Smart Manufacturing

Calix launches BATMn advanced battery reactor in Bacchus Marsh

Calix Limited, a multi-award-winning Australian technology company, has announced the opening of its BATMn reactor for advanced battery materials by Senator David Van in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. BATMn is a $2.7m proprietary electric reactor, based on Calix’s core technology, for producing advanced battery materials, part-funded by the Australian government through the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Fund. BATMn was successfully commissioned on time and under budget in August, 2019. Calix is also a participant in the Australian Research Council $6.5m StorEnergy industrial innovation training centre (announced August 2018), the EU Horizon 2020 €3.9m Polystorage (Polymers for Next Generation Electrochemical Energy Storage) program (announced August), and theCalix-led $9.4m CRC-P for Advanced Hybrid Batteries (announced August 2019). The rapid development of these research and development programs, and the associated international networks including global major industrial companies, is a testament to the potential of Calix’s platform technology, and the successful execution of Calix’s strategy to leverage it into new industries. Phil Hodgson, CEO, Calix, said, “The rapid growth in electric vehicles and renewable energy is creating a global need for more efficient, cheaper, higher-capacity and more sustainable energy storage options. While a large part of this growth has been enabled through the performance of lithium-ion batteries, the issues around the cost, capacity, safety and sustainability of current lithium-ion batteries will increasingly limit this growth. “There is a need for advanced materials for lithium-ion batteries that deliver superior performance and safety at lower cost while at the same time reducing environmental impact. With BATMn, and our expanded network of research institutes and major industrial players, this exactly what Calix is trying to achieve.” Dr Matt Boot-Handford, R&D manager for batteries and catalysts, Calix, said, “Calix collaborates with and has backing from the government, industry, and research institutions including the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) and BatTRI-Hub […]

Rubrik drives Fenner Dunlop cloud expansion

Australian manufacturing business benefits from Rubrik’s native integration with Microsoft Azure to accelerate its cloud migration objectives Rubrik, the Cloud Data Management company, today announced Fenner Dunlop Australia gained 91 days of added productivity by moving to the Rubrik platform, with those resources to be invested in its cloud expansion strategy and other value-add projects. Rubrik’s seamless integration with Microsoft Azure for long-term retention has allowed Fenner Dunlop to eliminate tape, leading to significant cost savings and operational simplicity. Headquartered in Melbourne, Fenner Dunlop manufactures and supplies a complete conveyor system from head-to-tail: belt, electrics and terminal equipment. With more than 30 sites in Australia, the company delivers engineered conveyor solutions to evolve the way mining companies approach their conveyor belt life cycles, saving costs, and increasing productivity. “As a company, everything we do is supported by information systems—manufacturing, technical support, installation, maintenance, diagnostics services, you name it,” said Sammy Jammal, National IT Manager at Fenner Dunlop Australia. “If the system is down for even 10 minutes, the whole operation would come to a halt. This not only has financial implications but is detrimental to our brand reputation and diminishes our customers’ confidence. As an IT team, we want to leverage technology that can help optimise our processes, allowing us to focus on enabling our users and thereby benefiting our customers,” said Jammal. Jammal oversees an IT team of six which supports over 900 employees nationwide, including the core applications – spanning finance, payroll, time and attendance, paperless office and workflow automation systems – which employees need to perform their roles. Prior to Rubrik, Fenner Dunlop struggled with its tape-based legacy backup and disaster recovery solution’s slow performance and time-consuming upgrades. “Our previous solution was extremely unreliable,” said Jammal. “We didn’t know if backups would take four hours, 20 hours, […]

Rio Tinto approves $749 million investment in Pilbara iron ore mine

Rio Tinto has approved a $749 million (A$1 billion) investment in its existing Greater Tom Price operations (100% owned) to help sustain the production capacity of its world-class iron ore business in the Pilbara of Western Australia. The investment in the Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine will facilitate mining of existing and new deposits and includes construction of a new crusher as well as a 13-kilometre conveyor. The new conveyor system will help lower greenhouse gas emissions from the mine by 3.5 per cent compared to road haulage and the business is continuing to assess additional options to reduce emissions including renewable energy solutions. Pending final government approvals, construction will start in the first quarter of 2020 with first ore from the crusher expected in 2021. Production of high-quality Brockman ore will support the company’s flagship Pilbara Blend, which continues to be the preferred baseload product for China’s steel mills. The project is expected to deliver an attractive internal rate of return with a capital intensity of about $25 per tonne of production capacity. The investment is included in Rio Tinto’s existing guidance for Pilbara replacement capital for 2020 to 2022. As part of the investment, the haul truck fleet at the mine will be fitted with Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) technology to enable autonomous haulage at WTS2 from 2021. The ongoing deployment of autonomous haulage at the company’s Pilbara operations is delivering significant safety benefits as well as enhancing productivity and reducing costs. Approximately 50% of the company’s haul truck fleet will be capable of operating autonomously by the end of the year with plans being assessed to expand this in the years ahead. Consistent with its proven track record, the company is continuing to reskill, redeploy and retrain as automation technology is implemented. Rio Tinto Iron […]

Enough ambition (and hydrogen) could get Australia to 200% renewable energy

Scott HamiltonStrategic Advisory Panel Member, Australian-German Energy Transition Hub, University of Melbourne Changlong WangResearcher, The Energy Transition Hub, University of Melbourne Falko UeckerdtPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Roger DargavilleSenior lecturer, Monash University The possibilities presented by hydrogen are the subject of excited discussion across the world – and across Australia’s political divide, notoriously at war over energy policy. On Friday Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel will present a national strategy on hydrogen to state, territory and federal energy ministers. Finkel is expected to outline a plan that prioritises hydrogen exports as a profitable way to reduce emissions. It is to be hoped the strategy is aggressive, rather than timid. Ambition is key in lowering the cost of energy. Australia would do better aiming for 200% renewable energy or more. It’s likely the national strategy will feature demonstration projects to test the feasibility of new technology, reduce costs, and find ways to share the risk of infrastructure investment between government and industry. There are still a number of barriers. Existing gas pipelines could be used to transport hydrogen to end-users but current laws are prohibitive, mechanisms like “certificates of origin” are required, and there are still key technology issues, particularly the cost of electrolysis. These issues raise questions of what a major hydrogen economy really looks like. It may prompt suspicions this is just the a latest energy pipe dream. But our research at the Australian-German Energy Transition Hub argues that an ambitious approach is better than a cautious one. Aggressively pursing hydrogen exports will reduce costs of domestic energy supply and provide a basis for new export industries, such as greens steel, in a carbon-constrained world. Optimal systems cost less We used optimisation modelling to examine how a major hydrogen industry might roll out in Australia. We wanted to identify where major plants […]

Siemens expands additive manufacturing portfolio through acquisition of Atlas 3D

Atlas 3D helps designers define optimal part orientations for ‘right first time’ 3D printing Cloud-based, GPU-accelerated Sunata software can reduce downstream 3D printing errors caused by thermal distortion up to one hundred times faster than other solutions on the market Siemens announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Atlas 3D, Inc., a Plymouth, Indiana-based developer of software that works with direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) printers to automatically provide design engineers with the optimal print orientation and requisite support structures for additive parts in near real-time. Atlas 3D will join Siemens Digital Industries Software, where its solutions will expand additive manufacturing capabilities in the Xcelerator portfolio of software. Sunata software uses thermal distortion analysis to provide a simple, automated way to optimize part build orientation and generate support structures. This approach allows the designer—rather than the analyst—to perform these simulations, thereby reducing the downstream analysis that needs to be conducted via Simcenter software to achieve a part that meets design requirements. Siemens plans to make the Atlas 3D solution available through its online Additive Manufacturing Network. “We welcome Atlas 3D to the Siemens community as the newest member of our additive manufacturing team. Our solutions industrialize additive manufacturing for large enterprises, 3D printing service bureaus, design firms and CAD designers,” said Zvi Feuer, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Engineering Software of Siemens Digital Industries Software. “The cloud-based Sunata software makes it easy for designers to determine the optimal way to 3D print parts for high quality and repeatability. The combination of Sunata with the robust CAE additive manufacturing tools in Simcenter enables a ‘right first time’ approach for industrial 3D printing.” “Siemens is a leader in additive manufacturing, with the most integrated and functionally robust solutions in the industry, so we are excited to join the team,” said […]

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HSV aims for growth through digitalisation collaboration with Siemens and AMGC

The Hon Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, announces hi-tech software collaboration at HSV HSV, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and Siemens will collaborate to enable advanced manufacturing at the Clayton automotive high-performance vehicle facility Digital manufacturing environment to deliver at least 20% increase in performance as HSV aims to expand production lines and tap into export opportunities The Hon Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, today visited the automotive production line at the HSV facility in Clayton (Victoria) to announce a hi-tech software collaboration to help HSV expand production lines and tap into global exports of their performance vehicles. The software collaboration brings together HSV, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) and technology powerhouse Siemens – the largest automation and industrial software company in the world. “What’s so exciting about this announcement is that it demonstrates the benefits of going digital in all types of industries. By increasing the digitalisation of HSV’s manufacturing process, they expect at least a 20% increase in performance,” said Minister Andrews. “This will in turn create more demand for the local supply chain.” “Embracing digital technology allows Australian manufacturers to compete on value, not on cost, which is so important to their ongoing success and will allow them to grow and create new local jobs,” Minister Andrews said. Also present at the announcement were Tim Jackson, CEO of HSV, Jeff Connolly, Chairman and CEO of Siemens Australia Pacific and Dr. Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of AMGC. Tim said that the introduction of digital processes will significantly help the teams and support their growing business. “Right now we have around 350 people, with one of our lines operating 24 hours a day (three shifts) to keep up with demand. The re-manufacturing process requires significantly more work to the vehicles than when […]

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Hydraulink group opens Newman branch in response to Pilbara growth

The 24/7 Hydraulink Newman operation in Pardoo St, Newman Light Industrial Area Leading multinational hydraulic hose, fittings and solutions company Hydraulink has opened a new facility in Newman, WA, to service strong and ongoing mining, construction and commercial and industrial infrastructure development in the Pilbara. The new franchise – the latest of more than 240 hydraulic hose service points throughout Australia – is led by Mr Kevin Ormond, an award-winning family businessman who has forged strong engineering and service links with leading companies throughout Western Australia over more than a decade, including some of the State’s largest miners. “We saw a strong place in the market for a service-oriented hydraulic solutions provider with the local facilities to ensure customer equipment uptime is optimised and costly equipment is back in service rapidly,” said Mr Ormond, whose experience includes on-site and FIFO engineering and technical work on WA mine sites, before also developing a strong and ongoing manufacturing and export business to Pilbara companies from his family’s engineering company in New Zealand. Hydraulink – which operates under the market signature “Best Under Pressure” – has awarded Ormond Engineering multiple achievement awards over successive years and is delighted to have to have Mr Ormond’s highly motivated team join its expanding network, says Hydraulink WA State Manager, Mr Andrew Lever. “It is outstanding to have Kevin as a team leader who knows thoroughly the needs of WA industry – including prompt and thorough service to optimise reliability and expedite maintenance and repairs, with all work performed to the same uniformly high standards over multiple sites. As someone with long experience in the unique conditions of WA industry, he is strongly aware of the mandatory safety, compliance and traceability performance required in world-class businesses,” he said. The new branch some 1,250km north of Perth will […]

Climate change drives new focus on tank top protection

As Australia’s drought deepens and the UN warns of the worsening effects of climate change, local industries are moving to protect their water and process fluid tanks from heat stresses, high winds, evaporation, airborne pollution and wastage. “Tanks now are being built to hold their contents more safely and securely than ever before, and protect it for longer and in more challenging operating environments,” says tank bearing engineer and manufacturer Mr David Booty, Manager, Hercules Engineering (a division of Cut To Size Plastics). Steel, concrete and fibreglass water and industrial fluid tanks need secure roofs that can withstand expansion and contraction caused by factors such as increasing climatic and load variations, says Mr Booty, whose company is currently supplying bearings for roofs to protect tanks with surface areas as large as 10,000 sq m (100m x 100m, holding 90ML of water, the equivalent of dozens of Olympic pools). He says such protection is needed for even larger tanks used by industry for applications as diverse as potable, process and firefighting water. “They can hold upwards of 10, 20 or even 30,000 tons of liquid that must be protected from the elements and from pollution to safeguard it for use in water, wastewater, emergency fire protection and high purity industrial processing applications.” A challenge facing developers and operators of buildings and processing plants for industrial and municipal uses is ensuring their top structures can flexibly cope with internal movement from climatically induced expansion, contraction and wind and rain forces. They also must cope with production stresses caused by heavy and changing loads, vibration and other factors encountered within diverse industries – as well as dust, bird droppings, rain-borne impurities and other airborne pollutants that can affect tanks used by industries in remote, rural and grimy urban settings, including industries such […]

Battery technology could slash cost of electric vehicles

A new battery technology that could significantly reduce the price of electric cars and home battery systems has taken a major step towards commercialisation. South Australian researchers from the University of Adelaide have secured an A$1 million research contract with a Chinese battery manufacturer to develop the new technology and bring it to market within 12 months. The patented design uses non-toxic zinc and manganese, two metals that are abundant in Australia, and incombustible aqueous electrolyte to produce a battery with a high-energy density. The researchers estimate the cost of this new electrolytic Zn–Mn battery to be less than US$ 10 per kWh compared with US$ 300 per kWh for current Li-ion batteries, US$ 72 per kWh for Ni–Fe batteries and US$ 48 per kWh for Lead–acid batteries. The battery is designed by Dr Dongliang Chao and Professor Shi-Zhang Qiao from the University of Adelaide’s School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials. The high-energy, safe battery opens up markets where the battery weight, size and safety are essential factors, including automotive and aerospace, and domestic and commercial buildings, and grid-scale energy storage. Dr Chao said although there were other Zn-Mn batteries on the market such as the dry cell, they were not rechargeable or recyclable and did not present high-energy density due to a different chemical reaction mechanism. “I can imagine this battery being used on all vehicle types from small scooters to even diesel electric trains. Also in homes that need batteries to store solar power, or even large solar/wind farms,” he said. “With more sustainable energy being produced – such as through wind and solar farms – storing this energy in batteries in a safe, non-expensive and environmentally sound way is becoming more urgent but current battery materials – including lithium, lead and cadmium – are expensive, hazardous and toxic. “Our new electrolytic battery […]

Fixing problems caused by rezoning inner city industrial land

Carl GrodachProfessor and Director of Urban Planning & Design, Monash University Chris GibsonDirector, UOW Global Challenges Program & Professor of Human Geography, University of Wollongong Justin O’ConnorProfessor of Cultural Economy, University of South Australia Since 2000, planning authorities in Australia have overseen a massive rezoning of inner-city industrial land to make way for mixed-use residential development. They claim central industrial space is obsolete in a post-industrial economy driven by knowledge, finance, and real estate. And rezoning offers opportunities to house people near jobs and services, thereby slowing urban sprawl. While industrial rezonings have contributed to the densification of Australian cities, they also open the door to real estate speculation and accelerate gentrification. This has forced many people to move outward in search of affordable shelter. Rather than fostering walkable 20-minute neighbourhoods, “ghost shops” haunt many new mixed-use residential developments. And sprawl continues unabated. Other problems stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of contemporary manufacturing. The loss of central industrial zones displaces a range of specialised manufacturers, creative producers, and small businesses. With them go the quality jobs and vital services they provide. In the process, the diversity of land uses and jobs is reduced in the very places that policymakers want it. Can urban policy make room for manufacturing and create real diversity and a mix of employment opportunities in our cities? Australian manufacturing misunderstood Manufacturing employment has declined for decades. This is typically attributed to competition from low-wage countries. In reality, Australian manufacturing is changing and is largely distinct from overseas high-volume, low-cost mass production. Urban policy and an outdated vision of manufacturing are as much to blame for the loss of central industrial land. Today, Australian manufacturing is small, nimble, and specialised. Firms with fewer than 20 people provide 93% of all manufacturing employment. And most firms (74%) have fewer than five employees. These businesses are not pumping out automobiles or anoraks. […]

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