Another interesting new product out of the Saint Gobain/Solar Gard stable is the Mirror Shield product.
Now this application can replace the traditional mirrored surface thus eliminating the “breakage” possibilityand resulting inconvenience. Add to this that advertising can be printed on this surface all of a sudden the spacetaken up by thetraditional mirror turns into a “mirrored promotional space” that can be changed out as requiredand economically.
You can LINK HERE to the specs sheet and local supplier details or for a product sample call Ross Eathorne on09 441 0040 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Friday 9 December 2016
Prime Minister John Key and Transport Minister Simon Bridges have turned the sod on the first section of the long awaited Pūhoi to Wellsford Road.
The Puhoi to Warkworth road will be a new 18.5km motorway between Auckland and Northland. It is the first section of the Pūhoi to Wellsford Road to get underway, one of the Government’s Roads of National Significance.
“Extending the Northern Motorway between Pūhoi and Warkworth will enhance inter-regional and national economic growth and improve the reliability of the transport network between Auckland and Northland,” Mr Bridges says.
“It will also support population growth, connecting the expanding Warkworth area which is expected to grow to 20,000 residents in the next few decades.”
The $709.5 million project is being delivered through a Public Private Partnership, the second for a state highway in New Zealand.
Progress is also being made towards starting the second stage between Warkworth and Wellsford.
“The NZ Transport Agency has been undertaking investigations and will be sharing an indicative route with the public early next year,” Mr Bridges says.
“Both of these projects will reduce the overall travel time between Auckland and Northland, bypassing town centres and avoiding State Highway 1’s current steep and winding route.
“It will also create a better freight connection for Northland to the Upper North Island freight “Golden Triangle” of Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga.”
The road is planned to be open to traffic in late 2021.
More information is available at http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/ara-tuhono-puhoi-to-warkworth.
European manufacturers are failing to make the most of data and analytics tools to plan and segment their supply chains, according to a new report.
JDA Software Group and Warwick Manufacturing Group's (WMG) report the Supply Chain Segmentation: A Window of Opportunity for European Manufacturing found that only 18% of respondents took into account historic, present and future data in the supply chain planning process.
The report surveyed 100 manufacturing organisations across Europe to benchmark their supply chain segmentation practices.
Only 39% of respondents’ segmentation models were data-driven and 23% of organisations stated they prefer the use of “rules of thumb” to any kind of data-driven methodology.
“The survey highlights that the majority of organisations are not using dynamic or data-driven models,” said Hans-Georg Kaltenbrunner, vice president manufacturing industry strategy, EMEA at JDA.
“Indeed, more organisations are driving their supply chains forward by looking in the rear-view mirror, rather than looking at the road ahead.”
Kaltenbrunner said that as well as an over reliance on historic data, research suggests that some organisations may not have the capability to accurately navigate their supply chain along the business roadmap.
“A lack of analytics capabilities is widespread, along with a consistent end-to-end analytics approach,” he said.
This meant first movers would quickly gain a competitive advantage.
Twenty nine per cent of respondents said they implemented supply chain segmentation practices, in a top down manner – which the report said indicated that the strategic nature of segmentation is not being recognised in practice.
Cutting tool and tooling systems specialist Sandvik Coromant has signed an agreement to become a Premium Partner of leading machine tool manufacturer DMG MORI. The deal, which makes Sandvik Coromant the only tooling manufacturer to be named as a DMG MORI Premium Partner, will further strengthen the relationship between the companies on a global scale. Machine shops around the world will benefit from the combined knowledge and experience of the two market leaders.
As a DMG MORI Premium Partner, Sandvik Coromant will work with the machine tool builder on a wide-range of initiatives, including R&D and engineering, open house events, trade show appearances, technical seminars, website collaboration, and the DMG MORI Journal. Specifically, the agreement will give users of DMG MORI machines access to the turning, parting and grooving, threading, milling, drilling, boring, and reaming tools from Sandvik Coromant, as well as tooling systems and the company’s extensive range of knowledge, industry solutions, and services.
“This agreement confirms our position as one of our industry’s true premium and forward-looking companies,” said Klas Forsström, Global President of Sandvik Coromant. “As we join forces with a leading machine tool builder, for example, on turnkey projects, we take an active role in advancing technology for the industry.”
Sandvik Coromant will equip DMG MORI machines with a wide range of products, services, and know-how. For example, a customized start-up tool kit and service will be supplied with each NLX series universal lathe and NT turn-mill center in selected markets. On the CLX/CMX (previously Ecoline) entry-level machines and DMC V vertical machining centers, users will receive a defined tool kit and global service provision.
Evidence of the successful collaboration between Sandvik Coromant and DMG MORI was seen recently when the two companies partnered with Rota Metal, a distributor in Turkey, and its customer Polat Makina.
Polat, a food technology company, was ready to make the switch from individual machining to multi-tasking machines. Sandvik Coromant recommended a complete new tooling package based on the company’s Coromant Capto® modular quick-change tooling concept. The DMG MORI machines included an NTX 2000 with Capto C6 spindle, an NT 5400 with Capto C8 spindle, and an NT 6600 with Capto C8 spindle. Sandvik Coromant tools specified to help complete the switch included Silent Tools®, CoroTurn® HP, CoroCut® SL, CoroDrill® 860, CoroTap® 300, CoroChuck® 970, and CoroChuck 930. The changes resulted in a reduced machining time, from 2500 to 500 minutes, for a finished end product. The 500% savings is helping ensure rapid return on the company’s investment.
Added Ibrahim Polat, owner of Polat Makina, “Sandvik Coromant did not just supply the tools, they supplied the solution.”
A Sandvic Coromant release Dec 7, 2016
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Yachting New Zealand has selected after an in depth design process the Lancer RK5000 “Ultimate Support Boat” as their new coach boat for their development programs.
From the outset of the project it was clear that modern sailing has put even greater demand on support vessels than is currently available. Lancer Industries Ltd and Yamaha Motor New Zealand who are long term suppliers to Yachting New Zealand, have teamed up to create a RIB package that will perform to these high standard requirements.
Lancer drew on the extensive knowledge of coaches, fleet managers and experts to create three key requirements; safe sea keeping, ease of operations and ergonomics. Consistent feedback was that many existing coach boats were recreational craft adapted for coaching and were simply a compromise.
The Lancer and Yamaha package is clearly the result of a customer led design. The unique hull has a long fine bow entry which leads to fixed lift tabs on the transom. This will really assist operation as the majority of work is done at low speeds and RPM, where the 60hp four stroke Yamaha has excellent torque.
A challenge was set by a user group for ‘Clean Decks’ but with a twist, everything below deck had to have good access, and no fixed fuel tank. This has led to a clever straddle seat that opens to a locker capable of storing two Yamaha 24 litre fuel tanks. There are many benefits, weight is low and well balanced, maintenance will have excellent access and all lines or cables commonly found on the decks of coach boats are hidden
The pedestal console used on the RK5000 is a well proven model used in the last two Olympic campaigns on Yamaha powered Lancer RIBS. More ergonomic consumer led design can be found in the placement of grab handles and stash bags so equipment is easy to reach and safety is increased.
The RK5000 is finished off with Lancer’s 3T designed hypalon tubes that allow for more contour and shape to create a fuller bow. Lancer’s inflatables tubes have a legendary status of longevity and reliability which reduces the true cost of ownership.
The first RK5000 is set to be launched for the ISAF Youth Worlds on 14-18 December with a more to follow. This is a very fitting debut for a RIB designed to excel in these conditions.
08 December 2016
The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield has developed what is believed to be the world’s first carbon composite reconfigurable machine-tool.
Lightweight and made using a modular design, the tool can be easily moved around by two people and, according to the AMRC, could reduce tooling costs in aerospace and other industries.
The tool was developed in collaboration with system manufacturer Exechon, which specialises in a type of machine tool using a system known as parallel kinematics. Rather than mounting all of the axes of the machine in a row, with the ‘end effector’ that holds the actual cutting or milling tool on the end, parallel kinematics mounts the end effector between two movable arms that hold the workpiece and move it through the X, Y and Z dimensions. Proponents of this system say that it can move as flexibly within the same volume as the conventional serial linkage type of machine tool, but with greater accuracy and stiffness.
“Making the structure modular and from composites means the robot can be dismantled and moved easily by two people,” said Ben Morgan, head of the AMRC’s integrated manufacture unit. Moreover, because composites are less susceptible to thermally induced expansion and contraction than metals, the conditions inside the factory will have less effect on the robot’s accuracy, he added.
The machine tool was made as part of the AMRC’s contribution to the Factory of the Aircraft Future project, a UK government-backed initiative to help protect the country’s status and expertise in the aerospace manufacturing industry. It was also a collaboration within the AMRC itself, with most of its parts made by the Composites Centre and its metal components made by the Machining Group and apprentices from the Training Centre.
“Potential applications include drilling and milling holes in wings faster and without having to make major investments in purpose-built machine tools, which cannot be moved easily,” Morgan said. The integrated manufacturing group is now running tests on the machine tool to fully validate it.
Release published in The Engineer