Machinery, plastics and methods

Transcription

mar11
AUSTRALIAN
MANUFACTURING
TECHNOLOGY
Machinery,
plastics and
methods
Ausplas 2011 to line up with Austech and NMW.
The three trade exhibitions will occupy the entire
30,000 square meters of space at the Melbourne
Convention and Exhibition Centre presenting
what will be Australia’s largest ever dedicated
manufacturing industry trade exhibition.
Story p36
Australian Manufacturing Technology March 2011
1
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5
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
ISSN 1832-6080
11
Insurance claims: ask for help 14
National flood crisis assistance 16
Australian elected as SME President 19
Austech 2011 promotes maufacturers’
capabilities 23
Delcam Asian technical summit 24
PRODUCT NEWS
Our selection of new and interesting products 26
36
Cutting Tools
52
Machinery, materials and methods – Ausplas 2011
In 2011 Ausplas, Australia’s
national trade show for the
plastics processing industry
will break with tradition.
Ausplas has been held in
October every three years since
1987, but this year moves into
a May time frame to line up
with the Austech and National
Manufacturing Week events.
ONE ON ONE
Gerardine Kearney – President, Austn.
Union of Trade Councils Lead Story
8
INDUSTRY NEWS
Energy prices a looming challenge Volume 11 Number 2 March 2011
34
40 years in the business in Australia AMT talks to John Chang, Vice
President of Sales, and MD of
Kennametal Inc. for the Asia region.
Read about Kennametal’s plans for
the region (developing a strategy
for moving the centre of gravity
outside North America to the fastest
growing region which is right here
in Australasia) and Kennametal’s
latest developments including a new
technology for underground mining.
PLASTICS
Aussie-made Flecknoe machines 40
Can plastics generate electricity? 43
Impregnating plastics with CO2
44
CUTTING TOOLS
Innovations for turning exotic materials 48
Enormous savings parting-off 50
Improved portable hole-making in
composites 58
MOULD & DIE
Water tables Mould making – benefits of HSC milling of
hardened steel 60
Another angle on HSM 66
PRISMATIC MACHINING
Water Tables
68
Getting more for your axes 70
Next generation prismatic machining 72
SAFETY
Building a safety culture 74
Galvanising weld fumes contained 76
Hand protection standards - what do
they mean?
78
Keeping cool 79
LEAN MANUFACTURING
Prismatic Machining
US-based Incom Inc. is the
world’s leading manufacturer of
commercial rigid, fused fibreoptic
faceplates, tapers, and microwell.
Incom manufactures tapers from
billets produced using its own
hot-drawing process. It was in
the manufacture of larger tapers
that first led them to investigate
automation and CNC machine
tools
COVER DETAILS
AMTIL FORUM
Strategies – What is your view on innovation? 86
OHS – Harmonisation : the ticking clock 87
88
Linking the Lean enterprise 80
Law – Additive Manufacturing & intellectual
property How and why SMEs should do Lean 82
Training – Lean manufacturing & fat training 89
Lean accounting’s quest for acceptance 84
6
68
Photos courtesy
Messe DüsseldorfK 2010/Tillmann.
K 2010 is an
international plastics
and rubber exhibition
held every second
year in Germany.
(www.k-online.de)
7
EDITOR in Chief
Martin Oakham
[email protected]
Ph: +61 3 9800 3666
Fax: +61 3 9800 3436
CONTRIBUTING Nina Hendy
EDITORS
[email protected]
Ph: +61 3 5333 4939
ADVERTISING SALES
MANAGER
Anne Samuelsson
[email protected]
Ph: +61 3 9800 3666
Fax: +61 3 9800 3436
PUBLICATIONS co-ordinator
Gabriele Richter
[email protected]
Ph: +61 3 9800 3666
Fax: +61 3 9800 3436
PUBLISHER
Shane Infanti
[email protected]
Ph: +61 3 9800 3666
Fax: +61 3 9800 3436
DESIGN: Graphic Heart Pty Ltd
COVER DESIGN: Typographics
PRINTER:
Printgraphics - Australia
Post all correspondence to:
Australian Manufacturing Technology
Suite 1, 673 Boronia Road,
Wantirna, Victoria 3152, Australia
Copyright Australian Manufacturing Technology
(AMT). All rights reserved. Magazine or part
thereof may not be copied or reproduced without
written permission by the publisher. Contained
specifications and claims are those of the
manufacturer.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by AMT
contributors or editorial staff are not necessarily
those of AMTIL.
AMT is dedicated to Australia’s machining,
tooling and sheetmetalworking industries and is
published monthly (10 issues). Subscription to
AMT (and other benefits) is available through
AMTIL associate membership at $120pa.
Suite 1, 673 Boronia Road, Wantirna, Victoria 3152.
Ph: 61 3 9800 3666 Fax: 61 3 9800 3436
www.amtil.com.au
Martin Oakham
Editor in Chief
Editorial
Making way for technology
hilst I’m sure that everybody understands the need for additional capital to
help redevelop Queensland following the recent disasters, I can’t imagine
there is much support for the Federal Governments recent decision to abolish
the Green Car Innovation Fund. Surely this sends an adverse signal to international investors responsible for future investment in the Australian automotive
industry amongst others. It’s been said that the Australian treasury advises
the government to suppress manufacturing in order to balance the growth of
the mining sector, further it’s the belief of some that the government sees the
move of manufacturing to low wage countries as inevitable. Perhaps I’m ‘old
school’, I believe that if you don’t make anything, you don’t have anything solid
on which to build a strong economy. It’s advanced; high-value manufacturing
that is to going bring the best return to Australia in the long term, promoting
expert knowledge as the learning institutes respond to the demand for new skills
and technologies etc. The Green Car Innovation Fund has delivered significant
dividends, helping to secure key investment decisions for new models and
investment in more environmentally friendly vehicles and technology. It has
also been ‘key’ in introducing new hybrid technologies, batteries, fuel systems
and lighter vehicles. Surely, by scrapping the fund the Government is risking
further investment from Holden, Ford, and Toyota. This in turn will mean that
the many SME’s making up the supply chains supporting production will have
no reason to invest. The automotive sector also occupies a strategic position
in the Australian economy, and according to the ABS employs 50,000 people
in motor vehicle and motor vehicle part manufacturing alone. Therefore, the
importance of the car industry to the manufacturing sector as a whole cannot
be underestimated. It drives much of the innovation in materials like plastics,
composites, and the innovation in casting, tooling and machining.
According to Senator Kim Carr, the government had spent about $500m
on GCIF grants and generated about $2bn in investment in the Australian
motor industry “at the worst of all possible times in the industry given the
economic circumstances globally”. He said research projects such as the EV
Engineering electric Commodore proof-of- concept program were needed to
verify the commercial potential of advanced technologies. There is also the
Ford Falcon liquid injection system developed with Orbital. “We then want to
make sure those R&D breakthroughs are commercialised, put into our general
production arrangements through the Automotive Transformation Scheme,
so they can actually have further support from the Australian government.”
I look at it this way, Australia has to produce manufactured goods, to add
value to its raw materials, if it is to make a living in the modern world. The
car industry is still a great way to multiply the value of material and labour
inputs to create wealth for a country. Australia exports iron ore at about $180
a dry metric ton to China, Japan and other countries, and then imports it back
in the shape of cars at around a hundred times the price. That does not make
for a good business model.
Cost Effective.
Strip ads are back!
Prime Position.
Call Anne Samuelsson at AMTIL
Greater Frequency. on 03 9800 3666 for more info.
RN8589
8
TaeguTec Australia Pty Ltd.
Unit 53/9 Hoyle Avenue Castle Hill NSW 2154, Australia
Tel: + 61 2 98948077 Fax: + 61 2 98949077 E-m ail: [email protected] http://www.taegutec.com
9
Securing the future for
Australia’s researchers
From the Minister
Senator Kim Carr,
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and
Research
ustralian researchers can look to the future with renewed confidence, thanks to a new Industry Doctoral
Training Centre and the Australian Government’s Research
Workforce Strategy.
The new centre will foster professional skills among
researchers and help them launch their careers in industry.
It is being funded by the Australian Technology Network
(ATN) of Universities: the RMIT; Queensland University of
Technology; the University of Technology, Sydney; Curtin
University; and the University of South Australia.
Launching the pilot centre in mathematics at the 13th annual ATN Symposium at the University of South Australia,
From the CEO
Shane Infanti
CEO AMTIL
hy does it seem that the Federal Government’s commitment to our manufacturing sector is always under
scrutiny? Most manufacturers I talk to have an opinion
that Governments don’t seem to care about manufacturing
and don’t do enough to support an industry that employs
more full time employees than any other in our country.
Explaining to these manufacturers that the processes and
plans being facilitated by Government do have some long
term strategic thinking behind them is something I do on
a regular basis.
This is where I currently have a conundrum. The recent
decision by the Federal Government to abolish the Green
Car Innovation Fund appears short sighted and unnecessary. The fact that these funds will be redirected to the
building of infrastructure as a result of the floods earlier
this year does not represent a positive strategic decision.
10
Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr congratulated the
ATN on its efforts to bridge the gap between the academy
and the factory floor.
“This centre recognises that collaboration between
universities, businesses and students is vital,” Carr said.
“It is the only way we can meet the growing demand for
skills while opening secure career paths for researchers”.
“The discipline of mathematics is an area of critical
industry and research need, and I applaud the ATN for its
efforts to build Australia’s capabilities in this area.”
Speaking at the symposium, Carr said the ATN’s theme
was timely.
“The Government has worked closely with the higher
education sector to develop a comprehensive strategy for
the Australian research workforce in the decade to 2020.
“We must invest in our researchers today if we are to
meet the demand for university places, skilled workers,
and innovative ideas tomorrow. The global competition for
research talent and capital will be fierce, but the Australian
Government is determined to help universities meet the
challenge.”
There are plenty of other cost saving measures the Government could have made to help fund this rebuilding activity
without directly impacting on one of our most significant
and important drivers of industry. Redirecting funds from
foreign aid expenditure over the coming 12 months is one
that immediately comes to mind.
The recent announcement by Senator Carr that a consortium of five companies received $3.5m under the fund
to build prototypes of Australia’s first modern large electric
vehicle was a positive one. In making this announcement
Senator Carr used words such as “the Government understands that Australia’s future relies on our ability to green
our industries” and “innovative projects such as producing
a family size electric car could revolution the Australian
automotive industry.” The same press release also highlighted that the Green Car Innovation Fund is now closed
to new applicants, painting a very confusing message to an
industry already sceptical about the long term commitment
to our manufacturing sector.
Our automotive industry needs support. As Senator Carr
has said on many occasions, the need for continued investment in research and development, more efficient vehicles,
lighter components, hybrid engines, new battery technology
and hi tech solutions resulting in more environmentally
friendly vehicles is critical to our future. Abolishing the
Green Car Innovation Fund has the potential to shatter the
confidence of global parent companies and tier one suppliers looking at making investment decisions in these areas.
I only hope that the Prime Minister recognises the negative
impact this will have and re-evaluates this decision in the
coming months.
Energy prices a looming
challenge for manufacturers
From the Industry
Heather Ridout –
Chief Executive Australian Industry Group
ustralian manufacturers grappling with the challenges
of a strong dollar and an economy nearing capacity
are facing yet another issue which is impacting on their
businesses: rising energy prices and how to adapt to them.
A recent survey and report by the Australian Industry
Group, Energy shock: confronting higher prices, delivers
the sobering news that energy costs have already risen
substantially for most businesses over the past five years
– and there is no end in sight. After surveying more than
150 companies and sifting the most up-to-date research, we
concluded that a range of factors point relentlessly upward
for electricity and gas prices, from massive network investment to movements in international markets to the increasing
role mandated for higher-cost renewable energy, and more.
By 2015 household electricity prices are projected to have
doubled from 2008 levels – and business won’t be far behind.
While much concern has focussed on carbon pricing,
energy prices are going up significantly with or without
it. Some of those cost drivers could be reduced by a welldesigned carbon price that eliminated the policy uncertainty
that is damaging investment in new electricity generation,
and that reduced reliance on the high-cost Renewable Energy Target. This would soften the blow of a carbon price,
but it would remain a big hit. Ai Group is working hard
to ensure that any national climate policy does not erode
manufacturing’s competitiveness or risk our energy security.
Other green policies have a cost, too, from renewable
energy subsidies to efficiency programs. These measures
are a very mixed bunch. Some, like the Commonwealth’s
Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, splurge on the most
expensive renewables instead of the cheapest, and pass the
costs on to electricity consumers.
Yet such green policies play only a small role in the current price rises, and in those to come. The bigger factors
so far have been massive investment in transmission and
distribution networks – driven by general demand growth,
surging peak demand, higher reliability standards and
ageing legacy networks – and movements in the wholesale
markets driven by drought and boom. Over the next few
years the continuing high price for exportable thermal coal
will also push up costs for some generators. And the coming
boom in Queensland’s Liquefied Natural Gas industry will
eventually push gas prices towards convergence with rather
higher world prices – with consequences both for industrial
gas consumers and gas-fired generators.
Australia is far from alone in confronting rising energy
costs, but the challenge is serious given our historic reliance
on cheap energy as a competitive advantage. With the right
policies, research and investment we may continue to benefit
from less expensive energy than that in other countries. But
Australian industry will need to learn to live with energy
prices higher than we are used to.
That means much greater efforts on energy efficiency
than we have seen so far. Large energy-intensive firms
already focus on efficiency as core business, but in our
survey – a sample dominated by small and medium-sized
companies – nearly two thirds had not improved their energy
efficiency over the past five years, and almost as many did
not anticipate improvements in the next two years.
This is a worrying result. Efficiency may seem optional
where energy is currently only a small part of a business’
cost structure. But as higher prices bite, smaller and lessenergy intensive firms will feel the efficiency imperative
too. Ai Group will be working with members and governments to ensure that industry has the support it needs to
get on the front foot.
Nominations sought for excellence
in manufacturing
Visiting one of the global leaders in rail manufacturing last month, Minister for Manufacturing, Exports
and Trade Richard Dalla-Riva encouraged industry
associations and companies to nominate locally-based
manufacturers for the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of
Fame 2011.
At Bombardier Transportation Australia in Dandenong, Australia’s only Manufacturing Minister
Richard Dalla-Riva said that nominations were now
being sought for Victorian manufacturers whose in-
novative and sophisticated solutions to manufacturing
are world-class.
“Victoria’s manufacturers are innovative, qualitydriven and committed to their industries, and these awards
highlight true excellence,” Dalla-Riva said.
The 2011 awards include two new categories, one for
entrepreneurial excellence by a company and the second for
a young manufacturer working with enabling technologies
for manufacturing such as information and communication
technology, nano and microtechnology, and biotechnology.
11
Industry News
AMTIL – The Source 2011
edition is about to be released
The highly anticipated third edition of AMTIL – The Source incorporating Australia’s
only published advanced manufacturing capability directory is about to be released,
following the sell-out of the previous edition. Once again the publication covers a broad
range of relevant and interesting topics including:
l The Australian economy.
l Manufacturing performance and sentiment.
l Australian machine tool and technology market.
l Detailed Australian sector analysis covering Automotive and other motorised transport, Aerospace, Defence, Mining and Resources, Medical and Construction as well
as where opportunities exist and how to get involved.
l Government programs and initiatives.
l Global economic outlook for key industrialised economies.
l Global sector analysis for key industrialised economies.
l Global machine tool and technology markets.
l Industry guidelines incorporating industry pay rates and awards, recruitment market conditions, risk assessment, career
paths for your staff and for students.
l The Industry Capability Directory which showcases manufacturing technologies, manufacturing capabilities and the
services provided by businesses that support manufacturing. The directory enables you to find the right suppliers or
manufacturers.
AMTIL – The Source is the most economical and quickest way for you to source up to date and important industry
information and follows AMTIL’s dictum which is to Connect, Inform and Grow. A survey of the readers of the last
edition rated the information and Industry Capability Directory very highly and 100% of the respondents were eagerly
anticipating the 2011 edition.
As the previous edition sold out quickly you will need to act fast and either complete the order form below and fax
to AMTIL on (03) 9800-3436 or visit www.amtil.com.au for the complete brochure and order form. Pre-orders for the
publications April release, are being taken now.
Producing this highly regarded and anticipated publication is only possible with the support of our sponsors:
AMTIL – The Source 2011 Australia’s Advanced Manufacturing Year Book and Capability Directory
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Need finance to keep
your exports moving?
If financial barriers are holding back your export business,
talk to EFIC. Our finance solutions, including performance
bonds and advance payment bonds, can help free up your
working capital for your export activities.* We work with
you or your bank to keep your exports rolling.
*Conditions apply
For more information, visit www.efic.gov.au/bonds
Overcoming financial barriers for exporters
13
Industry News
Insurance claims: who to ask for help
The recent natural disasters seen throughout Australia have
left many businesses with difficult decisions to make and a lot
of hard work ahead to rebuild. While the initial practical steps
include cleaning up premises, making insurance claims and
replacing damaged equipment, help is available to mitigate
some of the financial pain – you just have to know who ask.
Where records have been destroyed following a disaster,
all is not lost. The first step is to seek evidence of past financial transactions. Visit www.business.qld.gov.au/documents/
Steps-to-business-recovery.pdf for a comprehensive checklist
of potential sources of information. Also talk to:
l Your accountant – ask for copies of your past financial
statements, income tax returns, business activity statements
and depreciation schedules listing assets held
l Your bank – ask for replacement bank statements
l Your lawyers and finance companies – ask for copies of
contracts.
Where it is not possible to reconstruct records following a
natural disaster, the ATO will allow for reasonable estimates
to be made. The ATO has agreed to automatic lodgment deferrals for December monthly business activity statements only.
However, the ATO recognises that many businesses will struggle to meet other lodgment deadlines in the months to come.
Your accountant will be able to apply for lodgment extensions,
but only where an application is made before the due date.
If your plant and equipment has been damaged or destroyed,
it can be written off where it is beyond repair, or written down
if it is damaged but still usable. Your accountant will be able
to assist you with this process. A write-off or write-down will
effectively be a tax deduction that will reduce your taxable profit.
Where you find yourself having to buy new equipment, try
to negotiate favourable terms with your finance company by
explaining your situation. They may be able to offer interestfree terms or deferred payments for the first few months.
Where your customers have been adversely affected, it is
worth considering whether any outstanding debts are recoverable. In cases where recovery is unlikely, steps to write off
the debts should be taken as soon as possible, and remember
to make GST adjustments where appropriate. A debt written
off will also reduce your taxable profit.
If your circumstances have led to a reduction in your
business income, you may find your business has already
paid too much PAYG instalment tax. In this case you will be
able to claim a credit in your next activity statement. This
is also something that your accountant can assist you with.
Natural disasters may only affect your local community.
This means suppliers outside your region may still be chasing you for payment of your debts. In these circumstances,
it is advisable to ring the relevant suppliers and explain
your situation. There may be room to negotiate temporarily
extended payment terms.
If your business is one of the lucky ones to come through
a natural disaster relatively unscathed, you might be able to
use the opportunity to increase your level of goodwill. For
example, if you have spare office space in your building you
might invite other local businesses to use this space until they
get back on their feet. This helps show your community spirit,
and who knows, you may end up getting some additional business out of the arrangement.
Remember, in times of natural disaster, help is available to
businesses during recovery – all you have to do is ask.
KMW Accountants - 1300 855 259
www.kmwaccountants.com
Distribution deal for PS Ball blasting media
Sodablast Australia has signed an agreement with Ecomaister of Korea to distribute PS Ball blasting media
in Australia.
Precious Slag Ball (PS Ball) is an entirely new material. It is a by-product of steel manufacturing, produced by
a patented process known as Slag Atomising Technology
(SAT). Prior to the development of SAT most slag was
left in leaching pits for weeks or months before processing, resulting in considerable environmental damage.
“PS Ball is an environmentally friendly material. The
manufacture of PS Balls uses no virgin resources, less
water than production of other media and turns harmful
chemicals inherent in slag into an inert compound,” said
Sodablast Australia’s Kevin Berridge.
“PS Balls can be used as an economical replacement for
black beauty, garnet, coal and copper slag. It is up to 50%
less cost than garnet, subject to the volume purchased.”
“This medium generates very little dust, can be reused several times (up to nine times has been recorded,
although the recommended number is three) and provides
14
Slag Atomising
Technology is
a new process
that makes PS
Ball blasting
media
Left: PS Ball (enlarged view) –
Environmentally friendly blasting media
for heavy duty blasting.
a more comfortable working environment for the operator,
thereby reducing time taken to do the job,” he said.
PS Balls are currently being used in shipyards for repair
work, as reinforcement of concrete mixes, compaction
base, road pavement and in balance weights and anchoring.
SIX NEW ANGLES ON
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c1#*,
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c.",# ,(.#(-,.!)'.,#ME09 for stainless steel; M13 for steel and cast iron;
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.'
',,#!) )()'3(*, ),'(
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Ph 1300 55 7326
Fax 1300 65 7326
E-Mail [email protected]
15
Industry News
National flood crisis
The Clean-up and Restoration Grant
provides a one-off grant to primary
producers, small businesses and notfor-prof it organisations who have
suffered direct damage as a result of
the f loods between August 2010 and
January 2011 in Victoria, for clean-up,
removal of debris, animal welfare and
business restoration. The Clean-up
and Restoration Grant has now been
increased from $15,000 to $25,000.
Increase in flood clean-up
grants
A broad range of funding and assistance programs, including the above,
is available via Government Funding
Programs.
Along with the rest of Australia, the Ai Group is keen to
assist its members with disaster recovery and is preparing
a range of information and services for members affected
by the floods. These include:
l Business assistance and advice.
lOHS Implications.
l Employment and workplace relations issues.
l Replacement of damaged Ai Group publications.
lOffer help to flood affected businesses through new online
directory.
Please call the Ai Group Flood Recovery Line on
1300 102 167
Any members needing further information on appeals
can contact Ai Group Canberra on 02 6233 0700.
Government funding and assistance
programs
If you need immediate recovery assistance, grants of up
to $5000 are available. Grants of up to $25,000 are available to help eligible small businesses to recover costs paid
to repair direct flood damage. Low-interest loans of up to
$250,000 are available to fund the repair and/or replacement
of damaged plant and equipment, buildings or stock. The
funding available varies across jurisdictions. To apply for
financial assistance for direct damage caused by flooding,
you must be located in a declared local government area.
Grants and loans for small businesses and
primary producers
New South Wales
Natural Disaster Relief Scheme (NSW).
Queensland
Natural Disaster Assistance for Small Business.
Special Disaster Flood Assistance.
Victoria
Victorian Flood / Hail Damage Grants and Loans.
16
Income support
National
Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy for flooding events
commencing 29 November 2010
Communications
Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme
Insurance
The Australian Government has released some tips on dealing with insurance after a disaster.
The Australian Insurance Council has also released a booklet
on Consumer Tips for Disaster Recovery.
If you have questions about your insurance policy or
need to find out who your insurer is, ring the Insurance
Council of Australia's (ICA) 24-hour Emergency Hotline
on 1300 728 228.
Bank emergency relief packages
Individual banks have announced assistance packages to
help business people, farmers, families and individuals in
the communities adversely affected by flood waters.
The assistance provided will vary according to individual
circumstances, but can include:
l Deferring home loan repayments for up to three months
lRestructuring business loans without incurring fees
lGiving credit card holders an emergency credit limit
increase
l Refinancing personal loans at a discounted fixed rate
l Waiving interest rate penalties if term deposits are drawn
early
lDeferring monthly repayments on equipment finance
facilities for three months.
lAccess to the Australian Bankers' Association’s list of
dedicated bank phone numbers.
Tax assistance
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can help individuals
and businesses who have been affected by natural disasters.
Industry News
Assistance may include:
lFast-tracking
of refunds
lExtra time to pay debts
lMore time to meet activity statement, income tax and
other lodgement obligations
lSupport if you are suffering financial hardship as a
result of the disaster
lReconstructing tax records where documents have
been destroyed
lMaking reasonable estimates where necessary
Phone the ATO on 1800 806 218 to discuss your individual circumstances.
Insolvency support for Queensland
business
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission
(ASIC) is offering free advice and guidance to assist
and support Queensland businesses who have suffered
from significant business interruption as a result of the
devastating floods.
Local insolvency practitioners, facilitated by ASIC,
will be made available on a pro bono basis to assist
Queensland business owners and directors with:
lGuidance about business interruption and alternatives
to corporate insolvency.
lAppropriate liaison with financial providers.
lAccess to employee entitlement schemes.
Members wanting to access this advice can call ASIC's
Infoline on 1300 300 630.
Emotional and crisis support
Lifeline offers confidential emotional and crisis support 24
hours a day. Phone 13 11 14.
‘Beyondblue’ can support those experiencing depression
and anxiety.
Tools and resources
Business Flooding Checklist
Cleaning up after Flooding
CPA disaster recovery toolkit
Post Flood - Food Premises Information Fact Sheet
NSW SES Floodsafe Toolkit
Other Useful Websites
Australian Government Disaster Assist
Emergency Management in Australia
New South Wales Flood Information
Queensland Government Disaster relief and recovery website
Queensland Government Flood website
Victoria Online - Floods
Victorian Department of Human Services
Donations
While many people have already donated generously, if you
still wish to contribute to the relief fund there are a number
of appeals including:
lPremier's Disaster Relief Appeal
lRed Cross Victorian Floods Appeal
lSalvation Army's Flood Appeal
lOr call Nine Network's telethon on 1800 219 028.
17
Tech News
Germany: Getting cars on road faster
Auto manufacturers are looking for shorter production
times, faster logistics processes, new materials and technologies. A novel software platform will help companies to
achieve these goals by reducing not only the development
times but also the development costs.
23 business and research organisations are participating
in the EU’s Pegasus project (www.pegasus-eu.net). The
Integrated Design and Engineering Environment (IDEE) is
a CAD/CAE/CAM software system which is connected to
an intelligent database. It analyses the functional requirements of a product and identifies appropriate materials at
an early stage of the development process. If, for example,
a car roof is to be made in a different material than before,
it is not necessary to conduct a new development process.
Instead, the design engineers enter the component data
into the software system, which assesses the information
and then selects suitable materials and manufacturing
processes. It also provides engineering guidelines for
designing the tools.
Fraunhofer
Austria: Ice dome made using novel
construction method
An ice dome 10 m in diameter (free span) has been built
using an ingenious construction method in Obergurgl
(Austrian Alps) - a world first. Using ice as a building
material has been done before, however, in most cases
the spans of the structures are small or the ice is not a
load-bearing component and merely acts as cladding for
the construction.
The team at Vienna University of Technology has
developed an ice dome which presents a stable and
free-standing safe structure, and does not require additional support using other building materials. First, a
20 cm-thick plate of ice is cut into 16 segments. These
2D segments must then to be transformed into a 3D
structure. Advantage is taken of one property of ice,
known as "creep behaviour". If pressure is applied to
the ice, it can slowly change its shape without breaking.
The segments of ice are placed on stacks of wood. Then,
under the load of its own weight, the ice begins to change
shape by itself, resulting in a curved dome segment. The
greatest challenge was the prevention of any breakage
of the individually curved segments when assembling
the dome. To solve this, a wooden tower was erected and
the dome segments were held together by means of steel
chains. The wooden tower could only be removed once
all the segments had been positioned correctly and the
ice dome stood on its own.
Vienna University of Technology
USA: Hydrogels used to make precise
new sensor
Researchers are developing a new type of biological and
chemical sensor that has few moving parts, is low-cost,
highly sensitive and long-lasting. The "diffraction-based"
18
sensors are made of thin stripes of a gelatinous material called a hydrogel, which expands and contracts
depending on the acidity of its environment, precisely
determining pH. The sensor's simple design could make
it more practical than other sensors in development.
Many sensors are too expensive to produce, require
highly skilled operators and are not robust enough to
be practical. This flexible, water-insoluble hydrogel is
formed into a series of raised stripes called a "diffraction
grating," which is coated with gold on both the stripe
surfaces and the spaces in between. The stripes expand
and contract depending on the pH level of the environment. This technology detects very small changes in
the swelling of the diffraction grating, which makes
them very sensitive.
Purdue University
USA: Secrets of mysterious metal
hotspots
The secrets behind the mysterious nano-sized electromagnetic “hotspots” that appear on metal surfaces
under a light are finally being revealed with the help of a
BEAST (Brownian Emitter Adsorption Super-resolution
Technique) - a single molecule imaging technology, that
has made it possible for the first time to directly measure
the electromagnetic field inside a hotspot. The results
hold promise for a number of technologies, including
solar energy and chemical sensing. The field is highly
localized and, unlike a typical electromagnetic field,
does not propagate through space. The field also has
an exponential shape that rises steeply to a peak and
then decays very fast. During the past 30 years, little
has been learned about the origins of these nano-sized
hotspots until now. Because the size is far smaller than
the wavelength of incident light, a new technique was
needed to map the electromagnetic field within a hotspot.
www.lbl.gov
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Sweden: Normal air could halve fuel
consumption
Every time a car brakes, energy is generated. At present
this energy is not used, but new research shows that it is
perfectly possible to save it for later use in the form of
compressed air. It can then provide extra power to the
engine when the car is started and save fuel by avoiding
idle operation when the car is at a standstill, according
to a researcher at Lund University. Air hybrids would
be much cheaper to manufacture. Simulations show
that buses in cities could reduce their fuel consumption
by 60%. And 48 per cent of the brake energy, which
is compressed and saved in a small air tank connected
to the engine, could be reused later. The is cheap to
manufacture and occupies less space than an electric
hybrid engine. The method works with petrol, natural
gas and diesel.
Lund University
Industry News
Australian elected as SME President
Reaching beyond the North American borders
for the first time, the Society of Manufacturing
Engineers (SME)has elected Paul D. Bradley, the
Managing Director, Peterson Industries, Adelaide,
South Australia, as its 2011 president. Bradley
was sworn in — along with the rest of the 2011
SME Executive Committee and Board of Directors — at the Society’s Awards and Installation
Banquet on 14 November, in Michigan.
As president, Bradley will lead the board in
developing the SME Strategic Plan 2015 and plans
to strengthen the Society’s brand as “the premier source for
manufacturing knowledge, education and networking.”
“SME has been an essential part of my professional
growth,” said Bradley. “I would like other manufacturing
professionals to recognize the need to be part of SME if they
want to advance their careers.”
Bradley credits the support of his boss Gwen Peterson
and his mentor, the late Max Peterson, for encouraging his
interest in the engineering profession by inviting him to join
the former SME Adelaide No. 169 chapter back in 1989.
“I had a thirst for knowledge, and I still have a thirst for
knowledge,” Bradley said. “And SME offers more manufacturing knowledge than anyone could absorb.”
“I also have a strong believe in nurturing the brand. It’s
all about the brand. Brand is gold, sell the brand, you sell
your products and services, and people will want to belong
and be engaged. I have recently established a SME brand
task force consisting of high calibre members to address
high level charges relating to our goal brand. SME’s global
membership and customers will be addressed as part of this
process.” said Bradley.
“I would like to be satisfied at the end of
2011 to know that when someone thinks of SME,
their thoughts immediately go to manufacturing
knowledge, education, and networking, with a
clear understanding that SME is:
Everyone you need to MEET;
Everything you need to KNOW; and
Everything you need to GROW.
“What I hope to accomplish in this role as
the 2011 SME President is to provide leadership and direction to our Executive Committee,
Board of Directors, our valued membership and staff. Without
the dedication and passion by these wonderful individuals
SME would struggle to exist as we approach our 80th anniversary in 2012.”
Bradley’s career path gives him a broad view of manufacturing — apprenticing with Peterson’s in 1980 to his
current role of professional engineer and managing director.
Throughout Bradley’s more than two decades with the Society,
he’s held a number of leadership roles, including terms on
the SME Executive Committee and Board of Directors, the
Ad Hoc International Strategies Committee, nominated as
an international representative on the SME Region Chairs
Committee and twice as chair of the Adelaide No. 169. He is
also a recipient of the 1997 SME Ralph E. Cross Outstanding
Young Manufacturing Engineer Award.
Skills shortages and fierce
competition for talent to come
Organisations in the mining and engineering sectors
will face a significant skills shortage and fierce competition for top talent in 2011, according to a Global Salary
Survey recently compiled by international recruitment
consultancy Robert Walters.
According to Robert Walters’ Managing Director
– Australia, James Nicholson, this demand is expected
to result in significant salary increases, and will be
experienced across a number of industries and regions.
“We expect to see strong demand in the Western
Australian and Queensland oil and gas market, and most
of the Australian mining and rail industries. We will also
see increased recruitment activity within power, water
infrastructure and port development companies due to
continued investment in these sectors, such as BG Group’s
$15bn investment in coal seam gas in Queensland.
“With such strong competition for top talent, companies will need to avoid lengthy recruitment processes
in order to secure their preferred candidates. We also
expect that many organisations that have previously
resisted sourcing candidates from overseas will be
forced to do so.”
19
Government News
$3.5m Green car
grant for cleaner
LPG fuel system
New technologies
under the
microscope
An innovative Melbourne
company Alternative Fuel
Innovations (AFI) Pty Ltd,
is developing a hi-tech new
LPG liquid injection system for vehicles, thanks to
a $3.54m grant from the
Australian Government.
The LPG Liquajet system will boost LPG power
performance to match that
of petrol-powered engines,
whilst cutting average fuel
costs by up to 50%. It will
lower the greenhouse gas
emissions of individual vehicles by a minimum 10%.
I n novat ion M i n ister
Senator Kim Carr said the
Fund was equipping the
Australian auto industry
to compete in the carbon-constrained economy of the 21st
century.
“Consumers in Australia and overseas are clearly looking for vehicles that are easier on the hip pocket and the
environment. The Australian Government is enabling firms
like AFI to capitalise on that demand,’’ Carr said.
“We are building high-wage, high-skill jobs in Australia,
and making our manufacturers leading players in the global
response to climate change.”
“The Green Car Innovation Fund has already supported
projects involving light-weight mirrors, more efficient batteries and better engine systems. Liquajet is another example
of the incredible potential in our automotive sector.”
www.ausindustry.gov.au
New technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology will help Australia fight climate change, stop hunger
and disease, and create thousands of jobs.
To fully understand the benefits and risks, 21 Australian
experts will put new technologies under the microscope and
present their findings to the Gillard Labor Government.
Their advice will inform the implementation of the $38.2m
National Enabling Technologies Strategy.
Announcing the eight-member Expert Forum and
13-member Stakeholder Advisory Council, Innovation
Minister, Senator Kim Carr said it is important that the
Australian community understands new technologies and
are confident in their use.
“New technologies will bring us new industries, export
opportunities and jobs. They also have the potential to provide breakthrough medicines, faster computers and purer
water,” Carr said.
“We must not forget that with all new technologies,
there may be unknown risks. These experts will help us
understand any risks and ensure they are managed appropriately.
“The Stakeholder Advisory Council brings together
key Australian business, union, non-government, industry,
science and research representatives who will use their
expertise to advise the Government on the full range of
enabling technologies.
“The Expert Forum includes technology specialists,
researchers and industry representatives who will identify
new and converging technologies and highlight any potential
implications for Australia.
“I am confident that with the support of the experts,
the Government can effectively implement the National
Enabling Technologies Strategy and ensure the benefits of
new technologies can flow to the community.“
www.innovation.gov.au.
New appointments to CSIRO board
Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr announced the
appointment of Mr Mark Paterson AO and Mr Hutch
Ranck to the CSIRO Board. They replace outgoing board
members Mr Douglas Rathbone AM and Ms Deborah
O’Toole.
“It is one of the largest research agencies in the world
and a vital part of Australia’s innovation system. With
such an important task, it is vital that the CSIRO is led
by a dedicated team of world-class research, government
and business leaders.
“As board members, Paterson and Ranck will build
on the valuable contributions of Rathbone and O’Toole
and help set the CSIRO’s agenda to address national and
global research challenges.”
20
“I also welcome the continued service of Dr Eileen
Doyle, who is a tremendous advocate of science and contributes strong commercial acumen to the CSIRO Board.
CSIRO Chairman Mr Simon McKeon also welcomed
the appointments. Paterson is Secretary of the Department
of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and was
previously Head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce
and Industry. He has held a number of board positions.
Ranck was most recently the Group Managing Director, ASEAN for DuPont Limited. He has held leadership
positions in the finance, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
sectors. He has been a member of the Prime Minister’s
Science, Engineering and Innovation Council and the
Business Roundtable on Sustainable Development
Take in Alfex Flap ad
21
Take in Alfex flap ad
22
Industry News
Austech 2011 promotes
manufacturers’ capabilities
Manufacturers can no longer solely rely on traditional advertising to generate business; they must aggressively seek new ways
in which to promote themselves and their business. Austech
organiser AMTIL provides assistance to its members and all
interested advanced manufacturers through the Manufacturers’ Showcase Pavilion during this year’s Austech exhibition
at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from 24 to 27 May 2011.
As part of Australia’s premier advanced precision manufacturing and machine tool exhibition, the Manufacturers’
Showcase pavilion highlights the capabilities of Australia’s
precision engineering and advanced manufacturing industry
and provides Australian component manufacturers, precision
engineering firms, toolmakers, advanced manufacturers and
general engineering companies the opportunity to exhibit
their unique capabilities to an expected audience of more
than 10,000 visitors.
“The importance of our precision engineering and advanced manufacturers in this country having the opportunity
to promote the capabilities and capacity they have to offer
is critical in view of international competition,” explains
AMTIL’s CEO and Exhibition Director Shane Infanti. “The
Manufacturers’ Showcase provides the perfect forum for
these companies to put themselves in front of Austech visitors, many of whom outsource and contract out their work.”
The Manufacturers’ Showcase initiative is proudly supported by ManufactureLink (www.manufacturelink.com.
au), Australia’s largest industrial manufacturing network.
ManufactureLink will exhibit the capabilities of its network
of more than 400 advanced manufacturers in the centre of
the Showcase Pavilion. Managing Director George Pofandt
will be on hand to assist Austech attendees to locate the
manufacturing capability they need and provide advice on
how best to manufacture their products.
“The past Manufacturers’ Showcase Pavilions were a
great success with many participants now coming back every
year,” says Austech organiser and AMTIL Event Manager
Kim Warren. “Many exhibitors from this pavilion have indicated that they generated a lot of leads over the four days of
the show in 2009 and 2010, many from interstate prospects
whom they otherwise would not have encountered.”
The participating manufacturers agree. “The Manufacturers’ Showcase is a great idea, it gave my company an
opportunity to exhibit with other companies in our industry
at the highest level; an opportunity I would normally not
have, it gave my little company great exposure, not only in
Victoria, I had a lot of interest from interstate,” comments
Mark Scarpella from Engineered Tooling, Seaford, VIC, who
participated in the inaugural Showcase in 2009.
While many manufacturing companies who have already
signed up for the available packages have participated at
previous shows, Austech and its Manufacturers’ Showcase
initiative attracts a lot of interest from prospective new exhibitors, keen to take the next step to promote their business.
“Austech is Australia’s premier manufacturing exhibition,
and I felt that we were going to get great exposure by participating in the Manufacturers’ Showcase Pavilion this year,”
says Darren Hoggan, Hounslow Engineering, Bayswater,
VIC. The company specialises in twin spindle, twin turret
“
“Austech is Australia’s
premier manufacturing
exhibition, and I felt that
we were going to get great
exposure by participating
in the Manufacturers’
Showcase Pavilion this year,”
Darren Hoggan,
Hounslow Engineering
live tooling CNC turning, as well as centreless grinding.
“We want to educate our potential customers about centreless grinding because there are a lot of people out there who
don’t know about this technology. Austech provides us with
the opportunity of human-to-human exposure to potential
customers and to increase our customer base.”
For more information and opportunities to be part of
the Austech’s Manufacturers’ Showcase initiative, please
contact Kim Warren at 03 9800 3666, [email protected].
au or visit the Austech website www.austechexpo.com.au.
ABB donates $180,000
to help victims
Employees and company assist families with contribution to Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal
ABB Australia announced that its 1,500 employees
have rallied behind Queenslanders to raise $180,000 for
the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal, with the company
contributing more than two dollars for every dollar from
employees.
“It is important that we unite and provide support for
each other in times of crisis, and the immediate response
from our employees across the country has been truly
inspirational,” said Axel Kuhr, country manager of ABB
in Australia. “We are proud to support the generous spirit
of our employees by adding $133,704 to their contributions to bring our total donation to $180,000.
“Our thoughts and hearts go out to the families and local communities affected, particularly those who have lost
everything. Our employees will continue to work closely
with local businesses to do whatever we can to provide
additional assistance for the recovery effort,” Kuhr added.
ABB’s three facilities located in Brisbane escaped
major operational disruption or property damage. The
company has had technical product specialists available
to assist the local utilities in their challenging task of
safely restoring power to residences and businesses in
the affected areas.
ABB expresses its gratitude to the police, emergency
services and military personnel for their tremendous efforts during the flood crisis and to the many thousands
of volunteers who have freely donated their time during
the initial clean-up effort.
23
Industry News
Delcam Asian technical summit
Delcam recently held their 10th Annual Technical Summit in Pune, India
at which major initiatives and strategies for the future were announced
together with a number of new product launches and updates right across
their already impressive range.
Delcam’s strategy includes an
increased investment in R &D. “This
year we will be looking at investing
$16m in research and development”
said Clive Martell, Managing Director.”
In his welcome to delegates
Vineet Seth, Managing Director,
Delcam, India, said “We started in
Pune in 2000 as a liaison office for
Delcam with three employees. We
are now fully owned by Delcam with 130 staff and 14 offices around the country. We are also responsible for the
Middle East.
Our annual growth has been a highlight for years and
stands at 20% year on year. Delcam is now recognised as the
largest CAM vendor in India and we are very proud of that.”
Product updates & innovations
PowerMILL 2010
Mark Gadsden, Business Development Manager, Delcam
stated that the latest PowerMILL 2010 is two and a half
times faster than before and now allows for multi-threading.
Automation makes it easier for programmers to pick up
PowerMILL and use it.
General Improvements for FeatureCAM (feature
based programming)
“FeatureCAM is more of a production engineering tool”
says Delcam’s Sandy Moffatt. “It’s an easy to use tool and
it has feature recognition. It allows faster programming,
users have complete control, it is data base driven and the
automated approach helps reduce errors.”
Healthcare division
Launched just one year ago Delcam’s Healthcare Division
has enjoyed great success.
Chris Lawrie, Business Development Manager, Healthcare Division, explained that as people now tend to live
longer there is a need for mass customisation of healthcare
solutions covering dental, maxillofacial reconstructions,
orthotics, orthopaedic, podiatry etc. He said “the key aspect
is replacing the traditional casting process with a digital
process from start to finish. Unique products are now being
made using methods which are efficient and cost effective.”
Dental restorations
In keeping with the healthcare theme of the sessions Peter
Dickin, Marketing Manager, Delcam, emphasised the breadth
of the solutions they provide including rapid prototyping,
24
The Delcam Team
— Left to Right
Vineet Seth, Clive
Lawrie, Joe Zhou,
Sandy Moffatt,
Clive Martell,
Peter Dickin, Mark
Gadsden, Robed
Walker
precision scanning, precision CAD, market leading CAM
and on machine set up and verification. He said “the key
to dental restorations is the scanning. With a good quality scan you have a much better chance of a good quality
restoration.” Dickin highlighted the new scanner and the
dental CAD CAM suite of products.
The new iMetric Scan (Swiss 3D Scanning System) is an
extremely accurate, fully automated white light, non-contact,
3D scanning unit for dental applications and all types of
restorations. DentCAD is the design suite for creating the
dental restorations in CAD.
Delcam for SolidWorks 2011 – new release
Delcam for SolidWorks (DFS) is one of Delcam’s newer
products. It is Delcam CAM completely integrated inside
SolidWorks. Delcam has developed DFS to complement
their CAM product range of PowerMILL, FeatureCAM,
PartMaker and ArtCAM.
Presenter, Mark Gadsden felt that there is a clear market
opportunity as 405,000 SolidWorks commercial licenses
have already been issued. “It is an ideal fit with Delcam’s
traditional markets and we can now compete for new accounts requiring an integrated solution with SolidWorks”
he said. “DFS will have great appeal to organisations who
design and manufacture parts and who have a combination
of machining centres, turning and turn/mill facilities.
Strategy for the future
“We will continue to look for new opportunities and new
channels” said Martell in his conclusion to the conference.
“This year we reached 35,000 customers and we expect to
reach 40,000 in 2011. Our sales network and sales staff for
the HealthCare Division is growing and we will continue to
employ the largest development team in the CAM industry.”
“Our customers face constant pressure to reduce costs,
increase productivity, improve quality and reduce lead times
and Delcam will help meet these demands.”
Camplex Pty. Ltd. - www.camplex.com.au
www.kaeser.com.au
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25
Product News
Xtra·tec F4338 porcupine for
heavy-duty machining
The Xtra·tec® F4338 is a new addition to the Walter
family of porcupine cutters with an extremely
strong constitution. It’s clear simply from
the diameter range of 63 to 125mm that
the Xtra·tec® F4338 is aimed at heavy-duty
machining. This is further underlined by large
insert seats for Type AD.T 1807 indexable
inserts, which can be either fully circumference
sintered or circumference ground. So the new
member has the largest “spines” in the Xtra·tec®
porcupine cutter family.
Thanks to the soft cutting, helically arranged
cutting edges, plunge depths of as much as 95mm when
shoulder-milling and trimming are no problem. Walter
claims that even lower-performance machines will return
above-average cutting rates with this tool. Equipped with the
Tiger·tec Silver cutting material, this cutter is suitable for all
steel and cast materials and, with PVD-Alox coated inserts,
even hard-to-cut materials. As well as in general engineering,
typical applications are to be found primarily in the energy
sector and the aerospace industry.
In addition to the super-strength inserts for large cutting
capacities, the tool has another convincing special design
With extra-large,
spirally arranged indexable
inserts and axial stops for the first
row of inserts, the Xtra∙tec® F4338 is the
new heavyweight in the Walter family of
porcupine cutters. feature. The first row of indexable inserts is held by an
additional axial fixed stop. It is a detail that adds to process
reliability in heavy-duty machining in particular. For ‘tough
cases’, there are also one-piece HSK or SK tool bodies available.
The F4338 can also be supplied as a shell-end milling cutter and
as a modular tool with NCT adaptor.
Walter AG
www.walter-tools.com
acting operation allows the splitter to be used with a variety
of hydraulic power sources, including the comprehensive
range of innovative pumping technologies available. Tri-blade
technology provides three cutting surfaces on a single blade –
facilitating easy changes in the field. Grip tape and handle are
included for more secure maneuverability.
A pre-set blade cutting depth scale in each tool is a
standard feature and allows controlled blade extension to
avoid damage to bolts and threads. The scale indicates the
bolt range in metric and imperial values on each cutting head.
These nut splitters cut hexagon nut sizes from 70 - 130 mm
[2¾ - 5⅜ inch] in a bolt range from M45 - M90 (1¾ - 3½ inch).
700 bar nut splitter cracks all
The NS-Series of nut splitters from Enerpac are powerful and
precise industrial strength hydraulic tools which have been
designed and manufactured for serious applications. These
compact, powerful and maneuverable 700 bar high-pressure
hydraulic tools are often used on flanged joints, such as those
common in the oil, gas, energy, mineral processing and water
and infrastructure industries and all industries where bolting
and pipelines are used extensively.
Enerpac nut splitters are specially designed to suit standard
ANSI B16.5/BS1560 flanges. The nickel-plated cylinder bodies
have excellent corrosion protection and improved durability
in harsh environments, says Enerpac. Heavily corroded and
weathered nuts can be quickly split and removed. Several
interchangeable heads are available to provide maximum nut
range flexibility and the single-acting, spring return or double-
26
Enerpac - 02 9743 8988
[email protected]
www.enerpac.com.au
Product News
Laser scanner for safeguarding
irregularly-shaped areas
Micromax sensors & automation announces the AG4 safety
laser scanner from Banner Engineering, designed to deliver
safety, simplicity and versatility in a single, compact optical
device. The AG4 Safety Laser Scanner uses pulses of Class 1
infrared laser light to locate the position of objects in its field
of view, effectively protecting personnel by safeguarding both
stationary and mobile hazards within a user-designated area.
The AG4 effectively safeguards irregularly-shaped areas not
suitable for a standard two-or three-piece safety light screen. It
is also an excellent replacement solution for high-maintenance
safety mats that are routinely damaged by repetitive operation
or adverse environments. By meeting all requirements for Type
3 per IEC 61496-1/-2, Category 3 PLd per EN ISO 13849-1, and
Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2 per IEC 61508, the AG4 delivers
superior performance in applications including area guarding,
access/perimeter guarding, and automated guided vehicle (AGV)
collision avoidance.
"We saw a need for a solution that could be used as a standalone safeguard that would stop hazards when an individual
enters an area, as well as to prevent the reinitiating of a machine
cycle while that individual is within the guarded area," said
Mike Carlson, Safety Products Marketing Manager at Banner
Engineering. "The AG4 will provide a solution in any number
of stationary applications, but also is an excellent solution for
collision avoidance on mobile vehicles such as AGVs, overhead
cranes, and transfer carts and trolleys," Carlson added.
The AG4 Safety Laser Scanner operates through the principle
of diffuse reflectance (reflected light) to determine an object’s
position via range (measured distance) and rotational angle.
Once the AG4 protective and warning fields are configured the
position of the objects within the field of view are evaluated. If
any are within a protective field, a safety stop signal is generated
from the scanner. The AG4 can additionally be configured so that
an intrusion in the warning field triggers an auxiliary output. This
may be used to slow a mobile vehicle, flash a light, or initiate
March_2011_final_PROOF.pdf
1 11/02/2011
PM this field.
other actions
to warn an individual
who1:28:19
enters
Losma air filters
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The machine
tool releases
polluted air
with oil mist.
Clean air is
released into
the atmosphere.
Featuring a 0.36 degree lateral resolution, the AG4
reliably detects objects in a zone up to 190 degrees from its
fixed position. The AG4 provides selectable protection field
resolution of 30, 40, 50, 70, and 150mm with ranges up to
6.25m, while its warning field provides coverage of up to
15m. Advanced configuration capabilities allow operators
to configure the AG4 with eight individual protective and
warning fields. Users can quickly switch between configured
field pairs, providing the flexibility to effectively protect
personnel and equipment in diverse applications.
Micromax Sensors & Automation - 1300 36 26 26
[email protected].
www.micromaxsa.com.au
Breathe
Easy with
Losma
CMY
K
Your Machine Tool
Oil removed from the
air is returned to the
machine tool.
www.accmfg.com.au
[email protected] | 03 9546 3733
27
Product News
AMO introduces IP67-rated LMB-410 spar linear encoder
The LMB-410 inductive scanning
measuring scale comes with a
stainless steel carrier, offering
robust measuring/position feedback
with IP-67 rating and performance
similar to a linear optical encoder.
Available through Melbournebased automation and control
specialist, CNC Design, the LMB-410,
is best suited to general purpose
applications such as positional
feedback systems machine tools,
medical and printing equipment and
military/aerospace applications. Its
IP67 rating makes the scale ideal for
dirty, contaminated and submerged
conditions.
Its adhesive-free mounting
spar with a snap cover eliminates
concerns related to adhesive-backed spars becoming loose in
oily environments. A slim stainless steel carrier is attached to
the machine with screws, with an interlocking “snap cover”
securing the scale, tape in position. Its encoder head can be
optionally equipped with wipers to automatically clean the scale
during operation. The encoder head’s gain compensation and
AMTIL
BLACKFAST
10:40
AM Page
1
auto
offset
eliminate 03_07
the need16/2/07
to use a test
box during
setup.
BLACKFAST
Room Temperature
Blacking Of Iron and Steel
Fast and simple blacking
protects and enhances all
iron and steel components
with a safe in-house
operation, either two
pieces or two tonnes.
It’s so easy with
BLACKFAST – you
can DO IT YOURSELF.
Tel: 07 5554 5411
Fax: 07 5554 5766
BLACKFAST
AUSTRALIA
28
Mobile: 0419 507 713
Email:
[email protected]
www.blackfast.com
The LMB-410 is rated for operation that
ranges from -10 to +100°C for up to 30m
measuring length and ± 3μm/m accuracy. The
new encoder also meets high-shock, high-speed
and vibration specifications.
Any non-guided AMOSIN encoder head can
be used with any of the LMB-400 or LMB-100
scale mounting version. The AMOSIN inductive
measuring systems are supplied in two principal
versions: an open, non-contacting system, or as a
guided, encapsulated system. Operating entirely
on an inductive basis, all AMOSIN systems
achieve high precisions of up to +/- 3μm/m and
are highly resistant to shock and vibration.
CNC Design Pty Ltd - 03 9411 1511
[email protected]
www.cncdesign.com
Dodge ISAF bearings
Dodge developed a new range
of large-bore pillow block
bearings, initially with SAF
dimensions, that feature
integral hydraulicallyassisted, adapter-mounted
installation and removal
systems. These
bearings are designed
to reduce the total
cost of ownership and
are factory assembled, sealed and lubricated. The entire inner
units are replaceable. This new range of hydraulically mounted
bearings covers the size range from 150 to 400mm. This now
means that the Baldor range of easy mount/dismount bearings
span from 17mm to 400mm across three ranges of bearings;
the Grip Tight, the ISN and now the Hydraulic ISAF range.
A major cause of bearing failure is due to contamination, either during installation or in service (especially when under misalignment conditions). The hydraulic ISAF solution has a double
seal that is effective even under misalignment conditions. The inner unit has a triple lip seal and the housing has a grease purged
labyrinth design or optional closed end cover. This multiple seal
design keeps out the contamination, allowing the bearing to
achieve its maximum life. “At Baldor, we would like the market
to stop considering bearings as a commodity and start to think
of mounted bearings as an asset”, said Daniel Vera, Managing Director of Baldor Australia. “For too long, the customer has been
forced to expend considerable time in the installation, maintenance and removal of mounted bearings. This generally happens
in dirty environments and this creates further problems leading
to shorter than expected life. Our new Hydraulic ISAF bearing
overcomes these issues in a unitised, compact package”.
Baldor Australia - 02 9674 5455
[email protected]
www.baldor.com.au
Product News
Mitsui Seiki introduces
large HMC for machining hard metals
Mitsui Seiki’s new 2500 mm HU100A-5XLL Horizontal
Machining Centre is now available and designed for
machining large, complex, and heavy (up to 6600 lbs.) hard
metal parts. “We built several custom engineered machines
with similar configurations and attributes; it made
sense for us to add the HU100XLL to our standard
product line,” says Mr. Thomas Dolan, Mitsui’s Vice
President of Marketing and Sales. “The custom
engineered machines were supplied to primarily
aerospace, power generation, refrigeration,
and mould and die parts manufacturers as
all of these industries have fundamental common
requirements for machine rigidity and
stiffness for low frequency machining
and high accuracy,” adds
Dolan. “We expect
demand for this type
of rugged, 5-axis
equipment to
accelerate over
the next five years.”
As with all Mitsui Seiki’s machine tools, the high
The HU100A-5XLL offers an X, Y, Z working envelope of
accuracy and ultra rigidity of the new HU100A-5XLL come
2500mm x 1750mm x 1400mm (98.4 in. x 68.9 in. x 55.1 in.).
from the builder’s close monitoring and analysis of its 3D
The A and B tilting and rotating trunnion table axes represent
Finite Element Designed structure, its craftsmanship and
the 4th and 5th axes of motion. The standard spindle offering
methodology of hand scraping all castings for geometry
is a 50 taper, although many manufacturers taking extra heavy
and frequency tuning, and its use of hardened and ground
roughing cuts in titanium and tough steels could opt for the HSK
steel box ways. Further, all critical components for the new
100 or HSK 125 spindle with extra high torque – 3332Nm (2457
machine are designed, manufactured, and quality-controlled
lb.-ft.). The FMS-ready machine has a pallet size of 1700mm x
in-house at one of the world’s most advanced machine tool
1000mm (66.9 in. x 39.4 in.) and accommodates weight up to
3000kg (6600 lbs.).
factories.
The automatic toolchanger accommodates 360 tools with
lengths up to 500mm (19.6 in.), diameters to 305mm (12 in.),
AES Machine Tools Pty Ltd - 02 9624 7022
110335
WYSIWYG
Mar11:Layout
1 18/2/11 9:12 AM Page 1 www.mitsuiseiki.com.
and weights
of 30kg
(66 lbs.).
3D Scanning Services
xInspection
to 3D CAD
xReverse Engineering (Teeth to Stadiums)
xSmall Part Inspection (Single tooth Size)
xComposite mould inspection and FAI
xInjection moulded part Inspection, FAI
xFibreglass FAI and Mould inspection
xFabrication Inspection
xSheet Metal and Machined part Inspection
x10 Years not 10 Minutes Experience
Wysiwyg 3D Pty Ltd
Unit 1, 22-24 Norman St
Peakhurst, NSW 2210.
P: 02 9153 9974
02 9153 (WYSI)
F: 02 9153 9973
[email protected]
www.wysiwyg3d.com.au
29
Product News
Fibre laser cutting from
Hypertherm
Hypertherm announced the release of a new fibre laser
cutting system that includes all components in one complete
package. Hypertherm’s HyIntensity Fiber Laser HFL015
system includes the power source, cutting head, gas supply,
operator interface consoles, motion controls, and software.
Hypertherm believes this solutions-based approach will make
it much easier for partners and their customers to use laser
cutting for their fine feature cutting requirements.
The system operates on familiar Hypertherm control
platforms, with pre-developed cutting processes, for
significantly simplified table integration and operation
as well as higher levels of efficiency, when compared to
other laser cutting solutions. A single-emitter diode based
design enables extremely reliable performance. “Our
fibre laser system is unique in that all of the components
are engineered and designed to work together. Cutting
application specialists defined and validated all of the cutting
parameters so our partners and their customers can easily
use laser for a broad range of applications including marking,
efficient processing of gauge and fractional materials, and
fine feature cutting,” said Doug Shuda, Hypertherm’s fibre
laser product manager.
“Hypertherm partners and their customers no longer have
to choose between plasma and laser. They can choose both,
applying the best cutting technology for each particular job.”
Fibre laser offers several advantages over CO2 laser
systems. It requires virtually no maintenance, is more energy
efficient, and takes up less space. The power supply is much
smaller than CO2, yet fibre delivery enables the beam to
travel greater distances allowing for installation on larger
tables. Hypertherm’s introduction of a fibre laser system
follows several years of intense research and development.
The company applied more than four decades of metal
cutting expertise to develop a powerful system that builds
upon Hypertherm’s existing plasma cutting system offerings.
Hypertherm
[email protected]
www.hypertherm.com
Focused blast
Exair’s new precision safety air gun is claimed to be extremely
lightweight and comfortable to use over extended periods.
The highly focused, forceful blast of airflow provides excellent
cleaning ability and is suited to a wide range of industrial
applications. This safety air gun has a small diameter nozzle
and extension that will fit into tight spaces while packing a
strong punch. The air gun uses Exair’s ‘Nano Super’ air nozzle
which has been engineered to maximise entrainment of room
air while minimising compressed air consumption. The Nano
Super Air Nozzle is available in a rugged Type 316 Stainless Steel
or PEEK plastic to provide non-marring protection should the
nozzle come in contact with other surfaces. The Peek nozzle,
a Plant Engineering 2010 Product of the Year finalist, provides
excellent resistance to chemicals, fatigue and temperatures
up to 160°C. The air gun has an ergonomic design to keep
the hand in a comfortable position. A hanger is provided for
convenient storage or mounting to a tool balancer.
Compressed Air Australia Pty Ltd - 1300 787 688
[email protected]
http://caa.exair.com
30
Product News
New Mate Rollerball deburr
Designed to deburr mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminium
sheet material in any thickness, the Rollerball deburr tool
does the burr removal automatically and quickly as part of the
punching process. No off-line, manual burr removal needed. No
special off-line tools.
The deburr is designed for Thick Turret and Trumpf Style
applications. The new tool incorporates Mate’s proprietary
Rollerball technology that uses the extended programming
capabilities of punch presses operating in the x and y axis
with the ram down. Using a special ball in both the upper and
lower part of the tool, the Rollerball deburr pushes the burr
away creating a slight radius on the punched edge. Smooth to
the touch, the deburred edge is consistent and has a finished,
aesthetically pleasing appearance. All part contours can be
processed with the Rollerball deburr tool, including small, tight
corners.
Available for thick turret or Trumpf Style press applications,
RollerBall deburr comes as a complete set, including springs for
adjusting tension appropriate for the material being punched.
“The tool delivers exceptional value to the punching process,”
reports John Galich, Mate Marketing Manager. “It’s fast and
eliminates manual operations by allowing the punch press to
do the work.
Mate
[email protected]
www.mate.com/rollerball.
31
Product News
The 6-axis Python
Structural steel fabrication and beam
cutting now has a new productivity
champion in the form of the 6-axis
robotic PythonX CNC plasma cutting
fabrication system - a revolutionary
new technology that brings automated
3D fabrication to processing beams,
channels, HSS, angle, plate and bar.
According to Power Machinery Managing
Director, Ken Christensen, PythonX has,
“unprecedented flexibility like an entire
fabrication shop in a single machine”.
Even a modern, fully automated metal
fabrication shop typically requires
transfers and conveyors to feed and offload multiple pieces
of equipment. This takes up a lot of space and time.
The PythonX offers the functions of a beam drill line, band
saw, angle and plate/bar line, copying machine, marking machine
and small burning machine. “That”, says Christensen, “offers huge
savings in floorspace, labour and material handling.”
The PythonX torch head will actually probe and measure the
piece to be cut, so it places each feature exactly where it needs
to be. This compensates for out-of-spec beam geometry to give
you finished beams that are in spec and good for the job with
AISC-approved bolt holes. The PythonX accepts files via direct
download from structural design software like Tekla XSTEEL,
SDS/2, AutoCAD and more. The machine control reads the file,
probes and measures the piece, then goes to work.
According to Christensen,
the PythonX can replace so
much machinery that for under
$700,000, users can get the same
amount of functionality that
would normally cost nearly $2m in
terms of machinery. “The PythonX
is basically anything up to 10
machines in one and that doesn’t
count how much manual labour
and double-handling a fabrication
shop can save on with one of
these units. The normal way to
drill a beam is to mark the holes,
drill them out with a magnetic drill
undertake cutting with a hand-held plasma or oxy cutter.” says
Christensen. “This whole process can work out to be out 20 hours
of labour per tonne of steel. By using the PythonX, this can be
cut down to about five hours per tonne—in other words you can
cut down this whole process by three-quarters, saving you both
time and money. It will cut steel up to 32mm thick in shapes up to
1200mm wide and 400mm high and with conveyor options, it can
handle beams up to 26m long. You cannot compare this machine
to beam lines. That would be comparing apples and oranges. The
PythonX can do so much more than any beam line", he concludes.
Power Machinery - 02 9971 1755
[email protected]
www.powermachinery.com.au
Polarisation microscopy
with high flexibility
The exceptionally flexible Axio Scope.A1 microscope system
from Carl Zeiss is now being offered in a version for polarisation
microscopy for materials and metal analysis. With minimum
effort, six different versions of the microscope can be specially
and economically configured for polarization techniques.
With the Axio Scope.A1, Carl Zeiss provides a flexible, highperformance modular microscope platform specially designed
for routine applications in materials microscopy. The microscope
is specifically designed for use in the fields of the geosciences,
mineralogy and in the oil exploration industry.
Axio Scope.A1 for polarisation can also be used in state-of-the
art materialography applications in, for example, the building
materials, glass, plastics, mining, textile and fiber industries. A
version of the microscope system is also available as a training
microscope for use in education. Further capabilities include
conoscopy for crystal diagnosis, the use of numerous other
measuring techniques and documentation.
The modular design of the Axio Scope.A1 offers an interface
between the upper and lower parts of the stand to allow the
use of spacers for adapting microscope slides to the sample size.
The flexible configuration of the components available provides
versions for transmitted light, reflected light or both with up
to 100W light intensity. This high light intensity also makes the
system suitable for weakly reflecting samples. In addition to
traditional contrasting techniques in reflected and transmitted
light such as brightfield, darkfield, DIC and polarisation, Axio
32
The Axio Scope.
A1 microscope
system from
Carl Zeiss is now
being offered
in a version for
polarization
microscopy for
materials and
metal analysis.
Scope.A1 now also enables innovative techniques such as C-DIC
and PlasDIC. It is possible to quickly and easily switch between the
different contrasting techniques.
The line of high-contrast EC Epiplan objectives was specially
developed for routine applications. They produce a flat image
for a 23mm field and are available in brightfield and brightfield/
darkfield versions. Produced with low strain, they are ideal for
high-quality DIC microscopy. This line of objectives enables the
innovative C-DIC technique (Differential Interference Contrast in
circularly polarised light) with only a single prism. Furthermore,
the entire spectrum of objectives from Carl Zeiss is available.
The microscope system can be used with traditional cameras,
with all cameras in the AxioCam line and with AxioVision image
processing software. Thanks to the modular design of the Axio
Scope.A1, many components can be easily retrofitted by the
customer, if required.
Carl Zeiss Pty Ltd - 1300 365 470
www.zeiss.com.au
www.kraas-lachmann.com
Tiger·tec® Silver is the new highperformance miracle tool for steel
and cast-iron milling from Walter.
Extremely tough, extremely hard and
extremely long-wearing, it improves
performance by up to 100%.
The machining age is over.
It’s time to Tiger.
Competitor
Tiger·tec®
New Tiger,
new benchmark:
up
to
100%
performance
increase
Tiger·tec®Silver
Walter Australia Pty. Ltd.
Hallam, Victoria
+61-3-8793 1000
[email protected]
33
Q
A
OneonOne
The Australian Union of
Trade Councils president
Gerardine (Ged) Kearney
was bought up in a
household where the
importance of the collective,
both in politics and society,
was emphasised from an
early age. The mother of
four, from Melbourne,
spoke to Nina Hendy
about her role, what she
achieved in 2010 and why
manufacturers should work
with, not against, unions.
AMT: Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your professional
background and how did you come to be in your
current role?
GK:
I started my adult working life as a nurse working
in both the public and private health sector. My
father had instilled the importance of union values
in our family so from a very young age I’ve always
appreciated the need for workers to have a voice in
their workplace and the right to collectively bargain.
As a nurse I was always an active union member,
at first becoming a workplace delegate until 1997
when I was elected as an official with the Australian
Nursing Federation.
In July 2010 I became ACTU president, where I
advocate the interests of working Australians and
their families.
AMT: What is the number one concern that Australian
workers have about their workplace and why?
GK:
34
As a movement we’re listening to workers’ concerns
to ensure that their rights are represented and
advocated.
Travelling the country and meeting workers from
an array of different industries, similar concerns
emerge. They include job security, improving rights
and conditions at work as well as concerns around a
work life balance.
Considering a full time worker spends 38 hours a
week at work, it is a significant amount of time away
from our family and friends. Many workers report
having to work longer hours than the standard 38
hours so it’s vital that workers are treated fairly,
remunerated accordingly, have decent and fulfilling
jobs and that they are working in a safe and hazardfree environment.
There is no doubt that the various forms of
precarious work – casual, labour hire, short-term
contracts and more – have increased over the past
few decades, and this is an issue where unions will be
particularly active over the coming years to provide
workers with the job and income security they need
for a better life.
AMT: What did you achieve for 2010 for Australian workers?
GK:
My first six months at the ACTU were indeed action
packed. Within a month of my transition a federal
election was called.
We were committed to ensuring that the
improvements for workers made through the
establishment of the Fair Work Act were locked in,
regardless of which party was in power.
The Fair Work Act is important to Australian workers
in every industry because it makes explicit reference
to key rights such as the right to collectively bargain.
OneonOne
It gives all workers protection from unfair dismissal
as well as the introduction of a robust safety net of
minimum conditions.
It also has established the Minimum Wage Panel
within Fair Work Australia, which will review the
minimum wage rate annually in an independent and
transparent manner.
30% of the manufacturing industry relies on this
review for any pay increases.
Another fundamental achievement was the
introduction of the Paid Parental Leave scheme.
After 30 long years of union campaigning, women
now have the financial and employment security to
have some time off to bond with their newborn.
However, there remains unfinished business to
further improve the Fair Work Act so that more
workers benefit from collective bargaining and can
bargain freely, and that workers have stronger rights
to union representation.
The successful defence of Adelaide building worker
Ark Tribe notwithstanding, we are determined
to see the abolition of the Australian Building
and Construction Commission and of laws that
discriminate against workers in that industry.
AMT: What sorts of things can the manufacturing sector do
to work more productively with unions?
GK: Unions already have a good relationship with the
majority of manufacturers, so we’d like to see the
continuation of this trend.
Unions are there to represent and advocate the
interest of their workers so employers should
embrace them as a part of a productive working
relationship. Often, the worker’s perspective can
drive improvements to productivity and efficiency,
and collective bargaining encourages this.
AMT: What are the advantages to manufacturing firms in
working more closely with unions to achieve harmony
in the workplace?
GK:
Unions are there to ensure that workers have a voice
in their workplace. They’re there to ensure that
workers’ concerns are heard by the employers. By
working with unions, employers have an opportunity
to address workers’ concerns before the issues are
elevated.
AMT: What do you wish that Australian manufacturing
firms understood about the ACTU that they currently
don’t understand?
GK: There will always be a tension that exists between
unions and employers, and unions will always defend
and seek to advance workers’ rights and conditions
in the workplace.
But we also recognise that the manufacturing
industry employs approximately one million
workers, and will continue to play an important role
in the future, so the prosperity of this industry is in
everyone’s interest.
Government support for the automotive industry
is just example of how unions and industry can
work together to ensure the continuing success in
manufacturing.
AMT: You do hear, from time to time, about workers
in Australian manufacturing firms going out on
strike in a bid to achieve changes in the workplace.
What is your stance on taking strike action? Is this
advantageous to workers in the long run, and if so,
why?
GK:
AMT: What are your current goals for 2011 and how long
will it take to achieve them?
GK:
2011 is an exciting year, with many union initiatives
planned. One of our key priorities includes
supporting the equal pay test case in Fair Work
Australia, which if successful, will see community
and social workers’ pay increase by between 10 and
50%. This case is about valuing women’s work and
will continue to decrease the gender pay gap.
We will also be campaigning hard to ensure
mandatory superannuation is increased to 12 per
cent. This will ensure that retired Australians have
sufficient income to live comfortably and with
dignity. The Federal Government has committed
to raising the Superannuation Guarantee to 12%
by 2019, but in bargaining rounds, unions will be
seeking to achieve that goal at an earlier date.
Another ACTU priority is to ensure income and job
security for all workers. Initiatives include addressing
issues such as precarious employment, protection of
employee entitlements and fair wages.
Strikes are the last resort for workers in any
industry because it obviously means a loss of pay.
But sometimes, when all negotiations have been
exhausted, the withdrawal of labour is the only
alternative.
Any decision to take industrial action will be handled
responsibly, and there would have been many
attempts from the workers’ perspective to reach a
resolution on the issue before there is a strike.
Rights to protect industrial action are in fact
extremely limited in Australia to period of
bargaining, and most negotiations are usually settled
before industrial action is necessary.
Under the Fair Work Act, all parties are required
to bargain in good faith, and the responsibility to
prevent industrial action also rests with employers,
who are sometimes too keen to lock out workers.
It’s worth nothing that under the Fair Work Act,
industrial action has been historically low.
35
Plastics
Machinery, materials and
In 2011 Ausplas, Australia’s national trade show for the plastics processing industry will break
with tradition. Ausplas has been held in October every three years since 1987, but this year moves
into a May time frame to line up with the Austech and National Manufacturing Week events.
he three trade exhibitions will occupy the entire 30,000
square meters of space at the Melbourne Convention
and Exhibition Centre presenting what will be Australia’s
largest ever dedicated manufacturing industry trade exhibition. This will provide the opportunity for visitors to
take advantage of unprecedented opportunities to meet
with experts from all over the world across a huge range
of equipment, products and services.
Equipment in operation
A feature of Ausplas has always been the display of plastics
processing equipment, in operation under factory conditions.
For 2011 the range of processing and ancillary equipment,
robotics and automation will be double the number and
variety shown in 2008. The number of injection moulding
machines alone will be the largest showing since 2002. This
year the emphasis is on energy efficiency with energy now
being a primary cost and innovations such as ‘in mould
labelling’ which will be shown by several exhibitors representing European and Asian suppliers. There will also be
many large exhibits of other forms of plastics processing
such as extrusion and blow moulding and thermo forming.
Recycling
The all-important sector of plastics recycling will again
feature heavily, bringing the latest advances in sorting,
separation, washing, re-granulation and re-use of consumer
and industrial waste.
Fabrication
2011 brings a large increase in the number of exhibits featuring the supply of equipment and know-how for the use
of plastics in the fabrication sector. These include plastics
sheet, rod -shapes and profiles for precision engineering
,semi finished plastics products, 3D ink jet prototyping, ultrasonic welding and hot air tools and butt welding for sheet
and pipe and related new technologies for build and repair.
General information
Ausplas will be held in Bays 19 and 20 alongside Austech.
There will be no dividing walls with the visitor ID badge
for either exhibition allowing admission to all three shows.
Visiting hours will also be common for all three events.
Visitors can organise their trade ID in advance on line by
visiting www.ausplas.com
Equipment that will be on display includes:
Haitian Direct
Will exhibit four C injection moulding machines including
the popular servo motor model. Also on display will be a
Haitian fully electric packaging version with a GH Automation side entry in-mould labelling system. Plus ancillary
equipment from Shini Plastics Group and extrusion and
welding equipment from Fangli/Graewe.
Ancillary equipment and materials
The range and variety of ancillary equipment has also
expanded for 2011 and covers the whole range: blenders,
chillers, materials handling systems, silos, granulators,
screws, barrels, mixers, controls and monitoring, testing and
measuring, labelling and printing, automation and robotics.
There will also be a wide showing of new materials ranging from pigments and master batches through to specialty
additives and colorants and the new exotics in space age
materials and composites.
36
methods – Ausplas 2011
Tasman Machinery
Will exhibit “the world’s best selling all-electric injection
moulding machine” from Sumitomo Japan. The SE 350
HSZ is a high speed all-electric machine with the most
energy efficient drive system available today. It will be
shown operating with a 3 axis servo driven takeout robot
supplied by Yushin, Japan’s largest manufacturer of takeout
robots. Tasman will also show Dimension 3D printers which
print prototypes from ABS plastic, allowing customers to
dramatically reduce ‘time to market’ for new products.
for the Middle East, one to Malaysia, three to a Victorian
client and a complete turn key profile coating line. Other
large projects are in progress.
Flecknoe
Is exhibiting the latest in thermo forming equipment. Featuring the Thermwood Model 90 5 axis CNC router in operation,
trimming vacuum formed parts. Also the Australian made
Flecknoe Thermoforming/Vacuum forming machine with
programmable platens for ease of operation and quick set up.
More than 50 Flecknoe machines are in use in Australia for
the production of caravan and bus panels, paving moulds,
displays and signage and industrial applications.
Telford Smith Engineering’s Zerma shredder
Becker Pumps
Rear panel of a Winnebago
motor home machined from a
vacuum formed sheet on a Flecknoe machine.
Is the distributor for Gebr.Becker GmbH Germany whose
oil free pumps are used in facets of plastics processing,
for example in vacuum forming where a deeper vacuum
is required. Becker will display a Flecknoe HS-43 single
station thermo former controlled by their oil free vacuum
pump. Pumps and compressors for all types of moulding
processes and materials handling applications.
Unique Hydra Mech
Will show a Grantway 200 ton servo drive injection moulding machine operating with a Tenso robot time. The Tenso
robot can be used for applications including pick and place,
stacking, insert moulding and in mould labelling.
Injection moulding machinery and technology will also
be featured by Wittman- Battenfeld, Applied Machinery,
Sound Machinery, Macosys LG and others from Europe,
Japan and China.
Telford Smith Engineering
TSE has sold over 20 Zerma shredders in the last 18 months
used for consumer waste, in house scrap, pipe shredding,
foam and bedding, film, timber and car tyres. They will
display a Zerma Model ZSS 1500 heavy duty shredder,
Zerma granulators, Gala under water pelletising systems
and Shini ancillary equipment.
TSE has established a wholly owned manufacturing
facility in China where it produces extruders for the world
market. Orders for their extruders have kept their production near capacity for the last 18 months. These include two
Becker's range of oil free pumps.
Kaesar Compressors
Will showcase their new SK25 AirCenter and special booster
specific applications for the plastics industry. The SK25 is
an ideal choice for smaller businesses and workshops where
space is at a premium. They have a small footprint and wide
opening cabinet doors to allow easy maintenance. Kaesar
is a world leader in the supply of compressed air and are
able to deliver more energy with less cost.
37
Plastics
Fabrication
There are a number of companies exhibiting equipment
and know how in the field of plastics fabrication. Some
examples are:
Fusion Hire Services (FHS) is an agent for Munsch extrusion welders, Forsthoff Hot Air Welders, OMISA butt
welders and Ritmo butt welding equipment.
FHS Poly Pipe Engineering, one of the largest customer
fabrication workshops in Australia, stocks a huge range of
pipe and fittings. They also produce fabricated bends, elbows,
tees junctions and crosses and have a comprehensive range
of plastics welding equipment for hire.
Fusion Hire Services Munsch extrusion welder.
Cut To Size Plastics will display its full range of engineering plastics in sheet, rod and tube sourced from European
suppliers and will exhibit examples of their CNC machining capabilities on CNC routers and machine centres, all
machined in-house in Sydney. It has added a new supplier
from Canada, Thordon Plastics well known for heavy duty
bearings and marine applications.
Plastral Pty Ltd is the agent for Leister Process Technologies and Ritmo Welding Technologies. it will exhibit
plastics welding equipment and hot air tools, including hot
air welders and extrusion welders used in the fabrication
of thermoplastic sheeting and pipe systems as well as heat
sources. Also the full range of Simona and the new Ensinger
engineering plastics.
Trimfix Supplies / Complete Plastic Welding Supplies specialise in plastics welding equipment, tools and technology.
It is an Australian agent for Wegener Sheet butt welding and
bending equipment, as well as hot air and extrusion welders.
At Ausplas, Wegener will operate a three meter sheet
welder demonstrating sheet welding for the first time. This
equipment is on loan from Partec in Brisbane, the expert
training centre for the plastics fabrication sector and which
will be providing expert staff over the course of the show.
Westaflex / Uniflex (Aust) offers a complete manufacturing
service of either injection moulding or blow moulding using
one of the most modern facilities in Australia. Their large
blow moulder is one of the largest (if not the largest) of its
type in the Southern Hemisphere, being able to mould a
part up to 1400ltrs, size-dependent. The injection moulders
fully robotic and feed materials via a Piovan material handling and drying system.
In addition to the moulding, Westaflex Plastics can also provide
a complete tool and die making service
Cut to Size Plastics will show full range of engineering plastics.
38
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entry badge, visit www.ausplas.com
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39
Plastics
Aussie made Flecknoe machines
600 little red races later and the industry are racing to Flecknoe for their
equipment and expertise. It’s little wonder as Flecknoe makes the majority of their
machines in Australia ensuring that local parts and service are readily available.
uring Ausplas 2008, plastics industry exhibition, the Flecknoe
stand was one of the most visited, during which they moulded and gave away
upwards of 600 toy red car mouldings.
Everyone at the show seemed to be
carrying them. These models demonstrated the moulding capability of the
fast, effective and reliable Flecknoe
thermoforming machines.
Flecknoe was awarded best stand at
Ausplas in Melbourne during October
2008. Phil Kitney says that business
since the show has been brisk. “Our
thermoformers are installed across the
country for the moulding of small to
large parts,” he said. Flecknoe manufactures and distributes a large range of
machinery and tools for all aspects of
thermoforming and plastic fabrication.
Flecknoe makes and sells thermoformers and vacuum fomers to form
all types of materials and products.
They also supply Thermwood 5-Axis
CNC Routers for mould construction
and part trimming. Onsrud cutters are
used for all types of material machined
on the CNC Routers.
Warringah Plastics recently installed
new Flecknoe equipment. “The equipment we chose was a 2009 Australian
design and built Flecknoe thermoforming machine. As Australian manufacturers, we like dealing with fellow Australian manufacturers and Phil Kitney from
Flecknoe understands thermoforming
and can relate to what we need from our
thermoforming equipment,” said Sam
Santana, general manager, Warringah
Plastics. However as a result of Ausplas a
number of overseas visitors are showing
considerable interest in the Australian
made thermoformers culminating in
sales to the USA.
40
The 1200 Flecknoe machine
“The Australian Made logo is working for us too. Local manufacturers
respect our built-in quality machines
and are glad to support a local manufacturing supplier,” he added.
Flecknoe’s common machine sizes
include:
l 800 X 600 commonly used for
mouldings like the concrete pavers
with the mould textured for concrete
pavers.
l
1500 X 900 typically for internal
signage.
l
2400 X 1200 ideally for external
signage for advertising fast food
outlets.
l
1200 X 800 and 1200 X 1200 ma-
chines are best suited for the moulding of point of purchase signs.
l
3000 X 2500 formers are generally
selected for the moulding of large
transport panels for buses and caravans, as an example.
“One of our greatest strengths is that
our machines are designed to reduce cycle times, minimise rejects and improve
repeatability, leading to increased profits and international competitiveness
for our customers,” said Kitney.
“Our latest range of vacuum formers and thermformers over the past
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Plastics
four years include the incorporation of SMC Pneumatics and inside each
machine are quality
SMC components
precisely controlling
and moving parts. This is
the strength of Flecknoe,” he added.
Manufacturers can quickly and easily change platen position to set up different sized moulds without operators
having to crawl inside the machine to
make changes. The pneumatic move
provides greater speed, higher duty
cycle with a secure lock into position
and is faster and less dangerous for
the operator.
The new pneumatic system gives
long-term trouble-free operation that
adequately meets the demands of the
industry. SMC ability to provide cylinders, pressure switches and other devices in suitable sizes without changing
basic design elements has been beneficial in meeting customer requirements.
Replacing old outdated machines
with Flecknoe trouble free units has
helped their customers to be more
profitable and competitive, particularly important in these challenging
economic times.
Thermoformers
Flecknoe, with technology partner
Monark USA, is the first high-end manufacturer of cut-sheet thermoforming
equipment, virtually 100% produced in
Australia using agile, innovative Australian design concepts. Flecknoe's vast
experience and Monark's diversified
experience in the USA ensures stateof-the-art technology for Australian
and Asian industries. Flecknoe can
design and manufacture thermoforming processes and equipment with
capacity for basic to advanced forming
techniques. They can provide advice
on: project viability; material selection
and total process management, from
a simple single station drape former
to high speed twin sheet six station
rotary thermoformer, incorporating
PLC Control with HMI Interface and
the accuracy of full infrared sensing.
Vacuum formers
The company says they offer the best
and most cost-effective option to buying used, unwarranted machinery or
rebuilding outdated machinery.
42
A motor vehicle
dashboard moulded
by Flexnoe
They can design and manufacture
vacuum forming equipment with capacity for basic to advanced forming
techniques.
Clamp frames
Flecknoe machines are fitted with either
aluminium extruded clamp frames or
the heavy-duty pin bar design. Aluminium extrusion clamp frames are the
standard on all of their small to medium
machines ensuring lighter, easy to handle equipment. Pin bar clamp frames
are used on larger or more specialised
machines. The pin bar design has two
major advantages: spring loaded pins
and cam-lock mechanism. They are
specialists in the design, manufacture
and retro-fitting of aluminium extrusion and pin bar pneumatically operated
clamp frames.
CNC routers
Flecknoe has supplied and installed
Thermwood 5 Axis CNC Routers
throughout Australasia including New
Zealand, Singapore, China and Australia and has factory-trained specialists available to support any installation
in any market. Five axis CNC Routers
have become the accepted method of
trimming three-dimensional plastic
parts. CNC Routers increase productivity, reduce cost and improve quality.
The only drawback has been that a
decent machine has been expensive...
until now! Thermwood specialises in
three axis and five-axis CNC routers. It
built the first CNC router in the world
and has since spent millions of dollars developing the latest CNC router
technology. Thermwood offers over
30 features and capabilities not available elsewhere. The five-axis offers
full five-axis simultaneous motion,
five-axis tool length compensation,
constant tip speed and built-in CAD
path generating capability. Thermwood
offers two basic types of five-axis CNC
routers. The Model 67, a moving table,
fixed gantry machine and the Model 70,
a fixed table moving gantry machine.
Programs developed off line with a
CAD/CAM system are only as good
as the ability of the router to execute
them. The Model 67 is laser calibrated
to assure the highest level of position
accuracy. Laser alignment and calibration is generally reserved for multimillion dollar aerospace machines.
3D Printers
Flecknoe is an Australasian distributor
of Z Corporation 3D Printers.
3D Printers help users build speed
and efficiency into their design process
and the highest quality into their products. The printers are professional,
complete physical modelling solutions
delivering full-colour communication.
What's more, they are fast, convenient
and easy to operate, allowing users to
accelerate the design process and get
their products to market ahead of the
competition. Users already know that
speed is the most valuable element in
the design and manufacturing process.
Z Corp.'s 3D Printers deliver parts in
1-2 hours instead of days, fuelling immediate feedback and decision-making.
This process acceleration will allow
users to design and sell products more
competitively. Flecknoe’s full-colour
printing systems give engineers a
clearer window into the design process.
Colour conveys important information
about parts, including engineering data,
labelling, and highlighting and appearance simulation. This functionality
gives designers the data they need to
create and collaborate more effectively throughout the design process.
Flecknoe Pty Ltd - 08 9354 9393
SOSAugust_2:Layout 2
20/7/10
10:11 AM
Page 1
Plastics
Can plastics
generate electricity?
t's been said that if you build a better mousetrap the world
will beat a path to your door. So what happens if you build
a better light bulb? Or something that is not strictly speaking a
light bulb, but provides illumination nonetheless? Something
that can be applied to ceilings and walls to emit light, or even
to roofs to generate electricity? Something made from plastic?
This is the world of plastics electronics, an advanced field
of polymer science that pundits say is on the verge of global
commercialisation, based on groundbreaking work, much
of which is being done in Australia. At the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in
Melbourne, theme leader for flexible electronics Dr Gerry
Wilson sees applications like lighting and solar power as the
stimulus for new manufacturing initiatives locally. "From the
CSIRO's point of view, the reason we embarked on this four
or five years ago was on the premise of what we could do to
transform part of the manufacturing industry in Australia,"
Dr Wilson said.
Plastics electronics applications being developed by the
CSIRO are designed to enable existing manufacturers to
"ease them into something in the future that will pretty much
have no barriers to entry." Dr Wilson said a lot of the work in
plastic electronics in recent years had been dominated by the
development of so-called OLED screens, or Organic Light
Emitting Diodes for use in high definition televisions and
screens on mobile phones and E-readers and similar hand
held devices. While OLED screens are already popular in
mobile phones and in certain automotive applications, he said
commercialisation of the supreme OLED application was
close. "The Holy Grail of OLED, and it's not that far away,
is a fully high definition television screen that you can roll
up and put in your pocket," he said.
Clearly, market applications like flexible hand held devices
and cheap, easily applied solar cells underpin a market that
looks set to grow exponentially. A December 2009 report
titled "Plastic Electronics Strategy for Success: Realising
the UK Potential" estimated that the global market for plastics electronics was valued at almost $2bn and could grow
to $120bn by 2020. However the road ahead is not without
potholes. Late last month Toshiba ditched plans for a factory
that would have spat out 1.5 million Organic Light Emitting
Diode (OLED) displays for mobile phones per month in favour of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD). Choosing the right
application is critical and it's a theme that's at the forefront
of work being done by Dr David Jones of the University of
Melbourne's Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute.
Dr Jones is working with industry through the Victorian
Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) on plasticised
solar panels that can be affixed to roofing materials. "Our
major industry partner is BlueScope Steel and they would
obviously like the solar cells attached to its Colorbond roofing material when it is sold," he said. Dr Jones and the VICOSC partners are looking to make the process as easy as
possible for industry to implement, just like his counterpart
at the CSIRO. "They won't have to spend millions to build a
new plant," Dr Wilson said. "If they have a high tech printing machine, they can do it."
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43
Plastics
Impregnating plastics with CO2
here can’t be many people who
don’t believe that carbon dioxide is
responsible for global warming. But the
gas also has some positive characteristics. Researchers are now impregnating
plastics with compressed CO2 in a process that could lead to new applications
ranging from coloured contact lenses to
bacteria-resistant door handles.
CO2 is more than just a waste product. In fact, it has a variety of uses:
the chemical industry makes use of
this coluorless gas to produce urea,
methanol and salicylic acid. Urea is a
fertilizer, methanol is a fuel additive,
and salicylic acid is an ingredient in
aspirin.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and
Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen Germany are pursuing a new
idea by testing how carbon dioxide can
be used to impregnate plastics. At a
temperature of 30.1 degrees Celsius and
a pressure of 73.8 bar, CO2 goes into a
supercritical state that gives the gas solvent-like properties. In this state, it can
be introduced into polymers, or act as a
“carrier” in which dyes, additives, medical compounds and other substances can
be dissolved. “We pump liquid carbon
dioxide into a high-pressure container
with the plastic components that are to
All-electric injection moulding
machines improve efficiencies
A continually growing Renewable Energy industry is increasing demand for plastic components necessary
in applications ranging from wind power generation to solar cells. However, producing these components
with hydraulic injection moulding machines often consumes large amounts of energy. Not only does
this counteract the purpose of building renewable energy products, it also presents high costs for the
moulder, which are in turn passed along to the customer. Andy Stirn explains.
new injection moulding technology offers a much
more energy-efficient, cost-saving means of producing plastic parts. All-electric machines can optimise the
moulding process for the highest part productivity, quality
and operational profitability – all while using significantly
less energy. One machine in particular, the PowerPAK from
Milacron, is more than 50-60% more energy efficient than
competitive hydraulic machines.
The machine has the following sustainable benefits for
processors:
• Energy efficiency
• Clean operations.
• Low carbon footprint versus many competitive models.
• Lower dB levels.
• Lower operation costs.
• Lower installation costs.
• Local service support and extensive parts support through
SERVTEK.
Flexibility of Options
The PowerPAK is an electric-based machine with selectable
axis configuration (SAC). The new model is available as
an all-electric on all four machine axes (clamp, injection,
ejection, extruder), a configuration offering the highest
efficiency.
However, for certain applications, the machine can be
configured to include a combination of the ejector and injection axes as hydraulic. The clamp and extruder remains
‘all electric’ on all model configurations. The final design
44
of the machine is based upon the customer application,
offering processors huge flexibility with machine design.
Initial models are available in sizes of 440 and 550 US
tons of clamping force, and Milacron has plans to also
offer models up to 1,125 tons. The machine is especially
well suited for high-speed/thin-wall applications. It offers
optimum reliability from high performance actuators,
eliminating expensive servo valves & oil contamination. It
can be used with a wide range of shot sizes, extruder sizes,
pressures & injection rates. It’s also stack mould capable.
PowerPAK has a greaseless tie bar design, using a linear bearing guidance system with an optional greaseless
stack mould centre carrier system. Its ‘walk-up’ design
allows easy access to high cavitation tooling.
Greenmoore Enterprises Pty. Ltd. - 03 973-80200
[email protected]
Plastics
be impregnated, then steadily increase
the temperature and the pressure until
the gas reaches the supercritical state.
When that state is reached, we increase
the pressure further. At 170 bar, pigment
in powder form dissolves completely
in the CO2 and then diffuses with the
gas into the plastic. The whole process
only takes a few minutes. When the
container is opened, the gas escapes
through the surface of the polymer but
the pigment stays behind and cannot
subsequently be wiped off,” explains
Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Renner, a scientist
at Fraunhofer UMSICHT.
In tests, the researchers have even
managed to impregnate polycarbonate
with nanoparticles that give it antibacterial properties. E-coli bacteria, placed
on the plastic’s surface in the institute’s own high-pressure laboratory,
were killed off completely – a useful
function that could be applied to door
handles impregnated with the same
nanoparticles. Tests conducted with
silica and with the anti-inflammatory
active pharmaceutical ingredient flurbiprofen were also successful. “Our
process is suitable for impregnating
partially crystalline and amorphous
polymers such as nylon, TPE, TPU,
PP and polycarbonate,” states Renner,
“but it cannot be applied to crystalline
polymers.”
The process holds enormous potential, as carbon dioxide is non-flammable,
non-toxic and inexpensive. Whilst it
shows solvent-like properties, it does
not have the same harmful effects on
health and on the environment as the
solvents that are used in paints, for example. Painted surfaces are also easily
damaged and are not scratch-resistant.
Conventional processes for impregnating plastics and giving them new functions have numerous drawbacks. Injection moulding, for instance, does not
permit the introduction of heat-sensitive
substances such as fire retardants or UV
stabilisers. Many dyes change colour;
purple turns black. “Our method allows us to customise high-value plastic
components and lifestyle products such
as mobile phone shells.
The best thing about it is that the
colour, additive or active ingredient is
introduced into layers near the surface
at temperatures far below the material’s
melting point, in an environmentally
friendly manner that does away with
the need for aggressive solvents ,” says
Renner. The process could, for example,
be used to dye contact lenses – and
lenses could even be enriched with
pharmaceutical compounds that would
then be slowly released to the eye
throughout the day, representing an
alternative to repeated applications of
eye drops for the treatment of glaucoma.
According to Renner, this new impregnation method is suitable for a broad
range of new applications.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
+49 89 1205-0
www.fraunhofer.de
45
Be one of the first to see what’s new in
Advanced Manufacturing
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contacts in one place
Learn about the latest products and services
designed to help grow your business
Combining with National Manufacturing Week and ausplas
for australia’s largest ever manufacturing industry event
Find out more, and register to visit at
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46
Austech 2011
australia’s premier advanced Manufacturing
& Machine tool exhibition
24th – 27th May 2011
Melbourne Convention & exhibition Centre
south Wharf, Melbourne
RN8919
suppoRtiNg paRtNeRs & spoNsoRs
47
Cutting Tools
Innovations for turning exotic materials
The turning of stainless steels, superalloys and other ‘difficult’ materials grows less difficult
all the time, as a result of equipment improvements and refinements in High Pressure
Coolant (HPC) machining practices. It can become easier for you as well. In many such
applications with flood or low pressure coolant and advanced tooling, throughput gains of
20% or more are reported, together with a doubling of edge life. In addition, when you
turn the pressure up to the 70-300 bar range, you increase potential gains by another big
step. In fact, with proper HPC practices and tooling, you can routinely expect order-of
magnitude gains in edge life and/or hourly output.
irst let’s take a brief look at some recent key improvements for turning the exotic superalloys, stainless steels
and titanium materials.
l A drop-in in retooling of a rough turning operation on
316L stainless steel extended tool life from 4 to nearly 10
parts per edge, despite running the part 20% faster. The
insert which provided the advantage was coated with the
new ISCAR 6015 grade. The job ran with conventional
flood coolant.
l Likewise, turning of hard superalloys has been improved
with a new ISCAR IW7 whisker-reinforced ceramic insert
that performs well even in roughing applications. Indeed,
these inserts have enabled eight- to ten-fold improvements
in roughing and semi-finishing removal rates compared
with carbide inserts. The new ceramic insert has withstood cutting speeds high enough to heat and soften hard
materials such as Stellite, and performed reliably enough
to permit unattended turning of superalloys.
given the innovative SUMO TEC post coating treatment,
pioneered by Iscar, which has proven to improve performance
more than 30% over all grades and applications. Following
soon will be an IC6025 grade, with the same features and
geometry suited for M15-25 conditions (roughing/interrupted cuts). See figure 1
Controlling heat, managing chips
Such gains stem mainly from better control of heat and
chip formation in these gummy, long-chipping nickel- and
cobalt-based alloys, made possible through advanced insert
design. Even without HPC, the driving strategy in insert
design for these materials is to provide a very sharp edge,
slippery, heat resistant coatings and aggressive chipbreakers.
That combination quickly breaks up the chip and propels it
away from the insert and cutting zone before it can adhere
to the cutting edge, overheat the insert or clutter up the
tool-workpiece interface with chips that create re-cutting
conditions.
Remember, chips can be much harder and more brittle
than the base metal, compounding the damage caused by
re-cutting. With HPC in the picture, coolant (boiling point
350o C.) remains in the liquid phase, thereby maintaining
its lubricity, cooling power and chip-flushing capacity.
Moreover, the flow rate under true HPC conditions is high
enough to create a ‘hydraulic wedge’ in the cutting zone,
significantly reducing friction and all its consequences.
Tools for the times
Now let’s look more closely at the new tooling that makes
turning difficult materials less difficult. Iscar’s IC 6015
insert features the aggressive M-style chipformers and a
SUMO TEC CVD coating that improves flaking and chipping resistance in M 10-20 cutting conditions (continuous
cuts/finishing cuts/stable conditions). The entire insert is
48
Fig 1: The new IC6025 grade, is suitable for M15-25 conditions
(roughing/interrupted cuts).
HELITURN and HELITURN LD inserts bring the highpositive, helical-edge, high-feed, double-sided benefits to
turning of stainless steel, nickel based alloys and titanium.
The LD versions feature the sharp edge and aggressive HM
and M4MW chipformers that make such a difference in
gummy materials. The helical edge creates a more gentle
entry and exit and helps reduce breakout at those points in
a cut. Throughput and edge life aside, their high rake angle
has also proven to reduce power requirements by 10%.
Unlike most ceramic inserts, the new Iscar IW7 whiskered ceramic grade handles roughing, semi-finishing cuts on
superalloys. The extra-hard basic alumina insert provides
extreme wear resistance in hard materials, and the SiC whiskers
add the shock resistance. The insert can withstand machining heat well enough to last at speeds that soften the metal
in the cutting zone. Turbomachinery manufacturers report
substantial improvements with the IW7 over other ceramics
in Inconel 718 and Waspalloy. See figure 2
Cutting
tools
lead to higher productivity
HPC tools are indispensable to truly optimal performance; standard through tool coolant systems simply are not
adequate. The main differences are twofold: (1) where and
how precisely they pinpoint the stream as it leaves the tool
and (2) orifice diameter to deliver the correct pressure at
the exit point. It is like the difference between true power
washing and spraying with a garden hose. See figure 3
Fig 2: Turbomachinery manufacturers report substantial
improvements with the IW7 over other ceramics in Inconel 718
and Waspalloy.
HPC
While we have all heard about the promise of high pressure
coolant (HPC) machining, we may have shied away from it
because of the added equipment cost and uncertainties of
an “untried” technology. Let’s take a look at these issues:
Untried? The technique is well proven among the aerospace,
powergen and turbomachinery industries. On one hand,
experienced practitioners report two- and three-fold gains in
machining rate with no loss in edge life. Others mainly concerned about edge life, report up to sevenfold improvements
at equal removal rates. These are actual results on ID and OD
work on titanium and Inconel turbomachinery parts, titanium
airframe parts and a variety of stainless steel components.
Added equipment cost and availability? This was true
in the early years, but not now. When first introduced in
the ‘50s, there were no spindles fast enough or coolant
pumps powerful enough to make the process workable on
the shop floor. However, today most machine tool providers routinely offer optional high speed spindles and high
pressure pumps. High Speed Machining is more the norm
than the exception, in industries that must contend with
stainless steel and superalloys.
HPC-ready tooling
Now “HPC-ready” tooling has become more widely available. While providing the geometries and physical properties tailored to particular difficult-to-machine materials,
true HPC tooling such as the ISCAR JETHP line also
features the means to deliver coolant through the tool
and discharges it in a tight, laser-like stream, aimed directly into the cutting and secondary shear zones. This is
critical. There it cools, lubricates, creates the hydraulic
wedge effect and quenches the chips so they break up into
compact, manageable curls. On its passage from reservoir
to cutting zone, the coolant also lowers the temperature of
tool and insert. True HPC tooling is specifically designed
for 70-300 bar pressures.
Fig3: HPC tooling such as the ISCAR JETHP line features the
means to deliver coolant through the tool and discharge it
directly into the cutting and secondary shear zones.
Benefiting from experience
Experienced HPC practitioners have learned enough about
the process to provide tips for newcomers. Here are a few
to help you get started on the right foot:
l Use carbide tooling. Ceramic and CBN tools do not deliver the same degree of improvement in the HPC realm.
l Direct the coolant through the tool. Don’t take a “flood
coolant approach” with a HPC coolant stream. You’ll
just make a mess, create an employee hazard and miss
out on the main benefits of the practice in the first place.
l If you need more cooling power (i.e. the coolant is vaporizing or chips aren’t flushing well enough), turn up the
flow rate, not the pressure. This way is far more cost
effective.
l How to estimate coolant requirements? A good rule of
thumb is 0.5gpm/horsepower. For example, a cut requiring
10hp will need 5gpm to achieve the high pressure effect.
If you are still having difficulty turning those materials,
look around. Better answers, including today’s HPC machining, are more readily available for the asking. Your competitor may have found them already. ISCAR’s many solutions
for handling difficult-to-machine materials can improve your
productivity in a big way. The key can be found by contacting ISCAR’s experts, who will help you to with the right
machining strategy for your specific application.
Iscar - 02 8848 3500
www.iscar.com.au
49
Cutting Tools
Enormous savings parting-off
At Leser GmbH & Co KG, a component is parted off every 15 seconds, making parting-off one
of the most important machining processes. As part of a streamlining project, the production
managers were on the look out for new, more efficient parting tools offering a high level of
process reliability – Walter Cut made the grade.
afety valves are required for any application in which liquids and gases
are held under pressure, such as in the
chemical and petrochemical industries.
Their purpose is to protect mankind,
nature and the installation. Among the
leading manufacturers of this type of
equipment is Leser GmbH & Co. KG.
The Hamburg-based company has seen
rising demand for a number of years
now. Standardisation measures are also
fuelling an increase in the quantities of
many individual parts. A few years ago,
Leser undertook to meet this growth by
modernising its machinery pool at its
Hohenwestedt production location, an
hour's drive to the north of Hansestadt.
The inner workings of safety valves
consist mostly of rotationally symmetrical parts, such as spindles, inlet
bodies, spring plates, seat bushings,
vent caps, etc. For this reason, Leser
invested mainly in new lathes. This
brought with it an important improvement: complete machining. Turned
parts that used to be processed on various machines and repeatedly clamped
and unclamped are now produced in
a single clamping arrangement. This
saves an enormous amount of time.
The company currently operates twelve
high-performance lathe centres with
bar feed and automatic parts handling.
After the machinery pool had been
revamped, the production managers set
their sights on other cost drivers. They
recognised above all that their tooling
inventory was in need of optimising
and initiated a project to reduce tool
costs. With their projected scale of
savings, the valve specialists had set
themselves an ambitious target. To
meet this target, it would be necessary
to improve machining processes and
introduce new high-performance and
longer-lasting tools where needed.
As most components are produced
from bar stock, parting-off was also on
the list of processes under examination.
A component is parted off every 15
50
A component is parted off every 15 seconds at Leser seconds. For maximum cost efficiency,
the cutting tool material, geometry,
workpiece material and cutting data
must all be perfectly matched. In the
past, processes would often be interrupted by premature tool wear – a major problem for a modern production
plant. “We have a three-shift system
in place. Our 12 lathes are operated
by only four or five employees. To
be able to produce without any loss
of time, we have to rely on tools that
offer maximum process reliability,”
stresses Jochen Lindemann, Manager
of the cost-cutting project.
Universal solution for the
parting-off process
At first, a number of trials were conducted using familiar tools. Jochen
Lindemann then discovered Walter
Cut, the solution from Tübingen-based
Walter AG. “The information about the
tooling system and the manufacturer's
cost-effectiveness calculations made us
want to know more,” recalls the Project
Manager. “So we decided to put those
claims to the test.”
At LESER, trials with new tools
and possible conversions take place
in accordance with a fixed schedule.
A viability appraisal is followed by
a two-stage trial phase consisting of
quick and real-time testing to observe
how the theory works in practice. If
both stages are passed successfully,
a “phase-out strategy” for the legacy
tools is “organised”. This procedure
prevents different tooling systems for
one and the same purpose remaining
in service for any significant period of
time. Benefit: handling in production is
standardised, and handling errors are
minimised.
The results of the par ting-off
tests were unequivocal. Walter Cut
emerged as the new benchmark. Due
to the substantial cutting depths, the
company opted for parting blades for
single-edged cutting plates from the
FX line having an insert width of 3
mm (see photo). The original two-sided
blades were shortened on one side,
which enabled them to be clamped in
the existing adapters. As almost all
parts at Leser are made from stainless
Cutting
Typical
components for
safety valves
parted off bar
stock using
Walter Cut.
The material is
usually stainless
steel 1.4404.
Photo: Läpple
steels 1.4404 and 1.4122, the project
managers decided in favour of the
particularly tough and reliable WSP43
cutting material grade from the PVDTiger•tec range. “This cutting tool
material is suitable for material groups
ISO-P, ISO-M and ISO-S,” explains
Sven-Ole Berg, technical consultant
at Walter. “It can therefore be used
in any application.” As a result, the
machinist gets by with the one cutting
material grade even when materials
other than 1.4404 and 1.4122 are being
processed. The same applies to the
selected geometry. This produces perfectly formed chips in all situations,
which is a fundamental prerequisite
for high process reliability.
Since then, the valve specialists
in Hohenwestedt have switched over
completely to the Tübingen tool manufacturer's parting-off system, leaving
behind those excessively long parting
blades. For shallower cutting depths of
down to no more than 24mm, produc-
tion planning is instead putting its faith
in the GX line of double-sided parting
inserts with monoblock toolholders.
Higher cutting data and
increased tool life quantities
The high-performance Tiger•tec cutting tool material made it possible to
increase cutting speed Vc from 120m/
minute to 150m/minute and feed f from
0.12mm to 0.15mm. This gave programmers quite a bit of work to do. Around
600 NC programs had to be revised.
Good news, though, for machine operators: despite the higher cutting data,
tool life quantities have increased from
around 50 to 70 parts.
Indeed, for the machining department, the cost-cutting project has fully
paid off, not only in terms of the overall
result but also in respect of parting-off
as an individual operation. According
to LESER, the original savings target
was met and significantly exceeded.
With approximately 20% of the overall
ratio, the parting-off share turned out
tools
to be surprisingly high. The amount
includes savings from shorter production times as well as from increased
tool life quantities.
Parting-off therefore belongs to the
group of individual processes with the
most savings potential. The greatest
cost reduction was delivered by an improvement in drilling and boring operations.Close behind was the parting-off
process together with threading and
deburring by milling pin. The result
reaffirms the significance of an often
overlooked operation.
Tools are just one side of the story,
practical support of the machinists is
another. At Walter, great importance
is also placed on the latter. The availability of technical consultants is a key
aspect of this philosophy. In addition,
Walter's Product Management has devised something quite special: a series
of pocket-sized user guides for individual processes, such as parting-off,
grooving and recessing. “The handy
user guide is always within reach. It's a
welcome source of reference if ever we
have questions about a particular aspect
of the technology,” confirms Carsten
Trede, responsible for the issuing and
precalibration of tools.
The guide is essentially a catalogue
and technical manual in one. The technical manual part is designed to answer
whatever questions the practicioner may
have. It contains a wealth of information
on topics such as cutting data, chip
formation, wear detection, etc. The data
it contains are up-to-date with current
engineering practices.
Walter
www.LESER.com
Safety valves made in Germany
Walter's FX grooving inserts, made from
the WSP43 PVD-Tiger•tec® cutting tool
material, produce perfectly wound chips.
Leser GmbH & Co. KG was originally founded in 1818 as a brass foundry. The
company initially supplied general mechanical components for assembly in
final machinery. In 1885, it produced its first safety valves for steam boilers.
In the 1970s, it began to specialise in this product area. Industrial demand for
safety valves accelerated over time, while the products themselves underwent
continuous development. Since then, Leser has become the largest safety valve
manufacturer in Europe.
With subsidiaries in Brazil, France, Poland, Singapore, Bahrain, India and the
USA, Leser is a globally active concern and staffs more than 550 employees.
The company has its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. At the Hohenwestedt
location to the north of Hamburg, the firm operates a modern production facility
with 230 workers.
The product range currently offers 38 models of safety valve in the diameter
range DN10 to DN400 or 12mm to 406mm. Annual production has reached
90,000 units.
51
Cutting Tools
40 years in the business in Australia
Companies operating in everything from airframes to coal mining, from engines to oil
wells and from turbochargers to construction recognise Kennametal for extraordinary
contributions to their value chains. In fiscal year 2009, customers bought approximately
$2bn worth of products and services from Kennametal —delivered by nearly 12,000
employees doing business in more than 60 countries—with more than 50% of these
revenues coming from outside North America. AMT talks to John Chang, Vice President of
Sales, and Managing Director of Kennametal Inc. for the Asia region about Kennametal’s
plans for the region and its latest developments.
By Martin Oakham
ohn, what are your dominant sectors
here in Australia? “Kennametal
started its business here around 40
years ago serving primarily the mining
industry. “We have a fairly balanced
portfolio, but it’s basically split up
into two businesses, ‘infrastructure
business’ comprising ‘earthworks and
energy’ segments and our ‘industrial
business’ which is primarily metalworking and includes transportation,
aerospace and general industrial. The
part we don’t hear so much about in
Australia is the earthworks and energy
business which is actually a big piece of
our portfolio – we manufacture a large
number of wear protection products
for the process industries, and are also
very active in the power generation
industry – in fact, anywhere where
there are highly corrosive environments and productivity is critical. A
quarter of our global revenue comes
our earthworks business, which is predominantly underground mining and
In his role, John Chang leads the sales
resources of the Infrastructure and
Industrial Groups to maximise the
company’s profitable growth through
delivering innovative products and
solutions to the aerospace, energy,
earthworks, transportation and
general industrial customers in Asia.
He is also responsible for providing
strategic leadership and building the
in-region infrastructure to support
the accelerated growth expectations
in Asia’s emerging economies.
construction. We serve the vast majority of Australian mines”, answers John
Chang. “We deliver productivity to our
customers seeking peak performance in
demanding environments by providing
innovative custom and standard wearresistant solutions.”
As an example, John explained that
Kennametal manufactures the large
A quarter of
Kennametal’s
global revenue
comes from
its earthworks
business
52
tooling drums used to cut coal from
the walls of a coal mine. “These drums
can be as big as 3.5m in diameter – the
largest we have in Australia is 2.5m
and that’s determined by the composition of the coal content.” Chang explains, the deeper the coal the more
hard and dense it becomes, so you
need improved higher quality tooling
and also in consideration for safety.
Chang explained that the parent rock
becomes very difficult to differentiate
from the dense coal, and if hit without
some form of coolant can spark igniting the inevitable methane gas which
exists as a by-product of any organic
process. Chang further explained that
this was what happened in the recent
New Zealand coal accident.
“We are bringing in a new technology for underground mining that
produces a very fine water spray at the
cutting edge – very similar our ‘beyond
blast ‘ metal cutting insert technology that we have recently launched.
Naturally, this attenuates any sparks
and prevents the chance of explosions
Storage Systems
STORAGE CABINET $250 (T774)
T774
• 900 x 450 x 900mm (WxDxH)
• 2 x moveable shelf with 150kg load capacity
• Key lockable
TOOLING CABINET $750 (T775)
STORAGE CABINET $350 (T790)
INDUSTRIAL STORAGE CABINET $630 (T762)
• 886 x 650 x 1405mm(WxDxH)
• 1 x square hole panel
• 2 x louvered panels
• 3 x shelves
• Double sided with
handle for easy movability
• Large base for
extra storage
• 900 x 450 x 1800mm (LxWxH)
• 2 drawers, 4 shelves
• 3-point key lock on doors
• Drawer 1 - 100mm deep
• Drawer 2 - 200mm deep
• 100kg drawer load capacity
Optional accessories
available
• 900 x 450 x 900mm (WxDxH)
• 75kg per draw capacity
• 6 drawers
• Includes draw safety interlock
T775
HEAVY DUTY WORK BENCH $320 (A420)
A426
• 565 x 653 x 1200mm (WxDxH)
• 7 drawers
• Single key lock design
for safe storage
• Heavy duty work bench
• 1800 x 750 x 900mm table (LxWxH)
• 1000kg load capacity
• 2mm high density laminate on top surface
• 50mm thick chipboard with bullnosed PVC edge
• Screw out adjustable feet
TOOLING CABINET
A420
BACKING PANEL $180 (A426)
• 1733 x 205 x 825mm (WxDxH)
• Top back panels - square holes suits hooks
• Bottom back panels - louvered slots suits
plastic buckets
• Bottom storage tray shelf - for additional storage
• 3 vertical supports - with adjustable clamps
Optional accessories available
to mount to work bench
540 (T764)
$
• 565 x 580 x 750mm (WxDxH)
• 6 drawers
• Single key lock design for safe storage
• Top drawer comes with different size plastic
boxes, all other drawers include moveable
steel dividers
T770
T764
WORK BENCH
• 723 x 653 x 954mm (WxDxH)
• 6 drawers
• 2 fixed & 2 swivel ø125mm caster wheels
• 2000 x 640 x 870mm (LxWxH)
• 3 drawers
• Huge shelf compartment
• Powder coated quality finish
360 (A380)
$
INDUSTRIAL TOOL CHEST $430 (T720)
• 565 x 653 x 954mm (WxDxH)
• 6 drawers
• 2 fixed & 2 swivel ø125mm caster wheels
• 1051 x 445 x 552mm (LxWxH)
• Includes drawer liners
• Key Lockable
• Top Lid has 2 x gas struts
• Ball bearing slides
• 8 Drawers
T768
WORK BENCH $320 (A383)
INDUSTRIAL
ROLLER CABINET $590 (T724)
• 1370 x 510 x 890mm (LxWxH)
• Heavy duty steel construction
• 5 drawers
• 2 x shelf compartments
• Powder coated quality finish
• 1067 x 458 x 1007mm (LxWxH)
• Includes drawer liners
• Key Lockable
• Ball bearing slides
• 7 Drawers
T720
T724
SIDE LOCKER 270 (T726)
T726
$
• 425 x 460 x 1390mm (LxWxH)
• 2 drawers
• 1 shelf
100% Australian owned
Est. 1930
NSW
QLD
1/2 Windsor Rd,
Northmead
626 Boundary Rd,
(02) 9890 9111
Coopers Plains
(07) 3274 4222
VIC
WA
1 Fowler Rd,
41-43 Abernethy Rd,
(03) 9212 4422
(08) 9373 9999
Dandenong
www.machineryhouse.com.au
Belmont
Prices & specifications are subject to change without notification & are valid until 31-03-11. All prices Exclude GST.
53
1_AMTIL_010311
“Setting the standard in quality & value”
Cutting Tools
– so our big focus is always on safety.”
Chang then explained that the safety
philosophy and focus goes right across
the entire company.
A Global Strategy
“Our focus is on our end users and what
their needs are. In terms of our operations here, we are primarily a sales and
support operation. We don’t have any
manufacturing facility in Australia, but
we do have a few suppliers that we work
with primarily on larger components
like mining and construction materials,
where it’s too large for us to ship back
outside for reconditioning rework.”
“In the last two or three years, we
have focused on a strategy of moving
the centre of gravity outside of North
America – we have a large presence
in Europe and over 50 manufacturing
plants around the world. From a production and manufacturing perspective,
around 50% of our business by revenue
is in the Americas and around a third
is in Europe. North America is our
strongest market by volume, but the
fastest growing region in the world is
right here in Australasia. We have five
manufacturing facilities in Asia, three
of which are in China, and one huge one
in Bangalore. We also have a facility
that manufactures surface finishing
solutions just outside Tokyo in Japan.
So under Kennametal’s leadership in
the USA – we are much more global
in thinking and are paying a lot more
attention to the emerging markets and
this part of the world.”
“When we look at the market potential in this country, in just surface
mining alone, it’s a $2bn market. With
that comes a number of other industries
that are going to benefit. One of which
would be rail. We have a lot of potential customers to add to our existing
The ‘Beyond Blast’ platform represents a significant step forward in tooling
development.
base working in related sectors.” By
this John means power generation,
renewables, aerospace etc. The Boeing 787 itself will have a third of its
production in Asia – we have a lot of
customers cutting titanium etc. We
are also developing solutions for composites, for example our orbital tool.”
Kennametal's approach to hole-making
in composite machining is based on a
partnership with Novator AB (Spanga,
Sweden). Here, after creating a small
hole in the stack layer, a "TwinSpin"
spindle revolves the orbital milling
tool to expand the hole cleanly, without
delamination. “You can even drill a
wing assembly in place without the
risk of swarf contamination into the
fuel system for example.”
I expressed my appreciation of the
‘Beyond Blast’ range of tooling which
was first launched at IMTS 2010 and
asked John to tell me a little about it.
“The Beyond Blast platform represents
By channeling coolant through the insert and spraying it directly under the chip you are
getting the maximum cooling effect right where it is needed most
54
a significant step forward in tooling
development. Like all such developments, it is the result of many dedicated
people in many specialties: materials
science, mechanical engineering, powerful CAD modelling and sophisticated
CNC controls. For example, an insert is
basically mounted onto a daisy wheel
cutter type, with the coolant coming up
through the insert so that it blasts right
up under the chip, keeping the cutting
edge much cooler than it could by simply spraying coolant at the cutting edge
from above the chip. On traditional
setups, the chip simply carries most
of the coolant away with it. By channeling coolant through the insert and
spraying it directly under the chip you
are getting the maximum cooling effect
right where it is needed most,ensuring
better cutting performance through
more efficient coolant delivery, heat
transfer, lubricity, and chip control.”
In addition, coolant only comes out on
the edge or quadrant doing the cutting.
Inserts remain indexable for maximum
use. When future histories of tooling
development and manufacturing technology are written, I’m sure this will
stand out as a significant milestone.
“When we launched it at IMTS it
was a big buzz. At Jimtof, distributors
were lining up ready to place orders.
Of course we are in the trial mode at
this point, but so far it’s been very
good. We’ve been trialing primarily
with titanium because of the growth
of its use in the aerospace sector. If
too much heat travels back into the
Performance Unequalled...
with chatter-free milling
Performance Unequalled...
The Harmony range of endmills represents world’s
latest technologies to provide increases in both
performance and tool life. The key to successful
milling is to minimize or eliminate the harmonic
vibration produced in the cutting action.
The Harmony Endmill overcomes vibration, through
the latest technologies in tool engineering:
- Premium Grade Carbide
- AlCrN Coating
- 35/38º Variable Helix
- 45º Corner Chamfering
- Gash grind of the endteeth
- Post grind treatment of cutting edges
The Bottom Line For You:
• Longer tool life
• Improved surface finish
• Increased productivity
• Reduced production costs
endmills
for an on-site demonstration contact
Sutton Tools on 1800 335 350
100% Australian Owned
www.sutton.com.au
55
Cutting Tools
component itself it creates an issue with
grain structure. The airline industry
in particular cannot afford this as it
makes the material more brittle leading
it to fail under cyclic performance”,
adds Chang.
“When we do strategic planning
we tend to look out for the trends – for
example, there has been a heightened
interest in clean energy – this includes
fuel efficient aircraft engines, clean
coal technology, nuclear energy, wind
and solar energy, hybrid cars and environmentally friendly aircraft (defined
as reduced carbon emissions per passenger) – all leading to opportunities
that we need to get in front of because
they often require new materials, new technologies, new
applications and operating
environments. Titanium
is a good example of this,
so are composites.” says
Chang.
“When we design new
products, we also try to cannibalise them ourselves. We believe
that if we don’t continually improve
tool life in excess of 25%, someone
else will come and eat our lunch – in
our industry if it's only 10% better it’s
not worth our customers looking at.”
I understand that you have a structured distribution network branching
out from Singapore which feeds warehouses in strategic locations around
Australia, but can you tell me if you
are planning to expand your supply
chains in the near future?
“Part of the challenge we have is
that we have over 80,000 customers in
the world, so not every customer will
have the same requirements - obviously we don’t stock everything in our
warehouses all at once. Sometimes, if
we have a distribution partner, they
will carry strategic inventory so that
they can operate effectively – they
then back fill to replace the stock.
We also have our supply chain tooling management system, ToolBOSS,
which is a tooling dispenser, much like
a Coca-Cola dispensing machine that
resides at the customers’ premises.”
The ToolBOSS system integrates with
a company’s supply-chain service to
cut tooling inventory, decrease spending on tooling, reduce administrative
costs, and gain continuous improvements by gathering and analysing tool
usage data.
56
Better cutting
performance
can be
achieved
through more
efficient
coolant
delivery,
heat transfer,
lubricity, and
chip control.
Kennametal manufactures the large
tooling drums used to cut coal from the
walls of a coal mine.
“We have the capability to retrieve
the information wirelessly for input into
an electronic ordering system. So not
only does it provide timely tool availability, it also gives a good measurement
of utilisation and shift productivity. You
can also match tool usage to the number
of components machined to determine
where, if any, your issues lie. We can
also use that information to come in and
optimise your production using our six
sigma and lean tools. In fact, we have
customers that have outsourced all their
tooling management to us. We get paid
on a basis of the number of components
they produce. We become involved at the
design stage, optimising a customer’s
tooling as they are developing new products. The more we understand about
the customer’s needs - the capability
of its machine tools, coolant pressure,
fixtures rigidity etc., the more we are
able to design great tooling packages
and optimise their machining process.
“Naturally, this philosophy becomes
most effective in large production environments such as automotive, aerospace
and wind energy, to name just a few.
“We focus on R&D even during
downturns -we are constantly bringing
new products and new platforms to the
‘Industrial’ market -not only in milling,
holemaking and turning portfolios,
but also our systems. We are currently
reorganising all the brands that we have
purchased over the years and are rationalising these so that we have just two
brands, Kennametal and Widia - you
will see more in the coming months
about the complete Widia portfolio.”
Just to finish up, can you tell me
what you feel Kennametal brings to
the table that other tooling companies
cannot?
“At the heart of it, our world-class
team and the customer-centred innovation they drive set us apart. When we
look at our technical differentiators, we
value ourselves in our core development
– we are a material-science company
in terms of our proprietary designs, the
powders that we produce the processes
that we have and the technical expertise
that goes with it. We have an innovation
group taking care of coatings, insert
shape, density etc. We are constantly
and systematically pushing the boundaries to advance ourselves and also pride
ourselves on our ability to apply the
tools in the field. Further, we have a
focus around customers, we strategically plan for the future, keeping abreast
of industry trends, and how these translate into customer needs. We also have
a focus around lean, and productivity.
We believe that in order for us to provide
the productivity our customers need,
we must practice that in our own facilities”, concludes Chang.
www.kennametaI.com
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57
Cutting Tools
Improved portable hole-making
in composites
With portable drilling using hand-held tools representing about a third of composite holemaking applications in the aerospace industry, it is an area where continuous improvement
make interesting pay-backs. Cutting tools play an increasingly decisive role in the strive for
better results, performance and economics in this type of machining, which is dominated by
variations. Developments over time in engineered drills and recent innovations have led to new
possibilities with a standard programme of tools.
By Christer Richt
p pl ic a t io n s i nvolv i n g
drilling in composite and
stacked materials are dominated by large numbers of holes
needed for bolts and rivets in the
components and structures for
aircrafts. Being hand-held and
operated directly by an operator means that these operations
present certain challenges. The
very nature of operations with
portable tools leave them prone
to some instability and even inconsistency. The performance of the equipment and tools being used as well as the
operator experience directly affect the quality of holes and
productivity.
If hole-making with hand-held tools is hampered by
grab effect from the drill and a high thrust force is needed
to penetrate the hole, then levels of quality, efficiency and
operator fatigue will be affected negatively. If un-addressed,
hole exits may have unacceptable burrs and separation of the
bottom material layer as well as poorly cut fibres through the
hole. Poor cutting action and feed variation lead to operators having to concentrate more on countering the effects of
the portable tool and be more likely to make mistakes with
scrap as a result.
Hole quality
Hole quality in carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), the
most common form of composites in aerospace, is usually
defined according to a number of limits. These are usually
some of the following : dimensional and ovality tolerance,
surface finish and burr-formation, straightness and centreline perpendicularity, barrelling and bell-mouthing. When
stacked with aluminium or titanium, effective chip evacuation
by the cutting tool is an important factor as metal chips can
damage the hole surface. The challenge of achieving satisfactory quality consistency then also has to be combined with
achieving good operator security and last, but not least, with
competitive manufacturing cost.
The thickness of CFRP-materials is comparatively small
requiring short holes in either woven or uni-directional structures. Typical demands include surface requirements within
58
Ra 4.8 microns, delamination of
less than 1mm over the diameter and no splintering. When
stacked, Ra of less than 3.2
microns is usually demanded
with Ra 1.6 in the metal part of
the hole. Hole tolerances vary
between plus/minus 0.02mm
to 0.04mm and no metal-chip
erosion on the CFRP-part is allowed. Hole tolerances smaller
than plus/minus 0.025mm usually needs a reaming pass.
Broad influence of cutting tools
When neither CNC-machinery or power-feed equipment is
used, operators need to rely on their skills and the performance
of the hand-held tool to stay wihin the limits of hole-quality
and the demand for number of holes drilled per day. In these
applications, the hand-held tool is greatly affected by how well
the cutting tool functions. Cutting action, size and direction
of cutting forces, possible cutting data as well as achievable
tool-life are cutting tool factors which very much determine
the quality and economic outcome.
With regard to the manufacturing economics of these
operations, there are a number of factors that will affect how
competitive the manufacturing will turn out to be : time taken
to drill a hole, quality consistency, whether a one-shot or a
two-shot operation is needed, drilling and reaming and also
tool cost and the option re-grinding
So, how does the cutting tool affect or even determine
outcome seen from hole-quality results, operator facilitation
and manufacturing economics?
Recent cutting tool developments by Sandvik Coromant
teamed with Precorp have resulted in a new range of standard drills, reamers and countersinks to effectively make the
most common bolt and rivet holes in the aerospace industry.
These tool developments are solutions for composites based
on long-standing experience in the industry. The success with
engineered tools, as well as developments to establish the existing programme of standard tools for hole-making, edge and
surface machining, have helped to form the new 452-range.
The cutting action of the new drills directly determine how
clean fibres are cut and consequently that of any occurence of
residual fibres in the hole. The shearing action has also been
Cutting
tools
CoroDrill 452.4 drill
for composites.
CoroDrill 452.1
engineered drill with
internal coolant for metal stack
drilling
CoroDrill 4
52 countersinking tool
optimised to eliminate splintering. The thrust force exerted
by the drill at the exit of the hole determines how the bottom
layer reacts. In the new drills, the thrust effect has been reduced to minimise to the amount of delamination occurring.
Portable hand-held drills need more toughness due to the
inherent instability of the operation. For this reason, a cemented
carbide drill is the best solution. To extend tool-life, drills
for CFRPs are usually coated or complemented by veined
polychrystalline diamond (PCD). However, for the portable
hand-drilling area, the balance of toughness/wear resistance
is different as is that of tool-life/regrinding. Drills with high
strength can be readily changed after a comparatively shorter
tool-life and be re-ground without a coating process. This is
part of the manufacturing economic equation for these applications, where tool-costs, cutting data, tool-handling and
tool-life are variables. Different values apply for this area and,
as such, are the basis for the new standard range of cutting
tools for the hand-held hole-making application.
The programme of CoroDrill 452 standard drills has been
designed to optimise CFRP applications and CFRP metalstacked applications that are performed with hand-tools. For
the 452-C version (for CFRPs), various tool-design features
have resulted in proven advantages for this area. The patented
design-combination of the left-hand helix in combination
with a right-hand point on the drill promotes smooth cutting
action with minimised or no grab-effect. A long, sharp cutting edge chamfer provides a relatively large shear angle for
a clean cut of all fibres. A unique flute and split-point design
gives very close hole-roundness as well as minimising thrust
effect. Only a low level of feed force is needed and the drill
makes a smoother, non-destructive exit from the material.
For the metal-stacked version 452-CM, in addition to the
lower force and thrust advantage, there is a choice between
a drill with or without a pilot incorporated. This, to reduce
any difference in thrust effect between the materials and to
provide high hole accuracy and finish. The hole-size difference is minimal between the materials in the stack and exit
burrs are eliminated. Both metal-stack drills have a double
margin edge for stability which further improves performance
and results. A split self-centering point simplifies the drilling
action and accuracy throughout the stack.
the more brittle PCD can be incorporated safely as the cutting edge for CFRP, giving very long tool-life combined with
re-sharpening possibilities. Designed for use with a qualified
micro-stop, a cemented carbide pilot ensures consistent accuracy for 100 and 130 degree chamfer angles and corect depth.
Summary
Establishing a standard range of cutting tools for holemaking
in composites, for operators using hand-held tools, needs the
right compromises. The challenges and demands of this
aerospace area are such that the most wear resistant tool
material cannot be safely incorporated. Instead the strength
of cemented carbide is used to provide safety and advantageous tool-cost. To optimise this area, the development of
tool geometry plays a prominent role in achieving satisfactory quality levels, tool performance and productivity.
Sandvik Coromant - 03 92387144
[email protected]
RomheldAirNippers:Layout 1 18/2/11
www.sandvik.coromant.com/au
8:57 AM
Page 1
Vessel nippers and static eliminators provide the finishing touches to
plastics manufacturing processes. Nippers are available in many styles
from hand held to machine mount to slide off, with optional HSS, carbide
or heated blades with large cutting capacities.
Static eliminators are available in hand held, bench top, cabinet and bar
styles to remove static enabling high quality finishing, assembly or further
processing without contamination, sticking and other handling problems.
Reaming and countersinking
Finishing some holes may need a second pass with a reamer.
When extra close tolerances and surface finishes are required
the 452.R, type C or CM reamer, for CFRP and stacked, respectively, can produce holes to within a tolerance of 0.02mm
using a guide-bush. These tough, uncoated cemented carbide
reamers have a step-pilot which matches 452-drilled holes and
reduces thrust to ensure high finishes with absolutely minimised tendency of delamination and burrs at metal-hole exit.
In countersinking with hand-held tools,, the cutting tool
is not subjected to the stresses of long drills and reamers and
thus does not need the same bending strength. This means that
Ph: 1800 465 348
Web: www.romheld.com.au
59
Mould & Die
Mould making
shop managers’ report on the benefits
of HSC milling of hardened steel
For a number of tasks, HSC milling of
hardened steel can be an advantageous
alternative to EDM. Depending on the
specifics of the given job, moderate to
significant advantages with respect to
throughput time, costs and quality can be
achieved. Three managers of shops with
significantly differing job portfolios share
their related experience.
t is a well-known fact that current machining centres
and cutting tools make it possible to cut even hardened
steel with a high level of efficiency. But will the related
advantages really produce a sufficient return on the additional investment? The standard calculation base for such an
investment – the complete replacement of an old plant by a
new, more efficient one – will rarely be applicable, mainly
due to the technical limitations of the milling process,
particularly in the case of deep cavities with steep flanks
or deep, narrow slots.
The specifics of the plant taken into consideration thus
have a major influence on the technical and economic framework defining the advantages and risks of opting for the
HSC machining of hardened steel. A complete replacement
of EDM operations will rarely be possible. Nevertheless,
enriching the available technology bandwidth by fast and
Success model: the RXP owes its outstanding accuracy to
special features such as an automatic compensation of spindle
length deviations resulting from temperature changes and an
integrated tool dimension control system equipped with a laser,
complemented by a tool cleaner (arrow)
60
Workhorse: all three tool shops perform HSC machining
with a Röders RXP 500 featuring linear direct drives for the
highest precision and dynamics. The photo shows the plant
installed at Ermet (Photos: Klaus Vollrath)
accurate milling as an alternative to EDM operations will
give the shop manager vital additional degrees of freedom.
A major bonus even superseding the cost advantages
are substantial gains with respect to throughput time since
a complete process step – the milling of electrodes before
EDM machining can start – is made redundant.
This article summarises the experience of three tool
shop managers whose job portfolios are markedly different. Common ground for all three is that they use the same
plant – a Röders RXP 500 triaxial machining centre.
Space puzzle:
the complex
dies consist of
a multitude of
intertwining
components. The
accuracy achieved
by HSC machining
often makes it
possible to mill
seats and precision
fits directly
instead of having
to grind them in a
second leg
Mould & Die
Job example: a typical mould with the related cutters. Even very
thin and deep grooves are now machined into the hardened
material with full reliability of the process
Ermet: substantial time gains…
“Electronic connectors make up a substantial portion of our
business pallet”, says Peter Büchler, Production Manager
with Ermet GmbH in Bad Windsheim (Germany). This
tool manufacturer with a workforce of 38 employees is a
subsidiary of a medium-sized plastics technology specialist,
the Ermet-Buck Group, which has more than 200 employees and a total of five production sites in Germany and the
Czech Republic.
The tooling requirements he receives from within the
Group make up about 70% of his order income, the rest having to be acquired on the free market. The main customers
for the parts produced with these tools are the automotive
industry and its suppliers, the electronics industry, as well
as medical and laboratory device manufacturers.
These customers not only demand the highest quality,
they also emphasise aspects such as realisation time and
flexibility with respect to specific demands. Many of the
tools Ermet has to produce, e.g. for electronic connectors or
for the embedding of metal grids, are for highly automated
production. Their filigree components have to fulfil very
high requirements with respect to dimensional accuracy.
Even with geometries that are difficult to
machine
“Even a short glance at the tools we have to make for the
electronics sector reveals that shifting from EDM to milling is an all but easy task”, reveals Büchler. These intricate
tools are characterised by a multitude of tightly intertwined
components with narrow contours, small radii , high aspect
ratios and sharp edges.
Stringent prescriptions with respect to the dimensional
accuracy of the plastic parts they serve to produce imply
the highest precision requirements for the tool components
– down to ±5μm and occasionally even lower. HSC milling
of hardened tool steel with the new Röders RXP started in
August 2005. Meanwhile, the plant is used for two shifts a
day. Putting it even more precisely, its spindle is engaged
for about 3200 hours per year. Most of the machined steels
have a hardness of 52-54 HRC.
Moment of truth: prior to taking the decision to acquire their
new plant, Ermet asked for the machining of this test piece.
It includes a number of key difficulties such as filigree lands
with rounded end portions (right) as well as abrupt steps at the
bottom of narrow grooves (left)
Tool diameters usually range between 2-3 mm and
sometimes up to 8 mm. The smallest tool diameters are
0.5mm for steel and 0.2mm for copper. During the ramp-up
period, copper electrodes accounted for about 80% of the
jobs. Machining of hardened steel was stepped up in small,
cautious steps. Since then, its share has soared from 20 - 60
%. Even very thin and deep grooves – e.g. 9mm deep with
a width of only 1mm – are now reliably machined into the
hardened material.
The main advantages experienced by the new machining
approach are shorter realisation times and lower costs, as
well as enhanced accuracy of the parts. Seats and precision
fits can often be milled directly instead of having to finish
the parts by grinding in a second processing step. Further
benefits are increased surface quality and easier de-moulding
of plastic parts during production.
Implementation of this technology change required a
lot of brainstorming e.g. in view of new tool design rules
suiting milling instead of EDM operations. One must also
provide for sufficient programming capacity for the creation of NC programs. The company entrusts this task to the
machine operators.
Life-saver: cold forming transforms the steel blank (left) into a
precision part for security belt emergency tighteners
61
Mould & Die
“HSC machining of hardened steel will not completely
replace EDM operations, but it gives us an additional degree
of freedom we urgently needed”, sums up Peter Büchler.
Certain geometries can still only be tackled using EDM
machining. On the other hand, in addition to the advantages
already described, the transfer of many jobs to the milling
centre has contributed to significantly easing the partly
critical bottleneck with respect to EDM machining capacity
the company had run into before acquiring the new plant.
Heckler: dies in large numbers…
“The forces exerted during cold forming are so immense that
our stamps crack as a result of high cycle fatigue before they
stand any chance of being worn off”, explains Peter Heckler,
CEO of Heckler AG in NiefernÖschelbronn(Germany). The
company has specialised in the production of cold-formed
precision parts made of steel or aluminium. The main customers for the machined and finished parts are the automotive
as well as the lock and builders’ hardware industries. Many
parts are used in lifesaving equipment such as security belt
emergency tighteners and hence have to meet the highest
requirements with respect to precision and quality.
Production processes are markedly large-scale with
lot sizes partly reaching a double-digit million order of
magnitude. Of course, cost aspects are of prime interest,
but additionally the customers require the highest flexibility with respect to production batch sizes and short-term
reaction capability.
In view of the limited die service lifespan – typically just
20,000 to 60,000 production cycles – as well as of stringent
customer expectations with respect to start of production
delays for new products, the tool shop has to excel with
respect to productivity and short throughput times are produced faster and with better accuracy than before.
“Switching from EDM machining to HSC cutting of
hardened steel yielded production time gains of up to 70%”,
explains Claudio Sandrini, Plant Manager of Heckler AG.
Series production: in view of the large number of dies the
company needs, productivity and short throughput times of the
tool shop become key factors for success
Their Röders RXP equipped with a fully automatic 8-fold
workpiece pallet exchanger was put to service by mid-2005
and operates in three shifts. Meanwhile, it produces 60-70
% of all tools. A tool magazine with 100 positions provides
for a sufficient number of identical replacement tools, a
precondition for continuous automatic production even if a
given cutter is rejected by the integrated condition monitoring
system. The dies leaving the milling centre haven proven
to be so accurate that quality control expenditure could
be reduced to occasional dimensional control of samples
selected at random. Most of the dies are produced from
cold-work tool steels with a hardness range of 56-60 HRC.
Further advantages the company
reports are a better surface quality –
a result of the omission of the “white
layer” characteristic for EDM machining – as well as a 50-60% reduction in
polishing expenditure. In this context,
it is of particular interest to note that
the hitherto indispensable manual polishing operations can be completely
omitted. The remaining polishing passes
can largely be performed automatically.
Furthermore, de-moulding slopes and the
so called outflows – the flow paths for
excess material surrounding the shaping
contour of the die – can now be produced
automatically. And, last but not least,
the service life expectancy of the milled
dies has proved to exceed that of their
EDM counterparts by as much as 1015%. Nevertheless, here too a complete
substitution of EDM machining by HSC
milling is not on the agenda, although
Endurance performer: at Heckler, an RC2 workpiece pallet exchanger and a tool
the share of jobs performed by EDM
magazine with 100 positions provide for continuous three-shift operation of the
Röders RXP 500 machining plant
machining has markedly receded.
62
8 Capital Drive
Dandenong Vic 3175 Australia
T: (03) 8710 8088
F: (03) 8710 8044
www.assetplant.com
[email protected]
...it’s the only business you need
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Our products can be found in all sizes of shops from the large industrial production users to the smaller jobbing shops.
We have the widest metalworking product selection under one brand in the Australia and we sell direct to the end user, cutting out the
dealer network, and resulting in lower prices to you. With our massive warehouse and showroom packed with inventory most models
can be inspected “under power”. With a strong focus on after sales service and support, Asset also is supported by a strong service support team and large parts inventory ready for immediate delivery.
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Asset Plant & Machinery Pty Ltd 8 Capital Drive Dandenong Vic 3175
Fax: (03) 8710 8044 www.assetplant.com [email protected]
63
Mould & Die
Wave form:
the intricate
parting plane
geometry of
this mould is
a particular
challenge for
the accuracy
of the milling
centre
ProForm: embedding metal grids calls for
extreme precision
RN.8925/1
“Dies used for the embedding of metal grids in plastic parts
must be extremely precise”, explains Matthias Person, Plant
Manager of ProForm Formenbau GmbH in Pforzheim (Germany). In the process, tightly intertwining mould components
ensure that the injected plastic melt will coat only predefined
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64
parts of the metal grid while certain
areas remain uncovered. Only the
utmost precision of all mould components will prevent penetration of
the highly pressurised plastic melt
in interstices, resulting in flashes
that would interfere with subsequent processes. Removal of such
flashes requires additional process
steps and related costs. Another
aspect is that the small, filigree
components are prone to damage
and then have to be replaced. This
too calls for extreme precision of
the components in order to minimise readjustment operations after
their replacement.
In producing the individual
components of its moulds, ProForm
thus literally fights for every single
micron in accuracy. Of course, here
too HSC milling of hardened steel is not the only processing
method. The company also uses other technologies such as
EDM machining or PTW grinding.
HSC machining with the highest degree of accuracy
“Compared to the system we previously used to perform
the same tasks, the new Röders excels by a whole range of
advantages”, says Person.
Mould & Die
The RödersTEC RXP 500
The RXP 500 triaxial machining centre has been designed
as an HSC milling workhorse able to process even hardened
steel in tool shops. The axles have working ranges of
500 x 500 x 300 mm. Its design emphasises productivity,
ruggedness and dimensional accuracy when producing
3D-contours. ‘Classic’ roller guides have been combined
with frictionless linear direct drives excelling by their
dynamism and precision. Compared to conventional
recirculating ball-screw drives, linear direct drives exhibit
not only higher path accuracy: at comparable power
consumption, they also convince by the fact that they are
not subject to wear and tear since they contain no moving
parts in direct mechanical contact. The spindle with a power
rating of 14 kW reaches 42,000 revs/min. Sophisticated
temperature management, highly accurate spindle length
compensation as well as an integrated laser tool measuring
gauge ensure a precision significantly exceeding the
standard offered by comparable plants up to now. Another
factor contributing to this is the plant’s additional function
as a high-precision coordinate measurement device.
Thornhill Machine Tools Australia - 03 9532 1452
[email protected]
Röders GmbH, Scheibenstr. - +49-5191-603-43
www.roeders.de
RN.8925/2
Particular highlights are the prolonged service life of the
milling cutters, which last up to 80% longer, as well as the
reduction of workforce requirements by 60%. Additionally,
the enhanced accuracy of the parts has resulted in a 50%
reduction of refinishing expenditure. Another benefit is the
process reliability of the plant, making it possible to load the
Röders RC2 workpiece pallet exchanger with up to eight jobs
that can be performed overnight without human assistance.
Most of the tool steels the plant processes have a hardness
of about 54 HRC while some jobs are performed on harder
materials (up to 60 HRC). Tool diameters range from 10mm
down to 0.3mm. Person particularly highlights the accuracy
he is able to achieve with the new plant. With some moulds he
produces this has helped him reduce refinishing expenditure
by as much as a full working week.
In this context, the automatic compensation of spindle
length deviations resulting from temperature changes is a
key factor, together with the integrated laser tool dimension
control system. As a result, the new plant is able to attain
workpiece tolerances of between 3μm and 5μm while in Zdirection, height deviations attributable to tool changes are
well below 5μm. The high degree of accuracy thus obtained
makes it possible to directly proceed to PTW grinding of
machined parts without intermediate process steps. Another
positive result of the high level of part accuracy is that for
moulds with intricate parting plane geometries, levelling
press operations can be largely omitted.
53,600 readers
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AMTIL on 03 9800 3666
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65
Mould & Die
Another angle on HSM
The savings in setup time were welcome enough, but this mould maker found that a 3+2
machining centre also accelerated its use of high speed machining.
By Peter Zelinski
igh speed machining and 3+2
machining might seem like two
different concepts, but at Eifel Mould &
Engineering, they fit together naturally.
For this shop in Fraser, Michigan US,
the two machining centre methodologies contribute to the same goal.
Eifel is a specialist in, among other
things, moulds for automotive steering
wheel components. Used to produce
what is arguably one of the most noticeable components of a car, a steering
wheel mould typically features intricate
aesthetic details and demanding surface finish requirements. On a steering
wheel, even harmless imperfections
stand out like striking flaws.
Eifel has used high speed machining for years. Fast spindle speeds let
the shop use small-diameter tools efficiently, reaching into detailed areas
with these cutting tools, and making
small-stepover passes with them to
achieve smooth finishes. 3+2 has proven
to be the next step. By investing in a
machining centre able to freely reorient
the part as needed within compound
rotary axes, the shop can use high speed
machining both more efficiently and
more effectively. Setup time savings
Weight capacity was one of the important considerations on the shop's new five-axis
machining centre
from 3+2 machining are considerable,
but these savings are just the beginning.
Now, Eifel can routinely use shorter
tools in high speed machining than it
typically used before. Taking advantage
of the rigidity of short tools enables the
shop to mill its H13 or high-hardness
P20 steel even more rapidly.
The shop uses
high speed
machining and
3+2 machining
for moulds
involving
both smooth
surfaces and
intricate
details.
66
Just as significantly, though, by
pivoting the part, Eifel can more easily
machine without visible blends. This
often lets the shop meet its most exacting finish needs with minimal manual
bench work after the machining is done.
Time savings
Eifel has 12 employees. Buying a sophisticated new machining centre was a
considerable investment. The machine
the shop chose is a five-axis VMC from
Hermle. Weight capacity was one factor
that distinguished this machine, says
Eifel president Richard Hecker. The
table (which provides the rotary-axis
motion) accommodates 3,000 pounds.
Some other five-axis or 3+2 machines
the shop considered could pivot or
rotate only much lighter parts.
While this machine is capable of full
five-axis machining, the shop has used
it almost exclusively for 3+2-style cutting. That is, the rotary axes are used to
reorient the part, while the cutting still
involves only X, Y and Z. The shop soon
expects to diversify into full five-axis
Mould & Die
You live and die by the collision checker
Eifel specialises in moulds related to
steering wheels.
machining work, but so far, the 3+2
machining alone has been powerful.
For mould making, Hecker says 3+2 machining accounts for at least 95% of the
benefit that a five-axis machining centre
delivers. In fact, the ability to rotate the
part within the machining cycle in this
way can provide time savings that are
dramatic. One steering wheel mould
in the recent past involved 12 hours to
machine all of its necessary undercuts.
At least eight setups were required to
reach all these features. By contrast,
running a similar mould took only two
hours on the five-axis machine, thanks
to the way the undercuts could all be
machined in a single cycle.
Shorter tools
Yet beyond the setup savings, another
welcome payoff from this machine has
been the extent to which it accelerates
high speed machining. Though it was
clear from the beginning that five-axis
machining would enable the use of short
tools, it was not necessarily clear just
how important this would be. Part of
the value of high speed machining for
the shop from the beginning was the
way it made the use of long milling tools
practical. These long tools were needed
to reach the deep features of moulds
that otherwise required EDM. Because
deflection limited these long, slender
tools to light cuts anyway, the fast, light
milling of HSM enabled the shop to use
the tools productively. But now, thanks
to 3+2 machining (and thanks to the
slim shrink-fit toolholders the shop uses
Manufacturing manager Gary Schulz
does much of the programming
of the Hermle five-axis machining
centre at Eifel Mould & Engineering.
He does this programming on the
shop floor, right in front of the
machine.
The shop uses Delcam’s PowerMill
as its CAD/CAM software. With
PowerMill, programming in five axes
is an intuitively visual process, Schulz
says. On screen, he pivots the 3D
rendering of the part around to the desired rotary view—the compound angle
from which to machine some given set of features. The software then calculates
this compound angle and assigns the precise rotary axis moves and tool paths
accordingly. The programming is simple enough that Schulz can program and
operate both the five-axis machine and another machining centre nearby.
He says there are two disciplines he favours when programming the fiveaxis machine. One is to use the rotary-axis movements frugally. There is no
requirement to do this—but he says most parts don’t call for all of the rotary-axis
swing that their complexity might initially seem to suggest. Even a 10-degree
pivot can be powerful, he says. Making sparing use of the rotary-axis capability
makes it that much less likely that some extreme rotary-axis move might produce
a collision or interference with some aspect of the setup.
The other, related discipline is to fully populate the software’s collision
checker. “You live and die by the collision checker,” he says, because 3+2
machining entails moves that are simply not possible to mentally visualise before
the machine does them. The software’s ability to anticipate interferences has
been both valuable and reliable, but Schulz first had to equip the capability by
entering all the relevant geometric dimensions of all toolholders used on this
machine.
with this machine), Eifel can often reach
recessed features using very short tools,
while the part is held at an angle. That
means the “fast, light cuts” of HSM
don’t have to be so light anymore. The
short tool can even reach features that
previously would have been considered
unreachable with any tool—features
that, in the past, would have been added to the mould with an insert. Thus,
3+2 machining doesn’t just speed the
machining process—it simplifies it.
Standard tools alone can do a lot more.
“It gets to the point where you don’t
even want to struggle with a long tool
anymore,” Hecker says.
Richard Hecker says that although the
new machining centre was a major
investment, it has been significant for
letting the small shop deliver work even
more quickly and cost-effectively.
67
Prismatic M achining
Water tables
The science of channeling light (the process is called total internal reflection) was first
demonstrated in the mid 19th century; however, practical applications came much later. NASA
used fibre optics in the cameras it sent to the moon, but it wasn’t until the late 20th century
that terrestrial TV adopted the medium. Tapered fibre optics work on the same principle of
bouncing photons along a clad, glass conduit, but use clusters of fused fibres to magnify or,
more typically, reduce an image for transfer applications.
By Matt Bailey
ncom Inc. US is the world’s leading
manufacturer of commercial rigid,
fused fibreoptic faceplates, tapers, and microwell arrays. The company’s advanced
technology supports researchers, scientists, and instrument makers in dental,
medical, life science, scientific, homeland
security, and defence industries.
In the beginning, with a just handful
of employees, the company’s primary
product was fused fibreoptic faceplates
for cathode ray tubes (CRTs).
Its early years were moderately successful, and its revenue graph was reliably
linear. But management knew that CRT
technology would eventually be replaced
by LCDs, they just didn’t know when.
“In 1994, we had the opportunity
to purchase a competing line of fused
fibreoptics from a local company called
Galileo Electro-Optics,” says Anthony
(Jay) Detarando, Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer. “We didn’t fully realise
it then, but it was very good timing; our
existing business was about to take a
nose dive.” As part of the deal, we also
acquired the formula for the fiberoptic
glass that we still use today.”
Galileo was one of two nearby companies that specialised in manufacturing
fused fibre optics for military applications.
The two companies were competing with
each other for contracts the government
warned would soon disappear. They did not
disappear, and today continue to generate
a large part of Incom’s revenue. “We also
acquired the technical expertise to make 50
mm tapered fibre optics in high volume,”
says Detarando. “Many of Galileo’s employees came to work here. All of a sudden,
we were twice our previous size, and one
of the two main government suppliers for
night vision systems.”
Incom manufactures tapers from billets produced using its own hot-drawing
process. Individual fibres are bunched
68
coherently together, heated, and stretched
like warm toffee to create the desired
magnification. The more fibres in a bunch
(as many as 16 million per square inch)
– the higher the resolution.
“Six or seven years ago, we looked
at how we wanted to grow,” says Scott
Farland, Director of Business Development. “We decided to get much better in military applications, and to find
new opportunities in the life science,
scientific, and medical sectors, such as
X-ray.” Photographers have long since
embraced the flexibility and speed of
digital imaging. Now, radiographers are
swapping X-ray cassettes for oversized
CMOS sensors with thin, fibreoptic plates
(instead of lenses) providing the image
transfer function. “It was making these
types of larger tapers that first led us to
investigate automation and CNC machine
tools,” Farland explains.
The company divided its manufacturing into business units, each of which was
allocated its own equipment, configured,
and arranged to maximise efficiency. “We
are very focused on yield,” continues
Farland. “Glass is expensive, and it’s easy
to make mistakes during hot-drawing and
end up with damaged and useless fibres
or clusters. We’ve developed our process to reduce this possibility. So when
it came to automating the mechanical
and machining operations, we had to
make sure we kept scrap to an absolute
minimum. By the time the taper gets to
the machining stage, most of the cost has
been incurred.”
Incom bought its first Haas CNC machine tool – a used VF-2 vertical machining center – in late 2003. Since 2005, Incom
has bought an average of two additional
Haas machines per year, for a current total
of 11, including five Mini Mills. During
a walking-tour of the factory, Facilities
and Compliance Manager Michael LeBlanc guided us away from several of the
latter. Part of his job is to safeguard the
company’s secrets, and some of the Haas
machines are making specialised lenses for
military contracts. Incom’s newest Haas
is a DT-1 drill/tap centre that currently
is cutting medical and dental faceplates.
In the early days of its reorganisation, Incom had very little in-house CNC
machining experience, so they recruited
programmer Dean Westhoff to pilot the
company around the hazards of machining glass. Westhoff, in turn, was guided
by Product and Process Development
Engineer John Escolas – a former student
of Bill Weir, during the latter’s previous
life as a college lecturer.
“At the beginning, we were only machining around 10% of our production on
Haas machines,” says Escolas, “at feed
rates of around 0.200 inches (5.08mm)
a minute. It was a slow and expensive
process. We were holding the part using
an old traditional wax compound, and
the wax would often fail and the part pop
off the mount, even at these low feeds.
Incom gave Dean and John free reign on
CNC machining standards. “The only
advice I offered Dean was to turn off the
control panel and go by sound and feel,”
Escolas relates.
Westhoff and Escolas began by changing the composition of the wax to give
greater shear strength. Once Dean felt
confident the parts were fixed, he tweaked
feed rates with the patience of a piano
tuner, increasing them gradually until
the Haas hit the right note.
Incom machines its glass with diamond-coated tooling, which will burn
the part if there is insufficient coolant.
Conventional machining uses nozzles
to deliver the liquid from multiple directions, spraying the contact area. But,
when the tool is changed, the direction
of the coolant needs to be adjusted. “To
achieve the high-volume machining we
had in mind meant we couldn’t adjust the
coolant manually,” says Westhoff. “It just
wasn’t practical.”
The answer was to submerge the parts
and the tools completely. Each time a
component is loaded and the operator
presses cycle start, a custom-made, watertight tank mounted on the machine’s
table floods until the part disappears. “It
took a lot of faith,” says Escolas. “We
were fine-tuning cutting operations, but
we couldn’t see what was going on with
the part. Sometimes, we’d drain the tank,
and there would be nothing but shards of
glass.” Incom now machines more than
90% of its production, and feed rates
are typically 30in/min. “Now that we’ve
perfected it,” Escolas continues, “cutting under water produces better surface
finishes, the tools last longer, and we can
use coarser diamonds.”
Once Westhoff and Escolas had
worked out how to make the product, it
became Quality Engineer Earl Davis’s job
to understand the processes. The subject
of his initial study was one of Incom’s
Haas Mini Mills.
“Our priority is always improving and
maintaining yield,” Davis says, echoing
the wisdom of his colleagues. “We aim
to reduce scrap to a minimum by really
understanding the machining process. We
felt confident that the Haas machines were
sufficiently accurate, so we introduced
statistical process control techniques to
measure what was causing variation.”
One feature of the Haas machines that
Incom uses more frequently than most
others is the Renishaw probing system.
The probe allows Incom to export data
off the machines that can be used to understand process parameters.
Davis chose to use the Renishaw probe
data to track the outside diameter of a
machined part. This gave him a consistent measurement to track the machine’s
capability for tolerance. A sample was
taken every 150 minutes across three
shifts. “Because each Mini Mill produces
250 to 300 parts per day,” Davis explains,
“this gave us a measurement about every
30 parts.”
The first series of tests revealed a
process capability of .61 Cpk (In process improvement efforts the process
capability ratio is the statistical measure of process capability- the ability
of a process to produce output within
specification limits. Process capability
indices measure how much ‘natural
variation’ a process experiences relative
to its specification limits and allows
different processes to be compared
with respect to how well an organisation controls them.), equating to 35,000
ppm out-of-spec. “Not very good,”
remembers Davis. “So we introduced
X-bar charts to the cell – so the operator could see what was happening in
real-time – and an out-of-control action
plan, which indicates what to do when
the process is going out of control.” It
turned out that most variation was due
to tool wear, and came immediately
before and after a tool change.
“A few years back, we were achieving yields of around 84% for that part,”
says Davis. “Now, we’re closer to 99%,
and process capability has improved to
1.06 Cpk, equating to 750 ppm out-ofspec. The other amazing thing is that
the Haas machine is only supposed to
cut to 0.0002 inch (0.005mm), but we are
regularly achieving tolerances of 0.00015
inch (0.0038mm)!”
It’s been a long and intensive learning
process since Incom first acquired the
know-how to compete in the tapered fibre
optic sector, but the company’s engineers
and managers have applied themselves
in a way that even the late statistician
Professor W. Edwards Deming would
have approved of. “Quality cannot be
inspected in,” the late quality-guru once
told manufacturers. “It’s already there.”
The key, of course, is knowing where to
look, and Incom found it under several
inches of water.
69
Getting more for your axes
Modern CNC machine tools use tool path data generated automatically from a CAM software
package. This allows for highly complex parts to be machined without the extensive manual
programming used in times gone past. Now, 3D models that have been designed in modelling
software, as well as 2 dimensional CAD drawings, can be used to generate the CNC data for
use directly at the CNC machine. However, not all CNC machines have the same capabilities.
What is Prismatic Machining, and what type of CNC machine do you require for it?
By David White
rismatic Machining is a method
that allows the use of a 2 or 2.5axis machine to perform a variety of
3D machining. While the results can
be very effective, the complexity of the
software and the associated learning
curve is often much less than 4, 5 or
6-axis machining. Although it is ideal
for 2 or 2.5-axis machines, the same
processes are still very applicable to
more capable machines.
The main characteristic of Prismatic machining is that the motion of
the cutter is restrained to a plane that
is orthogonal to the spindle axis. In
other words, the machine can move up
and down, or laterally, but not usually
both at once. Tool path operations can
be defined to perform four main types
of machining operation. These are
axial or drilling routines, pocketing,
surfacing and contour profiling. These
operations are usually performed in
multi-level passes. Some machine controllers allow the work plane to be redefined to any of the three orthogonal
planes (XY, XZ, YZ). This will allow
for complex paths to be performed in
another plane also, but does not cater
for simultaneous 3-axis movement.
Parallel surfacing
A common method of creating a complex
surface is parallel surfacing. If your
machine controller is capable, a tool path
may be defined as a series of parallel
passes over the model with a step over
defined by the operator. This allows the
use of a ball nose cutter to ‘zig-zag’ over
the surface in one axis (the Y-axis for
example). As the cutter is moved back
and forth it is raised and lowered to create
the desired surface. At the end of each
pass, the machine will ‘step over’ one
increment in the other axis and begin
70
This part was
machined using
several Prismatic
machining
processes
including Z
-level profiling,
pocketing and
drilling.
the pass in the opposite direction. This
method is often very useful for relatively
flat freeform surfaces but may not be
compatible with all controllers.
Z Level machining/
pocketing
Z-Level machining is another prismatic
machining routine that specifies a Zincrement. The CNC machine will
move to the first ‘Z-Level’ and then
remove material in a lateral fashion
where required. When the level has
been completed, the machine drops
to the next level and begins again. It
allows for very good flat surfaces, and
also provides excellent finishes on edges
with steep inclines. Unfortunately, this
method is not as useful for good finishes
on gradual sloping surface as it tends
to result in a stepped finish that has the
appearance of a topographical landscape
map. Z-Level machining is useful for
surfacing, pocketing and also shape
contouring. This method is compatible
with almost all 2.5-axis machine.
The spindle will be spun up to the required RPM and the path will take the
drill bit into the material at the precise
feed rate required to match the desired
chip size. Often, other parameters can
be specified such as a ‘pecking’ motion
to allow the swarf to evacuate before
drilling deeper. Another common drilling feature is a dwell at the bottom of
the hole to allow the drill to cleanly
finish its task. The drilling method is
applicable to most CNC routers and
milling machines.
Usually a combination of these
methods will be used to achieve the desired results. Processes such as coarse
‘Z-Level Roughing’ are often employed
first because this method can remove
a large volume of material in a short
Drilling
Another Prismatic machining process
that is very useful is drilling. The
machine will generally rapid to a point
directly above the drill point location.
When using Z Level roughing the cutter
steps down and across for each pass
time. This will usually be followed up
with a combination of finer ‘Z-Level’
passes around the object and inside any
pocketed areas, and finish off the more
horizontal surfaces using a ‘Parallel
Surfacing’ routine. Any round holes
are usually accomplished with either
the correct size drill, or alternatively a
smaller router or milling bit (depending
on the machine) will be used to perform
a pocketing routine.
Modern CNC routers more
than capable
Recently there have been great increases in the performance of CNC
routers, which has meant that the gap
between machining centres and routers
has closed considerably. Advanced Robotic Technology (ART) is an Australian manufacturer of high speed CNC
router tables and has had great success
with industries that were previously
thought to be outside the capabilities
of this type of machine. “All of our
CNC routers are capable of Prismatic
Machining as well as full 3 and 4 axis
free-form machining depending on the
machine options” says Director, David
White. He goes on to say, “Our large
The new
RT Profile
Machining
Centre
from ART
supports
prismatic
machining.
format CNC router machines are now
capable of heavy duty machining in
solid aluminium as well as plastics,
composites and timbers. It is so capable
that it even supports rigid tapping. In
fact, our newest machine the RT model
is no longer marketed as a router. Instead we class it as a machining centre.”
The new RT series machining centre from ART supports rotary tool
changers and high torque liquid and
air cooled spindles. It has premium
quality 4 jet misting lubrication injectors which is ideal for 3D machining
processes, including Prismatic Machining, because the coolant needs to get
right to the cutter especially in deep
pockets. The Z-axis has often been a
limiting factor on CNC routers but the
new RT series machines have a huge
standard clearance of 350mm under
the gantry. The Z axis has a stroke of
over 700mm also which can handle
many moulds and other 3D machining
tasks with ease. The RT is compatible
with ART ToolShop, Edge Cam, MasterCam, RhinoCam, Visual Mill, EnRoute, SolidCam and almost all 3D
tool path software packages.
Advanced Robotic Technology )7 3393 6555
www.advancedrobotic.com
[email protected]
The standard in intelligent CAD/CAM solutions
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onss
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Production Machining
Multi Axis Machining
Mill / Turn Machining
Reduced Programming
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The world’s most powerful sheet metal
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Tel: (03) 9584 9733 • [email protected]
Working in conjunction with SNC Solutions
71
Next generation prismatic machining
n today’s demanding manufacturing Industry, increasing
labour costs and the movement towards Lean Manufacturing and just
-in- time component manufacture,
companies are struggling to keep
production costs down and maximise machine time in order to remain
competitive. Prismatic machining
still plays an integral part in the
majority of companies involved in
the engineering and manufacture of
components. Every machine shop
will relate to this and probably
agree that, although a necessary
practice is not as lucrative as the
more advanced, specialised type of
manufactured parts that everyone
is trying to get their hands on in
today’s economic climate unless
long production runs are an option. Alternatively, if we
could get these simpler jobs onto and off the machine faster
we would then start seeing the dividends. Technological
advances in CNC machine tools allow easier programming
of these prismatic parts on the control and have become a
much faster process compared to 10 years ago.
Prismatic machining may refer to only 2.5 axis milling capability on either a machining centre or lathe but
components may possess complexity that can be a head
scratching exercise for programmers at times in terms of
approach and machining methods. This manual part programming approach inside the software will still prove to
be yet a time consuming and costly effort. We have always
had this ability in our CAD/CAM software for prismatic
part programming for some time now, manually creating
the necessary toolpaths to be applied to specific geometry.
Machining cycles have been developed in the various software systems offering the best machining processes for
advanced material removal, high speed finishing cycles as
well as improved hole machining. All are pre requisites for
prismatic machining.
How do we improve on what we already
have?
Edgecam Strategy Manager builds on our knowledge gained
from this type of programming and takes it to the next level:
fully automated programming.
How does it work?
Using Edgecam Solid Machinist, the solid model is seamlessly imported into Edgecam. Edgecam Solid Machinist
uses built-in feature recognition to find machinable features
and extract information relating to these features. This is
used by Edgecam Strategy Manager to automatically apply
the most appropriate machining technique to each feature,
based on a flow chart. Tools are then automatically selected
72
from the Edgecam ToolStore, together with predetermined
material and cutting data.
At the core of Edgecam Strategy Manager is an easy
to use f low chart that represents the logic of the machining strategies, a diagram of operational sequences taken
from preferred methods and the machining capability to
produce a part.
In essence Strategy manager captures your machining
rules for different scenarios. For example- you wouldn’t
machine toolsteel the same way you would machine aluminium- different speeds, feeds and cutting conditions
would apply. We may take a different approach to machining material on a 30hp machine as opposed to a 15hp
machine tool. All of these factors can be taken into account. In addition to simply capturing how a component is
machined or recording the rules that are used to machine
it, Edgecam Strategy Manager also captures the logic
behind the decision.
Our experience over time, machining different components and parts would determine how we want our strategy
built and later applied to components. We decide which
Edgecam cycles need to be applied in the machining
of specific features under different conditions, Strategy
Manager captures this logic and we apply it in our Flow
Chart layout, we can apply these processes add decisions,
run-time questions and a vast array of functions that we
can build into the strategy.
.The strategy can become an intricate one, as it is enhanced, adding more and more processes, scenarios and
adaptations ultimately resulting in a fine tuned strategy that
can be applied to almost any component you throw its way,
automatically applying toolpaths at the click of a button.
Model 795XFL-1
 Resolution: .00005” (0.001mm)
 Accuracies:
Inch: ±.0001”
Metric: ±.002mm
The new Starrett range of electronic tools
provides an IP67 level
of protection against
coolant, water, chips,
dirt, dust, and other
contaminants in hostile
shop environments and
has an extra-large LCD for excellent readability.
A hole is not just a hole.
In the industry of manifold manufacturing, hole machining
will fall into the category of Prismatic machining but can
become very complex. For example, to drill a hole, a series
of rules is laid down such as when centre drilling, spotting
or peck cycles are required. Feature attributes such as hole
diameter may be used to determine if a tapping or thread
milling cycle should be used. With the need for applying
form tools to hole features, decisions need to be made for
best tool selection, which features need to be drilled and
which need to be milled. Appropriate T-Slot cutters need
to be selected for.O-ring grooves in holes, stepped holes
and tight tolerances will determine different logic and
machining methods to be applied.

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Sizes Available:
Model
Range
798-6/150
150mm
798-8/200
200mm
798-12/300
300mm
.0005”/.01mm resolution
Linear accuracy meets DIN862
In/mm conversion
Zero at any position
Auto shutoff after 30 minutes of non-use
Stillam - 03 9584 9733
www.stillam.com
73
Safety
Building a safety culture
In a society where human life is seen as paramount, safety at work is rightly a topic of
considerable discussion both within organisations and in the media more generally. Whilst
some of us at times feel that the concept has been “overworked” resulting in lip-service
and impractical red-tape, it only takes a local tragedy, such as the 2008 Varanus Island gas
explosion or the fatalities associated with the Australian Government Insulation Scheme, to
remind us of the old adage “it’s always best to be safe than sorry”.
By Dr Danica Hooper,
State Manager and
Organisational
Psychologist, People
Solutions Australasia
e know that the causes of workplace accidents are usually very
complex, involving an interaction between aspects such as the physical environment and equipment available; an
organisation’s policies, procedures, and
protocols; their management practices;
the training received by employees;
team and interpersonal relationships;
and of course the behaviours and choices made by individuals themselves. In
this respect, safety is considered to be
“systemic” and affected by multiple
elements working together; no one
factor alone is usually to blame for
any critical event.
Despite the fact that the causes of
accidents are complex and multifaceted,
the research does suggest that human
factors are involved in 80–90% of work
accidents (Hale & Glendon, 1987). Specifically, the behaviours of individuals
have either a direct or indirect impact
on the chain of events leading to an
accident. Therefore, organisations are
beginning to realise that improving the
safety culture of an organisation not
only involves re-designing systems
and procedures, but it also involves
changing the attitudes and behaviours
of individuals currently employed, as
well as selecting individuals into the
organisation who will actively promote
and improve safety - the latter being
recognised as one of the most proactive
approaches to reducing safety related
risks at work.
So what individual attributes should
we be looking for in selection? In the
74
The aftermath
of tragedies
such as the
Varanus Island
gas explosion
should remind
us of the old
adage “it’s
always best to
be safe than
sorry."
past, approaches to selecting for safety
have often focused on an individual’s
tendency towards rule compliance. Undoubtedly being aware of and compliant
with safety-related rules and protocols
is an important first step to working
safely, however, safe working habits
involve more than simply knowing and
following the safety-related rules and
procedures in an organisation.
Prescriptive process controls (e.g.
procedures, rules, and regulations)
will always lack the variety necessary
to guarantee safe behaviour, even if
employees are meticulously compliant. There will always be situations
in which no rules are available, or in
which variations in the local circumstances contradict the applicability
of the available rules. Therefore, in a
safety sensitive environment an ideal
employee is one who can combine rule
compliance with a tendency to engage
in learning behaviours such as asking questions, seeking feedback, and
reflecting on errors and unexpected
outcomes.
Furthermore, they are likely to be
assertive enough to enforce rules and
stick to them when appropriate, as well
as have the confidence to guide and
direct others as needed.
In summary the body of research
on safety points to six individual at-
Safety
tributes of employees that are important
to promoting a positive safety culture:
1.Showing safety diligence and conscientiousness (which involves aspects such as adhering to rules and
procedures, even when under pressure, and being prepared to confront
others in a constructive manner)
2.Being able to cope with pressures
(which impacts upon managing
stress, fatigue, and distraction at
work, all of which affect working
safely)
3.Taking proactive responsibility for
safety (such as taking responsibility
for one’s own and others’ safety,
including offering proactive suggestions for process improvements)
4.Having confidence in your work
(such as knowing your boundaries
and being prepared to ask others for
assistance when these are reached)
5.Being prepared to communicate
safety information (proactively
informing and educating individuals
and groups as appropriate on safety
related matters).
How do organisations
traditionally select for safety?
Organisations have a history of attempting to predict the future safety
related behaviours of job candidates.
Quite commonly, organisations will
include a single interview question
asking a safety relevant question of
their candidates. These questions range
from fairly basic and ineffective (e.g.,
why do you think you are a safe employee?) to those which are more useful
(e.g., tell me about a time when you
witnessed an unsafe act on the job.
Talk me through exactly what you did
and why, explaining what the outcomes
were). The more useful questions in
terms of their ability to predict future
safety behaviour are behaviourallybased and ask candidates to describe
their own past behaviour for a specific
incident.
Unfortunately, interviewers rarely
have the time to ask the number of
behavioural questions needed to get a
comprehensive measure of the range of
individual attributes that affect safety
(such as the six key attributes listed
earlier), and therefore the interview
should typically be seen as only one of
several methods used to collect safety
relevant information from candidates.
Some organisations will also choose
to conduct an activity such as a role
play, asking candidates to pretend they
are in a specific safety critical scenario
and to respond accordingly. Again,
there are some good insights to be
gained here, however, organisations
should be careful not to use role plays
as their sole assessment of safety behaviour, as they too do not always assess a wide breadth of behaviours, and
they can be prone to eliciting nerves
and ‘performance’ anxiety, due to the
unnatural feel of them.
Another option for organisations
is to administer a safety questionnaire
(otherwise known as a psychometric assessment), aimed at identifying
candidates’ attitudes and behavioural
tendencies when it comes to safety.
Psychometric assessments often offer
a highly reliable and practical way to
measure individual safety attributes.
Given the questionnaire format, candidates can be assessed on a variety
of attributes in a relatively quick and
efficient manner, and as all candidates
are given the same questions and are
scored in a standardised manner, the
end result is typically reliable and free
from bias. However, the issue with
many of the existing safety questionnaires on the market, is that some of
them have been fairly narrow in focus
(e.g., looking only at a few key elements such as the tendency for rule
following, ‘thrill’ seeking behaviour,
or job-specific safety knowledge). As
such, the propensity for a candidate to
behave in other ways which promote
a safety culture is largely overlooked.
In addition to the lack of breadth,
some safety questionnaires have been
criticised for their perceived lack of
relevance in the candidates’ eyes.
Depending on the exact assessment
chosen, candidates can report being
confused or frustrated as to why they
are being asked to complete “strange”
or “personal” questions. This process
sometimes leaves a bad taste in their
mouths and a tendency to blame the
questionnaire alone, should they be
unsuccessful in the broader process.
So how do we select for safety
attributes in a quick, comprehensive,
and reliable manner?
A new assessment on the market today,
called the Individual Safety Attributes
Test (ISAT), fills the gap left by more
traditional safety questionnaires, offering organisations a comprehensive,
timely and reliable way to assess relevant safety attributes of individual
candidates. When combined with a
good quality interview and subsequent
reference checking, the ISAT allows
for a thorough yet practical approach
for safety selection.
The ISAT achieves the above by
asking candidates to respond to a
number of work-based, safety critical
scenarios, with their responses being
compared to those of safety subject
matter experts. The scenarios do not
require job-specific knowledge; rather
they require the candidate to draw on
practical knowledge, or what might be
termed by some as “common sense”.
The result is a more “face-valid” assessment, whereby candidates can
clearly appreciate the job relevance
of the scenarios they are being asked
to respond to.
As the ISAT, does not require specific job knowledge, it is suitable for a
wide range of roles and industries, including entry level positions. Typically
candidates would be asked to complete
the 30 minute assessment online prior
to an interview or assessment centre,
or in an assessment centre itself.
As a result of the assessment a
written report is produced, highlighting the extent to which the candidate
shows Safety Diligence and Conscientiousness, Copes with Pressure,
shows Responsibility for Safety, has
Confidence in their Work, and Communicates Safety Information Proactively; and reference check questions
are provided for key areas requiring
follow-up (either via the referees or
via the interview itself).
The result is a more comprehensive
approach to assessing safety in selection, which not only helps safety sensitive organisation to proactively manage safety risks, but also provides a
message to candidates at the point of
selection that safety is of the utmost
importance to your organisation.
For further information please
contact Melinda Boxall-Forsythe,
Senior Client Advisor, People
Solutions Australasia Pty Ltd,
07 3123 2355
[email protected]
75
Safety
Galvanising weld fumes contained
orking closely with an industrial filtration
specialist, OneSteel Reinforcing has taken
preventative action at its Sydney plant to ensure
containment of welding fumes on a process line.
The Revesby site services industrial markets on
the eastern seaboard of Australia, producing galvanised wire mesh for commercial, residential and civil
construction as well as the mining and agriculture
industries and manufacturing sector.
A recent upgrade of its welding automation
system prompted OneSteel to consult Donaldson
Australasia to design and build a fume collection
system based on its patented Downf lo DFO 3-18
technology; with OneSteel management specifying
a collection capacity that well exceeds its current
maximum fume output.
Project Management from OneSteel Reinforcing,
says the company has a tenet to ensure any pollution control solutions should
easily accommodate high rates of growth.
Welding galvanised wire produces weld fumes.
According to what processes are required, these can produce more fumes than
other welding processes and it is vital to contain these. Mesh is used to reinforce
roofs in mines where the environment is often aggressive, hence the need for
galvanising. All mines specify unique requirements based on their local geology.
One Steel Reinforcing has ACRS certified world-class manufacturing facilities and innovative-engineered reinforcing solutions to reduce labour needs and
streamline construction.
Donaldson modelled the site’s collection solution in a 3D digital environment
before attempting anything physical so that management could test all the structures. This allowed the use of actual structure data to check for the load values
at the anchorage points and create underground service pits for the machine. It
detailed ducting to specifically suit that pit.
Donaldson design engineers had to configure around the machine, especially
the hood, and ultimately constructed the system in a way so that it reduced risks
caused by sparks. Induction welding creates both fumes and sparks.
Donaldson’s Downlfo Oval Series (DFO) of patented dust collectors utilises
oval shaped cartridges to allow large amounts of
air flow through the collector without increasing
the footprint size or damaging filters.
The DFO Series requires a smaller collector
to minimise initial purchase price, reduce filter
replacement costs and use less manufacturing
floor space across most industries.
Compared with standard industry performance, DFO collectors provide about 25% more
capacity than other same sized dust collectors
on the market. A patented ExtraLife Filter
Cleaning System averages up to 30% increase
in pulse cleaning efficiency for excellent cleaning ability.
To further lower operating cost, unique oval
shaped Ultra-Web cartridge filters provide a long
filter life and high filtration efficiency.
Donaldson
(02) 4350 2034
76
Safety
BULKEX , Safety Show Sydney and Sydney
Materials Handling to run side by side in October
on display at BULKEX will be matched
with a conference agenda that showcases
technical papers on the latest innovations in bulk handling and research.”
The one-day conference will be
supported by a second day of intensive
interactive workshops, says Bostridge.
“The conference agenda will be
110229_CamplexJunior:Layout
21/1/11
populated
by an industry wide1 call
for
papers. A key element of the selection
process is that no paper will be able to
have had prior circulation in the industry, so delegates will be guaranteed to
be getting access to new and previously unreleased information.”
www.bulkex.com.au
3:39
PM Page 1
www.sydmaterialshandling.com.au
roductivity and safety will come
together when BULKEX, Sydney
Materials Handling and The Safety
Show Sydney run concurrently at the
Sydney Showground for the first time
this year.
BULKEX exhibitors will see thousands more visitors through the show in
2011 thanks to the additional drawing
power of Sydney Materials Handling
and The Safety Show Sydney. The
two annual shows have routinely seen
around 10,000 visitors from industry
through their doors in defiance of the
global financial crisis. The three events
will occupy four acres of the Sydney
Olympic Park site from 25 -27 Oct
drawing an anticipated 10,000 visitors.
BULKEX's organisers say the combined events will have much to offer
its traditional patrons: bulk handling
engineers and technicians from mining,
agricultural, pharmaceuticals, forestry,
chemicals, fertilizers, and transport
and storage facilities.
Among the exhibitors already confirmed for BULKEX 2011 are ESS, 4B
Braime, Brice Baker, Dwyer, Fluke,
Kinder & Co, Ross Brown Sales, Recycling Systems Australia, Vibrations
Systems & Solutions, Eriez Magnetics,
Fluke Australia, Pressure Systems, and
RUD Chains.
The focus will include materials
handling and transportation, dust collection, weighing systems and scales,
feeders, and packaging and bagging.
“The 2011 BULKEX Conference
will bring together Australia’s foremost practitioners of bulk materials
and powder handling,” says BULKEX
general manager Tim Bostridge. “The
valuable products and services that are
77
Safety
POW’R-RISER does the heavy lifting
etting up heavy lift equipment for truck, tractor, railway
stock and machinery servicing can be time-consuming
and hazardous if not undertaken properly.
Frustrating problems can arise in both workshop situations, where space is at a premium, and in remote situations where normal plant services and lifting surfaces are
not available.
A solution to such problems is offered by Enerpac in the
form of its easily maneuverable, self-contained, POW’RRISER Lifting Jack which can be used in even the tightest
locations and over rough terrain.
The heavy-duty lifting system combines a high capacity (54-181 ton) cylinder and an electric or air-powered
hydraulic pump unit integrated into a mobile cart.
“It is ideal for companies where time and safety are
paramount, such as mining and energy, oil and gas, heavy
infrastructure construction and heavy transport,” says
Enerpac Mining manager Pat Molloy.
“POW’R-RISER® has the speed, power and
versatility for a wide variety of on-site site applications, including servicing tires, tracks and
other maintenance functions on heavy equipment,
lifting and positioning of large constructed elements and many other applications that require
heavy lifting equipment in remote locations.
Key features include:
Can be rolled into position for easy placement.
l No exposed hoses or fittings to damage.
l Narrow width for hard-to-reach areas.
l Wide selection of capacities, strokes and jack heights for
a variety of applications.
l Electric motor fully enclosed to withstand elements.
l 54, 90, 136 and 181 ton capacities with pneumatic or
electric pumps for the toughest jobs
l SUP-R-STACK™ Extension System allows lifting at all
heights without blocking.
l
For safe mechanical
cribbing of a lifted load,
accessory Locking U-Rings
can be placed around an extended piston and come in
four lengths for each POW’RRISER capacity. They are available individually or in sets. Locking
U-Rings are accommodated by storage
racks integral to the POW’R-RISER
POW’R-RISER provides safe, efficient,
mobile lifting and load-holding for the toughest applications
and is backed by Enerpac’s extensive product support. This
support includes national and worldwide networks of local
distributors and authorised service centers as well as regional customer and technical service centers.
Enerpac equipment in Australia - 02 9743 8988
[email protected].
Abrasion rating
Blade cutting rating
Tear rating
Puncture rating
Hand protection standards -
78
rotective Gloves’ is not currently compulsory for glove
manufacturers, safety managers view compliance with
standards as a key issue.”
“Australia and parts of Asia have a policy of adopting established international standards for its own use and has implemented
a number of identical standards to those used throughout Europe.
Ansell’s gloves have been tested and approved to all meet many
of the stringent European and USA standards.”
“For example, standard EN 420 (AS/NZS 2161.2:1998)
– Occupational Protective Gloves, General Requirements
defines general requirements to all protective gloves (except electrician and medical gloves) for glove construction,
innocuousness, cleaning, comfort and efficiency, marking
and information.
Keeping cool
By Te r r y Mc D o n a l d
ummer is upon us, and employees will be tempted to begin
shedding clothing in order to stay
cool. It’s your responsibility to see
that they don’t take it too far.
As welcome as warm summer
days are—especially after such a
long, cold winter—the heat will rise
to uncomfortable levels, tempting
those working in hot, harsh environments such as manufacturing plants
to seek ways of staying cool. They
will begin wearing less clothing,
and what they do wear is generally
looser than what you’ll find during the colder months. I’m
sure you’ve already detected the problem attached to both
of those scenarios: less clothing means decreased protection
against cuts, abrasions, and spills; and loose clothing can
get caught in moving machinery, pulling limbs and whole
bodies into the works. Obviously, you don’t want either of
these things to happen, so now would be a good time to
consider how you’d like to address the issue.
Some companies provide their employees with uniforms
such as coveralls. While this is a definite added expense,
there are a number of benefits that make it worthwhile. First
of all, by choosing the right design you can make sure your
workers have pockets where they need them, and padding
where it helps. This can increase productivity since less time
will be spent searching for tools or flashlights, or something
to kneel on while working down low or in cramped quarters.
Another thing to consider is the impression it will leave on
visiting customers, because we all know how important a
clean, well-organized shop floor is in projecting a positive,
what do they mean?
A series of detailed standards follow: AS/ NZS
2161.3:1998 (EN 388) Protective Gloves Against Mechanical Risk; AS/NZS 2161.10:1998 (EN 374) Protection
against Chemicals and Micro Organisms and AS/NZS
2161.4:1999 (EN 407) Protective Gloves Against Thermal
Risks. Each of these standards is represented by a symbol and number stamped on gloves – the higher the
number, the higher level of protection. To achieve each
standard requires testing to determine the rating of protection level and is a useful guide to those responsible
for ensuring worker safety,” he said.
Ansel Ltd - 1800 337 041
[email protected] - www.ansell.com.au
Safety
professional image. A less expensive
approach involves developing a dress
code, which is what the vast majority of manufacturing operations do.
Points to consider include the work
being done, since long pants should
be required in areas where someone
may be exposed to hot metalworking
fluids or caustic liquids, but there may
be other areas where shorts or lighter
clothing might be acceptable, or even
preferable. The same thing goes for
long sleeves, but in the areas where
they are required you should also
ask that cuffs always be buttoned to
avoid the horrible situation described
previously. Those of you who have
had a machine “grab you” when your clothing gets caught in
moving parts still probably shudder at the memory.
To be honest, though, the real issue involves creating
an environment in which it’s comfortable for people to do
hard, sweaty, demanding work. We all know how sweltering it can be in some manufacturing facilities, where heat
is often generated in addition to the sun beaming down on
the metal roof, and if you can make the temperature bearable—if not idyllic—you’ll find that people will be less
likely to begin shedding their clothing. So make use of the
wind where you can, channeling it through open doors and
windows, and also deploy fans in ways that will encourage that type of airflow, much like the attic fans you’ll see
in some people’s homes. Creating that kind of large-scale
airflow will be much more productive than simply aiming a
smaller unit directly into someone’s face. Large industrial
air-conditioning modules are also available for extremely
high-heat areas, such as near forges or welding operations.
In addition to keeping your workers cool on the outside,
you need to make sure they’re hydrated on the inside as
well. While good old-fashioned water is always the best
liquid to fill up on, there are many drinks that have been
formulated especially for hot industrial environments. Unlike water, these hydration products can contain ingredients
that your body needs and is losing due to sweating, such as
salt, electrolytes, and even nutritional supplements. They
are available in premixed liquid form, or in packaged powders that you can mix and make available around the facility in your own coolers. So think of the small things you
can do to help your employees keep their cool inside and
out, and you’ll stand a better chance of avoiding the terrible
types of injuries we’ve discussed here.
Terry McDonald is US-based and Manager of
Repair Parts, Inc.
rpi@repair–parts–inc.com
www.repair–parts–inc.com
Reprinted courtesy of Gear Solutions magazine
[www.gearsolutions.com]
79
Lean M anufacturing
Linking the Lean enterprise
By Jim Huntzinger
There are a number of “Lean” movements going on that are having
a significant impact on organisations involved in and learning from
these movements. This is true particularly in the Lean niche areas
of accounting, product & process development, logistics, human
resources, sales and marketing, and Training Within Industry (TWI).
But these movements – actually business functions – do not function
in isolation. They all must function together as integrated facets of a
business enterprise. Just like systems of the human body – circulatory,
respiratory, nervous, and so forth – they are interconnected physically
and functionally; otherwise, life of the human body would cease. The
business organisation is no different. Implementing these systems
cannot be done successfully in isolation.
s the diagram illustrates, these niche functions are all
interlinked. While expertise in each area must be developed, what also must be developed is the understanding
of the cross dependency each has on the other functions of
the business. For high level success there is no alternative.
But, unfortunately, few companies have successfully accomplished this. This situation is, in part, the reason for
the rise of these movements – to give organisations and
individuals within these organisations the opportunity to
learn and understand both the function of each of these
unique parts, and their integrative relationship with the rest
of the business enterprise.
This interdependency of each of these characteristics
within the business enterprise is the reason these organisations have joined together to promote these topics and
their associated events. In order for each function to thrive
at the most effective level, the other characteristics must
thrive as well. That translates into developing key people
in each discipline with the skills and knowledge to lead,
guide, and grow others in their organisations; and this includes leadership which understands these principles and
practices so that strategy, direction and mentoring leads the
organization in a productive and functional manner which
serves the organisation’s customers.
For example, Lean accounting covers how an organisation accurately reflects cost information in order for the
decision-makers to make significantly better informed decisions. Since, other than operations, logistics and product
development have the largest impact on a company’s financial
health, Lean accounting plays a direct role in supporting
both logistics and product development. Logistics are tied
to product development since procuring and shipping supplied components and finished products are essential to
day-to-day success. While sales and marketing connects
product development to the market, customer demands and
preferences, it also links daily demand and consumption
to operations in order to fulfill this demand; all the while
logistics handles the flow of information and materials
through the maze of customers, distributors, retailers, manu-
80
facturers and suppliers. And overall, TWI is foundational
to developing skills of continuous improvement and good
standard work in any function of a business. Basically, it
becomes very apparent after a bit of thought and analysis that
none of these functions can, in any reasonable semblance,
operate free and clear of each other. Unfortunately, that is
what many firms try to do, combined with managing them
financially as independent functions.
How is a firm to develop itself into a Lean enterprise
under such conditions? Simply put, one step at a time. The
process typically begins in manufacturing. The reason for
this is that application of Lean in manufacturing is much
more tangible. It is easier for people to see, touch, and
understand physically the changes taking place. And in
most cases this is fine. Manufacturing is where the value
the customer ultimately sees is added. Manufacturing
also has the most history and case studies to review and
reflect upon for examples of what to do. But the real key
is developing people.
Lean M anufacturing
and developing people
Another of the key underpinnings of the Lean enterprise
is the development and implementation of one-piece flow, or
just simply stated, flow. One-piece flow is producing one part
at a time – a batch of one – aligned with customer demand.
This includes both the flow of materials and information;
for the purpose of this article we will focus on the flow of
materials – or production in operations. There are two
main aspects of implementing flow in the Lean enterprise.
First is establishing flow where it currently does not exist;
moving from batch manufacturing to flow manufacturing.
Many problems must be solved in order to achieve this,
such as machine design, machine uptime, and changeover
time to name a few. The second is re-establishing flow
when and where it breaks down. Since operating under
flow manufacturing drastically reduces inventory levels,
operations cannot afford downtime because there is little
or no inventory to buffer downtime. Tools used to solve
problems associated with a breakdown in flow are: standard
work, TWI, pull systems, TPM, and many others.
But how does a firm drive and sustain flow? This key
loops straight back to developing people. An analogy I often
use to explain these two key elements of the Lean enterprise
is they are two sides of the same coin – flow and people.
Therefore, any organisation which truly desires to become
a Lean enterprise will have to implement flow principles,
and the only way to achieve this is by developing their
people; that means all people in the organisation. The link
to connect the two sides of the coin – flow and people – is
solving problems on a daily basis. This is the essence of
kaizen, developing people to quickly solve problems when
and where they occur, and creating countermeasures before
issues become substantial problems.
In order for people to develop, they must Learn by Doing – that is, they must learn in a hands-on fashion with a
mentor/teacher by their side guiding them through the process. Allowing them to fail and exerting positive pressure to
understand the reason behind the failure (root cause), then
reapplying an adjusted effort based on what they learned
in the failure, is crucial. This is where Plan, Do, Check,
Act (PDCA) or kaizen comes into play. This is absolutely
key to developing people in your organisation, and utterly
critical to transforming your business into a Lean enterprise.
By its nature PDCA is an acknowledgment of failure,
but a victory in learning. If PDCA was a victory each time,
you would never have to go back through the cycle again.
But that is exactly what PDCA intends for you to do. This
is the process of learning: fail, learn, fail, learn, and so on.
And this will equate to a victory. The failure I am referencing does not mean things go bad necessarily, it means that
a final solution or a perfect solution is not reached. This
is why Toyota frequently refers to these “trys” as countermeasures. Counter the problem and measure the results,
then try again and again.
This is exactly what TWI manifests both mechanically
and philosophically – a pattern for a behavior. Once this
behavior is learned and made into a habit, deep learning takes
place and the learning cycle can become addictive; this is a
habit. How does TWI achieve this? It goes back to the old
analogy frequently used by Toyota folks using stair steps.
Job Methods is the vertical part of the step – the change,
the improvement, the experiment, the ‘try’. Job Instruction is the horizontal part of the step or the stabilisation of
the experiment upon some level of success (or learning).
Job Relations gives an environment where both the leader
and the subordinate feel comfort and are confident to work
together through this change-stabilization process. This is
a learning process running in parallel with the mechanical
PDCA process of the stair steps.
In this manner there is a symbiotic relationship between
the organisation and its people. The company gets an improvement – better performance. People get to contribute in
a meaningful way and grow in knowledge and experience.
Then each gets to further leverage the mutual benefit over
and over again, thus making both better through many tiny
creative-destruction cycles. Creative-destruction means
that new businesses, services, or products enter and create
the new markets, while destroying existing ones – with
the overall result being beneficial. TWI is a micro version
of creative-destruction. Kaizen is no different, but on a
smaller scale. It links people directly to understanding the
processes in which they work and, in turn, helps them to
understand better the interdependencies of the functions
in their organisation. This ultimately makes the overall
organization function more effectively as a whole.
But this takes patience. It takes leadership. It takes a
long-term view of the business while working on resolving
problems in the short-term. It takes intimacy with your
customers and markets. It is not an easy task, but it can be
very fulfilling for everyone in the organisation when it is
embraced.
Jim Huntzinger is Founder and President of Lean Frontiers.
[email protected] - www.leanfrontiers.com
For the upcoming Summit in New Zealand please visit:
www.leanfrontiers.com/nz
About the Author
Jim Huntzinger has over twenty years’ experience
developing Lean enterprises through system design and
development, implementation, and guiding organisations
both strategically and tactically through the transformation
process. He began his career as a manufacturing
engineer with Aisin Seiki (a Toyota Group company and
manufacturer of automotive components) when they
transplanted to North America to support Toyota. Over
his 20 year career, he has held positions in engineering,
operations, and management working to implement and
evolve Lean into operational and business practices. He
has also worked as a consultant with organisations ranging
from small privately-held to huge global corporations.
81
Lean M anufacturing
Lean – how and why SME’s
should do Lean
When contemplating improving your business there is a common tendency to unconsciously go
on the defensive and think “Lean may be alright for company XYZ in Industry ABC but it won’t
work like that in our industry or company. We are different and have different challenges.” It is
true that your business is different and has its own peculiar challenges. Lean however can work
for any process or business that is looking to add value.
By Glenn Seaby
like the definition of Lean that
is “Striving to deliver value to
your customer through the perfect
process”.
So if you’re trying to deliver value
to your customers, don’t yet have the
perfect process (no one does) and you
want to change, Lean will work for you.
So how do you do it? I maintain that
you need three things
1.Desire
2.A questioning and challenging
approach
3.Skills
Desire
The hydraulic shop before the Lean process.
Unless you really want to change and
can see the need, you won’t. Your
Lean efforts will be like all the other
things you should do - a good idea
just not right now, I’m busy. Change
is hard and unless you really desire a
better future state, motivation will fall
off. If you really desire change you
will find the time and the resources to
achieve the goal.
A questioning and challenging
approach
The hydraulic shop after the Lean process has started.
82
So you’ve got the desire, how do you
strive to achieve the perfect process?
Lean experts are increasingly emphasising the importance of a questioning
and challenging approach (1).
You need to challenge your processes
and ask
l What is not as it should be?
l Where you are letting your customers down or wasting your effort?
l What you should do about it?
Lean M anufacturing
You need to clearly understand what is
wrong with your process and then apply
the right solution. As we’ve said, your
industry and company are different, so
you’ll need your own solution. Tools
that others have developed like 5S,
Problem Solving, Quick Changeovers
etc. may form part of the solution but
you need to apply them in the right
mix and sequence for your own set of
problems.
A good way of working out the right
mix and sequence for your business is
to use the Lean tool of value stream
mapping.
Skills
You need to get the skills required.
Most of the techniques seem obvious or
are intellectually simple once you know
them. Unfortunately, many of these
same tools and techniques are counter
intuitive. You can however learn from
those who have gone before. There is
a wide range of books, web sites and
blogs that you can get information
from. The nationally recognised course
in Competitive Manufacturing is also
a good way to access materials, expert
coaching and obtain the skills you need.
As a further incentive this training is
heavily subsidised in Australia.
So can it be done?
Many examples of SMEs working
successfully to apply Lean exist, all
different to you but some similar. A
recent example my company has been
involved with is a group of SMEs in
Rockhampton Queensland. The group
met regularly with us to learn and discuss Lean processes and learn from
each other. Each business was different
but the generic principles of Lean applied to each of them. They all followed
the same questioning and challenging
process and variously reported
l Reduced lead times on jobs and
quotes
l Improved profitability
l Reduced error rates
l Improved safety and environmental
performance
Paul Thompson of The Hydraulic Shop,
and part of the group, commented that
- “Through the process I’ve learnt a
lot and redesigned our key processes.
As a result our internal communication, processes, systems and customer
service have all improved. We also
have quicker turn around and more
capacity.”
Sounds good, and all through
1. Desiring to change
2.Questioning and challenging the
way things are done
3. Getting the skills required to make
the change.
(1) Jeffrey Liker and Mike Rother, “Why
Lean Programs Fail”, Lean Enterprise
Institute, www.lean.org
www.efficiencyworks.com.au
twitter: efficiencyworks
About the Author
Glenn Seaby works as a Lean coach
and consultant and is a Director
of Efficiency Works. He has been
involved in manufacturing and
process improvement for more than
20 years.
83
Lean M anufacturing
Lean accounting's quest
for acceptance. . .
Despite growing interest, proponents say there's still a long way
to go before Lean accounting becomes a mainstream practice.
By Josh Cable
When Orest "Orry" Fiume was vice president of finance
and administration for The Wiremold Company, US.-based
manufacturer of cable and wiring products, he recalls
management meetings in which executives had difficulty stifling
yawns while analysing the company's standard cost accountingbased financial results.
"After about 30 seconds, you could see everybody else's eyes
glaze over," Fiume recalls. "Because when you look at those
statements, they're just unintelligible to anybody that doesn't
have a degree in accounting."
iume, who led Wiremold's conversion to Lean accounting in the early 1990s and went on to co-author "Real
Numbers: Management Accounting in a Lean Organization," notes that once the company switched to a simpler
financial statement that reflected the improvements being
made by its Lean efforts -- the "plain-English P&L," as it's
called in the book -- the tone of those meetings changed
dramatically. "Once we went to the plain-English P&L, we
could have a good management discussion about what was
happening, because everyone could understand what they
were looking at," Fiume says.
Fiume retired in 2002, but he still extols the virtues of
Lean accounting in various workshops presented by the
Lean Enterprise Institute, where he is a member of the
board of directors. In his presentations, Fiume shows how
a standard cost-based P&L statement penalises a fictitious
manufacturer for reducing inventory, because the labour
and overhead costs associated with the production of that
inventory have been deferred to the balance sheet until the
year the inventory is sold.
"When we reduce our inventory, or improve our inventory turns -- which is a good thing -- we have to take some
of that labour and overhead from prior years that was capitalised on the balance sheet and we have to take it off the
balance sheet," Fiume explains. "And the only place it can
go is through the P&L."
Unfortunately, those deferred labour-and-overhead costs
are buried on a standard cost-based P&L (usually showing
up as an unfavourable overhead variance) -- which often
prompts corporate brass to question the value of Lean initiatives taking place in the company. The plain-English P&L,
84
on the other hand, separates current operating information
from the change-in-inventory information, presenting the
latter on a separate line.
"Whereas standard cost accounting hides what is really
happening [with shop-floor Lean initiatives], Lean accounting shines a light on it," Fiume says.
An uphill climb
Even with the growing popularity of Lean manufacturing, Fiume laments that it's been a bit of an uphill climb to
convince manufacturers to implement the plain-English P&L
approach. An informal survey of his workshop attendees
several years ago revealed that while more than 80% of
respondents had begun applying Lean concepts (such as
waste removal) to their accounting operations, fewer than
20% said they had switched from standard cost accounting
to simpler Lean-reflective accounting statements.
Jean Cunningham, a Lean consultant and co-author of
the aforementioned "Real Numbers," asserts that there is
plenty of interest among manufacturers in "changing their
metrics to fit with their operational changes as well as interest in applying Lean within their accounting operations."
However, when it comes to manufacturers actually taking
the plunge and switching to Lean accounting-based financial
statements, "there's certainly a lot more interest than action."
Gary Hourselt, Executive Vice President and CFO for
US-based TBM Consulting, is a firm believer that Lean
accounting "gives a much better picture of the company
and its [Lean] improvements" compared with traditional
cost accounting methods. Ironically, though, the clarity
of the financial information in the Lean accounting-based
Lean M anufacturing
P&L is a big reason why adoption of Lean accounting has
been slow, he notes.
"Traditional accounting systems reward overproduction, and overproduction is a very common way for
manufacturers to make their results look better," Hourselt
says. Hourselt points out that public companies have been
particularly resistant to adopting Lean accounting, in part
because "the world of public [companies] thinks quarterly
earning first."
"Public companies have a lot of investors rely on their
accounting, and [Lean accounting] is a pretty drastic change
for them," Hourselt says. "It also exposes poor business
practices -- we use the term 'it opens the kimono' -- and
I've seen some very good people in public companies work
very hard to shade the results so that the earnings per share
look as good as they can and the stock price stays as high
as it can."
Change is hard
With the help of Lean consultant Brian Maskell, Watlow
business units have been identifying their value streams
and posting simplified operational and financial data for
each value stream on a weekly basis.
The implementation of the value stream management
system, as Watlow calls it, has helped the company gain "a
better understanding of our cost structure" and make better
business decisions, Grinde explains.
"And even though right now the economy is down, here
at Hannibal we're growing the business because we understand our costs better," Grinde says.
"One reason is because accountants have been trained
for the last hundred years to do material-labour-overhead
standard costing and doing P&Ls one way, and we've been
telling businesses, ‘These are your costs,' and now all of
a sudden we're telling them something different," Grinde
says. "Now we're saying, ‘No, we were all wrong.' That's
a big hurdle."
Fiume asserts that the major hurdle standing in the way
of widespread adoption is the education system.
"We're still teaching standard cost accounting in schools,"
Fiume says. "Some schools have started teaching Lean accounting as an adjunct to the traditional standard cost, but
it's a very small minority. Until the academic world starts
telling the accounting profession that Lean accounting is
a legitimate way of looking at your financial information,
people are going to be reluctant to adopt it."
Clemson University accounting Professor Frances
Kennedy, who delves into Lean when she teaches classes
on cost accounting, is well-aware that she is in the minority
when it comes to her inclusion of Lean accounting in her
courses. She points out that even some of her colleagues at
prestigious business schools don't always understand Lean.
"I've actually had someone tell me that they don't think what
I do is really accounting," Kennedy says. "I get a huge kick
out of that comment."
Her students, on the other hand, "really do get Lean."
"They get it because they don't have a paradigm already
established, and because it just makes sense," Kennedy says.
"And then I get students asking me, ‘Why did you teach me
all that other stuff?'"
Kennedy's advice to manufacturers that want to see
Lean incorporated into accounting classes is to exert that
same type of pull on business schools. She notes that this
can be accomplished in a number of ways, from sponsoring
a faculty or student scholarship for the Lean Accounting
Summit to simply picking up the phone and calling the dean
or the department chair.
Not all doom and gloom
While Lean accounting is a long way from garnering
mainstream acceptance in the manufacturing community,
proponents of this accounting approach assert that it's not
all doom and gloom.
"We find that once the financial leadership understands
the thinking behind Lean accounting, the actual transformation can be very quick on a location-by-location basis," she
explains. "Small or medium businesses can probably get this
done in less than a few months. And in larger companies,
on a division-by-division basis, it doesn't take a long time
to make this change, once you understand what it's about."
She continues, "Our challenge is to educate people on
what statements would entail, what they would look like
and how you would read them. Once people understand
that, they can see that this is actually quite a simple change,
and most of the information that you need to make this
change is readily available in your accounting system."
www.jeancunninghamconsulting.com
85
STRATEGIES
Forum
What is your view on Innovation?
– the innovation trajectory
There are many approaches taken to inspire insightful thinking into what may be the next big thing for
your industry. Many struggle with the search for new horizons, but in fact the search can be made a lot
easier if you plot what is best termed the “innovation trajectory”. Roger La Salle explains.
good starting point is to first agree
that there is always a new horizon, or
something better. Indeed the very definition of Innovation: “Change that Adds
Value” is founded on this very notion. To
argue with this would have you take the
view that whatever you use or are doing
today will be the same in 100 years - not
likely I suggest!
One of the secrets of innovation in any
sector is to trace the evolution or development of that industry over time and look
at how the offering has changed.
What is your innovation
trajectory?
Discover this trajectory and the gradient of
the trajectory and then ask, ‘what’s next’?
There is always a next.
Innovation trajectory is similar to a
mathematical extrapolation. By extending
a known graph or curve we can very likely
anticipate its new position and find new
insights into the business.
Do this in a systematic way with your
present offering, plot the trajectory and
see if you can discover the “enablers” and
“drivers” and be first with the next innovation, thus leaving others in your wake.
In Roman times mail was delivered by
a runner or on horseback, an innovation
on this was perhaps smoke signals, or the
semaphore. Speed of reliable information
delivery has always been of great value.
Indeed it was the promise of speedy
mail delivery that essentially underpinned
the fledgling airline business and spawned
the birth of the aviation industry. Had it
not been for mail contracts the development of the airline industry would have
been severely handicapped.
Find the enablers and
drivers
On observing this innovation trajectory
with speed of delivery as a driver, and
technology as an enabler, some clever
86
entrepreneurs moved to fill the gap of
the relatively slow mail services and implemented the overnight courier services.
Such was the birth of such companies as
DHL, FedEx, UPS etc.
Speed of delivery via jet aircraft has
now plateaued as the speed of transport
jets approaches that of the speed of
sound. There are now only two presently
available solutions to increase this much
valued speed:
l faster aircraft and/or faster ground
transport
lfaster collection and processing time.
The volume and content is now expanding at a seemingly unstoppable
rate. The trajectory of businesses in the
communications sector is clearly headed
toward volume data coupled with added
security using technology as the enablers,
and ever lower price, with competition
as the driver.
These are classic examples of innovation of services, determine the trajectory,
extend the graph and anticipate what’s
next, then innovate to fill the void.
Whilst speed may have
plateaued, price has not.
Such innovation based on a plot of the
trajectory, a determination of the enablers
and drivers should be carried out in a
structured way that can produce sometimes quite remarkable insights.
The secret is to learn from the past
and try and extrapolate to the future as
shown.
Competition and technology have been
the drivers of lower prices for deliveries,
and it would seem this trajectory will
ever be on a downward slope. Based on
this price trajectory and the plateauing
of speed, one must question the long
terms benefits of being in this business
unless some breakthrough innovation is
undertaken.
Reuters is another example of a business that “innovated” the delivery of
information, simply by offering increased
speed.
The telegraph was the first move into
electronic signalling and a great innovation. Since then we have seen an explosive
growth in speed of data delivery with that
now approaching the speed of light. The
driver is people’s need to know, the enabler is technology. Speed may have just
about plateaued, but data volume has not.
Spent the time, plot a
trajectory, find the opportunities
Roger La Salle, is the creator of the “Matrix
Thinking”™ technique and is widely sought
after as an international speaker on Innovation, Opportunity and business development.
He is the author of three books, Director
and former CEO of the Innovation Centre of
Victoria (INNOVIC) as well as a number of
companies both in Australian and overseas.
He has been responsible for a number of successful technology start-ups and in 2004 was
a regular panellist on the ABC New Inventors
TV program. In 2005 he was appointed to
the “Chair of Innovation” at “The Queens
University” in Belfast. Matrix Thinking is
now used in more than 26 countries. www.
matrixthinking.com
OHS
Forum
OHS harmonisation – the
clock has started ticking
No matter who you are, it will be almost impossible to escape responsibility for workplace safety when
the national model Work Health and Safety Act is adopted by Australian states at the end of this year.
Norton Rose law firm partner Barry Sherriff, who as a member of the review panel was one of the
architects of the laws, will tell Safety In Action trade show visitors in seminars from 5-7 April that the
new laws will close the loopholes in accountability. Marian Macdonald reports.
herriff notes that the NSW government’s proposals to adopt the right
of unions to prosecute and to reverse the
onus of proof are not central to the operation of the laws.
“Even if the Keneally government is returned at the next election, these are
‘after the event’ items – going only to who
can prosecute and who must prove what,”
Sherriff says. “The changes that will make
a real difference to compliance will apply
to NSW workplaces as well.”
Significant changes in all jurisdictions
will include:
• Moving from employment as basis for
duties, obligations and rights.
• New positive duty of care for officers,
with due diligence defined.
• Broadened consultation obligations –
vertical and horizontal.
• Broadened union right of entry.
• Greater protection against discrimination and coercion.
• Emphasis on graduated enforcement
but higher penalties.
• Easier modification of notices.
• Changes to powers of questioning and
reduced rights of individuals.
A significant change in some States will
be that health and safety representatives
will have powers to issue Provisional
Improvement Notices PINs and direct a
work stoppage (not currently available in
NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and
Tasmania).
OHS no longer the domain of
employers
One of the biggest changes under the new
laws will be a shift in emphasis from the
employer-employee relationship. “Rather
than focusing on the duties of employers,
the model Work Health and Safety Act
refers to the Person Conducting a Business
or Undertaking (PCBU), which is a very
broad term and everyone contributing to
work will have a duty of care,” says Sherriff. “Practical relationships, not legal, will
determine who owes a duty to whom.”
The definition of worker under the
legislation is expanded significantly.
Contractors, employees of contractors,
sub-contractors, labour hire workers, apprentices, volunteers as well as employees
are all caught by the definition.
Clearer but positive
obligations for senior officers
Senior officers of companies and other
organisations will have a more positive,
proactive duty of care, beginning with
an understanding of hazards and risks.
“Officers will need appropriate processes
for receiving and considering information
regarding incidents, hazards and risks and
responding in a timely way to that information. It also means verifying the implementation of those processes through regular
audits and verifying legal compliance.”
Consultation is critical
The new Act obliges the PCBU to consult
so far as reasonably practicable with all
workers in the business of the PCBU not
just direct employees. Also added will be a
duty of every PCBU to consult, co-operate
and co-ordinate activities with every other
duty holder. Issue resolution processes
and default procedures must also be in
place to ensure engagement of workers
and their representatives with PCBUs.
Why it’s urgent
“Model OHS laws are no longer just a possibility,” says Sherriff, “They are close to being
passed, and contracts are being entered into
now that will operate after the commencement of the new laws on 1 January next.
Though experience shows that effective
implementation of new laws like these takes
18 months to two years, the clock started
ticking months ago and you have only a few
months still available to prepare.”
Draft regulations are out for
public comment
Safe Work Australia has released draft
model regulations, for public comment
until 4 April 2011. “The regulations will
bring about a lot of changes in the detailed
obligations in each State.
How to prepare
Norton Rose recommends preparing for
the new WHS Act in 10 steps:
1. Undertake a legal risk analysis.
2. Undertake a gap analysis.
3. Review, revise and supplement policies
and procedures (remember current
consultation obligations).
4. Implement – including training and
ongoing review.
5. Review contracts – many will operate
under the new laws.
6. Design and implement interface coordination processes and plans.
7. Develop effective representation and
consultation processes.
8. Develop robust issue resolution processes.
9. Ensure effective processes for union
right of entry.
10. Review and revise all aspects of corporate governance in WHS to ensure
effective management and ‘due diligence’ compliance.
Barry Sherriff will deliver free seminars addressing the model WHS Act daily at Safety
In Action from 5-7 April at the Melbourne
Exhibition Centre.
Visit www.safetyinaction.net.au, email
[email protected] or phone Australian
Exhibitions & Conferences on 03 9654 7773.
87
LAW
Forum
Additive Manufacturing and
intellectual property
The Australian patent system is underutilised, often because Australian manufacturers consider their
inventions unworthy. Surprisingly, a patent may well cover the use of Additive Manufacturing if this use
was not previously publicly known, as explained by Ben Mott.
dditive Manufacturing (AM) is the
name given to an exciting range of
non-conventional manufacturing techniques that can be applied to produce
profitable products. Conventionally,
product components have been formed
by removing material (eg machining) or
forming material (eg casting). AM involves
building product components by material
addition, often layer by layer.
In the past AM has been applied to
produce prototypes and short production runs. As AM technology advances,
increasingly larger production runs are
economical.
AM offers many advantages: tooling
is not required, product design can be
changed at a whim and is not constrained
by coring considerations or other conventional limitations; complexity is free.
Exploiting these new design freedoms
can lead to dramatically reduced part
counts and superior products, eg a heavy
plate can be economically replaced by
a stronger and lighter integrally formed
covered lattice.
AM is an example of good product
design that can lead to profit margin. Like
all good product design, this margin is
unlikely to last if your competitors release
similar products.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is the name given to
the ownership of a ‘creation of the mind’,
eg the application of AM to a particular
product is a creation of the mind that you
might seek to own.
Generally speaking, in the manufacturing context, you must take action to
retain ownership of your intellectual property. Aside from a few rare exceptions,
it is not an infringement of copyright to
copy a product once it is in production.
Patents, design registration and trade
mark registration are available to protect
intellectual property relating to manufactured products, eg you could seek patent
88
An integrally formed hydraulic valve
housing manufactured using a Selective
Laser Melting process (a form of AM).
or design protection to stop others copying your AM product.
Design registration protects the appearance of a product. An Australian
design registration lasts for up to 10 years
and can be used to stop others making
and selling a product which looks “substantially similar in overall impression”
to the registered design. To qualify for
protection, the design must not be “substantially similar in overall impression” to
anything that was publicly known before
an initial application for design registration was filed.
Design registration can be of particular value where the appearance of
the product is important, the appearance
is required to achieve a functional result,
and/or there is a significant risk of direct
copying. Applying for design registration
is straightforward.
The patent system can be used to protect technical details of a new product or
process. An Australian standard patent
lasts for up to 20 years. An Australian innovation patent lasts for up to eight years.
The Australian patent system is underutilised. Australian manufacturers are
often held back by a false belief that their
products and processes are ‘not clever
enough’ to qualify for patent protection.
To qualify for a standard patent the invention must have an ‘inventive step’. This
is a surprisingly low standard: many rather
mundane items are validly patented.
An inventive step is not required to
qualify for an innovation patent. Instead
the invention must have an ‘innovative
step’. This is an even lower standard. It
requires a variation from what has gone
before that makes a ‘substantial contribution to the working of the invention’. In
a recent court decision, adding a taper
to the end of a post to make it easier to
drive in to the ground was held to qualify.
As the law currently stands, an Australian innovation patent may well validly
cover the use of AM to make a particular
product if this use was not previously publicly known. Such a patent could be used
to prevent others using AM in Australia to
make the product, and/or to stop others
importing product made elsewhere using
AM. Physical changes in the product, eg
for reduced part count, would improve the
likelihood of obtaining valid protection.
By way of example patent coverage in
relation to the illustrated valve housing
might be defined in terms of:
“A method of manufacturing a valve
housing including the steps of:
(1) providing an electronic representation (e.g. CAD data) of a valve housing; and
(2) repetitively
(2a) depositing a layer of powdered material, and
(2b) selectively fusing the deposited
material in accordance with the
electronic representation to form the
valve housing.”
If pursuing patent or design protection is
of interest it is important to keep the invention or design secret until an initial
application for protection is filed.
This article was written by Ben Mott,
Freehills Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys,
[email protected]. Ben would
like to thank Formero (http://www.formero.
com.au) for their kind assistance with the
preparation of this article.
LEAN MANUFACTURING
Forum
Lean manufacturing –
fat training
How does training and lean manufacturing go hand in hand? Ron Pollak explains
I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve received
a whole lot of help with this article. It’s
probably an excellent example of Lean
Authoring. It started this way:
I thought that if I was going to write
an article about how training and Lean
manufacturing go hand in hand, I had better bone up on Lean manufacturing. So,
where do you go today? the web!
Now, before you read further, please
note that my major efforts are outlined
at the foot of this article. Now, read on…
Some time ago I joined a discussion
group, through the highly recommended
Australian Institute of Training & Development (I am biased as I am a NSW Councillor
of this august organisation). So, I threw
out the question.
“I have been asked to write an article
on “Training & Lean manufacturing”. My
first thought was to title the article “Lean
Manufacturing - Fat Training”. Pro or con
give me your thoughts.
Well, the answer came back from a
colleague in Egypt, Moustafa Wahba, who
basically provided the bulk of the article.
Moustafa’s is a Competency Assurance &
Technical and Vocational Education and
Training Consultant. Moustafa wrote:
“My own thoughts on the approach to
implement a Lean Management System to
achieve excellence in Companies, Enterprises, Education and Training Institutions
are summarised as follows:
The word “Lean” means little or no
flesh /fat/waste or thin. Lean management
adopts the zero-waste principal and addresses the waste inherent in bureaucratic
communication and reporting systems.
Many of the successful Lean companies have relatively ‘flat organisational
pyramids’ to begin with; others find
ways to use cross-functional management to ensure that critical information
is not buried or twisted before it can be
used. To implement a Lean Management
System, practical methodology based on
continuous improvement methods, crossfunctional management and employee’s
involvement should be adopted. The
Ron’s own comments
entire system should be supported by
documents and forms that guide the staff
in applying the concepts.
In order to adopt a Lean Management
System, the senior management needs to
follow up the following simple guidelines
and tools:
l Link the key vocational areas to zerowaste.
l Develop a company-wide vision, analyse strategically training capabilities
needed in the future and create a five
year training development plan for
development of these capabilities.
l Transfer the development plan into an
annual improvement policy.
l Guide, monitor and evaluate activities
to ensure progress towards the annual
policy target, using a cross-functional
system of reporting and analysis.
A Lean Management System is designed to lead management systematically
through the above activities to form a
world-class Company, Enterprise, Education and Training Institution.
“In conclusion, the Lean Management
System is a complete programme that
aligns and integrates long-term strategically development planning and day-today improvement targets to make the
company demand focused, flexible and
ready for tomorrow’s challenges.”
Mustafa talks about ‘flat organisational
pyramids’. Hopefully, by the time you are
reading this article, Egypt’s period of difficulty is behind it and the only pyramids
that are flat are those in organisations.
Perhaps this article should have focused
on one of the wastes that Lean manufacturing endeavours to avoid. That being
‘latent skill’. This is where organisations
employ their staff for specific skills, whereas these same employees have other skills
too. With training it’s possible to take
advantage of these latent skills as well.
The problem that I see with training
today, is that there’s far too much attention on cutting ‘discretionary expenditure’
– and training is top of the list. Sure, you
have got to do technical, product and
safety training. But the real gains are
made when the people themselves grow.
Otherwise, you are not taking advantage
of their ‘latent skills’.
Here are some recent examples I have
collected where growth has occurred,
when there were indirect benefits from
unexpected latent skills. I have heard stories about how a group who went through
a strenuous Certificate IV in Business Sales
program were noticed to be more confident and greater contributors in areas
outside of the sales arena.
On another occasion, employees who
were treated to a Personal Development
program – the fattest and least businessgoal-targeted course available, returned
from their course with a ‘different attitude’
to a whole range of situations.
At the same time, however, I consider
that there are distinct benefits when training can be linked to a management goal
or initiative. As such, I am a great believer
in training needing a theme greater than
the event itself.
Yet, a number of businesses I have
visited lately are taking a special pride in
running a Lean manufacturing initiative,
with appropriately titled training. Yet,
stopping waste is not the only goal for
management. Perhaps, being Lean is too
strong a theme for training.
Ron Pollak Training Pty Limited
Ph: 02 8354 7777
www.ronpollak.com.au
89
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INDUSTRY CALENDAR
INTERNATIONAL
It is recommended to contact exhibitor
before attending event
Green manufacturing expo
USA (different dates/venues):
16-17 March 2011 Orlando
7-9 June 2011 New York
21-23 June 2011 Toronto
20-22 Sept 2011 Rosemont
Presents the full spectrum of sustainable
manufacturing solutions.
www.canontradeshows.com/expo/gmx11
Blech
15-17 March 2011
Russia, St Petersburg
Sheet metal, tube, cutting/forming, flexible
sheetmetal working, joining/welding,
automation and Robotics, tools/dies,
measuring, CAD/CAM, recycling, OHS, R&D.
www.blechrussia.com/english
AeroCon
USA (3 different dates and venues)
14-15 March 2011 (Texas)
16-17 March 2011 (Florida)
Introducing new conference and exhibition
for the aerospace and defence industries.
www.canontradeshows.com/expo/aerocon
Automate
USA, Chicago
21-24 March 2011
Full spectrum of automation technologies
and solutions.
www.automate2011.com/
MTA
23-26 March 2011
Singapore
Precision engineering event..
www.mta-asia.com
Hannover Messe
4-8 April 2011
Germany, Hannover
Showcase for industrial technology. Includes
Forums on: Industrial Automation, Energy
Efficiency, Mobile Robots & Autonomous
Systems, The Future of Automation,
Economic Conference (Arab Countries),
Product Protection, Robotation Academy.
Fax: +49 511 89 32626
www.hannovermesse.de
BLECH India
14-17 April 2011
India, Mumbai
Includes sheetmetal forming machines
and fabrication solutions., Joining/
Welding/Fastening, Surface treatment,
Automation,Tools/Dies, CAD/CAM, OHS
www.blechindia.com/english
Fabtech
11-13 May 2011
Mexico, Mexico city
Includes: coil processing; plate and structural
fabricating; punching; robotics; shears; tube
and pipe equipment; laser and plasma cutting;
press brakes; roll forming; saws and cut-off
machines; tooling.
www.fabtechmexico.com
IMTOS
26-29 May 2011
India, New Delhi
www.imtos.com/imtos/imtos_2011.html
IMTOS
26-29 May 2011
India, New Delhi
Includes machine tools, heavy machinery, CNC
machines, sheet metal working,
www.engimach.com/imtos/imtos_2011.html
Blechexpo and Schweisstec
6-9 June 2011
Germany, Stuttgart
Sheet metal processing. Supplemented
with Schweisstec with its focus on joining
technologies,
www.blechexpo-messe.de/en/
12th China Exhibition on sheetmetal,,
machinery, forging, stamping and setting
equipment
23-25 June 2011
China, (Guangzhou)
Includes: Sheetmetal forging, punching,
plate shearing machines , pressing machines,
hydraulic machines, oil press, cylinder, oil
cylinder, precision pressing machines, etc.
forging press machines & accessories.
www.julang.com.cn
CIMT
11-16 April 2011
China, Beijing
www.cimtshow.com/enshow.shtml
Eastpo
28 June -1 July 2011
China, Shanghai
Includes machine tools, turning/drilling/
boring/milling/grinding/deburring machines,
machining centres, flexible manufacturing,
gear cutting machines, ,sheet metal cutting
machines, electrochemical machining, micro
machining.
http://en.eastpo.net
The Lean Business and Accounting Summit
12-13 April, 2011 –
NZ, Auckland
“The Lean Business Model.” This is the
team that in 2005 launched the U.S. Lean
Accounting Summit that has now given
thousands a serious competitive advantage.
www.leanfrontiers.com/nz/
MTA Vietnam 2011
5-8 July 2011, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City
Highly targeted for the machine tool, precision
engineering and metalworking technology
industries.
www.allworldexhibitions.com/industry.
90
PDMA
17-20 August 2011
Philippines, Manila
Die & mould machinery and equipment
exhibition. The bi-annual events incorporates
Autocor 2011 (automation, controls,
robotics, accessories & services exhibition),
Machine Tools 2011, Metfin 2011 (metal
finishing, equipment, tools, accessories &
services exhibition), Metrology outsourcing
and engineering 2011, Philplas 2011 (plastics,
machinery, equipment tools, accessories,
raw materials exhibition), Philweld 2011 and
Sheetmetal 2011 .
LOCAL
14th Annual Global Iron Ore & Steel
Conference & Exhibition
21-24 March 2011
Perth Sheraton
Australia’s premier event for the region’s
iron ore and steel industry.
www.globalironore.com.au
Auspack
22-25 March 2011
Melbourne
Packaging, processing and plastics
materials and associated technology.
AUSPACK has evolved, and from 2011 it
will be known as AUSPACK PLUS, reflecting
expansion.
Ph: 02 9556 7993
www.auspackplus.com.au
2nd Annual Victorian Coal & Energy
Conference
30-31 March 2011
Traralgon (Vic)
Latest projects and the most pressing
issues for the Victorian Coal & Energy
sector
www.informa.com.au/VICcoalandenergy
Safety in Action/Materials Handling
5-7 April 2011
Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Collocated with Melbourne Materials
Handling Trade Show and CleanScene:
With new model harmonisation laws
only months away, a free National
Harmonisation Seminars will also be
offered. Also held concurrently is the
Safety In Action Conference with over
70 Australian and international speakers
covering the latest issues in occupational
health and safety.
www.safetyinaction.net.au
4th Surat Basin Coal & Energy Conference
11-12 May 2011
Brisbane
Focus on the Surat Basin – as huge
potential opportunities lie within this
large body of shallow untapped thermal
coal, which is deemed to be greenhouse
friendly.
www.informa.com.au/suratbasin
I nternational P lastics E xhibi T ions
http://pdmaec.brinkster.net/
EMO
19-24 September 2011
Germany, Hannover
Trade fair for metalworking technology.
Includes cutting and forming machine tools,
manufacturing systems, precision tools,
automated materials flows, computer
technology, industrial electronics and
accessories.
www.emo-hannover.de
Austech/National Manufacturing Week
(including Ausplas)
24-27 May 2011
Melbourne Exhibition Centre
In 2011, Austech and National
Manufacturing Week (NMW) will line
up alongside Ausplas international
plastics industry exhibition. Austech is
the only show specifically targeted at
the metalworking, machine tool and
ancillary market being held in Australia
in 2011. The conjoined shows will
make the already-combined NMW/
Austech Australia’s largest and most
comprehensive industry exhibition.
Ph: 03 9800 3666.
Email: [email protected]. www.amtil.com.au
Plast-Ex
21-23 June 2011
Canada, Toronto
www.canontradeshows.com/expo/
plastex11
MassPlastics 2011
15-16 March 2011
USA, Massachusetts
www.massplastics.com/
Suedtec
22-24 March 2011
Germany, Stuttgart
www.Suedtec.com
InterPlas Thailand
23-26 June 2011
Thailand, Bangkok
www.interplasthailand.com
INDOPLAS 2011
30 March- 2 April, 2011
Indonesia, Jakarta
www.indoplas.com
Philplas
17-20 August 2011
Manila - Philippines
www.pdmaec.brinkster.net/index2.html
Plast Expo
6-9 April 2011
Morocco , Casablanca
www.plast-expo.com
TIPREX
31 August 3 September 2011
Thailand
www.tiprex.com/tp2011
VIETNAMPLAS
19-22 April 2011
Vietnamm Ha Noi
www.vietnamplas.com/hanoi/
Asian-Pacific Plastics & Rubber Industry
Exhibition
6-9 September 2011
China, Shanghai
www.applas.com.cn/english/index.asp
ANTEC 2011
1-5 May 2011
USA, Massachusetts
www.4spe.org/conferences/antec-2011
Interplas 2011
27-29 September 2011
UK, Birmingham
www.britishplasticsshow.com
Plastteknik Oresund
4-5 May 2011
Denmark, Malmo
www.easyfairs.com/events_216/
plastteknik-2011
Sheetmetal Industry Association (SIA)
Industry Gala Dinner
3 June 2011, 7pm
NSW, Doltone House, Darling Island
Wharf, Pyrmont
Ticket Sales: events@
sheetmetalaustralia.com.au ;
Ph: 0413 968 964
[email protected]
www.sheetmetalaustralia.com.au
IndoMax - AseanPlas
4-7 May 2011
Indonesia, Jakarta
www.indomass.com/indonesia-internationalmachinery-show.html
Queensland Safety Show/Materials
Handing
21-23 June 2011
Brisbane Exhibition Centre
Includes workplace health and safety
solutions and services including new and
innovative ways to improve workplace
performance. Co-locating with Qld
Manufacturing Show.
Email [email protected]
www.qldsafetyshow.com.au
Plastic Design & Moulding
17-18 May 2011
UK, London
www.pdmevent.com
Queensland Gas Conference &
Exhibition
16-17 August 2011
Brisbane Convention Centre
Examines Qld-specific Coal Seam Gas
- LNG issues and how these relate to
the broader domestic & international
market. Focuses on the unique needs,
challenges and opportunities facing
Queensland’s coal seam gas industry.
E: [email protected]
www.queenslandgasconference.com.au
Brasilplast
9-13 May 2011
Brazil, Sao Paolo
www.brasilplast.com.br
Fakuma
18-22 October 2011
Germany, Friedrichshafen
www.fakuma-messe.de/en/fakuma
Pro-Plas Expo South Africa
25-27 October 2011
Cape Town - South Africa
www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/
proplas-africa.html
Plastex Ukraine 2011
25-28 October 2011
Ukraine, Kiev
www.plastex-ukraine.com
Saudi Plas
21-24 November 201
Saudi Arabiam, Riyadh
http://events.alriyadh.gov.sa/sites/English/
Events
(Type in “Saudi Plas” in “Events” search bar
Chinaplas 2011
17-20 May 2011
China, Guang Zhou
www.chinaplasonline.com
Ausplas
24-27-May 2011
Australia, Melbourne
www.ausplas.com
CEPLAST 2011
22-24 November 2011
Hungary, Budapest
www.targikielce.pl
Click on “Calendar of fairs”
FIP Solution Plastique
24-27 May 2011
France, Lyon
www.f-i-p.com
PLASTEX 2011
25-27 November 2011
Egypt, Cairo
www.plastex-online.com
PLASTEC East
7-9 June 2011
USA, New York
www.canontradeshows.com/expo/plaste11
Equiplast
28 November – 2 December 2011
Spain, Barcelona
www.equiplast.com
91
60
years with men and machines
-
Part 12
The World’s Fair, but
prosperity’s postponed
We continue our regular series of instalments from the book “60 years with men and machines”
- the autobiography of US machinist and author Fred Herbert Colvin (1867-1965). His first-hand
experiences of those bygone days are sure to give us unique and fascinating insights into the era
which laid the foundations of the industry. It is the year 1893 - the year of the Chicago World’s
Fair. It was also the year of the “1893 Panic” the worst depression in US history before 1929
By Fred Colvin
Two events of importance to me occurred in the year 1893. The first
and more exciting was the birth of
our first child, Charles Herbert. The
second was the Columbian Exposition, or World’s Fair, that opened in
Chicago on May 1. By the summer
of 1893 I had sufficiently recovered
from the excitement of my son’s arrival to make the trip to Chicago to
see the exposition, accompanied by
my father.
This extensive display of the
arts and sciences covered more
than 600 acres , and so did Father
and I. Although I was only 26 at the
time, I was near the point of physical exhaustion each evening when
we returned to our little hotel near
the fairgrounds, but the following
morning would find me out again
trying to keep up with Father as we
went from one exhibit to another.
Among other things, we saw the
Intramural Electric Railway, the
Transportation Building, glowing
with colors and gold leaf, that had
been erected on a steel frame designed by Louis Sullivan; the latest
model Corliss steam engines, new
types of micrometer calipers and
cutting tools, Edison’s new dynamos, alternating-current motors,
horn-and-cylinder
phonographs,
model telephones and switchboards, typewriters, adding machines, printing presses, and even
a few primitive automobiles with
real pneumatic tires.
The World’s Fair led many of
its 27 million visitors to believe
that the United States was on the
threshold of a wonderful new era
of prosperity and economic development. But before Grover Cleveland
was fairly started in his second administration, the disastrous panic
of 1893*, which had begun even
while the Fair was opening with the
92
“Machinery
Hall”
Chicago
World’s
Fair,1893
failure of the Reading Railway and
the collapse of the National Cordage Company, swept over the entire
country, and any era of prosperity
that was in the offing was postponed for at least four years.
The railroads were affected
more than any other industry partly because most of them had
been built on shaky financial foundations - and by the winter of 1893
about 20,000 miles of railways
were in the hands of receivers,
with all construction at a complete
standstill. I well remember the nation-wide strikes that followed, and
“General” Coxey’s hobo army (unemployed men demanding relief)
marching on Washington in 1894,
and the burning of rolling stock
in Chicago by uncontrolled mobs,
and Cleveland calling out the Federal troops, and the imprisonment
of Eugene V. Debs** for conspiracy
and contempt of court. It is no
wonder that the Wheelock Engine
Company, itself a product of overcapitalization and tied up with high
finance, went down like chaff before the wind, leaving me high and
dry in the midst of a depression
without a job.
Times, as people said, were bad.
By making drastic cutbacks in our
family expenditures we managed
to keep afloat, aided by the money
for an occasional piece for one of
the trade magazines and by odd jobs
of drafting, consulting, and similar
work ….
To be continued…
Sixty Years With Men and Machines,
The Autobiography of Fred H Colvin,
Master Machinist, original copyright 1947, McGraw-Hill Publishing,
reprinted by Lindsay Publications
Inc, 1988, Bradley IL 60915, USA.
*A serious economic depression in
the US. Initiated by the collapse of
railroad overbuilding and shaky
railroad financing resulting in
bank failures; compounded by a
run on the gold supply. Uunemployment was estimated at over 10%
for at least five consecutive years
. This was the worst depression the
US had experienced until the Great
Depression of 1929;
** An American union leader, one
of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World
RN.8559
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AMTMagazinewhereAMTIL Members enjoy deep discounts.
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willmorethanoffsetthecostofAMTIL Membership.
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our members needs.
Membership starts from as little as $200.
For more information or to join AMTIL visit www.amtil.com.au
or email [email protected]
93
AMTIL MEMBER PROFILE
Ronson Gears
Ronson Gears Pty Ltd
Mr Gavin New
18 Teton Court
Highett, VIC, 3190
T: 03 9555 9822
[email protected]
www.ronsongears.com.au
Since its inception in 1954, Ronson
Gears has grown to become a leading Australian gear manufacturer.
Ronson’s extensive and high quality
gear products are commissioned
both nationally and internationally.
Renowned for its high precision gears and first-class customer
service, Ronson Gears manufactures
spur gears, helical gears, internal
gears, bevel gears, splines and gear
racks for many diverse industries.
Supplying aerospace, agriculture,
automotive, defence, energy, medical, mining and rail industries, the
company also provides a unique CNC
gear measuring service to industry.
Ronson also offers an extensive
range of ‘off the shelf’ items (more
than 1800 line items), ensuring fast
supply and competitive pricing. An
exclusive partnership with KHK Stock
Gears brings an extensive range
of spiral bevel gears, helical racks,
ground racks, worm and wheel sets
and spiral bevel gearboxes, amongst
many other products, to the Australian and New Zealand markets.
Be sure to visit www.ronsongears.
com.au or call Ronson Gears to see
what they can do for your company.
AMTIL NEW MEMBERS
CRP Industries
03-9761-5566
2/1 Stephenson Road
BAYSWATER NORTH, VIC 3153
[email protected]
www.crpindustries.com.au
Hillier Engineering Services
07-3423-4414
15 Bradman Street
ACACIA RIDGE, QLD 4110
[email protected]
www.hes.com.au
Tungaloy Australia Pty Ltd
02 9672 6866
Unit 308/33 Lexington Drive
BELLA VISTA, NSW 2153
[email protected]
www.tungaloy.co.jp/au
ADVERTISERS INDEX
Accessories for Manufacturing...........27
Alfex
........................................21,22
Amada .......................................IBC 91
AMT
.......................................64, 65
AMTIL Membership.............................93
AMTIL Austech...............................46,47
Applied Machinery..............................39
Asset Plant & Machinery P/L...............63
Blackfast.............................................28
Australian Exhibition & Conferences...17
Camplex P/L.........................................77
ECI Solutions........................................ 41
94
Export Finance and
Insurance Corporation (EFIC).............13
Hare & Forbes Machinery House........53
Holmesglen TAFE.................................19
Idronic P/L...........................................83
Iscar Australia.....................................2,3
Kennametal........................................4,5
Kaeser Compressors............................25
Kyocera ...............................................7
LS Starrett ...........................................73
MTI Qualos ......................................... 31
Purgon Engineering.............................67
Romheld.............................................59
Sandvik .......................................... OBC
SECO Tooling........................................15
SEI Carbide..........................................57
SOS Components.................................43
Stillam .............................................71
Sutton Tools.........................................55
Taegutec...............................................9
XYZ Innovation....................................45
University of Ballarat...........................85
Walter .............................................33
WYSIWYG............................................29
In back cover
95
Out Back Cover
96

Machinery, plastics and methods

Transcription

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