Doug Green

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A Trade Agreement, but not a Free Trade Agreement

Today’s China – Australia Free Trade Agreement announced by Minister Robb includes gains for some Australian grains but not all. Australia’s premier grain industry has missed out on concessions under the China Australia Free Trade Agreement. After 10 years of negotiations, Australian wheat remains subject to an out-of-quota tariff of 65 per cent, and within-quota tariff of 1 per cent. Exports of Canola will also continue to be subject to a tariff of 9 per cent, and maize exports have also been excluded from concessions under the deal. “Wheat and canola continue, along with rice, sugar and maize, to be non-negotiable for China. However, in the case of wheat, the Chinese world wheat quota is currently 9.6 million tonnes, so well above their imports and not binding. The 1 per cent in-quota tariff, as long as it’s applied to all exporters of wheat to China, is not a significant distortion to trade and it’s that equivalence that we will be focusing on in the short-term.” Says Cheryl Kalisch Gordon, Manager Trade & Market Access, GrainGrowers. The Australian grains industry will however benefit from immediate removal of the 3 per cent tariff on barley and 2 per cent tariff on sorghum. Australian exports of these grains to China are growing on the back of an expanding Chinese alcoholic beverage sector and in 2013 exports were valued at $351 million and $91 million respectively. The value of tariff removal for these two commodities represents around $12 million per annum in 2013 trade terms with the benefit being shared between Chinese consumers and the Australian grains industry. With trade in these commodities expected to continue to grow over time, these annual benefits will also increase. Other positives for grains from the agreement include: • Immediate removal of the 2 per cent tariff on […]

OLYM-Release-AINDT 2014 Conference Preview_1

Olympus gives instrumental support to AINDT

Each year, the Australian Institute of Non-destructive Testing (AINDT) Conference provides the opportunity for maintenance and quality assurance professionals to learn more about NDT and related technologies from leading AINDT members including Olympus. The four day conference is being held this year at the Sofitel Brisbane Central from 23-26 November. NDT is any analysis technique used to evaluate the properties of materials or components without causing damage or permanently alter the article being inspected. Picture: The Olympus RollerFORM phased array wheel probe simplifies composite material inspection On its stand at the AINDT Conference, Olympus will be demonstrating a range of NDT, phased-array, remote visual inspection (RVI) and X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) portfolios to attendees. “We continue our commitment to the Institute and its ongoing initiatives promoting the benefits of NDT,” said Graham Maxwell, National Key Accounts & Technical Manager at Olympus. “We will be demonstrating our range to new customers and showing our continued support and commitment to existing customers.” Olympus staff will be on hand to discuss the latest NDT tools from the company. Richard Nowak, NDT Product Specialist, will be giving practical demonstrations of the Nortec N600 Eddy Current analyser and the RollerFORM phased array wheel probe. A special guest at this year’s conference will be Nicholas Bublitz, who is visiting Australia again from Olympus Scientific Solutions America. He will be presenting a technical paper entitled “Improving Surface Mine Profitability with Phased Array Ultrasonics.” Visitors to the Olympus stand will have the opportunity to meet with Bublitz to discuss a range of NDT solutions or troubleshoot advanced applications with a renowned international product specialist. Bublitz has been a Global Product Support Specialist with Olympus SSA since 2012. He is responsible for the global support and industry advancement of all NDT equipment produced by Olympus. Mr Bublitz’s primary focus […]

IC3D Steel 2.0 with improved management features

IC3D, a leading provider of hardware and software solutions for the Manufacturing, Architectural and Engineering industries, has introduced the latest version of its steel structural design and management software, IC3D Steel™ for SolidWorks®. IC3D Steel 2.0 introduces a raft of features centred on improving project flow and management, and simplifying organisational tasks like notating bolt lists and depicting virtual bolts in a design. IC3D Steel was first conceived as a dedicated steel design tool for SolidWorks. It built upon SolidWorks’ parametric modeller and its core Weldments Design function, to build a ‘structural workflow’ application that is perfect for building and detailing with steel. The aim is to make the design process quicker, simpler and error-free. Refined with additional functionality, the software that makes it easier for designers and design teams to manage their projects within a specified workflow, and gives them additional tools to simplify organisation within projects. In IC3D Steel 2.0, projects are organised individually, all relevant files are associated automatically, and files are stored logically for easy retrieval, backup or archiving. Important project meta-data such a customer’s details, project number and document-numbering scheme can be configured at project setup. IC3D Steel uses this data whenever it creates or updates a document in the project; meaning drawings can be consistently labelled for additional security. Other new features address the complexity inherent in steel fabrication projects. For example, with steel designs generating up to ten times as many bolts, nuts and washers as steel members, the usual performance of SolidWorks can become compromised as assemblies become very large. IC3D Steel 2.0 features ‘virtual bolts’ in each of its joint details to manage the problem, so work is unaffected no matter how many bolts are used in the design. A new ‘Bolt List’ report generates a complete list of these fasteners […]

First on-machine switch simplifies network design

Rockwell Automation has announced the launch of the Allen-Bradley ArmorStratix 5700, its first on-machine switch. Built with ruggedised IP67 protection, the Layer 2 managed industrial Ethernet switch can be mounted directly onto a machine or application, reducing the overall size and cost of a control cabinet, and shrinking the machine footprint. In many applications, cabinet space for system-level networks is limited or nonexistent. The ArmorStratix 5700 switch expands the Allen-Bradley On-Machine offering from Rockwell Automation – an industrially hardened portfolio of products that requires no cabinetry – and leverages pre-configured, quick-connect systems and simplified wiring layouts to reduce installation, troubleshooting and maintenance activities.” The ArmorStratix 5700 managed switch advances connected enterprise goals by delivering integration of machine-level data that, due to cost or location, would otherwise remain isolated from business-level systems. Using the Cisco IOS network infrastructure software, this switch manages the transfer of production data to enterprise-level databases and information systems for improved decision making. Senior analyst with ARC Advisory Group comments: “Machine-mounted Ethernet switches with M12 connectors and IP67 ratings are very popular among machine builders. The new ArmorStratix 5700 switch is a joint Rockwell Automation-Cisco developed product that includes these features along with Cisco IOS. This robust, machine-mounted switch is a new development that should go a long way toward resolving the information technology/operational technology struggles in manufacturing plants today.” This industrial switch simplifies the design and development of machine-level networks through configuration and monitoring tools. These tools help enable easy setup and diagnostics from within the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system – bridging the gap between IT and the automation engineer. The ArmorStratix 5700 Layer 2 switch offers high availability, Quality of Service (QoS), and automated monitoring to help simplify network optimization and convergence. The switch comes standard with 8, 16 and 24 fixed-port configurations, and […]

Fluke Networks delivers world’s first cloud-connected cable certification tool

Now with LinkWare Live, the Versiv family of certification testers lets cable installers upload, analyse and manage copper and fibre test results—anytime, anywhere. Fluke Networks has unveiled LinkWare Live, the first cloud-based service that lets contractors, cable installers and project managers using the Versiv family of certification testers to upload, manage, and analyse certification test results from cabling projects—anytime, anywhere. LinkWare Live works with DSX-5000, OptiFibre Pro, and CertiFibre Pro certification testers to optimise project management and safeguard contractor profitability by providing real-time access to testing results, extending support to technicians in the field, and eliminating costly truck rolls simply for tester transport back to the office. LinkWare Live is a free service available to all Versiv customers. According to recent Fluke Networks surveys of more than 1,000 cable installers (who had collectively installed approximately 1 million links in the previous month), poor test results management creates a significant drag on productivity and profitability: * eighty-three per cent reported having one or more test results management issues in the month prior to the survey * the average time contractors spent dealing with test result issues in a single month was 15.2 hours—nearly two full workdays, not including the hours required to get the test results back to the office for analysing and reporting * half of the respondents said it would be beneficial to access project status information from any location. Project managers struggle with manual, error-prone results management processes Collecting certification test results is a significant challenge because they are stored in testers that frequently move from one job site to another. These job sites can be hundreds of kilometres away from one another, as well as from headquarters. Accidentally erased or failed memory cards can negate several days’ worth of work, leading to costly truck rolls, lowered profit […]

Reduce development risk

Offering both tools and services, Maplesoft Engineering Solutions help engineers validate and optimise product designs, produce extremely fast simulation code for hardware-in-the-loop and other types of simulations where execution speed is critical, and develop specialised analysis and design calculation tools. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions also support model development for model predictive control, an advanced technique used to represent the behaviour of complex systems. The Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team has expertise in a variety of engineering fields and extensive experience in model-based design. By leveraging the unique benefits of MapleSim and Maple, advanced engineering design tools from Maplesoft, they help engineers reduce development risk, create better products, and get to market faster. MapleSim and Maple are also available for engineers to use directly in their own development projects. MapleSim is an advanced system-level modelling and simulation tool that applies modern techniques to dramatically reduce model development time, provide greater insight into system behaviour, and produce fast, high-fidelity simulations. MapleSim is based on Maple, the technical computing software for engineers, mathematicians, and scientists. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions are used by customers in a variety of domains, such as electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, ground transportation, space systems, batteries, mining, and manufacturing. Past projects include a robotic arm for drilling in mines, a motion platform for driving simulators, a torsional vibration analysis tool for marine drivelines, batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, and dialysis machines. While projects vary greatly, they frequently involve the following: High performance plant models for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications. Generating high-fidelity plant models from many system design tools typically results in code that is not fast enough for real-time, HIL execution, and engineers often perform a trade-off between model fidelity and performance.

Designing and troubleshooting 802.11ac networks correctly the first time

There is now a range of new 802.11ac features in AirMagnet Survey PRO/Planner and AirMagnet WiFi Analyser PRO to help organisations optimise their migration or co-existence path to the new 802.11ac technology standard. With new modeling applications, toolkits, and the industry’s only 3×3 portable capture and analysis capability, businesses can now leverage the industry’s first complete wireless lifecycle solution to design, deploy and troubleshoot 802.11ac networks accurately, quickly and more cost effectively. As enterprise networks rely more heavily on Wi-Fi networks and increasingly face bandwidth and capacity challenges, IT is transitioning from the 802.11a/b/g/n wireless standard to Gigabit 802.11ac for more reliable connections, better performance, and higher capacity. Independent research firm Infonetics Research estimates 802.11ac access points (APs) could well account for three-quarters of access point shipments by 2017. But just moving to 802.11ac will not solve all IT challenges. According to Gartner, “More bandwidth is good, and 802.11ac can better support high transaction dense environments; however, this does not solve the underlying problem of poorly or inadequately implemented WLANs.”** Wireless engineers and system integrators are already facing challenges integrating new equipment and ensuring deployments meet and maintain the Gigabit Wi-Fi standards. However, with the AirMagnet tools, the users are assured of designing and deploying networks that “simply work” and with the maximised performance possible. To help address these challenges, AirMagnet Survey PRO, the industry’s most accurate wireless design and site survey solution, and AirMagnet WiFi Analyser PRO, the premier solution for mobile auditing and troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks, now include 802.11ac functionality to help IT teams effectively phase new wireless infrastructure into existing WLANs without blindly performing a 1-to-1 rip-and-replacement of existing equipment. The AirMagnet tools also let IT teams solve 802.11ac network issues correctly the first time, which prevents costly repeat visits and, more importantly, minimise user downtime. 802.11ac […]

Delcam launches new PowerMILL CAM for five-axis machining

Delcam has launched the 2015 version of its PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining. The new release includes improvements to the Vortex high-efficiency area-clearance strategy, improved collision checking to also cover near misses, and more efficient raster finishing. The Vortex area-clearance strategy produces safe toolpaths with a much deeper cut by using a controlled engagement angle that maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the whole toolpath. As a result, higher feed rates and material-removal rates are possible, making the cutting time shorter by as much as 70%. In addition, cutting is undertaken at a more consistent volume-removal rate and at a near constant feedrate, so extending tool life and protecting the machine. Two enhancements in PowerMILL 2015 will give even greater reductions in machining time with Vortex compared to conventional roughing. The first change allows toolpaths to approach the part from outside the stock at the cutting height, both for open pockets and in areas where earlier cuts have made this possible. Previously, all entry moves had to be made by plunging onto the surface or by ramping into the material. The second change allows an increased feed rate to be set for non-cutting moves. The default value is set at double the rate for the cutting moves but this can be altered as required for each machine tool. The extra time that can be saved depends on the shape of the part but an additional saving of around 20% should be expected above the earlier releases of Vortex. Another problem in previous versions of PowerMILL was that unnecessary lifts could be added to area-clearance toolpaths when the cutter moved outside the stock or close to its edge. Changes to the roughing algorithm in PowerMILL 2015 have reduced the number of lifts per toolpath slice to the minimum […]

Sustainable bending technology from Germany

Picture: The new, easy-to-operate machine control from Schwarze-Robitec clocks the individual working steps synchronously for time-optimised production. The rising costs for raw materials and energy make it clear: to remain competitive in the future, it is imperative to handle resources particularly carefully, to tighten production process and thereby increase efficiency. The resource Man can also be supported with labor-saving solutions, thereby also increasing repeating accuracy. To design tube processing especially resource-conserving and efficient, Schwarze-Robitec has developed a series of sustainable solutions over the last years. These include, for example, the integrated residual length optimisation for tube bending machines for the automobile industry suppliers, which reduce residual tube lengths to a minimum, thereby making considerable material savings. Trials have shown that the material input, depending on the respective tube system, could be reduced by up to 20 percent. The Terminal-End-Bender, which is used for the manufacture of tube systems in power plant construction, bends in both directions conducted subsequently at the rear end of the produced tube coil without having to interrupt the fully automatic manufacturing process. Therefore, the Terminal-End-Bender essentially helps to save time. A further new development of the tube bending specialist are the rapid clamping systems for bending tools in series and mass production, which enable fast and easy tool change. Unproductive set-up times are reduced significantly. The bending machine CNC 60 E TB MR which is equipped with multi-tools, allows production of different radii as well as bend-in-bend systems. It is particularly suitable for the manufacture of exhaust pipes with a bending radius of 1 x D without straight intermediate lengths between two bends. Thanks to the multi-bend tools, set-up times are reduced to a minimum. Further cost savings can be achieved with the separating system integrated in the bending system. Here, several individual tubes are […]

The Second Machine Age

Driverless cars and 3D printers are harbingers of a new era, argue MIT colleagues Brynjolfsson (Director/Center for Digital Business; co-author, Wired for Innovation: How Information Technology Is Reshaping the Economy, 2013, etc.) and McAfee (Principal Research Scientist/Center for Digital Business; Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organisation’s Toughest Challenges, 2009, etc.). Some 200 years ago, the invention of the steam engine sparked massive amounts of mechanical power to drive factories and mass production in the first machine age. Now, computers and other digital advances are providing such “a vast and unprecedented boost to mental power” that technologies once found only in science fiction are becoming everyday realities. Drawing on research, including interviews with inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, engineers and others, the authors describe the forces driving the emerging age, notably the digitisation of nearly everything, which increases understanding and fosters innovation, and an amazing exponential growth in improvements. We’re now seeing “the emergence of real, useful artificial intelligence (AI) and the connection of most of the people on the planet via a common digital network. As machines complete cognitive tasks—as opposed to physical ones—engaging in pattern recognition and complex communication, AI will do more and more, for example, giving key aspects of sight to the visually impaired and restoring hearing to the deaf. Along with benefits, including greater amounts of individual choice, technological progress will bring economic disruption, leaving some people behind and workers without jobs. The authors describe the large differences that are already apparent among people in both income and wealth and explain how individuals can improve their skills to maintain healthy wage and job prospects. “Our generation has inherited more opportunities to transform the world than any other,” they write. “That’s a cause for optimism, but only if we’re mindful of our choices.”

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Doug Green

About Doug Green

Posts by Doug Green: