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News Ticker

Hunter class frigate program passes Preliminary Design Review milestone
Decarbonising our cities
More Australian businesses can now access R&D funding from CSIRO
Made in the Hunter, for the world
Q&A:Dr Paul Flachskampf, CEO, INFORM Australia
Kemppi Australia’s Art of Welding Competition now open
Sevaan Group announces the launch of Academy in NSW
Advanced manufacturing SMEs to benefit from free CSIRO R&D program

February 2016

NMW PIC

New innovations for NMW 2016

National Manufacturing Week, Australia’s largest, longest running manufacturing industry event, returns to Sydney (May 11 – 13), with industry ‘firsts’ to help propel the industry into the future. Key to this year’s program are co-located events, high profile industry figures presenting case studies and new ideas, as well as exhibitors from around the world with innovative products and services. To enhance the value of attending for industry professionals, NMW2016 will be co-located with headline events showcasing new possibilities for manufacturers,  including the Safety First Conference  & Expo. Safety First is Australia’s first one-stop safety event that provides a rare opportunity to see safety solutions and talk with leading safety thinkers. NMW will also co-locate with  Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo, the Australian education of the world-leading event that will bring new strategies, stories of success and more to help local companies make the most of game-changing 3D printing technologies. Inside 3D Printing will showcase next generation 3D printers and companies that can help businesses open up new worlds of possibility. The showcase will include Konica Minolta Business Solutions’, with 3D technologies that help companies create working prototypes, parts and custom-made products in a fraction of the time currently required, with industry leading service support by Konica Minolta’s national service organisation. The showcase will also include energetic local businesses – including Bilby 3D and Sydney 3D Printing – backing global technologies with advice and support for companies looking to leverage new opportunities from this game-changing technology. NMW to showcase innovations across the exhibition floor NMW will be home to over a thousand innovative products and services, from some 200 European, Asian and local companies.  Among the new solutions on offer in 2016 will be – in the Welding Technology Product Zone – the latest in welding solutions from Kemppi. Kemppi […]

Australia’s bio-tech industries promise economic security

Australia’s future economic security depends on emerging technologies such as bio-manufacturing, says QUT Professor John Bell.  “We have bemoaned the loss of Australia’s traditional manufacturing sector but we are on the cusp of a bright new era of high-value, high-skilled manufacturing,” said Professor Bell.“Bio-manufacturing includes technologies that produce sustainably derived and renewable feedstock and pharmaceuticals, and bio-remediation services. “The 3D bio-printing market, of which QUT is a leader, is estimated to be worth $3 billion by 2025. “We are finding more applications for industrial biotechnology and additive bio-manufacturing all the time and these processes are becoming more established internationally.” Professor Dietmar Hutmacher, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, is a world authority on the 3D printing of replacement human tissue using bio-inks, a process known as additive bio-manufacturing. “Australia is already well ahead on research and development of medical bio-printing, a strong facet of this emerging ‘fourth industrial revolution’ of bio-manufacturing. “Additive bio-manufacturing will become a pillar of Australia’s advanced manufacturing landscape and we must ensure we have the expertise to continue our lead in this area,” Professor Hutmacher said. “It is a multi-disciplinary area requiring understanding of chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, robotics and computer science. “QUT has already partnered with the University Wollongong and universities in the Netherlands and Germany to offer the world’s first dual Master of Biofabrication and is taking applications for the second intake of young scientists keen to make bio-printing their career.” “MBD is an example of a firm using biological processes, in this case algae, to clean up wastewater from aquaculture. The algae are then used to manufacture a range of high value products ranging from fertilisers and feed to high value nutrition products. “Bioremediation services are growing into an important industry for Australia and one that is expanding rapidly into Asia. […]

FAG PIC

FAG bearings set new industry benchmarks

New FAG high performance spherical roller bearings from Schaeffler Australia feature Durotect CK coating in the bore to offer 70 per cent better lifespan when withstanding the extreme stresses of the exciter units of vibratory machinery. The FAG T41D series of Special Spherical Roller Bearings – featuring Schaeffler X-Life quality standards and the hard chromium Durotect CK premium performance coating – are designed to curtail fretting corrosion of shafts and journal wear, setting new industry benchmarks throughout Australia and New Zealand for longer service life. The high durability bearings simultaneously deliver greater load carrying capacity, greater operational safety (by preventing breakdowns and extensive maintenance) and more efficient use of space in heavy duty applications,” says Schaeffler Australia Pty Ltd Industrial Sector Manager Mr Martin Grosvenor. Features of the FAG T41D series and its Durotect CK protection include: Special T41 dimensional tolerances apply to the bearings’ inner and outer rings, meaning optimum interference fit can be achieved on the outer ring and sliding fit on the inner ring. The bearings’ C4 radial internal clearance prevents harmful radial preloading. Durotect CK plating on the inner bore not only prevents fretting corrosion of the shaft, but also reduces cross-location of bearings and gives improved load distribution because of unhindered thermal expansion of the shaft X-Life features include Bainite heat treatment, giving improved productivity through temperature stability up to 200C; surface hardened cage with high wear resistance; and cage guidance by the outer ring to accommodate centrifugal forces. X-Life’s tighter inside and outside diameter dimensional tolerances offer better control of fit in both housing and shaft. FAG T41D with Durotect CK are purpose-designed to meet and exceed the challenges of rolling bearings in vibrating screens, which are typically stressed by high, mostly shock-type loads. The bearings, while rotating about their own axis, perform a circular, elliptical […]