carbon fibre production

Transcription

AUSTRALASIA
ALSO IN
THIS ISSUE:
Steps to Becoming a
Chief Engineer
Member Interview
with Kelvin Ney
CARBON FIBRE
PRODUCTION
The 2015/16
SAE-A Board
AutoCRC:
Australian Innovation
in Small Enterprises
+ AutoCRC Students;
where are they now?
With more than 140 variables that must be
monitored, carbon fibre production is a
complex task. Carbon Nexus describes the
process of producing carbon fibre for industry
& research.
CUT & PASTE:
BMW i3 REPAIR
Print Post: 100019997
The BMW i3 is a
Revolutionary New Car.
But Revolutionary is Not
What the Repair Shop
Wants to Hear.
ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURE
IN AIRCRAFT
PART REPAIRS
Using Spray-On Metal to
Rebuild & Restore.
A 3D Printed Jet
Engine
CARBON FIBRE
COMPOSITES
MANUFACTURING
New Developments
in Carbon Fibre Light
Weighting and Surface
Finishing
VTE is the official magazine of the SAE-A
REPRESENTING PROFESSIONAL MOBILITY ENGINEERS SINCE 1927
Bosch Automotive Technology
Developing innovative solutions
Bosch Automotive Technology is responsible for developing
innovative components, systems and functions in the fields of
vehicle safety, vehicle dynamics and driver assistance as well
as non-automotive applications.
We specialize in delivering turnkey solutions from quotation
through to mass production and have capabilities in robust
embedded software, CAN, network protocols, customer specific
application and sensing technologies ranging from radar to
acceleration sensors. With a global customer base, having
engineered projects for Europe, North America, China, Japan,
Malaysia and Korea, we can offer solutions to an array of industries.
3 Motorcycle ABS and Stability Control
3 Rail vehicle braking and detection systems
3 Collision avoidance in mining, off road, materials handling
Bosch Australia’s Automotive Electronics Engineering team
provides specialist engineering services:
3 Hardware, Mechanical & Software Design
3 Engineering Validation Services – EMC (with NATA accreditation
available on request), Electrical Interference Testing,
Environmental Testing (temperature, humidity, salt spray, dust),
Mechanical Testing (vibration, shock), Metrology and Materials
Analysis (inc. X-Ray & Scanning Electron Microscope)
Bosch Australia’s Chassis Control Systems Engineering team
provides specialist engineering services:
3 Sample Shop – surface-mount technology, selective solder,
single pin insertion, measurement & test
3 Vehicle ADR testing to ensure ESP® systems meet the
Australian Design Rule guidelines
Contact Automotive Electronics
Email: [email protected]
3 Measurement services for vehicle modifiers to assess impact
of changes on OEM safety systems
Contact Chassis Control Systems
Bosch Motorsport.
Race components for more than a century!
We develop and manufacture motorsport electronics and motorsport components
suited to all levels, from weekend racer to Formula 1.
We offer our customers a comprehensive product portfolio, as well as tailored
engineering solutions, for a variety of automobile and motorcycle applications. Our
customers benefit from the Bosch Group’s systems expertise, as well as from its
integration know-how as one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers.
We deliver our products to complete racing series’, as well as individual teams. For
example, for the DTM series we have exclusively supplied the engine control unit and
the digital display used in the cockpit since 2000. We are also the sole supplier of
electrical and electronic components for Formula 3 and the U.S. Grand Am racing
series. Moreover, many teams competing in the Le Mans 24-hour and numerous other
races rely on our systems and components.
Contact Motorsport
Product Categories:
3 Engine Control Units
3 Injection & Ignition components
3 Alternators & Starters
3 Sensors
3 Brake Control
3 Displays
3 Data Logging Systems
3 Software
3 Accessories
CONTENTS
17
FROM THE SAE
From the Executive Director�� 2
From the President - The 2015/16 SAE-A Board�� 3
New Members�� 4
SAE-A Officially Launches Industry Working Group�� 5
Member Interview with Kelvin Ney�� 6
CARBON
FIBRE
PRODUCTION
CUT & PASTE:
BMW i3 REPAIR
EVENTS & TRAINING
3
2015/16
SAE-A
BOARD
30
10
MEMBER INTERVIEW:
ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURE
IN AIRCRAFT
PART REPAIRS
28
AUTOCRC:
INNOVATION,
SME RESEARCH
AND STUDENT
OUTCOMES
38
CARBON FIBRE
COMPOSITES
MANUFACTURING
COMPOSITE
CHASSIS
STRUCTURES
34
ENGINEER
ABN 95 004 248 604
ISSN 00360651
INDUSTRY NEWS
Improving Heavy Vehicle Safety�� 13
Thermoset Composite Welding�� 14
3D Printed Jet Engine & Future of Aero Manufacturing 15
CARBON FIBRE PRODUCTION
Carbon Nexus Describes the Process of Producing
Carbon Fibre for Industry & Research. �� 17
CARBON FIBRE COMPOSITES MANUFACTURING
Quickstep Illustrates Various Solutions to Light Weighting
and Class A Exterior Finishes.�� 22
TECHNICAL
Ceramic Matrix Composites��
Additive Manufacture & its Role in Aircraft Part Repairs�
Cut & Paste: BMW i3 Repair��
Staying Competitive with Carbon Fibre��
Composite Chassis Structures��
27
28
30
32
34
Mech/Indust.Eng.
22Automotive
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
PH: (03) 9676 9568
FX: (03) 9646 7793
EM: [email protected]
WEB: www.saea.com.au
Where are AutoCRC graduates
now? (phase 1)
STEPS TO
BECOME
A CHIEF
TITLE
ENGINEER
6
KELVIN NEY
Industry Diversification Chair Added to SAE-A Board�� 8
B24 Liberator Restoration Tour�� 8
Your Future, Made to Order�� 9
Steps to Become a Chief Engineer�� 10
Engineering Consultants�� 11
Oil&Energy
Electrical/ElectronicEng IndustrialDesign Construction
HWL Ebsworth Lawyers: Commercialising New
Aviation&Aerospace
Other Unemployed36
Materials MiningandMinerals
& Technology��
Published by:
Society of Automotive Engineers - Australasia
Unit 30, 3 Westside Ave, Port Melbourne, VIC, 3207
Editor
Gavin Kroon
[email protected]
Business Enquiries
SAE-A Executive Director
Natalie Roberts
[email protected]
Subscription & SAE-A
Membership Enquiries
Rose De Amicis
[email protected]
AutoCRC: SME Research and Student Outcomes�� 38
VTE INDUSTRY PARTNER
AutoCRC Enquiries
PH: (03) 9948 0450
FX: (03) 9948 0499
www.autocrc.com
President
Adrian Feeney
[email protected]
The editor, publisher, printer, the Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A) and their employees, directors, servants, agents and associated or related entities (Publishing Entities) are
not responsible for the accuracy or correctness of the text, pictures or other material comprising the contributions and advertisements contained in this publication or for the consequences of any
use made of the products, services and other information referred to in this publication. The Publishing Entities expressly disclaim all liability of whatsoever nature for any consequences arising from
the use or reliance on material contained in this publication whether caused to a reader of this publication or otherwise. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Publishing Entities. The responsibility for the accuracy or correctness of information and other material is that of the individual contributors and the Publishing Entities do not accept responsibility
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Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) or other applicable laws arising from statute or common law. Readers should make their own inquiries prior to the use of, or reliance on, any information or other material
contained in this publication, and where necessary seek professional advice. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without the written permission of SAE-A is strictly prohibited.
VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEER
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
1
FROM THE SAE-A
UPCOMING EVENTS
FROM THE
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Natalie Roberts
In this special edition of the July VTE
Magazine we have a particular focus on
advanced materials, specifically carbon
fibre, and highlight the advancements
that a range of Australian organisations
are making to and how they are contributing in the field. The articles in this
issue represent a small snapshot of the
work that is being conducted in Australia
in this area that will keep us at the forefront of technical development.
The other piece of good news is the
financial turnaround of SAE-A from 2013
to 2014 financial years, as presented
at the recent AGM. Personally, I would
like to thank the dedicated National
Office team, the committed and focused
Board of Directors and our passionate
members who continue to contribute
their time and energy to activities, divisions and committees.
2
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
2
SAE-A Student Seminar (SSS)
Costing Seminar
Vehicle Technology Engineer
Workshop #4
4
Business Presentations
6
Vehicle Electrical Systems
16
Engine Calibration
9
Vehicle Aerodynamics
17-18
13
Powertrain
28-2
14
Light Vehicle Modification Seminar
Melbourne - Eastern Suburbs
16
Automotive Dynamics
17
27-28
OCTOBER
7-9
Speaking of forefront of technical
development: the SAE-A 2015 Mobility
Engineering Excellence Awards have
just opened for nominations, and I
encourage all companies who have
developed a novel product, process or
service to nominate and be recognised
for excellence!
There are two significant pieces of good
news also presented in this issue. The
first being the appointment of Peiman
Rajaiee as Industry Programs Working
Group Manager. The IPWG, is an
SAE-A initiative to support automotive
professionals as they transition to new
sectors and raise the awareness of the
skill set and capabilities that automotive
professionals will take with them to other
industries. This initiative is funded by
the Victorian Government’s Department
of Education and Training. We welcome
Peiman to the role - an example of
a transitioning automotive professional - and look forward to the impact
that he will make for our members and
the broader automotive engineering
community in this area.
2015
Vehicle Dynamics
Threaded Fasteners and the
Bolted Joint
NOVEMBER
4-6
Principles of Cost and Finance
for Engineers
12
Excellence Awards - Submissions
Close for Professional Categories
13
IP - Intelectual Property
15
Light Vehicle Modification Seminar
Melbourne - Western Suburbs
19
Mobility Engineering Excellence
Awards
16
CAN for Vehicle Applications
26-27
22
Vehicle Technology Engineer
Workshop #5
26
Excellence Awards - Submissions
Close for Academic Categories
KEY:
Applied Failure Analysis
Introduction to Crash and
Technical Accident
Reconstruction
DECEMBER
10-13
Formula SAE-A Competition
In-Vehicle Networking with LIN
and FlexRay Applications
National Event
Training Event
Division Event
Event Update or Notice
Dates are correct at time of printing and are subject to change
Top Upcoming Events
SAE-A Student Seminar: Vehicle Electrical System Date: Monday, July 6
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue: RMIT University, Building 80, Level 4, Room 6, Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC
Contact: [email protected]
Register: www.saea.com.au/event-1928063
Light Vehicle & Motorbike Modifications Seminar
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Time: 5:15pm - 8:30pm
Venue: Waverley RSL, 161 Coleman Parade, Glen Waverley 3150 VIC
Register: www.saea.com.au/event-1913648
2015 Mobility Engineering Excellence Awards
Date: Thursday, November 19
Venue: Fenix, 680 Victoria Street, Richmond, VIC
Register or for more information on the benefits on
nominating for an award: www.saea.com.au/excellence-awards
Division Contacts
Division Coordinator:
Rose De Amicis
[email protected]
Victoria:
Doug Monaghan
[email protected]
Young Engineers:
Gavin Kroon
[email protected]
Contact Rose De Amicis on (03) 9676 9568 to become involved in your division.
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
FROM THE SAE-A
FROM THE PRESIDENT:
SAE-A ANNOUNCES THE
2015/16 BOARD
NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND THEIR ROLES FOR 2015/16 ANNOUNCED AT THE
RECENT AGM.
Adrian Feeney - President, SAE-A
In early May this year, SAE-A held
its 69th Annual General Meeting and
Networking dinner at the Mulgrave
Country Club in Wheelers Hill,
Victoria.
Both events were well attended and
there were some issues of significance reviewed and the appropriate
motions passed.
The first point of significance was
the 5 year plan - as approved by the
Board late last year and ratified at
this year’s AGM. In essence, the plan
is for SAE-A to focus each year on
key objectives for the Society with an
end date to achieve specific, measurable outcomes.
For 2015 we will be focusing on
growing student involvement in
all aspects of SAE-A through our
Formula SAE-A event by offering the
students more than just the event
itself. A number of low cost activities have now been planned and
are incorporated into our calendar
of events. The other related challenge is to seek and find sponsors
to replace those organisations
who have traditionally supported
us in the past. Finding significant
funding for this event is challenging
at times, especially given the state
of the Automotive Industry, but the
SAE-A is working hard to find suitable sponsors for this year’s Formula
[Continued next page]
Competition.
ABOUT THE NEW
BOARD MEMBERS
Sarah
Roberts
Sarah Roberts graduated from
Aerospace Engineering at RMIT in
2000, working in various operations
positions at Lufthansa in Germany for
ten years, before returning to Australia
in 2009. In 2010, she commenced
work at Virgin Australia. Sarah has
held positions focussing on aircraft
reliability, certification projects, asset
management, airworthiness, and as an
engineering program manager. Sarah
is a regular contributor to the SAE-A’s
VTE magazine.
Sarah holds a Masters in Materials
Engineering (Monash) and an MBA
(UoQ)
Adrian
Feeney
President
Shane
Richardson
Senior Vice
President &
Excellence
Awards Chair
Martha
Sarah
Oplopiadis
Roberts
Industry
Industry
Programs &
Diversification
Allied Societies
Chair
Chair
Graydon
Reitz
Vice
President
Kai
Morganti
Formula
SAE-A Chair
Allen
Saylav
Treasurer
Alastair
Hampton
Director
Natalie
Roberts
Executive
Director &
Secretary
Andrew
George
Divisions &
Membership
Chair
Simon
Farrell
Director
Geoff
Liersch
Director
= New Board Member
The SAE-A’s 2015/16 Board of Directors, featuring new members, Sarah
Roberts and Alastair Hampton.
Alastair
Hampton
Alastair is the Product Validation
Manager at GM Holden, he leads the
GM Holden Validation group in GM
best practice Component, Subsystem
and Vehicle Validation as well as export
regulatory certification. Alastair has
worked in the automotive industry for
over 15 years, starting at Ford Australia
and transitioning to GM Holden in
2002. Prior to his current role, he was
the Managing Engineer for Component
& Subsystem validation, working on
domestic and export vehicles including
vehicle programs in China.
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
3
FROM THE SAE-A
now an Independent Board Member,
and Geoff Liersch, who returns to the
SAE-A Board for a second term.
A major focus for the SAE-A in 2015
is growing student involvement
through Formula SAE-A.
In 2016 our focus will be on
increasing the range and accessibility of our training packages, this
will both increase our services to our
members as well as increase our
income flow. We can look forward to
an announcement of the details from
the National Office in coming months.
We welcome first time Board
Member, Alastair Hampton, who
replaces Martha as Holden’s representative. I worked with Alastair when
we were both at Holden and I look
forward to working with him again,
albeit in a somewhat different role.
I also take this opportunity to thank
Tim Car, our former Senior Vice
President for his continued commitment and hard work he has given to
The other key decision was to ratify
the new Board, and I am indeed
pleased to welcome a new member,
Sarah Roberts from Virgin Australia,
I thank her for volunteering for this
position and wish her well. We all
look forward to working with her
over the next three years. I can also
advise that two incumbent members
have been re-elected unopposed:
Martha Oplopiadis, who had previously represented Holden and is
the SAE-A. Tim has stepped down
from the Board of Directors after a
succesful and influential two terms.
Tim has served the Society well over
the past six years, being involved
in membership, events and more
recently on the restructuring of the
Society in light of the Industry’s
dramatic changes, specifically the
decline of vehicle manufacturing in
Australia. The Society acknowledges
Tim’s great work and we wish him
well in the future, although he will
still be involved, just not at the Board
level.
Finally, I can advise members that
the Financial Report was approved
and the end result is that we have
achieved a $117k turnaround, from a
loss of $65k in 2013 to a $52k profit
in 2014. Well done to our Executive
Director, Natalie Roberts and her
staff as well as our Treasurer Allen
Saylav for such an outstanding result.
CONTACT
Adrian Feeney (right) thanks Tim
Car (left) for his valuable insights
and contributions to the SAE-A over
his two terms (6 years) as a board
member.
Adrian Feeney
President, SAE-A
PH: (03) 9676 9568
NEW MEMBERS
The SAE-A welcomes the following individuals to the Society.
Member:
David Adams
Philip Dunn
Steven Filbey
Gary Howes
Martha Oplopiadis
Shan Xu
Associate Member:
Denis Auberson
Adrian Betti
Stuart Budd
Chris Lloyd
Gregory Trott
Tom Yankos
Delegate Member:
Ani Galassi
Joseph Ballato
Stuart Chandler
Shona Davey
Associate Member - T:
Dennis Belen
4
Affiliate:
Aldo Contarino
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
Student Member:
Peter Baskovich
Sean Bolton
Simon Bow
James Buck
Vincent Chu
Philipp Dahm
Hayden Foster
Zachary Freeman
James French
Christopher Hourigan
Fletcher Jackson
Stephen Liddell
Benjamin Malkiewicz
Himansh Mishra
Jamie Morton
Joshua Murfet
Alex Panjkov
Thomas Petchell
Andre Van Vulpen
Yanuar Wahyuesa
Clyde Webster
Shannon Chen
Alex Do
Nima Namjouyan
Yin Ming Pang
Ignasius Setiaputra
FROM THE SAE-A
SAE-A OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES
INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP
A PROGRAM TO STOP THE AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING SKILLS
DRAIN IN AUSTRALIA
Peiman Rajaiee - Manager, IPWG
On the 28th April 2015, the Industry
Programs Working Group, established to help automotive engineers
find work in other Australian industries, was launched by SAE-A and the
Victorian Department of Education
and Training.
The closure of automotive manufacturing and some engineering design
centers in Australia is expected to
result in a massive skills drain over
the next two to three years as many
of the 1,700 Victorian based engineering professionals set to lose their
jobs seek work overseas with international Automotive companies.
“SAE-A has a comprehensive plan
to raise the awareness of Australian
Industry sectors about the capabilities
of automotive industry professionals
through cross industry mapping of
transferable skills, and decoding
industry related jargon” said Natalie
Roberts, Executive Director, SAE-A.
IPWG
stage, IPWG is in fact about helping
Australian industry as a whole by
preventing the loss of one of our
most valuable national asset’s – the
knowledge & skills of our workforce –
to other countries”, Peiman Rajaiee,
Program Manager, commented at the
SAE-A AGM meeting in May.
Sector 3: Manufacturing and Agriculture
Sector 4: Oil, Gas, Energy
Sector 5: Mining and Metals
Sector 6: Defence and Space
Sector 7: Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Services
Sector 8: Education & Training
IPWG is working closely with
Victorian Government Departments,
and engaging with key stakeholders
The IPWG program is for all automotive professionals – not just SAE-A
members.
Peiman Rajaiee presenting the
future plans of the IPWG at the
recent SAE-A’s AGM.
Professional engineers hold qualifications that are internationally
recognized, and their skills are
extremely transferable. This has
seen many pursue job opportunities
offshore. To stem the flow SAE-A
will work with a number of Australian
industry sectors that are struggling to
find suitably experienced engineers,
and inform them of the valuable skills
and capabilities becoming available
on the employment marketplace.
in multiple industries, to increase the
understanding of the skills, training,
and experience that automotive engineering staff can bring to potential
new employers.
“Although it may be regarded as a
program to help automotive engineers transitioning to their new career
Sector 0:
Sector 1:
Sector 2:
The IPWG is currently researching
eight key industry sectors; mapping
the skill sets required by each sector,
highlighting the similarities in skills
to an automotive engineer. These
sectors are as follows:
Automotive
Health
Construction
“IPWG is about helping
Australian industry as a
whole by preventing the
loss of one of our most
valuable national asset’s –
the knowledge & skills of
our workforce”
- Peiman Rajaiee, SAE-A
To stay updated on IPWG research
and activities, follow us on LinkedIn
SAE-Australasia
Industry survey coming soon.
CONTACT
Peiman Rajaiee
Manager, Industry Programs
Working Group, SAE-A
PH: (03) 9676 9568
WEB: www.saea.com.au
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
5
FROM THE SAE-A
MEMBER INTERVIEW
WITH VEHICLE CERTIFYER AND FORMER RAAF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER,
KELVIN NEY. AN ENGINEER WITH A PASSION MOTOR RACING AND TRAVELLING.
About Kelvin Ney
Kelvin Ney is a consulting engineer experienced in Automotive
and Aircraft engineering. Kelvin has enjoyed a 23 year career
with the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian
Navy in aircraft maintenance and R&D and a further 23 years
as an Automotive Engineer and Certifier of heavy & light motor
vehicles in Queensland.
Kelvin started his working life as a motor mechanic, heavily involved in drag
racing, providing a solid foundation for his future in engineering and design.
He then joined the Air Force as an Aircraft Engine Mechanic, moving up the
ranks with study to become a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. He
had a number of postings in the Defence Materiel Organisation being involved
with maintenance planning and increasing life expectancy of our aging aircraft
fleet.
In 1992, Kelvin returned to the automotive industry as a vehicle certification
engineer. Using his vast knowledge and experience in motorsport engineering,
Kelvin continues to design and test all vehicle types, including light and heavy
commercial for compliance on Australian roads. Kelvin has an Advanced
Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and numerous other qualifications in
aircraft and business management.
What is the most memorable place
you’ve worked at, and why?
The RAAF, for not only teaching me
discipline and integrity but also the
camaraderie amongst those I now
consider to be my family. I studied
numerous courses over the years
and became multi-skilled in many
facets of trades and life. The military offers numerous benefits to
its members, which many private
organisations aren’t able to provide.
All skills are civilian accredited and
your career can be very exciting and
rewarding. For some the downside
to the military are the postings, but
I believe it was a bonus; to see the
world and get paid for it!
Commander and a Cenotaph
Commander. Large parades, ceremonial marches taking the lead of
your squadron or flight and showing
the public what our fighting men
and women are made of. Also,
commanding your squadron/flight
on ANZAC Day at a Cenotaph in
our great nation; a solemn occasion but one requiring good skills,
good communications and patience
as we stop to remember our fallen
comrades.
What has been one of the most
rewarding moments in your
career?
I’ve had the experience and
great pleasure of being a Flight
6
481 Field Training Flight group,
Williamstown 1989.
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
QUICK FACTS
Family.
My sons and daughters are
IT specialists, engineers,
power house operators, bank
managers, and drillers. My wife
is a qualified nurse and my
immediate carer because of
my cancer; something I can’t
engineer my way out of.
Currently Driving.
2014 S Line Audi A4 diesel
Quattro. The other a 10 year old
Mazda/Winnebago Motorhome.
Currently Reading.
The King James version of the
Bible, the most widely read book
in the world; full of wisdom and
knowledge. Some people think
you may be mad, but have a go,
see what you learn.
Favourite Motto/Quote.
“Live to ride and ride to live.”
Good for an old bikie like me for
the past 40 years.
Favourite Country Visited.
‘The Good Ole USA.’ I particularly enjoy the American cars
and all that good old fattening
Yankee food, great stuff.
I like Russia as well, my wife
is Russian, we visit her family
when we can. I enjoy the old
architecture and simpler way of
life over there.
Tea or Coffee?
Lots of Tea.
Some coffee.
An occasional beer on a hot day.
FROM THE SAE-A
Tell us about a significant project
or accomplishment in your career:
I had a job description as an
Instructor and Courseware
Developer in NSW in the Air Force.
My job was to train/instruct aircraft
trade trainees for the Military, and to
develop student work books for both
rotary and fixed wing Aircraft Trade
courses. This included Navy, Army
and Air Force. I was additionally
tasked with a number of secondary
positions such as prosecutor, course
mentor, RAAF Ethos Instructor, Flight
Commander and Duty Officer. These
positions gave me a great deal of
knowledge in leadership and of the
emotional and strenuous battles that
the students faced as young men and
women. It was a great learning curve,
in all aspects of the job, particularly
when inundated with work commitments and then trying to fit my own
family in as well.
Who has been your most inspirational figure through your working
life?
As far as respected/inspirational go,
God is my number one.
There has been no one person,
however there were several
Commanders under whom I worked.
These Commanders and Chiefs
TOP: A 1967 Mercury Cougar XR7
GT restored by Kelvin.
BOTTOM: A restored P52D
Mustang, a flying version now
displayed at Point Cook Museum.
Kelvin has designed engineered and restored numerous vehicles, including a
wheelchair loader van, 1982 FJ drag car, Russian Ural, and a Chevrolet Impala, and
has provided design certification on a truck-bus and a tri-cab Mitsubishi Canter.
of the Defence Force were great
men and had a very difficult task at
hand but - with their Aids and Staff were totally committed to having our
defence force run as smoothly and
efficiently as possible. War is not
a nice time for anyone and having
to send troops into battle can leave
some quite emotionally scarred for
life. The country needs to be fully
supportive of our men & women in
the Defence Force.
Which book do you feel is a
‘must have’ for all engineers and
professionals?
I read lots of books, mainly engineering, aircraft but also legal
liabilities. I believe that ALL engineers need to be aware of their
professional status in the eye of the
public. Be aware of what can go
wrong, aware of what the outcome
of that issue might be, aware of any
consequences and what you as the
liable person are going to be called
to answer to. We live by a code of
ethics and I hope that all of us do the
right thing - not take short cuts, especially when lives are dependent on
our decisions.
What should get taught more in
university?
I believe that nothing beats experience; we need to promote more
practical solutions in teaching
- in online studies and at university campuses. We owe this to our
younger generation of engineers,
giving them the life skills and values
they will require out in their careers.
Another competency that needs to
be on the list is Common Sense.
Hard to teach or write a competency
for? I don’t think so. It’ll help create
some well-rounded, clever students.
Tell us about the best vehicle
you’ve ever owned, driven or
restored:
For cars - I’ve had quite a number was probably the last 1967 Mercury
Cougar XR7 GT I restored. Great car,
it looked nice and went even better
with the 351 Windsor Roller cam
engine in it. For planes - I spent many
years involved in the restoration of
a North American P51D Mustang
Fighter. A great way to learn even
more about how an aircraft flies. It
was taken to Point Cook Museum for
display. It is in good flying condition.
CONTACT
Kelvin Ney
Automotive Engineering
Consultant
WEB: kelvinneyengineering.com
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
7
EVENTS & TRAINING
INDUSTRY DIVERSIFICATION CHAIR
ADDED TO SAE-A BOARD
Gavin Kroon - Editor, SAE-A
At the recent SAE-A 69th AGM, the
SAE-A announced the addition of a
new board member to the position of
SAE-A Industry Diversification chair;
Sarah Roberts. With her experience
in aerospace and other industries
outside of automotive, Sarah plans to
increase the SAE-A’s relevance to all
mobility industries – connecting these
transport related sectors to a knowledge-based hub; the SAE-A.
“We’re continuing to align our mobility
outlook with SAE International” said
SAE-A Executive Director, Natalie
Roberts. “We’re embracing Australian
strengths, including 4WD, aftermarket and caravan industries. We
aim to connect these industries;
linking them to the wider mobility
scene through one Society. Sarah
will be working hard to see this plan
come to fruition.”
“This year we’re focussing on diversification; aligned with the appointment
of Sarah Roberts” explained SAE-A
President Adrian Feeney at the
Society’s recent 69th AGM.
“Sarah comes from an Aeronautical
background. She’ll be a great advantage for the Society, especially
considering our objective to broaden
the Society into the wider mobility
scene.”
commercial, 4WD, caravan, maintenance, repair and aftermarket. As a
Queensland based engineer, Sarah
will be involved with SAE-A activities
in the sunshine state – to increase
the involvement in the SAE-A’s QLD
division.
The SAE-A also welcomes a 12th
board member, Alastair Hampton.
Alastair will be representing GM
Holden - an SAE-A Corporate
Member - on the Society’s board.
Sarah will be working closely with the
wider mobility industries, including
aerospace, marine, rail, heavy
B24 LIBERATOR RESTORATION TOUR
Paul Muscat - Events and Training Coordinator, SAE-A
A cold Melbourne morning greeted
attendees of the SAE-A Victorian
Division B24 Liberator tour, but were
quickly warmed by greetings offered
by the group of dedicated B24 volunteers, who had already set up the
B24 test engine and a pot of hot tea.
The B24, a WWII bomber, is currently
being restored in Werribee, Victoria,
in a heritage listed, beautiful timber
framed hanger built in 1940 on the
site of the former World War 2 aerodrome now owned by Melbourne
Water (who kindly donated the land
and hangar to the B-24 Liberator
Memorial Restoration Fund).
The original Liberator bomber was
built by the Consolidated Aircraft
Corporation for the RAAF as a
B-24M. It was later modified for
radar and its designation changed to
8
B24M/R. It is the only remaining B-24
bomber in the southern hemisphere
and only 1 of 8 remaining, compared
to the 19,000 built.
The tour included a self-paced look
at the Restoration Funds comprehensive list of memorabilia, displays
and books followed by an Engine run
of the 75 year old Pratt and Whitney
“Twin wasp” R1830 turbo-supercharged twin row (7x2) cylinder
arrangement Radial engine with 1200
horsepower, and an explanation of
the history, operation and display
of the Norden bombsite, a tachometric device used to aid the crew of
bomber aircraft in dropping bombs
accurately.
Attendees enjoyed the roaring radial
engine, the immersion of a time gone
by and the visual beauty of the B24’s
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
polished aluminium riveted fuselage - restored to her former beauty
by the dedication of the Restoration
Funds members. It’s was great to
see a diverse age group at our tour,
people of all ages learning about our
Australian aviation heritage.
EVENTS & TRAINING
YOUR FUTURE, MADE TO ORDER
Doug Monaghan - Chair, SAE-A Victoria Division
Swinburne University recently invited
the SAE-A Victoria Division to receive
an ‘insiders view’ of their work in 3D
printing and Virtual Reality (VR).
ranging from traditional OEM and
Tier suppliers to designers, patent
and trademark attorneys and business proprietors.
The University is widely recognised
for excellence in academic education.
It has now also gained an excellent
reputation for it’s collaboration with
Industry for commercialisation of new
technologies and applications.
Dr. Ambi Kulkarni led a team to
provide practical information on how
new technologies are being used.
Of particular interest to many were
the insights provided on the costs
involved and steps required to gain
entry into working in these areas.
The opportunity to view practical
demonstrations and learn about the
latest CAD integration into these
processes drew a diverse audience,
in commercial partnerships and the
opportunity for Students to approach
the University with research
e.g. Post-Doctorate proposals.
Swinburne is now also looking at
a more diverse range of course
options, that would allow transitioning professionals/businesses that
are diversifying to tap into selected
units to upskill in 3D/VR technology,
without necessarily committing to a
full degree.
We are thankful to Swinburne for
sharing its time and resources for
members and guests of SAE-A.
CONTACT
Doug Monaghan
Chair, SAE-A VIC Division
Significant points of interest from
the night was the availability and
desire of Swinburne to be involved
EXPERTS TO TEACH STUDENTS
THE UPCOMING STUDENT SEMINARS; A MUST ATTEND FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS!
The SAE-A welcomes you to the
SAE-A Student Seminars! The SSS
are open to all engineering students
and provide specialised information
that could be the key to your success.
Engineering professionals from the
industry will impart their years of
experience to the all that attend. It
could be the difference that sets you
apart from the rest!
JULY 2ND
COSTING
JULY 6TH
VEHICLE ELECTRICAL
SYSTEMS
JULY 9TH
VEHICLE
AERODYNAMICS
Free for SAE-A student members!
All seminars will be held on their
respective dates at:
Time: 1830hrs – 2030hrs
Location: RMIT University,
Visit www.saea.com.au/events for
more specific event details.
JULY 13TH
POWERTRAIN
JULY 16TH
AUTOMOTIVE
DYNAMICS
SEPT 4TH
BUSINESS
PRESENTATIONS
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
9
EVENTS & TRAINING
STEPS TO BECOME A CHIEF
ENGINEER
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE SHARED TO YOUNG ENGINEERS ABOUT HOW TO
SUCCEED IN THEIR INDUSTRY.
Gavin Kroon - Editor, SAE-A
Rob Green, VP of Engineering at
aerospace company RUAG Australia,
shared personal insights about the
steps to becoming a Chief Engineer
at a recent SAE-A Young Engineers
Division event.
Rob spoke to a group of engineering
students and young professionals
about the important traits and skills
a young engineer needs, in order to
mature into a Chief Engineer role in
the future.
Rob encouraged the young group
“As a young engineer, you’re
supposed to not know things, and
you’re supposed to ask questions
about things you don’t know. It’s the
Chief Engineer’s responsibility to
teach you how to find the answers.”
“Don’t just tell me
what courses you have
completed – tell me what
you have done, and how
you have contributed
to a safe and effective
engineering outcome.”
- Rob Green, RUAG
Australia
A key characteristic of a Chief Engineer is a good decision framework; many
of which are quite complex. This example was given to Rob Green by Colonel
Robert Crowe AM at the Army Aviation Systems Program Office.
for them to keep making them” something not often heard from a
manager, but an encouragement to
the students that perfection isn’t an
expectation. As such, Rob reiterated
the importance of constant communication within the team, to always ask
questions and inform others of any
problems – so that the right decision
can always be made and the team
can learn along the way.
Rob started his journey to being a
Chief Engineer through the Australian
Defence Force Academy (ADFA)
and the Royal Military College. He
progressed through Army as an aerospace engineer, working locally and
abroad, predominantly on helicopters.
Throughout his career, Rob has maintained safety as his highest focus.
He stated that no matter how safe
any equipment or machine seems,
When applying for graduate positions, there are always technical deficien“include words such as ‘contribute’ cies and human errors to consider.
and ‘participate’ in your resume; “As an engineer, we need to ask the
that’s what we want from you in our question ‘How can I out-think all
team” advised Rob. “Don’t just tell me
the possible and impossible unsafe
what courses you have completed – things that can occur while someone
tell me what you have done, and how
is using this equipment?’”
Rob continued “However, I can’t give you have contributed to a safe and
As final advice to the SAE-A Young
[young engineers] all the answers effective engineering outcome.”
Engineers, Rob encouraged the
– sometimes I need to let them sink
attendees to “Get involved with engior swim – better off they take owner- Rob Green encouraged Young
neering societies at university and in
ship of a task, rather than I as their Engineers to pursue a career that
the community. They provide benefits
manager, do it for them.”
they think is “cool” - to maintain a
strong sense of pride in their work to the industry and individual benefits
“I expect mistakes” Rob said of his
and to contribute to their company for through events such as these.”
engineering graduates, “and maybe
longer.
10
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
EVENTS & TRAINING
5
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be
em
v
No
9
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2 15
BE AWARDED AND RECOGNISED FOR
ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE
AT THIS PRESTIGEOUS INDUSTRY EVENT
The SAE-A is currently seeking submissions for the 2015 Mobility Engineering
Excellence Awards, in both Professional and Student categories.
Enquire today: [email protected]
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ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS
NSW
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Phone: (02) 9482 4572
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Web: www.mobilityengineering.com
Phone: Email: Address:
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Talk Torque
Automotive
Talk-Torque Automotive
Cartech
Phone: 0419 313 113
Address: Richmond & Hawthorn, Victoria
Web:www.cartech.com.au
Customer Focus:
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LV, HV, MC, ICV, Imports, SR1, SR2, Expert
Witness, Legal Reports, Accident Investigation
(02) 4577 3633
[email protected]
Windsor, New South Wales
www.kreativeengineering.com.au
William Malkoutzis
Phone: 0409 439 315
Address: Eltham North, Victoria
Customer Focus:
Specialisation:
LV, ICV, Imports, SR1, Expert Witness/
Consultant
KEY:
LV - Light Vehicles with GVM up
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HV - Heavy Vehicle with GVM
over 4.5 tonnes
MC - Motorcycles Imports - Imported Vehicles
ICV - Individually Constructed
Vehicles
SR1 & SR2 - Street rod
inspection certificate applicable
to the Street Rod Club Permit
Scheme (CPS) only
Interested in advertising your
Engineering Signatory or
Expert Witness business?
Contact the SAE-A for more
information.
[email protected]
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
11
INDUSTRY NEWS
IMPROVING HEAVY
VEHICLE SAFETY
Held on:
ADDRESSING KEY ROAD SAFETY PERFORMANCE ISSUES FOR HEAVY VEHICLES.
The Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA)
The Australian heavy road transport sector has much to be proud
of. We are world leaders in the long
and heavy vehicle space. We have
been able successfully to introduce
new vehicle configurations, introduce
new technologies and reform our
regulations.
The road safety performance of the
heavy sector, as measured by the
risk of having a serious crash per
journey, has been steadily improving;
at a rate of around 7% per annum.
When measured according to
the quantity of freight moved, the
improvement over the past decade
has been dramatic. However, in
the 12 months to June 2014, there
were 192 crashes and 213 fatalities
involving a heavy vehicle. The largest
single category involves heavy articulated trucks.
Evidence is needed to justify the
strategies for improvement.
What we know:
• 90% of crashes are due to
human error.
• Heavy truck fatalities have
reduced by nearly 60% since
2000.
• 80% of multi vehicle accidents
occur at night time.
• Truck driving remains one of
Australia’s most dangerous
occupations.
Road safety statistics mainly concern
fatal crashes. However, there are a
range of road safety incidents that
are not publicly reported, including
moderate-intensity crashes, fires,
loss of loads and breakdowns. Whilst
useful insurance claim data has been
made public in the National Truck
Insurance (NTI) safety reports, little
is known about the causes of police
turnouts to heavy vehicle incidents,
especially concerning heavy-vehicle
breakdowns and load-r estraint
failures.
Volvo prime mover and Byford
tanker on display as the Summit,
held in Melbourne.
We are still missing the evidence to
point to where further improvements
will come from. Major and on-going
gathering of data is required to fill in
the knowledge gaps and to inform
policy considerations.
Intelligent technologies
can greatly improve safety
performance.
The ‘Safe System Approach’ is being
advocated by several Australian
States and Territories, this approach
accepts that human beings will make
mistakes and that the design of vehicles and the road network should
provide protections against mistakes.
Safe Systems principles are driving
the development of vehicle standards regulation in Europe.
If fully adopted in Australia, the Safe
System principles would accelerate
ADR development and adoption of
some international regulations. This
has already been happening in NSW
over the past 18 months. The state
has mandated Electronic Stability
Control (ESC) with roll stability on
dangerous goods tankers, initiated a
road worthiness and NHVAS review
“Australia is on the right
path by producing higher
productivity vehicles,
such as multi-combination
trucks. The larger capacity
vehicles encourages
greater efficiency and
improved safety outcomes.”
and insisted on higher road worthiness standards in the dangerous
goods hauling sector.
Brake compatibility and the challenge
of mixed braking and mechanical
systems on trailer and prime movers
provide a unique challenge. More
work is needed to ensure that the
industry understands the challenges
that arise from matching different
equipment and systems.
Australia is on the right path by
producing high productivity vehicles, such as multi-combination
trucks. The larger capacity vehicles
encourage greater efficiency and
improved safety outcomes - through
fewer vehicles required to transport
the same freight.
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
13
INDUSTRY NEWS
Speed, fatigue and driver distraction - major causes of fatalities.
According to the NTI safety report,
inappropriate speed for conditions
and fatigue are the two most important causal factors in claim incidents.
A VicRoads safety report, released
in 2011 for light and heavy vehicles,
says that using mobile phones whilst
driving can increase the crash risk by
a factor of four.
A greater emphasis on research and
education is needed to address this
issue. Companies should be encouraged to adopt a “truck on, phone off”
policy, and industry and government
need to be continually analysing and
proposing new strategies to tackle
speeding and fatigue related issues.
Age is a causal factor – both for
equipment and for people.
Insurance claims point to a correlation between driver age and
increasing accident rates. The
median age of truck drivers in
Australia is over 50 years, which
is higher than employees in most
industries.
NSW evidence suggests that on
average a 10-year old heavy vehicle
has defect rates of 3 or 4 times
that of a two year old vehicle. The
average age of prime-movers and
their trailers is over 13 years.
Australia needs a long term partnership between industry and
government - akin to that achieved
in Sweden where the level of crash
rates are half of that in Australia.
The Improving Heavy Vehicle Road
Safety Summit featured over 30
presenters across 2 days.
CONTACT
Rob Perkins
Executive Officer, ARTSA
PH: (03) 9818 7899
WEB: www.artsa.com.au
THERMOSET COMPOSITE WELDING
CRC for Advanced Composite Structures
Advanced Composite Structures
Australia (ACS Australia) have
been researching composites and
their innovation through industrial
implementation. The company has
developed and patented an innovative technology called Thermoset
Composite Welding (TCW). TCW
was developed in response to a need
for an effective and efficient alternative to traditional composite joining.
The patented TCW technology
allows for the welding of thermoset
composites by integrating a specific
thermoplastic polymer layer to
the surface. This thermoplastic is
added during the heating and curing
process and with shared solubility
with the epoxy and controlled diffusion, the thermoplastic layer is able
to become strongly attached to the
carbon-epoxy laminate. These TCW
components can simply be welded
together under moderate heat and
pressure within minutes.
Rowan Paton, Program Manager
Materials and Manufacturing at ACS
Australia explained that the TCW
14
These welding applications that
TCW introduces allow for a more
flexible, repairable and overall more
manageable product at a lower
manufacturing and assembly cost.
Thermoset Composite Welding
components are welded together
under moderate heat and pressure.
process allows the use of innovative
tooling and heating arrangements,
and therefore provides greater flexibility in the design and scheduling
of the assembly process. Welding
can be undertaken using a variety of
heating and tooling systems however
for the majority of scenarios, the
method with greatest efficiency is
a simple local contact in conjunction with local pressure application
and provides a strong join. Thanks
to these methods and TCW technology, the secondary bonding
process which commonly requires
a heightened level of labour and
expense can be removed from the
equation completely simplifying the
bonding phase of the manufacturing.
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
The TCW process has potential applications littered across its future path
from sporting goods to automotive/
aircraft manufacturing to even the oil
and gas industry. Possible applications are presently being developed
for utilisation and further testing. For
the time being, the TCW process is
being matured with a key European
Aerospace partner for implementation into the next generation of
aircraft. The process could revolutionise the assembly of composite
structures in the near future as well
as the industries that can utilise it.
CONTACT
ACS Australia
PH: (03) 9676 4950
WEB: acs-aus.com
INDUSTRY NEWS
3D PRINTED JET ENGINE &
THE FUTURE OF AEROSPACE
MANUFACTURING
GE AVIATION PRODUCES 33,000RPM MINIATURE JET ENGINE & FAA APPROVES
OF FIRST 3D PRINTED PART FOR COMMERCIAL ENGINES.
Elie Saade - SAE-A
General Electric (GE) has produced,
and is currently testing, a 3D printed
miniature jet engine. The foot-long
turbine is capable of engine speeds
up to an impressive 33,000rpm;
showing the potential for 3D manufacturing in the aerospace industry.
The engine was a side project for the
engineers at GE Aviation’s Additive
Development Centre, who have been
working on the engine for a number
of years; completed as of May 2015.
“We wanted to see if we could build a
little engine that runs almost entirely
out of additive manufacturing parts,”
says one of the engineers. “This was
a fun side project.”
The end result was an engine that
compares to the size of an AFL football (about 30cm long and 20cm tall).
Testing of the miniature jet engine
Image source: GE Aviation
Aside from the material saving that
additive manufacturing provides, its
speed far exceeds traditional capabilities. According to Xinhua Wu,
Monash University’s 3D Printed
Engine Project manager, instead of
6-24 months required to manufacture
all components necessary for a jet
engine, the additive manufacturing
process can cut timing down to about
two weeks. Additive manufacturing
can create parts in a small amount of
time regardless of complexity.
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, has been in use for decades,
mainly to produce prototypes,
however, present-day technology “There really are a lot of benefits to
enables the printing of near-end or building things through additive,”
completely finished products. As
says Matt Benvie, spokesman for GE
opposed to the typical process of Aviation. “You get speed because
parts being cut out of larger pieces, there’s less need for tooling and
GE’s team uses the additive manu- you go right from a model or idea
facturing process of lasers to fuse
to making a part. You can also get
thin layers of metal on top of each
geometries that just can’t be made
other, slowly building from the base
any other way.”
up. The computer guided laser accurately produces the desired shape The creation of this engine comes at
and the engineers simply assemble
a topical time, as the Federal Aviation
the finished components.
Administration (FAA) announced
The 3D-printed housing for the jet
engine inlet sensor.
Image source: GE Aviation
in April this year, the certification of
the first 3D printed part to fly inside
commercial jet engines.
This part is a silver metal housing
for the compressor inlet temperature sensor. The piece is relativly
minor in the scheme of an advanced
jet engine - but it may be the start
of a big change inside aerospace
manufacturing.
Bill Millhaem, General Manager
for the GE90 and GE9X engine
programs at GE Aviation. “We got
the final design last October, started
production, got it FAA certified in
February, and will enter service next
week. We could never do this using
the traditional casting process, which
is how the housing is typically made.”
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
15
TOYOTA 86.
BEST SERVED RAW.
The Toyota 86 was created for one reason only: Raw Driving.®
The goosebumps begin as soon as you step on the accelerator, unleashing 147kW of power from a lively 2.0L boxer D-4S engine, bred
from our enviable racing heritage. Of course power needs control, which is why the 86 is engineered to sit low, hugging the road with
sports suspension and 17'' wheels on the GTS. With the 86, there’s something for all your senses, so feast your eyes on the performancestyled cockpit, with added extras like Bluetooth®* capabilities, cruise control and a 6.1'' touch-screen audio system. The only thing left
to add is you. To fall in love with Raw Driving® again, head to your Toyota Dealer today.
*The Bluetooth® word mark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Not all devices are compatible and functionality varies depending on the device.
toyota.com.au
CARBON FIBRE
PRODUCTION
With more than 140 variables that must be monitored, carbon fibre production is a
complex process to ensure compliance with customer requirements.
But with a well-engineered line and highly skilled technicians, Carbon Nexus says
the optimal variables can be determined with one to two trials - producing industry
ready carbon fibre.
Tristan Alexander
Research Engineer in Composites, Carbon Nexus
AUSTRALASIA
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17
CARBON NEXUS
Deakin University, the Federal
Government, the Victorian
Government and VCAMM have
joined together to create a flagship
research institute called Carbon
Nexus. By using this new institute to
access the increasingly expanding
carbon fibre industry, hopes are
now set towards enabling Geelong
to become a world leader in carbon
fibre research, production and
fabrication.
Carbon Fibre Production Process
Carbon fibre production is a complex
process. Firstly, fibres are spun from
a polymeric solution using a process
similar to the production of acrylic
fabrics, the solution is made up of
acrylonitrile and catalysts which
polymerise to Polyacrylonitrile (PAN).
Figure 1: An overview of the Carbon Nexus 110 tonne line.
the first stage of the process – oxidation. In the oxidation step, the fibre
travels through four ovens starting at
between 200-230OC with the subsequent ovens increasing to a final
temperature between 300-400OC.
Acrylonitrile is produced by the catalytic ammoxidation of propylene
which, while found in nature through
fermentation of vegetation, is usually
produced from fossil fuels. The
PAN “precursor” is then passed
through several thermal processes,
functionalised and collected before
leaving the facility and being
used in high quality composites.
Choosing a precursor is a difficult
task as numerous factors have to be
assessed, these arise from not all
fibres being the same. Each manufacturer has different impurities - such
as stabilisers - and different external
coatings to prevent static, giving the
fibres differing characteristics. When
going through the processing stage
this could enable a lower carbonisation temperature (a lower amount of
thermal energy required to remove
the Hydrogen and Nitrogen present
in PAN) reducing cost. However, it
could also result in lower mechanical
properties. These characteristics and
required temperatures are usually
available from the manufacturer
unless they are testing a new formulation or processing route in which
case it becomes a case of trial and
error.
Chemically, as the fibre temperature
increases it causes a chemical reaction known as oxidation resulting in
cross linking of Nitrogen to Carbon
creating a linked structure (aromatic
ring), see figure 2. The temperatures and line speed selected in this
stage are vital as the fibre needs to
be fully cross linked before entering
the furnace. If not fully crossed
linked, the fibres could break or have
decreased mechanical properties.
Once the PAN has been selected and
placed on the line, it is pulled through
18
The second stage of processing is
pre-carbonisation. In the pre-carbonisation step, the fibre travels
through the “Lower Temperature”
(LT) furnace. The LT furnace has four
zones starting at 450OC with subsequent zones increasing to a final
temperature of 1000OC. Chemically,
as the fibre passes through this
stage, all non-carbons begin to be
removed. At this point the fibre is
Figure 2: The process of converting
acrylonitrile to PAN (1), PAN to OPF (2, 3).
Figure 3: A carbon lattice structure.
AUSTRALASIA
After oxidation, the fibre is known
as Oxidised Pan Fibre or OPF.
OPF is quite strong and thermally
stable, however it requires additional thermal processing to have the
mechanical strength and toughness
for end use.
July 2015
Figure 4: The large scale line (right) and the
research scale line (left).
CARBON NEXUS
quite brittle and requires carbonisation to increase mechanical strength.
The third stage of processing is
carbonisation. The fibre travels
through the “High Temperature”
(HT) furnace. The HT furnace has
four zones starting at 1000OC with
the subsequent zones increasing
to a final temperature of 1800 OC.
Chemically, as the fibre passes
through this stage it loses up to
each thermal stage must be separated. Each of these gaps however,
give the production team a view
into the chemical transformation
happening in each zone.
there are 14 variables that must be
constantly monitored, these include
tension, dwell time, oxygen content,
moisture content, temperature
process, process gas concentration.
As the fibre, passes through
oxidation it changes colour from
white, to auburn and finally black.
Mechanically the fibre is increasing
density from ≈1.18 to ≈1.37g.cm−3
(these figures rely heavily on the type
When all the thermal processing
zones are added together there are
over 140 variables that must be monitored. Due to this, there is never a
perfect set or variables for producing
fibre, there is however an optimal
"When all the thermal
processing zones are
added together there are
over 140 variables that
must be monitored."
Figure 5: Carbon Nexus at Deakin's Waurn
ponds campus. The larger section on the right
houses the production facility whilst the left is
dedicated to composite research.
95% of its Nitrogen leaving a carbon
lattice structure, see figure 3. The
fibre is near ultimate strength at this
point. For the highest quality fibre
a final stage of thermal processing
can be added. An “Ultra-High
Temperature” (UHT) furnace capable
of 2600-2800OC, takes the carbon
percentage up to 99-99.5%, a grade
only required for ultra-high modulus
parts used on military and aerospace
projects.
Inspection and Performance
Feature in Carbon Nexus' production
line are noticeable gaps between
ovens and furnaces. These gaps
are due to the line having multiple
thermal processes with each
requiring different temperature,
tensions, gas flow, and differing
concentrations of gasses, as such,
Figure 6: PAN (the white fibres) being fed into
the oxidation ovens.
of precursor). As the fibre passes
through the LT the non-carbons are
starting to dissipate, but with no
visible change in the fibre, however
mechanically the fibre is increasing
in density from ≈1.37 to ≈1.75g.cm−3,
increasing modulus from 5-10GPa
to 150GPa and increasing tensile
strength from 10-30MPa to 1500MPa.
In the HT the fibres colour
changes from a black to graphite.
Mechanically, the fibre density has
increased from 1.75 to 1.8g.cm−3,
modulus has gone from 150GPa to
250GPa and the tensile strength has
jumped from 1500MPa to between
3500MPa and 5000MPa. All of these
steps taken in thermal processing
have prepared the fibre for its final
carbonisation (HT), as such, each
zone requires detailed care and
scrutiny. In the first zone of oxidation
set for each purpose. As each variable can have a great impact on
the finished fibre, altering one can
make a lower quality cheaper fibre,
a higher modulus fibre or a higher
tensile strength fibre. As such, the
variables are constantly being altered
to create perfect fibres for a specific
use. With a well-engineered line and
highly skilled technicians the optimal
variables can be determined with one
to two trials.
The process doesn’t finish at this
carbonisation stage however, the
fibre surface is functionalised to
increase adhesion and then coated
with “sizing”. Sizing is an anti-static
coating that prevents tangling/cross
over and enables weaving. Finally
the fibre is wound onto bobbins for
packaging. Once all these stages are
complete the fibres can be combined
with other materials to create the
carbon fibre based composites
used in everything from sailboats
to Formula 1 cars. The fibre is also
produced is for companies wanting
to test fibre quality, or test the effect
of different production parameters
on fibre mechanical properties and
cost. The remaining amount is given
to composite researchers and PhD
students at the Carbon Nexus centre
where it is woven and made into
composites for scientific evaluation.
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
19
CARBON NEXUS
The Facility
The facility is designed in two
sections, the production hall;
housing the two carbon lines, and
the research facilities; housing 4
laboratories. In the laboratories
science and engineering staff are
equipped to develop and modify fibre
precursors, test mechanical characteristics of single carbon filaments
and produce test panels to determine
and compare fibre composite char-
to obtain. With this facility, Australian
and global companies are able to
perform contract research on the line
and operate using pre-determined
temperatures and speeds; or explain
their requirements and engage
with Deakin researchers to develop
optimised production variables for
specific requirements. This capability
allows for precursor manufacturers
(e.g. producers of PAN or new
bio-based precursor fibres) to under-
Figure 7: Fibre being collected for mechanical testing and for use in composite production.
Figure 8: Carbon fibre single tow research and
development line.
Figure 8: Carbon Nexus offers open training,
overseen by experienced production staff.
acteristics in real world applications.
The facility is structured to develop
and improve the manufacture and
use of carbon fibre from precursor to
product.
stand how their fibre is oxidised and
carbonised, and how small changes
in their precursor manufacturing can
have a significant impact on the final
product. This in turn is enabling rapid
advances to occur in the research
and development of new precursor
products.
Carbon Fibre Industry
The global carbon fibre industry has
long been a “behind closed door”
operation. The variables and equipment required to make world class
carbon fibre were largely hidden from
sight to prevent new competition.
The technologies are also controlled
by international treaties, making it
even more difficult for new entrants
20
The fibre line benefits larger scale
fibre manufacturers as an alternative
to using their commercial production
lines for product development. This
is a significant advantage as running
R&D trials on large scale lines can
potentially cost in excess of $100,000
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
per day in waste fibre, consumables,
wages and lost revenue. Carbon
Nexus' line produces significantly
less waste in fibre and consumables,
the users have greater control over
process variables and their production lines can continue to generate
revenue during the product development cycle.
About Carbon Nexus
Carbon Nexus is a $34 million dollar
research facility that mixes industry
production professionals with
specialist composite researchers.
The facility currently houses a
multi-disciplinary team of 30 engineers, scientists and technicians and
has the only carbon fibre production
line in Australia. The purpose-built
processing line is an evolution of
existing global lines with advances
in efficiency, speed and control of
temperatures. To enable the birth of
a new industry, the line is capable
of producing up to 110 tonnes of
carbon fibre per year. The facility
also houses a second smaller line
dedicated to meet the unique needs
of research and is the first of its type
installed in a research facility.
Already yielding successes, Deakin
and Carbon Nexus are showing
global industry there is a vibrant
innovation and industrial community in Geelong. Carbon Nexus is
also offering production line training
to reskill workers out of areas that
are in decline, and into the potential growth of a carbon fibre industry.
This type of training is not available
in the existing industry where experience is traditionally gained on a
production line after employment by
a production facility.
CONTACT
Tristan Alexander
Research Engineer, Carbon
Nexus
PH: (03) 5227 3369
WEB: www.carbonnexus.com.au
DESIGNED
TO TURN HEADS.
ENGINEERED TO
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Head-Up Display make for our most sophisticated driving experience ever.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN
CARBON FIBRE
COMPOSITES
MANUFACTURING
The aerospace, automotive and heavy commercial industries are currently
undergoing a massive shift towards the use of light-weight composite components
to help combat increasing fuel prices and meet pollution regulations worldwide.
Quickstep illustrates various solutions to light weighting and Class A exterior finishes.
Carl De Koning
Quickstep Technologies
22
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
QUICKSTEP
The aerospace, automotive and
heavy commercial industries are
currently undergoing a massive
shift towards the use of light-weight
composite components to help
combat increasing fuel prices and
meet pollution regulations worldwide.
Australian carbon-fibre composites
manufacturer Quickstep Holdings is
leveraging its experience within the
Aerospace and Defence sectors to
focus on a core part of this solution –
weight reduction.
New environmental regulations in the
United States, Europe and increasingly in the major Asian markets, are
stipulating more and more stringent
vehicle emissions reductions and
greater fuel saving improvements.
The most effective way to achieve
both these objectives is through
significant vehicle weight reduction - made possible by increased
use of lightweight materials and
components such as carbon fibre
composites, which offer similar stiffness to steel at 60-75% lower weight.
However, a key barrier to the take-up
of carbon fibre parts has been the
significant costs and timeframes
required to achieve the necessary
"Class A" exterior finish - which has
traditionally seen carbon fibre only
used on expensive products; such
as the latest aircraft and high performance vehicles.
Quickstep has developed two unique
advanced manufacturing technologies for Out-of-Autoclave production
of advanced composite materials the Qure composite curing process
and Resin Spray Transfer (RST), an
automated composite layup process,
with both providing substantial value
propositions for composite component manufacturing across a range of
industry sectors.
The Qure Process
Qure is a patented system for
composite curing, that offers significant advantages over traditional
manufacturing techniques such
as Autoclave, including shorter
TOP: The Qure Process is used for volume manufacturing or specialist thick
parts such as spars and wing skins in large defence and commercial aircraft.
BOTTOM: Qure works by positioning the laminate between a free floating rigid
mould that floats in a Heat Transfer Fluid [HTF]. The HTF can then be heated
and cooled to cure the laminate.
cure cycle times, reduced energy
consumption, design flexibility to
meet or improve material properties
of the end product and the ability to
produce complex integrated parts
offering major cost savings by eliminating bolts and rivets.
The Qure Process, developed initially
for Aerospace component manufacturing, is adaptable and can be
focused on volume manufacturing or
specialist thick parts such as spars
and wing skins in large defence and
commercial aircraft.
The Qure Process manufactures
advanced composites by using a
fluid-based technology for curing the
composite materials. Qure works by
positioning the laminate between
a free floating rigid (or semi-rigid)
mould that floats in a Heat Transfer
Fluid (HTF). The mould and laminate
are separated from the circulating
HTF by a flexible membrane or
bladder. The HTF can then be rapidly
heated and then cooled to cure the
laminate.
The Qure Process offers significant
benefits over traditional composite
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
23
QUICKSTEP
curing processes including:
Out-of-Autoclave Processing
Lower capital costs – typically around
two-thirds of the cost of an equivalent
capacity autoclave; Lower energy
consumption for heating/cooling of
the laminate; Eliminates the need for
compressed air or nitrogen use; Only
1 to 4 psi operating pressures on
parts; and no oven size restrictions.
"The core principle of RST
is that the resin is applied
directly in the mould to
dry fibre pre-forms prior
to mould closure and
curing."
Liquid Heat Transfer = Faster
Cycle Times
Demonstrated reduction in cure cycle
times from 50-90% compared with
autoclave and oven using commercial
prepregs. This is achieved through
direct (conductive) contact between
the heated Quickstep bladder and the
part being cured, instead of through
convective heat transfer in an
Autoclave environment; Short heating
times and accurate part temperature
control including controlled ramping
of temperature during the warm-up
and cool down phase. The quick
heating time improves fibre wet-out
as the resin viscosity drops rapidly
during the heating phase, before
starting to cross link and solidify
during the curing phase; Enhanced
repeatability in cure cycles – evenly
distributed heat-up and cool-down;
Rapid heating aids full resin flow
through and between laminate layers
for improved inter-laminar properties
and improved surface quality; and
limited exotherm (when the material generates its own heat from the
chemical reaction) even in laminates
that are two inches thick. If necessary, the Quickstep process can
extract heat from the laminate to
avoid thermal runaway when curing
thick sectioned parts.
24
Quickstep Resin Spray Transfer (RST) Automated Lay-up uses an industrial
robot and spray equipment to lay down a programmable film of resin.
The Quickstep Melding Process
Quickstep’s unique ability to halt and
then recommence the cure reaction at any point in the cycle makes
it possible to co-cure, join and bond
one composite part to another;
The ability to form entire integrated
components without secondary
bonds or fasteners; and reduces end
product weight and part count.
Improved Cored Structures
Low pressure processing allows
for the use of lighter weight cores
without crushing; Cured honeycomb
structures have less print-through
of the honeycomb cell patterns, but
with improved adherence at the
bond points; and low resin viscosity
improves surface wetting of foam
cores.
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
The R&D team at Quickstep are
currently working on a fully industrialised Qure process, known as
RapidQure for higher volume automotive applications, as an alternative
to traditional Compression Moulding
or Resin Transfer Moulding techniques. RapidQure will be used for
medium-high volume manufacturing
of large complex parts and will have
significant benefit for automotive
and transportation (rail, bus, heavy
truck etc.) applications. Coupled with
RST lay-up process, RapidQure will
enable the manufacturing of ‘Class A’
surface, high quality and repeatable
automotive parts.
Resin Spray Transfer
Resin Spray Transfer (RST) is an
automated composite layup process,
QUICKSTEP
which works with the Qure moulding
process to rapidly cure composite
components. The patented technology is designed to reduce
manufacturing time and costs while
increasing manufacturing rates and
providing the "Class A" automotive
finish. The core principle of RST is
that the resin is applied directly in
the mould to dry fibre pre-forms prior
to mould closure and curing. This
effectively creates something close
to a prepreg material in the mould,
displacing the use of traditional
prepreg materials or resin infusion
techniques.
The RST system uses an indus-
In March 2011, Quickstep announced
it had achieved its first milestone
towards this objective, by completing
a "proof-of-concept" painted carbon
fibre flat panel to Class A automotive quality using the automated RST
process.
The carbon composite panels have
an exceptionally high quality finish for
a rapid layup and curing process and
exhibit material performance characteristics that are within automotive
industry standards and requirements.
Quickstep's three-year RST research
and development program was
completed in 2013, with no serious
The Quickstep RST equipment.
technical issues encountered.
Quickstep has been supplying
C-130J wing flaps to Lockheed
Martin since February 2014.
trial robot and spray equipment to
lay down a programmable film of
resin that can be fine-tuned to optimise fibre wet out. The fibre/resin
assembly is then cured using the
Qure technology.
Quickstep is developing the RST
technology to efficiently mass
produce composite parts with a Class
A finish – which would make the use
of carbon fibre more accessible to the
automotive industry.
Based on its early success in the
development of RST, in late 2011
Quickstep was appointed to lead a
joint development project supported
by the German Government and
leading car manufacturer Audi to
develop large scale manufacturing
solutions for composite parts for the
automotive industry.
To date, Quickstep’s achievements
on RST have been:
• Pilot manufacturing plant inaugurated in Bankstown, Australia in
August 2013.
• A number of class A panels were
delivered to OEMs in Europe and
Japan.
• Quickstep has successfully cured
automatically layed up panels.
• Complex geometry parts have
been produced.
• Repeatability has been demonstrated through the production of
10 parts per shift
• Signed contract with Thales to
manufacture Hawkei military
vehicle bonnet (using a sandwich
structure) and other exterior body
panels.
A Great Australian Success Story:
Quickstep is an Australian
publicly listed company specialising in advanced composites
manufacturing and technology development. Quickstep is the largest
independent aerospace-grade
advanced composite manufacturer in
Australia, partnering with some of the
A traditional autoclave curing oven.
world’s largest Aerospace/Defence
organisations including: Lockheed
Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE
Systems and Airbus.
Quickstep’s aerospace manufacturing headquarters are located in
Bankstown, NSW, Australia and
it has process development and
R&D activities in Germany and
has recently established its new
Automotive Division in Waurn Ponds,
Victoria.
CONTACT
Carl De Koning
Business Development
Manager, Quickstep
WEB: www.quickstep.com.au
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
25
NEW FORD
MONDEO
T I TA N I U M
WITH 10 TECHNOLO GIES
N OT F OUN D I N A C A M RY
Mondeo Titanium shown. Available August 2015.
TECHNICAL
CERAMIC MATRIX
COMPOSITES
LIGHT WEIGHT, HEAT RESISTANT AND TOUGH.
CERAMIC COMPOSITES COULD BRING A "REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE" IN JET ENGINE DESIGN
Elie Saade – SAE-A
GE Aviation is working to improve
the efficiency of their jet turbine
engines by utilising Ceramic Matrix
Composite (CMC) technology.
Ceramics are known for their heat
resistance, however are brittle by
nature. Ceramics fracture easily
under mechanical loads, due to small
cracks or small defects in the material structure, this leads to a low crack
resistance - not an ideal material
property in aerospace applications.
CMCs are made of silicon carbide
ceramic fibres and ceramic resin,
and augmented with a proprietary
coating. CMCs can be made as
strong as metal, but are much lighter
(one-third the density of metal), and
unlike even the strongest of alloys
which fall victim to high temperatures,
CMCs have good heat-resistance;
potentially removing the need to be
air-cooled. These two major material properties may lead to significant
innovative and distinct changes in
the aerospace industry - particularly
with current prospects of this material to be implemented into engines of
‘sixth-generation’ fighter jets.
The lighter weight will help lower fuel
burn and emissions while increasing
efficiency. “The lighter blades
generate smaller centrifugal force,
which means that you can slim down
the disk, bearings and other parts”
says Jonathan Blank, lead CMC
researcher at GE Aviation.
The natural heat retarding nature
of the CMC material may lead to a
reduction or removal of a cooling
system in the engine, further
reducing weight and increasing the
thrust/efficiency. “By reducing the
need for cooling components, our
engine becomes more aerodynamically and fuel efficient.” Furthermore
the small laser drilled holes in metal
alloy turbine blades may no longer
be required in this CMC design,
thus reducing the stress concentration zones along the blades and
decreasing the risk of engine failure.
Static components made from CMCs
are already being utilised in modern
jet engines like the LEAP engine from
CFM International. However, GE is
working to achieve the utilisation of
CMCs for dynamic components of jet
engines.
“Going from nickel alloys to rotating
ceramics inside the engine is the
really big jump,” says Jonathan
Blank. "CMCs allow for a revolutionary change in jet engine design.”
GE has spent $1 billion over the last
two decades developing this material and in February this year, the
company successfully tested and
demonstrated this technology by
running low-pressure turbine blades
in a F414 turbofan engine.
GE’s Adaptive Versatile Engine
Technology (ADVENT) engine could
be the first aerospace application
using CMC blades. The aim is to
develop these blades for the sixth
generation military jet aircraft, with
civilian application possible further
down the track.
"Over the next 15 years, jet propulsion advances at GE could help to
lay the groundwork for a broader
use of CMCs across several industrial sectors," said Roger Doughty,
manager of CMC Design and
Technology at GE Aviation. GE has
spent a lot of time and resources to
create the next generation of engine
efficiency and performance. Only
time will tell how far CMC can take
us.
CMC turbine blades pass rigorous testing in GE's F414 turbofan engine.
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
27
TECHNICAL
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURE AND ITS
ROLE IN AIRCRAFT PART REPAIRS
USING HIGH-VELOCITY SPRAY-ON METAL TO REBUILD & RESTORE SURFACES
- IN A PROCESS CALLED SUPERSONIC PARTICLE DEPOSITION.
Rob Green – VP Engineering, RUAG Australia
Traditional repair methods for corrosion and other forms of metallic
damage involve removing material
(e.g. removing corroded material,
blending out damage to remove
cracks, stress concentrations, etc),
and assessing the remaining material
against applicable structural integrity
requirements. However, Supersonic
Particle Deposition (SPD) is an additive manufacturing technology which
restores components to a condition
which is equivalent or better than
their original configuration.
but is an important consideration prior
to selecting the powder. Examples of
substrate components include wing
route fairings, rib structures, main
structural forms and gearboxes.
similar mechanical properties to the
substrate in order that the powder
structure does not become disruptive
to the substrate’s mechanical design
characteristics.
SPD has undergone a 10 year
program of research and development at RUAG Australia, and its
technical efforts and outcomes have
been instrumental to sustainment of
the Australian Defence Force’s aerospace capability. RUAG Australia
is acclaimed to have “saved the
The applied powder velocity can vary
considerably around 700m/s and
trials are always conducted to determine an optimum velocity to achieve
maximum adherence between the
substrate and the powder deposition across the damaged geometry
(noting that damaged geometries
are always unique). Over spray is a
typical occurrence, and re-shaping is
always required, and so mechanical
machining is an essential finishing
process. Once the geometry is finalised, the surface is treated to prevent
it from corroding, and then further
protected with primer and paint.
Generally, SPD repairs look ‘as new’
and it is rarely possible to detect an
SPD repair. As such, the repairs are
always labelled to ensure that physical and paperwork records exist in
case a future repair is required in
close proximity.
“In 2004, it was not atypical
for a Seahawk MGB to be
deemed unrepairable and
to have a replacement cost
of $685k and a replacement
lead time of 3 years. SPD
repair costs substantially
less ... and with a repair
time measured in months not years.”
R U A G A u s t r a l i a ’s F i x e d S P D
Capability for off-wing depot-level
SPD applications.
SPD is a complex technology with
many variables, but can generally be
described as a technology whereby
metallic powder is sprayed in an inert
gas stream onto a metallic substrate
at high velocity to form a deposit on
the substrate material.
Australian taxpayer many millions
of dollars relative to the purchase
price of new components while
ensuring ongoing aircraft availability”
according to Dr Mark Hodge, Chief
Executive Officer, Defence Materials
Technology Centre.
RUAG Australia uses SPD on ductile
substrate materials such as magnesium and aluminium which are
common in aerospace structures and
components due to their light weight.
Substrate ductility is generally a
‘given by the problem’ characteristic,
The metallic powder used in SPD
is selected based on the substrate
and powder having similar galvanic
properties – incomparable galvanic
properties will create a corrosive environment (i.e. a galvanic
cell). The powder must also have
28
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
SPD can be used to replace
corrosion-damaged material with
equivalent or more corrosion-resistant material, and to rebuild
damaged dimensional features with
equivalent or more damage-resistant
material, but without the need to
re-engineer the component’s inherent
material properties or structural
design.
The process can be used to deposit
protective corrosion-resistant metallic
coatings over corrosion-susceptible
TECHNICAL
A component suitable for an SPD
repair.
materials, thus permanently
improving the substrate material’s
resistance to corrosion. SPD is a
controllable additive manufacturing
technology, and hence can be used
to repair high tolerance dimensional
characteristics, close fitting surfaces,
and critical moulding features.
Whilst SPD is typically viewed as a
repair technology, SPD can also be
used to prevent damage. By depositing an extremely thin coating of
material across corrosion-prone joints
or over riveted fasteners, the affected
joints and fasteners are sealed to
prevent moisture ingress and corrosion initiation. In this regard, it can be
more effective than wet assembly as
the exposure to the environmental is
relatively eliminated.
RUAG Australia is currently
researching and developing SPD
for application in the Defence aerospace environment with a particular
focus on depositing protective corrosion-resistant metallic coatings over
corrosion-susceptible materials,
and rebuilding surfaces to restore
features which have been damaged
by corrosion or mechanical factors.
In 2008-2009, the scope of SPD
applications was further enhanced
with the development of a Field
Portable SPD Unit under the
Defence Technology Capability and
Demonstrator program.
The Royal Australian Navy’s
Seahawk Helicopter
In 2004, corrosion was significantly
impacting the ownership costs and
availability of Seahawk Helicopter
Main Gearboxes (MGB). Accordingly,
the Navy Aviation System Program
Office (NASPO) requested that
RUAG Australia investigate the use
of SPD to repair and prevent corrosion issues affecting Seahawk MGB
housings. The investigation scope
was subsequently broadened to
demonstrate SPD as an appropriate
repair and damage prevention technology for a range of commonly used
aerospace materials, with high-cost
and long repair/replacement lead
time Seahawk MGBs as an exemplar
focus.
A further example of this technology
is best demonstrated in a recent
maintenance inspection report on
an SPD repaired Intermediate Gear
Box fitted to a Seahawk helicopter
onboard a Royal Australian Navy
ship. The report stated that there
were no signs of corrosion after 892
flight hours. Previously, when fitted as
a new component, the Intermediate
Gear Box had achieved only 188
hours before it had been removed for
corrosion damage which was subsequently recovered with SPD.
RUAG Australia’s Field Deployable
SPD Unit for on-wing operationallevel SPD applications.
RUAG Australia provides an
Australian-based SPD capability and
capacity which is autonomous from
OEMs, is independent of international manufacturing organisations,
repair facilities and suppliers (with the
exception of metallic powder supplies
but these can be bulk purchased
and hence supply risk is reduced).
As such, Defence is not reliant on
foreign support to RUAG Australia’s
SPD capability to any significant
extent – an attribute which is critical
to low-cost and timely aircraft maintenance outcomes.
RUAG Australia developed an
SPD Acceptance Test Protocol
which was accepted by Directorate
General Technical Airworthiness
(DGTA) as the Defence’s Technical
Airworthiness Regulator. The SPD
Acceptance Test Protocol included
corrosion analyses, tensile loading
tests, compression and bearing
configuration tests, impact resistance
tests, residual stress tests, fatigue
tests, hydrogen embrittlement tests,
and shear load tests.
In 2004, it was not atypical for a
Seahawk MGB to be deemed unrepairable and to have a replacement
cost in excess of $685k and a
replacement lead time of 3 years.
Now, RUAG Australia’s typical
Seahawk MGB SPD repair costs
substantially less than a replacement
MGB and with a repair time which is
measured in months - not years.
The Navy Aviation System Program
Office is endeavouring to expand the
aircraft component applications for
this repair technology as a 'Strategic
Reform Program continuous improvement activity.’ Research is ongoing,
and as such RUAG Australia, the
Defence Science and Technology
Organisation (DSTO) and Monash
University are actively optimising
SPD parameters and are investigating the use of SPD for structural
applications.
CONTACT
Rob Green
VP Engineering, RUAG Australia
Pty Ltd
PH: (03) 9721 1300
WEB: www.ruag.com.au
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
29
TECHNICAL
CUT & PASTE:
BMW I3 REPAIR
BMW STATES THAT THE REPAIR COST FOR THE CARBONFIBRE i3 IS SIMILAR TO THEIR OTHER HATCHES AND TIME
TO REPAIR MAY EVEN BE QUICKER.
Chuck Vossler, BMW Blog
The new BMW i3 is a revolutionary
new car. Revolutionary, however,
is not exactly what the repair shop
wants to hear when it comes to
service and repair.
The new lightweight Carbon Fibre
Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) material
used in the i3 requires totally new
repair processes than the standard
metal-based automobile.
www.bmwblog.com
protective chamber surrounding the
driver and passenger compartment.
Most consumers won’t really care
about the details of how the i3 is
repaired, but one thing they will care
about is what the BMW i3 costs
to insure. The more complex and
expensive the repair, the higher the
insurance premium. A more complicated and challenging service and
easier, designed specific cut-away
sections in the i3 body. These
defined segments, when cut out, will
allow the technician to remove the
damaged CFRP piece efficiently, and
bond a new segment back in place.
The Drive and Life Modules
BMW constructed the i3 in two
segments, the Drive Module and
the Life Module. The Drive Module
contains the electric motor, suspension, lithium ion battery and is the
backbone of the car. This module
is made mostly of aluminium and
its repair process is very similar to
other aluminium chassis components
that BMW has been producing and
repairing for years.
The Life Module is the occupant
cabin and its backbone is made of
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic.
The module's frame and roof are all
CFRP, and attached to the sides of
the i3 are composite plastic panels.
These panels are designed to absorb
“Fortunately, for the
technician and owner,
BMW states that the cost
of repairs for the BMW
i3 are similar to a BMW
1 Series. An intriguing
statement given that once
a carbon fibre piece is
broken, the entire part
or body panel must be
replaced.”
Never before has any manufacturer
made such extensive use of carbon
fibre in a mass produced car. One of
the main benefits of the CFRP used
in the BMW i3’is that the composite
material weighs about 50 percent
less than traditional steel, and about
30 percent less than aluminium.
The CFRP is featured in the "Drive
Module" - the main structure of the
car consisting of a 22 kWh battery,
the chassis and the 170 hp electric
motor, and in the "Life Module" - the
30
repair process directly impacts
ownership costs, ultimately affecting
vehicle sales.
Fortunately, for the technician and
owner, BMW states that the cost of
repairs for the BMW i3 are similar
to a BMW 1 Series. An intriguing
statement given that once a carbon
fibre piece is broken, the entire part
or body panel must be replaced.
Nonetheless BMW knew the implication of building a car predominantly
of CFRP and to make servicing
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
what would normally dent a metal
panel, and to pop back into shape.
The added bonus of this is that the i3
isn’t going to rust.
Panels and Glass
BMW designed the panels to be
replaced via standard screws and
clips on plastic plated parts, the same
as most plastic panels in a standard
car.
Concerning the glass in the vehicle,
the CFRP body surrounding and
TECHNICAL
holding the glass can be damaged
by a standard glass removal tool a special tool is required - overall
the mechanism of removing and
replacing is similar. The standard
metallic glass removal tool has the
potential to damage the carbon fibre,
BMW’s specific tool for the i3 uses a
fibre line.
BMW states that standard “Cold”
repair methods for the aluminium
components will be used in repair.
These include bonding and riveting.
These methods have been used by
BMW workshops since 2003.
Carbon Fibre Body
Repair of the carbon fibre body is
ABOVE LEFT: BMW's specialised glass removal tool, featuring fibre lines rather
than metallic parts, to remove the glass without damaging the CFRP.
ABOVE RIGHT: The plastic panels are replaced with standard screws and clips.
BELOW: Damaged sections will need to be cut out. These cut points are located
at the top of A, B & C pillars and forward and aft of the floor pan.
BOTTOM: Carbon fibre makes up the Life Module - the chamber surrounding
the vehicle's occupants. CFRP also features in the i3's Drive Module, which
contains the electric motor, batteries and suspension - however most of this
module is made from aluminium.
where repair techniques change
significantly - there is no pounding
out damaged CFRP. In order to repair
the i3, the damaged section will need
to be cut out at one of the predefined points. These are located at the
top of the A, B, C pillars as well as
forward and aft of the floor pan.
BMW requires a specialised cutting
device to cut and vacuum up the
carbon fibre particles. Once the
carbon fibre body has dis-articulated
at the very specific points, the technician then bonds the new section onto
the vehicle.
“This isn’t very complicated, but it
needs to be very precise,” says a
BMW technician about the repair
process. Further adding that, with the
right tools and experience, the time
to repair i3 electric vehicles will be
less than standard cars, potentially
decreasing labour costs.
The BMW i3 has a 22kWh battery
powering a 170 hp electric motor,
capable of an 130-160km range as
stated by the manufacturer. The i3
has been claimed to be the most
efficient electric car available on
the market, of course due to its low
weight with extensive use of CFRP.
The Range Extended version of the i3
features a small generator to charge
the battery while adding roughly 150
kg to the vehicle curb weight.
CONTACT
BMW Blog
WEB: www.bmwblog.com
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31
TECHNICAL
STAYING COMPETITIVE
WITH CARBON FIBRE
IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE PERFORMANCE IS MEASURED IN MICROSECONDS, CARBON
FIBRE IS UTILISED TO CREATE OLYMPIC-READY ROWING HULLS.
Sykes Racing
Sykes, an Australian producer of
Olympic quality rowing hulls, use
carbon fibre in their boats to achieve
weight reduction without compromising performance, to ensure
competitiveness on the world stage.
Carbon fibre is widely regarded
as one of the lightest and stiffest
fibres available commercially in the
composites field, both of which are
the properties of materials such as
carbon fibre and honeycomb core,
helps convert raw combined athletic
power of over 800kg of athlete, into
speed with minimal losses.
The combination of Honeycomb
core and carbon fibre produces a
very stiff and light hull. With the high
forces created by the athletes during
the rowing stroke, this stiffness
desirable qualities in the design
and performance of Olympic class
racing boats. As more and more uses
for the fibre took hold, costs were
reduced making it viable for use in
their industry.
Sykes is one of only a few Racing
Boat Manufactures worldwide who
successfully transitioned from
building the beautiful timber racing
boats of the past to the modern day
advanced composite hulls. Next
time you watch the Olympic Games
or ‘The Boat Race’, take note of
the racing eight built to an all up
minimum weight of 96kg, approximately the same weight as just one
of the rowers on board! Maximising
The design team uses CAD and
associated programs for hull design
development, with additional theoretical testing using the unique Cyberiad
Program developed in Australia. The
Cyberiad program allows theoretical
“The aim is to achieve
the lowest possible
drag at racing speeds
with a boat that is
stable enough to row at
maximum effort for an
entire race.”
A CAD Drawing and a
virtual testing analysis
model of a Sykes
racing hull mould.
32
to achieve the lowest possible drag
at racing speeds with a boat that is
stable enough to row at maximum
effort for an entire race.
helps minimise losses that could be
absorbed into the hull through flexing
and distortion with no return to the
speed of the hull.
Hydrodynamic Testing of hulls by
mathematical calculation of viscous
and wave drag of existing and new
designs.
During the initial phase of the design
process existing Sykes boats and
other competitor boats are analysed
for suitability and performance in
the target market. Sykes do this to
understand their strengths and weaknesses in terms of hydrodynamic
drag, stability and structural stiffness. Using mathematical modelling
techniques, the design team then
virtually builds, tests and compares
many different hull shape variations
before committing to a shape for the
first physical prototype. The aim is
Cyberiad and Sykes have been
working have been working on the
theoretical modelling of drag around
rowing shells, developing a range
of numerical methods for predicting
drag, taking into account the specific
physical, size, shape, technique and
physiological capacity of individual
rowers within the boat.
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
This approach typically means the
first prototype becomes the production mould, resulting in a quicker
turnaround time from initial concept
TECHNICAL
be the largest rowing boat builder in
Australia, Sykes have seen rowing
grow and develop in leaps and
bounds, during their 50 year history.
Since the company's first World
Championship gold medal in 1974,
Sykes has worked closely with the
majority of Australian Rowing Teams
sharing in multiple Gold medal
performances at World and Olympic
Competition.
The above images are a result
from the theoretical hydrodynamic
testing of hulls, using mathematical
modelling and calculation of viscous
and wave drag for existing and new
designs.
The increasing global market
competition, the need to improve
manufacturing efficiencies and
diversify opportunities, led to the
purchase and installation of a 5 Axis
Milling machine, one of the largest
operating in Australia.
to production, compared to past
production timing before this extensive modelling.
This has led to a growing number
of requests for the expertise of their
Design Team and use of this highly
specialised plant.
Production
Sykes uses a process of CNC
machining and more traditional
hands-on methods to create their
racing hulls.
Large blocks of poly foam form the
starting point of a hull. From this
block, a rough profile of the hull
or component is cut to within a few
millimetres of the finished size. The
mould is then reinforced with a fibreglass skin, laminated with resin and
allowed to cure to stabilise the plug,
this allows high accuracy machining
on a relatively flexible form. A resin
paste is then applied. The final
finishing and polishing is done by
hand, ready for the final production
mould to be made from the plug.
An athlete's connection to the boat is
critical. Every point of contact must
balance both comfort and efficiency,
leading to endless variations for
personal rigging.
One of the many other standout
product innovations by Sykes was
in the late 60’s, with the introduction
of an aluminium extruded slide rail
which the moving seats roll on. This
product soon spread around the
globe and gained the name ‘Aussie
Rail’. Reduced weight, cost and
longevity were its benefits.
It was in 1966 when Jeff Sykes first
designed a racing scull that would
assist him in his desire to win an
Australian Sculling Championship.
For Sykes, construction isn't just
about quality, it is about improving
techniques so that their boats evolve
in every way possible - including
working stringently towards achieving
the Australian Quality Standard
ISO-9002. This standard requires an
organisation to obtain certification by
an outside body, basically submitting
to an examination of its operation
to work to an industry standard by
establishing and maintaining a quality
assurance system for manufacturing
and service.
Today, there are approximately
350,000 ISO 9000-certified organizations in over 150 countries. The
ISO 9000 standard is the most widely
known and has perhaps had the
most impact of the 13,000 standards
published by the ISO. It serves many
different industries and organisations as a guide to quality products,
service, and management. With
a highly competitive world market,
standards like this are an important
factor in gaining export business.
Sykes boats are Australian made
in Geelong, Victoria and exported
around the world.
CONTACT
Sykes Racing
PH: (03) 5221 3655
WEB: sykes.com.au
2016 will see Sykes Racing celebrate a half-century of manufacturing.
While the company has grown to
AUSTRALASIA
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33
TECHNICAL
COMPOSITE CHASSIS
STRUCTURES
AN INSIGHT INTO EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY'S FORMULA SAE-A CAR WITH
CARBON-FIBRE & ALUMINIUM HONEYCOMB CHASSIS CONSTRUCTION.
Edith Cowan University
Carbon composite monocoque
construction offers high strength
and stiffness, and low weight.
Unfortunately this often comes at
the expense of cost and ease of
manufacture.
Over the past five years Edith Cowan
University (ECU) has been developing composite chassis structures
for the Formula SAE-A competition
using “cut-and-folded” carbon fibre
composite panels. The chassis is
made by folding routed flat panels of
carbon-fibre / aluminium honeycomb
panels and completing the joins with
wet lay-up.
Edith Cowan University, runner-up at the 2014 Formula SAE-A competition,
have high hopes for 2015. “We are incredibly happy with how the team
performed in 2014” said Dr Kevin Hayward, Faculty advisor at ECU. “We’re
planning for a win in 2015.”
This construction method allows for
low tooling costs, low skill requirements and fast construction time.
The initial panels are cured using
heat presses at Ayres Composites,
one of the team sponsors. Two
panels are used per chassis, one
for the side impact area of the car,
and one for the front nose section.
Different layups and thicknesses
are used for each panel. Carbon
plies are arranged either side of
an aluminium core, using an adhesive layer between core and skin to
improve resistance to a peel failure.
Using a press for this cure provides
excellent quality control, and is
comparable to what can be achieved
in much more expensive autoclaves.
The panels are routed using a CNC
router at a local furniture maker.
The relatively low shear strength of
34
AUSTRALASIA
ABOVE LEFT: The carbon composite panels are routed using a CNC router, the
relatively low shear strength of carbon makes it easy to work with woodworking
cutting tools.
ABOVE RIGHT: The folded composite panels. After folding, the joins are
strengthened with a wet lay-up.
July 2015
TECHNICAL
carbon makes it easy to work with
woodworking cutting tools. The cut
geometry is determined by modelling
the chassis as a sheet metal structure in Solidworks to determine an
unfolded shape from the final desired
geometry.
Where a fold is required only one
skin is cut, with the fold angle related
to the width of the cut. Holes for
inserts are also routed into the panel
at this stage.
Once the team has the routed panels,
aluminium inserts are bonded in
using West Systems epoxy. When
the inserts are set it is folded into
shape by hand.
The fold process is incredibly accurate and is held ready to glue using
simple woodworking clamps. The
cut sides of the folded joints are then
reinforced with a microfibre fillet and
Sealant Tape
Vacuum Bag Film
Breather Fabric
Vacuum Pump
Epoxy Filler
Preforated Film
Peel Ply
Vacuum Fitting
Wet Laid-up
Carbon Fibre
Folded Composite
Panel
The wet lay-up joins of ECU's carbon-fibre/aluminium honeycomb panels.
wet lay-up carbon fibre. The two
halves (front and rear panels) are
then joined together using wet layup.
After the chassis is complete all the
attachment point locations are verified using a measurement arm.
Even though the aluminium inserts
are located before the panels are
folded, the final attachment point
locations are all generally within
0.5mm of the desired position, with
most of the error able to be corrected
by shims.
Destructive testing of panels is
conducted to prove equivalency to
rules requirements. These include
shear tests, 3 point bend tests, insert
pull out, insert shear tests, belt
attachment pullout, and roll hoop
attachment tests. In addition to this
the team has conducted testing of
the equivalency of the folded joints to
a moulded joint.
A concern raised in the early stage of
development regarded the effects of
the residual stresses of the outside
skin of the bent joint. Testing has
shown that this is not a problem,
and due to the reinforcement of the
folded join the failure loads are significantly higher.
CONTACT
Edith Cowan University
PH: 08 6304 4217
WEB:
www.edithcowanuniracing.com
The folded composite panels before wet lay-up.
AUSTRALASIA
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35
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
COMMERCIALISING NEW
MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE MOBILITY INDUSTRY; THE RULES AROUND
TO THE USE, DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR NEW MATERIAL OR
TECHNOLOGY.
Evan Stents - Lead Partner, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers
The transport mobility industry makes
a significant investment in research
and development each year.
The engineering, utilisation and
commercialisation of newly
researched and developed automotive, heavy commercial, aerospace
technology to be used, developed
or distributed by others without clear
rules to protect your ownership, you
may inadvertently give your rights
away, or de-value the rights that you
have.
The rules which apply to the use,
The Licence Agreement ensures that
each party is aware of its entitlements and obligations, and reduces
the risk of disputes over ownership of
the licensed material - particularly if it
is material or technology that can be
developed over time.
“If you or your business
have invested in
developing new materials
or technology and you
intend to allow others to
use, develop or distribute
it, you need to consider
what rules to impose ... to
protect your ownership
of the new material or
technology.”
and aftermarket materials and technology is an essential part of the
business model of vehicle manufacturers and component producers.
If you or your business have invested
in developing new materials or
technology and you intend to allow
others to use, develop or distribute
it, you need to consider what rules to
impose on that use, development or
distribution to protect your ownership
of the new material or technology.
If you allow your materials or
36
development or distribution of your
new material or technology are typically set out in a Licence Agreement.
Licence Agreements.
Agreements in Writing.
A Licence Agreement is a document which formalises the terms
and conditions on which a licensor
permits a licensee to use licensed
material. Any new materials or technology that you develop can be
licensed.
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
Scope.
Licence agreements should clearly
address the scope of the licence
granted to the licensee. For example,
will it be a sole licence, an exclusive
licence, or a non-exclusive arrangement? A sole licence permits the
licensor to continue to use the
licensed material. An exclusive
licence gives the licensee exclusive
rights to use licensed material. The
geographic scope of the licence
needs to be also considered. For
instance, will it be Australia wide,
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
world wide or some other geographic
region?
Restrictions on Use & Time.
Owners of materials and technology
may wish to restrict:
1. Where the materials or technology can be used, or exclude
particular types of use; and/or
For example, if the parties agree to
co-ownership of new material or technology that is refined or developed
during the course of the licensed use,
then it is extremely important that
the Licence Agreement deals with
matters such as exploitation of the
Payment Obligations.
For transport mobility component
engineers and producers, payments
under licence arrangements can be
a key revenue stream, (or equally a
major expense). The most common
types of payment arrangements are
licence fees and/or royalty payments.
If a royalty is payable, a Licence
Agreement needs to set out the
basis on which the royalty payable to
the licensor is calculated.
2. For how long the licensee can
use the materials or technology
(this can be especially important,
given that patents have a limited
lifetime).
As with any type of restriction on
trade or commerce, there is the
potential for restrictions on the use
of licensed material to fall foul of the
legislation which prohibits anti-competitive behaviour. That is beyond
the scope of this article, but owners
of materials and technology
should seek legal advice on
whether the kind of restrictions they may wish to
impose on the use of
materials or technology
are unlawful.
Owners of new materials or technology should not assume that the
default position at law will
guarantee and preserve their
ownership of materials or
technology they develop especially if other parties
are allowed to use them in
production or distribute
and sell them.
Ownership of materials & technology
refined by licensee.
New materials and technology can be refined and
improved over time. As such,
owners of that type of intellectual
property need to consider:
1. Whether new and improved
versions of the licensed material
that are owned by the licensor in
the future are within the licence
grant;
2. If the licensee is allowed to make
new developments based on the
licensed material; and
3. Regardless of whether or not
development is permitted, which
party will be the owner of any
new intellectual property that the
licensee may develop.
entitlements of co-owners, the
default position at law is that a
co-owner of a patent is entitled to
exploit it without the consent of
the other co-owner(s), and without
accounting to the other co-owner(s)
for the proceeds of exploitation.
If you have invested
significant time and
money into the development of new materials
or technology, you should get
advice about protecting it with a
comprehensive Licence Agreement
before you make any deal with
others to commercialise it.
co-owned material, its licensing, and
the entitlement of each co-owner to
assign their share, as well as practical issues such as responsibility
for paying costs of registration and
renewal (which can be expensive, in
the case of patents).
If the Licence Agreement does not
deal with these issues, then the
default position at law will apply and
may lead to an undesirable outcome.
For example, if a patent licence
does not deal with the exploitation
CONTACT
Evan Stents
Lead Partner, Automotive
Industry Group, HWLE Lawyers
PH: (03) 8644 3509
WEB: www.hwlebsworth.com.au
AUSTRALASIA
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37
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
MESSAGE FROM
AUTOCRC CEO
INNOVATION ABOUNDS IN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY AND WE'RE HERE TO ASSIST.
Ian Christensen - CEO, AutoCRC
Who doesn’t want to make better
products for less cost?
I have been working in the manufacturing space for a long time and
unsurprisingly have yet to come
across a person who would leap up
and answer ‘me!’ to this particular
question.
It is fitting, then, that we have many
companies in Australia currently
developing processes and technologies that contribute towards this
‘holy grail’ and now more than ever
manufacturers need to embrace the
opportunities that such progress
presents.
portfolio. While it was striking how
much has been achieved by participants in AutoCRC over the last ten
years, the revelation of how much
the developments could contribute
elsewhere was astounding.
Take for example the digital MIG
welding model developed in collaboration with Holden and CSIRO.
This first fully integrated 3-D model
of the aluminium welding process
allows guidance of robots over the
Automotive has long led the way
in terms of efficient processes and
methodologies for manufacturing; it
is a breeding ground for innovation
that continues to provide flow-on
benefits to other sectors in the form
of new technologies, systems and
skills.
RIGHT: Riveting technology that's
causing quite a stir. A prototype
riveting machine utilising a 'friction
stir' type rivet, that penetrates
the surface without the need for
pre-drilling.
MIDDLE: A diagram of the Friction
Stir riveting process.
BOTTOM: Shadow draw direction
- vMould, developed by VPAC
Innovations and Malaysia
Automotive Institute.
As an ‘automotive’ CRC we naturally
have a strong focus on ‘automotive’
technology, or more accurately, technology that was originally conceived
by, and developed through, the
efforts of our partners in the automotive industry. The applicability of most
of this technology, however, extends
way beyond its original ‘proving
ground’ and extends into many areas
of manufacturing.
This fact was very apparent during
a recent review by the Federal
Department of Industry of our project
38
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
entire weld. It significantly improves
the consistency and accuracy of
weld formation which vastly reduces
rework and as a result, cost.
These same project partners are also
responsible for the creation of a new
patented and tested blind riveting
process. This innovative ‘friction
stir’ technique uses a unique type of
rivet design that eliminates the need
for pre-drilling or clean-up. The rivet
itself creates the hole and ‘melts’ to
exactly fit the space.
This technology offers a huge reduction in the incidence of loose joints,
noise and corrosion in components
and therefore the costs associated
with fixing these issues.
Another great example of a new technology with universal manufacturing
applicability is vMould, a plastic injection moulding optimisation platform
developed by VPAC Innovations
and Malaysia Automotive Institute.
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
vMould promises to save both time
and money by rapidly auto generating key CAD components of mould
design through an ‘access anywhere’
web-based interface. It has been
trialled successfully in Malaysia and
Australia to date and is showing
great promise for efficiencies on the
production line.
All of these aforementioned technologies have been developed and tested
and are ready for wider implementation. The hard graft to get from ideas
to prototype has already been done
and it now needs companies with
an eye on the future to embrace the
chance to take the technology to the
next level. If you can see an opportunity AutoCRC stands ready to assist.
It takes guts and vision to be an
‘early adopter’ of a new technology,
particularly when the stakes are high
and the investment appears large.
CRCs can offer support and help to
minimise the risk for companies to
make that step much more palatable.
They also provide an often underutilised source of new knowledge, ideas
and products that can drive innovation, growth and productivity in many
ways, perhaps far beyond the original intent of a project.
For the benefit of your company, I
encourage you to have a good look
around and see what is happening in
CRCs and other such organisations
and consider how their activities and
outputs might benefit your business.
You may well be surprised by what
you find.
CONTACT
Ian Christensen
CEO, AutoCRC
PH: (03) 9948 0450
WEB: www.autocrc.com
SME RESEARCH AND
STUDENT OUTCOMES
A FOCUS ON SME'S AND PROFILING THE AUTOCRC
STUDENT WORK DESTINATIONS
It’s fair to say that Australia – like
many other countries – needs
to make some improvements to
its approach to getting small and
medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
involved in relevant research activities. At the recent Cooperative
Research Centre conference in
Canberra SME’s were high on the
agenda throughout: How to help
SMEs access global supply chains?
How to enable them to participate
in R&D? How to assist SMEs to
access existing IP in an effective and
affordable way?
As is normal with conferences, these
themes were explored primarily from
the perspective of laying out the
issues rather than attempting to solve
them. We did, however, get to learn
some more about two new relevant
Federal Government initiatives aimed
at addressing precisely these issues.
These are the Industry Growth
Centres (IGCs) which are currently in
the consultation phase and the re-organisation of the CRC Programme
to include a new type of research
activity– CRC Projects (CRC-P) that complements the existing CRC
activities.
Based on comments from its
chairman, Andrew Stevens, the
Advanced Manufacturing Growth
Centre (AMGC) will borrow from
innovation centre models used in
other countries and offer levels of
access to its members for involvement in the centre and access to IP
generated as a result of its activities. The AMGC itself is not intended
to act as an ongoing funding
SMEs were high on the agenda at
the national CRC conference.
mechanism for research, but more
as a hub that links closely to other
Government programs (such as the
CRC programme) in order to achieve
its goals. Ultimately it is expected to
become self-sustaining within four
years. You can learn more about
Andrew Stevens and the AMGC in his
recent interview with Manufacturer’s
Monthly.
The second initiative is a recommendation from the recent CRC
Programme review which identified a number of perceived barriers
to SME participation in research
through CRCs. The recommendation (which has been accepted by
Government) is that a new stream of
CRC activity, CRC Projects (CRC-Ps)
be created to address the barriers
through providing a simpler research
entry mechanism and a lower cost
threshold for SMEs. In other words,
CRC-Ps will have shorter timeframes
and smaller budgets to encourage
the involvement of a wider range of
businesses, particularly SMEs. This
will complement a renewed focus on
industry outcomes by the programme
– another recommendation resulting
from the review that was also
accepted by Government.
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39
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
AutoCRC has long held the
view that it is crucial to enable
SME participation in research.
This is the case now more
than ever, especially for those
affected by the automotive
industry changes. Two key
ways in which this goal is
being achieved by AutoCRC
is by actively facilitating SME
involvement in research
projects and enabling small
scale participation in R&D
through student research
projects.
While SMEs may have limited
R&D budgets, they are often
rich in experience in their area
and have the facilities to test
and help initial commercialisation or scale up of new
technologies. They are therefore able to contribute to a
project on an in-kind basis
through allowing access to
their expertise or facilities. In
return they can participate in
a larger scale project and are
able to access the IP developed in the project.
The latter method – via
student projects – appears
to be gaining in popularity as
resource-constrained companies start to think outside the
box about their future and
how to get there. The quality
of student work we have seen
in our program is high and is
also across a diverse range
of topics. It is ideal to determine feasibility in the initial
exploratory phase of a new
technology or system development and it can also work
well as a problem-solving
exercise.
It is encouraging to see new
Government initiatives aimed
at maximising industry participation in research and also
to see that there is appetite
amongst forward thinking
SMEs to tap into available
40
Student Industry Projects
– Destinations
AutoCRC invests a significant
amount of effort each year in
the development of the next
generation of engineers. This
is achieved primarily through
our industry-based student
projects which provide careerboosting skills and networks
for the participating students.
The participating industry
partners are given the opportunity to either start to engage
in R&D with minimum risk, or for those already participating
- to investigate avenues
that may otherwise not be
explored due to, for example,
lack of resources.
Automotive Mech/Indust.Eng. Oil&Energy
Electrical/ElectronicEng IndustrialDesign Construction
Aviation&Aerospace MiningandMinerals Other Unemployed
EmploymentStatus
As with any program we run,
we track the outcomes to
see if it is truly adding value
as intended. As the program
aims to equip students with
the skills and knowledge to
transition successfully into the
workforce, we are particularly
interested in their employment status and even more
importantly, if they are now
employed in roles related to
their studies (and by implication, their career aspirations)
and that benefit Australia.
Employed Student Seekingfulltimework
Australia-VIC
Australia-WA
Australia-NSW
Australia-QLD
Australia-SA
Australia-Other
India
UK
USA
OtherOverseas
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
CopyrightAutoCRCLtd2015
Createinfographics
resources to achieve this.
AutoCRC has already
submitted ideas on how it can
assist in the manufacturing
space and looks forward to
continuing to play a coordinating and facilitating role.
Where are AutoCRC graduates
now? (phase 1)
AUSTRALASIA
July 2015
80
90
The infographic on this page
comprises data from phase 1
of our program (2006 - 2012).
It illustrates that students
have overwhelmingly chosen
to remain in Australia, with
Victoria being the preferred
location by a long way. It also
shows that the vast majority
are working in industries relevant to their degree. This is
encouraging and stacks up
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
well against other publicly available
graduate data.
There have been significant changes
in the industry since we finished
phase 1. The large, traditional destinations for automotive students in
Australia are generally no longer
an option and the industry remains
in a state of flux. This, as you can
imagine, changes the picture for
automotive graduates.
concentrations. There is a large
decline in numbers working directly
in automotive (only three recorded
to date) and staying in education
appears to be a more popular choice
– as you might expect if the job
market is tough. The vast majority
are still based in Victoria, which along
with South Australia has been the
most affected by automotive industry
changes.
We have also broadened the scope
of the projects; cars remain an area
of interest of course, but we have
had students working on increasingly
diverse topics such as trains, buses,
trams, scooters, mobile apps … and
we remain very open to suggestions!
It is good to see that some companies are embracing this opportunity
as a means to achieve their goals,
This change is illustrated in the data
that we have collected to date in
phase 2 (2013 – 2014). The initial
dataset we have is relatively small
and the students much more recently
AutoCRC's student project and poster event.
graduated, hence they are generally
more likely to still be job hunting or
finishing further study, however there
appears to be the beginnings of
some trends which we will continue
to monitor.
AutoCRC figures show that 23%
of students who participated in the
industry-based program are currently
looking for work. As a comparison,
Grad Stats Australia figures states
that 29% of Mechanical Engineering
graduates from 2014 are in a similar
position. Although this does not take
into account the complexities of the
job market, at a high level it appears
that graduates are generally benefitting from their involvement in an
industry-based program by finding
full time work more quickly.
The destination industries for
AutoCRC students remain similar
to previously, but with different
We are pleased to
see that students
wish to remain
in Australia, but reflect that there
is a need to ensure that their newly
acquired skills and knowledge and
their enthusiasm is harnessed by
Australian industry. A first step
towards this could be for companies
to initially become involved with a
program such as our industry-based
student projects and we are keen to
support companies to pursue this
option where possible. It opens up a
whole realm of possibilities and also
exposes the company to the high
quality engineering (and related)
talent that Australia is still producing.
We have been reaching out more
broadly to businesses that we think
can benefit from the additional
resources and we are pleased to
report that there are a total of 21
companies participating in this year’s
(2015) student industry program. This
number has therefore almost trebled
over previous years.
but we are sure that there are many
manufacturers that have not yet
considered student research as
a possibility for them. If you are
wondering if this program is right
for your organisation, please drop
us a line to talk through the options
or arrange to drop in at one of the
events throughout the year to see the
benefits first hand. Visit our website
for info on our mid-year showcase at
Toyota on the 7th August, you can
also subscribe to our newsletter via
our website to keep informed of all of
these activities.
CONTACT
Jacqueline King
Communications Manager,
AutoCRC
MB: [email protected]
EM: 0404 045 293
WEB: www.autocrc.com
AUSTRALASIA
www.saea.com.au
41
Suncorp Group
Suncorp Group, through its stable of Personal Insurance brands including AAMI, GIO
and Apia, partners with hundreds of quality repairers around Australia to deliver around
500,000 passenger vehicle repairs each year. The Suncorp Vehicle Repairer Standard
gives customers the confidence they are dealing with an insurance Group which values
safety and vehicle integrity in every repair, and repairers who are just as committed to
vehicle safety and meeting customer needs.

carbon fibre production

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