includes four other initiatives: • Establishing the Western Victorian Service Support Centre to service the growing Vestas turbine fleet in Western Victoria.

• Entering into a multi-year partnership with Federation University’s Ballarat Renewable Training Centre to deliver training and employment opportunities for wind turbine technicians.

• Establishing the Vestas Australian Main Component Logistics Centre in Geelong, a specialist facility for the largest turbine spare parts.

• Forming a partnership with Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus to research the next generation carbon fibre to use in making wind turbine blades longer, stronger and more productive.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

BAE, AMGC bring Industry 4.0 to JSF BAE Systems Australia and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) will bring Industry 4.0 to reality through participation in the world’s biggest defence program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

The $750,000 project will develop a new approach to supply chain digitisation that avoids having to use expensive, proprietary software – currently one of the major barriers to Australian SME manufacturers participating in global supply chains. Digitisation allows for project partners to see plans in real time, identify and resolve issues faster, improve risk management and optimise production.

Australia received its first two F-35 aircraft in December last year in what is the largest air force acquisition in Australia’s history. BAE Systems supplies 300 titanium components per month from its advanced manufacturing facility at Edinburgh Parks in South Australia for each F-35 vertical tail. The company will work with its existing JSF supply chain partners Axiom Precision Manufacturing and RUAG on the project, together with Advanced Focus and Flinders University.

BAE Systems Australia’s Aerospace and Integrated Systems Director Steve Drury said: “This is so much more than replacing paper processes with digital technology. If we get this right and develop a freely available, open standard to digitise supply chains, the longterm benefits of this project to the broader Australian industry could be significant.”

The project is part of a series of Industry 4.0 activities that BAE Systems is running on its own or in collaboration with industry and universities. Success could also see the adoption of digitisation on other major defence projects including the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) and the Hunter Class Frigate Program.

The AMGC expects its co-funding of this project to allow other SMEs interested in participating in future defence projects to have access to the trial results and business tools developed as a result of the work.

AMGC Managing Director Dr Jens Goennemann, said: “The development of best practice between a leading defence industry Prime and Australian SMEs is another example of how everyone can win from collaboration. This will be essential if Australia’s manufacturing sector and economy is to successfully transform as the global market accelerates toward the adoption of Industry 4.0.”

Volgren announces largest-ever Australian bus supply deal Volgren has signed the biggest bus supply deal in its four-decade history, extending its contract with Volvo and the Public Transport Authority (PTA) of Western Australia, the state’s government-run transport operator.

Volgren announced it would deliver up to 900 Transperth buses over a decade. The milestone agreement with the PTA is part of a $549m investment in the State’s future bus fleet. The contract extension is Volgren’s third with the PTA. All buses will be built on Volvo chassis and assembled locally in Volgren’s Perth manufacturing facility located in Malaga.

Peter Dale, Chief Executive Officer of Volgren, said he was thrilled and honoured to extend their involvement with the PTA beyond 20 years: “Volgren has partnered with the PTA since 1999, delivering more than 1800 route buses on-time and on budget. Our association with Western Australia and the PTA is one of the longest and most successful in the history of the Australian bus industry, and it’s a partnership that we’ve never taken for granted.”

Dale said the fact that some of the first vehicles supplied to the PTA are still in operation – or are only now being retired while still in excellent order – spoke volumes about the quality of Volgren’s engineering and overall product.

“The value we provide to the PTA comes from an unrivalled wholeof-life bus cost,” said Dale. “We are proud to offer a bus that, with its advanced engineering and unique CO-BOLT design, ultimately delivers savings to the people of Western Australia.”

The new deal secures the jobs of 81 people employed at Volgren’s 15,000sqm purpose-built manufacturing and service facility in the state’s capital. The Malaga facility is quickly becoming an economic hub, connected to more than 140 businesses, many of them small, Western Australian-run ventures. Volgren estimates there are approximately 150 Western Australians employed outside the

AMT APR/MAY 2019

company in the local supply chain as a direct result of the work Volgren creates.

“The new contract provides job security and continuity to around 140 local businesses that rely on the collaboration to employ significant numbers of people and, in some cases, to remain feasible,” Dale added. “We’re committed to investing in the state’s skilled workforce and, under the new contract, we plan on increasing local fabrications and securing a local sub component manufacturer.”

The first Volgren-bodied, Volvo BR8LE prototype is expected to be delivered in August. Full production will commence in October and 66 buses will be delivered to the PTA in the first 12 months.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Space projects mark 30 years of BoeingCSIRO partnership Boeing and CSIRO have announced 20 new joint research projects for 2019 resulting in the largest research portfolio in the history of their research & development relationship.

The projects form part of the current $35m five-year agreement and signal a new direction toward the joint development of space-related technologies. The new agreement includes four new joint space technology research projects: • Space situational awareness for commercial and civil purposes such as monitoring space debris.

• On-board image processing and analytics for earth observation satellites.

• Lightweight, radiation shielding materials for spaceflight.

• On-orbit manufacturing of space structures or satellite components.

Boeing Chief Technology Officer Dr Greg Hyslop, CSIRO’s Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall.

The latest projects expand the scope of joint research to five of CSIRO’s domain areas of expertise: advanced manufacturing, data analytics, energy, future insight consulting services, and space technology. For Boeing, these projects involve teams throughout the company, including space, R&D and Boeing HorizonX. Boeing HorizonX is a pathfinder organisation that accelerates innovation and explores what’s possible outside of Boeing’s traditional market offerings. The new projects were announced on 27 February

at the Avalon International Airshow in Victoria, where the two organisations are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their partnership. “Boeing and CSIRO have a wealth of space technology expertise, and our collaboration stands to propel Australia’s space industry forward,” Boeing Chief Technology Officer Dr Greg Hyslop said. “Boeing’s extensive experience in space dates back to the beginnings of NASA’s crewed space program and the start of satellitebased communications systems, and CSIRO has a 75-year history in developing space technologies.”

CSIRO’s Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said the record number of joint projects reflected the strength of the relationship between Australia’s national science agency and Boeing. “Extending our partnership with Boeing into space technology will fuel new discoveries for us while also driving towards Australia’s target of 20,000 jobs in the local space industry by 2030,” Dr Marshall said. “Partnering with a global leader like Boeing is critical for CSIRO to deliver on our purpose – solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. “Whether it’s new materials to withstand incredible forces, 3D-printed rocket fuel, or artificial intelligence to guide our way through intractable problems, CSIRO is using science to create innovative industries for Australia.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Building engineers not products The Dandenong High School 2018 Awards night was a fitting climax to another successful year for the Vernier Foundation’s STEM Collaboration Program.

The Vernier Foundation is the charitable wing of the Vernier Society.

The Foundation’s “School STEM Collaboration Project” is a threeyear project with a number of schools, of which Dandenong High is one, to promote STEM learning and development. The project is primarily focused on providing donations for the purchase of robotic education kits, tools and components in each of the three years . However, in 2018, the Foundation introduced three personal awards, across the years 9 to 11, for students who demonstrated exemplary commitment to STEM learning and development.

This year, the Foundation introduced three individual achievement awards for Dandenong High students as part of its three-year rolling program with the school to promote STEM education and careers.

The financial awards were created for the first time in 2018 from donations from Vernier Society members and in particular Sutton Tools, who in addition to cash, donated a special tooling prize.

The awards ceremony was held at the Robert Blackwood Hall on the Monash University campus and attended by students and parents. Vernier Society members who attended described the event as “a real eye-opener”, both in terms of the professionalism of the event but also of the wealth of young talent on display across the arts, science and community service.

Vernier Foundation representatives Peter Sutton and Jack Parr were on stage to present the awards to three outstanding STEM students. The ‘Sutton Tooling Prize’ was awarded to Shireen Ahmed for her work in the Year 9 STEM Elective. According to her tutors, Shireen was nominated for her commitment to STEM learning, taking two STEM-based electives in 2018, ‘STEM’ and ‘Applied Science’, and demonstrating her love of understanding how machines and systems operate by playing a significant role in the design and development of the year team’s car design project.

The second recipient was Ali Haidar Qasimi for his work in Year 10 Robotics. Unfortunately Ali was ill on the night and not able to receive his award in person. In the view of his tutors, Ali has a real passion for learning robotics and applying logical thinking to their creation. Ali adds to this with diligence and hard work, which underpinned his achieved success in all the project work.

Vernier Foundation representatives Peter Sutton (far left) and Jack Parr (far right), with prizewinning students Konah Leslie-Evans and Shireen Ahmed

The final award went to Year 11 VCE Systems Engineering student Konah Leslie-Evans, who demonstrated his strong interest in STEM learning over the year, including developing his own interest in coding for image editing. Konah has also been intensely involved in Dandenong High’s successful Robots Program, demonstrating his ability to analyse, interpret, evaluate and solve problems.

The other consistent message from the tutors at Dandenong High, who chose the winners, was the contribution of all three prizewinners to their fellow class members’ learning. Shireen was complimented for being “an excellent role model for younger students at the Science Expo”; Ali for his “his ability to collaborate well”; and Konah for his team involvement, “routinely helping the student he sat next to”. The interdisciplinary nature of engineering projects today means that these young peoples’ teamworking skills will add to their chances of a successful career in future.

The Foundation is always looking for additional funds to expand the Collaboration Project and develop the support into apprenticeships and work experience projects. For more information, contact the Foundation Co-ordinator Jack Parr at jparr.strider@bigpond.com.

Australian Made Campaign welcomes Roy Morgan research on consumer preferences The Australian Made Campaign has welcomed the findings of an independent study by Roy Morgan Research, which found that 90% of Australians are more likely to buy Australian-made products than those from overseas.

In the study, 90% of respondents indicated that they would be more likely to purchase food products that were made in Australia, 76% more likely for clothes, 73% for wine, 62% for sporting goods, 62% for electrical goods and 52% for motor vehicles.

Ben Lazzaro, Chief Executive of the Australian Made Campaign said: “Roy Morgan’s research highlights the importance that Australians place on ‘buying local’. There is an increasing demand for authentic Aussie products produced in our clean, green environment and manufactured to our high standards.

Awareness around country of origin labelling has increased

AMT APR/MAY 2019

in recent years, with more Australians wanting to know where their products come from. The Australian Made logo is the most important tool for consumers in identifying authentic Aussie products.”

Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, explained that the data shows that Aussie-made products are favoured by consumers: “90% of Australians are more likely to buy a product that is ‘made in Australia’, up from a very high 88% four years ago. Although these figures are very high across all age groups it is those in Generation X (92%) and Baby Boomers (91%) who are even more likely to prefer Australian-made products than other generations.”

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GOVERNMENT NEWS

AMGC announces new chair of board The Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Karen Andrews on 20 February announced Paul Cooper as the new Board Chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC).

Cooper has over 25 years’ manufacturing experience and has been a member of the AMGC Board since 2015. He is owner of Rinstrum Pty Ltd, a Queenslandbased industrial electronics manufacturing company that exports globally through its wholly owned subsidiaries based in the US, India and Germany.

Cooper replaces outgoing Chairman Andrew Stevens, who has been appointed to chair Innovation and Science Australia’s (ISA) Board and to continue its important work as Bill Ferris AC completes his tenure.

Cooper commented: “I am delighted to be appointed as Chair of AMGC. As someone who is passionate about Australian manufacturing and what it means to be a globally successful business, there are many synergies between my experience and what AMGC is tasked to deliver. I look forward to building upon what Andrew Stevens, the AMGC board, and the team have achieved, and working with AMGC members and the wider manufacturing community to further accelerate our industry’s resilience, innovation and transformation.”

Under Stevens’ stewardship, the AMGC has become the industry’s voice for transforming the sector. Established in 2015, the Centre has realised many notable achievements including its Sector Competitiveness Plan – a 10-year vision for the industry in how it can lift its global reach. In addition, AMGC has close to 600 national and international members representing diverse manufacturing subsectors and leading research institutions.

AMGC has co-invested with industry in over 26 projects that are projected to deliver 1100 new jobs and an estimated additional $240m to the economy. Reflecting on AMGC’s accomplishments, Stevens said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time steering AMGC into this leadership position and helping many Australian manufacturers scale to their potential. I welcome and congratulate Paul in his new role. He brings exceptional experience and will be of great service to the team and broader industry. At the same time, I remain dedicated to increasing Australia’s global presence and will carry what I have learnt from the manufacturing sector and improving its competitiveness into my new role.” www.amgc.org.au

$16m in funding for NSW New advocate for Vic defence manufacturers to save energy The Victorian State Government has appointed renowned Applications have opened for manufacturers in New South Wales to access $16m in funding as part of the NSW Government Energy Saver program.

Up to $120,000 per site is available to manufacturers under the program to help them save energy, money and stay competitive globally. Businesses that have implemented similar projects have found savings can run to over $100,000 a year, while reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

The funding will help manufacturers to: • Upgrade energy monitoring systems.

• Replace or retrofit old, inefficient equipment.

• Install new energy-efficient equipment.

• Improve manufacturing processes.

The Energy Saver program also provides an additional $3.5m for energy-intensive manufacturing businesses to improve the way they manage energy. These manufacturers can receive free energy management system benchmarking to understand their performance against industry standard. Participating businesses can then receive up to $30,000 of support and coaching from industry experts.

industry and government defence expert John O’Callaghan as a new Defence Industry Advocate.

State Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade Martin Pakula welcomed the appointment of O’Callaghan, who is taking the reins from Victoria’s first ever Defence Industry Advocate, Greg Combet AM. “I’m pleased to appoint John O’Callaghan as the advocate for Victoria’s defence industry,” said Pakula. “He will be a strong champion for the sector and help us showcase our best defence talent to the world. John knows the defence industry inside out and will make sure we are putting Victoria’s best foot forward to grow the sector and create more local jobs.”

O’Callaghan has been a member of the Defence Council Victoria since 2017 and has worked as a senior executive in both government and industry roles in the defence sector. He has supported Australia’s leading defence companies as the Executive Director of the Australian Industry Group Defence Council, in the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Defence, and as a senior adviser to former federal Minister for Defence, Kim Beazley.

Briefing sessions are being held to help businesses understand the funding offers, get tips for a successful application, and ask any questions they may have. These will continue across regional and metropolitan NSW during April.

In his role as advocate, O’Callaghan will play a leading role in promoting Victoria’s brightest defence talent and best technology to the world, working with contractors, supply chain companies and R&D organisations to ensure our sector grows to create more jobs and more economic benefit for the state. Victoria’s defence sector contributes up to $8bn to the state’s economy each year, employing around 18,500 people in 770 businesses that manufacture equipment and provide services for defence activities.

The first round of funding opened on 22 February and will last until 30 June. More information on the program is available at: www.energysaver.nsw.gov.au/manufacturing

“I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with Victoria’s defence industry to promote the state’s capabilities here in Australia and internationally to attract investment and projects,” said O’Callaghan.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Commonwealth Government Entrepreneurs’ Programme partnering with AMTIL

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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.

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VOICE BOX OPINIONS FROM ACROSS THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Four Lean strategies for uncertain times If we were to choose one word to describe business conditions today, it would be “uncertainty”, writes Tim McLean.

In Britain and Europe, business is trying to figure out Brexit. The US faces government shutdown and stagnating markets. China is dealing with a trade war. Meanwhile Australians face political uncertainty and a housing crunch. The consequences of all this is that we are experiencing the most uncertain times since the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago.

Too often the response of business in uncertain times is to do nothing and “wait and see”. This approach unfortunately means the business is unprepared when the underlying direction of the economy (upwards or downwards) becomes clear. Instead we recommend businesses take proactive steps during uncertain time to prepare for whatever future conditions they might face.

Reduce lead time The “father” of the Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno, is once reputed to have said: “All we are trying to do is reduce the lead time.” Which lead times do I mean? Every lead time! Obviously, the lead time from receiving inputs to shipping finished goods, but also design lead times, quote lead times and supplier lead times. When you reduce lead times in your business you bring your business closer to its customers. You then can respond more quickly to rapid changes in demand and meet unexpected customer needs.

Remember, if the economy slows, customers become more demanding as they usually have more choice who to buy from.

Therefore, reducing lead time will give you a competitive edge that can protect your business in slow times and provide an advantage if the economy improves.

Reducing lead times will free up cash, by reducing the overall time from outlaying cash to purchase materials to receiving payment from customers. Inevitably this involves reducing inventory at every stage of the process. Working with suppliers to reduce order lead times is also the most effective way to reduce your materials inventory.

To reduce your lead time, start by mapping your end-to-end process using the Manufacturing Agility Process. You will then understand the drivers of your lead time and can develop a future state plan to radically reduce it.

Increase your capacity – without capital investment.

Uncertain times mean the risks around major fixed capital investment are increased. Therefore, taking steps to get the maximum out of your current equipment and facilities is one of the best ways to make your business more robust.

A Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) program based around improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the best way to get more out of your assets without the need to invest more.

When businesses honestly measure OEE, most find that it is very low. However increasing OEE from 40% to just 50% represents a 25% increase in available capacity. That can have a radical impact on your business.

Another key strategy is to make the most of your facilities. Creating a Lean layout using the Facility Layout Development Process can free up at least 30% additional space in your current facility as well as delivering higher productivity as waste of motion and transport is eliminated. This extra space can then be used as room for growth if the economy improves, or an opportunity to introduce another revenue stream if business slows.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Involve everyone in solving problems Cost reduction programs are often driven from the top down.

This usually involves reducing people and breeds fear and poor morale. When times are uncertain you need your people engaged and on your side. Harnessing ideas at every level of the business and empowering people to make improvements can help you both reduce costs and engage your people.

Your frontline people see how your business wastes money every day. Therefore, by getting them to share these observations and even help fix some problems themselves, you can significantly reduce costs without anyone needing to lose their job. The Lean Daily Leadership Process provides an effective framework for leaders at all levels to engage their teams in improving performance, bringing together three key elements: • Visual Workplace Management, with daily performance recorded by frontline leaders and displayed in the workplace, so that every team can see how they are performing every day.

• Ten-minute daily stand-up meetings, where leaders at every level meet with their teams to briefly review daily performance, recognise success and highlight problems. The teams can then use simple problem-solving tools such as Solving Problems Every Day to find and fix the root causes of many problems themselves.

• Daily routine tasks for leaders creates a structured menu of activities that leaders perform every day. This ensures leaders get into positive habits that support and engage their teams, prevent problems (rather than firefighting them) and drive improvement.

Implement a strategy deployment process One of the biggest issues businesses face when economic conditions change is that they are too slow to respond. While senior leaders may see the direction the business needs to take, many lack the mechanisms to ensure that the rest of the business follows that direction. For this reason, now is a good time to establish an effective process of strategy deployment.

An effective strategy deployment process based on A3 plans enables senior leaders to set a simple and clear direction. This can then be quickly and effectively cascaded through the organisation as each business unit or function develops their own A3 plan in response to the overall strategy. An effective strategy deployment process must also incorporate a “catch ball” process so that feedback can be given up the organisational structure. The strategy can then be adjusted based on this feedback, ensuring that the strategy process is adaptive to market conditions and making sure there is complete strategic alignment through the business.

Once this process is established, strategic change can be quickly communicated up and down the organisation in an effective, consistent way. This will enable your business to respond much quicker to any change in your market conditions.

Times are uncertain around the world, but “wait and see” is the worst possible strategy to respond to this uncertainty. Instead apply some Lean thinking to increase the resilience and agility of your business. That way you can face whatever conditions that emerge from these uncertain times with confidence.

Tim McLean is the Director of leading Lean consultants TXM Lean Solutions. TXM will be exhibiting at Austech 2019 at stand 505. www.txm.com

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032

VOICE BOX OPINIONS FROM ACROSS THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Government urged to retain innovation patent system Plans by the Federal Government to abolish the innovation patent system will undermine innovative activity within Australian, and ultimately would have a detrimental impact on Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

By Grant Shoebridge.

The innovation patent system was introduced in 2001 with the aim of incentivising innovation by Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by offering a rapid and affordable system designed for the protection of, for example, incremental innovation, that is unlikely to satisfy the patentability threshold set for standard patents. Significantly, and consistently over the years, Australian SMEs have been the predominant users of the innovation patent system.

Killing off the innovation patent system In 2019, the Australian Government plans to abolish the innovation patent system. This controversial measure came about as a result of a Productivity Commission recommendation, which the Government swiftly supported in August 2017. The proposed abolition of the innovation patent system appears to be exclusively based on equivocal economic analysis of innovation patent use. Moreover, the Productivity Commission seemingly ignored submissions from several industry groups, including the Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council of Australia, and the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA), which expressed a common concern that the demise of innovation patents would be detrimental to Australian SME-based innovation.

For past year, IPTA has been liaising with many Australian businesses and the consistent message from this work is that the innovation patent system represents an important tool for: • Protecting commercially significant inventions.

• Attracting investment funds.

• Ensuring inventions come to market for the benefit of the Australian public.

The concerns of just a few Australian business owners regarding the proposed abolition of the innovation patent system are presented in a video that can be accessed at the end of this article.

It is clear from the comments of Australian business owners that in the event the innovation patent system is abolished, Australiangenerated innovation will, to a significant extent, be replaced by the importation of foreign-based products, and that Australian SMEbased employment will fall. For these reasons, the Government must reconsider its decision to abolish the innovation patent.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Photo by Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash.

Innovators currently have two options for protecting inventions in Australia – the standard patent system and the innovation patent system.

The innovation patent is Australia’s second-tier patent system and requires that inventions have an innovative step, which is a lower threshold than an inventive step that applies to standard patents. Also, the term of protection for an innovation patent is eight years rather than 20 years under standard patent protection.

A more rational approach IPTA recognises that issues exist in relation to the current innovation patent system and recommends that the innovation patent system be revised as follows: 1. The innovative step threshold be raised.

2. Examination be made compulsory.

3. The term “patent” be applied only to cases that have been examined and deemed to satisfy the relevant patentability requirements.

In relation to point 1, IPTA’s position is that the innovative step threshold should be raised, but to a level that is lower than that of the inventive step threshold. The reasoning behind this is that many businesses, particularly in manufacturing, rely on protecting incremental, but commercially significant, innovations. As such, IPTA believes that a system that provides rapid and affordable protection for incremental innovation, that may not meet the current inventive step threshold, is a necessity.

In support of this approach, and emerging from IPTA’s discussions with Australian business owners, it is clear that developing and commercialising inventions that are likely to satisfy an inventive step threshold requires significantly greater time and expense than protecting incremental innovations.

Moreover, unprotected incremental innovations are susceptible to copying by competitors, which two of the business owners featured in the IPTA innovation patent video, referred to above, experienced and were only able to resolve because of innovation patent protection. It is for this reason that IPTA is strongly opposed to the Government’s proposal to simply abolish the innovation patent system. For several months during 2018, IPTA actively coordinated discussions between IP Australia, Government Ministers, the relevant Opposition Shadow Minister’s office, cross-bench senators and innovators from Australian SMEs, in a bid to save the innovation patent system. This work resulted in a decision by the Government and IP Australia to undertake further consultation targeted at better understanding the needs of Australian SMEs. This, however, has not altered the Government’s decision to abolish the innovation patent system. Accordingly, IPTA urges businesses that believe they will be negatively impacted by the loss of the innovation patent system to make their concerns known to the Government.

Grant Shoebridge PhD is a Principal at Shelston IP and a Fellow and council member of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA), where he is the convenor of the Public Relations Committee.

Grant has led IPTA’s lobbying strategy to save the innovation patent system. www.ipta.org.au To view the video ‘Save the innovation patent campaign_IPTA’, scan the QR code below or use the link: https://youtu.be/GnI-AvV9tsU.

034

TECH NEWS

Germany: Joining-gun bonds metal & plastic in seconds

UK: Smart tooling insert for productivity boost

Scientists have developed a joining gun that creates a connection between metal and thermoplastic materials within seconds and can be easily integrated into the production process. Conventional joining options, such as adhesives or rivets have their disadvantages: adhesives need time to harden and plastics can be easily damaged during riveting. The HeatPressCool process is integrated into the joining gun enabling the direct and precise bonding between metal and plastic components in seconds. The two materials are pressed together and the metal at the bonding point is subjected to targeted inductive heat. This causes the thermoplastic material to partially melt, which then directly forms a firm bond with the metal as the plastic solidifies. Laser ablation is used to drill relatively deeply into the metal, where the plastic can penetrate and then cool down, contract and form a secure fit.

A prototype, intelligent, low-cost tooling insert, embedded with smart sensors, has been developed to deliver in-process condition monitoring of a cutting tool, allowing a machine tool operator to determine the condition of a cutting tool without manual inspection and is the first ‘plug and play’ system of its kind. Currently, the task of monitoring a tool’s cutting edge-wear is via an operator using a laser or touch probe system; causing stoppages. Manual inspection varies according to the skills and experience of the operator. When tools are not changed at the right time, damage can be caused to a work piece. The insert is embedded with sensors which produces data about the current condition of the cutting tool. This data is sent wirelessly. The cutting operations were first simulated, where Polycrystalline diamond and Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride cutting inserts with embedded sensors were used to machine Titanium Ti-6AI-4V and Inconel 718 bars. The cost of the system is relatively low as it involves low-cost electronics.

Fraunhofer

Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre/ Uni. of Sheffield

US: The “unweldable” alloy The super-strong but lightweight aluminium alloy AA 7075 could now be more widely used in automotive and other manufacturing.

However AA 7075 is almost impossible to weld. This is because when the alloy is heated during welding, it cracks along the weld.

The solution: infusing titanium carbide nanoparticles into AA 7075 welding wires, which are used as the filler material between the pieces being joined. The researchers produced welded joints with a tensile strength up to 392 megapascals (for comparison, the aluminium alloy AA 6061 has a tensile strength of 186 megapascals).

Post-welding heat treatments could further increase the strength of AA 7075 joints, up to 551 megapascals, which is comparable to steel. AA 7075 is already used to form airplane fuselages and wings, where the material is generally joined by bolts or rivets rather than welded. But the alloy’s resistance to welding, has until now prevented it from being widely adopted.

Samueli School of Engineering/UCLA

US: Tougher fibre – Elasticity & ‘metal’ strength Researchers have developed a fibre that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal. The researchers created fibres consisting of a gallium metal core surrounded by an elastic polymer sheath. When placed under stress, the fibre has the strength of the metal core. But when the metal breaks, the fibre doesn’t fail – the polymer sheath absorbs the strain between the breaks in the metal and transfers the stress back to the metal core. Every time the metal core breaks it dissipates energy, allowing the fibre to continue to absorb energy as it elongates. Instead of snapping in two when stretched, it can stretch up to seven times its original length before failure. By releasing energy repeatedly through internal breaks, the fibre lowers the weight slowly and steadily. The new fibre is far tougher than either the metal wire or the polymer sheath on its own.

North Carolina State University

AMT APR/MAY 2019

China: World’s largest 3D printed concrete bridge The world’s largest (26.3 metres long and 3.6 metres wide) concrete 3D printed pedestrian bridge has made its debut in Shanghai. The 3D printing concrete system was independently developed by the Tsinghua University and is integrated with innovative technologies.

Made of composite concrete, it was printed with two robotic arms in 450 hours. Compared with a conventional bridge of similar size, its cost is only two-thirds, because no templates or reinforcing bars were used. The pressure resistance of the new concrete material reaches 65 MPa and the flexural strength reaches 15MPa. The bridge is embedded with a real-time monitoring system, including vibrating wire stress sensors and high-precision strain monitoring, which can collect the force and deformation data in real time.

Tsinghua University

USA: Lightweight ceramic withstands extreme temperatures Researchers have created an extremely light, very durable ceramic aerogel which could be used for applications like insulating spacecraft because it can withstand the intense heat and severe

TECH HEADING NEWS temperature changes of space missions. These materials have been used to insulate industrial equipment since the 1990s, but the new version is much more durable after exposure to extreme heat and repeated temperature spikes, much lighter and unusually elastic.

When it’s heated, the material contracts rather than expanding like other ceramics do. It also contracts perpendicularly to the direction that it’s compressed. As a result, the material is far more flexible and less brittle than current ceramic aerogels. Current ceramic aerogels are highly brittle and tend to fracture after repeated exposure to extreme heat and temperature swings. The new material is made of thin layers of boron nitride, a ceramic, with atoms that are connected in hexagon patterns. It withstood conditions that would typically fracture other aerogels.

UCLA

Germany: High-speed 3D printer for high-performance plastics 3D printing large-volume plastic components is time-consuming.

Researchers have now developed Screw Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (SEAM), a process that is eight times faster than conventional 3D printing - taking only 18 minutes to produce a 30cm plastic component. A special unit, which can be swivelled in six axes using the motion system of a machine tool, melts the raw material and ejects it at a high output rate. Every hour, up to 7kg of plastic are pressed through the nozzle. Comparable 3D printing processes, usually achieve only 50 grams of plastic per hour. Instead of expensive filament, SEAM processes free-flowing, cost-effective standard plastic granulate into resilient, fibre-reinforced components several meters in size. It is also possible to print on existing injectionmoulded components. “As our construction platform can be swivelled, we are able to print on curved structures with a separately moving Z-axis,” said Dr Martin Kausch.

Fraunhofer

Australia: Breakthrough in aluminium-alloy manufacturing In a world-first breakthrough, engineers have developed a new and improved way to manufacture aluminium alloys, overturning 100 years of established practice and opening up new options for industry to test and develop new alloy manufacturing processes.

The ‘cyclic plasticity’ offers a radically different manufacturing method to industry for the creation of aluminium alloys with better combinations of properties than existing alloys, at room temperature, within minutes. The new fine-scale homogenous nanostructure contains none of the defects introduced during traditional aluminium alloy processing, that usually compromise the fatigue and corrosion performance. Since 1906, metallurgists have ‘baked’ aluminium alloys at high temperatures - which introduces defects. During the new process, the aluminium alloy is rearranged at an atomic level in a controlled process using a back and forth dislocation. The deformation creates aggregations of atoms that dramatically strengthen the material without compromising other properties. The process can be applied to investigate strengthening and improving other alloy systems, such as magnesium.

Monash University

Scotland: World’s largest 3D printed rocket engine Orbex has publicly unveiled an engineering prototype of its two-stage rocket called “Prime” at the opening of its new HQ in Scotland. Designed to deliver small satellites into Earth’s orbit, it is made from a specially-formulated lightweight carbon fibre and aluminium composite and includes the world’s largest 3D printed rocket engine. The launchers are up to 30% lighter and 20% more efficient than any other vehicle in the small launcher category, The 3D printed rocket engine was uniquely manufactured in a single piece without joins in partnership with SLM Solutions. Given the extreme temperature and pressure fluctuations involved in space flight, this gives the engine an advantage over other rocket engines, which can suffer from weaknesses associated with joining and welding. It is also the first commercial rocket engine designed to work with bio-propane, a clean-burning, renewable fuel source that cuts carbon emissions by 90%. Prime’s maiden flight is planned for 2021.

Orbex Space The completed engineering prototype of the Stage 2 rocket.

Switzerland: Self-healing composite Researchers have developed a material that can easily heal after being damaged. This cutting-edge composite could be used in aircraft, wind turbines, cars and sports equipment. When a wind turbine or airplane is damaged, the affected part must be either replaced or patched with resin. But this new patented technology easily repairs cracks in composite structures by incorporating a repair agent in the material. Cracks can be repaired on site quickly by simply heating the material to 150°C. The heating process activates the repair agent, and the damaged part quickly heals, without any change to the original properties. Structures’ lifespans may be extended at least threefold. And the technology is compatible with current manufacturing processes. One limitation is that the material doesn’t heal if the impact breaks the fibres. But since the resin is always damaged first, this system would still work in the majority of cases.

EPFL

“When a manufacturing process becomes ingrained after 100 years of practice, it’s easy to forget to look for alternatives” Prof.

Christopher Hutchinson of Monash University commenting on the world-first “breakthrough” method of processing aluminium alloys. Manufacturing industries may now upscale their production to deliver faster, more energy and failure-resistant aluminium alloys - at room temperature.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

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PRODUCT NEWS

Seco Double Quattromill 14 – Maximum low-HP performance The new Seco Tools Double Quattromill 14 cutter allows shops with lower horsepower machines to maximise their face milling operations.

The face milling cutter uses double-sided inserts with eight cutting edges for cost-effectiveness as well as for increases in depths of cut in roughing, semi finishing and finishing operations. Seco designed the Double Quattromill 14 as a smaller version of the company’s Double Quattromill 22, which is ideal for large machines with higher horsepower and torque capabilities.

The Double Quattromill 14 comes in 45-degree and 68-degree lead angle versions for depths of cut up to 6mm and 8mm, respectively. The 45-degree angle, which excels in weak or unstable fixturing, provides better chip thinning and higher feed rates. The 68-degree angle reaches high depths of cut with the same size inscribed circle (IC) on the insert as the 45-degree angle, but with better clearance to avoid sidewalls or part fixturing. Unlike the inserts on standard tangential-type face mills, the Double Quattromill 14 offers extremely free cutting to lower cutting forces and machine power consumption while it extends tool life.

Double Quattromill 14 cutter bodies come in fixed-pocket and cassette styles, with standard or close pitch along with metric or inch versions. Seco also applied its new surface texture technology to the Double Quattromill 14’s cutter body flute surfaces for enhanced chip control and evacuation as well as durability.

The Double Quattromill 14 offers three insert ranges with various edges and grade options. The ME10 geometry works with sticky materials such as titanium and stainless steel. The M10 geometry includes sharper edges and smaller T lands for reduced cutting force that excels at lower horsepower levels, working with sticky materials, some tool steels and super alloys. The M16 provides the best edge protection of the three insert geometries when machining abrasive materials such as steels, tool steels and cast irons. www.secotools.com

Movus launches safe, wireless AI condition monitoring tool Movus, the developer and provider of the FitMachine IIoT solution, has launched what it claims is the most advanced and cost-effective, intrinsically safe, certified condition monitoring technology, designed to reduce maintenance costs.

FitMachine EX has been built specifically for explosive environments where monitoring and maintaining the equipment is extremely hazardous, so safety is critical to engineering and maintenance processes. These include upstream oil & gas, refineries, industrial chemicals, mining and food-processing sites.

Movus designed FitMachine EX in partnership with major oil & gas companies following its win of the KPMG Energise 2.0 Accelerator Program sponsored by Woodside, Chevron, BHP, WesFarmers Chemicals and South32.

Movus also undertook an extensive certification process, including internal systems and processes, manufacturing auditing processes and material management control to ensure compliance with ISO/IEC 80079-34:2018, the quality system for manufacturing devices for Explosive Atmospheres.

“From our work with major industrial organisations, we recognised the need for an intrinsically safe sensor,” said Brad Parsons, Founder and CEO of Movus. “Safety is a core value at Movus and we are now excited to bring the FitMachine EX solution to market for the oil & gas, and food processing industries. We understand that these are extremely sensitive environments where equipment downtime directly impacts the bottom line.

By providing the most advanced artificial intelligence-powered

AMT APR/MAY 2019

condition monitoring solution at a cost-effective price, FitMachine EX delivers a very compelling solution.”

Movus has chosen ALS as its main go-to-market business partner for FitMachine EX, due to ALS’ asset reliability and condition monitoring expertise in the heavy asset industries.

“We have been working with Movus for more than 12 months and see great value in the FitMachine EX,” said Mushfiq Rahman, ALS Group General Manager. “Our clients have been asking for an intrinsically safe wireless sensor, and we are very pleased with this advanced technology, rigorous testing and certification, and the rapid development speed.”

FitMachine is a condition-based maintenance solution that detects machine failures in advance using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The solution comprises an industrial intrinsically safe wireless sensor, mobile application, analytics and trending dashboards, and an artificial intelligence engine. The system continuously monitors equipment 24/7 and learns what the normal operation of machinery is to detect any abnormalities and alert the organisation before failures occur. The insights provided are extremely valuable in avoiding unplanned downtime. www.movus.com.au

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KEY USES Equips individual items to continuously update location and movement For example, cases, pallets, containers and vehicles with auto identification tags tied to GPS-enabled connections.

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All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

038

PRODUCT NEWS

ANCA Motion lauches new LinX M-Series ANCA Motion’s latest addition to its LinX range of linear motors continues to support demanding automation applications while increasing efficiency in a compact footprint.

The LinX M-series linear motor features an integrated position sensor with 10µm of resolution, eliminating the need of an external encoder, simplifying the system design and reducing the overall cost.

Modular design of the heatsink and end-caps enables flexibility in system integration. The motor produces a continuous force range of 90N to 160N and a peak force range of up to 1,200N. The series is designed to deliver superior performance for high dynamic applications: velocity up to 10m per second and maximum acceleration of higher than 30G. With integrated position feedback and pneumatics-compatible mounting design, the M-Series motor range is an ideal replacement to pneumatic cylinders, also simplifying system integration, commission and maintenance.

When compared with a pneumatic system, the LinX motor offers a reduction in operating costs due to reduced energy consumption and maintenance.

“With a fully potted motor body and sealed stainless steel shaft, IP67 protection level can be achieved by the motor, making it ideal for food & beverage packaging applications,” said Naveen Nadesan, Global Marketing Manager at ANCA Motion. “Automation is advancing at a dramatic pace and that is good news for manufacturers. The buzz of Smart Factories and Industry 4.0 isn’t just noise as automation drives efficiencies, reduces cost and improves quality. This latest product by ANCA Motion has been designed to offer manufacturers a better solution than what was previously available and our linear motor technology has proven success in the market-place with customers raving about the improved performance of their machines.

“For example, an Australian customer – Sutton Tools – reported a 10% improvement on its surface finish on their tools after moving to a machine using the linear motor. This change was achieved by moving away from the traditional ball-screw movement on machines to a linear motor and we have taken this technology and extended its capabilities so that more manufacturers can benefit.”

Jeff Boyd, Export Manager at Sutton Tools, added: “By really focusing on how we could improve the surface finish, and with the added capabilities of the linear motor, we have created a product that is delivering significant productivity gains for our customers.

The team is now consistently achieving a longer tool life and faster cycle times in the machining of the higher strength-high temperature materials such as titanium and Inconels, which is a great result.”

The LinX motor design itself improves machine life and reduces wear on guide-ways or rails, eliminating the downforce associated with flatbed motors due to the zero net attractive forces. The magnets contained within the LinX motor stainless steel cylinder allow machine builders to align the motor with much more ease, meaning machines can be built faster and safer. LinX M-series Linear Motor has been designed in a variety of different sizes to allow for application-specific solutions.

ANCA Motion will be exhibiting at Austech 2019 at Stand MS25. www.anca.com

Mapal – Saving time and effort with Unibase-S Mapal’s Unibase dispensing systems provide optimum storage and management of tools, components and accessories, enabling them to be individually networked with one another according to a modular principle.

Unibase systems are often situated in a central location in the manufacturing workshop. In order to store and manage frequently required consumables in a decentralised and space-saving manner, Mapal has now developed the new, costeffective Unibase-S single automatic dispenser. This can be connected to existing Unibase systems or used as an individual solution.

Thanks to the compact dimensions, the Unibase-S stock dispensing system can be installed directly on the workbench. For example, the 96 or 192 compartments are ideal for storing indexable inserts, tools, chucks or personal protective equipment.

This saves the employee a trip to the central warehouse and ensures production-related article procurement. In addition,

AMT APR/MAY 2019

logistics costs are reduced. Article removal is quick and uncomplicated, taking just a few steps. The employee logs on directly to the device via the integrated touchscreen.

Only registered employees can remove articles. If no employee is logged on, central locking is active.

After the desired article has been selected via the pre-installed software, the search function of the software supports this and an LED illumination identifies the compartment with the corresponding article. The dispensing drum is rotated manually so that it is at the removal position and the article can be removed. The system automatically registers the withdrawal – in this way, the current status is always used. www.mapal.com

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040

PRODUCT NEWS

FARO Introduces BuildIT 2019 software platform FARO has announced the release of the advanced BuildIT 2019 software suite, optimised for manufacturing, assembly and construction workflows.

According to FARO, BuildIT 2019 represents the logical evolution of the industry-proven BuildIT platform, which has provided exceptional value across a variety of industries. It offers three individual products – BuildIT Metrology 2019, BuildIT Projector 2019 and BuildIT Construction 2019 – each specifically designed for the most challenging quality inspection, manufacturing and assembly or construction applications. Each product includes the most flexible and intuitive user interface in the industry.

While the BuildIT 2019 solution suite is tightly integrated with FARO hardware products to enable a best-in-class FARO solution experience, it also enables consistent, high-quality outcomes for nonFARO hardware products.

BuildIT Metrology 2019 elevates the standard for workflow optimisation and productivity for alignment, inspection, and build applications by incorporating key customer learnings from the previous generation that include: • Point cloud alignment and registration up to 10 times faster, and file size reduction for analyses by up to 70%.

• Improved robustness of geometric dimensioning & tolerancing (GD&T) evaluation using feature-specific extraction settings for analysis.

• Automatic re-alignment of the laser projector where BuildIT Projector detects that the base part has moved.

• A more intuitive user experience through a variety of enhancements, including setup and operation through a joystick controller.

• Dynamic reporting that automatically pre-populates analysis reports and reduces report preparation time.

• Advanced automation capabilities for creating repeatable, guided, automated workflows.

BuildIT Projector 2019 allows manufacturers to plan and operate imaging laser projection and verification workflows to improve the quality and speed of assembly processes.

Together with the FARO TracerSI Imaging Laser Projector, it is a core component of an all-in-one solution for laser-assisted templating and verification. Included standard in the first generation were groundbreaking features as In-Process Verification, Feature-Based Alignment, and Foreign Object & Debris Detection. BuildIT Projector 2019 enhances these features to create a completely new, operator-friendly paradigm that includes: • Report generation that clearly identifies completed tasks and the results of InProcess Verification.

The previous generation version of BuildIT was the first consolidated software and hardware solution designed from the ground up as an end-to-end, fully integrated Building Lifecycle Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) management tool.

With BuildIT Construction 2019, BuildIT 2019 offers a unique set of value-added enhancements.

“We are in the business of making bestin-class software that enables best-inclass solutions,” says Vito Marone, Senior Director – 3D Solutions at FARO. “The entire BuildIT suite is leveraged from our cuttingedge 3D metrology capability derived from 20 years of proven expertise in delivering best-in-class measurement solutions to the manufacturing industry. As such, BuildIT 2019 is central for both our customers and users of other hardware products to derive the highest level of performance that the hardware itself supports.” www.faro.com/sg

Hypertherm introduces new XPR consumable kits Hypertherm has begun supplying consumable kits for its XPR X-Definition Plasma systems.

These new consumable starter kits are available with or without a torch for mild steel and non-ferrous cutting applications. The kits include a variety of consumables to allow for cutting at different amperages, using all of the gas process types supported by the XPR170 and XPR300 systems.

The consumables contain several patent-pending technologies to improve consumable life and cut quality.

Examples include Cool nozzle and Arc response technology, the latter of which protects consumables from the negative impact of ramp down errors, a regular occurrence in real-life cutting.

By reducing the impact of ramp down errors, XPR consumables can last up

AMT APR/MAY 2019

to three times longer than those on older generation systems.

In addition, XPR consumables are designed with ease of use in mind. An EasyConnect feature allows operators to quickly plug the torch lead into the torch connect console without the use of tools, while a patentpending QuickLock electrode delivers easy quarter-turn tightening to further reduce setup time. Another new design feature is a quick-change torch that enables an operator to rapidly change torches with just one hand.

“Whether you are cutting mild steel, stainless steel, or aluminium, these new starter kits will make it easy for XPR customers to get all of the consumables they need in one convenient kit,” said

Martin Geheran, Product Manager at Hypertherm for plasma torches and consumables. “We think customers will also enjoy the convenience of the kits that come with a torch as it will give them the option of having a second torch, or even multiple torches, pre-loaded with consumables for even faster changeouts.”

Hypertherm designs and manufactures industrial cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes cutting systems, in addition to CNC motion and height controls, CAM nesting software, robotic software and consumables. www.hypertherm.com

PRODUCT NEWS

Swift Klamp – Five-axis workholding ‘Swift Klamp’ is the latest addition to the Kitagawa Europe family of workholding solutions. Using time-proven HSK tool interface technology, Swift Klamp provides a secure, low-interference, quick-change five-axis workholding system.

‘Swift Klamp’ consists of three parts: the clamping head, the workholder and the workpiece. The clamping head is supplied either as a manually or automatically actuated HSK clamp. The manual clamping head is supplied with a versatile mounting flange to suit multiple mounting options for five-axis machines and rotary tables. Available in HSK-A40, HSK-A63 and HSK-A100 sizes, with an offline setup procedure, the workholder system can be exchanged within an impressive 10 seconds, minimising machine downtime.

To allow operators to fully automate their manufacturing process, a low-pressure hydraulically-operated automatic clamping head is also available in HSK-A40, HSK-A63 and HSK-A100 sizes, with seating detection and air-blow.

“In keeping with the move to more automation in workplaces, the workholder profile that is used with the clamping head has a common interface to enable them to be handled by any general-purpose robot arm,” said Paul Fowler, Managing Director of Dimac Tooling, Australian distributors for Kitagawa Europe.

The workholder is made up of the HSK interface at the bottom. Multiple workholding options are available – standardised dovetail, flange clamp and side clamp – all of which provide a rigid and secure platform for five-axis machining processes. Dovetail systems allow superior tool access due to their small clamping surface. The time-proven HSK interface between the workholder and the clamping head provides optimal bending rigidity.

“Kitagawa is a brand we have distributed for many years and a well respected manufacturer of high quality vises,” Fowler added. “As such, we can also supply the most suitable vise to grip the raw work-pieces to complete the dovetail interface.”

The final part is the workpiece, which in the case of the dovetail workholder will require an initial dovetail slot to be machined into the raw billet to interface with the workholder. However the Swift Klamp system can

accommodate various work piece shapes of up to 200mm square or diameter.

The majority of workpieces being used for fiveaxis machining require a preparation phase. However, the advantage of this is that the preparation phase can either be integrated into the total machining process or it can take place outside the five-axis machine. This option enables companies to keep their high-cost machine operating, ensuring the maximum return on their investment. Additionally, to assist with prototyping or enable companies to start testing their own new Swift Klamp system straight out of the box, pre-machined dovetailed blanks can be supplied.

SUPPORTING AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURERS

Swift Klamp offers strong dual-face clamping, superior bending rigidity, high positioning accuracy and multiple workholder options.

“The Swift Klamp quick change five-axis work holding system is highly effective, extremely versatile and designed to minimise machine downtime,” said Fowler. “Plus, like all Kitagawa products it is manufactured to the same high quality standards.”

In addition to Swift Klamp, Dimac is also the sole distributor of other leading CNC accessory and workholding brands including Kitagawa chucks, the Freddy range of coolant recycling machines, Reven Mist air extractors and Hydrafeed Barfeeders. Dimac Tooling will be exhibiting at Austech 2019 at Stand 881. www.dimac.com.au

• Aerospace • Medical • Precision Engineering

MS20 Call 1800 335 350 or visit

www.suttontools.com AMT APR/MAY 2019

041

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AUSTECH PREVIEW

With this year marking its 20th anniversary, Austech 2019 gets underway on 14 May, running for four days at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) – and it’s set to be the biggest Austech yet.

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Co-located with National Manufacturing Week (NMW), Austech is Australia’s premier advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition. In total, more than 150 organisations will be putting their products and services on display within Austech this year. Moreover, with a high number of exhibitors opting to book substantially larger stands than in previous years, the exhibition floor space will occupy more than 6,000sqm – a footprint unprecedented in two decades of Austech expos.

“We’ve been quite blown away by the bookings this time round,” says Kim Banks, AMTIL’s Events Manager and Austech organiser.

“The fact that exhibitors have been booking early and taking larger stands suggests people in the industry are anticipating significant sales activity at this year’s show. We’re also well ahead in terms of advanced registrations from people booking in to visit the show.

This year’s Austech is going to be packed.”

The high take-up for this year’s event builds on the momentum established with Austech 2017, which was the most successful edition of the show in several years. Together Austech and NMW attracted 11,501 visitors two years ago, the highest turnout since 2009. This included a strong interstate contingent – with almost one-fifth of those in attendance travelling from outside Victoria – as well as impressive growth in the number of international visitors, from as far afield as China, Taiwan and India.

Austech 2019 takes place amid a period of sustained activity growth across Australian manufacturing. The positive outlook for the industry is reflected in the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index, which has shown a trend of near-continuous growth over the last few years. And this optimism has been clear as preparations for Austech 2019 have continued. The early interest from exhibitors, as well as the enthusiasm expressed by people planning to visit the show, are indicative of strong positive sentiment across the industry and a willingness to invest for the future.

Co-located with National Manufacturing Week (NMW), Austech 2019 will be an unmissable event for manufacturing professionals.

More than 10,000 industrial decision makers are expected to attend the exhibition, seizing the opportunity to see the latest technology up close and learn what it can bring their businesses. Every aspect of manufacturing technology will be covered, from enormous laser cutters and press brakes, down to the tiniest precision cutting tools, as well as state-of-the-art support systems, software and accessories, and the myriad services that are essential to any manufacturing operation.

As well as breaking records in terms of sheer size, this year’s Austech will offer an ever wider spectrum of technologies vital to the modern manufacturing business. To help visitors to the show navigate such a diverse line-up of exhibits, Austech 2019 will feature more specially dedicated areas focusing on specific, specialised technologies. New to this year’s show will be the Air Technology Pavilion, which will showcase the latest compressor systems and associated air technologies. Meanwhile, having made its debut at Austech 2017, the Digitalisation Pavilion will again be exploring how developments in digital technology are ushering in a new era of smart, connected manufacturing.

Also making its return will be the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, spotlighting the latest advances in 3D printing. This will be complemented by Unlimit3D, a two-day conference on additive manufacturing that will take place alongside Austech on 14-15 May. AMTIL has assembled an outstanding line-up of expert speakers for Unlimit3D, meaning the MCEC will absolutely be the place to be for anyone with an interest in this remarkable technology.

Finally, the Manufacturers Pavilion is now a well-esablished part of Austech, showcasing the capabilities of Australia’s precision engineering and advanced manufacturing industry. As well as a diverse array of Australian component manufacturers, precision engineering firms, toolmakers, advanced manufacturers and general engineering companies, the Manufacturers Pavilion will feature major exhibits from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including BAE Systems Australia and Volgren.

With so much on display, at such a big show, the challenge for visitors to Austech 2019 might just be getting round to seeing everything on display. Fortunately, help is available; Austech’s organisers have partnered up with event management software specialists Map Your Show to create a set of online tools to help you plan your visit in advance. The tools are accessible via the Austech website, so you can start mapping out your movements at Austech right now.

“I think it’s safe to say we’ve got every part of manufacturing you could think of covered at Austech 2019,” adds Banks. “It’s definitely got something for everyone with an interest in manufacturing. Just make sure you leave yourself time to see it all.” www.amtil.com.au/austech

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Okuma – Catering for Industry 4.0 Okuma Australia’s stand at Austech is an introduction to the future of manufacturing, with the latest lathes, machining centres, multitasking machines and robotics, plus the latest in Internet of Things (IoT) Connectivity Solutions with the Okuma Connect Plan.

On display will be the Okuma LB 3000EXll CNC lathe, built on Okuma’s ThermoFriendly Concept to ensure minimal thermal growth and a slanted box-bed construction that translates to unsurpassed quality and rigidity. With high-powered torque, the machine delivers high-quality machining from heavy to high-speed cutting, and with its operator-friendly Okuma OSP-P300LA control, the machine is easy to operate and to integrate with other peripheral equipment.

Stepping into the next generation is the GENOS M460V-5AX five-axis machining centre with OSP-P300MA-H control, specifically designed to manufacture precision parts and deliver impressive metal removal rates in a compact design. Its solid double-column structure, full five-axis simultaneous control and thermal stability provide the ability to easily cut a variety of materials. Not to be missed, this affordable machine provides high productivity and profitability from a small footprint.

Also featuring on the stand is the Okuma MB-5000HII horizontal machining centre, offering quick acceleration, short tool changes and high power to improve productivity. This machine can be outfitted with either a 15,000 or a 20,000rpm spindle and can run with an Okuma pallet system.

software-based system that collects machine tool data and provides information that can be used to tune processes and improve productivity. The’Connect Plan’ provides analytics for improved utilisation by connecting machine tools and providing visual information of factory operations and machining.

With its automatic tool changer and subspindle, the Multus U3000 multi-tasking machine can be optioned with a tailstock/ sub-spindle and a lower turret. It can complete the work in one set-up with tools to spare in the automatic tool changer (ATC), with a standard offering of 40 tools and options for 80, 120 and 180. The machine has a 240º B-axis range with a 12,000rpm H1-milling spindle. Familiar programming methods from both lathe and machining centre disciplines blend easily thanks to the Okuma OSP-P300SA control, giving advanced functions such as ‘Collision Avoidance System’ as standard.

The IoT connectivity solutions under the Okuma Smart Factory ‘Connect Plan’ allow real-time analysis, ongoing enhancement, unique functionality and transformational results. Okuma’s ‘Connect Plan’ is a

Under the theme ‘Connect, Visualise, Improve’, you simply connect the OSP control to a server and install the Factory Monitor suite to see the machine operation status from the shop floor, office, smartphone, or virtually anywhere. As Okuma will demonstrate, the ‘Connect Plan’ is an ideal solution for customers trying to improve machine utilisation.

Okuma’s remote diagnosis allows the screen from a customer’s machine to be viewed at the Okuma Service Centre when a problem occurs - enabling an efficient diagnosis to be made.

To cap off Okuma’s ‘must-see’ stand, the Robojob compact user-friendly, costeffective and portable robot system is capable of automatically loading and unloading CNC lathes, machining centres and other production machines.

Okuma Australia Pty Ltd www.okumaaustralia.com.au Stand: 740

Thunder Laser: Precision Specialty Tooling: Quality laser line-up World-class product range Thunder Laser Australia will showcase a range of laser cutting and engraving systems at its stand.

Precision Specialty Tooling is a 100% Australian-owned and operated business supplying world-leading industrial, welding, automotive and engineering tooling, clamping, fastening and marking accessories.

The team at Thunder Australia is devoted to offering the Australian domestic, industrial and educational clients a quality and affordable laser system, backed up with great service. With the direction of technical experts from Germany, Thunder Laser has established several distinctive advantages of its own, and has won perfect appraisement in the international market, especially in Europe and America.

Brands include the Noga range of deburring solutions, dial gauge holding systems, and cooling systems, the Loc-Line Modular Hose with improved solutions for high pressure coolant delivery, the increasingly popular Stronghand range of clamping tools, fixturing, and magnetic set-up tools.

Known for their commitment to offering their clients reliable laser products and the most professional after-sales service, Thunder Laser’s business philosophy is: “Making a difference for our customers.”

Thunder Laser Australia www.thunderlaser.com.au • Stand: 844

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Precision Specialty Tooling has Australia’s widest range of drill chucks and accessories from world-class European manufacturers such as Llambrich of Spain and Albrecht of Germany. Its Gravurem range of premium-quality, German-manufactured hand stamps are stocked in the widest range of sizes and styles, including extra hard and low stress, with special stamps frequently manufactured to order. Precision measuring products include DIN standard

straight edges up to 3m, protractors, Vernier calipers from 150mm through to 2m, large-screen digital calipers, plus a wide range of gauges.

Also featuring at the stand will be the Markal range of industrial and welding markers, plus Tempilstiks. The first step to creating a durable, long-lasting weld is using the best tools available to meet the level of precision required during the process.

Markal offers the best in specialised welding markers to produce longer lasting and more visible marks, guaranteed to not contaminate or cause inclusions, pitting, or porosity in the weld.

Precision Specialty Tooling Pty Ltd www.pretooling.com.au • Stand: 899

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Raymax – Partnering with SLM Solutions For over 25 years Raymax Applications has sourced and installed lasers for a range of industry groups across Australia and New Zealand.

Raymax’s experience, knowledge, skills and expertise founded in laser technology allows its team of experts to support applications in never-before-done situations as well as the latest manufacturing systems. Its partner at Austech - SLM Solutions - is the inventor of the selective laser melting (SLM) process.

SLM Solutions focuses on the development and distribution of the most innovative, production-oriented metal additive manufacturing systems, featuring multi-laser options, bi-directional recoating and closed-loop powder handling to achieve best-in-class safety and increased build speeds for complex and completely dense metal parts. Coupled with the latest software, the technology opens new geometric freedoms enabling product design to be optimised, lightweight part construction and unique features such as integrated internal cooling channels for machine parts exposed to high temperatures.

Samples will be available at Raymax’s stand for hands-on inspection of lightweight products made for aircraft, car parts designed with cooling channels, and redesigned hydraulic valve blocks that optimise performance while also reducing the overall weight of the vehicle.

These parts have been manufactured by SLM Solutions’ partners in Europe to supply aerospace and vehicle manufacture companies.

Early in 2018, the world’s largest single 3D-printed break caliper was made for the Bugatti Chiron, the fastest car in the world with a $3m price tag. Using an SLM 500 3D printer, the build took 45 hours but produced a caliper in titanium, much lighter than the previous aluminium part, with remarkable qualities. At the Formnext exhibition in November 2018, a cam cover for the Bugatti Chiron was on

display, produced in a single print using the latest SLM laser system.

Raymax is proud to partner with SLM Solutions, with the two companies together providing expert consultation, installation, maintenance, training and ongoing support for its customers to build capabilities and exercise best practice using SLM. As the distributor of a number of laser systems, Raymax staff will be on hand to discuss Laserline lasers used for cladding and welding; BeAM machines for Direct Energy Deposition for 3D printing; SPI lasers for welding different metals together; HySpex hyperspectral cameras; and Ophir laser power meters.

Raymax Lasers www.raymax.com.au • Stand AM10

Multicam: Australian-made routing solutions Multicam CNC routers have been used in various engineering industries since inception. At Austech the company will demonstrate how Multicam CNC routers can be a solution for engineering companies in the plastics, metal and composite products industries.

Multicam heavy-duty CNC routing machines are proudly made in Australia. Designed for profile-cutting sheet product and extrusions including metals, plastics, composite materials and timber products, they are used in the manufacture of aluminium boats, aerospace components, truck body parts, caravan & motor-home components, kitchens, furniture or any other flat sheet product.

They are used extensively in the ACM and HVAC industries and include many unique design features aimed specifically at making the processing of ACM cladding and ducting and insulation materials easier and more efficient. Other specialist features ensure that Multicam machines are an excellent alternative to plasma and laser machines that typically have higher running costs and greater servicing demands.

Multicam manufactures a range of machines with process areas starting from 2,400mm x 1,200mm, with larger and custom sizes available. Multicam machines can be supplied with a variety of accessories including vacuum hold-down beds, fully automatic toolchangers, automatic loading and unloading attachments, mist cooling/lubrication system, chip extraction, multiple drill heads, tangential-oscillating knife attachments and more.

Multicam Systems has over 30 years of experience in the manufacture of flatbed CNC routing machinery and has been providing CNC routing solutions through its offices in Newcastle,

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Melbourne and Brisbane. Multicam CNC routing machines are backed up by a highly skilled team of factory-trained technicians ensuring the best possible level of advice and service. The ability to link with software programs such as Mastercam, SoldiCAM, Surfcam, Fusion360, Rhino, Pytha, ARTCam, Enroute and numerous other products makes Multicam CNC routers an obvious addition to any engineering company.

Multicam Systems Pty Ltd www.multicam.com.au • Stand 660

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Guhring – The comprehensive supplier Guhring will be showcasing a comprehensive range of precision cutting tools made in Germany on its stand at Austech.

One of the centrepieces of Guhring’s display will be its SpyroTec range of 90-degree spiral countersinks with convex cutting edges. SpyroTec’s newly developed cutting geometry significantly reduces the axial and radial forces generated during countersinking operations. Due to the differing convex radii of the cutting edges, with variable helical pitch, the process is extremely stable with low levels of vibration, ensuring round, precise and chatterfree countersinking. SpyroTec’s specially designed TiAIN coating ensures a higher wear resistance and high-temperature hardness, guaranteeing longer tool life of nearly all materials and applications.

The SpyroTec countersink by Guhring is available from stock in all major designs. The complete range includes a version with a straight shank, a version with a three-surface shank for feeding into three-jaw chucks, and an extra-long version for bridging interfering contours.

Guhring also offers sets containing the most popular sizes for the versions with the straight shank and three-surface shank.

In terms of processing safety and threading quality, thread milling is still the most common procedure for cutting threads. Guhring’s newly designed SC Line of thread milling cutters now machines even faster, consisting of micro thread milling and thread milling cutters with 45-degree chamfers, each with up to eight cutting edges.

Chip removal and chip formation are crucial for machining nonferrous metals. Guhring’s RT 100 Al achieves optimum chip formation on the cutting edge across the full range of materials – from soft,

elastic non-ferrous alloys, to brittle cast aluminium or brass alloys. Chips are reliably removed. The RT 100 Al is characterised by its open point geometry, with high surface finish qualities in the web thinning, front face and clearance rake areas. The micro-treated cutting edges and cutting corners complete the tip geometry and ensure a perfect cutting performance.

Low processing temperatures prevent the formation of built-up edges when machining non-ferrous metals.

The Guhring team will also be focusing on trochoidal milling, a milling strategy currently making a comeback. Trochoidal milling involves the tool moving in an elliptical motion, during which the circular tracks overlap each other. The milling procedure is not completely new, but it is only on the basis of the performance of today’s machining centres and geometrical adjustments, as well as the tools’ increased resistance to wear, that GTC (Guhring Trochoidal Cutting) is emerging as a further development in machining and is often used when very high material removal rates are required.

Guhring’ stand at Austech will emphasise its status as a complete supplier. Guhring has specialised in rotating cutting tools for many years, having been a drill pioneer since 1898 and gradually expanding to include milling, reaming and threading tools. Since launching its grooving tools in 2016, the tool manufacturer has consolidated its reputation as a complete supplier more than ever before.

Guhring Pty Ltd www.guhring.com.au • Stand No: 854

1919 - 2019: celebrating 100 years of tradition & innovation

SEE US AS AUSTECH STAND AT50 1800 640 611

www.kaeser.com.au

Carl Kaeser opened his machine shop in Germany in 1919. 100 years later and KAESER is now a global supplier of compressed air solutions that remains true to its origins. In fact a rich history of tradition and innovation to this day allows us to continue to push the boundaries of compressed air technology!

been developed for optimum efficiency, reliability and ease of maintenance, with an energy savings potential of up to 30 percent*.

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You can be assured that when you choose a KAESER compressor, from design to manufacture, it has

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NOW THAT’ THINKING.

Austech Launch – Yawei HLX series 8kW high speed fiber laser.

“The Yawei Fiber Laser has essentially transformed my business.”

Daniel Smith, Owner - D & D Metal Pressers, Padstow, NSW.

With its extreme accuracy, speed and con costs, the new Yawei HLF fiber laser is th

Dollar for dollar, the new HLF is in a leagu all across the laser cutting sector; from st environments.

With a quality German built Precitec auto 840DSL controller and a fabricated, stres Precision sheetmetal processing solutions. the rest.

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Yawei. The HLX series high speed, high specification Dollar for dollar, the Yawei HLX, HLF and HLE series fiber laser sits at the top end of the laser market fiber lasers rival anything in their respective market and represents an exceptional value proposition for segments and the Applied sales and service o-focusAustralian cuttingmanufacturers head, IPGand laser source, contract cuttersSiemens alike. network has Australia covered – coast to coast. ss-relieved fully annealed frame it really is a cut above Featuring a world class Precitec Pro Cutter Yawei and Applied are slashing barriers to entry autofocus cutting head (zoom also available), a into laser cutting, along with offering established high power 8kW IPG fiber laser source (up to 15kW high end processors, a very attractive, valueavailable), Siemens 840D CNC control, Siemens packed alternative when it comes to replacing aging CO2 machines. Yawei Fiber Lasers – servo drive and motors, remote diagnostics world class performance without the price tag. capability, 6 barrel Donaldston-Torit fume extractor, That’s Applied thinking. patented mixing device for brilliant aluminium

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22/12/16 9:27 am

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Faccin to demonstrate expanded product line Faccin SpA will be showcasing its expanded line of products at Stand 745. With the aim of offering fabricators a larger array of high-quality options and forward-thinking solutions through innovation, Faccin Group has created a strategic alliance of leading brands in the metal forming industry: Faccin, Boldrini and Roundo.

Using the synergies provided by each brand, technically and commercially, the company is able to offer an even wider range of plate-rolling, profile-bending and dished-heads manufacturing – as well as tailored solutions. The company aims to provide metal forming companies with powerful, accurate, reliable equipment, which is critical in increasing a return on investment that leads to long-term success.

Faccin provides: • A wide variety of plate-bending rolls, section-bending rolls, dished-head lines and special machines.

• Highly technological machines designed to maximise the productivity, and thus the profitability, of metal-forming manufacturers.

• Oversized reliable structures able to work 24/7.

• User-friendly CNCs capable of controlling automatically not only the machine but also the handling system.

• High levels of supply availability.

• The lowest possible processing time.

• Integrated solutions.

• A highly qualified team.

Over the last decade, Faccin has launched an expansion plan that has enabled the company not only to move forward but also to grow in the metal-forming industry. Throughout different types of collaborations and the opening of new branches in the USA and Germany, the company has been able to successfully expand its worldwide product distribution.

• Installation and training to develop customers’ skills.

Faccin S.p.A www.faccin.com • Stand 745

CNC Design – Industry 4.0 in focus

Hi-Tech Metrology – Smart quality

Founded in Melbourne in 1984, CNC Design has become the leader in motion control and drive-based solutions throughout Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, and is the world’s largest CNC retrofitting company.

Hi-Tech Metrology will have a comprehensive range of metrology solutions at this year’s Austech exhibition, including a wide array of smart portable equipment.

CNC Design is the exclusive Siemens representative for machine tool products in its operating regions, with full support for sales, engineering, training and service. Additionally the company supports, also with Siemens products, complex drive-based applications and solutions.

CNC Design has more than 160 people located in its offices in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. With a focus as a complete mechatronic solution provider to machine builders and end customers worldwide, it is currently heavily focused on addressing the subject of digitalisation and Industry 4.0.

In 2018 CNC Design signed on as a Siemens MindSphere partner, which enables the company to use the Siemens cloudbased infrastructure for both Siemens CNC modules and its own applications. In addition it is working with end-users to understand the unique requirements that impact their productivity so that it can address this – either on a one-off or serial basis.

At Austech 2019, CNC Design will showcase digitalisation solutions and ideas including preventative maintenance, gathering and analysing OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) information, and the digital-twin concept.

CNC Design Pty Ltd www.cncdesign.com.au • Stand D53

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After more than 27 years, Hi-Tech Metrology continues to deliver world-class metrology and reverse engineering solutions for Australian industry; solutions that are designed to deliver enhanced customer outcomes in productivity, quality and innovation. Central to Hi-Tech Metrology’s display at Austech 2019 will be the very latest in dynamic measurement solutions from Creaform, with 3D handheld scanners and portable, high-accuracy co-ordinate measuring equipment. Visitors to the Hi-Tech Metrology stand can be among the first to see the latest in portable measuring arm technology, and the new flagship stationary co-ordinate measuring machine, the Global S series, from Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.

Also on display will be the very latest in vision metrology solutions from MicroVu; six-degree-of-freedom motion trackers from Polhemus; developments in white light scanning from AICON; and micron accurate digital instruments for the tool room from Bowers, Sylvac and Trimos. All hardware is complemented by world-leading software suites from Innovmetric (PolyWorks), Wilcox (PC-DMIS), MicroVu (Inspec) and Sylvac (Sylcom).

The extensive range of metrology and scanning equipment, combined with a complete array of after sales support services, enables HiTech Metrology to tailor innovative solutions integrating hardware and software for virtually any measurement or reverse engineering task.

Hi-Tech Metrology Pty Ltd www.hitechmetrology.com.au • Stand 734

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Kaeser: Needs-based compressed air production Highly efficient compressors, effective compressed air treatment systems, smart engineering and intelligent services – Kaeser will be showcasing a wide range of its compressed air solutions at Austech that reveal the modern face of needs-based air production.

Visitors to the Kaeser exhbit at stand AT50 at Austech will be able to learn more about Kaeser’s highly efficient, effective and smart compressed air solutions that deliver needs-based air production.

For the end user this translates in to more compressed air and more energy savings.

Kaeser will be showcasing a complete compressed air system at Austech. This includes the compact and highly efficient SK series of rotary screw compressors. Featuring the energy-saving Sigma Profile screw compressor block rotors, a premium efficiency IE3 motor and the Sigma Control 2 controller, the SK series from Kaeser provides both outstanding efficiency and reliability. In fact, not only do they deliver more compressed air for less power consumption, but they also combine ease of maintenance with exceptional versatility and environmentally responsible design.

Sophisticated compressed air treatment and condensate technology go a long way to ensuring a compressed air system will remain reliable and efficient. Among the compressed air treatment systems on display on the Kaeser stand at Austech will be a Kryosec series refrigeration dryer. The Kryosec compact range of refrigeration dryers deliver outstanding performance with ‘Made in Germany’ industrial quality and reliable moisture protection in ambient temperatures up to +50 degrees Celsius.

When it comes to needs-based air production, a key technology that Kaeser has to offer is the Sigma Air Manager 4.0 compressed air controller. This smart controller is the central mastermind that

controls the entire compressed air supply and a key Industrie 4.0 compressed air technology. It enables optimal co-ordination and control of all components within a compressed air station, precisely matching air delivery with the required airflow profile to meet the end user’s exact requirements. Within seconds it analyses the operating data, simulates possible responses and selects the most effective option. The result: smart needs-based air production.

KAESER Compressors Australia Pty Ltd www.kaeser.com.au • Stand: AT50

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ATC – The state of the art in aluminium Extrusions Aluminium Trade Centre (ATC) will be exhibiting at Austech for the first time as it completes work on exciting new production facilities.

“Our partners in the UAE that have invested around half a billion dollars in state-of-the-art gear for the production and finishing of extrusions,” says Stephen Stanford, CEO of ATC. “Everything is brand-new, utilising high-tech equipment from Europe.”

ATC has been a staple supplier in Melbourne for the past seven years, servicing manufacturers and builders with standard and custom aluminium extrusions, as well as running a stock service from its trade desk. Sales and production of custom extrusions are handled directly by Stanford himself. With new partners, the company is now set to make a mark supplying high-end products at its customary low price.

ATC’s partner mill has a vertically integrated, custom-built facility set inside a 200,000sqm plant. The extrusion line features fully automated presses with log storage and double bench/double pullers 64m in length. The aging and stacking processes are fully automated and extrusions are laser-measured against the die spec after every five billet loads.

Finishing includes two fully automated anodising lines and a Qualicoat accredited powder coat facility with a capacity of five million sqm per annum. The fabrication unit incorporates services for crimping, punching, welding, CNC machining and customised cut-to-length profiles. The mechanical properties of crimped profiles are tested as per BS EN 14024 and comply with international standards.

“The level of automation at the plant is amazing and includes a fully robotic packing facility three stories high,” says Stanford. “We’re finding that local manufacturers are very excited to take advantage of this new facility, especially because the pricing is great given the quality level”.

Aluminium Trade Centre Pty Ltd www.aluminiumtc.com.au • Stand 880

RAM3D – Leading the way in additive manufacturing RAM3D has been involved in metal 3D printing for over 10 years and has developed a deep knowledge of the additive manufacturing powder bed technology and the requirements to repeatedly deliver for the aerospace, defence, marine, consumer and industrial markets.

RAM3D’s bespoke factory in Tauranga, New Zealand, offers one of the very few commercial selective laser melting (SLM) facilities in the Southern Hemisphere. It currently operates four metal laser printers and prints parts for a diversity of worldwide industries.

Many of its clients start their 3D printing journey by printing a prototype; this is a good way to make and test their design and it provides them with a completely functional part. With rapid prototyping, SLM 3D printing can put a product in front of the product developer’s eye quicker than ever before. For the right products, this is a very costeffective option.

RAM3D’s client database is so diverse, the company has 3D printed titanium knives for the Team Emirates America’s Cup crew, customised handlebar extensions for the New Zealand Olympics cycling team, and more recently, titanium lugs for Bastion Cycles, a high-end Australian custom bike maker.

One of the parts that the RAM3D will have on its stand at Austech is Bastion Cycles’ bottom bracket, which it 3D prints in Titanium 64.

The bracket has had a lattice structure added to it, resulting in less volume of metal, which thereby results in a reduction in cost. With the lattice added, the part still maintains its strength while upholding thin walls. RAM3D will be showcasing many samples of its work on its stand, where Warwick Downing and Barry Robinson of the RAM3D team will be on hand to talk about your metal 3D printing projects.

RAM3D www.ram3d.co.nz • Stand AM32

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Ultimaker – Reinventing efficient manufacturing with 3D printing At its stand at Austech, Imaginables will be showcasing the latest 3D printing technology from Ultimaker. Ford recently turned to Ultimaker to streamline processes at its pilot plant in Germany.

Since its foundation in 1914, Ford has driven innovation in automotive manufacturing. Ford is constantly thinking ahead to accelerate vehicle manufacture through increased productivity, ergonomics, and quality control.

Ford’s pilot plant in Cologne pioneers the creation of each new vehicle design before it goes into mass production. They have a complete small-scale manufacturing line, which develops cars up to several years before they go into production. Lars Bognar, Research Engineer at Ford’s Research & Advanced Engineering team, has been working on creating an optimised workflow to create jigs, tools, and fixtures for Ford’s manufacturing process.

Ford’s employees use many custom tools during their vehicles’ production. These are often designed for one specific task and model. Creating these tools externally takes a lot of time and is very expensive. To get tools faster, the team at Ford decided to pilot 3D printing as a possible solution.

A dedicated additive manufacturing team was founded, and started using fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology from Ultimaker. It provided a faster, affordable solution with less hassle compared to other 3D printing technologies.

By having a dedicated 3D workshop in the pilot plant, Ford can produce all the right designs before a new car goes into mass production. This gives the engineers at Ford more time to iterate the designs of all the custom tools. Ford wants to create tools which not only speed up the manufacturing time of the vehicles but also often have ergonomic benefits for the workforce.

By using Ultimaker 3D printers, local workforces can also 3D print the tools they need. Ford is placing Ultimaker 3D printers in factories all over Europe, such as in Spain, Italy, and Romania. The design team in Germany will supply the designs electronically, and the tools can be used the next day thanks to 3D printing.

So far, the pilot has already been very beneficial to Ford. Per custom tool, they save a considerable amount of money compared to traditional manufacturing or outsourcing. The Ford Focus alone is manufactured using over 50 custom-designed tools, jigs, and fixtures. Ford is also looking at spare parts for production machines from the manufacturing line.

But 3D printing isn’t just financially beneficial. Many of these tools have great ergonomic benefits for Ford’s workforce. After prolonged use, traditional metal tools can start to feel extremely heavy, and can impact workers’ health over time. Ultimaker’s range of materials are often strong enough to replace metal tools, which makes life a lot easier for assembly personnel.

Ford is expanding its 3D printing capabilities rapidly. While optimising the workflow to create tools, jigs, and fixtures, they’re learning more about the possibilities of 3D printing. Bognar is not only looking to create tools and fixtures, but also exploring possibilities to create spare parts and final parts using 3D printing.

Imaginables Pty Ltd www.imaginables.com.au • Stand AM65

Ficep – Global leaders in steel construction Headquartered in Varese in Italy, Ficep is a leading manufacturer of machine tools for the steel construction fabrication industry, with customers in nearly 90 countries globally.

The company provides the world’s widest range of machines for both the structural steel and the forging industries. Ficep was founded by the family of the present owners in 1930. Over the years, the company has grown from being a manufacturer of manual machines to be the global leader in manufacturing the most advanced CNC machines and automatic systems for the steel construction and forging industry.

At Austech Ficep will be exhibiting Valiant, its automatic CNC drilling and bandsawing line for profiles. The brand new Valiant is equipped with numerous innovations compared with previous models, including an advanced pincher clamping system and a new hold-down system with two independent cylinders that allows the best processing of

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the beam head and end.

Another advantage is the enhanced auxiliary axis with a 300mm stroke on each independent drilling unit, which permits a wide variety of operations including special milling features and “rat holes” being made simultaneously on all sides without moving the beam.

Valiant can be configured with an automatic toolchanger holding up to 14 positions per head, a significant increase in tools availability that allows completion of all the necessary operations on the beam without any operator intervention (drilling, milling, fourside scribing, threading and so on.).

Ficep SPA www.ficepgroup.com • Stand 970

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SWI Engineering – World-class, Australia-made SWI Engineering is a world leader in sheet metal slitting and folding technology – specifically for roofing manufacturers and sheet metal fabricators.

In Australia, the USA and New Zealand, corporations using SWI equipment include Kingspan, Stratco, Stramit, Metroll, Metalcraft, Metal Sales Manufacturing, Calder Stewart, Lysaght, Roofing Industries, Dimond, Steeline, Freeman Roofing … as well as hundreds of other roofing leaders. All SWI equipment is 100% manufactured

by SWI at its high-tech facility in Warrnambool. In the Americas, SWI equipment is sold and serviced by its staff in Atlanta, Georgia.

Approximately 50% of all SWI equipment goes to customers in the USA, with many of its American customers having multiple machines around the country.

SWI’s equipment line-up includes Duplex Long Folders, Simplex Long Folders and ‘Marxman’ slitters, as well as integrated machinery software taking orders directly from construction site to production floor. Flashing and trim manufacture is automated by SWI’s ShopLink database software that links all the machines to ERP software such as MYOB, Oracle, Arrow, SAP and other accounting packages. This eliminates duplication of data, reduces data entry at the machine, and provides a simple framework for growth. SWI’s system also includes a comprehensive price calculation module that allows invoice costs to be automatically calculated and sent directly to your accounting software.

Using SWI’s patented slitter knife technology, the highly automated Marxman Pro slitter is the only slitting & blanking line in the world that offers the convenience of intermediate part-cut technology as well as automatic labelling, coil consumption tracking, and barcode linking to downstream folders – all linked directly to your ERP system.

Production statistics show the Marxman Pro consistently produces up to 200 parts per hour, all cut to size, labelled and ready for folding.

The Marxman Plus has proven an exciting addition to the SWI line up. Released in 2016, it has already become the most popular selling Marxman model. All SWI’s Marxman slitting lines are designed to allow a full set of slitter blades to be changed in less than 15 minutes.

The SWI Duplex Folder is the only folder on the international market with independently certified CE safety certification provided by TUV Nord-trained machine safety experts. The passive safety systems incorporated into the SWI Duplex prompt the machine to automatically slow from its high speed when operators approach the danger zone. While other makes are becoming faster and more dangerous, SWI have developed a sustainable, safe compromise that allows high-speed operation with first-class, certified operator protection. The SWI Duplex is regarded as a leading performer in the USA for safety, ease of use and reliable operation.

SWI Engineering www.swiengineering.com.au • Stand 998

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Cutting-edge showcase from Smenco, Plazmax Professional Measuring Instruments

Long-established Australian sales & distribution company Smenco and New Zealand-based Plazmax Technologies have teamed up to promote the range of innovative CNC profile cutting systems designed and manufactured

by Plazmax.

With offices and representation throughout Australia, Smenco enjoys a long, successful history, supplying and supporting the cutting and welding industries. Plazmax manufactures a full range of quality CNC profile cutting systems, starting from the CutAce LT, coupled with Hypertherm Powermax or MaxPro200 power sources and the CutAce XD systems with Hypertherm’s XPR power sources, through to the flagship CutPro HS machines, designed for larger manufacturers and plate-processing industries.

Full range of industry standard measuring equipment with many popular sizes supplied with calibration certificates.

Specialist range of digital ultrasonic & laser measuring instruments and gauges.

Plazmax and Smenco will be showcasing the CutAce XD automated cutting system at this year’s Austech. The CutAce XD brings both new and improved innovation to the market through both Plazmax’s platform design and Hypertherm’s newly released XPR170 power source. The capability and cut quality produced from this system is truly outstanding across various thicknesses of carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium. The CutAce XD offers a solution to companies that require versatile cutting capability from one machine.

Many of the cutting platforms are offered in either waterbed or downdraft fume extraction configurations. The designs are compact and integrated, meaning less valuable floor space is required. All cutting systems, across the entire range, are built using the very best available technology and componentry – from specialist HVAC and sheet metal systems, through to large heavy-duty plateprocessing systems, the quality remains consistent.

Plazmax has dedicated significant time and resources to developing and perfecting the rigidity and motion of its systems while simultaneously increasing the speed and acceleration capability.

This not only translates into increased productivity for the customer but also improved cut quality. Many companies initially invest in entry-level machines where they quickly find the limits of capability available to them, whereas Plazmax manufactures systems that the customer can grow into, lifting the bar on their productivity and quality.

Smenco and Plazmax provide timely service, training and support for busy businesses throughout Australia and New Zealand, allowing end users to maximise their uptime and productivity. Plazmax has an active R&D programme and is always striving to innovate and add value for its customers. The company’s goal is to offer solutions utilising the best available technology to provide optimum results, increased productivity and lower operating costs.

Smenco Pty Ltd www.smenco.com.au Plazmax Technologies www.plazmax.co.nz • Stand 965

Available now at:

www.accud.com.au AMT APR/MAY 2019

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Diverse line-up from John Hart John Hart will bring a wide-ranging line-up of technologies to Austech 2019, from groundbreaking new machine tending equipment, to the latest in additive manufacturing systems.

Set for its official Australian launch at Austech 2019, Agile Flex is a revolutionary CNC machine tending system offering unparalleled simplicity, ease of use and flexibility. Rapidly deployed, compact and affordable, Agile Flex offers maximum productivity out of the box for all machine brands.

Designed and built on over 70 years of experience delivering world-class solutions for manufacturers, Agile Flex is a highly flexible machine tending solution that can be quickly and simply adapted to specific manufacturing requirements. Visitors to Austech 2019 will have a chance to experience the advantages of Agile Flex at the Agile Robotic Systems exhibit on stand 720.

Another key feature of John Hart’s Austech showcase will be some of the latest products from EOS Additive Manufacturing solutions.

This follows on from the recent announcement that John Hart has been appointed as the national distributor for EOS.

AEROSPACE

AUTOMOTIVE

DEFENCE

MEDICAL

INDUSTRIAL PARTS

Headquartered in Germany and founded in 1989, Electro Optical Systems (EOS) is the global technology and quality leader for highend solutions in additive manufacturing in metals and polymers. A pioneer and innovator in holistic solutions in additive manufacturing, EOS enables customers to produce high-quality products based on industrial 3D printing technologies.

“The addition of EOS to our portfolio marks a milestone, not just for John Hart but for the Australian manufacturing technology sector,” said Mark Dobrich, General Manager - Machine Tools at John Hart.

“This will be the first partnership in Australia of a world-leading additive machine technology company with a leading national Australian machine tool distributor.

“It’s our belief that the Australian manufacturing industry has worked through the investigation stage of additive technology and is now preparing to enter the evaluation and adoption phases. The timing of this agreement places John Hart at the forefront of this technology and provides us with an opportunity to take a leadership position in the development and adoption of the technology with the Australian manufacturing industry, further enhancing our mantra of providing world-class solutions.”

The only company in Australia providing Metal 3D Printing, CNC Machining, Fabrication and Industrial Gearboxes in the one location. Efficiency and Quality is what Amiga Engineering provides.

Engineering Solutions to Empower Your Ideas

Jack Wu, Sales Director for EOS APAC, added: “This partnership marks an important step for us in Australia as it will help us to jointly develop this market further towards a broader adoption of 3D printing. With learning curves and technology implementation accelerating, customers will be able to tap the full potential of additive manufacturing.”

www.Metal3D.com.au

John Hart Pty Ltd www.johnhart.com.au Agile Robotic Systems www.agilerobotics.com • Stands 710, 720

Ph: +61 3 9330 0688 E: Metal3D@amigaeng.com.au AMT APR/MAY 2019

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Next evolution: Xpert 40 automated Take the next step in the field of bending. Bystronic is enhancing the Xpert 40 to create the Mobile Bending Cell. The result is a compact solution for the rapid switching between manual and automated bending.

Cutting | Bending | Automation bystronic.com

Agile robotics: The 6-axis robotic arm that is integrated in the Mobile Bending Cell inserts the parts that are to be bent in any position with high precision.

Evolution in bending With the Mobile Bending Cell, Bystronic is taking the next evolutionary step in the field of bending.

The Xpert 40 press brake is now available with a mobile automation module. The result is a compact solution for automated and manual bending.

In production, the form, size, and number of parts that are to be bent varies. And a central goal is always to produce these parts as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Hence, the requirements placed on a modern bending system are as follows: “Adapt to this variety. Help the user to produce quickly. Automate as many processing steps as possible. But also provide the user with the possibility to work manually when he wants to.�

With the Mobile Bending Cell, Bystronic now provides an answer to all these requirements. The technology behind the new bending cell is the Xpert 40 together with bending

robotics. A combination between fast press brake and mobile automation.

With the Mobile Bending Cell, users process large series with the automatic bending mode. However, they can also manually bend small series and individual parts whenever necessary.

Plug in & bend principle This bending automation system is unique. And it provides users with a great deal of freedom for varying order situations. The Mobile Bending Cell functions according to the plug in & bend principle. In practice, this means: the compact Xpert 40 can be set up and put into operation in virtually

any environment. And if required, it can also quickly be moved to another location. The mobile automation solution seamlessly interfaces with the Xpert 40. Users can set up the robotics system on the Xpert 40 in just a few minutes. And the entire Mobile Bending Cell system remains extremely compact. Just plug in and start bending. And when not in use, the bending robotics can simply be moved to one side.

Learn more at: mobilebendingcell.bystronic.com

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ePOL – Wide range of engineering plastics

BOGE unveils expanded series-4 range

From its distribution hub in Melbourne, ePOL ships engineering plastics nationally, free into your store.

BOGE Compressors has announced the release of several new models in its series-4 compressor range, including 55kW, 75kW and 90kW power drive sizes, as well as an additional 110kW model.

ePOL clients can log into their account online and not only see the competitive price of each product, but also how much stock is currently held for all grades. It supports the company’s philosophy of business: “Providing only the highest quality of material in the market and supporting it with service and price for quality second to none.” ePOL’s inception came about through looking at the current methods of distribution and how to improve them for future growth. The path that ePOL has taken is a low-cost, no-frills model, with a one-off distribution hub that helps ePOL ensure it maintains a low-cost base that in turn results in better-priced products.

Although ePOL operates on a low-cost model, it employs a premiumservice freight service, confirming orders via email, and provides a live track-and-trace function for shipping. The team at ePOL regards these freight services as important as the stock that it holds. ePOL provides the convenience of online shopping, showing live the stock that is available on the shelf and prices based on account information. For those who prefer the more conventional method of speaking with a salesperson, the team at ePOL is happy to attend to all requirements. ePOL’s stock is your warehouse. ePOL www.epol.net.au • Stand MS54

The new releases complement the models previously released, which included 110kW, 132kW and 160kW options. Model variants include direct drive and VSD options. With new high-efficiency air ends and lower sound pressure levels, BOGE now offers a complete range of series-4 machines in drive power sizes from 55-160kW. Design features include: • High-efficiency air end with direct drive or optional integrated gear made by BOGE • Silent radial fan with low rotational speed providing a smooth and low sound pressure level • Excellent accessibility to all maintenance parts • Oil separation receiver with central integrated separation element providing low residual oil content and service interval up to 9000 operating hours with synthetic oil filling.

In addition, some units offer specific power of less than 6.0kW per cubic metre per minute at 7.5 bar.

BOGE has also expanded its range of oil-free scroll compressors, desiccant and refrigerated air dryers, oxygen generators and nitrogen generators featuring PSA and membrane systems. BOGE dealers in Australia all have technicians trained by BOGE and can support all BOGE products in most areas in Australia.

BOGE Compressors (Australia) Pty Ltd www.boge.net • Stand AT55

Integra Systems – Melding the human with the technological A lot has happened since the multiple award-winning Melbourne enterprise previously exhibited at Austech in 2017.

Not only has the company increased its facility floorspace by 270sqm, achieved ISO 9001 accreditation, grown staff by 30% and signed a manufacturing agreement with Mercedes-Benz, but Integra is paving the way in Industry 4.0 and making significant headway with the deployment of robotics.

Integra has continued to refine its WorkSmart ergonomic workstation solutions (AeroSmart and BioSmart) and expand on its successes in point-of-sales systems in recent years. Examples of this technology will be on display and up for discussion at Integra’s Austech stand.

How does such a people-focused industrial design manufacturer meld the human with the technological? The answer to this question, and many others, is what Integra will share with Austech visitors, as well as showing how adaption to change and transformation fits perfectly with its core offering of turning creative industrial design concepts into real outcomes.

Another very special feature at this year’s Austech is Integra’s latest recruit – Ozzie the Robot (full name ‘Oz Innovative Engineering’).

While Ozzie might not have as warm a handshake as the rest of the team, we assure you he’s still very friendly and will be more than happy to give you a business card, if you ask nicely.

“Introducing automation to the more repetitive work always helps your business,” explains Paul Hughes, Managing Director of Integra. “If you take care of that at the backend, it helps you grow and, ultimately, you’re employing more people in the long-run at a higher level than what you would if you didn’t have automation.”

By embracing innovation and automation, Integra is a thriving example of how smaller Australian manufacturers can beat import competition with agility and best-in-class design. As evidence,

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Integra is the place where visions are made real. Come equipped with your grandest ambitions and share them with the passionate team – because they love nothing more than a design challenge.

As leaders in advanced manufacturing processes and rapid prototyping, Integra Systems takes pride in taking the dreams and aspirations of customers and making them soar.

Integra Systems www.integrasystems.com.au • Stand MS72

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Salvagnini – The lean panel bender looks to the future A world leader in panel bending technology, Salvagnini Italia will have the P2lean compact panel bender on display at Austech 2019, the most successful of all 15 Salvagnini models in the range, with manual loading and unloading.

A machine that, more than any other, embodies the innovative spirit of Salvagnini, the company’s panel bender range is based on the technology invented by Salvagnini and for which the group boasts world leadership. Fully automated and adaptive, the Salvagnini P4, P2lean and P1 panel benders, available in 15 different models, confirm their place as one of the stars of Salvagnini’s Social Industry concept.

“The Salvagnini panel bender is an automatic machine in all aspects and, as such, is ideal for the modern smart factory,” explains Tommaso Bonuzzi, Salvagnini Sales Director. “This machine has demonstrated its reliability over and over, and this year we have introduced some more interesting improvements to it.

Salvagnini has increased the maximum panel bending height from 165 to 203mm and, remaining fully automated, it has also reduced the minimum machinable panel sizes. This means that the machine is also able to make higher bends and smaller boxes. Salvagnini has also increased the range of thicknesses, further extending the number of users who would potentially be interested in this technology.

“This is an adaptive machine,” adds Bonuzzi. “And in the best Salvagnini tradition, it is able to react and set itself up according to changes in bending conditions – for example according to temperature or the tensile strength of the material being bent.

These are measured by the technological architecture of these machines, fitted with sensors that read the data and react to it, offering numerous advantages.

“Depending on the panel, the machine applies different forces and parameters, using exactly the amount of energy required to make that given part: this is assured by the large number of sensors adopted on these third-generation lean panel benders, which are easier to maintain, consume less and are even more silent and compact.”

Evolution also comes in the form of FACE, the new Salvagnini interface now common to all product lines. Extremely intuitive, FACE is the result of long customer experience analysis, which led to a full review of workflows aimed at ensuring immediate and effective communication with the machine. This is all to the advantage of the operator, whose work is increasingly enhanced and remains the central focus of Social Industry3.

Machinery Forum (VIC) Pty Ltd www.machineryforum.com.au Salvagnini Italia S.p.A. www.salvagninigroup.com • Stand 991

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY TURNS TO RONSON

www.ronsongears.com.au Telephone +61 3 9276 8900 AMT APR/MAY 2019

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3D printing in focus – the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion As additive manufacturing continues to revolutionise the manufacturing industry, the focus on this exciting emerging technology will be more comprehensive than ever at Austech 2019.

Austech has consistently provided a showcase for additive manufacturing as it has developed over the years, and today the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion is now an unmissable part of the show. The boom in interest in 3D printing continues to gain momentum, and Austech 2019 visitors will get a chance to see the latest innovations in this area first-hand.

The Additive Manufacturing Pavilion will feature demonstrations of the latest 3D printers and services from a range of companies and organisations that lead the field of additive manufacturing.

Exhibitors will include: • Additive Manufacturing Hub •

3D Printing Solutions

• 3D Printing Systems

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3D Systems Asia-Pacific

• Bilby 3D

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CSIRO

• Emona Instruments Pty Ltd

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GoProto (ANZ) Pty Ltd

• Headland Machinery Pty Ltd •

HP & EVOK3D

• Imaginables Pty Ltd

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Konica Minolta

• LRM Technologies

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Markforged

• Materialise

• Metal3D

• MSC Software Corporation

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RAM3D

• Raymax Lasers

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Renishaw Oceania Pty Ltd

• RMIT Advanced Manufacturing Precinct

• •

Shining 3D Tech Co Ltd Thinglab

• Zeal 3D To complement the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, AMTIL will be hosting UNLIMIT3D, a two-day conference on additive manufacturing and 3D printing, alongside Austech at the Melbourne

Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 14-15 May. UNLIMIT3D will examine the industrialisation of additive manufacturing, featuring speakers who have employed this technology in their production facilities. AMTIL has assembled a diverse lineup of speakers who will share their insights on opportunities and challenges that arise from innovating in this space.

“3D printing is a groundbreaking technology with the potential to revolutionise every segment of the manufacturing industry,” said Shane Infanti, CEO of AMTIL. “The Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, coupled with the UNLIMIT3D conference, demonstrate AMTIL’s ongoing commitment to promoting this game-changing technology, showcasing the very latest innovations, and highlighting the potential it can offer for Australian manufacturing businesses.”

UNLIMIT3D is sponsored by SYSPRO Australasia and by the Additive Manufacturing Hub (www.amhub.net.au), whose mission is to provide an industry-driven collaborative network of organisations that will foster and grow the additive manufacturing sector. For more information on the UNLIMIT3D conference, visit: www.amtil.com.au/events/unlimit3d-conference-2019

Amada – Enhancing productivity Amada Oceania has provided Australian industry with a steady stream of innovative, productivity-enhancing sheetmetal machinery since 1998. Its product range includes sheet-metalworking machinery, tooling, software and a wide spectrum of high-level automation. At Austech 2019, Amada will showcase the new Ensis 6kW fibre laser and EG4010 dual servo press brake. Also on display will be the HG1003 press brake with automatic tool changer.

The Ensis-AJ 6kW uses Variable Beam Control technology and introduces Amada’s Auto Collimation system, to provide unrivalled beam spot control; this allows very high-speed piercing, fast cutting rates and vastly improved bevel angles on thicker materials. Utilising a single lens for the entire range of materials and thicknesses reduces machine setup and avoids potential mistakes, providing higher productivity and therefore higher profitability. A high capacity automatic nozzle changer and the simple, intuitive AMNC 3i numerical control are further features ensuring machine setup is reduced to a minimum.

The compact EG is the world’s first electric dual servo drive press brake and advances Amada’s new range of ergonomic press brakes. The EG-4010 focuses upon accuracy, efficiency and ergonomics. The patented dual servo press (DSP) drive system revolutionises electric press brake technology, offering very high accuracy and speed alongside reduced running costs, with savings from both power and maintenance costs. Fitted with an AMNC 3i controller, the EG can be easily programmed from the office to maximise part output. Coupled with barcode program loading, 3D visualisation and tool setup aids, ease of use is ensured.

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For OEMs and sub-contractors alike, increasing productivity and throughput is the main target for improving profitability. Smaller batch sizes are causing more time lost due to an ever-increasing number of machine set-ups. Amada’s HG1003 ATC offers a solution, allowing fast, efficient set-up when dealing with smaller batch sizes.

Amada Oceania Pty Ltd www.amada.com.au • Stand 650

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Markforged – streamlining functional prototyping Centor, an award-winning manufacturer of industrial door systems, faced a challenge: validating component and assembly designs was inhibited by high machining costs and unreliable outsourcing. With the adoption of a Markforged 3D-printer, the company can produce robust, high-quality functional prototypes in-house more efficiently, rapidly iterating on product designs and validating fit, form and basic function.

Centor develops custom-integrated doors for residential and commercial buildings. Each unique design requires a proof of concept. Three in-house machinists used to spend all their time fabricating components in low volumes, with additional components being outsourced. This approach led to inconsistent quality, lengthy production times, and excess costs.

Seeking an alternative, David Chappell, Group Manager of Product & Engineering at Centor, took a chance on a Markforged Mark Two rapid prototyping machine. He was immediately impressed.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever actually seen a 3D printer do what it promised in a real-life design studio factory like ours,” said Chappell.

“It just runs.”

While his team of experienced manufacturers intially expressed doubt about integrating 3D printing in their workflow, they now run the printer almost 24/7. It enabled them to redirect machining bandwidth, iterate on designs, learn quickly from printed parts, and present compelling proofs of concepts to customers. This in-house efficiency “takes out one blockage to innovation”.

The tight tolerances delivered by the printer ensure that multiple components fit together perfectly and enable the prototype folding doors to function reliably. Markforged’s cloud software allows Centor to easily translate their CAD designs into printed parts, with accurate time and cost estimates. Free from the constraints of subtractive machining, 3D printed parts can be designed with complex geometries that improve product function.

By switching to printing on the Markforged machine, Centor reduced the time it took to produce functional prototypes from 156 hours to 12 hours, and cut costs from $800 to $10 – savings of 93% and 99% respectively. Centor has further optimised its production by printing jigs and weatherproof end-use parts. It will soon have a Markforged printer in each of its four factories across Australia, China, Poland, and the US. Markforged will be exhibiting in the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion section at Austech 2019.

Markforged www.markforged.com • Stand: AM25

Manufacturers’ Pavilion – Spotlight on Australian manufacturing One of the key highlights of Austech 2019, the Manufacturers’ Pavilion will once again provide a powerful showcase for the very best of Australian manufacturing.

The Manufacturers’ Pavilion is a specially dedicated section of the Austech exhibition that spotlights Australia’s precision engineering and advanced manufacturing industry. Having first featured at Austech back in 2013, the Manufacturers’ Pavilion has grown steadily to become an integral part of the show, with more than 20 exhibitors already signed up to participate this year.

“We’ve worked very hard over the years to make the Manufacturers’ Pavilion a key aspect of Austech, and it’s been really satisfying to see how it’s grown,” says Kim Banks, AMTIL’s Events Manager. “We’re picking up a real sense of excitement from among those manufacturing business that have booked their stands this year.”

The Manufacturers’ Pavilion showcases the capabilities of Australian component manufacturers, precision engineering firms, toolmakers, advanced manufacturers and general engineering companies. The Pavilion will help exhibiting companies to promote their capabilities to an expected audience of more than 10,000 visitors, connecting with potential clients, partners, and other organisations such as

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government, research and training bodies.

As well as a broad array of Australian manufacturing SMEs, the Manufacturers’ Pavilion will also look to the other end of the scale, with several major exhibits planned from Primes and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

“We see the Manufacturers’ Pavilion as an opportunity to showcase our industry as a whole,” adds Banks. “In previous years we’ve had exhibits like the Hawkei armoured vehicle from Thales, trucks from Paccar, and buses from Volgren. When you’ve got that alongside all these manufacturing companies that are fully equipped to work in those supply chains, it gives you a really vivid snapshot of how much capability we’ve got in this country.

“We believe it’s vital for manufacturers to integrate into global supply chains in order for Australian manufacturing to move forward in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace. The key aim of the Manufacturers’ Pavilion is to help achieve that, creating opportunities for manufacturers to promote their capabilities and capacity.”

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Sheetmetal Machinery – Finding the right machine for your business

Celebrating

Frequently changing parts and small batch sizes require a universal bending technology. The most common technologies are press brake bending and panel folding, but which solution is best for your business?

At Austech 2019, Sheetmetal Machinery Australia will showcase the latest SafanDarley E-Brake Ultra 130T-4100 with E-Bend L Blue laser angle measurement system. Proven around the world, the SafanDarley range of electric press brakes offers industries the most advanced features and production benefits. Their unique maintenance-free roller drive system is available on press brakes from 35 to 300 tons and working lengths up to 4m. Simply put, the SafanDarley E-Brake is faster, more accurate, cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain and more flexible than similar systems. For higher tonnage applications greater than 300 tons, SafanDarley also offers the H-Brake and H-Brake Hybrid.

Intec 713

Also, on display is the RAS XLTBend. This incredibly flexible UpDown folding machine is ideal for large complex parts, such as cassettes, panels and boxes. With revolutionary one-click programming software, small batch sizes can be quickly and efficiently created.

Processes such as tool set-up, part positioning and bending sequence are all automatically generated on the control. The hybrid gauging system with vacuum grippers allows for multiple bends to be performed automatically without operator intervention.

Both the SafanDarley press brakes and RAS XLTbend include the latest offline programming software, enabling smaller batch sizes and streamlining of manufacturing processes.

Additionally, the Krasser Centurio slitting and coil handling system will be available for viewing and demonstrations. This completely automated slitting, blanking and coil handling system has proven itself in the roofing industry. Coils are transported to the slitting machine automatically and fed into the machine without manual intervention. Features such as the roller shear for partial cutting and automatic labelling, aid in reducing scrap and optimising workflow.

Coil weight tracking and barcoding enables a holistic view of your stock and downstream processes. All parts are cut to size, labelled and ready for folding, roll forming and more.

QuantumNXT

Sheetmetal Machinery’s extensive machinery range includes products from Europe’s best machine manufacturers. As well as SafanDarley, Krasser and RAS, this includes brands such as Resato, Q-Fin, Cutlite Penta Italy, Boschert and many more.

Sheetmetal Machinery Australia Pty Ltd www.sheetmetalmachinery.com.au • Stand 800 & 870

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Spotlight on specialist technologies Austech has always provided a comprehensive showcase of the latest innovations across every category of advanced manufacturing technology, and that tradition will continue at this year’s show, with two dedicated areas focusing on specialised technolgies – the Digitalisation/Industry 4.0 Pavilion, and the Air Technology Pavilion.

Having made its debut two years at Austech 2017, the Digitalisation Pavilion will again explore the latest technologing developments at the cutting edge of manufacturing today. With the industry entering a new phase of rapid, radical change, often described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, breakthrough advances in fields such as robotics & automation, interconnected devices and the Internet of Things, big data and Cloud computing are ushering in the era of the smart, connected factory.

Amid ever-accelerating rates of technological change, and ever-growing competition, it is vital to not get left behind. The Digitalisation Pavilion will provide a snapshot of how the latest smart technologies are changing the very basis by which products are manufactured today, while offering insight into how these changes can benefit you and your business.

Companies exhibiting in the Digitalisation Pavlion include:

Companies exhibiting in the Air Technology Pavilion include:

• BARLOAD Australia

• Atlas Copco Compressors Australia

• CNC Design Pty Ltd

• BOGE Compressors (Australia) P/L

• Qarm Pty Ltd (OneCNC)

• Gravotech Australia

• Robert Bosch Australia

• KAESER Compressors Australia P/L

Meanwhile the Air Technology Pavilion is a new section of the Austech exhibition, focusing on the latest state-of-the-art compressor equipment and associated air technologies. Encompassing compression technologies, air treatment and filtration systems, vacuum pumps and piping, as well as software applications and support services, the Air Technology Pavilion will offer a far-reaching showcase of a technology category that is vital to so many modern manufacturing businesses.

“At Austech we’ve always strived to ensure we cover the entire spectrum of manufacturing technologies,” said Kim Banks, AMTIL’s Events Manager. “And we believe that grouping specific categories in dedicated areas is very helpful both to the exhibitors and to visitors at the show. The Digitilisation Pavilion was a great success two years ago, and we’ve always hoped to be able to focus in more depth on compressors and air technology, so we think these two Pavilions will be a very exciting feature of Austech 2019.”

OneCNC – Customer-led innovation OneCNC has a long history of consistent research & development. With more than 30 years of continual development, it continues to focus exclusively on the needs of CNC manufacturers.

As a CAD/CAM innovator, OneCNC has had continual direct contact with global users that has enabled the products to become consistent leaders with a proven track record in manufacturing. The high performance of OneCNC and the ease of use of the system offers powerful programming for any CNC machine tool.

OneCNC has solutions with functionality that includes programming for two-to-five axis milling, two-to-five axis turning, two-to-four axis wire EDM, two-axis Profiler, multitasking mill-turn machining, and B-axis machine tools. Users can streamline operations with the powerful and flexible OneCNC, valued by CNC programmers for its extensive wizard-driven machining cycles, tool control, and capacity to fully support the entire shop.

OneCNC has seamless CAD-to-CAM, and directly imports part models from almost any source, fully intact, with no need for programmers to edit or rebuild geometry. OneCNC directly machines from any combination of geometries of solids, surfaces, wireframe or STL, providing you with complete manufacturing flexibility. Starting with 100% complete and accurate part geometry eliminates nearly all of the difficulty in programming complicated parts and dramatically

AMT APR/MAY 2019

reduces programming time. OneCNC does not charge a yearly maintenance and there are no hidden support costs. Numerous versions of OneCNC are produced so there is no need to purchase ability that you do not need. Each version is very competitively priced and you only purchase what you need.

Qarm Pty Ltd (OneCNC) www.onecnc.net • Stand D51

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AUSTECH PREVIEW

Bosch – Manufacturing solutions The connected world has arrived, and it continues to grow and evolve every day. With an expected 7 billion people and 50 billion connected devices by 2020, the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the way we live, work, communicate, and interact with one another.

It is also enhancing processes and procedures in the manufacture, transportation and warehousing of goods. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is setting new standards, enabling manufacturing to be simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The concept of connecting all elements in a manufacturing value chain is called Industry 4.0.

It involves the use of technology to monitor, modify and customise products in a production line.

Historically, many independent processes were used for the manufacture of products, from receiving customer requirements, design, research, development and prototyping to material sourcing, assembly lines, sub-systems supply, quality assessment, packaging, warehousing and transport. These processes acted interdependently of each other. However, the connecting of all of these via the internet creates a fully integrated ecosystem delivering faster, more customised products for the end user.

Industry 4.0 gives more control to the people at the core of making things. It allows for richer collaboration, rapid flow of information and it cross-references in real time to automatically correct errors or provide the information companies need to optimise their systems.

Robert Bosch Australia is both a provider and user of Industry 4.0 technologies. With 290 manufacturing plants across the world, application of Industry 4.0 is an evolution not a revolution. Bosch’s own reference projects for implementation range from large-scale mass production to multi-variant assembly quantities.

The Bosch approach is strategic all the way to its global Board of Directors, which recognises that Industry 4.0 will be different for different applications. In the same way that Lean manufacturing has evolved from individual use cases to widespread adoption, Industry 4.0 requires collaboration, engagement and understanding.

For example, the introduction of RFID technology is a good first step. The prerequisites for implementation are: firstly a standardised process in the context of Lean principles, and secondly, an IT foundation that allows for basic connectivity and the exchange

of data. Standardised processes enable the targeted capture of important information based on the RFID raw data.

In turn, KPIs can be generated and monitored in real time. The resulting transparency can be integrated into management routines as a key management tool, and savings potential is fully expended due to introduced improvement measures. Utilising this quick introduction, additional connectivity steps, such as independent communication of virtual images or self-optimising processes can be implemented.

This approach starts with a small hardware and connectivity investment that opens up possibilities for understanding and optimisation, and can lead to covering the entire value stream and a wide variety of processes through subsequent investments.

Some of Bosch’s own reference projects have started in this way as ‘pilots’ and expanded upstream and downstream as process steps, ultimately rolled out in an international production network.

Bosch’s Industry 4.0 applications are all customised to the requirements of the respective plants and integrate existing equipment in a ‘Brownfield’ approach. The process is iterative with short control loops. Small steps reduce the complexity, achieve desired results faster, and are measured against KPIs. Australia has a rich manufacturing environment, comprising approximately 6.0% of GDP. However, 97% of Australian manufacturers are considered small-to medium-enterprises by global standards. Industry 4.0 principles will become the norm, but the journey will start via small steps such as RFID connectivity, which will expand and improve productivity with additional measures.

Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions develops special-purpose equipment that leverages Bosch’s extensive global manufacturing footprint and brings Industry 4.0 knowledge, solutions and services as a core competency tailored to local companies.

Robert Bosch Australia www.bosch-manufacturingsolutions.com.au • Stand D25

Whitelaw – Half a century of excellence Whitelaw Engineering Machinery has more than 50 years of experience in conventional and CNC machine tools.

Since Whitelaw’s founder Graham Whitelaw first opened the company’s doors in 1964, its vision has always been to help its customers source the very bestquality machine tools. After half a century of staying true to this vision, Whitelaw has established a reputation for excellence in the machine tool industry, with customers across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Region. Today, Whitelaw remains proudly Australian-owned and operated, with a strong network of global partners enabling it to source the right machine tools for your needs. From its base in Brisbane through its network of distributors, Whitelaw is focused on giving its customers the right tools to do their best work. There’s no substitute for experience, and Whitelaw has supplied thousands of machines to all types of customers in the engineering industry: manufacturers, general engineering workshops, clients in the mining, power generation and automotive sectors, educational institutions

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and government bodies. Whitelaw can customise its machine tools to meet any customer requirements. The team is always aware that every piece of machinery a customer buys is a business investment, so great care is taken in selecting suppliers and tooling ranges. Quality assurance is imperative, meaning everything is tested

by Whitelaw’s specialists to ensure that nothing leaves its doors if it is not 100% as the customer would want it.

Whitelaw understands the challenges its customers face when it comes to prolonging a machine’s life and achieving the best return on investment. The company has always found new ways to support its customers, whether in supplying parts, preventative maintenance services, installation or training.

Whitelaw Engineering Machinery www.whitelawmachinery.com.au • Stand 882

071

Headland - Enabling innovation for 70 years Manufacturing has undergone some significant changes in Australia over the last 70 years. When Headland began operations in Burwood, Victoria in 1949, it started out as a small machine and specialist parts supplier, selling and servicing machine tools and spare parts to the local manufacturing sector.

Fast forward to today and Headland provides leading-edge technology solutions to Australian clients such as Cochlear, Sistema, RUAG and Qantas – to name a few.

L-R: Richard Kloé, Dianne Kloé, Annaliese Kloé and Peter Kloé.

It may be tempting to say things have changed a lot at Headland, but the fundamentals remain unchanged. Headland remains a family business where technological innovation and a solutionsbased focus has always been and remains central to the way it does business.

Before taking over the business in 1979, current Headland Director Peter Kloé worked as a Product Engineer for Siemens in Germany and Production Manager for the Ford Motor Company in North America. A pioneer of women in manufacturing, Co-director Dianne Kloé began writing machine software in 1981 when computer science was still in its infancy. The tradition of drive and innovation has continued with the Kloé children. Joint Managing Directors, Richard and Annaliese, have overseen Headland’s continued expansion and exciting diversification into software solutions.

A focus on technological excellence and manufacturing solutions has always been central to Headland’s business model. That focus on technology solutions continues today with Headland’s significant investment in information technology and the development of its NextService software, a software package that allows for next-level field service excellence, operations management, inventory control, drag-and-drop scheduling, and real-time monitoring.

Whether it’s been the latest machine technology from Europe in the 1970s, becoming an exclusive Trumpf distributor in the 1980s, an innovator in 2D and 3D laser in the 1990s, or 3D printing, advanced CNC, or the creation of the Advanced Manufacturing Division in the last two decades, Headland has been at the forefront of technology solutions provision in the domestic and global manufacturing sector.

Headland is more than a provider of machinery and technology, it is a solutions-oriented organisation where understanding client needs and roadblocks inform the technology solution offered. It’s an approach that is not only hard-baked into Headland’s original ethos, but one that remains integral to its growth vision.

Headland Machinery Pty Ltd www.headland.com.au • Stands 910, 960, AM15

AUSTECH 2019 • 14th-17th May 2019 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre COME VISIT US AT STAND 842

MILL

LATHE

MILL-TURN

WIRE

ROUTER

Mastercam for

SOLIDWORKS®

DESIGN

Mastercam Australia | 0478 674 970 info@mastercam.com.au www.mastercam.com.au

AMT APR/MAY 2019

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AUSTECH PREVIEW

AUSTECH 2019 Exhibitor List

As of 20 March 2019

Company Stand

Company Stand

Company Stand

3D Printing Solutions

AM58

GoProto (ANZ) Pty Ltd

Okuma Australia Pty Ltd

740

3D Printing Systems

AM35

Gravotech Australia

Peddinghaus Corporation

500

3D Systems

AM47

Guhring Pty Ltd

AM34 AT20 854 570, 573

Pierce Control Automation Pty Ltd

890

Accurpress Australia

889

GWB Machine Tools Pty Ltd

Plazmax Technologies

965b

Acra Machinery Pty Ltd

885

Haas Automation Inc.

565

Power Machinery Australia Pty Ltd

540

MS65

HACO - KINGSLAND

940

Precision Specialty Tooling Pty Ltd

899

Agile Robotic Systems

720

Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse 600, 630, 640

Presstab Tooling Pty Ltd

846

Alfex Laser

560

HBS Tech Co Ltd

Aluminium Trade Centre Pty Ltd

880

Headland Machinery

Punchtech Australia Pty Ltd / Amtronics (Aust) Pty Ltd

750 D51

Advanced Robotic Technology

AM Hub

AM54

Amada Oceania Pty Ltd

650

742

HG Farley Laserlab co Pty Ltd

968

Qarm Pty Ltd (OneCNC)

Hi-Tech Metrology Pty Ltd

734

Qumac Engineering Services Pty Ltd

975

Radius Benders Pty Ltd

Amiga Engineering

MS44

Houghton Australia Pty Ltd

AMTIL

MS55

HP & EVOK3D

ANCA

MS25

HS CNC Machines Pty Ltd

Anhui Donghai Machine Tool Co. Ltd

878

910, 960, AM15

AM05

Imaginables Pty Ltd

743b AM65

RAM3D Raxo Machine Tools Pty Ltd Raymax Lasers

690a

Recruit Australia Pty Ltd

Industrial Laser Pty Ltd

690b

Renishaw Oceania Pty Ltd

Ausee Machines & Tools

Industrial Tool & Machinery Sales

891

892

MS70

Innovative Manufacturing CRC M S35, MS38

Robert Bosch Australia

Australian Government

MS18

Integra Systems

Romheld Automation Pty Ltd

Australian Industry Group

MS50

Interlease Company Pty Ltd

848

Ronson Gears Pty Ltd

Intermach

883

Salvagnini Italia S.p.A.

BARLOAD Australia

D60

Benson Machines Pty Ltd

980

Bilby 3D

AM30

iOrthotics/i3dps IP Laser

744 AM01

RMIT Adv Manufacturing Precinct AM68

Aust Financial Security Authority

MS72

871 AM10

Atlas Copco Compressors Australia AT40

535, 555

922 AM32

Industrial Laser / Bodor Laser

Applied Machinery Australia

743a

D25 670 MS47 991b

MS49

Shearform Industries Pty Ltd

MS42

746

Sheetmetal Machinery Australia

800, 870

Sheetmetal Tooling Tech Pty Ltd

886

Bolts & Industrial Supplies Pty Ltd

510

Jinan G Weiki Science & Technology Co Ltd

Bystronic Australia Pty Ltd

700

Jinan Xintian Technology Co Ltd

Camfil Australia Pty Ltd

752

John Hart Pty Ltd

710a

Smenco Pty Ltd

Capital Equipment Machinery Sales

550

KAESER Compressors Australia

AT50

SNC Solutions Pty Ltd

876

SolidCAM ANZ

554 900

BOGE Compressors (Australia)

AT55

884

Shining 3D Tech Co Ltd

551

SigmaTEK Pty Ltd

924 965a

MS36

Konica Minolta

MS30

Laser 3D

543

Stamac Engineering

CMTS Sheetmetal Machines 904, 908, 915

LaserThings Pty Ltd

898

Suhner Pty Ltd

CNC Design Pty Ltd

D53

Lazerman Metal Fabricators Pty Ltd MS60

Sutton Tools

CNC Tech Pty Ltd

902

LEAP Australia Pty Ltd

526

SWI Engineering

998

770

Lightwave Technology

962

T-Drill

896

895

Techni Waterjet Pty Ltd

575

Castech 3D Catten Industries Pty Ltd

Complete Machine Tools Pty Ltd CSIRO

AM50

AM48

AM60

Livetools Pty Ltd

888

LRM Technologies

Dimac Tooling Pty Ltd

881

Machinery Forum (VIC) Pty Ltd

DMG MORI Australia PTY LTD

620

Major Furnace Australia Pty Ltd Markforged

DAVI/FES

E J Hadaway Pty Ltd E. Zoller GmbH & Co. KG

MS58 955

991a

Teknova

756

The Gasgep Group

MS32

MS59

Thinglab

AM40

AM25

Thunder Laser Australia

842

Toolprocure Australia

872

TRJ Engineering Pty Ltd

MS57

AM66

Tungaloy Australia Pty Ltd

548

AM43

EOS

710b

Materialise

ePOL

963

MS54

Mebius Pty Ltd

879

TXM Lean Solutions Pty Ltd

ESPRIT CAM Software

515

Merlion/Mutech

754

Ultimate Laser Pty Ltd

Euromac Australia

810

Met Optix

894

Uscribe

Metal Industries Insurance Brokers

520

White Industries

930

Whitelaw Engineering Machinery

FabrikCNC Pty Ltd

MS43

887

745

Modern Tools (VIC) Pty Ltd

Ficep SPA

970

MSC Software

Fisher Lamco

509

MTI Qualos Pty Ltd

993

Yangzhou Developping IMP & EXP Co. Ltd

Fladder Danmark A/S

874

Multicam Systems Pty Ltd

660

Zeal 3D

Gamer Pty Ltd

567

Nichol Industries Pty Ltd

525

Zeiss Australia

Additive Manufacturing Pavilion

AM37

Air Technology Pavilion

Digitalisation Pavilion

505 MS41 MS48

Faccin S.p.A

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844

Mastercam Australia Mate Tooling

Emona Instruments

AM38

665 MS20

882 877 AM52 926

Manufacturers Pavilion

Multi laser productivity without compromising quality‌

What can you achieve with Renishaw additive manufacturing?

Renishaw multi-laser AM systems open the door to a new world, bringing more applications within reach of AM technology.

RenAM 500Q has four efficiently applied high power lasers that reduce cost per part, while advanced sensors and systems ensure unparalleled processing conditions to deliver consistent class leading performance, build after build.

Unlock your potential and explore the possibilities with Renishaw advanced multi-laser additive manufacturing.

For more information visit www.renishaw.com/multi-laser

Renishaw Oceania Pty Ltd 6 – 7 Gilda Court Mulgrave Vic 3170 Australia T +61 (3)9521 0922 F +61 (3)9521 0932 E australia@renishaw.com

www.renishaw.com

074

NATIONAL MANUFACTURING WEEK PREVIEW

Industrial evolution the focus for National Manufacturing Week 2019 Co-located once again with Austech, the 20th edition of National Manufacturing Week (NMW) will be held from 14-17 May at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

After a successful event in 2017 with more than 10,000 attendees, NMW 2019 will be about driving continuing innovation in local manufacturing and the evolution to advanced technology solutions, sharing insights to stay ahead of the game and celebrating the Australian manufacturing sector’s success that has been generated in recent times.

“NMW 2019 arrives on the industry’s calendar at a truly exciting time of growth in Australian manufacturing,” said Robby Clark, Exhibition Director of NMW. “This year’s event is focused on supporting manufacturing’s continuing evolution to a high-tech, highly integrated and innovative industry, while providing the latest expert insights, industry research and technology to generate even greater momentum.”

As the focal point for the manufacturing community to come together, interact, connect and be inspired, ‘Industrial Evolution’ will be the theme for NMW in 2019 across the conference program and exhibition’s four days.

“Automation, collaborative robots, the Internet of Things and high-level engineering, will be of prime focus at this year’s event, offering industry professionals and decisionmakers with an unmissable opportunity to acquire new insights and source innovative solutions for ongoing operational success,” Clark revealed.

Strategic partners and industry associations supporting NMW in 2019 include the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC), Engineers Australia and Weld Australia. These partners strengthen NMW’s industry relevance and cement the event’s status as a hub for the manufacturing community to come together and share insights to support continued growth in the industry. NMW will also again be co-located with Austech. According to Austech’s organiser AMTIL, the co-location will also see the long-held relationship provide further benefits for attendees in 2019.

“AMTIL is delighted to further cement the long-term relationship between Austech and NMW with our joint conference program at our event this May,” said Kim Banks, Events Manager at AMTIL. “We are excited to collaborate on what promises to be a highcalibre program which involves cutting edge concepts in the Industry 4.0 space.”

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This increased collaboration between the AMGC, Austech and NMW will see the 2019 conference program feature an impressive line-up of more than 70 expert speakers, who will share their exclusive insights about current industry challenges and recommendations for operational success.

Divided into the Industry 4.0 Theatre and Connected Manufacturing Theatre, these two theatres will focus on the impact of the Internet of Things to business, and improving efficiency, safety and operational management.

“This year’s conference program for National Manufacturing Week will be our most extensive and in-depth to date, with attendees offered unprecedented access to industry leaders who will share their expertise and knowledge,” Clark explained.

The Industry 4.0 Theatre program will offer attendees the latest opinions, developments and research about the impact of Industry 4.0 on businesses and operations. This stream within the conference program will begin with a keynote delivered by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, followed by an innovation and collaboration stories-series run by the AMGC. Following this session will be a panel discussion run by Peter Roberts, a leading journalist, editor and founder of the 4,200-member Australian Manufacturing Forum.

Day 2 of the conference program will feature a second panel run by the Australian Manufacturing Forum that discusses the benefits of onshoring, followed by a

presentation on driving innovation through advanced materials, and case study examples about how the adoption of smart technologies in factories can be successful.

Day 3 and 4 of the conference will cover topics such as artificial intelligence in advanced manufacturing, Industry 4.0 digital shipbuilding in global supply chains, the outlook for the defence market, and the evolution of robotic manufacturing in Australia.

Speakers featuring in the Industry 4.0 sessions will include: Dr Nico Adams (Director of the Factory of the Future at Swinburne University), Dr Elliot Duff (Robotics Research Consultant at CSIRO Data61), David Chuter (CEO of the IMCRC), Christopher Vains (Head of Digital Enterprise at Siemens) and Dr Jens Goennemann (Managing Director of the AMGC).

The Connected Manufacturing Theatre conference program is targeted at offering business owners, managers, workplace health & safety (WHS) professionals and designers with expert advice about business management, design and industrial safety challenges.

Conference sessions within this stream will focus on industry topics, including: environment & energy policies, process improvement & optimisation, safety innovation, safety policies, safety management and culture, mental health & wellbeing, marketing & sales, additive manufacturing and design, and government grants and tariffs.

075 Air Liquide Australia Air Liquide is a worldwide industrial gas supplier, serving multiple industries from food processing to metal fabrication and water treatment. In the fabrication segment in particular, Air Liquide supplies reliable and quality gases and equipment for laser cutting, laser welding, arc welding, oxyfuel cutting, plasma cutting, heat treatment, cryogenic treatment, dry-ice blasting and additive manufacturing. Whether customers need a few cylinders or large onsite generators, Air Liquide’s local and international experts are here to support them, ensuring they operate in a safe, efficient and reliable manner.

Speakers featuring in the Connected Manufacturing sessions include: Peter Ticker (Digital Innovation and Advisory Lead Energy Solutions at ERM Power), Philip Smith (Director of Business Development – Victoria & Tasmania at Efic) , Brooke Donnelly (CEO of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation), Toni Kennington (HR Systems Owner at Fonterra Cooperative Group), Dr. Arash Niavarani (Director at CBIS), Alex Kingsbury (Managing Director of Additive Economics), James Woolcock (Founder & Engineering Director atBastion Cycles), Gareth Berry (CEO of Unleashed Software) and Kate Whitehead (Managing Director of Avant Group).

www.airliquide.com.au Stand H141

engaging for new and experienced welders.”

Visitors to NMW 2019 will be able to take advantage of six designated product zones to navigate through the exhibition floor, which segment the extensive range of products and solutions designed to improve operations, resolve challenges, improve quality and increase productivity into key operational categories. The six product zones for 2019 will be Automation & Robotics, Engineering, Industrial Internet of Things, Safety, Welding Technology and Manufacturing Solutions.

This year’s exhibition floor will feature more than 200 leading industrial suppliers of game-changing solutions, new technology, advanced manufacturing products and operational services. Exhibiting suppliers who have already confirmed their presence for NMW 2019 include: WAGO, 3M Australia, Central Innovation, niversal Robots, Profifeed Technologies and Kobot Systems. A wide array of specialised welding technology exhibitors are also joining this year’s event, such as Lorch South Pacific, Lincoln Electric, BOC, Supagas, Kemppi Australia, Air Liquide Australia and Gullco International.

As a strategic partner of this year’s event, Weld Australia will also have a presence on the exhibition floor offering visitors an interactive experience and deeper insight into the latest in welding skills training and development.

NMW 2019 will have several networking and celebration functions held throughout the week, including the NMW 20th Anniversary networking function, the 2019 Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards, and the Endeavour Awards.

“Weld Australia will have an Advanced Welder Training Hub on the exhibition floor which will showcase the augmented and virtual reality technology that is revolutionising welder training here in Australia, and around the world,” Donna South, Marketing and Communications Manager at Weld Australia confirmed. “Attendees will have the chance to see and try a range of different welding simulators, which are making welder training and upskilling safer, more cost-efficient and

“We are excited about the numerous networking events taking place within NMW in 2019 and proud to be offering attendees our most extensive conference program ever, in both speaker volume and industry experience,” Clark concluded. “Equally, we are looking forward to seeing innovative and high-tech solutions that our extensive exhibitor list is planning to demonstrate and showcase at National Manufacturing Week 2019.”

BOC Limited BOC, a company of Linde Plc, supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment around the globe. The company develops safe, sustainable and innovative solutions for customers in many specialty sectors, heavy industry and medical environments. For more than a century, the company’s gases and expertise have contributed to advances in industry and everyday life, including steelmaking, refining, chemical processing, welding and cutting, electronics and healthcare.

www.boc.com.au Stand F141

AMT APR/MAY 2019

076

NATIONAL MANUFACTURING WEEK PREVIEW

Cincom Systems

ECi Solutions

Epicor Software

Cincom Systems Australia offers intelligent IT systems for companies looking to win more business, operate more efficiently and deliver as promised. Its mission is to provide the tools a business needs to operate more efficiently and effectively. It does this through innovative software development and experienced solution design. Cincom software helps organisations improve the way they do business, from product configuration and quoting to ERP and business management applications. It builds solutions to overcome challenges in your most critical processes.

ECi Software Solutions is a global software solutions company specialising in technology and software solutions and services for a diverse group of entrepreneurs in the manufacturing, building & construction, field service, and distribution vertical markets. ECi focuses on end-to-end technology solutions for SMBs that enable them to compete, grow, and profit.

Epicor Services is a comprehensive solution portfolio that enables you to win and resource your business, manage service delivery, streamline financial operations and analyse business performance across the entire service organisation. Embracing the latest in technology, Epicor Service solutions provide a real-time, accurate view of your services business, so you can proactively manage with confidence. Embedded business process management provides the flexibility you need as your business evolves.

www.cincom.com

www.ecisolutions.com

www.epicor.com/en-sg

Stand H117

Stand H111

Stand H116

Jubilee Spring Co

SYSPRO Australasia

Established in 1938, Jubilee Spring Co has been a spring manufacturer in Australia for over 80 years. It designs and manufactures all types of springs in both ferrous and non-ferrous materials. Jubilee’s customers range from small businesses to large enterprises, both nationally and internationally. As a 100% Australianowned and operated business, Jubilee has built a solid reputation based on quality, reliability and integrity. As a leading spring manufacturer and supplier in Australia, Jubilee’s organisational goal is for continual improvement, in both workmanship and service delivery as well as quality.

SYSPRO is an industry-built enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution designed to simplify business complexity for manufacturers and distributors worldwide, providing an end-to-end business solutions for optimised cost control, streamlined business processes, improved productivity, and real-time data analysis for Industry 4.0 efficiencies for manufacturing and distribution sectors. SYSPRO is highly scalable and can be deployed either in the Cloud, on-premise, or accessed via any mobile device. SYSPRO dedicates itself to the success of its partners and customers alike.

Trotec Laser Australia/ New Zealand

www.jubilee-springs.com.au

www.syspro.com

www.troteclaser.com.au

Stand E111

Stand J116

Stand M131

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Trotec is the world’s leading manufacturer of laser machines for marking, cutting and engraving solutions. Designed and built in Austria, Trotec offers the world’s most diverse range of laser solutions, specifically designed to maximise workflow, quality and profitability for industrial applications and manufacturing. Supported by factorytrained staff across Australia and New Zealand, with warranties up to 10 years, laser engraving materials and unlimited training and support, Trotec is your ideal partner for industrial manufacturing.

HEADING

078

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION

Soft robots – Refreshing robotics Robots have played an important role in the past few decades but their capabilities and usage are poised for exponential growth thanks to a whole new category of robots arriving on the scene: soft robotics.

Fundamentally, soft robots are exactly what they sound like, robots that are compliant in places where it’s most useful. And it’s this softness that makes the new soft robots more successful, interacting with everything from a strawberry to a human.There is no one definition, but all definitions include a category of robots that are not only made from compliant material but have biomimetic capabilities, qualities which make them more readily adaptable to working alongside humans and interacting with “soft” objects, such as food produce, the human body, and even manufacturing materials. The growth of soft robotics is opening up myriad opportunities and adding tremendous value due to their increased application.

This not only opens up myriad use cases within production and industry, but also means humans and robots can interact more safely in the same workspace. Contact between a robot and a human can have dire consequences; contact between a human and soft robot delivers a much softer landing.

Constructing a robot from compliant materials, such as elastomers or stretchy plastics, gives them a far greater ability to interact with objects less rigid than they are. Scientists speak of “compliance matching” or the idea that “materials that come into contact with each other should share similar mechanical rigidity in order to evenly distribute internal load and minimise interfacial stress concentrations,” according to Elveflow Plug & Play Microfluidics.

Simply put, this means that traditional robots, with their hard, rigid nature do not typically interact well with humans. Soft robots are both made with softer materials and are adaptable to equalising their force relative to the object they are interacting with.

Even plant cells respond to changes in the elements, producing hydrostatic pressure based on climactic forces. A plant’s shape and even its structure can change with pressure changes, and this concept is mimicked in soft robotics and used to devise pressure systems. This is only one such automatic instance in nature that the field of soft robotics is working to mimic.

This extends beyond just a robot’s exterior casing. A problem with traditional robots is their inability to hold, grip or move objects less dense than they are. These robots either lack the ability to grip, or they grip so non-compliantly they crush whatever’s in their grasp.

For these reasons, hard robots lack the ability to interact effectively with real-world situations, whether it’s packaging soft materials, or interacting with humans in a medical scenario. Soft robotics, on the other hand, can interact more effectively and safely with humans, unknown objects and rough terrain – anything more compliant or non-linear.

In recent years, experts have fixed on three main advancements enabling the rise of soft robotics: smart materials, mathematical modeling of compliant systems, and fabrication technologies. The first two refer to advancements in either optics or mechanics, and the mathematical modeling that allows for nonlinear behaviors.

Meanwhile, new fabrication technologies allow for the combination of hard and soft materials necessary for actuators, sensors and soft robotic casings.

Nature as the model for soft robotics Biology itself seems to hold the answer to how to make robots more adaptable to their environment. As humans, when we step on a rock along a path we automatically respond to that change in our environment by compensating for that disruption. Our combination of a hard skeleton and soft tissue enables this fluidity of movement.

In the same way, animals and insects with exoskeletons, or external shells (or their bones on the outside of their bodies) but that have soft tissue beneath also have this innate adaptability. Combining some robotic elements with the biomimetic traits found readily in nature has raised this study of “soft robotics,” or the ability to interact more effectively by adapting to changing situations the way nature does.

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“Biomimicry” is the study of mimicking the dynamics found in nature and reproducing them outside of nature. Natural organisms have the ability to achieve smooth, fluid motion, such as earthworms, an octopus or an elephant’s trunk. This natural perfection, or adaptability to outside stimuli is difficult to program. Robots are typically programmed with a confined set of parameters. Soft robots “adapt” to changing situations by way of unknown outside stimuli.

Although endeavoring to mimic nature, soft robots still require one of three types of actuators to convert energy into motion. As Chloe Feast of the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering explains in ‘The Applications and Benefits of Soft Robotics’, the first is pneumatics, whereby air is pumped into compartments through micro channels that allow the compartments to expand and contract to form specific shapes. The second are actuators , which are able to produce bending patterns in pressurised fluidfilled chambers. The third is voltage, which mimics muscles that expand and contract in response to the voltage applied.

The goal is for soft robotics to be able to sense and respond to changes in their environment the same way humans, plants and animals can. To take it even a step further, these soft robots are being programmed to be able to bypass their “brain” or electrical data center and respond organically to rough terrain or any other dynamic condition.

This capability of locomotion is why the field of soft robotics rose with advancements in materials and mathematical modeling before being viable. The third advancement – advanced materials combining hard and soft elements – had been the final technological gap, until fairly recently. Even soft robots require embedded “muscles” and soft electronics to power their movement, something unattainable until recent material advancements.

An early entrant to the study of soft robotics is Hod Lipson PhD, head of the Creative Machines Lab at Columbia University. The Creative Machines Lab is “interested in robots that create and are creative”. Comprised of researchers from engineering, computer

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION

science, physics, math and biology, this team’s work looks at “self-organisation and evolutionary phenomena . . .” and is deeply “inspired from biology”.

According to Lipson, his lab’s work deals with “encoding”, which is “essentially the blueprint of the design, analogous to DNA in biology…” which enables the “creation of more natural and life-like robots by trying to mimic nature and biology as much as possible.”

Going beyond the automotive factory floor So why all the attention to soft robotics? The potential applications for this adaptable technology have far-reaching implications in medicine, disaster recovery, warehouse and distribution, agriculture and more.

Robots were first used in the automotive industry and remain its largest use case today. In fact, estimates are that 75% of the automotive industry currently uses some form of automation with robotics. Much of this is still in rigid robotics but robotic usage is expected to skyrocket once systems are in place for soft robots that are capable of safe interaction with humans.

The beauty of soft robots is that the limiting factors of traditional robots do not exist in soft robotics, so the boundaries for their use can be pushed in new directions. Soft robotics can be safely used side-by-side with humans in an operating room or on a factory floor. From shapeshifting robotic implants that deliver laseractivated drug delivery to patients, to the rehabilitation of stroke victims through the use of a soft robotic glove to restore patient dexterity, to robotic-assisted surgeries that allow for precision and even shapeshifting (to reach difficult areas of a patient’s anatomy), the uses in biomedical are astounding.

Soft robotics applications in manufacturing End-of-Arm-Tooling Genesis Systems Group, a manufacturer of robotic work cells for welding, inspections and material processing, uses 3D-printed end-of-arm-tooling (EOAT), to help increase efficiency and accuracy for a wide range of assembly and gripping functions.

EOATs are the essential “hands” of robotic machines that do the work of grasping, pushing and moving, making them indispensable parts for this manufacturing technology.

EOATs make quick work of repetitive tasks, but they are far from easily designed or produced. The multiple iterations necessary to make an EOAT fully functional mean they quickly become costly. EOATs printed using fused deposition modelling (FDM) offer a cost-effective and efficient alternative to traditional manufacturing methods.

Easily customisable, these EOATs are capable of incorporating unique features like integral vacuum channels that are difficult to produce on metal tools.

The Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D demonstrator

Risky tumor removal that requires extraction of a tumor and the affected surrounding tissue – but not the healthy tissue right up against it – is aided by the precision of a programmable robot. MRI scans can pinpoint tumor locations and transmit them to the robot.

This means more precise extraction of the tumor and affected tissue. Search-and-rescue missions can deploy soft robots to cover challenging environmental conditions to reach a victim and interact safely with the human, once there.

The Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D demonstrator provides eight-axis freedom, freeing manufacturers from the layer-bylayer approach of previous additive technologies which limits composites production.

No less important is a soft robot’s ability to pick, handle and package delicate fruit in a way that doesn’t decrease its market value through bruising and rough handling. An estimated $13m worth fruit and vegetables was wasted in 2015 due to a lack of pickers. With soft robotics, growers who struggle to employ enough workers to harvest their crops have a whole new tool. This also extends to the packaging of frozen food items, a very difficult job to fill due to the environmental extremes a worker is subjected to.

“[The Robotic Composite] enables a whole list of vertical integrations that haven’t been possible until now, from material feeders to automation equipment to robot loaders and unloaders,” said Roger Hart, R&D engineering manager at Siemens. “We can now span the whole vertical automation framework that is necessary in factories.”

The Robotic Composite enables precise material placement which maximises part strength as well as build speed. Moreover, no support material is necessary with this system, so postprocessing and labor and lead time are significantly reduced.

Still, despite all the advancements in soft robotics, innovation and development are still in the early stages. Research facilities are busy tackling some of the most vexing problems still associated with maximising the efficacy of soft robotics, such as: actuators, pinching mechanisms, and the materials used to enable both soft and hard combinations.

This article is an excerpt from the white paper ‘Robotics Inspiration Guide: 3D Printing Your Way From Idea to Application’ from Objective 3D. To read the paper in full, scan the QR code below or visit: http://tinyurl.com/y4gfvxhu. www.objective3d.com.au

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ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION

Robots set to improve safety in manufacturing logistics Australia has one of the leading safety records in the world, according to WorkSafe Australia, but that doesn’t mean manufacturers and logistics organisations can afford to be complacent when it comes to worker safety. By Martin Keetels.

In fact, most Australian organisations are well aware of the need for vigilance.

This is especially true when it comes to the use of forklifts. This understanding of the risks has contributed to an increase in demand for robotic technology that prevents pedestrians from ever coming into proximity with a forklift.

The safety issues around forklifts have been well-known and reported since the 1960s. The most important, and potentially preventable, forklift-related injury comes from the interaction between a forklift and pedestrians. In fact, a Monash University study found that pedestrians hit by forklifts made up 45% of the injuries in the study.

As far back as the early 1990s, expert recommendations included finding ways to separate forklifts and people.

However, finding ways to do this effectively without creating inefficiencies or high costs has been a conundrum facing manufacturers and material handling organisations for decades. Indeed, every year since 2012, WorkCover Queensland has accepted an average of 430 workers compensation claims with most of these relating to pedestrians struck by forklifts.

However, it’s likely that these numbers will begin to decline as more manufacturers and logistics firms adopt robots in different guises.

The most obviously safety-oriented of these is using robots to move pallets of goods.

This removes the needs for pedestrians to go anywhere near a forklift. Instead, the forklift operator loads the palleted goods onto a platform and the robot then moves it to wherever it needs to go throughout the facility.

The robots use built-in sensors, lasers and cameras alongside market-leading technology that lets the robot collaborate safely with humans. No cages or designated human or robot areas are required. These types of robots keep humans away from machinery driven by human beings, dramatically reducing the chances of injuries from collisions.

Robots can also reduce injuries in the manufacturing environment in other ways.

For example, currently, many manufacturing and logistics organisations employ people whose job is to move trolleys around all day. This is a tedious, low-skilled, and lowvalue task. By putting a robot in place to do

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that work, the employee can move into a role that is far more interesting, varied, and valuable.

This results in more engaged employees who are less likely to be injured through complacency as they repeat their manual tasks. Anecdotally, manufacturers who retain their workforce and redeploy them to more valuable tasks are able to manufacture more and sell more goods, contributing to the bottom line.

operations, but can also gain very fast returns on that investment.

Getting up and running with these types of robots is very straightforward. The technology is highly intuitive, with managers normally requiring nothing more than a single day’s training. From there, they can train staff to use the robot and program it with new missions as required.

As people become more familiar with robotics, the technology itself is getting better and safer. Managers are more inclined to introduce robots into manufacturing and logistics environments.

As more organisations take the lead in this area, others will follow.

While cost reductions and efficiency improvements are automatic benefits of adopting robotic technology, manufacturing and logistics organisations are seeing their greatest benefits in improved worker health & safety. Keeping workers clear of forklifts is key, as is removing the need for workers to lift or push heavy items. Doing so could potentially reduce musculoskeletal disorders, which account for 90% of workers’ compensation claims and almost six weeks of lost time per claim on average. Addressing the risk of worker injury either by collision with a forklift or due to a musculoskeletal disorder can potentially save manufacturers and logistics businesses significantly, making robots a highly attractive proposition.

As robotic technology has become more advanced, it has also become more affordable. This means that manufacturing organisations of all sizes are not only likely to be able to afford robotics in their

Martin Keetels is the National Manager of Robotics & Innovation at Konica Minolta Australia. Konica Minolta will be exhibiting at Austech 2019 at Stand AM48. www.konicaminolta.com.au

This can overcome the fear that some workers have of being replaced by robots.

Instead of being replaced, the worker can be promoted, leading to better outcomes for all. As organisations are starting to realise the benefits of robotic technology and overcome this fear, there is a greater uptake of robots in the manufacturing industry.

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION

CSIRO’s Data61 expands robotics infrastructure CSIRO’s Data61 on 12 March announced the opening of its new Robotics Innovation Centre in Queensland, a purpose-built research facility for robotics and autonomous systems, an industry set to be worth $23bn by 2025.

CSIRO’s Data61 is one of the global leaders in the field, with capabilities ranging from legged robots and 3D mapping through to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Fred Pauling, Robotics and Autonomous Systems group leader at CSIRO’s Data61, said the 600sqm facility would enhance the group’s world-class research capabilities.

“The new centre expands our research infrastructure to develop highly autonomous robotics systems that can interact safely and seamlessly with humans and other dynamic agents, in challenging indoor and outdoor environments,” Pauling said. “Our robots are already being used to safely inspect and create 3D maps of underground mines, monitor biodiversity in the Amazon Rainforest, and navigate difficult terrain in emergency situations.”

One project being spearheaded by the centre is the testing of technology to rapidly map, navigate, and search underground environments as part of a three-year Subterranean Challenge funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The centre houses the biggest motion capture system in the Southern Hemisphere, used to validate data collected by robotics systems. It also features a 13m x 5m pool for testing aquatic robots, a significant number of fielddeployable UAVs and UGVs, legged robots, high-accuracy robot manipulators as well as sensors and telemetry systems.

Adrian Turner, CEO at CSIRO’s Data61, said the centre is a national asset that combines internationally recognised robotics and

machine learning research with deep domain expertise from CSIRO, providing unique collaboration opportunities for industry, government and academia.

“Robotics and autonomous systems technologies, underpinned by machine learning and artificial intelligence, will unlock new value in all manner of sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and mining,” said Turner. “By creating a cohesive approach to robotics R&D through closer collaboration, supported by world-class facilities like the Robotics Innovation Centre, we can ensure Australia is well placed to benefit from Industry 4.0 and help to protect and accelerate our nation’s ongoing economic success.”

Data61 led the formation of the Sixth Wave Alliance last year, a network which seeks to integrate key robotics research organisations and industry partners in Australia to enable a higher level of R&D collaboration. Dr Sue Keay was recently appointed to lead Data61’s cyber-physical systems research program, drawing on her experience in developing Australia’s first Robotics Roadmap while at QUT’s Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.

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Unleash the power of AI in manufacturing Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t a new concept in manufacturing, but its potential is more significant than ever today.

Expectations are high, particularly given the productivity and competitive advantages AI technologies deliver across the entire supply chain. By Jeff Nygaard.

Largely driven by Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing initiatives, AI is creating self-adaptive and automatically reconfigurable production capabilities for manufacturers in Asia Pacific. Smarter robots, more connected and precise processes and more responsive supply chains are transforming the industry. All of these factors have the potential to bring new levels of scale, customer service, decision quality and operational efficiency to processes formerly operated by human labour.

As the long-term benefits associated with AI adoption are realised, we’re starting to see broader Factory of the Future initiatives, or if you prefer to call it the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the Connected Factory, or the Smart Factory. The new initiatives and production lines being created are focusing on efficiency, flexibility and speed.

None of these can be achieved, however, without automation as the foundation for AI enablement. Unless you have some level of automation in place to connect to data enabled platforms, it’s extremely difficult to proceed.

The good news is that most organisations in the Asia Pacific region believe that AI will have a growing impact on their future relevance, with 89% planning to start or adopt more AI solutions in the next 12 months, according to Seagate’s recent study ‘Data Pulse: Maximising the Potential of AI’.

gathering. As this progresses, increasingly sophisticated data feeds enable integrated demand and supply chain planning. This in turn improves overall production, business planning and profitability.

Yet many still face hurdles when it comes to understanding and applying AI within their business, with 73% in the survey reporting that their organisations are unsure of where to start with AI. Other responses suggest this is largely due to lack of strategy and direction; commitment from the leadership team; talent; and IT infrastructure and budget. On the upside, those manufacturers that explore and embrace AI and automation are in the box seat for operational success.

Your IT infrastructure also needs to be customised to support the use of AI and, in particular, the edge devices that enable real-time data gathering, analysis and use. Seagate’s Data Pulse study indicated that one in five organisations in Asia Pacific believe they’re not ready to handle the increasing data streams with their current IT infrastructure.

The Three Ps There are many steps in the journey towards AI-enabled manufacturing, but what we’ve learned from our own AI journey at Seagate is that it’s important to address three key areas first and foremost – process, people and planning.

1. Optimise processes. There are thousands of processes in manufacturing, but not all can or should be optimised with AI. Identify the opportunities for greatest value and proceed accordingly.

Don’t forget your business processes during your assessment.

Applications like Natural Language Processing lend themselves well to processes in Customer Service and Quality.

2. Address the skills shortage (people). The increasing use of AI means that jobs change, forcing the need for skills to evolve. The jobs of employees in Seagate’s factories, for example, are no longer about how well they handle component parts with their hands. They must now learn how to manage equipment, and even data analysis processes. Retraining and reskilling your employees to be effective in the changing manufacturing environment is a top priority. Equally important is sourcing new talent armed with the necessary skills to drive your AI initiatives forward. Success requires you to build a talent base that’s adept with using big data to make decisions.

3.

AI at to

Long-term planning is crucial. The journey to automation and is a long-term strategy. To reach automation alone often takes least 5-10 years. The process often involves product redesigns make products more automation friendly and to allow data

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Honing investments in IT infrastructure

It’s important to have a robust infrastructure that includes hardware and software platforms that gather and manage the huge amounts of data flow from automation. Work closely with your IT department to secure the most appropriate platforms and ensure they’re located where they need to be. For many, that means having edge devices close to factory equipment, rather than offsite.

Securing your AI future At the very heart of securing your organisation’s AI future is knowledge; because with knowledge comes power. If you take the time and effort to explore how your organisation will benefit from adopting an AI enhanced future, you’ll put yourself in a position to build a clear strategy and direction. And importantly you are able to establish an economically prudent approach to embracing the future opportunities that AI offers. Indeed, without this knowledge, and the accompanying strategic leadership to champion the necessary change and investments, the speed of successful AI adoption will be put at risk.

Our own experience at Seagate shows clearly that if you move your organisation forward with clarity and purpose, and without fear you can realise significant gains. It’s a long journey and one that cannot be rushed, but once you have built the strong foundations for automation and addressed the process, people and planning issues, the ability to take advantage of AI will transform your organisation for the better.

Jeff Nygaard is Executive Vice-President and Head of Operations, Products & Technology at Seagate Technology. www.seagate.com/au

ADVANCED MATERIALS & COMPOSITES

Ultrathin graphene offers new concept for solar Researchers at Swinburne, the University of Sydney (UoS) and Australian National University (ANU) have collaborated to develop a solar-absorbing, ultra-thin film with unique properties that has great potential for use in solar thermal energy harvesting.

The 90-nanometre material is 1,000 times finer than a human hair and is able to rapidly heat up to 160°C under natural sunlight in an open environment. This new graphene-based material also opens new avenues in:

MINING & PUMPS WATER & AERATION OIL, GAS & ENERGY

WINE & VINEYARDS

DAIRY

FOOD & BEVERAGE MIXER DRIVES ABATTOIRS SHREDDERS

• • • •

Thermophotovoltaics (direct conversion of heat to electricity).

Solar seawater desalination.

Infrared light source and heater.

Optical components: modulators and interconnects for communication devices.

• Photodetectors.

• Colour displays.

It could even lead to the development of ‘invisible cloaking technology’ through the development of large-scale thin films enclosing the objects to be ‘hidden’.

The researchers have developed a 2.5cm x 5cm working prototype to demonstrate the photo-thermal performance of the graphenebased metamaterial absorber. They have also proposed a scalable manufacturing strategy to fabricate the proposed graphene-based absorber at low cost. The research is published in Nature Photonics and has been funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant.

“This is among many graphene innovations in our group,” says Professor Baohua Jia, Research Leader – Nanophotonic Solar Technology at Swinburne’s Centre for Micro-Photonics. “In this work, the reduced graphene oxide layer and grating structures were coated with a solution and fabricated by a laser nanofabrication method, respectively, which are both scalable and low cost.”

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Dr Han Lin, Senior Research Fellow in Swinburne’s Centre for Micro-Photonics, added: “Our cost-effective and scalable graphene absorber is promising for integrated, large-scale applications that require polarisation-independent, angle-insensitive and broadbandwidth absorption, such as energy-harvesting, thermal emitters, optical interconnects, photodetectors and optical modulators.”

“Fabrication on a flexible substrate and the robustness stemming from graphene make it suitable for industrial use,” added Dr Keng-Te Lin, a co-author in the paper.

“The physical effect causing this outstanding absorption in such a thin layer is quite general and thereby opens up a lot of exciting applications,” says Dr Bjorn Sturmberg, who completed his PhD in physics at UoS in 2016 and now holds a position at ANU. “The result shows what can be achieved through collaboration between different universities, in this case with the University of Sydney and Swinburne, each bringing in their own expertise to discover new science and applications for our science,” says Professor Martijn de Sterke, Director of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science. “Through our collaboration we came up with a very innovative and successful result. We have essentially developed a new class of optical material, the properties of which can be tuned for multiple uses.” www.swinburne.edu.au www.sydney.edu.au www.anu.edu.au

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MATERIALS HANDLING

Konecranes analysis tool ensures standards compliance Safety-conscious companies across the Asia-Pacific are acutely aware of the need for standards compliance when it comes to their cranes and lifting equipment.

Companies in industries such as manufacturing, materials handling, mining, food & beverage, power generation, steel handling and forming & fabrication are focused on optimising the safety and reliability of the overhead cranes and lifting devices on which they rely for daily operations. However, as companies expand in size and have fleets of tens or even hundreds of cranes, it can be easy to miss one minor component of standards compliance, even if all due diligence is being taken to meet requirements, according to Konecranes.

Konecranes’ Compliance Gap Analysis takes an in-depth look at all cranes and lifting equipment to ensure comprehensive Standards compliance.

“We’re finding that even some dedicated safety and compliance managers may not realise there are additional procedures they aren’t aware of,” says Joseph Cefai, Consultation Service Manager, Konecranes Australia. “They have been vigilantly ensuring their employees comply to the standards they know, but weren’t aware of several additional important rules.”

Konecranes has more than 600,000 pieces of lifting equipment under service contract worldwide. To fill the gap for time-poor but safety-conscious companies, Konecranes has introduced its auditing tool, Compliance Gap Analysis. It ensures that companies using cranes and lifting devices are comprehensively compliant.

“Expert Konecranes auditors look at entire maintenance programmes, as well as inspection methods, equipment usage, repair processes and structural reports to give a complete picture of operations and maintenance,” says Cefai. “We often find, for example, that a business’ overhead travelling cranes are perfectly serviced and totally standards-compliant, but their smaller workshop crane has been neglected, because it is often minimally used, or only used when other cranes are out of service or undergoing routine maintenance.

“It can also be seen as a ‘reliability asset controller’ because it ensures that every asset is properly maintained and serviced, which will minimise downtime and improve productivity. At the end of the day, the consequences of non-compliance are very high, so it’s just not worth it. In addition to penalties by regulatory authorities, if an employee or visitor is injured due to a non-compliant crane, that could change their life forever, and leave the company legally liable for the negligence.”

Konecranes cranes are used in a huge diversity of applications, from mining and energy, to manufacturing and materials handling, food and beverage, right through to waste-to-energy

Compliance Gap Analysis process 1. A team of trained Konecranes auditors will meet and brief staff, including operations, maintenance, safety and plant management.

2. Konecranes auditors will then tour the facility, making notes and compiling information from discussions with designated operators and plant personnel.

3. Konecranes will conduct a compliance review with plant leadership, provide a summary of any safety-related issues that need immediate attention and produce an easy-to-read final report with action plans. Report findings are considered highly confidential and are not shared or distributed except where required by law.

Optimised maintenance programmes In addition to identifying any weaknesses in standards compliance, a Konecranes Compliance Gap Analysis can also enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of maintenance programmes, including companies with multiple sites.

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“Sometimes a company has started at one site, then established a new site several years later,” says Cefai. “We often find that they’ve treated the two maintenance schedules as entirely separate operations, when in fact there are efficiency and compliance benefits to seeing them as sections of the same programme.”

Compliance Gap Analysis is part of a broader suite of Konecranes services, including RailQ runway analysis, RopeQ wire rope inspection and CraneQ crane geometry survey.

Each service is designed to give an in-depth insight into cranes, their component parts, and their operations. The findings can be used to enhance safety, efficiency and reliability. Expert Konecranes staff can provide individually tailored recommendations based on the findings. www.konecranes.com.au

Materials Services

Reducing material cost through waterjet technology

Waterjet technology Waterjet cutting is a process of precision cutting that utilises high pressure water.

We can process a wide array of materials. Heavy gauge plate, thin sheet stock and composite materials (i.e. carbon fibre, phenolics etc.).

It is not uncommon for 6+ inch aluminium and titanium to be cut on waterjets to near final shapes.

Edge quality of the parts can vary depending on customer requirements.

We can process anything from a very rough cut for hog-outs, to a very fine edge for precision, finished parts:

Cut up to 6 m x 3 m (20 ft x 10 ft) Thickness up to 254 mm (10 in)

Improved yield and less waste material Supplied close to net shape reducing customer machine time Shorter lead times Zero heat effected zone Processing of customer supplied materials

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FORMING & FABRICATION

Yawei laser delivers quality and speed for Alliance Metal Solutions Fibre laser cutting has revolutionised the metal-cutting industry and Alliance Metal Solutions has taken the initiative and jumped on board the growing trend.

Located in Kings Park, Sydney, Alliance is a privately-owned sheet metal fabrication company that was founded in 2007 by Shane Blewden and Sean Carragher. Both men had prior experience in the sheet metal fabrication industry, but after spotting an opportunity in the market and feeling like the time was right, they decided to strike out on their own and subsequently founded the business.

Alliance undertakes a variety of work, but it specialises primarily in the mining and construction sectors, with the company recently putting a big focus on the construction industry. This has seen the company expand its opportunities and business potential.

Alliance now services all of Australia, from locally in Sydney to many interstate locations, ranging from Perth to Mackay and across rural/urban Victoria. Blewden’s expertise lies in developing business with customers and ensuring their needs are met, whereas Carragher’s focus lies with the design of the products and their specifications.

Experiencing steady growth since its formation, Alliance started out with four employees but in its short operational time has grown consistently to now employ an impressive 41 people. This is testament to Alliance’s first-class service, provided by a skilled workforce that utilises modern technology.

Laser cutting has become a big component of Alliance’s activities in recent years and this has transformed the company and the way in which it operates. This has resulted in the company recently purchasing a Yawei HLF-1530 3kW fibre laser cutter, complete with an automatic loading and unloading device, from Applied Machinery.

Blewden and Carragher travelled to China to find a new machine. While there, they visited Yawei and the company was immediately impressive.

“They blew us away. The machines and their operations were highly professional and just what we were looking for,” says Blewden. After that, the choice was easy: “When we saw the Yawei HLF we knew it would suit us; the choice was a no-brainer.”

The fibre laser was delivered recently and has already been a big hit in the organisation due to its ease of use and the end result.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

“We needed a machine with more speed and energy efficiency,” Blewden adds. “And that’s what we got with the Yawei HLF.” One of the key attractions for Blewden was the quality components fitted to the HLF; in particular the Siemens controller and Precitec auto focus cutting head.

“The Siemens 840D CNC controller is simple to learn and easy to use, significantly improving cutting speeds and material capacity. Furthermore, it allows for high-accuracy and repeatability,” he explains. “Overall the Yawei is simple and user friendly. Running the machine is a basic task which we like; it saves time and effort. Another attraction is that it uses filtered, compressed air which costs less in the long term due to its lower cost compared to ‘traditional’ assist gases. The etching feature is also well-liked by Alliance operators.”

The introduction of the fibre laser and what it is capable of has also allowed previously outsourced work to come back in-house.

“To say the least, there have been some really big pluses with this machine,” says Blewden. “It’s also been quite cheap to run so already we have seen the positive financial implications of the machine; it’s value for money.”

A current major project for Alliance, in conjunction with another large-scale construction company, is James Packer’s new casino, currently under construction at Barangaroo, Sydney. Once completed,

Alliance will continue with interior fit-outs as well as cladding work for the casino. This project highlights the result of Alliance’s move into the construction sector and the abundant opportunities that it has so far provided them.

Blewden praises the service and expertise provided by Applied Machinery’s staff.

“The back up and support from Applied has been terrific,” Blewden said. “They’re great, and their technicians are great. They know what they are dealing with. They deliver on time and really have been wonderful.

Overall we’re very happy with them.”

Blewden wants to see Alliance continue to grow and expand into the future: “We have already increased the level of available shifts for our workers, but we would like to see continued substantial growth into the future. All in all, we are optimistic about the future and believe we are heading in the right direction – Yawei and Applied have had a role in that.”

Applied Machinery, with its nationwide sales and service network, is the exclusive supplier of Yawei precision sheetmetal machinery across the country. At Austech 2019, Applied will be showcasing an 8kW Yawei HLX series fibre laser, along with a Yawei CNC pressbrake bending cell complete with Kuka robot, at Stands 535 and 555. www.alliancemetal.com.au www.appliedmachinery.com.au

FORMING & FABRICATION

Welding breakthrough could transform manufacturing Scientists from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland have welded glass and metal together using an ultrafast laser system, in a breakthrough for the manufacturing industry. in close contact, and the laser is focused through the optical material to provide a very small and highly intense spot at the interface between the two materials.

Various optical materials such as quartz, borosilicate glass and even sapphire were all successfully welded to metals like aluminium, titanium and stainless steel using the Heriot-Watt laser system, which provides very short, picosecond pulses of infrared light in tracks along the materials to fuse them together. The new process could transform the manufacturing sector and have direct applications in the aerospace, defence, optical technology and even healthcare fields.

Professor Duncan Hand, director of the five-university EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Laser-based Production Processes based at Heriot-Watt, said: “Traditionally it has been very difficult to weld together dissimilar materials like glass and metal due to their different thermal properties - the high temperatures and highly different thermal expansions involved cause the glass to shatter.

“Being able to weld glass and metals together will be a huge step forward in manufacturing and design flexibility. At the moment, equipment and products

“We achieved megawatt peak power over an area just a few microns across,” says Professor Hand. “This creates a microplasma, like a tiny ball of lightning, inside the material, surrounded by a highlyconfined melt region. We tested the welds at -50C to 90C and the welds remained intact, so we know they are robust enough to cope with extreme conditions.” that involve glass and metal are often held together by adhesives, which are messy to apply and parts can gradually creep, or move. Outgassing is also an issue organic chemicals from the adhesive can be gradually released and can lead to reduced product lifetime.”

The process relies on the incredibly short pulses from the laser. These pulses last only a few picoseconds - a picosecond to a second is like a second compared to 30,000 years. The parts to be welded are placed

Professor Hand and his team are working with a consortium led by Oxford Lasers, a laser micromachining systems integrator and Coherent Scotland, laser specialists; and Leonardo and Gooch & Housego, both end-users of the technology to develop a prototype for the laser processing system and take it closer to commercialisation.

Two other partners, Glass Technology Services and the Centre for Process Innovation, provide additional routes to commercialisation, including in packaging of OLED devices. www.hw.ac.uk

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Multicam – Sponsoring our future engineers Earlier this year Multicam CNC Routing Systems provided sponsorship to Mount View High School team Impro Racing, in support of their participation in the F1 in Schools STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) competition. Impro Racing is the only all-girl team in the competition and has already proven their talent and dedication in their bid to become victorious nationally.

Multicam has a long association with schools, colleges, universities and trade training facilities throughout Australia, and it was especially pleasing for them to see these talented young ladies taking on engineering and manufacturing subjects in what are primarily male-dominated vocations.

During the sponsorship presentation, Stephen Heusz, from Multicam’s head office in Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), was given an extensive tour of the Impro Racing team’s facilities and an in-depth explanation of the teams’ efforts and goals.

The F1 in Schools challenge is the world’s largest secondary school STEM competition where teams design, manufacture and race miniature F1 racing cars over a fixed distance. The cars are conceived and designed using industry standard CAD/ CAM software and produced using CNC machinery.

Stephen Heusz of Multicam CNC Routing Systems with members of the Impro Racing team.

Once designed and software tested to satisfaction, the students then machine the car body, 3D print some of the aerodynamic structures, assemble, paint and prove their creations in wind and smoke tunnels and on test tracks. The process gives the students an appreciation and feel for realworld manufacturing processes as well as an undersatnding of what is involved in completing a team-based mission.

As well as physically producing their race entries, competitors must also create a team identity (just as F1 racing teams do) including logo, branding and marketing, and set up a trade booth display showcasing the team and its F1 entry. At all stages, individual portfolios are maintained by the team members, the quality of which goes a long way to accruing competition points. It’s not all about the race.

As a result of their recent successes, Impro Racing has been selected to represent NSW at the F1 in Schools National Finals in Melbourne. If victorious, the next step will be to compete at the forthcoming international competition. Australia has a tradition of success on the global stage, with team Horizon from Adelaide claiming victory in 2018.

“The excitement among the girls for this competition is evident in every aspect of what they are doing to achieve success at the finals,” said Heusz. “In fact, the whole school is focused on providing every opportunity for success, with an emphasis

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on the learning process and what skills the team members will gain in participating and take to their future lives.

encouraging talented people to develop the skills necessary in all aspects of manufacturing.

“The professionalism of Impro Racing is something of which they should be very proud. By drawing on the guidance of their F1 in Schools co-ordinator and being mentored by members of previous teams, the team realises that success can be achieved by recognising the value of utilising any resource at their disposal.”

“Multicam CNC routing machines are manufactured in Australia and is a 100% Australian-owned company. We firmly believe that the unique approach and skills of our engineers and technicians have resulted in our world class machines that have grown to become a market leader of flatbed CNC routing machines. We also believe that, through encouragement and sponsorship, such as that of team Impro, we will be well placed in the future to continue to be successful.”

Heusz added that Multicam CNC Routing Systems is proud to be associated with Mount View High School and the F1 in Schools Challenge: “We know that by providing support at the grassroots level in engineering and manufacturing, our country stands a better chance of remaining competitive in a global environment by

Multicam CNC Routing Systems will be exhibiting at Austech 2019 at stand 660. www.multicam.com.au

FORMING & FABRICATION

New Touch Industries – How the team stays on top Developments in technology and machinery have pushed the boundaries of what was once possible in manufacturing, but they also necessitate significant training for machinery operators. For staff at New Touch Industries (NTi), this meant travelling to Germany for training with high-tech machine tool manufacturer Trumpf.

The team at NTi have always found high-tech manufacturer Trumpf supplies them with the best systems to suit its needs. Trumpf’s machines deliver impressive performance that allow NTi to achieve a superior level of service. However, these systems are full of intricate features that require extensive training to operate at an optimal level.

level. NTi staff require the relevant training in order to take full advantage of the equipment.

NTi is committed to the growth and development of its staff, maximising its productivity and constructing an environment for its team to thrive. The company offers various in-house and external training opportunities, one of which included collaborating with Trumpf. NTi sent a number of its staff from Australia to Trumpf’s headquarters in Germany to learn the complexities of these state-of-the-art machines, from the creators themselves.

External training is where NTi encourages team members who are looking to improve themselves, by providing a variety of training courses conducted offsite. This is done by both providing the option both for courses that have already been found effective, and for courses suggested by the team. These have included: effective management; Solidworks; MIG & TIG welding; Corel Draw; leadership and management; supervisory courses; general apprenticeship training (fabrication); and Excel training.

Machines and systems Based in Bayswater, Victoria, NTi provides high-quality laser cutting, bending/folding, welding and fabrication services. As a company that offers an all-in-one service, it’s vital that its production pipeline runs smoothly. Juggling hundreds of projects at any one time means it requires machines that are reliable and effective.

NTi uses Trumpf machinery for its laser cutting and bending/folding, which has led to notable improvements in production and quality. For example, Trumpf’s TruLaser can cut more intricate profiles than have been previously possible. NTi is now capable of cutting brass and copper on top of mild steels, stainless and aluminium, with automated processes that maximise turnover and reduce lead times.

NTi’s TruBend machine, equipped with an ACB System, ensures an accurate bend up to 3,000mm with a 170-ton capacity, allowing the company to bend complicated parts with consistent high-quality outcomes, over and over again. Both machines operate with TruTops Fab, Trumpf’s top-tier enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The software connects different departments together, streamlining communication and keeping everyone on the same page.

Developing effective teams There’s a lot of planning and preparation required to utilise machinery at an optimal

NTi’s solution has been to provide both in-house training and external training to its team. Various programs are utilised to provide this training, including Promote from Within, Job Rotation and Pay for Schooling.

NTi’s job rotation program involves circulating staff around the business to other areas, away from their usual tasks.

This benefits staff by allowing them to gain a universal understanding of how each area of the factory operates. Staff gain perspective and understanding, increasing their selfvalue, and noticeably decreasing the threat of boredom from repetition by offering variety and training. Moreover management find it becomes easier to rotate staff during unexpected absences, increasing productivity and team morale.

The company’s programs allow its staff to grow with the company and gain confidence in their ability. Its Promote from Within policy means it looks internally when it comes to finding people to fill new roles. This gives staff the self-assurance of knowing there are always career development opportunities.

This increases the overall energy of the team when they have reason to be motivated and strive to be better.

“We believe ‘happy staff are great staff’,” says Brad Drury, Managing Director at NTi. “We are excited by what our company can produce and the direction of the industry.

We are proud of the environment we have created for our team and our commitment to staff development has had an equally significant effect on the functionality and operation of NTi.” www.newtouchfab.com.au

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Dr Stuart Thomson is the CEO and Managing Director of the Rail Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). He spoke to William Poole AMT: When was the Rail Manufacturing CRC established and what are its objectives?

Stuart Thomson: We were established in 2014. We’re part of the Cooperative Research Centres program, co-funded by the Commonwealth Government. Our specific areas are rail manufacturing and rail development in general. The objective is to support, co-fund and assist the rail industry to collaborate on innovation and R&D programs. We have a lifetime of six years, so we have about 18 months left to run. Over our six-year period we’ll have worked with a number of manufacturers, which include first, second and third-tier manufacturing organisations, rail operators and Australian research institutions working in rail R&D. We’ve also worked with manufacturing and peak bodies like the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) and TrackSAFE Foundation.

AMT: What does the closure of the CRC mean to the greater rail industry?

ST: Essentially, the closure of the Rail Manufacturing CRC is required – all CRCs can now only run for one term. In terms of what it means for the industry, I think it’s two-fold. One, the establishment of the CRC has enabled our Centre to undertake and create a culture of innovation within the rail sector, which will be ongoing. But secondly, with the Centre closing in 2020, it will be incumbent on the rail industry to either look at other options for co-funded models for rail research or alternatively set up their own ventures to enable collaboration and innovation to continue in the sector. Regardless of the path chosen, the Rail Manufacturing CRC has provided a springboard for industry to engage and collaborate.

AMT: Tell us about the activities you’ve been engaged in.

ST: The Rail Manufacturing CRC’s role is to foster and develop a collaborative framework among rail manufacturing organisations.

Essentially our role has been to help the rail industry realise their innovation needs. We work with companies and R&D providers to workshop ideas, to understand each rail business, identify their innovation needs and help provide solutions to these challenges. We look to collaboratively develop projects, co-funded by the CRC, to bring answers to these challenges.

In our research programs, we specifically work in three areas: Power & Propulsion, Materials & Manufacturing, and Design, Modelling & Simulation.

Our main body of work in Power & Propulsion is around new energy storage solutions. We’re researching batteries and supercapacitors, and there’s very big interest in these areas, particularly from our Chinese partners. The reason for this is that if you can remove catenaries – the overhead electrical infrastructure – by just running batteries or supercapcitors alone and charging along the tram route, this provides opportunities to save significantly on infrastructure costs.

We also fund research in energy storage control systems, and we’ve had successful programs in that area with CSIRO and their partner China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). We’re also doing some blue-sky work in the battery area looking at lithium technologies for use in trains. That’s starting from fundamental research, so it’s very positive to be doing that work in Australia.

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AMT: And presumably we’re well-resourced in that area.

ST: We are! The encouraging thing with our Power & Propulsion projects is that we’re seeing a lot of interest from multinationals coming to Australia to do the research, primarily because we have good R&D expertise. There is high regard for Australian researchers. We’d like to see more local companies take advantage, of course, but essentially the outcomes, particularly in the battery and supercapacitor areas, are very positive. It’s very technically challenging but we’re hoping to continue to get runs on the board as the individual projects in this program progress.

The second program we work in is Materials & Manufacturing, which focuses on the maintenance and durability of the track and rail rolling stock. For example we’re working with Bombardier to look at wheel bearings and assessing their lifecycle. A fairly simple project on the face of it, but the mathematics used and the simulations required are complex. The aim is to better understand these materials.

So with bearings, there’s changes to grease, the composition of greases used, the operating conditions, etc. We’re trying to create scenarios where we understand these materials better, understand their lifecycles, and more importantly, their maintenance cycles. If we can keep rolling stock on track for longer and optimise maintenance times, considerable savings in maintenance budgets can be made.

Obviously the other scenario is if we can identify when something is about to fail, we can the get the affected rolling stock off the line beforehand. In that area, we’re working with Knorr-Bremse looking at heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units. We are also about to undertake a predictive analysis project with Downer to model numerous components within rolling stock to better understand when a failure happens, and when it’s likely to happen.

Also in manufacturing we have an interest in the material components used. It’s early days yet, but we’re very hopeful one of our projects being conducted at CSIRO, to develop new materials for brake discs, will result in new technological advances.

Again, we’re seeing multinationals coming to Australia to invest in these projects, not just because the projects are specific to Australian needs, but because there is technical expertise here – based on Australia’s heavy-haul and passenger rail experience – that companies know can genuinely assist their businesses. There’s a great opportunity for Australia to develop hubs of excellence to do this work, to support not just local manufacturing, but global manufacturing organisations.

The third program, Design Modelling & Simulation is looking at the modelling of an array of rail applications, whether it be the design of rolling stock, the adoption of Industry 4.0, designing automation techniques to make the processes more efficient, or using sensors for collecting data off rolling stock or manufacturing processes to make them more efficient.

One such area involves using UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technologies to assess rail infrastructure. We’re funding a number of PhD projects with partners such as Monash University where you have a UAV that flies from a base-station and carries an array of sensors that can monitor the track or fly into railway culverts and monitor the condition of infrastructure. In the future, this technology

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will enable operators to put instruments on rolling stock that identifies potential problems onsite, with a robotic UAV that can respond, flying to the affected site and checking the infrastructure more extensively.

If repairs are needed, the UAV can undertake those repairs or schedule workers to complete the repairs. Compare that scenario to the current status where workers are continually walking sections of line to do this work. The financial savings and risk mitigation benefits are potentially huge.

Another challenge we’re looking at in the Design Modelling & Simulation program is new designs for eliminating platform gap issues. This is a critical issue for the rail industry. With numerous generations of infrastructure and rolling stock, worldwide there have been issues with both disabled-access and potential safety risks associated with the gap between trains and the platform.

AMT: I guess with rail transport, it’s easy to regard it as an established technology with limited scope for real innovation – basically a box on wheels running on rails. But emerging technologies are clearly offering significant gains.

ST: It’s interesting you say that because we’re finding a lot of this is now being driven by the general public. In Australia we’re seeing more desire from consumers to use public transport, given road bottlenecks and traffic jams, etc. We’re seeing a move to wanting to use public transport, and then of course the general public also expects more from their rail operators relating to technology.

In this field, one of our key programs has been technologies for optimising passenger flow. We’ve been working very hard with Downer and the University of Technology Sydney developing a new technology called DwellTrack. It works off infra-red monitoring; we have cameras that sit on crowded platforms that can model the 3D environment of how passengers are moving. With passenger movement on platforms and those disembarking from trains, we can monitor the pathways of individuals, and use that information to design better platforms and improve communications with passengers. We see this technology – the design modelling and simulation components – starting to fit with rail technologies that are emerging. You referred to rail being a box that people move in, but they’re becoming more and more sophisticated. We’re seeing weight sensors on trains, so they can accurately predict whether there’s free carriages or free seats based on the weight of the carriage. Team that up with technologies we’re developing, and we start to be able to provide guidance to passengers about where they can get a seat on a train, or where to position themselves so they can get on and off. The flow-on effect is that people start to move to positions on platforms and be guided. That will help rail operators to minimise dwell-time – where the train comes in and stops. Then hopefully we can get more trains on track, because that’s one of the key issues we have thanks to a population boom in capital cities. That technology is going to be highly relevant for major train stations within Australia, and will have global reach and applicability.

We know first-hand there’s great research capability in Australia, and as our program demonstrates, a number of companies are willing to invest in Australian innovation. We’re quite buoyed by that fact.

AMT: How significant is rail manufacturing in Australia, and how much potential is there?

ST: It’s changing. A lot of it is driven by the governments of the day.

I think it’s fair to say that over the last 30 years, there’s been underinvestment in rail infrastructure. In contrast you only have to watch the news in the last five years to witness the massive turnaround in investment. I believe future investment in rail is tipped at being up to $150bn over the next 25 years. There’s going to be significant investment over the coming decades.

We’re also seeing decisions, particularly in Victoria, around local content manufacturing. There’s a requirement for at least 50% of manufacturing components in the rolling stock be produced in Victoria. With policies like that manufacturing will continue to grow – we’ve seen over two years of solid growth in the general Australian manufacturing figures on a monthly basis. We see considerable potential for the rail manufacturing sector to grow over the next 20 years.

At present we’re witnessing a lot of investment into manufacturing and maintenance facilities due to some larger bids that have come on-stream. We’re seeing the high-capacity metro here in Melbourne, with Downer and local suppliers currently involved in the manufacture of that rolling stock. We’re seeing Bombardier and the newgeneration (NGR) systems up in Queensland, and the forthcoming Metronet project in Perth among numerous others. Although some of that rolling stock has been imported, the projects have created long-term local maintenance jobs. As more of these larger bids come online, I think we’ll see more interest both in local manufacturing and in the ongoing maintenance areas.

Continued next page

We see a great opportunity for Australia to set itself up as a hightechnology developer in the rail sector and to create more job opportunities that will outlive the short-term benefits of the rail boom.

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Continued from previous page

One key issue for the industry is making sure there’s a pipeline of work to enable investment in capital, in R&D, in innovation. With the work that’s coming online, there’s 10 years-plus of solid work for rail manufacturers, so we’re hopeful we’ll see more investment in these areas.

AMT: Is there a similarity to shipbuilding where you get that ‘Valley of Death’ scenario? Peaks and troughs where big orders come in, those orders are fulfilled, and then it’s suddenly quiet?

ST: I think it’s typical of manufacturing in general. It’s not restricted to rail. But particularly with big infrastructure projects or large capital items, clearly there’s benefit to having a filled pipeline, ensuring that ongoing orders are level rather than having peaks and troughs. One key issue we’ve identified through the Rail Manufacturing CRC is that the demand for some key graduate and post-graduate skills in the future will be far in excess of what we’re producing currently.

We see that as a key criteria – and this is where I think government and industry need to be talking to each other – that there’s an understanding: how are we going to address the skills gap and ensure we have a continuous pipeline of projects with a workforce and the skills that can deliver on them?

You only have to look at some of the figures. The ARA recently reported that skills gaps in the rail sector will be an ever-present issue as we move into the next decade. Our Centre is aiming to play a role to address these shortfalls. We help fund and train PhD students in the rail sector: we have 47 PhDs on our books at the moment in our six-year program, and we’re hopeful that a lot of those students will go on to have roles in the rail industry. Given some of the highly sought-after skillsets these young people have, they have the potential to assist industry to start taking on new innovations, like Big Data projects, implementing the Internet of Things into rail, adopting automation and so on. We’re actively funding the training the next generation of post-graduate students that will find employment opportunities in the rail industry.

AMT: What’s the biggest challenge for Australia in being globally competitive in this area?

ST: Collaboration and innovation. There’s a lot of talk about jobs going offshore, but I think one of the keys for manufacturing in Australia is that there is now a capacity to work on a more equal footing via adoption of technologies such as automation, hightech manufacturing processes, and working to streamline current processes. At the end of the day, it comes back to being able to compete on cost with global competitors, and for manufacturing in general – not just rail – I think there is value to be had in adopting these innovations, taking costs out of production, and by the same token also producing higher-quality components through high-tech manufacturing solutions.

For example, we have programs where we’ve looked at welding technologies in rolling stock, and where these technologies allow for automated welding of rail components. Not only does this technology have the potential to reduce the labour costs required to produce components, but the quality of the welding is consistently uniform as well. So we have the potential for higher-quality products to be produced at a lower cost through automation. I think the benefit to Australian manufacturing in the future will be that, by adopting technologies such as automation and some of the paradigms around Industry 4.0, using clever design, and doing a lot of the planning and pre-modelling work through digital systems, you reduce a lot of the front-end cost of the production cycle.

We have a very highly skilled set of researchers and technologists within Australia’s research institutions. We have to ensure we maintain this expertise and that companies within Australia use these

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resources. That’s one reason why we exist, to ensure that industry and academics collaborate to produce these results. We’ve seen a great deal of beneficial outcomes from the projects we’ve been involved in, and we have witnessed a culture change in some of the rail sector organisations, where they’re now actively engaging with universities to look at developing new technologies and solving challenges within their organisations.

The key in the future will be to create a global manufacturing enterprise using the smarts that exist within the country. Many organisations don’t need to have these resources internally in a business, but are able to utilise the key research platforms and research organisations that we have in Australia to deliver rail R&D. The challenges for both government and industry are to work out how we can produce rolling stock better and more efficiently, and having a national agenda which addresses some of the fundamental issues that exist. The harmonisation of standards, regulations and tenders etc, across the states and territories would have a major effect of increasing economies of scale. And having a steady pipeline of projects that enables manufacturers to invest in facilities, R&D and capital expenditure, that will help to sustain the industry. I think we’re seeing some positive results of that in the defence industry at the moment, and I think we could potentially see the same in rail in future.

AMT: Tell us about your professional background and how you got into this line of work.

ST: After receiving my PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of NSW, I spent two years at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Germany studying high-throughput discovery technologies. On returning to Australia I worked in the manufacturing sector, then I spent some time as a Research Director and Chief Operating Officer within CRC Mining, another CRC entity. Much of CRC Mining’s focus was about better efficiencies in the excavation of ores within mining: a lot of automation and new digital technologies involved in the area.

I then went on from CRC Mining to work as Executive Director of the Grape & Wine Research and Development Corporation, a funding body to invest in grape and wine technologies. So again, while it’s a different sector, the fundamental issues are the same; it was a set of manufacturing organisations looking at a number of inherent issues.

There are more similarities between those organisations – in mining, grape & wine, and rail – than you’d probably think. And in all of these industries there is a desire to step up and compete on a global scale.

The wine and mining industries are doing very well in that respect, but have built considerable R&D expertise and partnerships over a long period of time. Rail can definitely do the same.

I’ve been very fortunate to work in some great industries. And I think we’re seeing the start of a golden period for the rail sector. We’re seeing huge opportunities for investment. And market opportunities, not only for the Tier 1’s but for the whole supply chain.

AMT: What’s the most rewarding aspect of the job?

ST: For me, it’s seeing the next generation of our railway workers coming through our, and other rail industry, programs. With university students, we deal pretty much with post-graduate researchers, but the thing for me is, when we started this program a lot of our PhDs didn’t realise the opportunities that exist in rail. But now we see that post-graduates are starting to identify emerging opportunities in the rail sector, we’re seeing greater engagement by industry with the next generation. I think in the next 10 years we’re going to see more and more graduates and post-graduates move into the rail sector. I think that’s very positive. www.rmcrc.com.au

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Keeping me up to date with our industry As a member of AMTIL since its inception, Lovitt Technologies has appreciated the information we obtain from AMT Magazine, from the editor to CEO reports through to manufacturing trends and processes.

Also comments from various government personnel regarding our industry and general advertising of new machinery and tooling is of great interest to our organisation.

Marcus Ramsay, Manufacturing Director LOVITT TECHNOLOGIES AUSTRALIA

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Incat delivers large new fast ferry to Virtu Ferries of Malta Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat has celebrated the delivery of its latest large fast ferry, a 110m catamaran, for Virtu Ferries of Malta. Incat Hull 089, which will sail under the name Saint John Paul II, left Hobart on 6 February for delivery to Grand Harbour in the Maltese capital Valletta.

The Saint John Paul II is the 44th large commercial fast ferry delivered by Incat and the sixth in excess of 5,500 gross tonnes in the past decade; a decade also shared with 19 other Incat newbuilds of smaller passenger ferries and support vessels.

Incat Chairman Robert Clifford and Incat executives were joined in Hobart by Virtu Ferries executives Francis Portelli and Matthew Portelli to see the Saint John Paul II off on her delivery voyage via the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

“The 110m wave-piercing catamaran, one of the largest and most revolutionary built by the yard, is the first Incat newbuild vessel to join the Virtu fleet,” said Clifford.

“Virtu Ferries was seeking increased reliability, seakeeping, passenger comfort, capacity and economy, with less operational downtime than vessels in its current fleet.

They knew exactly what they wanted and, with the benefit of extensive tank testing and studies, we believe we have turned that vision into reality with Saint John Paul II.” Incat CEO Tim Burnell added” “Despite being at the forefront of the industry for 40 years, Incat is still evolving the product. Using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydrodynamic free-running model test techniques, the well-proven Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran hullform has been further developed for Mediterranean winter conditions. The hydrodynamic tests were undertaken by Seaspeed Marine Consulting at the Ocean Basin and Ship Tank in Gosport, UK – facilities normally associated with UK Ministry of Defence projects.

“The result is a completely new bow arrangement and increased tunnel height, ensuring Saint John Paul II is truly fit for purpose on year-round ferry operations on what is an exposed Mediterranean island route.”

Francis Portelli, Virtu Ferries’ Chairman and Owner, stressed that since Malta is an island nation with a strong and growing economy, it was imperative that Virtu Ferries’ yearround lifeline passenger and freight services are reliable.

“During the winter months we can experience very strong winds and high waves on our route,” he said. “So we wanted a hull design developed to minimise fuel consumption and to increase passenger comfort and seakeeping performance, at

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Saint John Paul II on sea trials. Photo credit: Brand Tasmania

the desired contract speed, in simulated sea conditions prevailing in the Malta Channel.

This is in line with established green policies being recommended by the international maritime industry. Simply put, we want to provide our passengers and freight operators with the highest levels of service, reliability and comfort, yet at the same time, operate an economical and environmentallysustainable high-speed service.”

Francis Portelli went on to compliment Incat and its collaborators: “As this project has evolved, we have enjoyed an excellent cooperative working relationship with Incat, Revolution Design and Seaspeed Marine, where they have listened to our particular requirements and continually evolved the design to a point where we are confident that we have a fantastic vessel suited not only to our requirements but to many other island communities around the world.”

The Saint John Paul II was completed under DNV GL classification society rules and she complies with IMO HSC Code 2000 rules, Malta flag statutory requirements and Italian port state requirements.

“For Virtu Ferries this new vessel provides a significant increase in capacity over their existing vessel operating on the Malta-Sicily

route, offering 43% more truck capacity, 15% more passenger capacity and 7% more car capacity,” said Burnell.

At 1,000 tonnes deadweight, the vessel is the largest RoPax (roll-on/roll-off passenger) catamaran ever built for operation in the Mediterranean and is the second-largest in the world. She has capacity for 900 passengers on two decks and additional outside seating on both upper and lower passenger levels. The full span of the vehicle deck is designed to carry 23 heavy commercial trailers, equivalent to 490 truck lane metres or 167 cars.

Onboard Saint John Paul II, passengers can enjoy luxury lounges with a design based on 28 years of surveyed passenger feedback.

The vessel has a three-class interior (VIP, business and economy) with a total of 1,134 seats of which 996 seats are inside and 138 outside. Outside seating is provided on both passenger decks.

On contractual speed trials off the southern coast of Tasmania, Saint John Paul II achieved speeds in excess of 38 knots running at 85% power and ballasted to 600 tonnes deadweight. www.incat.com.au

SHIPPING, RAIL & LOGISTICS

Australian invention to improve road construction safety and reduce costs Truck maker IVECO Australia and construction material company Boral Ltd have unveiled a new road surfacing truck designed to make the task safer, increase product quality, and reduce infrastructure costs to road agencies.

Based on IVECO’s Stralis AD 8×4 truck, the new Boral FMAS forward-moving aggregate spreader has been designed to revolutionise the method of spray seal road construction in Australia. Until now, the process involved road crews working with reversing trucks that applied the aggregate through an elevated tipper body, increasing the safety risks to workers. To improve safety and maximise visibility, the Boral FMAS disperses aggregate from the front of the truck via a conveyor belt and spreader box.

This enables quicker completion of works and significantly reduces any potential infrastructure and overhead damage such as contacting power lines, trees and bridges.

Stuart Partridge, Boral’s National Asset Manager – Asphalt, said his company designed and developed the FMAS following a call to industry by the Victorian roads authority VicRoads, following a serious accident involving a VicRoads worker some years ago.

“Surfacing roads has remained one of the most potentially challenging tasks faced by construction crews because of the nature of the material being used and the way that material is applied,” said Partridge. “Rollover accidents, blind spots and high reversing tippers that can be at risk of interfering with power lines or overhanging trees are just some of the problems associated with the current range of spreaders. So, the task here was to come up with a solution to improve safety for road crews, including drivers, while at the same time making the process quicker, more efficient with higher quality.

“This invention allows locally manufactured and approved trucks to be substantially modified whilst still meeting regulatory standards, which is why VicRoads has mandated that forward-moving aggregate spreaders should be in use on all its projects by 2022 – a move we hope will be followed by other state road authorities nationally.”

Boral Australia Chief Executive Joe Goss said

the new Boral FMAS was a demonstration of the company’s commitment to zero harm, placing the safety of all employees and the community in general, at the very centre of the company’s mission.

“This invention speaks to the importance Boral places on keeping our workers safe and our commitment to innovation across all of our products and activities,” said Goss. “I want to congratulate Stuart and his team for coming up with such an important invention – and one that will be embraced by the industry nationally and in our view, internationally also. It not only delivers a major improvement in safety standards but will also help to lower the cost of road surfacing because it supports a more efficient and productive process.”

High Precision Versatile Laser Sensor for Quality control & Inspection

IVECO Australia Managing Director Bruce Healy said his company was extremely excited at being involved in the development of the Boral FMAS. “Boral has shown innovation and forethought in researching and ultimately developing this vehicle in line with the new industry safety standards in Australia,” Healy said. “IVECO has a long and proud history as one of Australia’s preferred suppliers of concrete agitators and the like for this industry, so naturally we were very pleased to participate in this project.

“As a local manufacturer with an extensive engineering centre in Melbourne, we were able to advise Boral on the best IVECO platform on which to build their vehicle – the Stralis AD 8x4 – and offer support during the development and build process. I’m confident that the new FMAS model will be well-received by the market.”

COMPACT design WIDE measuring range HIGH resolution FAST measuring rate DYNAMIC adaptation to changing surfaces

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www.bestech.com.au AMT APR/MAY 2019

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COMPANY FOCUS Michael Bourchier, Amiga’s owner and general manager.

Amiga Engineering – Adding capability Despite celebrating its 30th anniversary last year, Tullamarine-based Amiga Engineering has lost none of its appetite for innovation and evolution, most recently diversifying into additive manufacturing in metals. By William Poole.

Amiga was founded in 1988 by two brothers, Michael and Dale Bourchier. Industry veterans, they had experience working across a broad range of manufacturing segments, from car parts suppliers to German toolmakers. However, they’d reached a turning point when the business they were working in started struggling.

“We were basically redundant,” says Michael, who remains Amiga’s owner and General Manager to this day. “So I said ‘Let’s start up our own business’. So off we went.”

The company set up operations in a tiny factory in East Keilor, Melbourne. The brothers got some help from their dad just to get the workshop wired up, and it took time and persuasion to have a phone line installed. With nothing more than a $10,000 overdraft, they had to shop around at the bottom of the market for equipment.

“We went to the first auction and bought all this cruddy old equipment,” Michael recalls. “Lathes that turned, mills that vibrated… We even bought a forklift that didn’t run. It was pretty rough stuff. We cut our teeth on that.”

Nonetheless, the brothers had one vital asset: a solid reputation built up through their years working in the industry. Rockwell Automotive had been a customer with their previous employer, and when it found out Michael and Dale had moved on, it sought them out.

“They knew we were the smarts behind what was happening there,” says Michael. “So when it started to falter because we were no longer there, they found us, and they became about 97% of our work.”

Soon Amiga was making spring hangers and axel components for most of the trucks manufactured in Australia, with a client base extending to include the likes of Kenworth and Iveco. The oil & gas industry was next on board, with Amiga making flanges and fittings for the sector. After three or four years the company brought in its first CNC machine – second-hand – and in 1994 it got its first CNC milling machine.

“We had to figure out how to drive it,” Michael adds. “I read books all night long, and the next day got it going. That’s how we were: here’s a machine, hardly anyone knows how to use it, figure it out!”

Those early days were defined by the company’s ability to improvise solutions working with relatively limited equipment.

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“The clevers were in there somewhere,” Michael acknowledges.

“It was really about being creative and innovative. It was quite an amazing time. We were making state-of-the-art parts on really antiquated equipment. We did that for years. We grew and grew, and finally our accountant said ‘You’ve got to get out of there, you’ve got to buy your own factory’.”

In 1995, Amiga moved to its current site in Tullamarine, north of Melbourne, and the company continued to expand, with its plant today occupying 2,700sqm. Staffing levels peaked at 23 just before the GFC, after which they dropped down and have subsequently stabilised with a team of 15. Meanwhile the company has continued to broaden its customer base, providing general engineering and production CNC machining services for sectors such as oil & gas, mining, energy, medical and defence (including work on the Collins Class submarines). It also has a profitable specialism in gearboxes, developing its own product line with the acquisition of the Genat & Wood brand in 2009.

One theme that stands out in Amiga’s story is the way it has been able to build strong relationships with its customers through its ability to exceed what they might have expected from any given job, delivering better solutions via technical expertise and innovative design.

“That’s a nice way of putting it!” agrees Michael. “The ability to think outside the square, to look at what they needed and what they wanted, and to come up with a solution that was going to fit their need is what we’re about.”

New ventures Amiga’s latest venture continues with that theme. Launched last year, Metal3D aims to offer Australia’s first privately owned turnkey service for 3D printing in metals, providing a one-stop combining both traditional manufacturing and additive processes.

The company has acquired a pair of ProX 320 DMP metal 3D printers from 3D Systems/Konica Minolta, as well as a SLM 280HL machine from SLM Solutions. The company is currently working with aluminium, titanium, stainless steel and Inconel, with plans to swiftly diversify into other materials.

HEADING

Amiga has the capability to produce complex components using both traditional and additive manufacturing processes.

Amiga’s Metal3D subsidiary has acquired two ProX 320 DMP 3D printers from 3D Systems.

For Michael, the establishment of Metal3D came about in response to a need to find new ways to service his clients: “We got to a point where we had five-axis machining, the latest software and a good skillset, so where is the work? We needed another way to connect with our customers and potential new clients. What point of difference could we make?”

you can’t drill a spiral hole. Some things we can complete very well with machining and casting, and they’re still by far the best method on price. But as soon as you get complexities in there, something that’s got to perform a specific purpose, then it can’t be machined.

Then 3D printing is the way. So you have a mixture of machining with 3D printing. Having that point of difference is helpful.”

However, the inspiration for the venture had a more personal basis, going back to 2011, when a lifetime of physically demanding work began to take a toll on Michael. A spinal injury was degrading to such an extent he was starting to lose the use of his left arm.

Doctors told him he had a prolapsed disc that would need to be replaced, but doing so would require fusing the adjacent vertebrae.

Bright prospects

“I thought there must be something better than that,” Michael explains. “Once you start fusing something, the joints next to that start to degrade as well. So in 5-10 years time, you’re going to have another problem … and then another problem. I said to the surgeon there had to be something better.”

Michael set about researching alternatives, which led him to a device called an M6-C. Replicating the structure and performance of a natural disc, it comprised a polymer-based cell that could compress to allow a full range of motion, sandwiched between two titanium plates. Those plates were 3D-printed with an intricate outer surface that would support bone integration to create a permanent fixture.

“I was saved!” says Michael. “I flew to Sydney on a Wednesday night, had the operation on the Thursday, and walked out on Saturday. And I walked the steps of the Opera House. With fusion you’re basically off work for six to 10 weeks. To me, that highlighted this new technology, 3D metal printing, that was far superior to what anyone else is doing. Over the next few years I followed where it was going and what were we doing here in Australia.”

Given its origins, it’s to be expected Metal3D has pursued work in medical and dental applications. Other projects have encompassed areas ranging from aerospace, defence and automotive, right through to food & beverages and jewellery design. To some extent the venture is being driven by the ideas clients bring in and the problems they need solved.

“It’s growing,” says Michael. “Probably not as quick as I thought it would, but the things that have come past us in the space of 12 months have been phenomenal. It’s opened our eyes. They come along with their creative ideas, then we look at that and tailor ideas to suit, whether it needs to be machined or 3D-printed. We can make those judgement calls, or join the two together.”

For Michael, this is the crucial aspect of what Metal3D can offer: the ability to combine traditional machining, which remains relatively inexpensive and reliable, with the complexity and versatility offered by 3D printing.

“That’s where I see us going,” he says. “Multi-functional parts, with internal cavities that are unmachineable. You can’t machine a spiral,

Michael is optimistic about the current state of manufacturing in Australia, seeing signs of revival after a few years in which the industry languished. Amiga has had its share of experiences of losing work to overseas competitors in low-cost countries, but now he senses the tide may be turning.

“I think in a sense we’re really starting again here in Australia,” he says. “Over the years I think manufacturing’s been left to rot, wane, disappear offshore. But I think that’s turning around, we’re reinventing ourselves. We need to look at new technologies and advance them. Us getting hold of 3D printing in metal, we’re still catching up to what’s going on in Europe, in America. But we’ve got clever scientists here in Australia, we’ve got people in universities at the forefront of all sorts of technology. We’ve got the right equipment. We just need to move our thinking a little bit further forward.”

For the future, Amiga isn’t slowing down or resting on its laurels.

It is expanding further in the area of metal 3D printing, with the introduction of new capabilities such as heat treatment, postmachining and finishing, and the further addition of printable materials. A big focus is on testing and validation, enabling the company to meet the exacting standards of clients in high-end sectors such as defence and aerospace.

“I see add-ons to what we’re doing with 3D printing,”Michael explains. “I think if we can grow our capability a bit further and create the testing regimes, that can help those sides of the businesses.

We’ve got more to offer.”

Meanwhile the team at Amiga is working hard at getting word out about the business and its capabilities, while promoting the potential of Additive Manufacturing. Michael serves as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Additive Manufacturing Hub, an industry-driven collaborative network established by AMTIL. Meanwhile, Amiga will soon be putting its capabilities on display within the Manufacturers Pavilion, at the Austech 2019 exhibition in Melbourne this May. “I hope we can try and showcase what we’ve been doing, showcase our point of difference,” says Michael. “We’re just a machine shop, but we’ve got the ability to take complex componentry, find solutions and solve engineering problems, and really get the creative juices of younger minds moving.”

Amiga Engineering will be exhibiting at Austech 2019 in the Manufacturers’ Pavilion at stand number MS44. www.amigaeng.com.au www.metal3d.com.au

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STATE SPOTLIGHT

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Future Engineering builds strong profile on quality, reliability

Perth-based Future Engineering is an advanced manufacturing company offering a variety of specialised precision and fabrication services to Western Australian and international clients with the highest levels of quality and reliability.

Future Engineering commenced operations in 1991, with just principal Alex Ardizzone onboard manufacturing components for the medical industry. Operating out of a small workshop of just 400sqm, using a few manual lathes, Ardizzone created precise surgical instruments for advanced surgery.

From those small beginnings, the family business now has a skilled staff of 22 personnel specialising in advanced CNC machinery.

In 2017 the company moved to a larger facility in Welshpool, purchasing two new Okuma lathes and introducing a nightshift to meet increased business, achieve shorter delivery times and provide the highest levels of customer service.Today the company has some of the most advanced precision CNC machines, with 13 state-of-theart machines operating, and plans to expand further in the future.

Future Engineering’s Okuma Multus U4000-2SCx1500 with OSPP300S control was the first one commissioned in Australia. Meanwhile the most recent addition is a Okuma CNC Vertical Machining Centre Model MU-8000V-L with OSP-P300SA-H control.

“This Okuma five-axis machine has changed the way we approach our jobs”, commented Ardizzone. “We are achieving improved delivery times and streamlined workflows as a result and our staff are always excited to work on these advanced precision machines.”

Okuma has had a long-term relationship over more than 20 years with Future Engineering, supplying the company with precision machines as well as exceptional back-up support. The relationship has been crucial in allowing the company to reliably manufacture the broadest range of components for clients in mining, oil & gas, rail, marine and general engineering.

Future Engineering’s vision is to exceed customer expectations in the areas of quality, delivery, cost and sustainability, through continuous improvement, advanced technology, customer satisfaction, while at the same time creating a harmonious work environment. The scope of this vision includes integrated business management systems covering design and manufacture of customers’ specified products through CNC milling, lathe and wire cutting, and fabrication, from one-off prototypes to large production runs.

To achieve the highest levels of manufacturing Future Engineering is accredited to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems; ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems and 18001 Health and Safety.

Ardizzone and his team are fully committed to ensuring that all processes have a minimal negative impact on the environment and operate within all relevant environmental legislation, using best practices to minimise and prevent pollution. The company’s commitment also extends to the occupational health, safety and welfare of all employees, contractors, clients and visitors to the Future Engineering work area. Servicing local and international customers, the reputation of the advanced engineering company continues to grow, with indirect export sales reaching more than 50% of production.

For the rail industry, Future Engineering provides manufacturing and maintenance services to both operators and service companies, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies during all phases of the product lifecycle. This includes the manufacture of components through to complete fabrication and final testing, with certified welding, painting, powder coating, bearings, consumables and all surface treatments to meet

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customers’ requirements. Additional services include load testing to Australian standards, certified heat treatment, quality packages, Master Deliverable Register (MDR) and material certificates, NonDestructive Testing (NDT) welding, and surface treatments.

As with the rail industry clients, services to the mining industry provided by Future Engineering are equally professional, with breakout and lifting equipment for land mining exploration, gearbox components and mining accessories. Additional services include solutions for drilling, power transmissions and wellhead maintenance and pump solutions.

The oil & gas industry is an important element of business development as Future Engineering offers a wide range of capabilities and solutions for the manufacture and repair of well intervention, completion, wellhead and down-hole tooling. Products manufactured for this industry segment include components for flow control and well integrity equipment, well intervention equipment, hydraulic equipment, hydraulic control systems, surface and sub-sea Christmas trees, and pipeline equipment.

An example of service to the marine industry relates to a Japanese client who asked the impossible over the 2017-18 Christmas period with a need to fabricate, assemble, freight, install and commission a full vessel suspension system in 12 weeks ready for unveiling at the Yokohama Boat Show. With time and accuracy critical, the whole project was managed with efficiency and the mechanical swing-arms and slider components were delivered with the required accuracy and delivered on time. The client advised that this was also the most cost-effective quote.

There is an air of confidence at Future Engineering as defence contracts grow and with high levels of interest coming from larger companies within Australia and overseas. www.okumaaustralia.com.au www.futureeng.com.au

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Manufacturing in WA – Times are a-changin’

“The times they are a changin’” for the manufacturing industry of Western Australia amid recent events that have been making headlines in the political landscape, writes accountant and Bob Dylan fan James Hillgrove of William Buck.

The ability of government, at both federal and state levels, to impact change has been demonstrated by two recent developments. The first was the release of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry final report. The second was the recent announcement by the WA State Government to launch a Future Battery Industry Strategy, designed to aid the state’s growth as a battery minerals exporter.

have faced numerous challenges over the past 50 years as the economy has transformed. While the manufacturing industry was able to produce almost $103bn worth of goods in 2014-15, ranking as Australia’s sixth‐largest sector, it has not kept pace with growth in the remainder of the economy. This has resulted in its share of GDP dropping from about 25% during the 1960s to the current contribution of about 6.4% – the lowest level in recorded history.

Putting on our manufacturing helmets (for occupational health & safety) to reflect on the Royal Commission’s report, a couple of obvious questions arise: How will this affect the manufacturing industry? And what, potentially, could be the repercussions?

However, the blooming battery production industry represents one area for expansion and innovation within the sector.

William Buck’s small-to-medium enterprise (SME) clients are experiencing a tightening of available lending as the most immediate effect of the Royal Commission. These effects were reflected in the January edition of the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index, which surveys 200 industrial companies to measure the performance of the manufacturing industry. January’s PMI stated that: “New orders from smaller customers in regard to plant and machinery have fallen as a result of this tightening.”

That’s because an area of concern highlighted by Commissioner Hayne was that the Code of Banking Practice was being interpreted too widely. In particular, a code in relation to small business states banks should “exercise care and skill when issuing business credit and assess whether a small business customer can repay a loan based on their financial position and account conduct”.

This means that the application process for loans is becoming more strenuous. The banks are now more focused on a SME’s position to pay the loan, previous loans and the current state of their balance sheet. This will be experienced in all new bank applications, where they will be now asking for a wider range of documents, which could include cash flows, financial reports and income tax returns.

As an accounting firm for many SMEs, William Buck has noticed banks are asking for more information. This includes ATO Debts and year-to-date financial statements. For SMEs seeking finance, this highlights the importance of two things – being up to date with your lodgements and financial records, and having high-quality, professional three-way forecasts to give maximum confidence to the bank that you can meet your repayments.

Innovating for the future Like mining and agriculture, manufacturing still represents a significant component of WA’s economy – producing a vast array of different goods, from fabricated metal products and petroleum, to fertiliser and milk. Manufacturers in WA added a total of almost $12.5bn to the state economy, accounting for 5% of Gross State Product. This was the fifth-largest contribution of any sector, behind mining ($63.5bn), construction ($32.9bn), real estate ($19.1bn) and healthcare ($12.7bn). It also represented 12.3% of Australia’s total $103bn in manufacturing production.

Although the sector as a whole continues to make an important contribution to the nation’s economy, Australian manufacturers

The WA State Government recently announced the establishment of a Future Batteries Industry Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) devoted to battery industry growth. This presents an excellent opportunity for the manufacturing industry within WA, a state that produces around half the globe’s supply for lithium within seven mines.

As part of the program, the State Government is looking for SMEs to manufacture key components for research and testing, which should promote the local industry. With the increased adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles and power storage, the increased pressure to create and design new processes can be applied not only to the battery industry but to all spheres of the manufacturing industry.

So, is there room for Australia – and importantly, WA – to grow in research & development?

Quite simply – yes.

According to ‘Productivity, industry engagement and the PhD workforce’, a 2013 study by the then-Chief Scientist Ian Chubb, the proportion of R&D workers in business in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland was more than three times that of Australia. Chubb found that the number of researchers in Australia’s manufacturing and service sectors in 2009 was 3.1 per 1,000 employed in industry, compared with 10 per 1000 in Scandinavian countries; and 10.5 per 1,000 employees in the USA and Canada.

Putting my business advisor hat back on, the Federal Government offers incentive for research & development, which can take the form of a cash payment or a tax offset. This incentive is aimed at boosting innovation, but its complexity means uptake has been low.

There are many other grants from bodies such as Austrade and trade offices that can assist in promoting research and development within a company.

With changes in the manufacturing industry continually occurring, it is important to not only have a grasp of where your company is right now, but also where your company is going into the future. The time is right for manufacturers in WA to take advantage of big changes in the political landscape, whether it be by favourably positioning your business for growth with high-quality reports and forecasts, or by taking advantage of the State Government’s vision for the future.

Western Australia’s manufacturing sector is looking up.

James Hillgrove is a Senior Accountant at William Buck based in Perth. www.williambuck.com

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STATE SPOTLIGHT

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Bull Motor Bodies grows with component supplier Narva

Established in Perth 17 years ago, Bull Motor Bodies has grown from a relatively small workshop to become one of Australia’s leading service body manufacturers for utility vehicles.

Five years ago, Bull Motor Bodies expanded into Northlakes, Queensland. It now operates from two operation centres, incorporating a national office, a WA branch and a distribution centre, as well as its manufacturing facility. Today the company produces more than 1,000 units per year, with this number likely to soon increase, with plans afoot to enter the South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales markets. Bull Motor Bodies is on a steady growth path thanks to an innovative manufacturing process and its partnerships with quality component partners such as Narva.

Some 80% of the company’s bodies find their way onto vehicles operated by major national fleets working in mining, emergency services, utilities and similar applications. A key to Bull Motor Bodies’s manufacturing success story and bullish growth is its use of stateof-the-art design and manufacturing processes, ensuring a quality outcome for each unit.

On offer to buyers are several chassis-mounted enclosed canopy options, as well as a tray with toolbox models and flat tray options.

Each of these products come in three sizes and are designed to suit all commercial utility vehicles available in Australia, be it single-cab, extra-cab or dual-cab, in either 4x2 or 4x4 configuration.

By developing several standardised designs, Bull Motor Bodies has achieved efficiencies in the manufacturing process, delivering a fast build while maintaining the highest quality and at an affordable price.

However this standardised approach doesn’t mean customers go without choice in how the bodies are equipped – the company is able to tailor the fit-out with a vast array of options and accessories depending on the needs of the application.

In keeping with the modular design approach, the company has partnered exclusively with Narva over the past four years as its lighting and electrical component supplier of choice. According to Bull Motor Bodies Business Development Manager Simon Rawnsley, it is the combination of a quality product range and national support that makes Narva a great fit for the company.

“We have been using Narva equipment for quite a while and we are very happy with their products,” says Rawnsley. “The relationship between the two brands is strong and as a company they’re fantastic to deal with. The Narva range is extensive and has every product we need to satisfy our diverse range of clients. The equipment is also of a high quality and finish, something which is very important to us.

“The third major consideration was product support and nationwide back-up. We have units all over the country so we needed support throughout Australia to ensure our customers received the best possible back-up if and when this is required.”

All Bull Motor Bodies units are extensively equipped with Narva products. Depending on the application products include the latest Ultima LED driving lights, LED light bars, LED taillights, beacons, emergency lighting, mining bars, work lamps and interior lighting. The vehicles also operate a wide range of equipment from Narva’s sister electrical power supply and battery maintenance brand, Projecta.

As well as using the clever modular design, another factor that sets Bull Motor Bodies aside from many competitors is its unique blend of automotive materials and assembly techniques.

“Aluminium features heavily in our units,” explains Rawnsley. “We use 3mm-gauge aluminium, heavy-duty composite plastic as well as steel where required. The end result is a lower-weight body that’s still extremely durable.

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“Our units operate in some of Australia’s toughest conditions but normally last two to three vehicle-lease cycles. When the customer requires a new vehicle, the module will more often than not be transferred from the old vehicle. After a quick service, the transferred module and new vehicle will head back into the fleet and operate again for another vehicle life.”

Rawnsley says that customer feedback on their range of bodies is excellent: “Such is the quality of the build and the components used that the customer doesn’t necessarily differentiate between the Narva equipment and the body itself, they see it as fully integrated solution. They comment on how professional the bodies are and how well they perform in the field; they see value in the build and in what they’re getting, which includes all the Narva gear.”

While Bull Motor Bodies is currently specialising in utility vehicles, in the future the company will also look to extend its range to cover light trucks, where it will again look to team-up with Narva. www.bullmotorbodies.com.au

3D PRINTING IS A GAME CHANGER. Unlimit3D conference will assist local companies to innovate, become more productive and excel in future industries. Hear first-hand about the learnings and achievements of people innovating in this space from companies that have practical real-life examples.

To learn more about the conference and speakers visit www.amtil.com.au/events/unlimit3d-conference-2019/

Anna Paradowska

Bruce McLean

James Woolcock

John Croft

Kevin Hazlehurst

Lee Brindle

Mitchell Beness

Ralf Frohberger

Rob Gorham

Robert Thompson

Alex Kingsbury

Stefan Ritt

Co-located at 1444AUSTECH

14-15 May 2019 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

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CUTTING TOOLS

Optimum machining for tough materials The aviation industry is a pioneer in new materials and machining processes. Machining specialist Walter is keeping pace with the dynamic innovative spirit in the industry, setting new standards with its latest milling tools.

The aviation industry is booming. With revenues of around €40bn, the German sector of this industry reached an all-time high in 2017 – 6% growth compared to 2016. German aircraft manufacturers invested 10% of their turnover in research & development, according to the German Aerospace Industries Association.

To keep pace, tool manufacturer Walter maintains strong partnerships with research institutes such as the Institute of Production Management and Technology (IPMT) at Hamburg University of Technology. This co-operation resulted in the development of the BLAXX M3255 porcupine milling cutter for titanium-aluminium alloys.

Other new additions to the range are the M2131/M2331 ramping milling cutter, which allows users to machine aluminium alloys reliably, precisely and efficiently.

“Until recently, many industry experts were still predicting that carbonfibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP materials) would be increasingly important in aircraft manufacturing,” explains Dirk Masur, Aerospace Component Manager at Walter. “The advantages of these materials are obvious – they are lightweight but still incredibly rigid.

This makes them ideal for use in an industry that needs to manage its incredible growth alongside increasingly demanding regulations relating to energy consumption and pollutant emissions.

“However, CFRP materials do present problems as they are costly and difficult to machine. The search for alternatives has brought aluminium alloys back into the spotlight. Current predictions are based on the assumption that the volumes to be machined will continue to grow significantly until 2020.”

Aluminium alloys have played a vital role in aircraft manufacturing for a long time. New requirements and the drive to reduce weight as much as possible have also led to innovation in aluminium machining and in the alloy types. Key challenges in the sector include substantial machining volumes – as high as 90% for many components – as well as the new, extremely lightweight, incredibly robust aluminium-lithium alloys, which are difficult to machine. Materials cost must also be considered. Even though aluminium alloys are more cost-effective than CFRP, they are a significant factor in cost-per-part calculations.

Fuselages and wings are often made of aluminium alloys.

Struts absorb huge amounts of force during takeoff and landing. They are predominantly made of titanium materials with difficult cutting properties.

The unique design of the insert seat protects the insert against the high centrifugal forces generated during high-speed cutting. The internal coolant-throughs convey the coolant or lubricant to the exact point where they are needed. The milling cutters are suitable for emulsion and for minimum quantity lubrication (MQL).

Optimising efficiency and reliability in titanium machining

Designed for high-speed cutting

While aluminium alloys are primarily used in the fuselage and wings in aircraft manufacturing, titanium alloys such as TiAl6V4 or Ti5553 are used anywhere high rigidity is required. This includes, for instance, chassis components (such as struts), door frames and landing flap guides. High machining rates are also required for these components.

For most structural components, high machining volumes mean complex geometries. Typically, pockets of varying sizes and depths have to be milled out of the material. The only economically viable way to do this is to use high-speed cutting (HSC) processes, in which materials are milled at cutting speeds of up to 3,300 metres per minute. At lower cutting values, build-up forms on the cutting edge and causes the milling tools to wear more quickly. The machine stops. The overall cost of the component increases.

Thanks to their hardness and low heat conductivity, titanium workpieces pose extremely high requirements for machining tools, particularly when it comes to processing reliability. Faster wear on the cutting edges and relatively low cutting parameters make roughing titanium structural components a time-consuming task. At the same time, demand is increasing dynamically. Companies who succeed in significantly reducing their machining time per component will therefore gain a significant advantage over their competition.

However, machines and tools must be specifically designed for the cutting values expected by component suppliers in the aviation industry, which are significantly higher than average cutting values.

Walter has introduced special ramping milling cutters that are designed to meet these requirements: the M2131 and the M2331, the latter of which has been developed specifically for the requirements of Makino machines with speeds of over 30,000rpm.

Two indexable insert sizes enable users to reach a cutting depth of 15mm or 20mm – ideal for ramping milling and pocket milling. When adjusting, the milling cutter runs almost step-free, ensuring high accuracy even in the semi-finishing process. Thanks to its particularly dense, smooth PVD coating, hardly any build-up is produced on the cutting edge of the indexable inserts, meaning that the cutting edges are extremely tough.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

CUTTING TOOLS

ARE YOU OPTIMISING YOUR R&D CLAIM POTENTIAL? Walter ramping milling cutter for roughing and semi-finishing pockets at high metal removal rates of up to 11 litres per minute.

The modified BLAXX M3255 porcupine milling cutter offers users a tool that can produce titanium components significantly faster and completely reliably. The tool concept is based on the proven Walter BLAXX porcupine milling cutter and was developed as the solution to one specific request. Dr Matthias Lange, who leads the additive manufacturing and machining epartment at Premium AEROTEC, required a process structure that would allow his staff to machine titanium structural components much more efficiently.

Premium AEROTEC is a world leader in the production of complex structural components. Almost half of the time it spends machining a titanium structural component is spent on roughing; as a result, the milling tool and machining strategy are key elements in developing an approach to reduce their machining times. Over the course of around 20 months, Walter experts worked together with a team from the customer’s business and the IPMT, under the leadership of Professor Wolfgang Hintze and Dr Carsten Möller, to develop a solution.

The refined, reworked BLAXX porcupine milling cutter allowed the customer to reduce machining time by around 22%. The joint project focused on cooling, chip removal, cutting material analysis, the macro- and microgeometry of the indexable inserts, the insert seat, and the cutting data. The innovative new geometry of the milling body and indexable inserts ensures that the maximum number of teeth engage in the material. This results in an exceptionally high cutting efficiency alongside optimum process reliability, whether milling corners, contours or pockets or full slotting 1/2 x D. The softcutting geometry of the indexable inserts produces positive cutting behaviour, enhanced by short machining times at maximum metal removal rates. Heat management is always difficult when working with titanium alloys due to their low heat conductivity; here, optimised coolant supply to each cutting edge alleviates this problem. The chip clearances guarantee safe chip removal, even at high cutting speeds.

Tangential and axial toothing on the milling body ensures that the indexable inserts are securely clamped. This concept guarantees excellent stability even in low diameter ranges.

Each indexable insert has either two or four cutting edges. This ensures that each insert yields maximum cutting efficiency. Due to the tangential arrangement of the indexable inserts, the M3255 tooling system is also ideally suited for machining forged components; the edge zone (forged skin) on these components can be extremely challenging for tool cutting edges.

William Buck are the accountants and advisers to Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL) and preferred supplier to members. William Buck has a dedicated R&D Incentives team with over 15 years experience consulting in the R&D space. We offer a complimentary consultation to assess your businesses opportunity to make R&D Tax Incentive claims.

In a complimentary consultation we will undergo the following; — Preliminary evaluation of R&D claim eligibility — Review of past R&D claims — Explore opportunities to maximise R&D claims (past and future) — Uncover Accelerating Commercialisation (AC) grant opportunities.

A personal touch backed by relevant experience We work with a wide range of manufacturing clients offering a complete range of R&D, business, tax and advisory services from a network of local offices. This gives our team key insights to the industry and the ability to offer a complete business solution.

To book your William Buck Hour contact Dr Rita Choueiri Dr Rita Choueiri Principal, R&D Incentives Ph: 03 8823 6840 rita.choueiri@williambuck.com

www.walter-tools.com In aircraft manufacturing, titanium alloys are used anywhere where high rigidity is required, for instance in chassis parts.

Image: Walter AG.

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CUTTING TOOLS

Iscar – Parting for productivity Parting and grooving are essential aspects of the turning process and the metalworking industry faces a constant challenge to integrate methods that will increase efficiency and decrease downtime for these popular operations.

Always at the leading edge of developments in the field of cutting tools, Iscar has introduced a revolutionary system for parting and grooving operations.

Iscar fully understands the importance of parting and grooving operations in the turning process, and recognises that multiple factors need to be considered for every application, including machine tool selection, the type of material being parted/grooved, required depth of cut, and feed and speed rates. Iscar has responded to these complex needs by developing a comprehensive range of highly effective parting and grooving solutions that include an extensive choice of insert geometries, chip breakers, and carbide grades – and the range continues to expand.

With Industry 4.0 demands and standards fuelling industry development at extraordinary rates, Iscar has introduced new parting and grooving technologies capable of integrating seamlessly with the new wave of machining centers that work with incredibly high feeds. TANG-F-GRIP has been designed to answer these needs and to achieve high productivity and lower costs. A revolutionary parting system designed for increased productivity, TANG-F-GRIP comprises a robust tool block carrying square blades that feature four pockets, with a unique parting concept capable of parting off up to 120mm bar diameter to optimise performance.

TANG-F-GRIP is simple to mount and operate on all machine types, including multi-task and machining centres on the X-axis, without any need for special adjustment. The system enables the mounting of both TANG-F-GRIP and DO-GRIP blades on the same blocks.

The square blades possess a support system that provides totally vibration-free grooving and parting. TANG-F-GRIP also saves on set-up time as, in cases of pocket damage, the block’s configuration allows a blade to be rotated to a new pocket without setup.

TANG-F-GRIP is intended for high-feed parting. It extends insert life, improves surface finish and part straightness, and features high stability – especially when parting large diameters. The new patented blades reduce cutting time and also enable significant material savings – for instance, a 120mm bar can be cut with a 3mm blade with high-feed inserts at a feed rate of up to 0.4mm per revolution.

The high-feed tangential single-ended insert was developed to enable highly efficient parting at very high feed rates, by use of a unique chipformer technology. The insert features a new insert chipformer to allow unobstructed chip flow, which increases insert and blade tool life and leads to very high productivity gains.

All TANG-GRIP inserts can be integrated into the TANG-F-GRIP system, which is also compatible with DO-GRIP DGN double-sided twisted geometry parting inserts, to provide an extensive choice of parting widths for all application ranges. Iscar offers a wide variety of chipformers and advanced grades to ensure unbeatable performance and extended tool life.

A revolutionary secure clamping method using a tangentially orientated pocket facilitates pocket life that is three times longer than that of any other conventional self-grip system. The robust clamping method enables machining at high feed rates and provides excellent straightness and surface finish characteristics, while the flat top configuration prevents chip obstructions under all possible machining conditions.

The JetCut system incorporates ingeniously designed through coolant channels to deliver coolant close to the cutting edge, which improves chip formation and slashes flank and cratering rates.

When machining materials such as stainless steel or high temperature alloys, the temperature near the cutting edge area becomes extremely high. In addition, these material types tend to adhere to the tools cutting edge, causing built-up edge. These problematic phenomena can be moderated by targeting highpressure coolant directly to the cutting zone.

Iscar maintains its unrelenting progress as a result of the company’s continuous development of innovative, high-quality products, based on the talented work of the company’s R&D department and prompted by the evolving needs of global industry. This desire to provide customers with the very latest, most efficient metal cutting technology is reflected in the introduction of TANG-F-GRIP solutions to Iscar’s comprehensive GRIP range of parting and grooving tools. www.iscar.com.au

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Hotspots is proudly owned and managed

by AMTIL

Looking for the right support? HotSpots can help.

•

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

1285AMTIL

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MOTORS & DRIVES

Bonfiglioli marks 30th year Down Under As it celebrates its 30th year in Australia, gears, motors and drives specialist Bonfiglioli is expanding its local engineering expertise and strong focus on customised solutions tailored to individual customer needs.

Bonfiglioli’s new Customer Application Engineering (CAE) team – based in Sydney and operating throughout Australasia – works with local innovators to combine local engineering skills with the global resources required to tailor larger, sophisticated and efficient drives to the needs of individual customers. The new CAE team has been introduced in response to increasingly specialised and diverse demand in Australian industries such as mining & resources, food & beverage, power generation, manufacturing, agriculture and construction.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a higher demand for unique solutions to complex engineering problems,” explains Malcolm Lewis, Managing Director, Bonfiglioli Australia. “As a company that’s now been operating in Australia for 30 years, we noticed this trend early and have been consistently expanding our in-house engineering expertise and capabilities to provide further advantages for our customers.

“With the full resources of the global Bonfiglioli Group – which has 3,700 employees, 22 branches and 14 production plants – our CAE team uses advanced software with global and local expertise to produce designs tailored to customer needs.”

Bonfiglioli is one of Australasia’s top suppliers of helical, planetary, worm and frequency inverter drives, offering specific solutions for industrial and mobile equipment. Bonfiglioli drives are designed to withstand the arduous conditions often experienced in Australian climates, which experience high temperature fluctuations and harsh climactic extremes.

Global Industry 4.0 roll-out Globally, Bonfiglioli is currently constructing a new $95m state-ofthe-art EVO plant, which will have an annual production capacity of 800,000 units. The new plant will feature the latest manufacturing and Industry 4.0 technologies and will further enhance local delivery times and digitalisation expertise.

“The new EVO plant will focus on lighter-duty products involved in industrial processes and materials handling initiatives, including automation and industry 4.0 applications, for which it will offer quicker times to market,” says Lewis. “The new plant represents the future of manufacturing. It will streamline production and deliveries globally, cutting the time needed to respond to customer needs.”

Committing to quality Bonfiglioli’s 30 years in Australia have been shaped by the global organisation’s strong focus on quality, safety and reliability. This included ISO recertification to the latest ISO9001:2015 standard, to enhance its dedication to quality assurance.

“ISO 9001 certification brings many benefits to customers, including having their needs consistently met, lower defect rates, on-time deliveries and positive staff attitudes,” says Lewis. “It’s such an important standard that it is often considered as a ‘minimum requirement’ for suppliers in industries like mining, minerals processing, bulk handling, manufacturing and materials handling.”

Looking to the future Bonfiglioli’s drives already power a huge range of industries locally and globally – including mining and resources, manufacturing, primary industry, food & beverage, power generation and renewable energy – and the organisation’s research & development teams are looking at future demands as industries like renewable energy further expand.

“Bonfiglioli’s individually-focused expertise places us in a strong position to provide genuine value to our customers in the years ahead, as they increasingly seek to tailor solutions to new and complex tasks,” says Lewis. www.bonfiglioli.com.au

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Try generative design for yourself.

Download your free trial here: www.autodesk.com.au/gd

Image courtesy of General Motors

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FORUM ENERGY

Find the right solar strategy for your business AGL discusses the key considerations in the solar PV procurement process, ensuring you have the right system installed for long-term energy cost saving. By Rania Ghantous.

In years gone by, businesses may have easily overlooked energy as an opportunity to reduce costs. When electricity prices are low, there is often little motivation to change behaviours and reduce the amount of energy consumed. Furthermore, high energy usage may well have been the by-product of a growing business, and therefore an acceptable operating cost. However, in recent years, the energy landscape has changed considerably, and the price of solar PV has steadily dropped. For a manufacturing business, this means onsite generation in the form of solar PV may be one of the primary opportunities to manage long-term price risk and mitigate against energy price changes.

Here are five key considerations when selecting your solar PV provider:

1. Credibility and legitimacy If you have previously explored solar for your business, you may be aware that it is a competitive market, encompassing many businesses with varying levels of professionalism and integrity. This is further complicated by government rebates, which periodically change, and a plethora of equipment choices - not to mention a polarizing political debate. Whatever your view, solar PV can represent a good investment option.

It’s likely that your energy retailer is offering energy contracts with supporting energy solutions, such as solar PV. The advantages of considering purchasing your solar PV system directly from your energy retailer may include: • Access to your energy usage data to accurately analyse consumption patterns.

• Negotiate future energy rates and use actual figures to estimate the solar benefit.

• Offer a feed-in tariff along with the energy rates.

• Large businesses with long-term outlooks and customer service resourcing.

Your energy retailer can be a one-stop shop for your energy requirements.

2. Rebates There are currently two types of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) that provide a rebate for solar PV systems: Small-scale Technology Certificates (STC) and Large-scale Technology Certificates (LGC).

Both rebate schemes will operate until 2030, with the rebate winding back each year. This, combined with the fluctuations in the value of certificates due to market forces, means there are timing implications that affect the value of the rebate.

The STC scheme involves tradeable certificates based on system size and location and operates as an upfront deduction off your system price. The value of these certificates fluctuates, so leading providers will generally shoulder that risk and offer an agreed rate that is not subject to market movement for a set period.

Solar systems over 100kW in size fall into the LGC scheme. This enables you to generate certificates over time based on the energy generated by the system. Leading providers will generally offer a fixed price for a set term and manage the accreditation process for you.

In either case, be sure to understand if the LGC value is a firm offer or indicative.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

3. Quality and safety When buying a solar PV system, consider that the standard performance warranty on panels is generally 25 years. Such a longterm asset needs to be installed correctly. An independent roof structural assessment is important to ensure the roof can handle the weight and wind loading of the panels. Doing this right can minimise the risk of damage to the structural integrity of the building.

Your installer and project manager should review the installation methodologies and ensure best practice safety measures. Once the system has been installed, you should receive training for your staff before the system is handed over.

Manufacturer, supplier and workmanship warranties should be supported by a reputable company. Choose a company that has the capacity to service warranty claims, address any issues and provide service call-outs when required.

4. Inclusions and exclusions It will pay dividends to examine the scope of work carefully and review inclusions or exclusions. Do the offers include roof structural assessments, meter upgrades, council development application, grid connection, switchboard works, cable tray, safety equipment and lifting equipment? If one supplier is considerably cheaper than the rest, consider carefully what they might be leaving out.

When comparing business cases from solar providers, ensure all companies are using the same information. For example, energy rates used in the business case should be reflective of the rates you will pay for the foreseeable future. Companies should be analysing at least 12 months of meter data where possible to most accurately model the system size, showing onsite usage versus excess energy exported to the grid.

For realistic return on investment projections, some key inputs for consideration are: • Energy price escalation – It can be easily inflated to make the business case look better • Rebate value – Ensure this is a firm offer, and not simply numbers on a page.

• Solar performance – Is this similar across all offers?

5. Funding options If you have made the decision to purchase a solar PV system, it is likely that you know how you want to pay for the system. If Capex is not within your budget, review alternative payment options such as third-party finance, retailer On Bill options or consider a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Third party finance, On Bill and PPA usually do not require any upfront payments, however the term of the agreement, tax implications, cash flow position and complexity vary between each option. Whatever your choice, make sure you speak to an expert who can explain each option in detail, and seek independent advice from your accountant or financial advisor.

With the right partner, the strategy can come together seamlessly.

Get in touch with an AGL consultant, who can walk you through energy contracts and solar PV. Rania Ghantous is Channel Manager, Business Energy Solutions at AGL. Call 1300 361 391 to talk to a solar expert.

Or visit aglsolar.com.au/commercialAMTIL (enter reference code ‘AMTIL’).

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EXPORT

Five steps to boost your sales with a European distribution network Christelle Damiens explains the importance of establishing a distribution network for small businesses to increase their sales in Europe.

For the last 12 years, I have been working with Australian small businesses from high-tech sectors, from medical devices, clean technologies, ICT to electronics and advanced manufacturing.

What always struck me was the difficulty for small businesses to generate a significant level of sales from their European distributors.

That would often mean a lot of investment in the overseas market to get the distributor on-board and once on-board, sales would be disappointing. During 20 years of sales experience in Europe, I learnt that appointing a distribution network is still the fastest and safest way for small businesses to grow their sales in Europe. They can even scale to multi-million Euros sales.

To make it happen for our clients, we have created a five step process:

1. Profile your ideal distributor You first need to reflect on the characteristics of a successful distributor. If you already work with distributors, think about the type of distributors they are. There are different types of distributors, some are catalogue-selling oriented, some are more solution-selling.

This leads to defining the profiles of sales representatives that best sell your product. Then look at which clients and end-users your distributor should focus on. This way you can easily check that the distributor is right for you. Lastly, list what complementary and competitive products to yours are these distributors usually selling.

This will allow you to verify that the distributor you choose is aligned with your price positioning.

2. Select your shortlist of potential distributors Too often, small Australian businesses skip that selection step. To start with, map-out the distribution landscape based on the profile you just defined. Then check your competitors’ distributors network in the selected target country. Proceed in the same way with companies that have complementary products to yours. You can also check the exhibitors list in major trade shows or interview an opinion leader.

When you approach a distributor for the first time, have your company profile and your unique selling proposition ready. At this stage, just clearly state that you are planning to launch your product to the market and would like to have their feedback about it. Warn them that you are going through a selection process. This selection will help you create your shortlist.

3. Engage with potential distributors Once a distributor has shown initial interest, you need to start the engagement process. Have your trading terms ready, a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) and a distributor price list. Know which Incoterms1 you are going to select. Add to your checklist your payment terms. Be ready to push back when you are asked about exclusivity, it’s too risky for a small business.

Start your negotiation with the best position for your business. For a new distributor, make them earn better conditions based on their performance. In terms of margin, Europe should not be dramatically different from the margin of Australian distributors. In principle, a margin depends on the role undertaken by the distributor and how they perform.

Once you have more experience with distributors, you can develop a multi-tiered distributor program for them. You can use this program as a nice engagement and activation tool

4. Activate your sales channels in Europe Remember that distributors have other products to sell. A sales representative will always focus on what they know best, their current range. I use the term activation to illustrate how you should support your distributors to help them turn initial leads and sales into large regular volumes. This can be achieved by training your distributors’ salesforce. You will show to them how they can obtain quick wins.

These sales trainings will also give you the opportunity to find your champions. Sales tools, like brochures in their own language, case studies and datasheets are the minimum. Then, generating leads for your distributors is really key. A channel partner will come on board when they see that their client asks for your product. I know it’s frustrating, because in an ideal world you would want the distributor to find your clients, that is why you give them a margin. However, the reality is generating sales leads for them can get you where you want to be faster.

5. Manage your distributors Now you have engaged your distributors - they generate sales. Now you need to manage them to make sure they continue to thrive. First, set the scene: formalise the plan in a document with your distributor and set quarterly performance reviews. Make a point to plan a strict schedule of monthly informal updates on how things are going in order for you to detect any issue with rolling out the plan. Then on a quarterly basis, the progress of every element of the plan can be reviewed.

Now the beauty of this is that you are in control! You can’t control everything in the field, but you now have a simple way to track how you are going against your own sales targets. It also gives you the visibility on your sales.

Christelle Damiens is the owner of Exportia, which provides an outsourced European sales and marketing department for small businesses. She has 20 years of sales experience in the European market. If you want to check if you are ready to export to Europe, take the test : http://diagnostic.exportia.com.au. christelle.damiens@exportia.com.au www.exportia.com.au 1.Incoterms are trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that are commonly used in both international and domestic trade contracts. They are intended primarily to clearly communicate the tasks, costs, and risks associated with the transportation and delivery of goods.

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FORUM OHS

Victoria proposes “industrial manslaughter” offence - A major shift in OHS regulation?

Before the 2018 Victorian election, Premier Daniel Andrews announced the Labor Party planned to introduce “industrial manslaughter” offences in Victoria if re-elected. The announcement followed a campaign by Victorian unions calling for tougher laws to prevent workplace fatalities. Gina Carosi and Sam Jackson explain.

Following the Labor Party’s successful re-election last November, the Government has recently issued an update on its policy platform stating work has started on the “important workplace manslaughter laws and the establishment of an implementation taskforce.” The limited information provided regarding the likely new offence discloses a number of potential significant developments for employers, company owners and senior managers in Victoria, including: • A significant increase in the applicable penalties for those found guilty of the new offence - substantial fines (for companies) and extended periods of imprisonment (for individuals).

• An apparent fundamental shift in the approach to OHS regulation in Victoria.

• The relevant standard that employers and individuals will be judged against in determining whether the offences have been committed remains unclear and may be a lower threshold than one of the existing offences that provides for imprisonment of individuals (which currently requires “recklessness”).

• The offences appear likely to apply more widely than those already introduced in Queensland, including when a member of the public has died.

The impending introduction of industrial manslaughter laws in Victoria comes at a time when courts in Victoria and Queensland have recently used existing health and safety laws to impose the first non-suspended custodial (prison) sentences on two company owners, following separate cases involving “reckless” conduct that led to the death of workers. It also comes following the recent release of reports into the harmonised work health and safety (WHS) laws.

Significant maximum penalties In May 2018, Premier Andrews announced that the new offences will attract maximum penalties of 20 years’ imprisonment for individuals or a fine of up to approximately $16m for corporations. Each of these penalties is significantly higher than the existing maximum penalties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) for reckless endangerment - currently set at five years’ imprisonment or a fine of approximately $290,000 for individuals and a fine of approximately $3.2m for corporations.

Although the existing offences under the OHS Act are likely to remain in place following any amendments, the announcement suggests the new industrial manslaughter offences will seek to impose criminal sanctions on employers and individuals where their negligence causes the death of an employee, other worker or member of the public. This is in contrast with the current approach to OHS regulation in Victoria (and other Australian jurisdictions), where criminal liability is imposed when a duty holder fails to take all reasonably practicable steps to control a risk to health and safety.

Under this approach, the ultimate outcome of an alleged breach of the OHS Act has only limited relevance to the Court’s determination of whether the duty has been met.

AMT APR/MAY 2019

Applicable standard - recklessness or negligence?

Use of the term “negligence” in the Premier’s May 2018 announcement appears to draw parallels to the recently commenced industrial manslaughter offences in Queensland, where the regulator must prove: • a worker died in the course of carrying out work for the accused or later died from injuries suffered in the course of carrying out work for the accused; • the accused’s conduct caused the death, and • the accused was negligent about causing the worker’s death.

What remains unclear in Queensland and Victoria is whether the principles of criminal or civil negligence will apply to determining if the offences have been committed. Civil negligence refers to the situation where a duty holder falls short of the standard of care that a reasonable person would be expected to exercise in the circumstances. The higher standard of criminal negligence requires proof of conduct that falls so far short of the relevant standard, that the conduct merits criminal punishment.

However, what is clear is that the concept of negligence, regardless of whether it is criminal or civil negligence, is a lower standard than that currently required by the “reckless endangerment” offence contained in s 32 of the OHS Act. This offence is currently the only way in which an individual may be imprisoned (other than the offence of assaulting a WorkSafe inspector). The regulator must prove the accused knew their act or omission would have or could have placed a person at risk of serious injury and continued regardless. If similar wording to the Queensland legislation is adopted in Victoria, the standard the regulator will need to prove before significant penalties can be imposed (including imprisonment) may be significantly reduced.

Application of duty In his May 2018 announcement, Premier Andrews noted that the new offences will “cover a visiting supplier ... a routine maintenance worker or three innocent people walking down a busy street”.

These comments suggest the Victorian offences may have a wider application than the Queensland offences, which only apply to workers and not to members of the public. The comments appear to be in response to the penalties issued to Grocon (Victoria Street) Pty Ltd and Aussie Signs Pty Ltd when three members of the public were tragically killed at a building site in 2013, after being crushed by part of a hoarding wall that collapsed. No timeframe has been provided for the introduction of a Bill to Parliament. However, as further details are announced, we will provide updates and insights about the potential impact of these changes to OHS regulation.

Gina Carosi is Senior Associate, and Sam Jackson is Special Counsel at Sparke Helmore Lawyers which works from eight offices across Australia. Sparke Helmore serves the needs of the insurance, government, financial services, technology, mining, construction and property sectors. Expertise spans corporate and commercial to manufacturing, mining, construction, workplace to insurance, IP to IPOs and property to procurement. Ph: 03 9291 2333 www.sparke.com.au

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IP

The Australian innovation patent – a powerful tool to be used while it lasts (part II) Ben Mott has previously written on the subject of the eventual abolition of the innovation patent. Since that time, there have been new developments – with a new bill going to parliament shortly.

The Australian innovation (8 year) patent is an easy, cost-efficient tool for preserving profit by guarding new products and processes against imitation, and will be available for at least another year or so.

Dometic’s product.

Figure taken from the patent and reproduced in the court decision

We have previously written in AMT on how manufacturers can use patents to gain an unfair advantage and on the eventual abolition of the innovation patent. Since then there have been some interesting developments.

Slowly phasing out the innovation patent Innovation patents have long been regarded as too easy to get and able to cover too much, so it is unsurprising that they are being phased out.

In line with part I of this article 12 months ago, a bill to phase out the innovation patent was to go to parliament last year. The bill was amended at the last minute to give the innovation patent a short reprieve.

A new bill to phase out the innovation patent should go to parliament very shortly. The timing of the phase-out will depend on when the bill is passed. Very likely: • patent strategies started within the next 12 months or so can use the innovation patent; and • it will be more than nine years before the last innovation patent expires.

Using the innovation patent creatively When woven into more elaborate patent strategies, the power of the innovation patent can be multiplied.

One strategy preserves the patentee’s flexibility to amend their patent coverage (within certain limits) and so creates uncertainty for potential competitors. It entails filing new patent applications linked back to earlier patent applications to form a ‘family’ of patent rights chained together over a number years. Following this strategy, a new patent application may well be written to specifically target a competitor after the competitor has entered the market with a new technology.

A recent court decision, Australian Mud Company1 , considered an example of this strategy. The Court held that it was not an abuse of process to sue a competitor based on a new patent application filed after unsuccessfully attempting to sue the same competitor based on an earlier patent application in the same patent family.

Following conventional wisdom, each new application of this strategy was typically more a ‘re-filing’ than a ‘re-write’ of its predecessor. A recent court decision, Dometic2 , suggests that more is called for when each new application is filed.

Each new application must be up to date To secure a valid patent you must publish details of your invention, including details of the best version of the invention that you know of.

This is part of the price you pay for the patent protection.

The conventional wisdom was that ‘best version’ meant the best version that you knew about early on in the patent strategy. The Dometic decision indicates that the new patent applications must include the details of the best version that is known when each new patent application is filed.

You can’t patent that!

Unfortunately many Australian innovations go unguarded because people wrongly assume that they won’t qualify for patent protection.

The Dometic decision is a reminder of the sorts of technology that are routinely patentable – you don’t need something approaching a Nobel Prize-winning discovery!

Dometic’s invention passed examination by the Australian Patent Office and withstood scrutiny by the Court. It related to a slim line air conditioner for caravans etc. The invention minimised the direct recirculation of air between the outlet and the inlet whilst avoiding the weight and bulk of duct work. This was achieved with a central inlet surrounded by an outlet arranged to direct the air to follow the ceiling away from the inlet.

The wording of a patent is critical The coverage of a patent is defined by sentences known as ‘claims’.

In the same way that a mining claim marks out an area of land, a patent claim marks out an area of technology. Assessing patent infringement involves comparing the patent claims to the competitor’s product (or process). The other parts of the patent application are only relevant to the extent that they help interpret the claims. Other factors such as the patentee’s own product are irrelevant.

In Dometic, the claims specified a centrifugal fan whereas the competing product had an axial fan. This difference was sufficient for the competitor to avoid infringement.

When pursuing patent protection you are well served to scrutinise your claim wording and discuss it with your patent attorney to better understand and optimise the compromises necessary to secure patent protection. Should the word ‘centrifugal’ be in the claim? If it should be there (e.g. to set your invention apart from older technology) does patent protection limited in this way warrant the investment?

The innovation patent is a powerful tool that will remain available for some time and a good strategy multiplies the power of patent applications. Don’t assume that your technical developments won’t qualify and always carefully scrutinise your patent claims.

The proposed changes may be further examined and explained by contacting Wadeson patent & trade mark attorneys. Wadeson provides a wide range of IP services, combining engineering and IP experience across a wide range of technologies. Ben Mott is Principal, Mechanical Engineer & Patent Attorney. ben.mott@ wadesonIP.com.au Ph: 03 9819 3808 www.wadesonIP.com.au 1. Australian Mud Company Pty Ltd v Coretell Pty Ltd (No2) [2018] FCA 1109 2. Dometic Australia Pty Ltd v Houghton Leisure Products Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 1573

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AMTIL INSIDE

It’s a busy year We are now only four weeks out from the biggest Austech exhibition we have ever run, with over 6,000sqm of exhibition space and more than 150 exhibitors. As our readers would be aware, Austech co-locates with National Manufacturing Week and the combined event is close to 10,000sqm of exhibition space, so we are looking forward to a really strong event this year.

In addition to Austech, we have close to 30 other events planned for this year ranging from member networking meetings around the country, Enterprise Learning events, social networking activities, golf days, our AGM and a string of Christmas functions. We are also celebrating our 20th birthday in August, so we are looking forward to engaging with our members and throwing a few birthday parties! Of course, our AMT magazine keeps a few staff busy as well.

Putting a quality publication of this size together on a regular basis needs support, material, good stories and lots of editorial content. Keep the good news coming in to us so we can consider printing it.

We are also more active on social media than ever before with active LinkedIn groups, Facebook, Twitter handles and Instagram all giving us the opportunity to share stories, information and news. This is a growing area of interest to us as an Association and one that requires resources to manage effectively.

Our Government Projects area continues to strive for funding mechanisms that allow us to roll out projects and programs that assist our members. We continue to work with the Commonwealth on the delivery of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and hope that this will continue to get support from whatever government takes office shortly.

We have been funded by the Victorian Government to administer the Additive Manufacturing Hub (www.amhub.net.au) and are rolling out a support program called the “Build It Better” grant program, which offers funding assistance for design of new product or redesign of existing products. The intent is to see greater investment in additive technology over the coming years. We are working closely with the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre to help small to medium-sized companies undertake some implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies into their business. These SMEs will become important case studies as we continue to drive the message around innovation in business and how to use data and knowledge to improve you production processes.

Our Corporate Partners are also providing great service to our members and, not just saving them money in many cases, but offering support and knowledge at the same time. William Buck, AGL Energy and Association Insurance Australia offers services covering accounting, financial & business services, energy & solar solutions, and insurance. We are also in the process of confirming Corporate Partners in the legal and banking sectors.

I’m running out of space to be able to go through some of the work we are also doing in education and training, supply chain development, overseas missions and our important relationships with other organisations, such as the Innovative Manufacturing CRC, Industry Capability Network and the Australian Industry Group.

So you can see we have plenty going on. Please engage with us if any of the above has any interest to you.

I look forward to seeing you at Austech next month.

Shane Infanti, CEO AMTIL

AMT APR/MAY 2019

AMTIL HEADING INSIDE

AMTIL to oversee Rail Haulage Supply Chain Export Hub The Federal Government has appointed AMTIL to provide the Rail Haulage Supply Chain Export Hub, a new initiative aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain better access to international markets in the rail and haulage sectors.

The launch of the Export Hub was announced at an event on 13 March at the headquarters of Volgren in Dandenong, southeast Melbourne. The event was attended by Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC – a partner organisation in the Export Hub), and Paul Fowler, President of AMTIL. AMTIL will receive $1.5m from the Federal Government’s Small and Medium Enterprise Export Hubs Initiative to run the Export Hub. Export hubs are business networks that help SMEs harness opportunities in international markets, particularly where the Federal Government has signed free-trade agreements – including China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. Minister Andrews said the funding will boost the economy by helping more businesses to gain access to new and bigger markets, to increase sales, and create more Australian jobs.

“The funding for this Hub is integral to helping Australian businesses grow and will ultimately increase local and regional job opportunities in Victoria,” said Minister Andrews. “The Coalition is committed to supporting small and medium businesses through the Small and Medium Enterprise Export Hubs Initiative and other successful programs like the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and the Industry Growth Centres initiative.

Paul Fowler, President of AMTIL; Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology; Chief Executive Officer of Volgren, Peter Dale; and Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre.

in goods and services. The AMTIL Export Hub initiative is positive evidence that Australian manufacturing is on the move and there’s much more potential to grow.”

“Export Hubs will be expected to develop export strategies based on local strengths, which in turn will align with the national strategies and networks of the Growth Centres. With 1.2m jobs created since the Coalition was first elected in 2013, these hubs will help our goal of creating 1.25m more jobs over the next five years.”

The Export Hubs operate in six key industry sectors of competitive strength and strategic priority identified under the Government’s Industry Growth Centres initiative. These sectors were identified as having strong prospects for creating future economic and jobs growth for our nation. To find out more about the SME Export Hubs Initiative, visit: www.business.gov.au/SMEEH

Dr Goennemann added: “This announcement today by Minister Karen Andrews shows that advanced manufacturing has a very strong export story. As an industry, we ship over $9bn per month

For more information on the Rail Haulage Supply Chain Export Hub, please contact Greg Chalker, AMTIL’s Corporate Services Manager, on 03 9800 3600 or by emailing gchalker@amtil.com.au.

1382AMTIL

AMTIL gratefully acknowledges the support of its Corporate Partners.

AMTIL’s corporate partners offer a selection of products and services that will benefit our members in their business.

For any enquiries about our Corporate Partnerships, and how they can benefit you, contact Anne Samuelsson on 03 9800 3666 or email asamuelsson@amtil.com.au

Our Partners. Our Members. Your Benefits.

www.amtil.com.au

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AMTIL INSIDE

UNLIMIT3D conference explores all things additive manufacturing AMTIL will be holding UNLIMIT3D, a two-day conference on additive manufacturing and 3D printing, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 14-15 May. The UNLIMIT3D conference will focus on the industrialisation of additive manufacturing, with presentations from a range of expert speakers who have implemented this groundbreaking technology in real-world production processes. The conference will allow detailed exploration of their experiences and insights, the challenges that they have faced, and the benefits of adopting additive manufacturing. Delegates will hear first-hand about the trials and tribulations of innovating in this space, from companies who can offer practical examples.

AMTIL has assembled a diverse line-up of speakers for UNLIMIT3D. Giving the keynote opening address will be Rob Gorham, Executive Director of America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute at the US’ National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. Having previously served as Senior Manager of the Manufacturing Exploration and Development Group at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, brings a wealth of experience in the application of additive manufacturing in cutting-edge advanced manufacturing processes.

“3D printing is a game changer,” says Shane Infanti, CEO of AMTIL. “This conference will assist local companies to innovate, become more productive and excel in future industries. A further opportunity exists post-conference to engage with renowned international experts who will hold workshop sessions in the week following the Austech exhibition.”

The UNLIMIT3D conference will run alongside the Austech advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition, held at the MCEC from 14-17 May. Co-located with National Manufacturing Week (NMW), Austech will also feature a special dedicated exhibition area, the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, which will showcase the latest innovations in additive manufacturing and 3D printing.

UNLIMIT3D is sponsored by SYSPRO Australia and by the Additive Manufacturing Hub (AM Hub). The AM Hub’s mission is to provide an industry-driven collaborative network of organisations that will foster and grow the additive manufacturing sector. Led by AMTIL and generously supported by the Victorian Government, the AM Hub has been established to grow and develop additive manufacturing capability. www.amtil.com.au/events/unlimit3d-conference-2019

Strong turnout for AMTIL Golf Day AMTIL members and guests gathered at Riversdale Golf Club on 8 February for our annual Corporate Golf Day. After a slightly drissly start, the day went ahead amid warm sunny conditions. After play was completed, those in attendance enjoyed a barbecue lunch and networking drinks as the prizes were handed out.

Congratulations to Australian Precision Technologies, the winning team on the day. AMTIL would like to thank the event’s sponsors: William Buck, AGL, Renault Australia, Wadeson IP, Harry the Hirer, Australian Precision Technologies and Dimac Tooling. www.amtil.com.au/Events

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Real Business Real People Real Members Apart from any financial benefit what other reason is there to be a member of AMTIL? The world is getting smaller and globalisation provides an abundance of opportunities and threats. AMTIL provides us with tools and support to stay connected and collaborate with businesses who are driven to harness the opportunities and counteract the threats together, and retain a strong manufacturing footprint here in Australia.

Erika Hughes, Integra Systems

Since 1999, AMTIL has been connecting business, informing of opportunities and growing the manufacturing community.

To be become an AMTIL member contact our Corporate Services Manager, Greg Chalker on 03 9800 3666 or email gchalker@amtil.com.au

amtil.com.au 1311AMTIL/EH

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INDUSTRY CALENDAR

Please Note: It is recommended to contact the exhibition organiser to confirm before attending event More events can be found on AMTIL’s website

INTERNATIONAL CIMT China, Beijing 15-20 April 2019 www.cimtshow.com

BUTECH South Korea, Busan 22-25 May 2019 www.butech.or.kr

METEC Germany, Dusseldorf 25-29 June 2019 www.metec-tradefair.com

INTERMOLD Japan Metal Stamping Die & Mould Asia Japan, Tokyo:- 17-20 April 2019 Japan, Nagoya: 19-22 June 2019 www.intermold.jp/english

METALLOOBRABOTKA Russia, Moscow 27-31 May 2019 www.metobr-expo.ru/en

MTA VIETNAM Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City 2-5 July 2019 www.mtavietnam.com

SUBCON UK, Birmingham 4-6 June 2019 www.subconshow.co.uk

CHINA DIECASTING China, Shanghai 17-19 July 2019 www.diecastexpo.cn/en

AFRICA AUTOMATION South Africa, Johannesburg 4-6 June 2019 www.africaautomationfair.com

MANUFACTURING SURABAYA Indonesia, Surabaya 17-20 July 2019 www.manufacturingsurabaya.com

INTEC India, Coimbatore 6-10 June 2019 www.intec.codissia.com

MEC SHOW Brazil, Serra 6-8 August 2019 www.mecshow.com.br

INSIDE 3D PRINTING Brazil: 10-11 June 2019 South Korea: 26-28 June 2019 www.inside3dprinting.com

VIETNAM MANUFACTURING EXPO Vietnam, Hanoi 14-16 August 2019 www.vietnammanufacturingexpo.com

ATX MIDWEST USA, New York 11-13 June 2019 www.advancedmanufacturingnewyork. com

TAIMOLD Taiwan, Taipei 21-24 August 2019 www.odm-dmi.com/en

BLECH INDIA India, Mumbai 25-27 April 2019 www.blechindia.com/2019/english/ EXPOMAFE Brazil, Sao Paulo 7-11 May 2019 www.expomafe.com.br INTERMACH Thailand, Bangkok 8-11 May 2019 www.intermachshow.com/en MADE IN STEEL Italy, Milan 14-16 May 2019 www.madeinsteel.it/en METALLURGY RUSSIA Russia, Moscow 14-17 May 2019 www.metallurgy-russia.com SWISSTECH Switzerland, Basel 14-17 May 2019 www.swisstech-messe.ch METAL SHOW & TIB 14-17 May 2019 Romania, Bucharest www.metalshow-tib.ro STAINLESS 2019 Czech Republic, Brno 15-16 May 2019 www.stainless2019.com/2 LAMIERA Italy, Milan 15-18 May 2019 www.lamiera.net/en/home AUTOMEX Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 15-18 May 2019 Automation Exhibition & Conference www.automex.com.my MOULDING EXPO Germany, Stuttgart 21-24 May 2019 www.messe-stuttgart.de/moulding-expo METAL OSAKA Japan, Osaka 22-24 May 2019 www.metal-kansai.jp/en

AMT APR/MAY 2019

DMC DIE & MOULD China, Shanghai 11-15 June 2019 www.diemouldchina.com/en

CAMBODIA INTL MACHINERY INDUSTRY FAIR Cambodia, Phnom Penh 22-25 August 2019 www.camboexpo.com/cimif

AMERIMOLD USA, Chicago 12-13 June 2019 www.amerimoldexpo.com

PDMEX Philippines, Manila 28-31 August 2019 www.pdmex.weebly.com

VIETNAM INDUSTRIAL & MANUFACTURING FAIR Vietnam, Binh Duong New City 12-14 June 2019 www.vietnamindustrialfiesta.com/vimf2019

SWISS MEDTECH Lucerne, Switzerland 10-11 September 2019 For medical device design/manufacture www.medtech-expo.ch/en

CHINA INTERNATIONAL METAL AND METALLURGY China, Guangzhou 13-15 June 2019 www.julang.com.cn/english IMTOS India, New Delhi 14-17 June 2019 www.kdclglobal.com ROSMOULD Russia, Moscow 18-20 June 2019 www.rosmould.ru MANUFACTURING EXPO Thailand, Bangkok 19-22 June 2019 www.manufacturing-expo.com

EMO HANNOVER Germany, Hannover 16-21 September 2019 www.emo-hannover.de IMEX India, Mumbai 20-22 September 2019 www.imexonline.com MEDTEC CHINA China, Shanghai 25-27 September 2019 For medical device design/manufacture. www.medtecchina.com/en-us CANADIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY SHOW Canada, Toronto 30 September-3 October 2019

INDUSTRY CALENDAR HEADING LOCAL VICTORIA TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE CONFERENCE Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 1-2 May 2019 Featuring presentations that discuss the prioritisation, planning and delivery of critical transport infrastructure across the state. www.vicinfrastructure.com.au AUSMEDTECH Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 14-15 May 2019 Australia’s premier medical technology conference for the medical devices and diagnostics sector. www.ausmedtech.com.au DESIGNBUILD International Convention Centre, Sydney 14-16 May 2019 Includes the latest construction innovations and architectural trends and three dedicated zones across; Construction & Building Materials, Interior Fixtures & Finishes and Software & Technology. www.designbuildexpo.com.au AUSTECH 2019 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 14–17 May 2019 Australia’s premier advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition. The only show specifically targeted at the metalworking, machine tool and ancillary market in Australia.

Includes the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, Unlimit3d 3D conference and Manufacturers Pavilion. www.amtil.com.au/austech WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY SHOW Sydney International Convention Centre 22-23 May 2019 Showcasing the latest technologies, services and products to improve workplace safety standards in Australia. Co-located with The 2019 #SAFETYSCAPE Convention’s National Health & Safety Conference. www.safetyscape.com.au/events/ workplace-health-safety-show

ASIA PACIFIC INTL CONFERENCE ON ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Melbourne, RMIT University 30 June – 5 July 2019 www.apicam2019.com.au SYDNEY INTL. BOAT SHOW Intl. Convention Centre, Darling Harbour 1-5 August 2019 www.sydneyboatshow.com.au AIMEX Sydney Showground 27-29 August 2019 Asia-Pacific’s intl mining exhibition. Includes the latest technological advances and innovations in the mining industry and beyond. www.aimex.com.au SAFETY IN ACTION Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 10-11 September 2019 Australia’s leading workplace health and safety event. Co-located with three conferences. www.safetyinaction.net.au ALL-ENERGY Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 23-24 October 2019 Australasia’s largest and most comprehensive clean and renewable energy event. www.all-energy.com.au INTERNATIONAL MINING & RESOURCES EXPO Melbourne Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 28-31 October 2019 Covers all aspects of mining, from exploration to investment, production to optimisation through to new technologies. www.imarcmelbourne.com

Advertiser Index Advanced Robotics Technology 53 AGL 87 Air Liquide Australia 77 Alfex CNC 23 Amiga Engineering 83 Applied Machinery 50-51 Autodesk 27, 107 Bestech 95 Bystronic 13, 60-61 Complete Machine Tools 17 Complete Machine Tools Services 42-43 Emona Instruments P/L 81 Hare & Forbes 4-5 Headland 120 Hi-Tech Metrology 55 IMTS 19 Industrial Laser 11 Iscar 2-3 John Hart 69 Kaeser 49 M Gamer Pty Ltd 58 Machinery Forum 119 Mastercam 71 Metal 3D 59 MetOptix 89 MTI Qualos 25, 57 Okuma 9 Punchtech Australia 6-7 Reed Exhibitions NMW 31 Renault 39 Renishaw 73 Ronson Gears 63 Sandvik 15 Seco Tools 33 Sheetmetal Machinery 47 Stamac 65 Stamac Cover Sutton Tools 41 Syspro 37 Techni Waterjet 67 Thyssenkrupp 85 William Buck 103 Applied Machinery Insert Modern Tools Insert Raymax Laser Insert Sheetmetal Machinery Insert Ultimate Laser Insert AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY YOUR INDUSTRY. YOUR MAGAZINE

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HISTORY

Big wheels & little wheels – the story of UK-born Australian Sir Laurence John Hartnett (1898 – 1986) Australia’s “Father of the Holden” and much more

PART 30

THE PROPHECY FROM THE SOAPBOX

It is 1938. Alarmed by the complacency towards the growing signs of imminent war, a frantic Laurence sounds the alarm from the soapbox.

I

was in Germany in 1938 when Neville Chamberlain met Hitler at Munich to sign his tragic “appeasement” agreement.

Chamberlain, poor chap, returned to London convinced there would be “peace in our time.” From what I saw and heard in Germany, I was equally convinced there was very little time of peace left to us. Germany was on a war footing already. Her factories had been prepared at Hitler’s order for a sudden switch from peacetime production to munitions. From my hotel windows at Kaiserslauten, Germany, on the day Chamberlain and Hitler made history at Munich, I saw long columns of German tanks going by, many of them on special tank-transporters and each carrying spare supplies of petrol in unusual tins which were later to become known as jerry-cans. Back in Australia, we found a frightening attitude of complacency. Munich may have fooled Neville Chamberlain into believing there would be no war, but that was no reason why we should not be getting ready for one in case he was wrong.

I actually gave out warnings from 1936 - my voice was among the first. Unless we in Australia developed the country’s natural resources and built up her secondary industries to defend ourselves against aggression, we could easily lose our country to an invader. So, on to the soapbox I went. I could see the danger ahead, and I felt it was my duty to call a warning and to stimulate action.

But neither the Government nor anyone else was doing anything to prepare for conversion from peace to war production. No machine tools were being ordered, no organization had been set up to direct the change-over – nothing! I was frantic-and hopping mad at the same time. And I let people know how I felt. Robert Menzies (Aust. PM from 1939-41) was quick to react to my criticism of his Government. He let me know he was unhappy about it. But that didn’t deter me. I kept on speaking my mind, and many who heard me went into action to prepare their own organizations for possible war-time emergencies.

Some of my friends in Melbourne, led by Senator John Leckie, asked me to talk on munitions manufacturing to a gathering at the Melbourne Chamber of Manufactures. It was a full-house meeting. I felt so strongly about the tasks these manufacturers would have to do - that I got into top gear straight away. “We should be importing machine tools for munitions work now,” I said. “Tool-room capacity must be built up quickly. It will be too late to start after war breaks out. To Hell with the cost! How can we measure the value of these machines in pounds and shillings at a time like this? The price we could pay if we don’t get them is defeat in war .... “. Essington Lewis, (MD of BHP) asked me what were the most critical machine-tools Australia would need. “Societe Genevoise jig-borers and thread-

grinders,” I replied. Lewis promptly ordered them both for BHP. Those machines were of immense use later. He was a man of action.

In July I939, with the war less than two months away, the Sydney Morning Herald published a series of articles in which I forecast that the war, when it came, would be a total war, and with every manufacturer of every commodity being called on to work for the war effort. The Germans had a long start preparing industry for war. We, in Australia, had not even started to think seriously of how to begin the job. I made it clear that Australia’s war production would have to be geared to provide the rate of production demanded by the fighting forces, using every machine and facility available, and using local materials and modern manufacturing techniques.

It was not long before my theories were put to the test. Six weeks after the articles were published, Hitler unleashed his armies on Poland, and Nazi dive bombers began their murder of women and children in the streets of Warsaw. Total war had come while the ink on my latest warning was hardly dry. Immediately war was declared, I put the whole of the GM-H organization to work for the war effort. Our primary objective as a company, I announced, would be to make the maximum contribution. I waited for a reaction from the Government, for a call to join in the job of mobilizing the country’s resources. But weeks, then months, went by without a word.

Finally, in June 1940 – nine months after the war began - a telegram arrived for me at the GM-H plant at Woodville (SA). The telegram read. “CABINET TODAY HAS APPOINTED YOU DIRECTOR OF ORDNANCE PRODUCTION REPORTING TO THE DIRECTOR– GENERAL OF MUNITIONS ESSINGTON LEWIS STOP WOULD BE PLEASED IF YOU WOULD TAKE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY. MENZIES.”

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

AMT APR/MAY 2019

To be continued…

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