August 2015

Robotic CNC plasma beam machine eliminates manual coping

Traditionally, beam coping has been done manually by marking the dimensions for coping on the workpiece as per the drawings and then manually cutting out the cope from the steel beam using oxy-fuel gas torch. This method leaves a rough cut requiring considerable chipping and grinding to improve the finish. Coping machines provide high speed and quality, eliminating all the drawbacks of manual coping. While there are many different machines from well-known overseas manufacturers on the market, Brisbane-based Advanced Robotic Technology (ART) has studied the needs of every steel fabrication shop in Australia, from small to large, in order to develop an automated, versatile machine, giving steel fabricators around the country a competitive edge; not only by creating an efficient automated machine made by ART in Brisbane, but also by offering local service and support. With a footprint of 3750 x 3600 mm, Metaltek XB offers full 4-sided plasma processing for the steel fabrication industry, advanced CNC robotics, high-definition plasma cutting and in-house developed user-friendly software and control interface. Moreover, 3-axis material handling conveyor systems and cross-transfer conveyors for load and unloading eliminates a large percentage of lifting, flipping and moving of steel members between machines. The operator simply prepares the next length of steel for loading while the previous one is cutting. A tick box on the touchscreen lets the controller know that the next length is ready to load. The drawbridge is able to extend 2.5 metres into the cutting envelope to support the material, clamp and draw for hitch feeding, and roll out the finished part. The drawbridge feed and synchronised rollers are both servo controlled to ensure highly-precise material feeding. The CNC controller can also automatically feed the next piece of material from the cross-feeds onto the in-feed roller conveyor for automatic cutting. Inside the cell […]

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 […]

Delcam’s new PowerSHAPE Pro offers faster modelling and reverse engineering

In PowerSHAPE 2016, reverse engineering of prismatic parts has been made easier. Delcam has added a series of enhancements to its PowerSHAPE Pro software for modelling and reverse engineering that will help users to complete complex designs more quickly and more easily. In addition, a combination of new, more efficient, code and the extension of multi-threaded calculations to many commonly-used tasks will make the software significantly faster than any previous version. Full details, including video demonstrations, are on the Learning Zone – www.delcam.tv/ps2016/lz/en By offering a combination of solid, surface and direct modelling, together with reverse engineering, PowerSHAPE Pro provides the most comprehensive range of design techniques available in a single CAD program. Having all the different technologies in the same package reduces the need to transfer data between multiple programs and so streamlines any modelling-for-manufacture projects that require both reverse-engineering and CAD functionality. The first enhancement in the 2016 release allows groups of features to be copied between two solids in a single operation. While the features do not need to be of the same type, the most common application is expected to be in copying patterns of holes with a single click from one solid to another, for example from one mould plate to any other plate in the mould stack. Another new option to save modelling time is the ability to edit the axis direction of any number of surface or solid primitives simultaneously. Similarly, the axis direction of a group of primitives that are not aligned can be brought into alignment in one operation. PowerSHAPE Pro already had the ability to edit simultaneously the dimensions of groups of primitives. For customers using PowerSHAPE Pro to capture data for reverse engineering, the software can connect directly to most scanning hardware to capture and display scan data in […]

Your company’s visionaries are wrong about the Internet of Things

Slowly but steadily, pressure is building for industrial companies to come to grips with the fact that technology-enabled disruptive change is coming. This creates tension in most companies, because the culture in many industries is quite conservative when it comes to innovation. Product designers may be keen to innovate in their traditional areas of expertise, yet still be reluctant to consider new designs that rely on software and enhanced connectivity. Production groups find it difficult to justify even the time it takes to consider new ways of operating, and making do with aging production systems and techniques is the norm. So when a company’s visionaries talk about ‘Internet of Things’ or ‘Industrie 4.0′ or other terms for technology-enabled digital transformation, they are taking a risk. But are they right? To be sure, there’s plenty of hype in the market. It’s easy to find incredible claims about “xx billions of connected devices” or “yy trillions of dollars.” On the other hand are the naysayers who dismiss the trends saying “we’ve been doing it for years” or “we’ll never do that.” You can even find surveys from respectable firms that say “half of manufacturing executives don’t know about IoT” or some other comforting statistic. We’re not the only ones, you think. Maybe it’s not real. And if it is, it looks like I’ve got plenty of time to figure it out. Wrong. That building pressure comes from the growing gap between two forces: The exponential growth of computing technologies, and the linear thinking and inertia of humans and human systems. And that pressure is akin to tectonic pressure building at a fault line: the changes are barely noticeable for a long time, until a seismic shift unleashes a massive change. This pressure derives from what Ray Kurzweil calls the law of accelerating […]

Nuance Power PDF not the traditional PDF solution

Nuance Power PDF offers the PDF software features that business users need to be productive at a price that supports deployment across the entire enterprise. Power PDF delivers high performance, an intuitive user experience, and value, freeing users from the compromises of traditional PDF applications. To see a demonstration of the new features and benefits of Power PDF, and learn more about Nuance’s Document Imaging division view the Power PDF on-demand broadcast available now. With Power PDF, business users get all the tools they need to create, manage, share, and secure PDF files plus additional features only available from Nuance for document conversion, search, connectivity and more. Power PDF has powerful features to accurately convert PDFs to editable Microsoft Office documents, combine and assemble documents from many sources into a single PDF, and collaborate on PDF files with a powerful toolset. Before Nuance Power PDF, businesses had to make compromises and choose between the limited capabilities of free PDF reader software, low-end PDF solutions, or an expensive solution designed for graphic designers that isn’t engineered for today’s business environment. With its Microsoft Office-style ribbon user interface, Power PDF minimises the learning curve and maximises productivity by enabling users to transition effortlessly between word processing and PDF publishing. The software makes it easy to share and collaborate on work seamlessly across an organisation as well as externally – all while providing document control and security. Power PDF is priced to be affordably deployed to all business users in an enterprise, enabling all employees to assemble, compare, convert, create, dictate, edit, read, redact, scan, search, secure, sign, print and validate PDF documents and forms with unprecedented ease and speed. Key features in Power PDF include: Combine and assemble documents with ease. Combine files and remove or replace pages in complex documents with […]

Delcam’s new PowerSHAPE Pro offers faster modelling and reverse engineering

Rhino Linings help minimise water treatment plant degradation and chemical spills

For more than half a century, municipal councils, as well as industrial and mining companies throughout Australia and New Zealand have invested billions of dollars into equipment and infrastructure to process waste water and sewage. Corrosion of this infrastructure, and in some cases the subsequent leakage, costs industry in excess of $1B each year. The main assets that are impacted by corrosion in waste water treatment plants (WWTP) are the pipelines, storage tanks, clarifier ponds and sewage channels. As much of the WWTPs infrastructure is ageing, it is starting to require refurbishment or replacement. One method of refurbishment of these assets is to carry out surface repairs and then apply protective coatings. These coatings must be strong, flexible and resistant to chemical attack. Corrosion particularly affects the submerged parts of structures in WWTPs. “Special consideration has to be given when coating structures in sewage treatment plants,” stated Dennis Baker, Special Projects Engineer at Gold Coast-based Rhino Linings Australasia (RLA). “One of the more corrosive by-products of sewage is hydrogen sulphide gas.” “Hydrogen sulphide reacts with moisture on surfaces in a waste water plant and bubbles up to form sulphuric acid which really loves concrete,” added Baker. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) attacks the cement, copper, iron and silver which gradually degrades the structure. In the case of a pipeline, this may ultimately result in the collapse of the pipe wall. The modern requirement for capping storages in order to control excessive odours has the drawback of also increasing gas concentrations. One type of coating from RLA that is ideally suited for waste water treatment is spray applied Polyurea. The company has been working with this material since the early 1990s and now manufactures in Australia a range of consistent formulations which are suitable for a variety applications. Pure Polyurea is a relatively […]

Olympus helps keep the skies safe

Australian aircraft fly millions of kilometres each year, so it is imperative that the aircraft and engines are safe and airworthy at all times. One instrument that maintenance engineers regularly use to inspect the inside of aircraft engines, and so ensure optimal performance, is a videoscope. Remote Visual Inspection (RVI) of materials, components and structures allows engineers and technicians the ability to inspect internal surfaces and other features of an engine, motor or machinery. Videoscopes are used to carry out inspections without causing damage to delicate parts of an aircraft. Olympus—a world-leading manufacturer of optical, electronic and precision engineering products—has been at the forefront of videoscope development for many decades. A videoscope is an inspection instrument that consists of a small camera mounted on a length of cable. The camera can be controlled remotely by an operator while it is inserted in the cavity to be inspected. Modern videoscopes incorporate powerful LED light sources which are delivered through the tip of the probe, as well as motors to move the lens tip assembly. According to Sean Fogarty, Senior Sales Specialist at Olympus in Queensland, the greatest advances and improvements for videoscopes during the past two to five years have been in battery and LED technology. “Batteries are smaller and lighter so videoscopes continue to get smaller,” he said. “The limitations of original videoscopes were getting light into the area being inspected and the size of the power supply.” An Olympus videoscope is used to see if there are any signs of wear or damage and using a fine tip probe allows maintenance teams to inspect the insides of components and obscured parts of the fuselage for signs of cracking or fatigue. Aircraft maintenance from the inside Wayne Thomson, Technical Manager Asia Pacific with Dallas Airmotive, travels extensively throughout Australia and […]

New customised aviation reels for major airline

Reel Tech, exclusive partner of Hannay in Australia and New Zealand, has just rolled out a new line of customised Aviation reels to one of the world’s major airlines. The client required a customised aviation hose reel for an Oxygen and Nitrogen Recharging Cart. And a high pressure spring rewind hose reel was ideal for this application. Fitted was the patented Safe-R-Reel spring rewind speed reducer to protect operators and aircraft, and increase the service life of the hose, thus avoiding expensive, premature hose replacement costs. This resulted in a hose reel system guaranteed to endure the harshest conditions and deliver high pressure performance. The Safe-R-Reel is also the ideal solution for Remote Site Refuelling applications where an external power source is not available to rewind the reel. Proven in the world’s largest airports, Hannay Aviation reels have become an industry standard. The standard range includes Refuelling, Remote Site Refuelling, Oxygen and Nitrogen Recharging, Sensing, Static Grounding, and Airport Hydrant Fuelling Operations, Reel Tech offers cable and industrial hose reels for any aviation, airfield or airport application. Whether in the hangar or on the field, you can rely on their reels to improve productivity, increase safety, and keep your operation running smoothly. Standard finishes include stainless steel mill finish and high performance enamel in a wide range of colours.

Low maintenance solar tracker actuators suited to the Australian climate

Low maintenance Air stroke actuators from Firestone provide a compact and easily installed way to continuously orient solar trackers’ payload towards the sun to optimize the amount of energy produced from installed power generating capacity. The rubber and fabric actuators – distributed throughout Australia by Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd – can be used to solve the problem of stationary solar collection panels becoming inefficient as the sun shifts from a 90-degree angle to the panels. Usually inflated or deflated by standard fixed or mobile compressed air (typically 7 bar (100 psi), they move photovoltaic systems to minimize and angle of incidence between the incoming sunlight and a photovoltaic array. Alternatively, an ingenious actuation alternative uses the expansion and contraction of Freon gas as it is heated and cooled within the actuators to extend and retract them and change the angle of the collection panels. “Airstrokes are particularly beneficial for commercial installations, where continuous focusing of the arrays through single or dual-axis arrangements enhances energy returns. Such installations – sometimes in remote locations and subject to climatic extremes over 24 hours – need extremely reliable actuators to continuously reposition payloads such as solar panels, reflectors, mirrors or lenses,” says Air springs Supply Sales and Marketing Manager Mr James Maslin. Airstroke bellows offered by for use by solar engineers and installers have been proven in widespread heavy duty industrial actuation throughout Australia, including providing millions of cycles of service on conveyors and mineral processing screens and vibrators, where they have to withstand dust, heat, moisture and extremes of Outback climate. “They are identical in construction to the airbags proven in truck and train suspension so they are extraordinarily tough. In addition to having no internal rods of seals to wear – unlike conventional metal cylinders – they have the ability to […]

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August 2015