May 2014
www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz
2014 Better Manufacturing
Composite helicopter made in NZ This years’ spectacular show centrepiece at EMEX 2014 is the New Zealand designed and built carbon fibre composite helicopter manufactured in Dairy Flat by the Composite Helicopter Co. It wasn’t a good look for the prototype machine to ditch into Auckland harbour, but that’s in the past, those days are gone and fine tuning and learning from the experience helped owner Peter Maloney to move on, make the changes needed for success. The KC518 helicopter has strong support worldwide and now with new carbon blades is well positioned to forge ahead. The benefits of this kind of helicopter are endless and when NZ Manufacturer first wrote about it, we recognised the innovation and forward-thinking and dedication of Peter Maloney and his team. The helicopter is a good example of Kiwi ingenuity and importantly, the prototype becoming the product, being made on our shores and available
for sale around the world with orders already being taken. An all-composite fuselage helicopter is one thing, robustness another, as is fuel efficiency and the advances in composite materials means a successful helicopter has been made from a structural perspective. Visit the website www.compositehelicopter.com, check out its features, learn about the challenges that were faced building a fuel-efficient, balanced composite flying machine that the world is sitting up and taking notice of. There are many firsts with the KC518 – amongst them: it can be used by the military and VIPs, it is corporate and is the helicopter of the future.
Revolutionary mass manufacturing 3D printing system on its way Project Ara has received a ton of media attention over the last several months, as Google sets out to change the way smart phones are made and sold. The bigger story within the story is the fact that 3D Systems will be using an entirely new mass manufacturing system, which will rely almost solely on 3D printing. 3D Systems may be about to single-handedly revolutionise the manufacturing industry, by integrating a new system, capable of mass production, via additive manufacturing. We all know that traditional 3D printers, even the large scale quarter million dollar machines, are painstakingly slow. Up until now, unless you are mass producing only a few hundred small products, 3D printers are better left for rapid prototyping. There are tremendous benefits to 3D printing, mainly the fact that each print a machine makes can be totally different than its last. All the while, there is no need to change out equipment, teach production line employees new techniques, or reprogram the movements of robotic arms. If manufacturers could just overcome the problem of speed, the entire industry would be turned upside down. continued on page 33