Smart Manufacturing

SYSPRO Cloud ERP gains traction amidst ongoing supply chain disruptions Following from an extensive early adopter program, SYSPRO, a global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provider, has launched its Cloud ERP deployment option to Australian manufacturers and distributors. Designed to make things possible in key industries, SYSPRO Cloud ERP provides businesses with the agility to meet evolving market demands amidst ongoing supply chain disruptions. SYSPRO Cloud ERP offers manufacturers multiple benefits including the ability to collaborate in real-time, the capacity to adopt best industry practice, the proficiency to customise requirements and reduce IT Infrastructure, resilience and management costs, as well as the ability to future-proof operations.  Research shows that the vulnerabilities caused by supply chain disruptions have increased focus on resiliency, transparency and visibility. According to the recent SYSPRO global research survey titled ‘Realigning the links of the disconnected supply chain’, 70 percent of manufacturing and distribution businesses experienced supply chain disruptions over the last few years. Added to those pressures,60 percent of businesses were unable to engage and collaborate with customers and suppliers in real-time. While collaboration and supply chain disruptions have been the biggest areas of impact, only 45 percent of businesses have the systems in place to address these disruptions and effectively collaborate with external suppliers and customers.  “Manufacturers have come to realise that in order to overcome supply chain disruptions, their business operations need to consider a different approach to ensure supply-chain resiliency. We are now witnessing a time where manufacturers and distributors are considering the value in the journey towards digital transformation with cloud at the centre of that strategy. With the pandemic, their cautious hesitancy to adopt cloud systems has been largely allayed as they acknowledge that the cloud allows for collaboration, communication and business continuity. “With SYSPRO Cloud ERP, manufacturers and distributors still get the […]

Australian manufacturing performance software company, OFS, and US ‘grain-to-glass’ brewery data management company, The 5th Ingredient, have signed a first-of-its-kind craft brewing partnership to help the companies expand in each other’s home markets to help the craft beer industry become more data driven. OFS’s software, which uses sensors to draw real-time data from the packing line to identify and reduce inefficiencies and waste, has become the de facto standard for filling and packing-line efficiency monitoring in Australia. It is already used by around half of Australia’s craft breweries including Stomping Ground and Tribe Breweries. The 5th Ingredient, founded in the craft beer capital of San Diego, has had similar success in the US with its proprietary Beer30 brewery software, which assesses data from the moment raw ingredients are purchased to when the can, bottle or keg is sold. The 5th Ingredient has already deployed its software in more than 10 per cent of the Australian industry, while OFS, having recently launched in the US, has already signed its first three US breweries including Pelican Brewing Company, a leading Oregon-based craft brewery. The brewing software specialists now aim to expand their footprint across both countries’ entire industries, at a rate of 100 breweries a year. The software integration between Beer30 and OFS provides unmatched visibility into yield, covering losses from every step of the brewing and packing process in real time. For example, OFS could capture a series of downtimes on the filler correlating to a CO2 quality issue captured by Beer30, which has affected a portion of the product. If the overall problem is related to raw ingredients, it could also identify the relevant batch and which products were affected, preventing a larger-than-needed product recall. Importantly, both OFS and Beer30 are viable solutions for brewers of all sizes where efficiency […]

The long service life of igus chainflex high-end TPE cables from Treotham convinces inspectors and gives customers certified security As the world’s first manufacturer, igus has received UL AWM certification from the well-known US organisation Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for its high-end TPE cables that do not use fire-retardant halogens as additives. This is the first time that the testing organisation has recognised that halogen-free TPE cables can also meet the fire protection requirements in industry. The independent organisation Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is one of the most important authorities in the USA in terms of product safety. It has been testing components of machines and systems since 1894 to see whether they are suitable for industrial use. Their seal is one of the prerequisites for a successful market entry in North America. Fire protection is a key decisive criteria. This is because, according to the US National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), machine fires are the fourth leading cause of fires in industrial environments in the USA, closely followed by fires caused by electrical factors. Fire protection can also be achieved without halogens For this certification, the igus engineers had to do a lot of persuading. Up to now, the flame retardancy of cables has been the key factor in obtaining UL certification for fire protection. Approval is therefore only granted to products containing flame retardants such as chlorine, fluorine or bromine. These additives increase the flame retardancy. However, so far it has not been taken into account that the flame retardants generally change the chemical structure of the jacket and reduce the mechanical load-bearing capacity. Therefore, igus starts much earlier in the process: The cable specialist focuses less on preventing a fire from spreading, but rather on how the cable itself caused the fire. The TPE jacket compounds are extremely resistant […]

Suhner Australia, a leader in metal finishing solutions, has expanded its range of products and services around metal finishing processes to provide its customers with a total solutions package. In addition to providing Suhner tools, consumables and know-how in the surface finishing of all metals, Suhner Australia is now offering hand tools, annular hole cutters, safety equipment, tapes and glues as well as a tools for hire service. By broadening its range of products and services the company will be able to offer a higher degree of service to meet the needs of its customers. “All of the new products that we have chosen to incorporate in our range are integral to the polishing and finishing of metals regardless of whether they are stainless steel, aluminium, brass or special alloys. The larger product offering will allow us to offer customers a complete solutions package so that we can assist them with any aspect around metal finishing processes. “What’s more, a broader range means that our customers now also have greater choice when it comes to selecting quality hand tools, annular hole cutters, PPE gear, and tapes and glues. “We can also guarantee good availability of our new product range, which will be reassuring for our customers given the critical shortage of products that are being experienced in industry due to disruptive supply chains,” explained Robert Bartrum, General Manager, Suhner Australia. The company’s new hand tool range includes quality European brands such as PB Swiss Tools and Ruko drill bits. Maxisafe will spearhead the company’s range of PPE gear, while tapes and glues will include leading brands such as 3M and Stylus. Complementing Suhner Australia’s wider product range is its new ‘Tools for Hire’ service. The service allows customers to hire metal finishing tools for a “one-off” project, to meet additional […]

By Lim Jing (Ph.D.) Chief Technology Officer, Osteopore Three dimensional or “3D printing” is an additive manufacturing process that has been around for a while now – but is still guaranteed to attract attention. It produces a physical object from a digital design, and it’s been creating a buzz in the healthcare industry since the 1990s when dental implants and custom prosthetics took off. While there are many different types of 3D printing available, harnessing the technological advantage that 3D printing has over traditional manufacturing techniques is the key to its success. This involves creating a microstructure that is representative of native bone while meeting gross geometrical needs of the reconstruction area. Specifically, making use of the body’s regenerative capacity to rebuild lost tissues and the use of bioresorbable materials in implants leverage the combined technologies of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and 3D printing techniques. 3D printing technology has allowed us to make ground-breaking regenerative implants – our bioresorbable implant is the first of its kind to be successfully developed and commercialised for surgical use, and we see this technology as the way of the future for healthcare. When used appropriately, we find the solutions created with 3D printing regularly outperform traditional implant methods in terms of design and associated long-term healthcare costs. 3D printing allows the creation of complex geometries that copy the shape and function of natural bone and allows efficient productisation particularly in customised implants.   Given the complex nature of bone microarchitecture, it is not a matter of course that production can happen at cost effective scale – and 3D manufacturing gives us that option. With improvements to technology, we can go down the path of automation, producing our implants around-the-clock and even remotely; there is a compelling commercial industrial argument for the technology alongside medical […]