July 2014
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BUILDNZ | DESIGNEX CANTERBURY
Manufacturing Confidence
My Red Bands are technologically advanced… Yesterday I invested in a new pair of Skellerup manufactured Red Band gumboots, (pictured) - the local Farmlands depot had a Friday 18 July special so I thought, why not, after all they are an icon among New Zealand manufactured products. Now I say invested from a technology point of view because the product’s swing-tag featured a cross-section image of a boot well supported by technical information on its features and construction. Did you know that each pair of Red Band is hand-built from 38 pieces of specially formulated natural rubber compounds; the specs have been used for over 50 years; there is a kick lug for easy removal of each boot and the heavy duty, non-clog cleated sole has above it a 5mm rubber sponge inner sole for foot comfort; yes they are comfortable. Now these Red Bands will lead a charmed life in comparison to their rural cousins. No early rising to bring in the cows or sluice out the yards. No clambering through fences, the hayshed or silage pit or trips on tractors. Sadly they will not be competing in the Taihape World Gumboot Throwing champs either. Nor will they strut the fashion catwalks; will leave that to the
-Catherine Beard, Executive Director, Manufacturing NZ
artistically decorated one sex, colour coordinated model which, by the way, I didn’t spot at Farmlands. But they will get to tread carefully between the rows of carrots, parsnips, broccoli and brussel sprouts. They will be rewarded with an occasional trip to the local dump and they will get to tread the lawns most weekends. In fact, their first outing was a trip to the washing line - nothing too strenuous. Then I noticed the “Made by Skellerup in China” notation on the swing-tag. Must admit this surprised me and I felt a twinge of disappointment that they were not made in New Zealand as I had thought. Recently Skellerup announced that they are building a new 18,900 square metre factory in Christchurch to provide improved working conditions for staff, a new facility that will capture process, flow and efficiency gains, strengthening the operations of their dairy rubberware manufacturing business. Maybe now we will see “Proudly Made By Skellerup in New Zealand” appear on future swing-tags? -Max Farndale, Publisher, MS NewsWire
www.mscnewswire.co.nz
After 21 consecutive months of expansion, confidence across the New Zealand manufacturing sector continues to be relatively high. The big question now is – how long will it last?
This is a sentiment reflected in the BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index (ECI). The index shows business and consumer confidence indicators are down 6 on the previous quarter, and down 5 on the previous year, but are still high by historical standards.
Indicators such as the BNZ-BusinessNZ PMI suggest we can expect growth to continue across many sectors for some time yet.
Investment in new plant, machinery and equipment across all sectors up 9% on last year
In fact, the BusinessNZ Planning Forecast shows our economy is on track to achieve a short term growth rate of around 3.5 percent per annum, which is one of the highest in the OECD. Having said that, we also rate as one of the most expensive OECD countries, thanks to factors such as our production costs and higher than average tax rate. International growth forecasts suggest a reduction is coming. The June PMI shows new order levels are continuing to fall, as are reports of business confidence. So what should manufacturers make of it all? BNZ senior economist, Craig Ebert says the recent slowing seen across the sector is not a significant cause for concern. “Wading through the manufacturing component of the latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, while there are clear hints of moderation, it seems mainly a settling down into normal growth patterns rather than any sort of stalling”, he said in the June PMI report.
Within this context, it seems the fall is driven by a shift to a more realistic assessment of future growth outcomes, following a somewhat euphoric rise, and that confidence remains strong. The fact manufacturers are purchasing new equipment shows they are taking advantage of the high NZ dollar, with investment in new plant, machinery and equipment across all sectors up 9% on last year. This bodes well for improving productivity which will help manufacturers cope with the high continued on page 31
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
3
CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS 5 CASE STUDY 6 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
ADVISORS Larry Wiechern
Celebration 25 years of Innovation – Nautech Electronics.
Is the Manager of the Maintenance and Reliability Centre, Manukau Institute of Technology.
Cracks emerge in the cloud. Manufacturing intelligence.
7 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY 8 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY 9 AVIATION 10-13 BUILD/DESIGNEX CANTERBURY PowerMILL 2015 to launch at IMTS.
5
Is quality an issue with imported products?
Farnborough: How to organise an air display.
Craig Carlyle
Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.
Improving the quality of clay for construction. Selwyn District Council at expo.
Catherine Beard
14 ANALYSIS
Is Executive Director of Export NZ and Manufacturing, divisions of Business NZ, NewZealand’s largest business advocacy group, representing businesses of all sizes.
9
Poor quality costs even more. - HERA Industry Development General Manager, Nick Inskip
16-17 THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING 18-20 FOODTECH PACKTECH The Factory of the Future.
Brian Willoughby
Aurora to show Fuji robot palletising systems. Workflow assists companies improve productivity.
Is president of the NZ Manufacturers and Exporters Association and managing director of Contex Engineers and Plinius Audio.
21 COMMENT
Budget comparison –before the Election. Establishment of WorkSafe NZ.
22
Lewis Woodward
Is managing director of Connection Technologies Ltd, Wellington and is passionate about industry supporting NZ based companies, which in turn builds local expertise and knowledge, and provides education and employment for future generations.
CASE STUDY How the 2014 IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite improves performance all round.
23-25 THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
16
itSeez3D turns iPad into 3D scanner. Preparing CAD models for additive manufacturing. The second machine age. How big data can improve manufacturing.
Professor John Raine
26 FROM THE REGIONS: TAUPO 27-28 PRODUCT NEWS The rise and rise of Taupo.
Safety made simple with Guardmaster 440C-CR30. Hypertherm’s world-class metal cutting solutions. Sustainable bending technology from Germany.
30 MAINTENANCE
25
Is Head of the School of Engineering and Pro Vice Chancellor – Innovation andEnterprise at the Auckland University of Technology.
26
Bruce Goldsworthy
An advocate for NZ manufacturing for 40 years, he was Chief Executive of the Auckland Manufacturers Association for seven years He has been Manager of EMA’s Advocacy and Manufacturing Services, and lately manager for Export New Zealand in the north.
Maintenance engineers push for logic in new regulations. Coating attracts water.
31 BETTER AUTOMATION
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd,1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.
MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
CONTRIBUTORS Holly Green, Nick Inskip, Paul Adlam, Gary Hook, Kylie Hawker-Green, John Walley.
ADVERTISING Doug Green T: + 64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kim Alves, KA Design T: + 64 6 879 5815 E: kim.alves@xtra.co.nz
WEB MASTER Dan Browne E: dan@membrana.co.nz
PUBLISHING SERVICES On-Line Publisher Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd
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Vol.5 No. 6 July 2014
Copyright: NZ Manufacturer is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed, nor facts stated in the advertisements, are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of NZ Manufacturer and, whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information, or for any consequences of reliance on this information. NZ Manufacturer welcomes your contributions which may not necessarily be used because of the philosophy of the publication.
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Regions are the lifeblood of the economy The just completed Local New Zealand Government conference in Nelson showed a lot of concern for the state of regional development, with both National and Labour seeing regional development – in different ways – as – not surprisingly - a ‘key election issue’. Really? Why wouldn’t regional development be a ‘key election issue’ when you consider how many people don’t live in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin? And why is regional development an election issue when the sun comes up on the regions every day…not just every four years? We are playing the election numbers game and where the votes are National and Labour will go and get them. David Cunliffe said “The regions are the lifeblood of New Zealand and Labour understands their vital importance to growing New Zealand’s economy”. Think about it…day in day out businesses in the regions contribute to the economy and try to bring in enough money to keep their communities together. There is one company in the middle of the North Island manufacturing trailers better than the quality of those imported from China. But he can t build his market because…the trailers keep coming in from China!
New Zealand and…wait for it…the same products keep coming in from China! So yes the regions are the lifeblood of the country and every day their companies make what they can, meet spirited resistance from those who want to buy on the cheap and want to hold their own, providing local employment and developing their businesses for the good of their town or city. It is encouraging to hear that Labour will set up a $200 million Regional Development Fund to subsidise regional projects to create jobs and growth. But let these jobs not be painting houses or mowing lawns, let them utilise the skills and abilities of our best and brightest to make things, to bring about real regional growth and not be platitudes until the next election. John Key believes “central and local government need regulations that are effective and do not place onerous costs on communities. Too often regulations are confusing, change from region to region unnecessarily, and suck up councils’ precious resources in administration”. Is this idea’s purpose only to cut costs? Queen Street Farmers keep going down the road for their latte, while the Tokoroa machine shop owner and the Waikato farmer, keep the country going.
There is another manufacturer of screws and fasteners turning out four million units per month continually looking to develop new markets in
Doug Green
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.
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CASE STUDY
Peter F. Drucker
Celebrating 25 years of Innovation Inspired by a shared love of sailing and knowledge of electronics technologies, Nautech Electronics was created in 1989 by current Managing Director Andrew Turner and his wife Alison Turner, HR Director. Nautech Electronics recently celebrated their 25th Anniversary on May 21st, joined by a crowd of loyal customers and suppliers whose relationships have ensured Nautech’s growth throughout the years. While Nautech Electronics started out servicing and selling marine electronics, the company has made a name for itself in many other electronics industries, and is perhaps most well-known for the number of Police vehicles often displayed prominently outside its premises on Cryers Rd. Emergency services electronics, including entire fleet installations, is now a significant industry for Nautech, with the company since gaining the majority of the market share in both New Zealand and Australia. Nautech has also expanded into the “amber market”, the different types of service vehicles. The company prides itself on introducing a second side to its business, quality contract electronics manufacturing – “We contract manufacture other people’s products for them. That’s the bigger side of what we do” says Andrew. Nautech Electronics also has an office in Brisbane, Australia, set up six years ago and half-owned and managed by Andrew Holden, who was also a founding partner when Nautech was first started. Nautech Australia is responsible for international sales and marketing of Nautech and Alitrax products. What has been their secret to maintaining a sustainable business over these years and overcoming challenges including volatile economies and harsh
Commercial & industrial growth
Nautech building.
exporter conditions?
very good at building quality niche products.”
Andrew says that providing quality, often niche products, and ensuring the retention of IP are critical to his business’ success. He believes other New Zealand businesses should take these steps to create a competitive advantage and protect themselves against larger economies like China - “Quality is key. All our customers want a quality product, and they might want only 100 units a month. China is great for high volume consumer products, but New Zealand is
“Retaining IP is another big one for customers. We’ve seen customers make product here for years and then they’ve taken it to China and it’s copied within 24 hours and ruined their market. We’ve seen it happen a few times.” Many of Nautech’s products are much more advanced in terms of innovation and user simplicity than similar products used around the world. The NauBus continued on page 31
Employment growth
Economic output
Crime rate East Tamaki is the largest industrial precinct in Auckland with 2000 businesses and a growth rate higher than the regional average. getba.org.nz
getba
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Greater East Tamaki Business Association Inc.
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Act as if it were impossible to fail. -Dorothea Brande
Cracks emerge in the CLOUD A systematic analysis reveals that cloud storage services have security weaknesses that can inadvertently leak users’ data. As individual computer users increasingly access the Internet from different smartphones, tablets and laptops, many are choosing to use online cloud services to store and synchronize their digital content. Cloud storage allows consumers to retrieve their data from any location using any device and can provide critical backups in the case of hard disk failure. But while people are usually vigilant about enacting security measures on personal computers, they often neglect to consider how safe their files are in the cloud. Now, findings from a team led by Jianying Zhou of the A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research in Singapore promise to improve the security of popular online services and better protect users by revealing hidden flaws associated with an important cloud storage feature — the
ability to share files with friends, co-workers or the public. Sharing content is an attractive way to let far-flung colleagues view and collaborate on projects without using email attachments, which often have strict file size limitations. Data sharing can be: public, with no access controls; private, in which the cloud service provider authenticates sharing through login controls; or ‘secret’ uniform resource locator (URL) sharing where people without an account on the cloud service can access data by following a specific web link. The A*STAR-led researchers analyzed the security of three well-known cloud service providers — Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive — and found that all three had vulnerabilities many users might encounter. They uncovered several risks related to the sharing of secret URLs. Because URLs are saved in various network-based servers, browser histories and Internet bookmarks, frequent opportunities exist for third parties to access
private data. Furthermore, the URL recipient may send the link to others without the data owner’s consent. Another danger lies in the practice of URL shortening — reducing long web addresses to brief alphanumeric sequences for easier sharing on mobile devices. Although the original URL may point to a privately shared file, shortening changes this address into plain text unprotected by encryption. Zhou also notes that because short URLs have very limited lengths, they are susceptible to brute-force attacks that can dig out supposedly secret files. Zhou explains that the root cause of cloud security problems lies in the need to balance usability with privacy protection. “Users should be careful when they share files in the cloud because no system is perfectly secure. The cloud industry, meanwhile, needs to constantly raise the bar against new attacks while keeping the service as functional as possible.”
Manufacturing Intelligence Manufacturing Intelligence strategies leverage a suite of reporting and analysis tools, interfaces and dashboards designed to deliver contextual, localised, role-based information to help you improve your system or process.
Reporting and Analytics To improve production performance, you need reliable data collection and accurate, streamlined reporting. Our advanced reporting and analytics solutions put data into context, allowing you to more easily monitor the key factors that impact performance, efficiency and quality. Displaying metrics in graphical representations and easy-to-read reports provides powerful insight into performance history that can be used throughout your operations to support continuous improvement.
Dashboards and KPIs Dashboards provide a simple and graphical way to make key performance indicators (KPIs) visible throughout the enterprise. Software tools gather data and format it into easy-to-read, customisable dashboards. Presented in highly visual charts and graphs, these dashboards provide localised, role-based information – helping you make better decisions faster.
Manufacturing Energy Management Understanding critical energy consumption data is required to accurately assess your total production costs. There are software tools that provide that insight. Using a Web-based system, you can capture, track, report and analyze data to monitor and optimize energy usage. In addition, emissions-monitoring capabilities allow you to take advantage of rebates, energy incentives, off-peak purchasing plans, and other cost savings measures. Manufacturing Performance and OEE Performance metrics such as equipment and material use and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) provide critical insight into how well you are managing your production operations. Manufacturing performance and OEE solutions provide the tools you need to identify specific causes of inefficiency. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. -Leonardo Da Vinci
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
PowerMILL 2015 to launch at IMTS Delcam will launch the 2015 version of its PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining at IMTS 2014 in Chicago from 8th to 13th September on booth E3222, the largest CAM software booth at the show. The new release will include improvements to the Vortex high-efficiency area-clearance strategy, improved collision checking to also cover near misses, and more efficient raster finishing. The Vortex area-clearance strategy produces safe toolpaths with a much deeper cut by using a controlled engagement angle that maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the whole toolpath. As a result, higher feed rates and material-removal rates are possible, making the cutting time shorter by as much as 70%. In addition, cutting is undertaken at a more consistent volume-removal rate and at a near constant feedrate, so extending tool life and protecting the machine. Two enhancements in PowerMILL 2015 will give even greater reductions in machining time compared to conventional roughing. The first change allows toolpaths to approach the part from outside the stock at the cutting height for open pockets or in areas where earlier cuts have made this possible. Previously, all entry moves
had to be made by plunging onto the surface or by ramping into the material. The second change allows an increased feed rate to be set for non-cutting moves. The default value is set at double the rate for the cutting moves but this can be altered as required for each machine tool. The extra time that can be saved depends on the shape of the part but an additional saving of around 20% should be expected above the earlier releases of Vortex. Another problem in previous versions of PowerMILL was that unnecessary lifts could be added to area-clearance toolpaths when the cutter moved outside the stock or close to its edge. Changes to the roughing algorithm have now reduced the number of lifts per toolpath slice to the minimum needed and so made area clearance much more efficient. Companies using PowerMILL for either positional or continuous five-axis machining will benefit from improvements to the collision checking within the software. Firstly, collision checking has been changed so that warnings can also be flagged for near misses. The user can now specify a clearance value and when the machine tool comes within this value it will turn yellow in colour to highlight a near miss. Collisions will still be shown by
a change of colour to red. Secondly, the display showing the list of collisions, and now near misses as well, has been updated to be easier to read, making it simpler to extrapolate The improved collision detection in PowerMILL 2015 will the coordinates at these be demonstrated at IMTS. points. For near misses, the clearance distance had to select each area and specify the is shown in the display, with the distance shown as zero for angle manually. The new option, which provides the same functionality that collisions. already existed for steep-and-shallow Another improvement will help finishing and face milling, is most companies using four- or five-axis beneficial when finishing a series of machines with trunnions or similar pockets aligned in different directions. tilting tables. Previous PowerMILL toolpaths could exhibit unwanted A number of improvements have been changes of azimuth as the cutting made to the PowerMILL interface. tool approached a position vertical Most important is a clearer form to the part. This would slow down for the strategy selector that makes the machine, often to the extent navigation easier when choosing which that a witness mark would be left on strategy to use. It has also been made the surface. New options are now easier to create folders of strategies, available to specify the information for example, those most suitable for used by PowerMILL to distribute the a particular machine tool, material or toolpath points so that the machine’s type of part, and to add and remove gimbal-lock position is avoided and a strategies from those folders. smoother motion results. Finally, three new curve-creation Raster finishing has also been improved in PowerMILL 2015, with the software now able to set automatically the most appropriate angle for each region of the part. In previous versions, the user
options have been added to the curve editor – ellipse, spiral and helix. These options can be used to create patterns or boundaries when generating toolpaths.
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Chance favours those in motion.
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Is quality an issue with imported products? Do we need someone to take on the mantle of “Watchdog” for the quality which surrounds imported product? Government is always being asked to set up bodies for all sorts of things and perhaps this is another area that they should be involved with. Importing of Fastenings is now so easy and many of us in the industry are involved in it. Sending a sample of a product to China to obtain supply of fasteners, usually to obtain a better price, is easy, but an inexperienced person may receive a product that looks OK but may in fact be of substantially lower or even dangerous quality. So we do need to be careful to understand and convey all the Standards required of the product and have a way of checking that those Standards have been met on receipt. All types of Fastenings can potentially be life threatening in certain areas, if they do not meet the appropriate standards.
SCREW
MANUFACTURER Buy NZ Made
Prompt Delivery
There are still issues from Asian countries appropriate standards products should not granted as being OK.
with products meeting the and imported be taken for
Traceability is becoming a problem as a number of NZ Importing Companies use Trading Houses and tracing who the manufacturer is, may not be easy. And do the Asians care anyhow? Trying to pass on a liability claim to an Asian manufacturer, if you can find them, is almost impossible. Getting a credit for a faulty product is hard enough at times. Some time ago we were asked to determine why some 12 gauge screws were failing. The heads were breaking off during installation. We were able to provide the Test Results required to deal with the Chinese manufacturer and solve their problem. These potentially could have created a dangerous situation had they been used. We have been involved from time to time in testing imported product for our customers and in each case we have come up with answers to problems. As one of the remaining manufacturers in New Zealand, we have the equipment and knowledge to test small fastenings, set down in the British Standards that we use; as it is necessary for us to be sure our product enters the market in a safe condition.
• Self Tappers • Wood • Machine • Thread Cutters InSteel, Stainless & Brass Ex stock & made to order
Screw Productions Ltd
07 348 8050
W www.screwproductions.co.nz E info@screwprodutions.co.nz Postal & Factory - 12 Davies St, Rotorua
The reduction of manufacturing in New Zealand has meant that the “very specialised testing of fastenings” (especially nuts and bolts) has been lost. The cost of this specialised testing equipment is high, but it does seem that some industry funded Testing Laboratory needs to be available for importers.
-James Austin
-Paul Adlam, Screw Productions Ltd, Rotorua
I think I am correct when I say this; that there would be no testing regime used by any companies that import fastenings into New Zealand. In the past New Zealand manufacturers, like Ajax, had a strict Quality Control Department within their manufacturing organisation. I know that Asian suppliers often quote their QA facilities in sales literature, but how good are they? They still seem to make serious mistakes. In the 1980’s the Standards for Nuts, Bolts, Screws, Washers etc were laid down by The New Zealand Standards Association. In almost all cases they adopted the British Standards for Fastenings as The New Zealand Standards. Now I am not sure if The New Zealand Standards Association has the authority to determine what Standard should be adopted. If they do, would Importers take any notice? All sorts of Standards are now quoted for different Fastening products in the New Zealand market. Confusion!!! In the USA the FBI are active in the monitoring of Importers/Distributors of Fasteners. They actually conduct “sting operations” and have caught many Owners/Top Managers selling “: Counterfeit Bolts and Fasteners”. The penalties for selling Fasteners that are labelled a higher quality than they really are, carry large fines, and in serious cases, prison sentences. Some years ago a bridge in South Carolina collapsed causing several deaths. One of the fatalities was the brother of a Congressman. This Congressman set up a large enquiry into the collapse and found that the bolts and nuts holding this bridge together were marked as being a considerably higher quality than they actually were. They had been deliberately marked incorrectly and were proven to be the major cause of this bridge collapse. This landmark case brought about huge changes in the Importation of
Fasteners into the United States. The quality of imported products could be a time bomb for users of imported products. Millions of Fasteners are imported in to New Zealand by distributors, and others, and most are responsible law abiding people who manage their importing reasonably well and have few issues. But can they be sure the product they import meets a well known standard, which probably should be the British Standard? Do they specify the standard their products need to meet? Do they have test certificates that they can rely on? At the end of the day they should be testing the product they import to safeguard the users. The Fastener Industry in New Zealand has a responsibility for handling all fastening issues. This has been more so since the closure of the Ajax Plant some 25 years ago, so it has been a long time with no quality focus. Distributors of imported product should be looking at creating in-house Quality Assurance “laboratories” and employing experienced people to operate them, thereby giving their Customers peace of mind that they are using “safe” product. If they cannot afford to setup this kind of testing then they should find an organisation that can do it for them. It is not only a matter of testing product received, but insuring that the product ordered from overseas sets out the correct specifications of the product required. I feel very strongly that there needs to be some control on imported fastenings into this country. It is such an important product. However, how this is achieved I am not sure, but if an Industry Group with some teeth could be established, then with consensus, issues surrounding quality could be addressed, with Government giving the organisation some authority.
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. -George Bernard Shaw
9
AVIATION pursuing its normal business in the UK’s busy southeastern airspace. Years of experience at making Farnborough work safely have resulted in flying routines and patterns being delineated precisely by on-airfield territorial designators, like the display datum, the display line, manoeuvre line, crowd line and aerodrome boundary (see diagram), all of them dictated by the orientation of Farnborough’s only active runway, 06/24. There are external limits also: the CAA and UK air navigation service provider NATS permit the creation of a temporary restricted airspace zone during the show, a radius of 6nm from the airfield display datum up to 8,000ft, which is sufficient for the Red Arrows to carry out their full display.
Farnborough: How to organise an air display Pilots putting types like the Saab Gripen through their paces must adhere to strict guidelines.
When the air display starts each afternoon at the Farnborough International Air Show, business transactions pause and eyes roll heavenward, surrendering to the raucous power play. A major part of the attraction is the evident – if calculated – risk the aviators take. The organisers of this sky-borne shop window for aviation hardware may appear to have little more to do than arrange the order in which the players make their entrances and their exits. That was indeed true a long time ago. Now, however, both the air display and static park at the show are painstakingly choreographed. The aviators are definitely not given carte blanche. There is plenty of activity in prospect. The star debutante this year will be a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, the first jet with vertical landing capability since the British Aerospace Harrier started wowing the crowds in the mid-1960s, flown by the UK Royal Air Force’s Sqn Ldr Hugh Nichols. On the civil side, Airbus’s still-under-test A350 will take its first Farnborough bow. And the organisers have to be prepared for a full aerobatic display team because the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows will perform on the last three days. When the Farnborough air show began back in 1948, accidents at air shows, often fatal to pilots and sometimes to onlookers, were not rare. Some of the
crashes were the result of test pilots pushing their luck with experimental aircraft in an era of less sophisticated engineering; others were victims of the risk-taking culture left over from the Second World War. Aviators were expected to be dare-devils, and some of them embraced that image with enthusiasm. Aviation professionalism has evolved as the laws defining corporate responsibility have matured. At Farnborough, in fact, the display is now so organised and premeditated as to be bureaucratic. Display aviators are presented with 76 pages of instructions and restrictions, and in real time, their airborne antics are monitored by a committee armed with an electro-optic tracker. The duty flying display director has direct radio access to the pilots and the authority to order them to abandon their display and land immediately at any time, although he does not actually provide air traffic control during the display – the tower visual control room does that. Indeed, every display pilot, in advance of the show, has to submit a description of the routine and, if it is accepted, attend Farnborough’s “validation week” (7-11 July). At the validation session, pilots fly their routine for the approval of the Flying Control Committee (FCC). Any pilot who busts a datum is either excluded or has to re-validate. Even the Red Arrows have to undergo validation, although they
are permitted to fly some manoeuvres lower over the aerodrome than any other “act”, on the basis that their entire raison d’êtreis display flying, whereas for other aircraft, the display routine is a means to an end – the demonstration of aircraft performance. Yet despite this ostensibly deadening carefulness, the display normally contrives to be as exciting as it ever was. The thrills are heightened, of course, by the performance of phenomenally powerful air superiority fighters that appear to defy physics because of their engineered instability. Giant airliners elegantly do the same, but with hardly a sound. Finally – a relatively new display experience – unnerving mini-unmanned air vehicles throng like annoying insects as they show off their busybody routines. Sarah Harding is Farnborough International’s head of flight operations, and for the management of the air display she liaises with external consultant John Turner, the flying display director. Turner heads the FCC, many of whose members are current or former display pilots.
Within that, the main limit for display flying is a 2nm (3.7km) radius from the display datum, within which the minimum operating height above airfield level is 1,000ft, and beyond it 2,000ft. Within that is an inner circle with a radius 1nm from the datum, in which aircraft may descend to the minimum display height of 800ft, unless given a lower minimum specific to the type of display. There are two temporary holding patterns designed for airborne display aircraft while they await their stage entrance: one to the west, its datum based on an Ockham VOR radial and distance measuring equipment range, and the other to the south on a waypoint defined by a Compton radial/ DME. As for the order in which aircraft display, Harding coordinates that, taking into account parking capacity, taxiway space, aircraft size, and even press conference times. Meanwhile, during the display, Farnborough continues to be a working airport as far as it can. The airport is owned by fixed-base operator TAG Aviation, which has its business aviation terminal and hangars on the runway north side. Farnborough is the London area destination of choice for large numbers of business aircraft users. Arrivals and departures for the show have to be arranged with TAG, which also operates the tower.
Turner and his team are directly responsible to the UK Civil Aviation Authority for ensuring that the display is safe, not only for those attending the air show, but those living and working nearby, and for all the non-Farnborough airborne traffic www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
FLOOR PLAN
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
10 Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.
BUILDNZ DESIGNEX – Voltaire
CANTERBURY
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
11
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
EXHIBITOR LIST COMPANY
Stand No
COMPANY
Stand No
COMPANY
2 Degrees Mobile Ltd
70
Fletcher Window & Door Systems
2 Degrees Mobile Ltd
70
Ford Motor Company NZ
200
NZ Wood
3M New Zealand Ltd
304
Foreno Tapware (NZ) Ltd
131
Otis Elevator Company Ltd
3M Window Films
153
Forman Building Systems
72
8
Stand No
NU-WALL Aluminium Cladding Ltd
154 40 309
Pacific Build Supply Ltd
30
Accurate Instruments NZ Ltd
20
Fuze Business Interiors
125
PBI Height Safety Ltd
132
Aco Ltd
67
Gamma Bracing Technologies Ltd
179
Permeable Solutionz Ltd
313 167
Acoustiblok 228
Gartner Superlux Ltd
21
Peter Fell Ltd
AGM Publishing Ltd
193
Gecko International Limited (AerTechnologies)
59
Philips Lighting New Zealand Ltd
Allied Concrete Ltd
94
GeoOp 315
Plantation Design
192
AloSun and Aloaqua
302
Gilt Edge Industries Ltd
301
Plumbing World
212
Altro Flooring and Walling
206
Glassvice Products Ltd
217
Plumbline 175
Aquamax (the water jetting experts)
227
Godfrey Hirst
Aridon Ltd Australian Building Envelope Protection
60 207
BDT (Black Diamond Technologies / Mitsubishi Electric)
93
BNZ Finance
95
Bowers Retaining Systems Ltd
184
BRANZ 39 Brick & Stone South Island
7
Building Recruitment
1
Buildsoft (NSW) Buzon Pedestal International s.a/n.v
195 65
Cad Image Solutions Ltd
186
Canon New Zealand Limited
308
CAVIUS Nano Limited
45
Certified Builders Of New Zealand Inc
55
Certmark Australasia PTY LTD
160
Christchurch City Council
311
Concrete Solutions Ltd
28
CS for Doors Ltd
24
Cupolex Building Systems Limited
19
David Trubridge Design Ltd
193
Dilana Limited / Ecosoft Modular Carpets
316
Drymix NZ Ltd
188
DuluxGroup 216 DuluxGroup 218 DuluxGroup 219
32
Prime Panels New Zealand Ltd
43
146
Godfrey Hirst NZ Ltd
162
Pro Clima NZ Limited
Gorter Hatches Pty Ltd
224
PSP Building Brands & Plastic Sheets
74
Hafele NZ Ltd
303
PSP Building Brands & Plastic Sheets
73
Heritage Carpets Limited
100
Registered Master Builders Association
Hilti (New Zealand) Ltd
88
118c
Resene Paints Ltd
161 26
Homeimprovement.co.nz Ltd
222
Rinnai New Zealand Ltd
203
Hometech Ltd
164
Rockcote Resene Ltd (Resene Construction Systems) 84
Horizon International Ltd
91
Roofing Industries Ltd
225
HPM Legrand
75
Salesoft CAD Solutions Ltd
37
Hugo Lighting
172
Schneider Electric (NZ) Ltd
157
Hydestor Manufacturing Ltd
171
Selwyn District Council
311
Hydraform Pacific
215
Silex Tools
27
Ideal Electrical Suppliers Support Office
34
Simpson Strong-Tie
54
InsulPro Ltd
12
Site Safe NZ Inc
68
Intaks NZ Ltd
18
Sopers Macindoe
129 128
Jackson Electrical Industries Limited
187
Specialized Construction Products Ltd
Judea Holdings Ltd
177
Spydercrane Ltd
ext 1
Juken NZ Ltd
312
Sto Plaster Systems
118e
Karcher Pty Ltd
122
Strong Build Products
Levco Agencies Ltd
169
Switch Lighting
Lifemark Linak New Zealand Ltd
310 (was 300) 98
306 42
Taupo Native Plant Nursery Ltd Technoform Austalia & New Zealand
2 118d
226
The Laminex Group
86
MagRoc 25
The Warehouse Ltd
130
MAPEI NZ Ltd
Timberlab Solutions Ltd
127
MAXRaft 201
Triclad Ltd
223 163
Look Floors
103
Dynex Extrusion Ltd
66
Dyson Appliances Ltd
211
Metro Glasstech
51
Urban Building Products Ltd
Eco Floors
115
Mitre 10 (New Zealand) Ltd
71
Valspar Paint NZ Ltd
13
NASH 190
Viking Group Ltd
62
10
Navman Wireless
181
Vynco Industries NZ Ltd
14
Econergy 204
Nawkaw Limited
152
W & R Jack Ltd
178
EDL Fasteners Ltd
115
New Zealand German Business Association NZGBA 118
WallArt New Zealand
202
3
New Zealand German Business Association NZGBA 112
Winstone Wallboards Ltd - WWB
81
New Zealand Steel Ltd
190
Winstone Wallboards Ltd - WWB
110
57
Winstone Wallboards Ltd - WWB
81
ECO WINDOWS LTD Ecoglo International Limited
Escea Ltd Europlan Industries Ltd
118a
124
Exactal 33
New Zealand Wood Products Ltd
Fermacell 115
Niagara Sales/Distribution
Filtercorp International Ltd
Nuralite Waterproofing Ltd 194
205
196
Woven Bamboo Enterprises
307
Wrap-IT 300
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
12
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
BUILD/DESIGNEX CANTERBURY
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. -Sydney J. Harris
Improving the stability of clay for construction Clay is a natural material composed primarily of fine-grain minerals. It consists of tiny particles that have plastic and adhesive properties. Clay also possesses small voids and pores, so it’s capable of retaining water. In this condition, it tends to expand and shrink, which can lead to settlement. When exposed to increments of water, clay tends to soften and liquefy. Clay often causes difficulties in construction with its low strength and stiffness. This has caused serious problems in geotechnical engineering because weak soil may cause damage to the foundation of buildings and cracks along the road pavement. Stabilisation of soil using cementitious material becomes optional to solve this problem. Cementitious materials are several binding materials that may mix with water to form a plastic paste. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is used as a common cementitious binding agent. From a previous study,
stabilisation of soil using cement was one of the soil treatment applied to improve soil plasticity and workability. Therefore, this research focuses on determination of the strength that can be produced by using waste material ashes as part of the additive mixture. This will decrease the use of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) to help stabilize clay. By doing this, more economical soil mixes can be produced. The selected waste materials are bottom ash (BA) and fly ash (FA). They are a byproduct from electric power plant. These waste materials are disposed and generally have no economical value. BA is physically coarse, porous, glassy, granular, greyish and incombustible materials that are collected from the bottom of furnaces that burned coal whereas FA is grey in colour and dust-like material. It is found that they have pozzolonic properties which make it possible to
replace cement in deep soil mixing. On top of that, a secret ingredient has been added to promote better pozzolonic reactions between the additives and clay. This research was conducted for soil engineering properties and strength test for various inclusions of ashes into the clay soil. The percentage of additives is 5%, 10% and 15% of each ash. Improvement levels were evaluated from the results of unconfined compression test (UCT) carried out at different curing times. Other soil characteristics like plasticity, particle density and compaction properties were also monitored.
The results showed that by using these admixtures, the strength development can be increased over time. This proved that these admixtures can be promising ingredients in deep soil mixing. By doing so, a high performance clay cement column can be produced in the near future.
Selwyn District Council at BuildNZ Expo Expo’s can be a great place to share ideas, exchange information and encourage interaction. For 20 years BuildNZ has been the leading trade fair for the building and construction industry; bringing building professionals and construction industry innovators together to share ideas, showcase the latest products, and develop business relationships. The Selwyn District Council’s Building Department will have a strong presence at the three- day BuildNZ Expo which is being held at the CBS Arena in Christchurch. A number of the Council’s technical building experts will be on hand to offer support and guidance relating to people’s building projects and consenting requirements.
Their stand will also have displays offering an insight into their day-to-day requirements and behind the scenes operations through the use of videos, posters and short presentations.
“To support this we will be showcasing some of the systems we use, including the AlphaOne online building consent application processing system,” he adds.
we experienced a fifty percent increase in building consents issued in the June 2012 to May 2013 period, and the same period last year, from 916 to 1,393” he says.
Selwyn District Council’s Building Manager Ian Butler says he hopes having a presence will create some transparency and understanding of Council process’s and their role in the building industry in Canterbury.
AlphaOne makes the consent process more streamlined and user friendly. The consenting system was adopted by the Council in early 2013 and has evolved to suit the Selwyn District and the high demands that come with being the fastest growing district in the country.
Building staff will also be onsite at the expo to deal with any queries that members of the public may have and they will be looking to engage in conversations with other councils or building companies to discuss their direction and processes, and how they can work together.
The cutting edge system is a New Zealand first and is unique to the Selwyn District Council. It has been recognised as one of the top three finalists for the Martin Jenkins Excellence Award for local economic contribution at the LGNZ Awards this year.
“Consistency is a priority for us so we will be looking to expand our vision and ideals within the industry to promote coherence across all agencies” says Mr Butler.
“It’s also important for us to promote approachability of Council, offer guidance and be on hand for any questions relating to consent processes or building in Selwyn, and Canterbury in general, including queries from other stands within the Expo” says Mr Butler.
“Council staff will be demonstrating the AlphaOne at the BuildNZ Expo to give the system exposure and connect with other councils as to how they could potentially integrate it too”, says Mr Butler. “It is incredibly efficient with faster timelines and is completely traceable online.”
Selwyn District Council’s Senior Building Inspector Todd Boyd using the AlphaOne building consent processing system on a mobile tablet in the field. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
“Using the system over the last three months our average processing time for building consent applications is down to eight working days, which is well under the statutory timeframe of 20 working days”, says Mr Butler. “This is quite significant considering
The Council recently went through a successful Building Consent Authority (BCA) Review with no corrective actions, for the second time. Mr Butler says “staff will be answering questions about the importance of this and what measures were undertaken to qualify without having to tighten up in any area.” “We believe the BuildNZ Expo is the ideal place to meet and greet many of the people we deal with on a daily basis and give them a face-to-face experience they will enjoy”. The BuildNZ Expo is being held at CBS Arena from 31 July to 2 August. For more information or to register, go to www.canterburybuildnz.co.nz
13
DOWN TOOLS! NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
FOR NZ’S LARGEST BUILD & CONSTRUCTION EXPO
INNOVATION AND EDUCATION NEW PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGY OVER 140 EXHIBITORS INDUSTRY LED SEmINARS
FREE REGISTRATION USING PROmO CODE: NZmANUFACT
www.canterburybuildnz.co.nz 31 JULY - 2 AUG 2014 CBS ARENA, CHRISTCHURCH ORGANISED BY
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
14
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top.
ANALYSIS
- Joyce Brothers
Poor quality costs even more Quality has a cost and a value and buying solely on cost can mean that the quality you think you are getting may not be there.
Did they pass on KiwiRail’s requirement for no
them and probably again to remediate them.
asbestos, or not? If not then the fault isn’t with the
There are the losses that accrue to the customers
sub-contractor. Which poses another question, would a different material supplied by the sub-contractor have cost more and is that why the asbestos coating was used?
of Kiwi Rail due to delays because locomotives are out of service and the loss of revenue to Kiwi Rail itself not to mention the time spent by KiwiRail staff and even the Minster for Transport on this issue.
The recent asbestos issues
The more worrying concern is if the coating was such a
Then there are the costs to the supplier, in terms of
with the locomotives
quality failure, what about the rest of the locomotive?
reputation and the costs to remediate and perhaps
Do we now have to test bolts to make sure they are
compensate KiwiRail.
the right tensile strength and galvanising to make
Buyer beware is a good maxim when dealing in
imported from China by
sure there is no antimony present? So as a company
KiwiRail highlights the
to price on the quality risk. From the KiwiRail example even if your offshore
them again? Unless of course their being cheap
danger where quality is
supplier has a quality system and it is certified, that
is the deciding factor in which case it’s KiwiRail’s
does not mean it actually works to the level we would
responsibility for buying cheap at any cost!
compromised.
expect in New Zealand. In which case as a purchaser
and as a country purchasing offshore, you really need
unfamiliar territory but at the end of the day the buck stops with the supplier and after the trouble they have caused, why would you want to deal with
you need to check everything yourself. This could include sending inspectors to validate
The recent asbestos issues with the locomotives imported from China by KiwiRail highlights the danger where quality is compromised. While much was made of the fact that it was a subcontractor to the main supplier who used the offending coating, nothing can take away from the fact that it is KiwiRail’s supplier’s responsibility to ensure that their
every material used, as well as visiting suppliers to the main contractor and their subcontractors as well. It could mean sending components, lubricants, coatings, wiring and nuts and bolt for independent testing and verification as well as checking the temperature and humidity of the environment when painting is being undertaken. Quality certifications and accreditations are only
supplier provides a conforming product. How do they do this? They assess their supplier’s processes and systems. The first of which might be to look at how they translate the requirements detailed in their customers order into an output.
of value as a guide to selecting suppliers if they are trusted. The certifying body for the supplier of the locomotives should now be looking seriously at revoking the certification. After all there has been a huge cost to KiwiRail, everything from their
This raises questions about what it was that was on
reputation as competent procurers to the costs of
the locomotive suppliers order to the sub-contractor.
taking all the locomotives out of service to check
Opinion Manufacturing Profiles Letters to the Editor Politics of Manufacturing Trade Fair World Diary of Events World Market Report Q/A Export News Machine Tools Business Opportunities Commentary As I See It Business News Appointments Around New Zealand Australian Report New to the Market Lean Manufacturing Equipment for Sale Recruitment Environmental Technology Manufacturing Processes
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
NZ MANUFACTURER • AUGUST 2014 Issue • Features
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
FoodTech PackTech 2014 Manufacturers Going Places The Future of Manufacturing Research & Development Advertising Booking Deadline – 20 August 2014 Advertising Copy Deadline – 20 August 2014 Editorial Copy Deadline – 20 August 2014 Advertising – For bookings and further information contact: Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz
Editorial material to be sent to : Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz Tel: 06 870 9029 Fax: 06 878 8150
At NZ MANUFACTURER our aim is to keep our readers up to date with the latest industry news and manufacturing advances in a tasty paper morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world.
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
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16
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING The Factory of the Future Faced with the imperative of reducing costs, improving quality and leveraging emerging innovative technologies, many companies are coming to realise that business-asusual, especially for their manufacturing operations, is not good enough. Manufacturing and supply chain innovation will be as important to winning in the future marketplace as product design and materials innovation. For many companies, incremental change is no longer a sufficient pathway for achieving the necessary ROI on their innovation investments. Rather, they need a holistic approach that considers every element of the production process. As they contemplate more significant change, however, they typically face an array of choices; for example: What components of our key costs are likely to be most significant over the life of any plant? What elements of manufacturing and supply performance will add value to customers and other players on the value chain? How might these changes alter the most efficient configuration of the supply chain? How must the business model and corresponding pricing structure change to capture the value created by changes in manufacturing and the supply chain? A 2010 document prepared by the Ad-hoc Industrial Advisory Group of the European Commission stated, Manufacturing research should focus on the transformation of the present factories, toward re-usable, flexible, modular, intelligent, digital, virtual, affordable, easy-to-adapt, easy-to-operate, easy-to-maintain and highly reliable Factories of the Future. A rational process is needed to weigh these various, sometimes competing demands, and develop go forward manufacturing strategies that will allow companies to win on this critical dimension of innovation. First and foremost, like product development, designing a Factory of the Future needs to be based on market-driven requirements sometimes referred to as Voice of the www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
Business. Voice of the Business requires inputs from all stakeholders both ultimate and intermediate customers, employees, suppliers and regulatory agencies of the government. And, if the company’s business is global, regional differences need to be considered.
Designing a Factory of the Future needs to be based on market-driven requirements. In addition to understanding business requirements, a rich set of possible solutions should be considered. To create a robust solution set, process innovators need to answer questions such as: - What technologies are emerging that will facilitate a completely different manufacturing concept? - What technologies or business models in other industries provide
important lessons for our factory and its evolution? - What synergies are possible when these various opportunities are examined holistically? Identifying applicable solutions is challenging as it entails knowing where to look beyond one’s own industry and, even more difficult, recognising solutions that can be adapted from one industry to another. The factory and its equipment should also be considered a reflection of the product it’s meant to produce and an objective process known as Voice of the Process should be used to distill critical new factory design requirements. Fundamentally, integrating Voice of the Business and Voice of the Process seamlessly together in an innovation approach offers the greatest likelihood of real breakthrough innovation success for developing the best Factory of the Future model; specifically: - Voice of the Process helps to develop hypotheses about process improvements that may not be obvious to industry participants long familiar with the existing production process limitations in the industry - Voice of the Business, when conducted properly, can infer the value of potential process innovation, even if these innovations were not thought about by the interviewees.
More specifically, there is a comprehensive approach to defining the Factory of the Future based on the following tenets: Ensure you’re addressing the right problems (challenges and opportunities). This begins with ensuring you’re investing in the right elements of the production and supply chain, understanding which aspects of your products and processes customers and other value chain stakeholders are willing to pay for, knowing how these products and features stack up against competitive offerings, and how your product portfolio and related production processes are likely to evolve over time. All decisions should be market-based and derive from a variety of sources including extensive interviews with regional business leaders and representatives (both upstream and downstream) from the company’s value chain. Use a functional approach and consider evolutionary trends. A functional approach and evolutionary trends both aspects of Voice of the Process can help to better inform stakeholders during the data gathering process. For example, by creating a model which illustrates the functional relationships between all the elements in the system the various manufacturing steps, logistical/supply chain components, etc.it is possible to identify areas or system components
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
17
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. – John Quincy Adams
and/or interfaces that have potential for significant improvement, but may have been ignored over time or accepted as inevitable problems. Improving or eliminating these problems could provide new, fundamental pathways for manufacturing or suggest entirely new business models. Similarly, an understanding of the appropriate evolutionary trends (ways products or processes can be expected to evolve over time to survive in the marketplace) can suggest next or future generations of products and processes that should be considered as the factory is conceived. Knowing potential paths of evolution will allow you to structure your discussions with stakeholders to identify which evolutionary paths would add the most value to their business. Effectively and efficiently acquire global knowledge. The best way to zero in on the solutions is to use Function-Oriented Search, a method to uncover breakthrough technologies and business models in remote fields and then adapt them to your needs. Searches based on generalized functional descriptions of both problems and solutions are much less likely to miss critical opportunities without boiling the ocean. Think of functional descriptors, for example, how to move a liquid or how to apply a force, as the Esperanto of the innovation process. Create an integrated and well supported innovation initiative. Once a rich set of solutions has been generated and systematically evaluated, the next step is to galvanize coordinated company action around the initiative objectives and actions and ultimately create the change required to achieve the desired results. A key element of the initiative is to have a compelling vision of the changes required, how these changes will be achieved, and most importantly, the impact of the changes (both positive consequences of pursuing the initiative and negative consequences of inaction). Scenarios, stories or mock business articles are often helpful in making the vision more vivid for company stakeholders whose understanding and support are required for the success of the
initiative. Also, as with any innovation undertaking, it is important to prepare stakeholders for the inevitable challenges associated with any innovation effort, clearly articulating: - Technical and business risks and corresponding contingency plans associated with these risks - Key project milestones mapping intermediate progress toward ultimate initiative goals - Resources required to meet initiative goals
This combination of a compelling vision and realistic planning fosters both fast action and enduring commitment to the effort. In summary, embedding these tenants in a comprehensive plan for collecting and analyzing data should provide the insights necessary to design your Factory of the Future. Fundamentally, Factory of the Future design decisions must be market-driven, but understanding the market and both its current and future demands is not easy. Voice of the Process can
be useful in providing insights which will inform your discussions with all stakeholders. Fundamental to Voice of the Process is ensuring you’re solving the right problem, using tools like Functional Analysis and Trends of Engineering System Evolution to develop a better understanding of the system, and global knowledge to find the best solutions. And finally, creating a compelling vision can pay big dividends in getting the necessary buy-in for the resulting innovation initiative. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
18
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it.
FOODTECH PACKTECH
- Brian Tracy
Aurora process solutions and Fuji robotic pallitising systems Aurora is excited to announce the addition of the FUJI range of Robotic Palletising systems to its extensive range of process equipment on offer. Aurora have for many years provided superior machinery for the Bulk Materials Handling industry and as solution providers we are able to combine modular type equipment for materials handling plants large and small. The addition of the Fuji range of Robotic Palletisers means Aurora offers its clients the choice of a high capacity, economical solution to handling bags and boxes on their packaging lines. Fuji Ace have been developing, supplying and improving palletising technology for nearly 40 years. In 1982 Fuji recognised the changing market and met the demands of the palletising industry by developing the first Robotic Palletiser. They have since perfected the mechanical and electrical aspects of robotic operation to match the needs of virtually every palletising application currently available, with over 10000
installations in operation. As a specifically designed palletising robot the Fuji-Ace system provides many benefits over conventional robotic arm alternatives. The Fuji-Ace Palletiser reduces space and power requirements, provides the highest capacity cycle available, and is easily programmed and adjusted from the specific palletising controller, removing the previously time consuming task of programming the robot. Up to 30 stacking patterns can be programmed into the robots memory. Fuji also utilises a point to point control system that further reduces and simplifies programming time, with only the pick and drop points needing to be programmed for the first two layers. For a live demo of the Fuji Robot visit our stand #3078 at the Foodtech Packtech Exhibition, held at the ASB Showgrounds Auckland, 25th – 27th of September 2014. Aurora provides full automation and pallet transfer systems, specified to
suit whatever application within all production environments. At Aurora we stand close behind our product and our industry leading brands are backed by expert advice, premium product, installation and scheduled servicing,
PALLETISING,
AURORA CAN HANDLE IT
that is second to none. All this is ultimately designed to make your next decision an easy one. No matter what stage of your process you’re at right now, make Aurora your process equipment partner.
SE E ON A F OU UJ R IR ST OB AN O D TD #3 E 07 MO 8
With over 10,000 Robotic Palletisers installed worldwide Fuji is unmatched in palletising technology. Experience, focus and dedication to the industry have enabled Fuji to provide the best solution to your palletising needs. > No1 Palletising Robot worldwide > High speed palletising & energy savings acheived simultaneously
> Up to 1800 cycles per hour > Pallet Dispenser, pallet wrapper and transfer accumulation options
CALL US AND EXPERIENCE OUR QUALITY SERVICE TODAY 0800 55 77 33 | www.aurora-nz.com
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
Introducing
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
19
A point of difference in today’s busy FMCG market.
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Call us now on 0508 00 11 22 to find out how inSight™ can add value to your business. www.aqinsight.com
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20
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
FOODTECH PACKTECH 2014
The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one. -Elbert Hubbard
Improve productivity through Workflow Workflow specialises in assisting New Zealand and Australian manufacturing companies improve productivity, through the supply of cost effective, automated, real time production data tracking tools and the application of lean thinking processes. The reality is that manufacturing costs are increasing, and if you are not improving your productivity at the same or faster rate, then you are going backwards. What sets Workflow apart from many other companies is that workflow doesn’t just sell you something and walk away leaving the rest up to you. Training, guidance, and coaching are available to put in place the processes and systems that you need to use the information in a structured way to drive actions and continuous improvement. From simple training sessions right through to a full Lean implementation journey, workflow can assist you.
There is no point having great data on how your process is running and not using it. That is a waste of time and money. The XL800 Visual Productivity Appliance is a remarkably cost effective visual scoreboard that tracks your production performance, measuring down time and overall efficiency. Access to automated productivity and efficiency monitoring is now within reach of all sized production environments, not just the large multi nationals. The XL800 “bolts on” to any existing lines or process and immediately delivers real-time manufacturing performance data, including: • Automatic down time detection including small stops.
• Plug-and-play simplicity with built-in data collection and reporting. Up and running in minutes. • A complete solution in one hardware appliance – no software to install. Workflow has installations in over 40 diverse manufacturing companies across Australia and NZ. e.g. Beverage bottling and packaging – beer, wine, juice and dairy. Automotive die casting, Kiwifruit packing, snack bar and bakery manufacture and packing, closure forming printing and decorating. Frozen vegetable packing. Blow moulding PET. Transfer injection moulding. Timber finger jointing.
What are the customers saying?
• Provides visual display that motivates your operators to peak performance.
“A challenge is convincing the signatories of Capex about the value this product would bring. So we started with a trial unit. It was easy to use and integrate, generated a lot of interest, and real quantifiable benefits were demonstrated. We have seen our OEE lift 10% in 3 months! We liked the trial unit, bought it, and have since got another one”
• Snaps into your network for instant web access.
Operations Manager. Powder & Industrial Coatings
• Tracks overall production efficiency, down-time reasons, shift/job performance, OEE, changeovers, and can provide over 100 key performance indicators.
“2nd worst performing machine, with a 12% improvement is now the 2nd best. Great results to say the least” Continuous Improvement Manager Transfer Injection Moulding “We really like the downtime tracking and reason codes for the downtime. We always thought we knew what our downtime was, but now we really know, and the top 5 downtime reasons are great for the focus of the improvement teams and what areas need attention” Production Manager – Wine bottling For a Free Demonstration or 90 day trial contact Nigel Piddington at Workflow Ltd. Ph: NZ +64 3 5792999. AUS +61 2 8355 7035. Web: www.wflow.co.nz Email: info@wflow.co.nz
Improve your Manufacturing Productivity Workflow Ltd helps you see how your plant is really performing with the XL Productivity Appliance • Visual plant floor display • Automated tracking 100 KPI’s • Real Time • Accurate • Downtime, OEE, speed • Changeovers, • Planned downtime • Web interface access • Built in reports • Historical trend charts • Top 5 loss focus • Bolt-on, Self install • Simple
90 Day Trials available Not sure? See for yourself how good it really is with a 90 day trial. Workflow Ltd
www.wflow.co.nz
Ph: 03 579 2999 Visit us at Foodtech Packtech Stand 3044
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
COMMENT
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Budget Comparison With the election quickly approaching it is a good time to consider the budgets of the major parties; what are the differences and how will these affect our economy? Although this is only a snap shot of what each Budget covers, the following are some of the most important points for manufacturers and exporters. The National Party’s Budget focused primarily on being fiscally restrained in order to both reach Government surplus as planned, and to keep from adding additional pressure on interest rates. As such, they set their limit of new spending to around $1.5 billion per year, as a result of advice from the Treasury that this is the upper limit for new spending before it applies upward pressure on interest rates.
For manufacturers and exporters, keeping pressure off interest rates over the coming years will be particularly important. The Labour Alternative Budget aims to stick to the spending limit outlined by National, but allows for more spending through initiatives which
John Walley, Chief Executive, New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association
would increase government revenue. For manufacturers and exporters, keeping pressure off interest rates over the coming years will be particularly important, as this will be a driving factor of the level of our already overvalued exchange rate and will determine borrowing costs. It is good to see both major parties take this responsible approach, although we would favour a more active and direct approach to tackling this issue. The biggest difference between the budgets that directly effects manufacturers and exporters is the way in which they each plan to foster growth in business and innovation. Much of National’s Budget was business as usual in this respect, with modest increases in funding to parts of their current business grant scheme through Callaghan Innovation as well as NZTE - following their existing Business Growth Agenda. In contrast, Labour is proposing a different approach, much of which was informed by the Manufacturing Inquiry in 2013. They are proposing moving away from grants and reinstating R&D tax credits. As a mechanism for promoting business investment and innovation, the NZMEA sees tax credits as a far more effective and accessible solution.
Also in the Labour Budget is the introduction of accelerated depreciation, which would start with advanced manufacturing and wood products, with the intent to extend to all manufacturers over time. This does not act as a tax break or credit, but simply allows a firm to depreciate capital goods faster, which helps businesses keep up with changing technologies – a critical part of staying internationally competitive. Both of these are policies that have been towards the top of the NZMEA’s wish list for a long time, and would have an immediate positive effect on manufacturers and exporters. The most important tax change by Labour would be the introduction of a Capital Gains Tax. This is an important step in rebalancing our tax system that currently encourages speculative investment in land and buildings. They also propose the introduction of a new tax rate which would move those earning $150,000 or more to paying 36 cents to the dollar. In addition to this, they would have the tax rate for trusts match the new higher rate; primarily to remove the ability to achieve a tax advantage through the use of trusts. It is clear that tax avoidance is a focus for Labour in their Budget, with measures aimed at stopping opportunities for future avoidance, particularly for
Establishment of WorkSafe New Zealand
multi-national corporations. Labour’s proposed restarting of contributions to the Cullen Fund will also be important, along with increasing the age of eligibility, for dealing with our future superannuation burden and institutional investment of New Zealander’s savings. National are limiting their new spending and as a result, it is essentially a business as usual budget, with some minor improvements, following the belief that over the coming years, a stable economy, keeping interest rates at bay and achieving Government surplus will create the environment to further promote growth, along with their existing Business Growth Agenda. In contrast, Labour are using taxation and clamping down on tax avoidance to provide the additional revenue to be more active in their policies for promoting growth in the manufacturing sector. While they have many of the same objectives, explicitly the limit on new spending, their approach follows a belief that more active policy change is needed to fix economic imbalances and promote faster economic growth. “You pays your money and you takes your choice.”
Metals New Zealand Inc. CEO Gary Hook
As Metals NZ, I have been approached on more than one occasion by both ACC & WorkSafe NZ as to how they might best engage with our membership in relation to the new activities under way by this new industry Health & Safety regulator.
WorkSafe NZ signals a new era. With a single-minded focus on workplace health and safety issues, the agency provides a single point of accountability and seeks to play a leadership role in improving New Zealand’s health and safety performance
highest reported injury rate per 1,000 employees than any other sector…. higher than even forestry!! Of course, forestry has been in the media in recent times for suffering numerous fatalities, but I can advise our members that our industry will be a key focus.
The Government has established WorkSafe New Zealand (WorkSafe NZ), a stand-alone Crown agent with its own governance board, as part of its reform of the New Zealand workplace health and safety system.
WorkSafe NZ works collaboratively with employers and employees to embed and promote good workplace health and safety practice, and enforces workplace health and safety regulations.
In June 2014, WorkSafe NZ is piloting a range of new Assessment Tools which will be used by their inspectors to support site visits. They will be testing the tools in New Plymouth, Tauranga, and Auckland over a 2-week period.
WorkSafe NZ began on 16 December 2013 when the health and safety functions of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment transferred to the new agency.
New Zealand’s other workplace health and safety regulators, the Civil Aviation Authority and Maritime New Zealand, are also Crown agents. They retain their current responsibilities for enforcing and investigating workplace accidents. Functions of WorkSafe NZ WorkSafe NZ has a strong mandate to significantly reduce the death and injury toll in our workplaces
They will be focusing on the factors that produce significant harm within the Manufacturing sector including:
I have seen the injury statistics and the metals-related industry sector has the
Although this is a testing exercise, they have advised they will be taking
The creation of a stand-alone health and safety regulatory agency was a key recommendation of both the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine tragedy and the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety.
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- Machine Guarding - Workplace Transport - Manual Handling - Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - House keeping - Clean air
enforcement action where necessary. There is a need for our metals industry business owners and workplace leaders to be fully aware and engaged on this Health & Safety business imperative as the new WorkSafe legislation really does have some teeth. The metals industry will be a key focus given the reported statistics. I am very pleased to report HERA and Steel Construction NZ (SCNZ) are taking this business issue seriously, and there could well be the need for some co-ordinated action valued by some other member associations in response to the establishment of this new Industry Regulator.
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of a diplomat.
CASE STUDY
– Robert Estabrook
Case Study The 2014 IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite of products brings not only customer driven improvements in the design capabilities, but enhances the way users can collaborate within design groups and with their customers.
Delivering Productivity Looking at how the cycle mesh of performance, flexibility and collaboration creates the productivity fabric of best practices goal, here is one case study that may be reflected on: Hexagon Metrology Nordic AB, Sweden - Metrology / Industrial Measurement Tools
Company Background Hexagon Metrology is part of the Hexagon-group, and markets several leading metrology brands for industrial measuring. These brands represent a globally installed base of millions of coordinate measuring machines, portable measuring systems and hand tools, along with tens of thousands of software licenses within metrology.
The Challenge In order to offer their customers industry leading metrology equipment, the engineers at Hexagon needed a 3D design system that offered performance, flexibility and full collaboration. With their current packages, AutoCAD and Solidworks, Hexagon felt these needs were not being meet. Due to this, they needed to investigate other design options thereby allowing Hexagon to design and offer the best products possible to their customers.
The IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite After testing the IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite (DCS), specifically IronCAD, the DCS’s premier 3D design application, Hexagon’s engineers saw that the needs for performance, flexibility and collaboration would be met. Due to IronCAD’s “Innovative Design” technology, Hexagon’s engineers were free from the limitations of traditional 3D modelers such as always having to work with constraints and parametric relationships. Innovative Design means you don’t work with constraint and parametric relationship unless you want to. Another factor was IronCAD’s ability to work with multiple parts and assemblies within one single file, making data management much simpler. In traditional 3D systems each part is a single file on your hard drive or network. When creating large assemblies, you are literally managing thousands of files which is time consuming and very prone to errors. With IronCAD, you can have as many parts and assemblies as you want inside one file. It’s entirely up to the engineer has how they chose to store their data. IronCAD also uses catalogs to help you quickly and easily design, adding items to and from a catalog is as simple as a drag & drop maneuver and these catalogs can be shared across the network with other DCS users.
Summary • 75% productivity Solidworks.
increase
• No longer being constraints and relationships.
over
limited by parametric
• A single scene design environment and catalogs making data management much simpler. • Full ability to work with legacy 2D data with IronCAD DRAFT. “We have replaced both AutoCAD and SolidWorks with IRONCAD. Many different fixtures and tools have been designed at Hexagon. When it comes to 3D-design, we do see a big advantage by using IronCAD. Our experience has been that we design faster and easier compared to our earlier solution because we don’t need to struggle with parametric relations and constraints. With IronCAD, we can design a whole project in a single file and we also get great usage with the catalogs by dragging and dropping parts and assemblies into new designs whenever needed.” -Patrik Kärrvall, R&D Manager, Hexagon Metrology Nordic AB More on this http://www.ironcad.com/ index.php/industry/industrial?id=158
Finally there was the issue of working with the volumes of legacy 2D data Hexagon had accumulated over the years. IronCAD Draft, one of the applications in the DCS helped address this by offering a fully compatible DWG editing tool with a very similar interface to AutoCAD making the transition to the DCS almost seamless.
“IronCAD is committed to delivering true productivity through performance, flexibility, and collaboration and this release confirms our commitment.” commented Cary O’Connor, IronCAD’s VP of Marketing, “Customer’s now have more power in the design making it faster to create, modify, and finish the design tasks. In addition, they can extend their collaboration with the many new enhancements and integrations to improve the communication process among their customers leading to higher customer satisfaction and shortened time to market.” he continued. Equipment manufacturing and innovation are listed as GDP drivers for the New Zealand economy. Productivity gains are as important as new technology invention and innovation, take the productive workflow driver seat to do your share. Hexagon did it for their team and the New Zealand team can.
About IronCAD Based in Atlanta, GA, IronCAD is a leading provider of 3D Design Productivity Solutions that deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction and productivity. Solutions that can be used either standalone or as complementary collaboration solutions which can be used throughout the enterprise. Its flagship product IronCAD has won many industry awards for its innovative technology and leads the industry in its ease of use and design productivity. IronCAD products are used successfully by thousands of customers worldwide. For more information on IronCAD, visit www.ironcad.com or www.spiredynamics.co.nz your local New Zealand reseller
Creo 3.0 delivers unparalleled Multi-CAD data handling capabilities PTC Creo revolutionary 3D product design software significantly enhances the ability to use CAD files from a variety of systems directly in PTC Creo.
data ‘as needed, when needed’, and only converting the data that requires modification, organisations can save a tremendous amount of effort and cost.
PTC Creo 3.0 also empowers innovation through more powerful, seamlessly integrated concept design tools ensuring efforts undertaken in concept design can be fully reused in the detailed design process. Key productivity enhancements within the release further add to customers’ ability to focus on higher levels of innovation and product quality.
In situations where development teams need to collaborate across CAD formats, Unite technology enables designers to create and protect design intent between PTC Creo and other CAD data. This both significantly reduces the efforts needed to maintain design integrity and enables collaboration to take place earlier and more often in the design process.
Ground breaking Unite technology addresses the data and process-related challenges of CAD consolidation. By enabling designers to convert www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
Unite technology in Creo 3.0 enables CAD data of varying formats to be used directly in the PTC Creo
Parametric, Creo Direct, Creo Simulate, and Creo Options Modeler apps. As a result, this release enables significant efficiencies to be achieved when consolidating multiple CAD systems onto PTC Creo, as well as when collaborating with others using different CAD tools. These efficiencies enable improvements in on-time delivery, product quality and desirability by allowing design teams to spend more time innovating and less time on non-value add tasks such as recreating design intent and redundant file management.
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
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THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING itSeez3D turns iPad Into 3D scanner When it comes to 3D scanning, more and more solutions are becoming available as the months go by. 3D scanning is allowing us to take photographs of people and things, in ways that we could never imagine before. Instead of only being able to look at a flat, 2-dimensional photo, we can now interact with 3D photographs via our computers, and create 3D replicas with the use of 3D printers. A company called itSeez3D has come up with a new iOS application, that when paired with the Structure Sensor allows people to take full 3-dimensional photographs of people and objects. It has an incredible ability to capture color and structural information of a subject, and then process it into a realistic looking 3D model.
On the other hand, if a high quality 3D printer is used, the colors will be able to be preserved. For example, users could send their 3D scan to Shapeways or another service, to have it printed in full-color sandstone. itSeez3D has already uploaded 18 different models that they have created using the app, to their sketchfab profile, and I must admit, the quality appears to be excellent. Uploaded models include several people as well as a stuffed animal, a sneaker, a mug, and more. Check out one of these interactive models below: Currently the app is only usable on the iPad 4 and iPad Air. Other device compatibility may be coming at a later date. The app is free, but a Structure Sensor will cost you. What do you think? Would you use an app like this to 3D print replicas of objects?
The app has the capability of capturing high resolution data, and features a unique augmented reality feedback system which enhances the scanning process (see video below). Once a scan has been captured, users have the ability to email the 3D representation to their friends, in .ply or .obj file formats, or simply upload it to sketchfab.com. Users can also 3D print it at home on their own 3D printers. If it is printed on an at-home FDM or SLA 3D printer, however, the colors will not print because of the current technology available.
Preparing CAD models for additive manufacture Polygonica is solid modelling software toolkit for processing polygon meshes.
cause problems when printing a 3D model using additive manufacturing technologies.
Polygonica’s unique polygonal modelling technology takes advantage of 20 years of development providing automatic, fast and robust Boolean operations. Other algorithms in Polygonica allow solid healing, simplification, slicing, sectioning and spun profile calculation.
The Mercury Centre has many years’ experience of building demanding / complex components using additive manufacturing technologies that require the finest CAD models, and were well placed to apply their knowledge to helping MachineWorks Ltd successfully test their Polygonica software.
Polygonica has a wide range of applications such as CFD/ FEA meshing, CAD/CAM/CAE, additive manufacturing where there is a requirement to repair defective models with vast numbers of polygons, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, 3D movies and gaming, geo-exploring, urban modelling and other 3D digital applications. MachineWorks Ltd are continually looking for innovative ways to apply their geometric modelling and computer graphics and wanted to demonstrate how their Polygonica software toolkit could be used in additive manufacturing. Companies supplying CAD models for additive manufacture work with a variety of different platforms and the quality of these files cannot be guaranteed. It is time consuming, but necessary, to check complex models for geometrical defects such as open edges and self intersecting points which
An additive manufacturing suite provides access to cutting edge metal additive manufacturing machinery including ARCAM EBM and Renishaw AM 3D printers. These machines work with data taken directly from computer aided designs (CAD) which are sliced into individual layers of between 20µm and 100µm. Fine metal powders are deposited on to a build platform and the energy beam is used to melt the shape of the desired component, the process then proceeds with a new layer of powder which is subsequently melted, such that the component is built up in a layer by layer fashion. The Mercury Centre worked with MachineWorks Ltd to apply their Polygonica software toolkit to industrial CAD models used for additive manufacturing of components.
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The Second Machine Age Driverless cars and 3D printers are harbingers of a new era, argue MIT colleagues Brynjolfsson (Director/ Center for Digital Business; co-author, Wired for Innovation: How Information Technology Is Reshaping the Economy, 2013, etc.) and McAfee (Principal Research Scientist/Center for Digital Business; Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organisation’s Toughest Challenges, 2009, etc.). Some 200 years ago, the invention of the steam engine sparked massive amounts of mechanical power to drive factories and mass production in the first machine age. Now, computers and other digital advances are providing such “a vast and unprecedented boost to mental power” that technologies once found only in science fiction are becoming everyday realities. Drawing on research, including interviews with inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, engineers and others, the authors describe the forces driving the emerging age, notably the digitisation of nearly everything, which increases understanding and fosters innovation, and an amazing exponential growth in improvements. We’re now seeing “the emergence of real, useful artificial intelligence (AI) and the connection of most of the people on the planet via a common digital network. As machines complete cognitive tasks— as opposed to physical ones—engaging in pattern recognition and complex communication, AI will do more and more, for example, giving key aspects of sight to the visually impaired and restoring hearing to the deaf. Along with benefits, including greater amounts of individual choice, technological progress will bring economic disruption, leaving some people behind and workers without jobs.
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Backhoe Manufacturer Implements Wireless Technology NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
Industry: Industrial Automation & Manufacturing Product: 2.4 GHz, Short Range Wireless I/O Module • The Challenge A manufacturer of “Green” agricultural, commercial, consumer, construction and forestry equipment used Automated Guide Vehicles (AGVs) to move backhoe units from station to station along an assembly line. The system used wired, serial communications to guide the mobile AGVs along a magnetic path in the floor. But there was no direct communication between the AGVs and the PLC that controlled the manufacturing processes. As a result, an AGV that was approaching a station could run into another AGV if that AGV had not yet moved on. Quality control was limited to station-to-station. Employees had to physically walk around and observe processes directly. Quality control processes and build times were suffering.
• The Solution Installing B&B Electronics Zlinx® I/O products gave the plant PLC the ability to track the AGVs. The overall process is maintained by a single remote group. On the AGVs, two Zlinx I/O modules configured in wire replacement mode send discrete wireless signals to the control center. The bidirectional communication capability of the wireless modules not only allows the PLC to monitor backhoe position and status alarms, it also lets the PLC send critical emergency stop commands.
• Why B&B Electronics? By adding wireless monitoring and control with Zlinx I/O products, quality control was improved and manufacturing lead times were reduced. The customer produced more backhoes with, less production backlog at a lower cost. The Zlinx product used wire replacement of I/O signals through a matched pair of I/O modules without the need for expensive gateways. Bi-directional I/O mapping was essential for this application to exchange status and control information from the PLC to the backhoe AGV control.
• The Product Zlinx® Model ZZ24D-NB-LR – 2.4 GHz, Short Range Wireless I/O Module • Expandable, modular design • Modbus compatible • Failsafe programmable output states • Industry leading low latency to the order of 20 ms • Industry standard AES encryption • Wide operating temperature range (-40 to 85°C)
Model ZZ24D-NB-LR
2912
Represented in New Zealand by Connection Technologies Ltd P.O.Box 39340, Te Puni Mail Centre, Lower Hutt www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz Tel. 04 5665 345 Fax. 04 5665 347 Lewis@connectors.co.nz www.connectors.co.nz
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
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Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation. Robert H. Schuller
How big data can improve manufacturing In the past 20 years or so, manufacturers have been able to reduce waste and variability in their production processes and dramatically improve product quality and yield (the amount of output per unit of input) by implementing lean and Six Sigma programs. However, in certain processing environments—pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and mining, for instance— extreme swings in variability are a fact of life, sometimes even after lean techniques have been applied. Given the sheer number and complexity of production activities that influence yield in these and other industries, manufacturers need a more granular approach to diagnosing and correcting process flaws. Advanced analytics provides just such an approach. Advanced analytics refers to the application of statistics and other mathematical tools to business data in order to assess and improve practices (exhibit). In manufacturing, operations managers can use advanced analytics to take a deep dive into historical process data, identify patterns and relationships among discrete process steps and inputs, and then optimise the factors that prove to have the greatest effect on yield. Many global manufacturers in a range of industries and geographies now have an abundance of real-time shop-floor data and the capability to conduct such sophisticated statistical assessments. They are taking previously isolated data sets, aggregating them, and analysing them to reveal important insights. Consider the production of biopharmaceuticals, a category of healthcare products that includes vaccines, hormones, and blood components. They are manufactured using live, genetically engineered cells, and production teams must often monitor more than 200 variables within the production flow to ensure the purity of the ingredients as well as the substances being made. Two batches of a particular substance, produced using an identical process, can still exhibit a variation in yield of between 50 and 100 percent. This huge unexplained variability can create issues with capacity and product quality and can draw increased regulatory scrutiny. One top-five biopharmaceuticals maker used advanced analytics to significantly increase its yield in vaccine production while incurring no additional capital expenditures. The company segmented its entire process into clusters of closely related
production activities; for each cluster, it took far-flung data about process steps and the materials used and gathered them in a central database. A project team then applied various forms of statistical analysis to the data to determine interdependencies among the different process parameters (upstream and downstream) and their impact on yield. Nine parameters proved to be most influential, especially time to inoculate cells and conductivity measures associated with one of the chromatography steps. The manufacturer made targeted process changes to account for these nine parameters and was able to increase its vaccine yield by more than 50 percent—worth between $5 million and $10 million in yearly savings for a single substance, one of hundreds it produces. Developing unexpected insights Even within manufacturing operations that are considered best in class, the use of advanced analytics may reveal further opportunities to increase yield. This was the case at one established European maker of functional and specialty chemicals for a number of industries, including paper, detergents, and metalworking. It boasted a strong history of process improvements since the 1960s, and its average yield was consistently higher than industry benchmarks. In fact, staffers were sceptical that there was much room for improvement. “This is the plant that everybody uses as a reference,” one engineer pointed out. However, several unexpected insights emerged when the company used neural-network techniques (a form of advanced analytics based on the way the human brain processes information) to measure and compare the relative impact of different production inputs on yield. Among the factors it examined were coolant pressures, temperatures, quantity, and carbon dioxide flow. The analysis revealed a number of previously unseen sensitivities—for instance, levels of variability in carbon dioxide flow prompted significant reductions in yield. By resetting its parameters accordingly, the chemical company was able to reduce its waste of raw materials by 20 percent and its energy costs by around 15 percent, thereby improving overall yield. It is now implementing advanced process controls to complement its basic systems and steer production automatically. Meanwhile, a precious-metals mine was able to increase its yield and
profitability by rigorously assessing production data that were less than complete. The mine was going through a period in which the grade of its ore was declining; one of the only ways it could maintain production levels was to try to speed up or otherwise optimize its extraction and refining processes. The recovery of precious metals from ore is incredibly complex, typically involving between 10 and 15 variables and more than 15 pieces of machinery; extraction treatments may include cyanidation, oxidation, grinding, and leaching. The production and process data that the operations team at the mine were working with were extremely fragmented, so the first step for the analytics team was to clean it up, using mathematical approaches to reconcile inconsistencies and account for information gaps. The team then examined the data on a number of process parameters— reagents, flow rates, density, and so on—before recognizing that variability in levels of dissolved oxygen (a key parameter in the leaching process) seemed to have the biggest impact on yield. Specifically, the team spotted fluctuations in oxygen concentration, which indicated that there were challenges in process control. The analysis also showed that the best demonstrated performance at the mine occurred on days in which oxygen levels were highest. As a result of these findings, the mine made minor changes to its leach-recovery processes and increased its average yield by 3.7 percent within three months—a significant gain in a period during which ore grade had declined by some 20 percent. The increase in yield translated into a sustainable $10 million to $20 million annual profit impact for the mine, without it having to make additional capital investments or implement
major change initiatives. Capitalising on big data The critical first step for manufacturers that want to use advanced analytics to improve yield is to consider how much data the company has at its disposal. Most companies collect vast troves of process data but typically use them only for tracking purposes, not as a basis for improving operations. For these players, the challenge is to invest in the systems and skill sets that will allow them to optimize their use of existing process information—for instance, centralising or indexing data from multiple sources so they can be analysed more easily and hiring data analysts who are trained in spotting patterns and drawing actionable insights from information. Some companies, particularly those with months- and sometimes years-long production cycles, have too little data to be statistically meaningful when put under an analyst’s lens. The challenge for senior leaders at these companies will be taking a long-term focus and investing in systems and practices to collect more data. They can invest incrementally—for instance, gathering information about one particularly important or particularly complex process step within the larger chain of activities, and then applying sophisticated analysis to that part of the process. The big data era has only just emerged, but the practice of advanced analytics is grounded in years of mathematical research and scientific application. It can be a critical tool for realizing improvements in yield, particularly in any manufacturing environment in which process complexity, process variability, and capacity restraints are present. Indeed, companies that successfully build up their capabilities in conducting quantitative assessments can set themselves far apart from competitors. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
FROM THE REGIONS -TAUPO
Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are today. -Robert H. Schuller
The rise, and rise, of Taupo-
Taupo- has long been considered a top holiday destination. Generations of kiwi families have packed the car and headed for a long summer holiday to enjoy some old-fashioned relaxation by the great lake. International visitors flock to the central North Island town to participate in adventure activities like mountain biking, bungy jumping and skydiving. Taupo- has consistently delivered a strong retail and hospitality offering to accommodate the tourist trade, but industrial activity (aside from geothermal energy) has been limited.
However, the past few years has seen a remarkable period of growth in commercial property development in the town. Enterprise Great Lake Taupo-, the economic development agency for the district that spans from Turangi in the south to Mangakino in the north, believes that the abundance of affordable industrial land and access to endless low-cost energy are two key contributors to this growth. In 2010 the East Taupo- Arterial route opened, creating a bypass that curves around the town through a primarily rural landscape. Sixteen kilometres in length, the road was built on land purchased by Taupo- District Council specifically for the roading project.
Taupo- based property developer, Gary Traveller, supports Mr Frohlke’s view that Taupo- presents a strong case for industrial activity. “Taupo- has much to offer those who wish to strengthen their work / life balance without sacrificing the profitability and viability of their business,” said Mr Traveller. “We can offer manufacturers access to affordable land and buildings, and our central location means that distribution both nationally and internationally is a breeze. Of course, the fact that you can be home in five minutes after work and back out on the lake in less than ten is an added bonus!”
“Many retailers were concerned of the negative impact the bypass could have on their turnover, however we saw it as an opportunity to open up new tracts of land for commercial and industrial development,” explains Fritz Frohlke, General Manager of Enterprise Great Lake Taupo-. “Our existing commercial areas were at capacity, so these extensive new areas of land and subsequent District Plan changes allow for a new surge of growth in light and heavy industrial activity,” said Mr Frohlke. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
“We have just secured a new manufacturing business at one of our development sites,” said Mr Traveller. “They had researched relocating from Auckland and found that Taupo- was easily the best option to provide them with all they were seeking. An affordable factory space for their business, access to a skilled and enthusiastic workforce, strong distribution services, affordable living for the family, good schools and a great lifestyle. They can’t wait to get down here.” An additional advantage of much of the land released for industrial development is the proximity to Taupo-’s hidden ‘gold’ - geothermal energy.
“We see our abundance of energy as a huge advantage for any manufacturer that requires heat or power. By using cascading heat provided from a geothermal power station we can provide continuous heat at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods,” said Mr Frohlke.
The region’s geothermal fields make it a great place to run a high energy business. One example of this heat being put into action is at Miraka, a milk powder factory that uses geothermal heat to dry milk into powder. The company’s state-of-the-art $90 million milk powder factory on nine hectares of land at Mokai, north of Taupo-, has been operating at capacity for the past two seasons producing 37,000 tonnes of milk powder for overseas markets with committed overseas orders for all of its product. A supply contract signed with Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin in February 2013 to produce 250 ml Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT) milk packs for the Chinese market has also seen expansion plans brought forward. A new $28 million UHT factory has just been built adjacent to the existing plant, and employee numbers have
increased from 28 to 71. “The region’s geothermal fields make it a great place to run a high energy business such as our milk processing plant,” says Miraka Chief Executive, Richard Wyeth. “Taupo-’s central location is a bonus and there are more and more young professionals coming to the area because of the lifestyle. Miraka also has a lot of international clients and when they come to Taupo-we are able to combine business with pleasure. Giving them the opportunity to be welcomed onto our local marae, take a break and catch a trout or enjoy a round of golf on a world class course makes the Taupo--Miraka experience a memorable one.” Economic reports commissioned regularly by Enterprise Great Lake Taupo- support the growth claims. The region experiences steady population growth, strong levels of new residential and commercial development, increased consumer confident and retail spending. “Our most recent report shows a notable increase in economic activity in dairying, forestry/logging, wood manufacturing, geothermal energy and tourism,” said Mr Frohlke. “We have low rates of unemployment and our local economy is buoyant. Taupo- is definitely on the rise.” www.greatlaketaupo.biz
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people half way. – Henry Boyle
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PRODUCT NEWS
Safety made simple with Guardmaster 440C-CR30 The new Allen-Bradley Guardmaster 440C-CR30 is a flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use configurable safety relay ideal for applications requiring 4 to 10 safety circuits and control of up to 5 zones. The Guardmaster 440C-CR30 is configured through Connected Components Workbench (CCW) software–the same “free” programming environment used by the Micro 800 family of controllers, PanelView component HMIs and PowerFlex drives– for simple and seamless programming of standard and safety logic in separate devices. The distinct graphical user interface and drag-and-drop capabilities of CCW help guide users through a simple process of selecting certified safety function blocks for the 440C-CR30. This means users can create, control and monitor a safety system in the same software environment as their standard control, resulting in increased productivity and reduced programming time. According to Paul Costantin, business manager, components - south pacific,
Rockwell Automation, “The free CCW safety application enables users to deploy complex safety functions quickly and simply through an intuitive logic editor that uses TUV certified function blocks. While the compact hardware design and IO flexibility means that the 440C can be used in standalone safety functions as well as applications requiring multiple safety functions and zones.” “Combining these capabilities with the ability to develop your standard logic and visualisation out of the same CCW software package means that the 440C offers a level of integration and diagnostics visualisation that is invaluable for machine builders, safety integrators and end user’s alike,” said Costantin. An embedded Modbus interface allows the Guardmaster 440C-CR30 to easily communicate diagnostic data to an Allen-Bradley Micro 800 PLC and PanelView Component. By leveraging the features of CCW and the embedded communication capabilities of the Guardmaster 440C-CR30,
users can monitor, troubleshoot and modify their applications quickly and easily for increased uptime. Five status and 16 user configurable LEDs on the Guardmaster 440C-CR30 relay’s faceplate provide local diagnostics to further aid in status reporting and troubleshooting. The Guardmaster 440C-CR30 helps optimise panel space with 22 on-board configurable safety I/O points in a 110mm footprint and provides a flexible solution for applications requiring multiple safety zones. Without increasing the footprint, the 440C-CR30 can also be expanded with two standard Micro 800 plug-in modules to support 16 additional standard I/O points, saving valuable safety I/O points for your safety system.
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
PRODUCT NEWS
Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree. – Dean Acheson
Hypertherm’s world-class metal cutting solutions Hypertherm designs and manufactures the world’s most advanced plasma cutting systems for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, automotive repair. With a strong international presence, the company has been serving the Oceania market for more than 30 years, and has been expanding its local capabilities to meet domestic demand. The company’s mechanised plasma systems are used to manufacture mining equipment, such as conveyors, wear packages, and hoppers, while handheld systems are most commonly used to maintain and repair the heavy equipment used at the mines. Some of the uses of plasma on-site include pipe fabrication and repair, cutting off corroded bolts to repair bulldozer tracks and for gouging out welds prior to repairing trucks and loaders. In partnership with SMENCO Pty Ltd, Hypertherm’s solutions were on display at the Queensland Mining & Engineering Exhibition 2014 in July. During the three-day event, visitors were able to learn more about thermal
cutting solutions, and the benefits that these innovations offer. Some highlights of the showcase were: DuramaxT Hyamp Torch The first of its kind in the industry, the DuramaxTM Hyamp long handheld torch is a groundbreaking new addition to the DuramaxTM Hyamp torch series. The long torch opens up new possibilities for scrapping, skeleton cutting, and other applications, and comes in two lengths - 1.2 m and 0.6 m. The special application torch is made from high impact and heat-resistant materials, and is designed for industrial use in harsh environments. It is compatible with the Powermax125, as well as the Powermax105/85/65 systems.
Powermax air plasma systems Hypertherm’s Powermax line of products consists of six highly portable
air plasma systems for handheld cutting, and five which can be used for automated cutting, and for gouging of any electrically conductive metal. Each Powermax system is carefully designed for high performance usage and can meet any and all cutting and gouging needs. The latest addition to this range is Powermax125®, a 125-amp air plasma system that is the most powerful offering within the series, and one that features a 100% duty cycle for maximum work efficiency and productivity. The new system can be used for both handheld and mechanized cutting and gouging, and is capable of cutting 38mm-thick metals, and piercing metals up to 25mm-thick when mechanised. Other benefits of the Powermax125 include cut speeds that are up to five times faster than oxyfuel on 12 mm mild steel, more torch options than competitive systems so owners can choose the right torch for their particular application, SpringStart™ technology for consistent starting and a more reliable torch, and Smart
Sense™ technology that automatically adjusts the air pressure for the best cutting and gouging performance. In addition to Powermax 125, Powermax105® and Powermax45® will also be on display at QME 2014, along with Hypertherm’s wide range of torches and consumables that are compatible with these Powermax systems.
Hypertherm designs and manufactures advanced cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes handheld and mechanised plasma systems and consumables, as well as fiber laser and now waterjet products, in addition to CNC motion and height controls and CAM software. Hypertherm systems are trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses.
Sustainable bending technology from Germany The rising costs for raw materials and energy make it clear: to remain competitive in the future, it is imperative to handle resources particularly carefully, to tighten production process and thereby increase efficiency. The resource Man can also be supported with labor-saving solutions, thereby also increasing repeating accuracy.
to interrupt the fully manufacturing process.
To design tube processing especially resource-conserving and efficient, Schwarze-Robitec has developed a series of sustainable solutions over the last years.
Unproductive set-up times are reduced significantly.
These include, for example, the integrated residual length optimisation for tube bending machines for the automobile industry suppliers, which reduce residual tube lengths to a minimum, thereby making considerable material savings. Trials have shown that the material input, depending on the respective tube system, could be reduced by up to 20 percent. The Terminal-End-Bender, which is used for the manufacture of tube systems in power plant construction, bends in both directions conducted subsequently at the rear end of the produced tube coil without having
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automatic
Therefore, the Terminal-End-Bender essentially helps to save time. A further new development of the tube bending specialist are the rapid clamping systems for bending tools in series and mass production, which enable fast and easy tool change.
The bending machine CNC 60 E TB MR which is equipped with multi-tools, allows production of different radii as well as bend-in-bend systems. It is particularly suitable for the manufacture of exhaust pipes with a bending radius of 1 x D without straight intermediate lengths between two bends.
and scrap. Time saving and work-simplifying control Time saving was a central aspect in developing the new machine control. The control software brought onto the market in 2014 reduces non-productive times to a minimum, as the original sequence of the bending process is broken up and the individual steps are arranged synchronously. The integrated diagnostics and maintenance tool guides the operator comfortably through all setting and
optimization steps and checks all data reliably for validity. If the machine operator forgets to define a parameter, the tool will remind him of it. Equipped with a touchscreen it can be operated intuitively which also contributes towards making work easier and leads to a productivity increase of up to 25 percent. The operation of the machine while this is running and during the set-up is designed extremely simple. The well thought-out operating concept makes it possible to familiarise new employees in only a few hours.
Thanks to the multi-bend tools, set-up times are reduced to a minimum. Further cost savings can be achieved with the separating system integrated in the bending system. Here, several individual tubes are coupled to one bending program and are separated after bending with maximum speed by means of the separator. As clamping and support lengths are not required, there is considerably less material loss
The new, easy-to-operate machine control from Schwarze-Robitec clocks the individual working steps synchronously for time-optimised production.
2014 NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
MAINTENANCE
It is difficult, but not impossible, to conduct strictly honest business. – Mahatma Gandhi
Maintenance engineers push for logic in new regulations Before the government created a whole new health and safety industry in 1992, engineers were largely responsible for health and safety in the workplace. After many years of illogical and (sadly) sometimes laughable impositions under the banner of “health and safety”, engineers are rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in the new regime of health and safety regulations and guidelines under the new health and safety Act currently proceeding through Parliament. Buoyed by a record national membership of over 400 engineers, the Maintenance Engineering Society of New Zealand, (MESNZ) has adopted a “get involved” approach to ensuring that logic prevails in the countries renewed approach to health and safety governance. According to Spokesman Craig Carlyle, “The good intentions of the government in 1992 were not delivered by the outcomes. Statistics were worse, not better and far too many of our members were in that group. Before Pike River we were a lonely voice bemoaning the fluro culture so we are pleased to see new initiatives. Even with the best intent, the same bureaucratic chain and self interested parties are involved in providing the governance detail so it is vital that the voice of logic and experience is heard. “ MESNZ has been at the steering end of the formation of the new Health and Safety Association of NZ. This association of associations is the umbrella group nurtured by the government to promote and influence excellent health and safety outcomes for all New Zealanders. It supercedes the original OHSIG group, which will wind up by the end of the year. MESNZ involvement in this new body ensures a direct line of communication for engineering and manufacturing.
Business owners in Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki should now be aware of the pilot inspection programme by WorkSafe NZ. MESNZ is closely watching the results, particularly with respect to guarding. With involvement in the consultative processes, MESNZ is keen to judge if the bureaucracy has delivered an improved pathway for employers or if we have just added cost and complexity. Inspectors are using 4 draft inspection tools covering machine guarding, dust, noise and forklifts. These tools are available on the MESNZ website under http://www.mesnz.org.nz/ resources/health-safety/worksafe-tools/ Other useful tools such as the rapidly growing list of guarding practitioners under http://www.mesnz.org.nz/resources/health-safety/guard-experts/ can be found on the MESNZ website. While the new Health and Safety Act continues its march through the parliamentary process, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is busying itself developing the regulations to underpin the new act. The topics under review are risk, employee participation, asbestos, hazardous substances, and major hazard facilities. With some significant and potentially draconian changes being proposed, readers would be well advised to absorb the proposals at http://www.mbie.govt.nz/ about-us/consultation/development-of-regulations-to-support-the-new-healthand-safety-at-work-act Submission periods are tight so be sure to check the dates and, like the MESNZ, make your voice heard.
Coating attracts water Scientists have invented a new permanent surface coating that attracts water instead of repelling it, for a better, clearer view. The patented technology simplifies the coating process, making it more cost-effective for manufacturers. When it comes to fogged up glassware or windows, the best way to keep a clear view seems to be by wiping the water droplets away constantly or having coatings that prevent the water from sticking to the glass. However, scientists at A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have discovered that doing just the opposite - collecting the water to create a uniform, thin, transparent layer - actually helps produce a better, clearer view. IMRE has invented a new technology, CleanClear, which is a durable and permanent ceramic coating that is transparent and superhydrophilic, which means it attracts water instead of repelling it. This creates a layer of water that prevents fogging on glass or plastic surfaces, and keeps surfaces cleaner for a longer period of time. Water-forming coatings create an additional uniform water layer to produce a better view as opposed to water-repelling technologies that form water droplets which impair vision. Reduced visibility from fogged up glass or plastic surfaces is a common problem in wet or humid environments, and affects a multitude of products such as car windshields, spectacles, goggles, and even covers for cookware. The majority of solutions rely on water-repelling coatings. Unfortunately, current coatings are not durable and most have to be re-applied regularly.
during the manufacturing process at temperatures above 600oC. This limits their application to hard materials like glass. CleanClear can be adapted to multiple surfaces and materials, ranging from glass to plastics. TiO2 coatings are also activated by sunlight but IMRE’s new coating does not require activation and continues to function even at night and in low-light, indoor environments. There are many useful applications for IMRE’s “water-loving” surface. For example, it can be applied on car windshields, mirrors and motorcycle visors, allowing for better visibility in the rain. Coating building exteriors with this new material allows for self-cleaning during rain. Due to its adaptability for application on various surfaces besides glass, this could also result in potential cost savings. CleanClear can also be applied to consumer products to reduce condensation on glass covers for pots, food containers and hot food displays. Conventional technologies mainly use organic-based materials and some with nanoparticles but these don’t last long, and need to be re-coated from time to time. The CleanClear process makes the coating part of the surface – permanently. CleanClear could be used to help create a sort of a clear ‘vision shield’ for today’s car windshields during heavy rain. Or we could use it to replace current daytime, UV light activated coatings with an all-day, all-night CleanClear coat on building facades to keep glass cleaner.
How the technology works The new patented technology from A*STAR’s IMRE is a one-time ceramic coating that can be applied onto glass or plastic materials at processing temperatures below 100oC. This is important as it makes the coating process simpler and ultimately, more cost-effective. Currently, commonly used chemical coatings degrade easily with continued usage and have to be re-applied. IMRE’s new ceramic coating is durable, permanent and only needs to be applied once. Although there are also other similar “water-loving” coatings, these are often processed at much higher temperatures and can only be activated by ultraviolet (UV) rays or sunlight. Large multinational companies also use alternative coatings like titanium dioxide (TiO2) to produce self-cleaning glass surfaces that prevent dirt and dust from sticking. However, the TiO2 ceramic coats can only be applied on surfaces
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Photo showing the effectiveness of CleanClear: The uncoated section (left) of a glass slide is peppered with water droplets whereas the coated section (right) has a thin film of water that makes the glass clear.
NZ Manufacturer July 2014
A mistake proves that someone stopped talking long enough to do something.
BETTER AUTOMATION
- Phoenix Flame
Transport robot The MT-400 f is a new autonomous mobile robot designed as a cost-effective and highly flexible transport system.
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react autonomously to unpredictable situations.
Thanks to its compact symmetric design with centered drive wheels, the MT-400 can move swiftly even through narrow corridors.
Neobotix also offers a customisable roller conveyor, which is mounted on the MT-400 and allows the robot to automatically receive and deliver boxes, packages and other goods from and to stationary conveyors.
No floor markings or fixed installations are required to guide the robot. Its navigation system based on the data of its laser scanner enables the MT-400 to find its way around obstacles and to
Alternatively, any other modules and devices can easily be mounted on the robot as well. As a result, the MT-400 can be used as a generic platform for a wide range of different applications.
Innovative robot solutions for welding Yaskawa’s innovative robot solutions for automated welding effectively responding to the continued pressure for efficiency in the automotive and related industries with new developments such as the Motoman models MA1440 and MC2000 models. Thanks to its newly developed arm design, the new six-axis Motoman MA1440 for arc welding is particularly space saving and extremely fast in operation with a high lifting capacity. Specifically, its carrying capacity has doubled to 6 kg compared to previous models. This enables the basic MA1440 model to be equipped with powerful welding torches that could previously only be used with larger robots. The application uses are correspondingly diverse.
special drives and gear box, it achieves a higher level of stability combined with ultra-precise positioning and greater path accuracy than any other robot in its class. With its lifting capacity of 50 kg, the new MC2000 is also the first choice for remote laser welding. ‘On the fly’ programming of Trumpf and Highyag laser heads with Yaskawa can be performed directly online using the hand-held programmer for robot control.
The Motoman MC2000 robot was designed for tasks requiring a high degree of precision. Thanks to
Celebrating 25 years of Innovation continued network system installed by Nautech in New Zealand Police vehicles is “years ahead” of what is used in the US and even most parts of Australia. “We run a CANbus network in the vehicle between all of our electronics so they’re all talking to each other and we integrate into the vehicle’s CANbus as well. A good example is the light bar, it automatically dims when the LED’s are too bright in low light conditions and when we know when the vehicle is in park we can stop flashing the headlights. Depending on the situation, we
automatically put the light bar into intersection mode for greater visibility. It’s not just a flashing light on the roof anymore. The controls on the steering wheel also operate lights, siren functions and the police radio, so it’s all hands-free when they’re in a pursuit.” However, Nautech’s most recent success story is their new race lights Alitrax system. This system began as start lights for motor racing circuits, to replace old traffic lights. It has now expanded to include automating all circuit controls, as
well as electronic flag point lights. Andrew explains the advantages of Alitrax’s innovative features - “It’s safer for the marshals. Safety is one of the key things. But they’re also a lot more visible. It’s automated; it logs everything so there is no argument. There’s more and more systems that integrate with it, like the lap timing system, so we can start the races, control the timing, and get feedback on what’s happening around the circuit.” The Alitrax system was designed to meet a key challenge and fill
a noticeable gap in the needs of a niche market, but was also inspired by another of Andrew’s passions, motor racing. “I worked as a rescue marshal for 10+ years and as a race car driver I’ve seen both sides.” The Alitrax system is in use at all of New Zealand’s eight motor racing circuits, as well as in some parts of Australia and America, with many of the circuits now in the process of upgrading to the latest fully-integrated system. Export sales are steadily increasing with interest now from around the world.
Manufacturing Confidence continued dollar and improve their international competitiveness. Resilience against a high dollar will pay good dividends when it comes back to more realistic levels. When this happens is anyone’s guess, but it will depend on the US and Europe showing stronger economic growth than they have been. On the positive side of the ledger in NZ we have strong growth in
employment, even with the increased numbers entering (or re-entering) the labour market, and high net migration pushing the overall employee pool up.
These signs all point to continued positive activity.
In addition, much manufacturing activity in the domestic market is underpinned by the building and construction sectors, and there is still pent up demand in Auckland and from the Christchurch rebuild which will take some time yet to play out.
Perhaps most obvious is our growing reliance on trade with China, and continued ties with Australia. Approximately 50 percent of our exports are currently headed for their shores, which has substantial implications should either of them
Still, it is always wise for manufacturers to keep certain risk factors in mind.
falter. Marry this with the impact of rising interest rates, high personal and industry debt levels, inflationary pressures and the uncertainty that surrounds a general election, and there is a clear argument for maintaining some degree of caution. There are other challenges to be wary of also. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
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NZ Manufacturer July 2014
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire
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