Materials Australia Magazine | September 2023 | Volume 56 | No.3

Page 4

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

From the President This brings me to the importance of maintaining national and international professional networks. For me, this requires strong interaction with customers, suppliers and colleagues anywhere in the world, who can help you fast track outcomes. Some of our professional networking has been hampered in the past few years, with face-to-face meetings more difficult. So there is perhaps no better time than now to reinforce how critical professional networks are to our advancements.

Welcome to the September 2023 edition of Materials Australia magazine. As mentioned in my last message, I have been involved almost non-stop with audits for NADCAP, as well as special process approval audits for customers. These are now complete and I’m very pleased to confirm that AW Bell has passed its aerospace welding audit with the minimum number of nonconformances, just one minor finding from the audit, and one minor finding after the audit. As the first company to achieve this in Australia, this has been quite a task and an achievement! Special thanks to Matt Billman (Quality Manager/Welding Coordinator) from Uneek Bending Co in Dandenong South who helped me economically solve the final pieces of the puzzle.

MANAGING EDITOR Gloss Creative Media Pty Ltd EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Prof. Ma Qian RMIT University Dr. Jonathan Tran RMIT University Tanya Smith MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

4 | SEPTEMBER 2023

In manufacturing, challenges and problems are common. Knowledge exchange is probably the top of the list for networking and allows professionals to share industry insights, best practices, and the latest technological advancements. This knowledge exchange can help individuals and organisations stay competitive and innovative. I recently attended the CTNZ foundry conference in New Zealand. This included a stop at Hamilton Jet and AW Fraser in Christchurch before the conference, and I left very impressed with several great ideas to try out myself. A diverse professional network can provide access to experts and experienced individuals who can offer solutions and advice when issues arise. Regulations in the manufacturing industry can change frequently and a network can help professionals stay informed about regulatory changes and compliance requirements. Examples from my industry include silica compliance, and the impending change that will impact more widely; lead (Pb) free brasses in potable water systems. I

ADVERTISING & DESIGN MANAGER Gloss Creative Media Pty Ltd Rod Kelloway (02) 8539 7893 PUBLISHER Materials Australia Technical articles are reviewed on the Editor’s behalf PUBLISHED BY Institute of Materials Engineering Australasia Ltd. Trading as Materials Australia ACN: 004 249 183 ABN: 40 004 249 183

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believe this is coming to Australia in the very near future and we as a materials community have to be ready for it. Luckily, I have colleagues in other parts of the world who have already been working on this for some years now. When as a business, we are eventually faced with this prospect I can answer the questions with some authority as I know who to ask for advice. We cannot be experts at everything. The key is in knowing who the experts are in given fields. Knowing the right people and having a positive professional reputation can make a significant difference in one's career trajectory. Through networking events, seminars and conferences, professionals can engage in continuous learning and skill development, which is vital in a rapidly evolving industry like manufacturing. This also helps facilitate collaboration opportunities that build a strong supply chain. As a result, access to resources and products that might otherwise not be available is possible. For example, last year the price of cobalt and cobalt alloys became extremely high due to the growth in the electric vehicle industry. In Australia, I have only rarely been able to purchase scrap cobalt of the type my business requires to manufacture various grades. In 2022, I attended the Titanium USA Conference and met with as many scrap metal traders as I could, including a team from Japan. Although the discussion initially focused on titanium scrap supply, we also discussed cobalt alloys. Since then, I have purchased several tons of the cobalt grade required at a fraction of the primary price.

Cover Image

From feature article on page 44.

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LINKS

Letters to the editor;

info@ glosscreativemedia.com.au

WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU


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