September 2017

Remote-controlled trolley-collector wins award for ‘Game Changing’ Innovation

A Melbourne engineering company, Lockelec Innovations, has solved the problem of wayward supermarket trolleys, with a Bluetooth remote controlled trolley collector, the Red Rover. The bane of supermarket operators worldwide is the manual collection of the ubiquitous supermarket trolleys scattered throughout car parks. Not only is the practice of collecting the trolleys labour intensive and unproductive, it results in numerous injuries and costly Workcover claims. Coles supermarkets, conscious of the ‘trolley problem’, scanned the world for technology which would make the collection of the trolleys a simpler, more ergonomic process. After an exhaustive search and numerous prototypes, Coles chose Braeside-based engineering company Lockelec Innovations to create a solution. After twelve months of developments and trials, Lockelec’s remote-controlled (Bluetooth) ‘Red Rover’ was born. The innovation recently won Coles’ Rising Star award for Supplier of the Year, which was accepted in Melbourne by Lockelec Managing Director Stuart Lord, a third generation owner of the Braeside company. ‘We genuinely love the challenge of finding innovative solutions by thinking out of the square and were thrilled to have Coles’ support,’ Lord said. ‘The Red Rover is a Game Changer because it reduce manual handling (of trolleys), makes the workplace safer and is much more efficient.’ (Lockelec leads the world with their compact lithium-powered electric motors and a range of innovative technology solutions to make workplaces safer and more productive;- in hospitals around the world, hotels, supermarkets, banks and even the MCG). The ingenious Red Rover trolley-collector removes the manual-handling hazards involved in trolley collection and results in significant productivity improvements. A staff member provides direction of the ‘trolley train’ by simply guiding the lead trolley in the desired direction, while the Red Rover provides silent, motorised pushing power from behind. Innovation has been a part of Lockelec’s fifty year, three generational culture which has […]

Tool digitisation brings global giant closer to Industry 4.0

Many companies are pursuing different paths as they attempt to realise Industry 4.0. For global electrical engineering manufacturer, Phoenix Contact, the focus has been on integrating digital data about its manufacturing tools to ensure their ongoing integrity and as a step towards creating an increasingly automated manufacturing environment. Phoenix Contact produces over 60,000 different products, including solutions for connection, interface, automation and surge protection. With so many models to produce and the continuous demand for new products, maintaining the operation and integrity of its dies is critical to its ongoing manufacturing success. The dies are used in the production of screws, plastics and metal parts, but also in highly automated assembly machines as well as punching, bending and injection moulding tools. Usually made from hardened steel, the dies can take months to create and are expensive to produce. Phoenix Contact realised that by digitising information about its dies it could create a lifetime digital document on each tool. This would allow it to quickly and easily track the quality of its tools, enhance its manufacturing process, and further interlink systems as it moved towards Industry 4.0. Consequently, all relevant information about each individual die was digitised. The data gathered included the year the tool was produced, material used to construct it, maintenance details, and so forth. It was then incorporated into the overall manufacturing process via the internet so that staff and systems could automatically connect and communicate as well as track and monitor the dies performance, its usage, wear and tear, and to determine its availability in the manufacturing process. Since digitising the information, the benefits for the company have been immense. Dies are now automatically scheduled for maintenance based on usage. Staff and manufacturing systems communicate, and are notified in advance of the required maintenance. The higher-level control […]

Bonfigliol’s 300M planetary gearbox range sets industry-leading torque benchmarks

Bonfiglioli is introducing to Australasia its new 300M range of planetary gearboxes, which achieve greater torque without increasing the size of the gearbox, to produce greater performance, efficiency, and cost saving for many industries such as bulk materials handling, mining process equipment, food and beverage, materials handling, water treatment and waste handling. The 300M series has eight new sizes from 310M to 318M, all of which have a significant improvement in torque over their preceding models and set new industry benchmarks for torque ratings at one million cycles. Depending on the size, torque has been improved by up to 45%. One of the innovative improvements in the series is the addition of a new bearing design. The 300M series uses a customised roller design with an inner race on the pin and an outer race on the planet gear. This creates a bigger roller diameter, with a higher load capacity and greater torque. “The new 300M series has been engineered to the highest standards of quality. The gearboxes are built for reliability, durability and improved performance,” says Mr Malcolm Lewis, Managing Director, Bonfiglioli Australia and New Zealand. “A significant advantage of the higher torque capacities is that a smaller size gearbox can do the same task that a larger one would have had to do previously. This can mean savings in power, space and costs, both up-front and ongoing,” he said. The 300M series is completely interchangeable with the existing 300 series gearboxes, and no machine modification is required when upgrading to the new units. Major applications for the 300M series include: Mining – car dumpers and stacker reclaimers Materials Handling – screw conveyors and apron feeders Cranes and Winches – jib cranes and ship loaders Food and Beverage – spiral freezers and flaking machines Water and wastewater – mixer […]