Future of Manufacturing

Exact seam placement in robot welding cells

Automated weld seam tracking in robot welding cells is a complex task in a harsh industrial environment. The micrometer-accurate detection of the guide point with different types of joint by 2D/3D profile sensors is one of the most effective solutions for this challenge. In combination with wenglor’s uniVision software, the new weCat3D MLZL 2D/3D tracker sensor, not only combines the necessary precision and profile quality, but also offers convenient installation, integration, robustness and user-friendliness. A 2D/3D profile sensor made for welding robots Supplied by Treotham Automation, the slimline housing of the MLZL with integrated cooling and rinsing enables easy and space-saving installation directly on the welding torch. Thanks to the small housing dimensions of only 33 × 183 × 69.8 mm, the robot can therefore also operate in narrow corners. The MLZL 2D/3D profile sensor does not require any additional protective housing, nor does it need to be tilted for alignment. The design also offers sufficient protection against welding spatter and disturbing ambient light. Despite the harsh industrial environment, the welding sensor provides high-quality profiles for precise joint detection. Optionally equipped with a red or blue laser, users can choose between three laser classes: 2M, 3R or 3B. The MLZL relies on the advanced laser technology of the weCat3D series and thus delivers outstanding profile quality for optical seam tracking. This sensor has been specially adapted and optimised for the high demands in welding robots, but in particular for the complex task of optical tracking of weld seams – both in terms of hardware and software. Wenglor engineers tested and developed the special triangulation sensor as part of an EAP (Early Adopter Program) together with customers from the welding industry. The feedback and know-how collected from this program ultimately flowed into the MLZL tracker sensor. Software Update with new function: uniVision 2.5.0 for welding […]

Girl Geek Academy calls on government to increase funding for Girls in STEM

The federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, says the “Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review” won’t be complete until the end of this year and Girl Geek Academy says that is too long to wait for funding new programs to increase the number of women and girls in STEM. “With ‘Women in STEM’ programs under review for most of this year, we currently don’t anticipate any new funding commitments until 2024. The government’s third year in office is far too late to wait, we need action now,” said Girl Geek Academy co-founder, Sarah Moran. “While we are supportive of the review of ‘Women in STEM’ programs and hope it eventuates in more funding made available in the long term, we cannot ignore the short term fact that women and girls are falling behind. Ahead of the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February), the United Nations highlights in cutting edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman. Girl Geek Academy trained over 1000 high school girls in A.I. in virtual classes without government support and had been hopeful that a change of government would bring about fresh funding to support the growth of similar programs. “There has been a drought of these type of programs as most organisations, typically run by women, have not survived the impacts of the pandemic. Girl Geek Academy lost 99.9% of our cash flow overnight when COVID hit and the only reason we still exist is because I went and got a day job to keep us alive. “The government must act as we know women and girls have already slipped too far behind. We’re calling for a solid investment in programs for the May budget to secure much needed support for women in industry to “lift […]

Supply chain trends for 2023

-Charlie Wood, CEO, Wiise The pandemic has seen unprecedented disruption to businesses, particularly those in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics over the past couple of years. From the shutdowns of ports to geopolitical instability, material and talent shortages to fluctuating demand, the pandemic has simply put supply chains to the test. The disruption is far from over. As KPMG observes, threats and challenges include cross-border trade issues, heightened cyber-crime, material access turmoil, and scope 3 emissions scrutiny. Amid these headwinds, four key trends have begun to emerge that will influence how Australian manufacturers and distributors will evolve their businesses in 2023 and beyond. 1. The rise of real time insights Despite ‘digital transformation’ being a business buzzword for many years, the warehousing and logistics sector has lagged significantly behind other industries when it comes to tech adoption. Even in 2022, some organisations still use paper-based record-keeping inventory, which is extremely inefficient and inaccurate. Manual processes and decades-old legacy systems mean that some companies simply don’t have a clear overview of the stock they have in their warehouse, posing a serious business risk, particularly in times of economic downturn. Manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics businesses need a single source of truth that will enable them to be efficient and cost-effective in terms of stock control and customer commitments, such as investing in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that streamlines business operations. Visibility and provenance in fulfilment have become vital for partners and end consumers who want to know the origin of a product and its components, where it is in the shipping process, and when it’s due to arrive. According to research from CommBank, 74% of Australian manufacturers planned to increase investment in digital technology over the next 12 months. Real-time insights that provide businesses with a clear overview of their inventory are imperative […]

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New process extracts silicon from solar panels to build better batteries

Researchers have developed a sustainable and highly lucrative way to address two big issues in the clean energy transition, reclaiming one of the most valuable elements from end-of-life solar panels and reconfiguring it to build better batteries. More than 100,000 tonnes of end-of-life solar panels are estimated to enter Australia’s waste stream by 2035. Scientists from Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) have successfully tested a new process that can safely and effectively extract silicon from old solar panels, then convert it into a nano material worth more than $45,000 per kilo. This nano-silicon is then mixed with graphite to develop a new type of battery anode shown to increase lithium-ion battery capacity by a factor of 10, a critical breakthrough in energy storage technology. Lead researcher Dr Md Mokhlesur Rahman said that for Australia (and the world) to address the enormous issue of solar panel waste and develop a successful recycling program to divert it away from landfill, scientists must find a way to harvest and repurpose the panels’ most valuable components. “Solar panel cells are fabricated using high-value silicon, but this material cannot be re-used without purification, as it becomes highly contaminated over the 25 to 30 years of the panel’s life,” Dr Rahman said. “We have developed a process that returns silicon collected from used cells to greater than 99 per cent purity, within a day and without the need for dangerous chemicals. This thermal and chemical process is far greener, cheaper, and more efficient than any other technique currently on the market.” But it’s the next step that’s the real game-changer. The Deakin process then takes this regular-sized purified silicon and reduces its size to nanoscale using a special ball-milling process. Again, without the need for toxic chemicals. “We are using that nano-silicon to develop […]

Registration now open for Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW2023)

To be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 9-12 May 2023, the 2023 Melbourne show will be back on home ground and slated to be a big event. Once again organised by the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL), AMW2023 will occupy more than 10,000 square metres of exhibition space at the MCEC in Melbourne, with 300 leading industry exhibitors taking stands to showcase the latest manufacturing technologies, processes, and support services to expected crowds of over 10,000. AMW2023 will be the ‘must attend’ event in the manufacturing landscape. There will be seven Zones on the show floor of Australian Manufacturing Week, each with their own distinct specialisations. These include: Austech Machine Tools, sponsored by ISCAR; Additive Manufacturing Zone; Australian Manufacturers Zone, sponsored by Sutton Tools; Manufacturing Solutions Zone, sponsored by Adobe; Robotics & Automation Zone; Weld and Air Solutions Zone, sponsored by AtlasCopco; Plastic Technology Zone. “AMW2022 at ICC Sydney was a great success and we look forward to an even better AMW2023 at the Melbourne Convention Centre in May,” said Frank Yao of Innofocus Photonics Technology. AMW is the One event that showcases the latest innovations, technologies, and equipment in the advanced manufacturing sector. Visitors and exhibitors can explore new opportunities, meet, and network with Industry leaders and technology experts, all Under one roof at one show. Register Now to attend Now is the time to register online to visit Australian Manufacturing Week in Melbourne. It’s going to be the biggest manufacturing show in the Southern Hemisphere. To register, go to australianmanufacturingweek.com.au https://australianmanufacturingweek.com.au/?utm_source=australianmanufacturingnews.com&utm_medium=editorial &utm_campaign=visprom_2022&utm_content=604×270

Improving rail access at the Port of Melbourne

As part of their 2050 Port Development Strategy to define critical infrastructure needs and support the economic growth of Victoria, the Port of Melbourne initiated the Port Rail Transformation Project (PRTP) to improve rail freight access across the Australian state. Spanning more than 500 hectares of land at the mouth of the Yarra River, the Port of Melbourne handles about a third of Australia’s container trade. The AUD 125 million railway initiative aims to facilitate and increase rail-road share. It will enable more containers to be moved by rail more efficiently by increasing rail terminal capacity and improving rail terminal operations at the port. When complete, PRTP will provide a rail solution to meet the needs of a growing port and reduce truck movements across Victoria, particularly in Melbourne’s inner western suburbs. “It’s about taking more trucks off inner-city roads and putting more containers on trains destined for outer-suburban logistics terminals,” said Matthew Brooks, senior project manager of port rail infrastructure at Port of Melbourne. With more than 130 years of technical excellence in transport infrastructure, WSP was selected as part of an alliance with the contractor and client to provide design consultancy services for the project. The scope of their responsibilities included designing and building a new rail terminal interfacing with one of the container terminals, as well as upgrading existing lines and connections to improve access and provide operational flexibility for all trains accessing the port. To optimise design and efficiently meet the Australian community’s needs for mobility, connectivity, sustainability, and resilience, WSP set out to digitalise workflows and information management across the three organisations working on the PRTP. A Need for a Connected Digital Environment With approximately 250 multidisciplinary project team members spread across three organisations, the project presented information management and coordination challenges, compounded by a […]

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Record rainfalls across Australasia and Asia pose sticky challenges

Outback storms and record rainfall are hindering coal and mineral production and distribution with rocky and sticky material flowing through production and transport systems Record rainfalls across Australasia, Asia, and elsewhere are posing major challenges to materials handling, production, and profits at a time of high prices for coal and strong demand for high-value minerals including iron ore, lithium, nickel, gold, and others. While urban centres such as Sydney have attracted headlines with its highest rainfall ever recorded in 2022 – more than 2.2m months before the year was over – the problem has also been equally dire in major coal areas of the Eastern States and major mines and ports in the West and North. NZ, SE Asia, and India have also been saturated and flooded. “All this moisture and long-term rain makes coal sticky, heavier, and harder to handle for the mines, as well as for the organisations transporting it and the ports and power stations where it arrives. Ceaseless rain also causes major disruptions – even Force Majeure events – at iron ore and other mineral mines,” says engineering plastics specialist Laurie Green, Managing Director of Cut To Size Plastics. Cut To Size fabricates to individual requirements globally proven low-friction WearexUHMWPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) chute, bin, truck, rail, and ship loader linings that assist product flow and avoid blockages and the OH&S risks and downtime that go with them. “When using wet or hard-to-handle coal, for example, the use of high molecular weight polyethylene plastic chute liners has become a number one method to improve the flowability of coal chutes, says Mr Green. The same benefits apply to harder mineral ores, where clogging, production hang-ups, and loading and unloading issues can cause costly production interruptions and OH&S issues.” Working with miners, transport operators, ports, and stockpilers, […]

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Australian Manufacturing Media Kit 2023 now available

The Media Kit 2023 focusses on key areas of manufacturing and technology integral for our manufacturers in this challenging year. This includes the best content to keep you up with the game, and assist your company to achieve its goals. Contact us to have your story read, your latest innovations you want to share with the world, including Asia where our media platform www.asismanufacturingnewstoday.com can have your news read about to the world’s largest business audience. Regards, Doug Green, Publisher

A.H. Beard balances heritage and innovation with Premium Sleep campaign

-Tony Pearson, CEO of A.H. Beard (pictured). For the last 123 years, we at A.H. Beard have made it our life’s work to improve lives through better sleep. It’s our calling, and we’ve elevated the craft of Premium Sleep to its highest form. It’s for this reason that we’ve launched our first national brand campaign showcasing the meaning and importance of Premium Sleep. The idea of Premium Sleep is a concept that rejects the misconception that ‘sleep is for the weak’, but rather an essential act that replenishes, repairs and restores. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, up to 45% of Australians aren’t getting enough sleep. Sleep (and lack thereof) deeply influences our level of health, happiness and motivation and now more than ever is the time to prioritise one of the most important activities of our lives. Here, we unpack what it means to achieve Premium Sleep, and how A.H. Beard balances heritage and innovation when it comes to sleepsmithing. What it means to be Australian owned and made For over 120 years, A.H. Beard has been proudly Australian owned and made, supporting over 400 local employees and their families. A.H. Beard’s origins as a family owned business have continued to shape the business, with more than five generations committed to continuous innovation to ensure they remain leaders in the field. These family values permeate through the business and are embodied by the generations of employees continuing to craft A.H. Beard mattresses, made possible with on-shore production. Being Australian made not only supports local employees and economies, but it also demonstrates adherence to strict manufacturing codes for the highest level of product quality and workplace safety. These strict standards are recognised both by the industry and equally by consumers making the ‘Australian-made’ and ‘New Zealand-made’ labels very desirable. With […]

TeamViewer digitalises warehouse operations at GlobalFoundries

Benefits include up to 25 per cent faster execution of warehouse processes, a picking error rate close to zero, and a reduction in waste of around 100,000 paper sheets per year TeamViewer, a leading global provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalisation solutions, has announced that global semiconductor manufacturer, GlobalFoundries (GF), has deployed TeamViewer’s augmented reality (AR) platform, Frontline, to digitally transform its warehouse operations at its facility in Dresden, the largest semiconductor plant in Europe. Among the major benefits that GF achieved through the implementation of TeamViewer’s solution is up to 25 per cent faster execution of warehouse processes, better employee ergonomics, a picking error rate close to zero, and a reduction in waste of around 100,000 paper sheets per year. Kevin Hidalgo, senior director of logistics, GF, said, “At GF, we always strive to improve our operational efficiencies to better fulfill our customers’ needs. When looking for a solution to digitally transform and improve our warehouse operations, we found that an augmented reality-based solution could really make a difference for us. Now, with the roll-out of TeamViewer Frontline, we are able to take efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability of warehouse logistics to a whole new level.” Jan Junker, executive vice president solution sales and delivery, TeamViewer, said, “Around 80 per cent of the global workforce is not working at a desk, but in manufacturing, production, logistics, or field service. With our AR solutions, enterprises have the first-time opportunity to also digitalise the tasks and processes from these areas and seamlessly connect the workers to the company’s existing digital infrastructure. The benefits that GlobalFoundries achieved in such short time speak for themselves.” At the GF warehouse, the software guides the warehouse workers through the picking process with clear step-by-step instructions displayed on the smart glasses directly in the user’s […]

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Future of Manufacturing