NZ Manufacturer June 2015 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited

June 2015

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

9 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY New thermoplastic thread material for 3D printers.

10 COMMENT Canterbury Manufacturing Pathways.

ANALYSIS Increase revenue by increasing productivity.

Panelised prefabrication proves promising for Rotorua Perfectly poised to adopt a new building concept, Rotorua could become nation leaders rivalling the likes of Scandinavia through panelised prefabricated construction. Over 40 builders, architects and engineers recently came together for a Grow Rotorua Wood First panelised prefabrication workshop, with Offsite Design managing director and consultant Johann Betz.

Modern and approach

innovative

Panellised prefabrication is one of the most efficient forms of off-site construction and enables the resulting closed timber frame floor, wall and roof panels to be erected in a matter of days. Boasting a significant number of benefits such as quality control, rapid assembly, a greater level of safety and minimised waste, building via panellisation takes inefficient building

processes and places construction into a controlled warehouse environment.

Wood First policy Rotorua Lake Council’s Wood First policy strives to promote wood as the primary construction material for buildings to firmly establish the districts position as New Zealand’s leader in the forestry industry. Grow Rotorua chief executive, Francis Pauwels, says the policy is backed up with initiatives to support local architects, building specifiers, engineers and developers. “Workshops– such as the recent presentation from Johann Betz – aim to educate and inspire people to consider the possibilities of wood”.

continued on page 25

Multi-million dollar factory to create jobs, increase exports The creation of a new multi-million dollar food manufacturing plant will allow one Kiwi company to double its exports and expand into new foreign markets. Leading Kiwi fresh chilled food producer Pitango will relocate to a new $3 million factory in South Auckland this month, and along with an increased production capacity will create up to 20 new jobs in South Auckland during peak season. Managing Director Graeme Laurence says the new facility will allow the food company to expand into Japan and South Korea later this year, adding the two new Asian territories to its current established export markets. “We expect that 80% of our product volume will be exported by the end of 2016, which is a 15% increase on the current amount heading overseas,” says Laurence.

The extra volume of products being manufactured will also benefit other New Zealand regions, which supply Pitango with hundreds of tonnes of organic and fresh farmed vegetables and meat. “We’re proud that we use natural and local ingredients in our products, and that in this way we help support the farmers around the country who produce such high quality vegetables and meat.” The new manufacturing plant will have quadruple the available floor space of the previous factory. Twenty new jobs at the brand new plant in Manurewa will provide solid opportunities for the community.

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS 4 5

ADVISORS

Innovators aplenty at Mystery Creek. Larry Wiechern

Manufacturing qualifications help leading winemaker build team skills.

Is the Manager of the Maintenance and Reliability Centre, Manukau Institute of Technology.

200 R & D Experience Grants places now open.

6 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Simplifying model predictive control with Pavillion8 software. Managing the ‘Internet of Things’. Network Time Machine ensures optimal user experience. New material 1,000 times more conducive than currently available.

Craig Carlyle

Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.

10 COMMENT Tom Thomson, President NZMEA ON Canterbury Manufacturing Pathways.

Catherine Beard

11 ANALYSIS Increase revenue by increasing productivity.

12-22 SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

Is Executive Director of Export NZ and Manufacturing, divisions of Business NZ, NewZealand’s largest business advocacy group, representing businesses of all sizes.

South Island manufacturers punch above their weight. SolidWorks CAD software makes exoskeletons possible. Brian Willoughby

Kemppi launches sophisticated welding quality management system. University of Canterbury adding additive manufacturing.

Cigweld on Stand 40. Composites firm going aloft.

Lewis Woodward

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING Adapting to the new frontiers in the manufacturing industry. Delcam makes Learning Zones available as a free iPad app.

26 WORKSHOP TOOLS

Is Senior Vice President of the NZ Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Managing Director of Contex Engineers and Plinius Audio.

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.

Heavy can also be easy.

Remote detection of oil & gas infrastructure corrosion.

Dr Wolfgang Scholz

Is HERA Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Engineers NZ.

28 DEVELOPMENTS Health & safety law reform series. Article two: The duty to understand the business’s risks and hazards.

29 ANALYSIS Making the most of connected machines.

31 REAR VIEW

Australian researches take 3D printing to the next level.

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.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

EDITORIAL Innovators aplenty at Mystery Creek

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, Tom Thomson, Katalin Csikasz, Ian Raper Kevin Mckillop,

ADVERTISING

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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

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS E: info@nzmanufacturer.co.nz Free of Charge.

MEDIA HAWKES BAY LTD T: +64 6 870 4506 F: +64 6 878 8150 E: mediahb@xtra.co.nz 1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings PO Box 1109, Hastings, NZ NZ Manufacturer ISSN 1179-4992

Vol.6 No. 5 June 2015 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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And, of course, some really great innovations were on show. None more so than Waikato Milking Systems who took out the International Innovation Award with its Centrus 84 Rotary Platform at Fieldays 2015. In conjunction with the Centrus 84 Rotary Platform comes a new innovation in pivot rollers, made to manage the endurance roller in 24/7 dairy operations. The Centrus 84 Rotary Platform has already been sold into the US, China and South African markets. It also has a global patent making it an exclusive product to Waikato Milking Systems. The Centrus 84 is the first fully-composite rotary platform and is 80% lighter than previous platforms and five times stronger. And it is cutting-edge technology. A highlight of the show was the availability of a free app – STORY – that allowed Fieldays visitors to follow the Innovation Trail and learn more about the fascinating history of New Zealand’s agriculture through the Victorian-era buildings and historic objects in Mystery Creek’s Heritage Village.

it’s restructuring during the fieldays. An incredibly mistimed focus on their future which had people at the fieldays in earnest discussion. Fonterra is a huge player in the NZ economy and they need to smartly refine their future plans and get on with bigger and better business. Good news for regional development is the announcement that Scanpower’s Oringi business park at Dannevirke has signed a six-year contract with Intrepid Semiconductor for the lease of the former freezing works boning room as a base its diffusion plant – part of its enormous semi-conductor empire. The parent company is Trion. In 50 years, the semi-conductor business revenue has grown to US$348 billion ($430 billion). As a comparison, Fonterra’s business is $18 billion. All products will be exported. There are no clients in New Zealand for Intrepid Semiconductor.

It was unfortunate – or just bad timing – that Fonterra announced

Doug Green ASIA

MANUFACTURING NEWS

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

The pursuit of excellence is less profitable than the pursuit of bigness, but it can be more satisfying. - David Ogilvy

BUSINESS NEWS

Manufacturing qualifications help leading winemaker build team’s skills For national winemaker Matua Wines, supporting 73 employees working through nationally recognised certificates in competitive and core manufacturing on-the-job last year is a part of a training journey that has added training awards to the trophies it regularly wins for its wines.

Innovative businesses are now invited to apply for funding to hire students for work experience as part of Callaghan Innovation’s R&D Student Grants scheme.

“It’s been a hugely rewarding process,” says Matua Health, Safety and Environment Coordinator Paula Langford. “Over the year the company’s seen significant improvements in competitive manufacturing, with our employees actively seeking out opportunities across our business.”

R&D Experience Grants, administered by Callaghan Innovation, are available to R&D active companies in New Zealand to employ up to 200 undergraduate, honours, and postgraduate diploma or certificate students with science, technology, engineering, design, or business qualifications.

The journey to Matua’s success started in 2012 with a tailor-made training programme, Raising our Glass, which builds on the company’s ways of working and strong safety focus. The programme also helps empower employees by building confidence and communications skills.

“R&D Experience Grants are an important and popular part of the Government’s support for New Zealand’s innovation system. The programme gives 200 of New Zealand’s future innovators a head start in their careers,” Callaghan Innovation Chief Executive Mary Quin says.

Training to the national qualifications industry training organisation Competenz supports plays an important part. “Our team really value the chance to gain a qualification that’s recognised nationally,” says Paula. Paula appreciates the way these qualifications can be flexible and tailored to Matua’s needs. “Working with Competenz we’ve built training programmes that retain our training style and methodology – and that’s important to us. As well as rewarding staff, the programmes maintain Matua’s safety-first focus and ensure our team is competent to industry standards.” Matua’s global parent Treasury Wine Estates recognised the New Zealand business’ success with a major award in 2013. Matua has been a finalist for other national awards for the role their training plays in lifting staff engagement. In the spirit of continuing to build nationally recognised skills, the Matua team is currently playing a leading role in helping Competenz launch New Zealand’s first national cellar operations qualifications.

Commercial & industrial growth

Employment growth

“These grants are of great benefit to industry and students - helping students develop their technical skills and gain experience in a commercial R&D environment, and helping industry speed up their R&D work with additional talent and fresh ideas.”

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

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

Greater East Tamaki Business Association Inc.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are today. -Robert H. Schuller

Rockwell Automation simplifies model predictive control with Pavilion8 software Rockwell Automation Pavilion8 Model Predictive Control (MPC) software now delivers a more user-friendly configuration environment, step-by-step prompts, warning diagnostics and flexible work flows to simplify building, maintaining and adjusting highly complex process models. Pavilion8 software has long been known as being among the most powerful software for solving highly challenging control problems, and it is now also among the easiest to use. The solution builder tools within the software now offer MPC configuration in a modern Windows environment, giving users a more familiar and streamlined experience. For example, users can now execute right-click mouse operations and complete copyand-paste-type actions to develop applications in the software, helping them deploy their solutions faster and reduce training and adoption times. Pavilion8 MPC v5.0 software remains control system independent, but smoothly integrates with the PlantPAx process automation system from Rockwell Automation and includes

four key enhancements. Windows-based configuration and support – An improved overall user experience for expert and inexperienced users alike begins with the updated, Windows-based solution builder tools, which improve work flow by enabling users to create a customized working environment and providing access to online help. For example, problems that arise during configuration will now prompt helpful, context-sensitive warning and error messages. Users can simply click on these messages to receive detailed model-creation steps that will guide them toward a resolution. Users can also more easily modify past work to simplify model maintenance and re-use. Multivariable run-time controller – Users will also discover new time-saving features in version 5.0. The robust run-time controller has been updated to allow users to add new predictive disturbance measures in half the time as the previous version, and easily compare differences in MPC application versions. Users now can easily sort, re-name,

add, delete, compare and copy MPC variables and software supporting a flexible work flow, which can help reduce troubleshooting time. Output variables, such as powder moisture from an industrial dryer or reactor pressure in a vessel, can also be used as inputs to a nonlinear control model to help simplify deployment. Multiple developments that enhance integrating control models simplify and improve run-time performance. Continuous controller monitoring – Users can now configure their process models with specific metrics for production, quality, energy usage and other factors. They can also continuously measure their processes according to these metrics and use historical records to track ongoing benefits. The software incorporates new data efficiencies to provide a faster and more responsive trend environment, particularly for those supporting larger and more demanding systems. Supports modern browsers and operating systems – To make the Pavilion8 experience more consistent with other software environments

and improve overall ease of use, Rockwell Automation re-designed the software’s user interface to align with current technology standards. This includes support for newer browsers like Internet Explorer 11 and operating systems, such as Windows 2012. Pavilion8 software is the leading Rockwell Automation platform for MPC and real-time environmental management. It is also the first platform to combine empirical and first principle models into a single composite model. With proven return on investment when applied to a wide range of industries, continuous processes and equipment, Pavilion8 software uses an unrestrictive and robust configuration approach. This allows it to adapt to changing business needs and to flexibly meet simple linear to the most challenging nonlinear processes.

Managing the “Internet of Things” Researchers have developed a software platform designed to manage and control devices for “Internet of Things” (IoT) systems. The platform can be tailored for everything from city management sensors and devices to controlling home appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology in which smart devices are interconnected and communicate via the Internet. A limitless range of devices could be incorporated into the IoT, from refrigerators and TVs to cars and solar panels. However, there is currently no universal system for managing these devices and the data that is transferred between them. “Many vendors focus on device manufacturing and provide good technologies for wireless connectivity between devices,” explains Dr Billy Chan, senior manager of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI). “But many existing systems lack an IoT management platform.” There is also no standard platform to leverage the development of IoT applications, which means that designers need to start from scratch with each new application. This is time consuming and costly. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

ASTRI has developed the “IoT Management and Application Platform” (IMAP), which allows the connection of a local network of devices to the Internet, and provides remote management of devices and data through a simple and customisable web-based graphical user interface. The system supports several technological standards for communication between devices, web interfaces and network architecture. This means it can be used on different platforms to support a diversity of devices and the development of IoT applications. To demonstrate IMAP’s capabilities, ASTRI has developed several “Smart City” applications. These include “Solar Street Light Management”, a system designed to provide real-time monitoring and remote control of more than 3,000 street lights in target to reduce maintenance costs. This system has been implemented in partnership with two companies in Wuhan, China, and field trials have been successful. It is now being deployed on a larger scale, with a target for city-scale deployment in the next few years. Other Smart City applications include “Environment Monitoring and City Management”

and “Renewable Energy Device Management” (see below “Other Smart City applications”). Dr Chan says that the flexibility of the system means IMAP offers solutions on a smaller scale too. “IMAP can also support smart home applications to provide status monitoring, remote control, data collection and notifications for home appliances and devices,” he explains. Other Smart City applications Based on the Solar Street Light Management application, the ASTRI team can further develop an “Environmental Monitoring and City Management” application. The environmental monitoring system features different devices and sensors Many existing systems lack an IoT management platform.

for deployment on street light poles, including air quality monitors that measure pollutant levels, sound sensors to detect noise levels, and temperature and humidity sensors. If the system senses that the weather is dry, the temperature is high and the air quality is poor, it can send commands to turn on roadside sprinklers to irrigate plants and trees, lower the temperature and improve the air quality. The “Renewable Energy Device Management” system was designed and developed to remotely monitor and control solar power stations that provide green energy for city-operated facilities and devices, such as river/ canal toll machines, bridge monitoring devices, bus stops, display boards, road signs and cameras.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions. - Marcus Aurelius

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Network Time Machine ensures optimal user experience The Network Time Machine LTE/VoLTE, is a portable LTE troubleshooting appliance that helps wireless carriers resolve network performance issues quickly and cost effectively. This ability is crucial to reducing customer churn, as subscribers who switch wireless carriers increasingly point to poor customer care and inadequate network performance as their reason for leaving. The Network Time Machine provides extensive network and application visibility, as well as the forensic details necessary to solve signalling or data performance problems in 20 Gbps carrier environments. Using Network Time Machine, carriers can measure and prove network performance, resolve subscriber issues and deliver the best possible consumer experience to meet growing voice, video, and data demands. “The proliferation of affordable smartphones, tablets, and other devices has sparked an ever-increasing popularity of mobile videos, games, and data applications,” said Amit Rao, general manager of the Carrier Wireless Core product line. “While networks have evolved from 3G to 4G/LTE to meet performance demands, network monitoring technologies have not kept pace. Network Time Machine LTE/VoLTE is the first troubleshooting appliance that

can deliver the 20Gbps performance required for high-performance wireless networks and—even more important—for creating loyalty among today’s fickle wireless subscribers.” According to a recent Ovum survey*, 27 per cent of wireless subscribers who had changed carriers in the previous month cited “low network quality/ speed of the services” as their reason for switching. More than 30 per cent said poor customer care was a key reason. While today’s wireless carriers need better and faster ways to resolve the network issues that drive customer complaints, most of their network engineers rely on solutions that lack capture performance or fragile appliances that must be shipped to unmonitored high-traffic LTE port locations. These tools often break and require complex configurations to make them operational. Network Time Machine is a rugged appliance that solves both problems. It identifies and resolves issues before subscriber frustration and churn concerns grow. The solution’s unique performance bottleneck analysis (PBA) automatically discovers applications and reports performance trending metrics by server, network, and client site. These metrics show where application time is spent and immediately identifies

the root cause of customer complaints about performance. Network Time Machine also provides voice and video traffic analysis and playback, enabling carriers to troubleshoot and monitor the entire triple play from a single appliance. LTE network deployments have evolved carrier networks to an all-IP environment that encounter a host of new application and data problems, from the backhaul to the core and data centres in the network. Even if current monitoring systems can reach

these regions, which most cannot, the end-to-end visibility needed to diagnose issues would suffer due to the exorbitant cost of monitoring every link and the lack of granularity needed to identify and fix the root cause. Network Time Machine provides the application and network visibility LTE carriers need more cost-effectively and with more detailed data than other solutions. Network Time Machine for LTE is available in both portable and rackmount platforms.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts. - Soren Kierkegaard

Internet of Things Top Trends Software AG has released its picks for the top trends for the Internet of Things (IoT). The overarching theme highlights the need for better regulation and security for widespread adoption. The Internet of Things is a revolution. There will be serious threats to those who are not prepared and profitable opportunities for those who are. Issues such as security and governance will need to be addressed as IoT begins to impact more and more of our daily lives. Software AG’s Top Internet of Things (IoT) Trends: 1. Don’t Gamble with IoT: Untrustworthy Things will be treated like gamblers in a casino – under close surveillance and approved until they misbehave. Traditional methods of on-boarding Things using explicit authorization will be insufficient as IoT proliferates. 2. Intelligence on Things gets up close and personal: As intelligence on the Internet of Things becomes critical to decision-making, it will become necessary for analytics to reside close to the Things being analysed. Analytics will evolve both in the cloud and on the “outer edge”— either on the Thing itself or on a gateway nearby. 3. Say hello to your virtual assistant: IoT will enable consumers to adopt a “virtual assistant,” which will act in a semi-autonomous manner in the home — monitoring sensor-enabled Things to replenish light bulbs, order

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prescription medicines or buy groceries online. But consumers will demand assurances of security and privacy before embracing the trend. 4. Pay-as-you-go Things: The Internet of Things will accelerate the pay-as-you-go model for products. All products will be sold with something “smart” embedded within them. For example, a washing machine could be offered cheaply, or even for free, with the consumer only having to pay as it is used. 5. Wanted: mathematics teachers: As graduates are increasingly snapped up for Big Data analytics, the market will headhunt math teachers and professors out of schools and universities. Government offices of Innovation, Employment and (Advanced) Education need to wake up and take action. 6. Regulation will evolve: Regulators will learn that security attacks can come from any point in an IoT system and in unexpected ways; a bank could be breached via its smart building’s control system, or a city brought to its knees by someone infiltrating their smart city transport systems. They will have to evolve compliance and governance to provide a legal framework for IoT.

7. Smart cities tackle IoT risk: As cities get smarter with IoT, municipal governments will have to enact new regulation to ensure adequate risk management. For example, who is responsible if a smart traffic light fails and there is a multi-car accident? The city? The technology provider? The car manufacturer? Insurance risk will need to be considered in the connected world. 8. Prepare for data doomsday: Organisations will have to start building out robust, advanced solutions on specialized digital business platforms or they will perish in the inevitable data onslaught. Although 95% of companies expect to experience benefits due to the emergence of IoT in the next two years, a majority (65%) find that analysing big data in real time is very difficult to achieve and nearly 75% are struggling to get proper analytics from their current data flow, according to recent survey. IoT is a real-time challenge; it is Big Data analysis in a pressure cooker. Old products will be re-invented and whole new ventures will emerge overnight to focus on the analysis part, and define service on top of it. Innovators and market leaders that are in the midst of this digital transformation will come out as the winners.

Old products will be re-invented and whole new ventures will emerge overnight to focus on the analysis part, and define service on top of it.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. - Elbert Hubbard

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

New material is 1,000 times more conductive than currently available Scientists at A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have invented a new type of thermoplastic thread that can be used in 3D printers to create functional circuits for use in electrical gadgets. “I believe this will revolutionise desk-top manufacturing for electronic gadgets,” said Dr Johnson Goh, IMRE scientist and Head of the Science and Engineering Research Council’s (SERC) Nanofabrication and Characterisation Group and Principal Investigator of this project. Dr Goh and his team have successfully used this new material to print prototypes such as a USB connector that can light up a LED bulb, complex three-dimensional circuits, and a wearable flexible sensor. The resistivity of IMRE’s thermoplastic material is in the range of 0.5-1.0 Wcm, about 1,000 times more conductive than most commercially available plastic filaments for 3D printing. The filament is strong enough to stay intact throughout the 3D printing process in a conventional thermoplastic 3D printer. “Objects in various colours, shapes and textures complete with functional circuits including wires, resistors and capacitors, could one day be printed in the comfort of one’s home,” said Dr

Omron signs new partnership agreement

Kwok Sen Wai, one of the key scientists in the team. The team has found that using IMRE material to 3D print circuits rather than creating circuits through the conventional etching-and-soldering method is much safer, faster and cheaper. In addition, such circuits have highly uniform conductivity, with less than a 5 percent variation, compared to more than a hundred percent in commercially available conductive filaments. “We believe that our material will encourage more innovation and entrepreneurship as it will empower people to make prototypes more easily and cheaply,” added Dr Kwok. IMRE is actively looking for industry partners to commercialise the technology. The new technology is now available for licensing through A*STAR’s commercialisation arm, Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd (ETPL). In comparison with other newly developed 3D-printable conductive plastic materials “Protoplant”: has a resistivity of about 15 Wcm, and its base material is Polylatic Acid (PLA). IMRE’s material is at least 15 times more conductive, at 0.5-1.0 Wcm. “MakerGeeks”: has a a resistivity of about 1,000Wcm, and its base material is Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)-plastic. IMRE’s material is approximately 1,000 times more conductive.

Omron’s innovative Sysmac Automation Platform is expected to be supplied under the new agreement.

Omron, a global leader in industrial automation, has signed a new partnership agreement with Alliance Automation to supply cutting-edge automation equipment over the next two years. Queensland-based Alliance Automation provides quality process control systems, data management systems and electrical design to a broad range of clients across Australia. The company specialises in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and process automation. Under the new two-year agreement, which took effect from May 28, Alliance Automation has signed on to Omron’s preferred Integrator Partner Program, with a view to broadening its footprint in the automation market. As part of the agreement the Omron

team will work closely with Alliance Automation engineering and business development staff to ensure both companies receive maximum benefit. Omron is expected to supply its latest technology, including the Sysmac Automation Platform, a fully integrated platform featuring one software, one control and one connection. Other products to be supplied include drives, inverters and industrial control devices. Omron will also provide expert training for Alliance Automation management and staff. Key staff members have already completed Omron’s training and accreditation program. And on-going training on Omron solutions to ensure Alliance Automation engineers have the skills and knowledge needed.

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.

COMMENT

-George Bernard Shaw

Canterbury Manufacturing Pathways By Tom Thomson, President of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) How can we inspire the next generation to seek work and education in the manufacturing industry, and show them the great opportunities it can offer?

CPIT, giving them basic training in workplace safety, workplace practices as well as instruction on machinery use in various manufacturing environments.

With the average age of employees in the industry now approaching 50 years, this is a question that the Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC), NZMEA, Competenz, the Ministry of Education, CPIT, schools and manufacturers have been considering, as part of a wider effort to improve conditions for manufacturers in the region.

The second stage involves the students gaining first hand experience within a manufacturing firm, with structured workplace training one day a week at a business for 10 weeks with CPIT tutors providing workplace training assessments.

This process has resulted in the Canterbury Manufacturing Pathways (CMP) project, a tripartite collaboration between employers, schools and training providers, which is focusing on a range of initiatives to improve the supply skills and talent of secondary school students into training and jobs needed in the manufacturing sector. Some of these initiatives include manufacturing site visits, giving students and teachers a direct and intriguing view of operations, as well as speaker visits to schools to inspire and break misconceptions. Also under discussion are scholarships and paid internships to attract talented students who might not otherwise have considered a career in manufacturing. A key part of this project is the Manufacturing Gateway Programme, which gives students an opportunity to gain basic trade skills, confidence and experience in what it is actually like to work in a manufacturing business. The Gateway Programme targets 16 – 19 year old students with an aptitude in engineering. The programme is based on the Level 2 requirements for the National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering, and begins with a five-week pre-trades block course at

The aim is that this first-hand experience will encourage students to seek employment or further training to move into a career in manufacturing, increasing the supply of new workers and skills, which can be further honed through apprenticeships, training and education. This is particularly important in Canterbury, as the rebuild has been taking the lion’s share of new workers and school leavers with an aptitude in engineering who otherwise have entered manufacturing. High levels of construction are only transitory, and once that has slowed the manufacturing sector will become ever more important to provide sustainable skilled jobs in the region.

The aim is that this first-hand experience will encourage students to seek employment or further training to move into a career in manufacturing. For younger generations coming through school, a career in manufacturing is not always considered or seen as an obvious choice, and

misconceptions remain about what manufacturing jobs are like. Projects like the Canterbury Manufacturing Pathways Project are invaluable for raising awareness, and showing students and teachers alike that great opportunities lie within the sector. Critically, it can also open parents’ eyes, which are a driving influence on their kids, to the potential of education and a career in manufacturing for their future. Co-operation between industry, schools, training organisations, local government agencies and Central Government like this is vital for understanding industry needs and communicating job opportunities – getting schools and teachers on board can make a huge difference. There are many reasons why promoting jobs and growth in manufacturing is good for everyone. Manufacturing accounts for 12% of all jobs in Canterbury and is the largest employment sector in Canterbury with more than 34,000 employees generating more than $3.1 billion p.a. to the Canterbury economy. Jobs in manufacturing tend to be well paid, and have higher average weekly wages than that of all industries (average across all sectors). The same is true for median weekly wages. As well as being paid higher than the average of all sectors, in both average and median terms, manufacturing can also provide vast opportunities

for its workers – it can lead to further training and up skilling opportunities, and provide a well paid and satisfying career. A focus on employment and growth in the manufacturing sector also has strong flow on effects to the rest of the economy, through employment, spending in the local economy, supporting supply chain businesses, and bringing much needed export income to New Zealand. A job in manufacturing creates between 2 and 5 jobs in the wider economy, and for every dollar of turnover in manufacturing generates $1.74 of turnover in the rest of the economy – clearly investment in the sector pays off.

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

Yes, you can be a dreamer and a doer too, if you will remove one word from your vocabulary: impossible.

ANALYSIS

- Robert H. Schuller

Increase revenue by increasing productivity Katalin Csikasz, TechPro Plus Interested in increasing revenue by streamlining processes, mass-producing products and increasing production volume in your factory? TechPro Plus, an Auckland based company can help you with this. We specialise in engineering solutions for manufacturers and are experts at streamlining processes with a strong focus on output efficiency. A recent project, which started out as a product Q&A and compliance enquiry, ended with streamlined production, increased productivity and revenue with the opportunity to compete in new markets. TechPro Plus was invited to quality check an internationally supplied product which had received a range of installation complaints from the NZ based end customer. After a thorough product investigation it was found that the product was marginally outside of NZ standards. While the overseas manufacturing partner was committed to finding a solution, TechPro Plus had to be realistic. With the ability to manufacture the annual NZ order requirements in just one day; it was not cost effective for the manufacturer to invest in a different die for NZ production, given the small volume. To find the solution TechPro Plus needed to be creative and look outside the box. TechPro Plus initially provided remote consultation to save the client costs.

However to fast track the project, a visit to the overseas factory was necessary to enable hands-on consultation. After a walk through the production line to gather all the necessary information, TechPro Plus found that the overseas manufacturer was interested in selling their product into other international markets; but was disadvantaged by the significant capital expenditure of building different expensive dies to suit each countries’ requirements. The production downtime associated with changing the dies was also a significant issue.

The production downtime associated with changing the dies was also a significant issue. TechPro Plus took a “one size fits all” approach and studied each potential countries Standard requirements with the aim of identifying a product specification which would meet all

relevant country Standards, including NZ. After careful consideration a product specification was proposed which achieved this, eliminating the need to use different dies and the associated downtime. In addition to providing the solution to the overseas supplier, TechPro Plus initiated the modification of their production line, which resulted in increased quality and output efficiency. A few months later, TechPro Plus visited the overseas manufacturer who were excited to share their success. Having taken Tech Pro Plus’ approach and solution one step further by incorporating some of the Asian countries Standards into the final solution; they now have a product which is fully compliant with multiple countries’ requirements. At previous production levels a die would last more than a year. Within a few months they were onto their second die due to the increased volume, suggesting production had increased significantly. Although TechPro Plus was not given the exact numbers, judging from the increased stock, the number of containers on site ready to ship, and the smile on their faces, it’s clear that the project was a massive success. The elimination of the QA and installation difficulties for the NZ Company meant they no longer had

to switch their original supplier to an US supplier; avoiding a significant cost increase for which the GM received recognition. Whether you are a manufacturer supplying the NZ market only, an importer or an exporter the same approach could be used to increase your productivity levels. If you are currently supplying the same product with very slight modifications to different clients, with small production runs requiring you to hold more stocked items than you’d like; then consider how your business could benefit from a product solution that would fit all your customer’s needs Tech Pro Plus can provide a complete solution from start to finish; including liaising with your manufacturing suppliers either in NZ or overseas, with the aim of increasing both productivity and revenue. www.techproplus.co.nz

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

www.southmach.co.nz

USING PROMO CODE: NZMANUF

• • •

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. - Mark Twain

South Island manufacturers punch above their weight The south island of New Zealand is blessed with some incredibly creative manufacturing companies and inventors who, over the years, have made significant contributions to local and national economies. The diversification of the products made is quite amazing and a real feather in the cap of the pioneering spirit which says that most things are possible. Let’s have a look at a few of these people: Glen Martin, when a student at the University of Otago, was faced with the question “Why are we not flying to work with jetpacks?” He set about doing something about it…and the rest, as we say, is history. Dr Keith Alexander invented the Springfree Trampoline because in 1987 his wife didn’t like the models available for safety reasons for their children. SI Total GDP ($m)

Or Peter Lynn who lives in Ashburton who developed the sport of kite buggying. His kiteboards and kitesurfers are widely used in New Zealand and overseas.

has a hinged side that opens, allowing you to loop the strap into the mechanism, then swing the side closed and ratchet away. The product is now patented in more than fifty countries.

In the Mackenzie Basin, in his workshop Bill Hamilton, a self-taught inventor, started to build his legacy with the Hamilton Jetboat. And today Hamilton Jet has over 300 staff putting jets into boats for the worldwide market. There are more than 40,000 units installed around the world.

An expert on the combustion engine was Earnest Godward. He settled in Invercargill after arriving in New Zealand in the late 1880’s and started inventing. An eggbeater, a post- hole borer, a hairpin, a petrol economiser, a simple unit that fitted into engines to enhance their performance. And there was a lot, lot more…

Then there is the commuter’s best friend, the Yike Bike by Grant Ryan of Christchurch operated electrically which is also portable. If you have a long walk in front of you don’t stress – use the Yike Bike! Armour Transport Technologies of Dunedin prides itself on Barry Armour’s side-loading tie-down ratchet which

The telegraph typewriter, Rutherford splitting the atom…one could go on and on and on… Finally, The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the complexity of an economy based on the activity it undertakes: technical and R&D intensive production add to complexity,

skills and future capability, while simple production lowers the value. New Zealand has a relatively low ECI value, and between 1996 and 2012, New Zealand’s ECI moved from 0.63 (ranked 34th) to 0.59 (ranked 42nd). Economies we would consider as our high tech competition have significantly higher ECI values: Switzerland 2.01, Germany 1.89 and U.S 1.56. Let’s have a look at the financial contribution to the New Zealand economy that comes from ‘the mainland’.

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

41,257

42,383

43,692

45,805

47,849

SI Manufacturing Employment

53,034

SI Total Manufacturing ($m)

5,398

5,836

5,556

5,537

5,785

SI Employment

510,291

SI Manufacturing as % of GDP

13.08%

13.77%

12.72%

12.09%

SI Man Employment as % of Total

10.39%

SI Agriculture ($m)

3352

2810

3546

4224

4390

SI Agriculture Employment

46,833

SI Construction ($m)

2,771

2,754

2,845

2,867

3,218

SI Construction

48,345

SI Agriculture as % of GDP

8.12%

6.63%

8.12%

9.22%

9.17%

Si Construction as % of GDP

6.72%

6.50%

6.51%

6.26%

6.73%

*Source – Statistics NZ

*Source - Census

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. – Anaïs Nin

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

The evolution of exoskeletons made possible with superior software and service Exoskeletons are things many outside of the medical industry would consider beyond our technological grasp; something reserved for the science fiction department in Hollywood that popularised the technology in films such as Edge of Tomorrow and Elysium. However, inspired by the need to enable people with debilitating conditions and paraplegia to walk once again, the founders of Rex Bionics set about finding out just how possible it was to bring an exoskeleton to life. What they found was it required a level of detail that not many outside of the manufacturing industry could possibly fathom, yet they started the journey with a design conceived on the back of a coaster in Auckland. “Twelve years ago my best friend was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and both mine and (co-founder) Robert Irving’s mothers were in wheelchairs,” said Richard Little, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for Rex Bionics. “We knew already of the attitudinal and access barriers for people who are forced to live in wheelchairs, so we designed a few sketches on the back of a coaster and went to a garage and built a robot. “By 2007 we had a proof of concept prototype, and soon after received venture capital funding.” That concept was a robotic frame which acts as a pair of legs that people can wear to enable them to walk once again, even up and down stairs. Dubbed ‘REX’, it’s the world’s first hands-free, self-supporting, independently controlled robotic walking device, or “exoskeleton”. Built at a manufacturing facility in Albany, Auckland, with the R&D facility for the global team also based there, the REX is now available in two models – one for use in rehab centres which need the unit to be quickly modified for each patient, and a second for personal use which is designed to fit an individual. Both models have changed the lives of people across the globe. Getting the concept off the back of the coaster was the first challenge the fledgling company faced, but one made easier with the use of SolidWorks Computer-Aided Design

(CAD) software. “In my opinion SolidWorks is the industry standard,” he said. “The SolidWorks system is used extensively in our offices, as it is where most of our IP lives; at least five of our staff use it every single day. We use it for all of the initial designs, and also for testing within the Simulation add-on software. There is not a minute of an hour of a day in a year when someone is not using SolidWorks in our offices. The level of detail the software is capable of is without peer.”

team to be exposed to a wide variety of ways of doing things, and Intercad’s expertise in SolidWorks opened our eyes to the sheer capability of the software.” Each government body that Rex Bionics works with around the world requires the company to meet a different set of regulatory requirements, which they then incorporate into one design. It needs to prove to each government that its medical standards have been met, and that the design has been properly tested.

But simply knowing how to use SolidWorks was not enough for Little, particularly once the company expanded; it now employs 24 people in New Zealand and 12 abroad. In addition, meeting the myriad medical standards across the globe meant they required a deeper understanding of the software.

“The FEA [Finite Element Analysis] and Simulation software add-ons to SolidWorks enable us to prove to governments that we have done all the testing required to obtain formal certification,” he said. “Intercad’s training on these packages has helped us fine-tune our turnaround times for the testing phase.”

“We know how to use it, but we wanted to expand our capabilities and our level of control,” he said. “Speed and iteration of design are really important to our business. We have to test the exoskeletons on humans eventually, so we have to ensure that our testing within the Simulation software in SolidWorks is accurate so we can cut down on the number of prototypes we have to build. Prototypes take months to manufacture, so if we can reduce the number of months we need it can significantly reduce time-to-market.”

Using SolidWorks to bring the concept to life has enabled the company to launch exoskeleton robotics into the mainstream relatively quickly. As recently as five years avgo, Little said discussion on exoskeletons was limited. But with every prototype built and every life altered for the better, the world is becoming increasingly aware of the technology.

The company began working with SolidWorks specialist, Intercad, a little over 12 months ago, due in large part to the company’s customer service reputation and training capabilities. Little said working with Intercad brought immediate benefits to the company. “We started working with Intercad because they understand the ins and outs of the software, and how to use it in the most effective and most efficient way,” he said. “We want our

“My passion is marrying the technology with the medical need, and it’s becoming clearer in medical terms that sitting is the new smoking,” he said. “Sitting in a wheelchair is just bad for you; people in wheelchairs are at risk of bowel and bladder issues, for instance. “But people are beginning to come around. I was at a rehabilitation conference six months ago and about a quarter of the time was spent talking about exoskeleton technology. People see the benefits now, and any way we can get our exoskeletons constructed quicker – from the design phase to the manufacturing floor – will only benefit

those who need them most. “Intercad’s knowledge of the industry and SolidWorks is so important to us in how quickly we can turn things around, and its training is first class. In my opinion you can never have too much knowledge, and the Intercad team is only too happy to share its expertise.” Established more than 25 years ago, Intercad is part of the Central Innovation Group of Companies. Intercad has offices in New Zealand and Australia. The company will take part in SouthMach in Chrishchurch on July 22 and 23. Intercad will be on stand #135. www.intercad.co.nz Intercad has the largest team of certified SolidWorks experts, and engineers experienced in systems development and integration in Australia and New Zealand. The company provides the full suite of SolidWorks training courses and other customised design training programs at Intercad centres in New Zealand and Australia. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

F/E

Gap must be kept for fire Hose

2.4

3.0

2.4

167

169

170

171

172

173

3.6

175

3.6

4.2

3.6

110

112

4.2

1.2

4.8

Seminar Room

3.6

7.8

8.4

4.8

6.0

6.6

13 12

2.4

4.2

6.0 8.4

3.9

FHR

9.6

7.2 7.2

9.0

8.4

7.2

7.2 9.6

8.4

7.2

134

135

7.2

160

ENTRY

2.4

184

161

2.4

6.6

3.6

7.2

8.4

4.2

4.8

5.4

6.6

3.6

4.8

5.4

3.6

10.2

5.4

.1) 1 (1

5.4

4.8

5.4

4.8

7.2

2.4

5.4

130

7.2

132 131

3.6

6.0

Cafe

138 139

6.6

4.2

7.2

6.0

7.2

4.2

3.0

157

3.0

188 189

137

7.2

15.0

104 103

3.6

133

136

156

4.2

158

4.2

3.0

155

9.0

2.4

154

4.2

159

3.6

186

Cafe BOH

Cafe

3.0

195

194

1.2

R FH

Cafe

0.9

6.0

7.8

4.8

4.2

3.6

6.0

4.8

3.6

7.2

10.8

8.4

3.6

151

9.6

4.2

182

115 116

4.2

3.0

163

152

3.0

13.2

5.4

113

8.4

7.2

4.8

164

3.0

178 179 181

7.2

148

146

4.8

4.2

177 1.2 1.2

2.4

FHR

3.0

2.4

PLEASE NOTE: This plan may change as sales and circumstances dictate.

F/E

2.7

0.9

3.0

3.9

2.4

3.0

2.4

3.0

3.6

3.0

4.2

4.8

6.0

7.2

3.0

3.6

3.0

2.4

3.6

3.0

6.0

3.6 6.6 5.4

7.2

6.6 3.0 2.4

2.4

3.0 2.4 6.6 3.6

5.4 3.0 3.6

Boulevard

1.5 2.4

FHR

2.4

3.0 3.6

3.6 3.6

6.6 7.2 6.6

2.4 5.4

FHR

3.3

7.2 1.2

13.2

3.6

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz FHR

3.3 FH R

EN T

FH R

R FH

SHOW EXIT

EXIT

Horncastle ARENA Jack Hinton Drive, Addington CHRISTCHURCH

SouthMach 22 JULY - 23 July 2015

PLAN DATE: DRAWN BY: Nick Batty Version: XPO Exhibitions Ltd V 56LC 26/05/2015

Stand Details: Black Panel System 2.3 m high - 45mm thick (Measurements are from Centre of Panels) Grey Carpet One Multi-Plug Power Point General Lighting Stand Number LATE BUILD:stand build up from 12pm Tues 21st July Stands, 81

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FHR

REGISTRATION

14 NZ Manufacturer June 2015

FHR

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. – Steve Jobs

Kemppi Australia launches sophisticated welding quality management system in Auckland Leading Australian welding equipment supplier, Kemppi Australia, recently launched its Arc System 3 welding quality management system, at the Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA), in Auckland on the 5th of June. Arc System 3 is a modular suite of software-based solutions which has been specifically developed by Kemppi to improve welding quality management, operational productivity, and reduce cost and risk. The System offers a choice of Arc modules that work seamlessly together to capture ‘big data’ welding information. This information allows users to more effectively monitor, control and manage the quality and efficiency of their welding operations. Users can implement the various modules according to their needs. Plus, the System can be applied to single and multi-machine, and multi-site operations both within a country and across borders, and managed from a single central welding co-ordination point. Kemppi

is currently implementing its first, multi-site commissioning of the System across international borders. Peikko Group, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of concrete connections and structures, together with Kemppi, will deploy the Arc 3 at Peikko’s production units in Finland, Lithuania and Slovakia. The System traces every weld, records welder qualifications, welding procedure specifications (WPS), all materials and operational welding parameters. Once welding parameters are set, any deviations by the welder are identified in real-time and can be altered to eliminate the need for rework. As Kemppi Australia’s Managing Director, Mr David Green, explained, ‘Arc System 3 automatically collects and analyses big data information for you so that you know at a glance how the welding operation is proceeding and if any adjustments need to be made, saving time and money. ‘Plus, it can collate welding documentation automatically to

significantly reduce the time and cost associated with post welding administration. ‘In essence, Arc System 3 is an invaluable toolbox of solutions that support welding operations to become significantly more efficient and productive, save time and money, and

minimise risk.’ The modular nature of the System means it can be tailored to each organisation’s specific requirements. The System’s flexibility ensures features such as NDT, welder maintenance and power source calibration/validation scheduling can be built-in as required.

See us at at Stand #116ach the Southm , Exhibition 22-23 July

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www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

C o n n e c t i o n Te c h n o l o g i e s GELM2M termination blocks SEAMLESS NETWORK CONNECTIVITY GEL filled termination block comes in a wide range FROM EDGE TOall THE NETWORK CORE of sizes, for ASSETS single cables up to five cables, February 2015

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MPGel, supplied in two bottles allows you to mix your own sealing GEL and seal your own enclosures. Mix the amount you need and within 5 minutes the job is done. Unlike hard setting resins, components and joints can be removed from the GEL with no damage to the cable or joint. Ideal for sealing PCB’s as used in wet environments. EX STOCK

Connection Technologies Ltd, P.O.Box 39340, Te Puni Mail Centre, Lower Hutt Tel. 04 5665 345 • Fax. 04 5665 347 • Lewis@connectors.co.nz • www.connectors.co.nz

NOTE: Check out our new website, still under review but feed back appreciated. www.connectors.co.nz

P.O.Box 39340 Wellington Mail Centre 59 Marsden Street Lower Hutt Ph 4 5665 345 Fax 4 5665 347

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EVERYONE WHO GOES TO WORK COMES HOME HEALTHY AND SAFE WorkSafe and ACC will be at SouthMACH, in Christchurch – 22-23 July 2015. We’ll help you improve your health and safety performance and reduce harm in your work place. Come and see us at Stand 29 and pick up your copy of best practice guidelines for the Safe use of Machinery and Safety Toolkit. SouthMACH, Horncastle Arena, Hall 1, Stand 29.

More tools over page

worksafe.govt.nz

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Â Voltaire

Stop Guessing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Start Knowing Introducing Kemppi Arc System 3 for Total Welding Quality Management Created specifically to improve welding quality management, operational productivity and reduce risk, the Kemppi Arc System 3, is a modular software product system that can be tailored to your needs. It offers a choice of Arc modules that work seamlessly together or which can be integrated with your existing welding systems to let you monitor and control the quality of your welding operations to achieve welding excellence. With Arc System 3, every weld is traceable, including the welder, his qualifications, welding procedures, all settings and hardware that is used. It allows you to effectively plan, monitor and control your entire welding production process to ensure the desired quality is achieved and to minimise risk. Welding parameters can be specified and any deviations by the welder can be altered during the welding process to meet the required quality and eliminate the need for rework. Plus, Arc System 3 automatically collects and analyses data, and outputs reports and collates welding quality documentation for complete peace of mind. A part of Total Welding X Management (TWXM), the Kemppi Arc System 3 lets you manage and control critical welding operations like never before so that you know your welding operations meet all the necessary requirements. For more details call +61 2 8785 2000 or email david.green@kemppi.com

www.kemppi.com

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

University of Canterbury Adding Additive Manufacturing Time moves quickly, and the benefits of new technology are not always immediately apparent. Two years ago when UC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering suggested the purchase of a 3D printer, a serious machine costing tens of thousands of dollars, some of the benefits were not immediately obvious – and getting printing done in China appeared to be a reasonable alternative. 3D Printing has since become a mainstream activity for many engineers, designers and even production houses. UC staff and students have now embraced this exciting and rapidly developing technology, realising it is the way of the future, offering previously unavailable engineering solutions. A Stratasys Elite machine, that uses the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technique, was the first investment. At first it was a curiosity, but over time staff, postgraduate students, undergraduate students and UC’s industry connections began to realise the potential of building items without having to submit drawings, order and wait for materials, wait in a queue for tradesmen, or sending printing jobs offshore and waiting for the parts to arrive. There’s also the benefit of being able to make items previously impossible or too expensive to make by other means. It was not long before the machine was being used 24/7. Staff and student research projects now use the machine to make lab sample parts, prototypes or other project equipment. A second machine was purchased, and during the busiest periods both run 24/7. Over the last two years part production has exceeded 1000. The University is now considering the purchase of a third industrial FDM machine. Having an in house machine within easy access to the users proved to be the key. Clearly, parts can be made in China and would possibly cost less, but being able to see the process, work with the technicians, gain personal understanding of how the process works, and having the control to be able to quickly make subtle or wholesale part changes, and have virtually immediate production of parts made a big difference. The University recently increased its capacity and part variety capability further still, with the purchase of a Stratasys Connex polyjet machine. This has a larger build envelope and has the ability to print multiple materials, including rubber like material with a range of shore hardness. Internationally, a common use for this machine is making short run or sample injection moulding tools.

Figure 1 University of Canterbury’s 3D Printing and scanning facility

The possibilities for additive manufacture seem infinite. Global giants like Google, Microsoft, Fugi Xerox and Hewlett Packard see this potential and are investing heavily in technology development. At UC engineers and scientists are developing new printing techniques and applications. Two projects are developing new methods of rapidly fusing polymers in a 3D Printer.

Health care will likely have the greatest impact through development of 3D printed body parts or inserts. UC researchers are using additive manufacture to replicate body geometries for investigating organ function. For example, respiratory illnesses and breathing difficulties are the leading cause of hospital admissions for new-born babies so it is important that we gain a technical understanding of new-born breathing. With a further understanding of their breathing we can tailor hospital equipment to provide more effective treatments for sick babies. Our research uses an experimental process called Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to investigate how air flows through the airway during breathing. The 3d print pictured is a model of a new-born’s airway which is an ABS printed core that has been smoothed by dipping in liquid acetone. Once clear silicone is cast around the 3d print the ABS core is dissolved away leaving a silicon model of the airway to be used for experimental analysis.

Figure 2 Research student developing a new printing process

3D printing multi-part machinery is a natural progression for the technology. Once a machine design has been modelled on a CAD system, the print files can be uploaded and the machine replicated anywhere the files can be downloaded. A UC researcher has been developing fully 3D printed mechanical devices; which has resulted in what is believed to be the world’s first ever fully 3D printed functional thermodynamic e n g i n e .

Figure 3 Fully 3D Printed functional engine.

Figure 4 3D print of an infant’s airway. ‘For appropriate applications additive manufacturing offers many advantages over traditional manufacturing techniques.’ Dr. Don Clucas, manager of the UC 3D Print and Scanning facility says, ‘When we started at UC there was very little accessible local knowledge about what the appropriate applications are and how to generate the models for printing also the machines were not readily accessible. Since having machines on site we are developing the know-how and machine demand is often exceeding availability. The key has been making the resources easily available to the engineers.’

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

22 - 23 JULY 2015 100+ EXHIBITORS

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire

Composites firm going aloft The fast emerging industry in unmanned aircraft or, as they are colloquially called, ‘drones’ will be highlighted at SouthMACH by Global Aerial Platforms Ltd a New Zealand aviation constructor that has created a very different approach to the usual ‘out of-a-box’ products buzzing our skies. In the world of unmanned aerial vehicles (‘UAV’) GAP is an early leader in the design and build of larger models that are more robust and more likely to be flown by the search and rescue community, scientific research agencies, government services and commercial interests Advanced modeling and composites manufacturing technology has positioned GAP at the forefront of a fast changing industry. The composite based building process is based on the years of experience in this field by Graham Tully, the principal of GT Composites, a Christchurch company whose origins lie in marine hovercraft manufacturing. GAP took the next step into UAVrelated aviation. Nor did GAP hesitate to take a collegial approach with supporting enterprises providing expertise in telecommunications optics, GPS tracking, and aerospace protocols. GAP has established positive and constructive relationships with such

inter-governmental agencies as Civil Aviation Administration, Callagahan Innovation and the University of Canterbury. The company supported a project by Canterbury Coastguard Air Patrol to achieve faster outcomes for search and rescue operations by developing a UAV model suitable to fly ahead of marine-based rescue craft and provide a broader horizon of visibility. From this work evolved an exciting new field in larger-sized UAV development. Airframe technology related to composites, plastics and laminates is central to the manufacturing advantage held by GAP. GAP has built and successfully flown two fixed wing unmanned platforms as proof of concept aircraft. A 2 metres wingspan version is a nimble, quick-to-air, first response vehicle capable of a myriad of commercial tasks as well as emergency SAR operations. GAP delivered a larger UAV of 7.5 metres wingspan to the UAE for exhibition at the World Drones for Peace competition in Dubai, during the first quarter of 2015. That GAP variant was placed sixth and global publicity has followed. GAP is not slowing its R&D programme. An even bigger variant is in late development and will be

the ‘hero’ model for the company’s commercialisation phase. GAP intends to manufacture aviation variants suitable for use in natural crisis management, search and rescue missions, environmental analysis, management of roads, railways, sea lanes, canals and rivers; safety monitoring of wharves, installations, electrical networks and pipelines; mapping and resource analysis; border security and civil defence. “New Zealand composites manufacturing at the high end is up to the best in the world and GT Composites adds that ingredient of Kiwi ingenuity,” said Graham Tully. “The UAV project is an opportunity for GT Composites to showcase its capabilities and attract additional work. “Like others in New Zealand manufacturing we meet the challenges full on with fierce determination to achieve our goals. We have proven our initial products fly amazingly well and it’s a great success for local manufacturing.” “As we stretch now towards long multi-day duration variants we expect to meet fresh technological and regulatory challenges, and we’ll have the important task of finding capital from private equity partners.”

Welding equipment specialist on Stand 40 CIGWELD - An ESAB Brand, is the major brand of cutting and welding products in Australia, New Zealand, Near Pacific and South Asia. Along with the CIGWELD brand, ESAB also promotes other leading global brands in the Asia Pacific region. These market leading names include Victor-Thermal Dynamics, Arcair, Tweco and Stoody. The merging of the 2 giants, CIGWELD and ESAB, has enabled us to provide the market with a comprehensive portfolio of Welding and Gas Cutting Equipment, Plasma Cutting Systems, Welding Safety products and Welding Consumables. The range caters for industry segments including heavy fabrication, construction, mining, manufacturing, shipbuilding, repair or maintenance, farming and DIY. We are dedicated to creating an enduring premier global enterprise built on a unique business culture that achieves success for our customers. In keeping with the company’s vision, the company’s core brands in Asia Pacific offer innovative product solutions to enhance the end users welding and cutting experience. CIGWELD is appearing on Stand 40 at SouthMACH 2015.

Visit Stand 151South Mach15 and See the Expanding Future of Unmanned Aerial Services Global Aerial Platforms Ltd (‘GAP’) is a New Zealand based developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for a range of commercial, scientific, environmental and community purposes. All GAP UAVs deploy GPS satellite connectivity for the purpose of navigation and can be equipped with embedded stabilised cameras for the relay of thermal, multispectral and high definition imagery communications TheEngineering, GAP Global materials, Ranger alongside an Auster.and imaging technology has positioned GAP at the forefront of a fast changing industry. GAP’s UAV models range from” ■ ■ ■

Our ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The 1.9m delta wing ‘Kuaka’ UAV is designed as a fast response multi-purpose short-range vehicle with a flight time of 40-50 minutes. Launched by catapult, the Kuaka cruises at 50 knots and can land on land or water. The 3.5m quad UAV ‘Hummingbird’ is designed as a robust work platform for multiple tasks in the urban landscape and horticultural fields including environmental monitoring and prevention systems. (Under development). The 7.5m + dual fuselage‘Global Ranger‘ UAV is a fast response specialty vehicle with a stable platform to accommodate payloads, This version will cruise at high altitude on flights of long duration.

exciting range of UAVs is designed for multi-uses: Search and Rescue operations (seafront, ocean maritime and alpine rescue) National border surveillance Maritime support (fisheries, ports) Vessel monitoring (including yacht racing, anti-piracy) Livestock monitoring

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Emergency services Horticultural atmospheric analysis, crop monitoring and frost protection Highways, bridges and traffic surveillance Inspection and Maintenance of major installations Disaster management

VISIT US ON STAND 151 AT SOUTH MACH15 AT CBA ARENA CHRISTCHURCH JULY 22-23 2015 OR CONTACT US ON 64 27 265 5557 www.skygap.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. – Alice Morse Earle

Transparency in mould handling Moulds from injection moulding machines are subject to wear and tear and must be regularly maintained as a result. The regularity of inspection often depends on the experience values of individual employees or handwritten notes. However, these are not always accessible. Therefore, in many cases, maintenance and inspections are frequently carried out only if the produced components no longer meet the required standards or if the mould malfunctions. This results in unscheduled stoppages that waste plenty of time and money. This is where Mould ID from Balluff comes in. It supports condition-based maintenance and provides more transparency in mould handling. By means of industrial RFID, Mould ID makes the use of injection moulds traceable and ensures their optimal utilization. The best part: Mould ID is backed by an autonomous system that can be retrofitted anywhere and at any time on all machines, without the need for the manufacturer or intervention in the controller. In addition to the mould identity, a rugged RFID data carrier at each mould stores the current shot count and various mould-specific process parameters in non-volatile memory without making contact. This data can be called up via a smartphone or a mobile RFID reader at any time (for an audit, for example). An externally attached inductive or optical sensor, which is mounted at a suitable place on the machine, serves as the shot counter. Both not only ensure that assignment of the moulds is unmistakable, but

Your number one destination for Thermal Imaging equipment Come see us at stand No. 10

they also return the objective database for condition-based maintenance. This extends the service lives and improves reliability during operation, while also increasing the productivity of the systems and improving their efficiency. The SmartLight provides direct feedback regarding the current status of the mould to the operators at the machine. The limit values for “Warning” or “Maintenance required” can be individually defined for each mould. The SmartLight displays the status so that it is visible from a great distance and, most importantly, unmistakable. The best part: All Mould ID systems can be connected to the control level, an ERP system or an MES system via web services by means of LAN, Wi-Fi or Powerline. The result is access to the data and the processes from everywhere. As a result, Mould ID is a clear and practical example for how Industry 4.0 easily finds its way into production.

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.

– Elbert Hubbard

Adapting to the new frontiers in the manufacturing industry Best steps towards an efficient project community through recognition of the most definitive drivers at a time when PM and project portfolio management is gaining prominence Over the past decade, the manufacturing sector has witnessed a complete transformation across the globe. With large developing economies effectively handling competition against mature markets and transforming into first-tier manufacturing powerhouses, the changes have been unprecedented. Manufacturers have also experienced spontaneous growth in unstable markets around the world and skilled talent has remained in short and unbalanced supply in different regions. The entire evolutionary process has seen manufacturing organisations focus on demonstrating business value, with project governance and metrics playing an increasingly important role in keeping management informed about project performance and its impact on the bottom line. In an industry as diverse as manufacturing, project management as a management discipline has emerged as an important channel in highlighting much economic activity. Increasing Strategic Role of Project Management Manufacturers in recent years have discovered that project management’s reliable methodologies fit together ably with the overall processes and in every area of production. As business leaders continue to adapt to the increasing market volatility, project management is playing a big step closer to business strategy. A fully aligned programme and project portfolio management strategy includes the entire organisation, mandating project execution at every level and aiming to deliver value at each step. Best Steps to an Efficient Project Community Recognising the most definitive drivers that critically impact the skills requirements and competencies development of the project community in the manufacturing industry is essential. Identifying these four drivers and implementing the right measures respectively is paramount to achieving project success. Production Pressure Given the dynamics of the manufacturing industry, the pressure to produce, to gain or retain competitive advantage and expand business operations has resulted in a surge of capital projects planning, scheduling, www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

cost, and people management. In order to be effective, manufacturing organisations will need to apply their limited resources judiciously and focus on projects that yield the highest return on investment. Project portfolio management informs and guides capital decisions through a structured approach to project prioritisation and governance. Globalising the Business Today’s customers are constantly changing, and as they pursue growth in new global markets, manufacturers will need to stay in proximity to the market. Often this means doing business in unfamiliar parts of the world, bringing added uncertainties and complexities to operating models. With multiple businesses stretched across disparate geographies, the decision-making process can quickly become disjointed, creating challenges in ensuring that the overall business strategy is being supported and executed globally. As each region develops its own operating model with independent structures and processes; business leaders will need to take steps in ensuring that the global business strategy remains and serves as the foundation for regional decision-making. Supply Chain Vulnerability Across Asia, manufacturing companies are increasingly leveraging supply chains with the latter’s growth getting increasingly complex, extensive and vulnerable. Concerns over transportation costs, shifting regulatory environments, intellectual property

rights and even natural disasters are causing many manufacturers to re-examine their supply chain strategy to mitigate risks. As a result, manufacturers are seeking to diversify their suppliers across geographies. Since sourcing and procurement have been likened to the tip of the spear as they relate to managing supply chain risks; ensuring consistent practices across geographies is critical to driving a cohesive strategy. Operational Effectiveness Balancing aggressive cost reduction targets with increased expectations on production is the biggest challenge today’s manufacturing organisations are facing. Manufacturers are also under increasing pressures to eliminate defects and increase reliability on utilising ageing assets. Further complicating the issue is the decline in human capital availability caused by the re-allocation of resources to meet regulatory requirements, and the rapid retirement of senior personnel and project professionals. Increasing operational effectiveness generally translates to process improvement initiatives and/ or the implementation of new technologies. Either way, improving operational effectiveness ultimately depends on improving project effectiveness.

Increasing operational effectiveness generally translates to process improvement initiatives.

The Road Ahead According to ESI’s Asia Pacific Project Management Salary Survey 2015, project leadership and communication and general management skills, were the top two competencies ranked by respondents as critical to career advancement in the manufacturing industry. Similarly, hiring managers across the region also looked for the same skillsets when recruiting project management professionals. Mismanaged resources leading to failed projects and Talent shortage in the project management space are the top two project management challenges faced by the manufacturing industry. Enhancing capabilities to gain edge in an increasingly competitive global environment has become a prerequisite for manufacturing organisations. Due to the dynamic business environment that organisations are operating nowadays, it is absolutely pertinent to lay emphasis on the manufacturing industry drivers and understand their impact on project performance. Managing capital project risks through the development of effective project portfolio management capabilities, maintaining operational alignment with the core business strategy, building consistent organisational capabilities and a clearly defined project management methodology are the foundations to achieving success in today’s manufacturing industry.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. – Warren Buffett

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

continued from page 1

Panelised prefabrication proves promising for Rotorua Timber-town opportunities Mr Betz says the challenge for Rotorua is to get into the fabrication of building components and make it here. “You already have the trees, this is now about figuring out ways you can add value to it locally and employ locals to undertake it, and I think, especially with a wood-first policy, it should be easy to achieve.” Mr Pauwels says the strength and history of Rotorua as a ‘timber-town’ and the council’s wood first policy align well with the opportunity the city is facing. “Rotorua is renowned for its world class timber supply and manufacturing, and can leverage off the existing research, technology and service expertise when competing both nationally and internationally.

build and lease back the Rotorua premises currently under construction on Pukaki Street to tenants ACC, where the building will act as a local example of the possibilities of wood. “We would never have been able to build a two storey building on this site as it would be too heavy, but the great advantage of prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels (CLT) is that they are much lighter than concrete. “Being a geothermal centre we come across a lot of geotechnical issues in Rotorua, and if this build goes as easily as we predict, developers and investors are sure to take advantage,” he says.

Where to now? Mr Pauwels believes the immediate target market opportunity lies within the current Auckland housing crisis.

“Rotorua’s unique geothermal resources prove advantageous for both wood drying and production, and our close proximity to the Tauranga port makes for efficient exportation.”

“Given the backlog of housing reported in Auckland, a building system that offers advantages in terms of speed is necessary and panellised prefabrication offers just that.”

Making the move to panellised prefabrication

Targeting domestic markets initially, significant supply chain development research must be conducted before international exportation considerations are made.

Mr Betz quashed the misconception that prefabrication is a capital heavy, fully automated process and encouraged start-up businesses to start out small. “All you need is a large warehouse space, a table, and two carpenters working with a nail gun to produce prefabrication, and organic growth is very easy to achieve – if you can do something small such as a residential building, there’s nothing holding you back from going bigger.” For existing construction companies, the shift to prefabrication may be simple as it is essentially “building with a different type of material” however the entire process may prove challenging - requiring collaboration with architects, prefabricators and engineers from day one.

The early adopters R & B Consultants developer, Ray Cook, has been the first to lead the way with a wood first concept, motivated by geotechnical issues often found throughout Rotorua.

Delcam makes Learning Zones available as a free iPad app Delcam has made the Learning Zones for its full range of CADCAM software available as a free App for iPads. The App can be downloaded from the Apple App store at https://itunes.apple.com/app/id988414798 The Delcam Learning Zone App comprises tutorials for the latest releases of all Delcam software, including the company’s CAM programs, PowerMILL, FeatureCAM and PartMaker; the PowerSHAPE Pro CAD and reverse engineering software; the PowerINSPECT inspection system and the ArtCAM range of artistic CADCAM programs, plus the Delcam CRISPIN range for the design and manufacture of footwear. A selection of case study videos from the Delcam.tv website is also included, in which a number of customers talk about their relationship with Delcam and the benefits they get from using the software. Users with suitable internet connections can stream the videos using the Learning Zone App. Alternatively, the videos can be downloaded and then viewed offline at any time. The videos can be filtered by product and/or by industry category to help viewers find the content that is relevant to them. In addition, any of the videos can be made a ‘favourite’ so that it is easy for users to go back to their preferred material. While the Learning Zone App is intended mainly for existing customers, it will also help companies interested in adding Delcam software to see the latest developments in the programs. New tutorials for new product releases will be added to the Learning Zone App as they are developed to help users make the most of each new version of their Delcam software. The current version of the Learning Zone App can only be used on iPads but an Android version is also being prepared that will be released shortly.

“The work required is certainly not insurmountable and it is very likely we will target countries already using New Zealand Radiata Pine and are wood lovers or ‘lignophilic’ as the term has been coined. Existing building standards will also determine target countries,” says Mr Pauwels.

The immediate target market opportunity lies within the current Auckland housing crisis.

Delcam’s new Learning Zone App contains videos demonstrating the latest developments in the company’s CADCAM software.

With a reputation for innovative builds, R & B consultants will design, www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

WORKSHOP TOOLS

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Heavy can also be easy

Remote detection of oil & gas infrastructure corrosion

Fast, with highly accurate contours, and efficient - the demand for maximum quality at minimal effort is rising, particularly in the machining of heavy precision parts for the aerospace industry. The combined turning and swivel unit successfully meets the requirements for multi-face accessibility and machining of massive workpieces in one clamping position. With its rigid mounting and excellent parallel feed, the milling table also gives users extremely good geometric workpiece accuracy and low set-up costs. With the growing need for highly precise components for the aerospace industry, the demand for dimensional accuracy and stiffness in component manufacture is increasing. The Ruckle swivelling table MRT 800 2xs sets standards in this segment. Heavy workpieces, such as turbine casings for jet engines, are put into position at an angle. This solution is more efficient and makes the process safer than angling the tool relative to the workpiece. Thanks to the combined turning-swivel unit, even complex geometries such as undercuts and oblique drill holes can be accurately executed. In addition to excellent stiffness, the MRT is characterized by distortion-free pallet clamping and is ideally suited to the precise machining of workpieces up to 1600 mm in diameter and 1000 mm in height as well as for loads weighing up to 4,000 kg. The uncompensated positioning accuracy of the rotary tables is less then ± 2 arc seconds, the axial and radial run-out accuracy is under 10 µm. The tilting and swivel axis of the

table is driven by means of bevel gear or spur gear units in a master-slave configuration. They are particularly torsionally stiff and unlike torque motors also provide a high level of safety even in the event of a power failure. The rotary actuator consists of a worm gear or torque motor and can be adapted to the requirements of the application. A specially engineered rolling bearing mounting is used in the rotary axis that provides greater degrees of stiffness and accuracies than conventional arrangements available on the market. Another advantage of the swivelling table is the exchangeable middle section. It allows the rotary axis for positioning and milling operations to be replaced with an axis for combined turning and milling operations. Ruckle’s modular design principle also allows customers to align the table geometrically correct following a crash or to perform repairs on site without having to dismantle the entire unit. Repair costs are kept in check thanks to the variable exchange of spares identical in design.

Heavy can also be easy - the Ruckle swivelling table MRT 800 2xs successfully meets the demand for maximum quality in the machining of heavy precision parts.

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W www.screwproductions.co.nz E info@screwprodutions.co.nz Postal & Factory - 12 Davies St, Rotorua www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

– Albert Einstein

Corrosion and it’s degradation of oil and gas infrastructure-pipelines, rigs, towers and refineries-represents an annual cost of many millions of dollars to the industry. There are thousands of kilometres of pipelines operating in more than 50 countries around the world. They form the gathering systems joining wells to process facilities and the distribution system delivering product to refineries and markets. The overwhelming majority of petroleum pipelines are constructed from metal and, whether buried or on the surface, they are all exposed to a range of physical, climatic and chemical environments that can cause corrosion. The corrosion of steel is accelerated in harsh environments, especially coastal, tropical or desert, where high salt levels or extreme temperatures can accelerate the rate of decay. It is important that owners of high-value assets understand the cost implications of ignoring the effects of corrosion. There are many advantages of planning for corrosion control and mitigation, two of which are that the life of an asset can be extended and maintenance time and costs are reduced.

As part of the regular technical program, the Australasian Corrosion Association (ACA) is hosting a one-day technical event in Melbourne on 21 May where the latest challenges and developments in the materials engineering and corrosion control for both onshore and offshore environments will be discussed. Sessions will focus on the remote inspection and the identification of hidden corrosion within oil and gas infrastructure. Speakers and participants will have the opportunity to share their work experiences, case studies, best practices, engineering guidelines, and failure analysis in a technical exchange open forum, aiming to look at new technologies and methodologies to fill the gaps in these industries. The events are aimed at oil and gas industry personnel, such as Asset Managers, Structural, Process and Maintenance Engineers, Specialist Contractors and Asset Condition Inspectors, who would like to gain a solid foundation of knowledge of corrosion control, enabling those working in the field to reach more effective solutions in the prevention, detection and remediation of this growing problem. For full course details and bookings please visit the ACA website www.corrosion.com.au

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

A&G PRICE LTD A & G Price continues to demonstrate its commitment to investment in new technology The recent purchase of two “Artec” brand 3D Scanners has created a buzz with both the design and process engineers at A & G Price Ltd says the GM Nick Box. To ensure maximisation usage on small detail as well as larger scanning capabilities the company purchased an Artec “Eva” as well as an Artec “Spider” scanner. The Eva has a wide scanning field and 3D accuracy of 0.1mm and can scan items up to 1 metre from the scanner. The Spider has a smaller scanning field with 3D accuracy of 0.03mm. The two scanners can be used in conjunction with each other to capture 3D data into a single STL file. The Eva is used to quickly capture the basic form of the 3D shape. The Spider is then used in areas that require higher definition or dimensional accuracy. The captured 3D model is rendered in real time on the PC screen and can be immediately sectioned or measured directly from the scanned data. The scanned 3D data can be imported into most 3D modelling systems such as Solid Works which we use extensively in our foundry, machine and fabrication shops. Alternatively the scanned data can be sent directly to our 3D plastic printer for rapid prototyping and pattern work. 3D Scanning allows us to quickly “Reverse Engineer” components eg, Non Supported OEM items, Break Down or Repair items. This has led to vastly improved turnaround times for replacement items in the breakdown situation with our field sales engineers able to scan and capture measurements of components onsite. One field that is showing promise is the Mining and Quarry industries, these operators often have the only machine in the country which ties them to the standard OEM supplied wear parts. We are now scanning the components and modifying the working face to suit their particular requirements, we then router a 3D pattern in foam and cast the item. This has allowed us a quicker turnaround time, no expensive up front pattern cost, more flexibility to explore alternative designs so if our customers requirements change in the future it’s only a matter of modifying the model and making a new casting. Traditionally reverse engineering modelling of complex multi shaped and curved components is very difficult and time consuming, now we simply scan them and convert the model too solid works and produce shop drawings for manufacture. What was once a multiday job can take only a few hours. Another benefit for our customers is required we can also use the scanners for “In Process” measurements of machined or fabricated items and final inspection of components within our Work Shops. This gives an accurate 3D model of the entire components instead of the traditionally checked machined areas.

There is no end to what can be scanned, if you have a sample we can scan it. Contact us at A & G Price Ltd Sales Manager – Barry Ingle 07 8686060 or 027 544 6780

www.agprice.co.nz

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NZ Manufacturer June 2015

DEVELOPMENTS

If you don’t do it excellently, don’t do it at all. Because if it’s not excellent, it won’t be profitable or fun, and if you’re not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there? – Robert Townsend

Health and safety law reform series Article two: The duty to understand the business’s risks and hazards Kevin McKillop of health and safety development organisation Workbase explains what the upcoming health and safety law changes mean for manufacturing businesses and how to make sure your business is ready. The new law puts a greater onus on duty holders such as company directors, owners and managers to know about all of their business’s operational risks and hazards, and how they are being managed. The new Act will seek to have organisations eliminate or minimise risks. This is a shift from the previous focus on eliminating, isolating, or minimising hazards. It is therefore important to understand what each term means. Risk describes the chance, probability or likelihood that something could be harmful. Hazards are the causes of harm, injury or illness or potential harm to someone or to something. For example: when operating machinery (the risk) there is a chance of crush injuries or amputations (the hazards) occurring. Reviewing and updating your hazard register to include assessments of risk is a practical way to start preparing for the new law. WorkSafe NZ’s website provides a risk

assessment process and rating table example, which can be found in the Appendix at the back of the Best Practice Guidelines for the Safe Use of Machinery. Refer to: http://www. business.govt.nz/worksafe/information-guidance/all-guidance-items/ safe-use-of-machinery The Act will also place more emphasis on involving employees in health and safety. Identifying, assessing and managing risks should involve talking with the employees who are responsible for the work activities and consequently at risk of harm. Begin the process by discussing the known hazards and look at the associated risks. Talking with employees also provides information about how they currently operate and their degree of understanding about what to do. This helps identify if there are gaps between what is actually happening, and what is expected or described in health and safety policies and standard operating procedures.

Completing a risk assessment and talking with machine operators about all their activities and tasks may reveal previously unidentified risks. For example, a risk management approach to machine guarding may reveal that the safety inspection checks are only done during ‘business as usual’, when all machine guards are in place and everything is operating normally. These checks will miss times when machine guards may be removed during cleaning and for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Operators tend to develop their own work practices and workarounds when there are not clearly identified procedures for managing the risks in situations like this. Did you know? It is common for different groups within a business (e.g. machine operators, supervisors and maintenance staff) to have very different understandings, assumptions, perspectives and practices on even the most straightforward tasks. This is why

it is important to talk with all involved groups when identifying potential risks and develop a common understanding. Visit http://worksafesolutions.co.nz for more information about how to improve health and safety. Next time: The duty to make sure that resources and processes are available and used to manage operational risks.

Green-mix concrete: an environmentally friendly building material When it comes to building structures, developers and contractors have the advantage of choosing from a variety of materials to use. Generally, the decision on material choice depends on several factors including cost and performance for specific applications. Due to growing interest in sustainable development and various incentives provided by the Government of Malaysia, the key players in the construction industry are motivated more than ever before to use materials that are sustainable or in such a way that their environmental impact is minimal. In 2009, the Malaysian government launched the green building index

Interest is growing in the development of environmentally sustainable concrete.

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(GBI) to encourage the construction of buildings using green technology, and introduced incentives for owners to obtain the GBI certificate for new or existing buildings. There have also been efforts to reduce air pollution and concrete has an important role to play because a significant amount of the world’s carbon emissions stem from cement and concrete production. Therefore, it is important to develop green concrete that can be used in buildings and structures. In recent years, the application of green concrete has become popular in many countries including Malaysia. The innovative concrete can be produced using waste materials as one of its components. Green concrete can also be developed using various production processes that are not detrimental to the environment. The criteria for green concrete is that the materials used for making it should be sourced from sustainable or “green materials” rather than non-sustainable resources. The use of recycled or

waste materials can be considered sustainable as they can lower costs and raw materials as well as reduce landfills. In this project, researchers at Universiti Teknologi MARA introduced an innovative green concrete called “green-mix concrete” that is designed and manufactured using conventional materials but partially replaced with suitable waste and recycled materials to achieve acceptable performance, economics and sustainability. Green concrete is made of new raw materials - namely fly ash, recycled concrete aggregates and aluminium can fibres. Fly ash is a waste product from coal power plants and is commonly disposed of in ponds and sent to landfills. Through research it was discovered that fly ash has the potential to replace cement, a material with large environmental impacts due to air pollution from the cement plants. In order to reduce consumption of raw materials and to minimise the wastes generated from demolished concrete structures, crushed concrete can be reused as aggregates. Aluminium cans were

used because they can be easily processed into chopped fibres and used as reinforcement in concrete. To produce this new concrete requires technical expertise such as new concrete mix design, new raw materials and new knowledge of green concrete properties. Not only is this newly developed green concrete environmentally friendly, it is also cost-effective as a result of optimized material proportions from our new concrete mix design. In our investigation, the new concrete can achieve an increase in strength of up to 30% compared to normal concrete. The green concrete has the following benefits: - made using low cost and sustainable raw materials; - designed for strength and performance during service-life of buildings or structures; - contributes to GBI score; - has lower cement/carbon footprint per unit of concrete produced; - reduces, reuses and recycles industrial by-products targeted for landfills.

NZ Manufacturer June 2015

Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves — to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today. – Stewart B. Johnson

ANALYSIS

Making the most of connected machines By Ian Raper, Regional Vice President, Riverbed Australia & New Zealand Automation and the rise of smart, Internet-connected manufacturing equipment (known as M2M or the Internet of Things depending on the device) stand to deliver previously unimaginable productivity gains and cost-savings. While these new technologies promise to simplify the production process, this influx of connected machines and devices also complicates the network used to deliver these efficiency gains. With each new machine connected to a network, finding faults and troubleshooting application performance issues when they occur could be like finding a needle in an ever-increasing haystack. A major source of delay in the troubleshooting process can be found in the way IT teams are structured; specific parts of the infrastructure (e.g. network operations; server operations; application operations) are run by different groups. Each of these teams has visibility into a different part of infrastructure and, traditionally, has had no way to share information effectively. This siloed approach means that the first step in the troubleshooting process is usually a counterproductive round of finger

pointing between groups as none have visibility of the whole. But it doesn’t need to be like this. The key to effective, real-time performance optimisation and troubleshooting is visibility. If each of these teams has a deep, end-to-end view within and across the complex networks and applications that make up the modern manufacturing process, any performance issue can be quickly resolved. In fact, these issues can even be fixed before they have an effect on the production line by using the same automation that is becoming prevalent on factory floors. At Riverbed, we’ve developed solutions to minimise downtime in the production environment and avoid potentially devastating disruptions that can reverberate through the supply chain.

Clearing the fog of war The first strategy is to have the right data, as a single source of truth, available to the right team(s) at the right time. This means issues can be addressed while everyone in the teams can see the impact instead of

blaming each other for what’s going wrong. With this data available to all IT teams, each can have their own workflow to address performance issues, whether it’s end-user experience, application performance, network performance, or even infrastructure stress/failure. Below is an example of the kind of data that can be quickly shared to the right teams before, or instead of, getting into the war room:

Rapid response A second strategy is similar to a trend currently making its mark on manufacturing floors across the globe: automation. Not only is it possible, but it is best practice, to know when issues occur, or are likely to occur, by automatically baselining key measurements that trigger a rapid, proactive approach to “detect and fix” before end users even notice. In the example below, throughput has gone way above what is considered normal and chances are that some applications and users might be crowded out by what has happened during this time frame. With this example, to ensure mission-critical applications in your

network are running smoothly during such bandwidth spikes, you can set the Quality of Service (QoS) for these apps to have a higher priority so that productivity is not impacted. The only way for this approach to work successfully and efficiently is to have complete visibility of what apps are running and how much bandwidth they normally consume, as in the example below. Once you have this information, you can set your traffic policies at the branch with QoS. In an industry where more devices are connected to the network each day and interacting with each other across shared networks, complete visibility across these complex architectures, applications, and end-user domains is the only way to quickly identify and fix any performance issues. Not only can this single source of information ensure that the right IT team has the right information at the right time to troubleshoot issues, but performance benchmarks can be set so that any deviation from standard operations initiates a proactive fix so the production line never even notices a problem.

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Lifting the Game of Maintenance Engineering

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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

REAR VIEW

– Thomas Alva Edison

Australian researches taking 4D printing to the next level 4D printing has not made a huge impact till to date, Just like 3d printing, even 4d printing has a slow start but certainly a promising technology that can be applied in some significant fields. 4D printing has proven to be successful in various researches and the latest project by Marc in het Panhuis is one such example and the 3d printed valve has pushed 4D printing technology one step further.

particular project has created 4D structure of a valve using a 3d printer at the ACES (ARC centre of excellence for electromaterials science). Depending on the temperature of water, the valve has the ability to open and close. The valve opens if the water is cool and seal off when it finds the water is hot. “So it’s an autonomous valve, there’s no input necessary other than water; it closes itself when it detects hot water,” scientist said. This valve was printed using 4 different hydrogels namely toughness, softness flexibility and strength which is something new to this technology is the reason why we mentioned earlier that this project by Marcin has taken 4d printing to another level.

So what is 4D technology? 4D technology is nothing but a multi-material print, an item or system can change from any 1D strand into 3D shape, 2D surface into 3D shape or transform from one 3D shape into another, these are done utilizing just water, warmth, light or other basic vitality enter, this procedure offers flexibility and element reaction for structures and frameworks of all sizes from the 3d printers. Marc in het Panhuis the leader of this

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“The cool thing about it is, is it’s a working functioning device that you just pick up from the printer,” Marcin said. “There’s no other assembly required.” The scientist firmly believes that 4D printing will have a huge impact right from medical, aerospace to military. In case if the soldiers have to use the 4d printing as weapons or tools in the future, they should make sure that they maintain the right temperature while they carry in battle.

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