Products

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 […]

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 […]

 United Forklift and Access Solutions’ exceptional customer service and problem solving ingenuity have won them a major contract with nation-wide logistics leader Bluestar Global Logistics, which offer a one-stop shop for logistics service, including national door to door deliveries, international freight forwarding and 3PL warehousing. United supplied over 60 units to Bluestar’s depots nationally. A combination of heavy duty and high performance CAT 2.5t LPG forklifts, CAT 3.0t LPG forklifts and CAT 1.6t electric reach trucks were chosen for the task, which are ideally suited to heavy-use industries like logistics, warehousing and transport. “In a competitive tender, United were the standout company, because their service truly went above and beyond,” said Mr Peter James, Asset & Compliance Manager, Bluestar Global Logistics. Before submitting their tender, United visited each of Bluestar’s national offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to assess areas where they could provide cost-saving solutions that optimised efficiency and productivity. United’s National Major Accounts Manager, Mr Mark Pemberton, and his team identified two major problem areas where United could provide innovative solutions. “We discovered that the hosing and hydraulic cylinders in their old fleet were left too exposed, and they were having to replace them frequently due to damage. Our CAT forklifts have been fitted with a low profile hose which is positioned further back, along with a custom designed and manufactured cylinder protector. “Both of these features reduce damage to these otherwise vulnerable parts and enhance the overall safety of the machines, ultimately reducing the cost of life to our customer” says Mr Pemberton. “The other wear issue we identified was that the heel of the forklift tynes was wearing out over time, and once it’s worn past a certain point, the forklift is no longer standards or safety compliant. “We added a lift cylinder spacer, […]

New plummer block housings launched in Perth by Schaeffler Australia this month respond to industry demands for extended bearing life with reduced maintenance and total cost of ownership. The new generation of FAG Plummer Block Housings are large-size bearing housings, engineered to increase the service life of fitted spherical roller bearings by up to 50 percent compared to conventional plummer block housings. Their advances – including increased strength and shock resistance due to the use of (EN-GJS-400) spheroidal graphite cast iron as standard – make the SNS ideal for the broad diversity of applications where spherical roller bearings are widely used, including machinery operating in aggressive environments, says Schaeffler Australia Pty Ltd Industrial Heavy Industries Manager, Mr Jeff Gordon. Key applications include industries such as mining and minerals processing, quarrying, cement, manufacturing, oil and gas processing, bulk materials handling (including port loading facilities), manufacturing and steel, primary product and food and beverage processing, pulp, paper, packaging and forestry, and major infrastructure and water and waste water plants. The new plummer blocks – for shafts from 115mm to 530mm and from 4 7/16 inch to 19 1/2 inch diameter – are one of the latest global technology advances from the Schaeffler Group, which employs more than 80,000 people worldwide. Schaeffler’s research and development centres alone employ more than 6,000 people dedicated to high-performance, low-maintenance bearing technology that enhances sustainability by maximising machinery life and minimising energy demands. Such low-maintenance technologies are ideal for all industries that can’t afford breakdowns or production stoppages, Mr Gordon told the Perth launch, held after the arrival of stocks of the first of the new technology bearings in Australia and New Zealand. “Maintaining production is obviously vital in our energy and resources sectors – where even short interruptions and maintenance outages can be measured in millions […]

The Port of Södertälje’s brand-new Konecranes reach stacker is having an impact on operator efficiency. The new reach stacker (model SMV 4531 TC5), which is widely available throughout Australasia, benefits from a unique cab design, making for greater operator comfort leading to more efficient cargo handling. Bertil Jansson, supervisor at Port of Södertälje, Sweden, says, “We discussed in-depth what we wanted and what was important. We realised that the ergonomics of the cabin, the workspace itself, was a very important aspect. We test drove a number different brands but the experience of driving the Konecranes reach stacker was the best. “When sitting in the cab, and operating the machine for a full day, the Konecranes reach stacker came out on top because of the greater visibility, the design of the joystick and so on. It’s very popular with us.” In order to lift the variety of building project cargo that comes through the port – everything from concrete and walls to complete housing modules – the reach stacker is equipped with extra lifting loops on the spreader, and a power pile slope that allows the yoke to tilt and compensates for an oblique load. The new machine is also equipped with a hydraulic sliding cabin that improves visibility even more. The Port of Södertälje has also chosen to have the remote monitoring system TRUCONNECT® Premium installed together with the newly released Konecranes Weighing System. The Port of Södertälje already has a number of Konecranes lift trucks.    

In the picture:Konecranes staff at the 2016 Steel Convention. From left to right, Daniel McCarney (Operations Manager), Peter Monaghan (National Industrial Equipment Sales Manager), James Dowe (Managing Director, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines) and Steve Gagnuss (Head of APAC Region). Global crane manufacturer and service leader Konecranes is extending its technology and leadership involvement in the steel industry by being a major sponsor of the Australian Steel Convention for the 5th year in a row. At this year’s convention, hosted in Melbourne CBD in Konecranes, which employs over 12,000 people across 600 locations in 48 countries, demonstrated its UNITON crane. UNITON is particularly applicable to the steel industry and related uses such as materials handling, manufacturing and maintenance. A strong focus this year was on advanced technologies such as SMART features, lifecycle care through yourKONECRANES and the new Konecranes parts store, all of which are designed to provide a greater level of safety, reliability and information that can help to better plan maintenance and service schedules. “Our continued support of this convention provides us with a valuable opportunity to discuss the steel industry with other experts and help shape its future into one that is safe, efficient and reliable,” said Konecranes Managing Director, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines, Mr James Dowe. Mr Dowe  also attended Konecranes’ booth at the convention, along with Konecranes Head of APAC Region, Mr Steve Gagnuss, National Industrial Equipment Sales Manager, Mr Peter Monaghan and Operations Manager, Mr Daniel Mccarney in order to answer any questions about Konecranes technologies or the steel industry in general. “Our company has a strong ethos of safety, which is vital to the steel industry. I’ve had some insightful conversations about the future of the steel industry at past conferences, and I’d invite anyone who is interested in cranes for the […]

Smaller bridge construction and maintenance can benefit from cost-efficient Herculon type D sliding bearings in capacities up to 60 tons per bearing.  A challenge facing builders and operators of thousands of smaller bridges throughout Australasia is ensuring such structures can flexibly and cost-efficiently cope with internal movement and stresses caused by changing loads, vibration, thermal expansion and other common attritional factors.  The ability to provide cost-efficient and maintenance-free solutions to such issues is especially important to road and pedestrian access projects demanding high safety, such as those undertaken in metropolitan infrastructure projects, including health and carpark facilities.  Such capabilities are also important in remote area service vehicle and pedestrian access facilities, such as those providing supply, exploration and service routes to mining and energy and oil and gas projects, where movement within access structures is caused by factors such as climate, changing uses and delivery of plant including conveyors, motors, turbines and reticulation systems.  “Low maintenance is equally important also to government authorities as they face demands from local businesses to refurbish and renew private and public regional infrastructure,” says Mr David Booty, Manager, Hercules Engineering (a division of Cut To Size Plastics).  “It is estimated* that there are more 30,000 timber and concrete bridges maintained by local authorities, for example, of which more than a quarter are in poor or fair condition,” *Source: National State of the Assets Survey 2015.  Many of these are smaller road bridges or pedestrian walkways or bridges and could benefit from a no-maintenance, cost-efficient solution provided by Hercules Engineering through its range of Herculon Type D Bearings (HLD/SG, HLD/FF & HLD/FX), which are widely proven on applications ranging from steel and concrete beam engineering structures through to materials handling and processing facilities.  Herculon HLD Bearings are part of a comprehensive range of Hercules composite […]

WIA (Welding Industries of Australia) has announced the expansion of its industry leading Weldmatic range of MIG and multi-process welding machines, which now includes three new inverter models; the 250i, 350i and 500i. With all three welding machines utilising inverter technology, they feature sophisticated electronic controls, high frequency switching and high frequency transformers, to achieve consistent and controlled weld output for the professional welder. The Weldmatic 250i is a 240V multi-process industrial welder, suitable for everyday use by vehicle smash and exhaust repairers, fencing contractors and general maintenance applications in workshops and factories as well as on construction and mine sites. Capable of handling MIG, Stick and Lift-TIG welding, the 250i is a versatile and portable machine capable of gas shielded welding of aluminium, mild and stainless steel, as well as gas shielded cored wires and gasless flux-cored wires. Designed for every-day use, the control panel allows easy selection of gas and wire type, with infinitely variable voltage and wire speed, indicated on the digital display. However, unlike other similar machines on the market, the Weldmatic 250i features a 4-roll wire drive which improves wire feed consistency, plus it can accommodate 15kg wire spools. Using a 15kg spool means the machine suits the light industrial user as 15kg spools work out far cheaper per kg than smaller 5kg spools; in short the 250i can improve the welder’s productivity while reducing operating costs at the same time. The Weldmatic 250i is also supplied with a tradesman quality MIG gun with 3.6m cable complete with euro connector for easy fitting and removal, plus a 3m work lead, an industrial twist lock electrode holder, gas regulator, a range of tips and suitable drive rollers. Weighing in at just 25.5kg, the 250i comes supplied with two handles, making it an easy two-person lift and […]