Webinar DetailsYour Presenter     Steven EllisSenior Technical Specialist, Civil InfrastructureAutodesk ANZMore information Wednesday 19th October 20162:00 – 3:00PM NZST Register Here

Anthony Pratt, the executive chairman of packaging companies Visy Industries and Pratt Industries, has encouraged other businesses to invest in expansion rather than boosting dividends to shareholders. The Australian, which visited Pratt Industries’ Beloit, Wisconsin factory, reports that Beloit, the company’s newest factory, is rolling out robotics at this site as the first step in a $200 million deployment of such automation. “You need to take a 20-year view of robotics,” Pratt told The Australian. Continue to article

Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics (SPPAL) has been commissioned by New Zealand Post to equip the country’s sorting centres with the latest mixed-mail sorting machines and extensive corresponding software. Three new Open Mail Handling Systems (OMS) will be installed in Auckland, the country’s largest city, and in Christchurch, where they will be used for the efficient sorting of letters, flats, newspapers, open and plastic-wrapped magazines and small parcels. With two induction lines, the OMS can process up to 25,000 items of mail every hour. Siemens will also implement a suite of comprehensive software packages that will control all mail…

Rocket Lab is dedicating itself to launching small satellites cheaply and efficiently — a capability the American company thinks the burgeoning private spaceflight industry desperately needs writes Calla Cofield on  Space.com.  Small satellites, some no bigger than a lunch box, are revolutionizing how people gather data about the Earth, and they might be the future of global communications. Rocket Lab's business model is a bit like Henry Ford's was when he started selling Model T's: keep the machine simple, produce a lot of them and keep them affordable. Peter Beck, the company's owner, told Space.com that he'd like to reach…

The concept of 4D printing isn't a new idea, but processes that use new types of environmental stimuli keep on appearing. 4D printing is usually defined as 3D printing with materials that change shape in response to light, heat, water, air pressure, or other factors. It usually combines 3D printing with shape-memory materials. The latest is a new process developed by a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Researchers there have 3D printed shape-shifting structures that can fold and unfold themselves, or expand and contract in size, when prompted by changes in electricity or heat. The primary shapes they…

Celebrated on the first Friday of October every year Manufacturing Day USA is celebrated nation wide.  Although there is a twist to this, the day can be celebrated at any time so any day of the year can be Manufacturing Day, all events just need to be registered on the Manufacturing Day website.   There have been a total of 2,650 seperate events organised for 2016 which is a pretty good indication of how important these days are seen in motivating the next generation of manufacturers. Industry Week Media's website features a number of items that are well worth a…

As Holmes Group celebrates its 60th birthday, the business has updated its brand to better represent the synergies that exist inside the diverse engineering consultancy group. With Holmes eyeing further overseas expansion, the breadth of services the group offers certainly opens upmore opportunities. Holmes Chief Executive, John Hare, said that previously each of the five subsidiarycompanies had their own distinct look that did not reflect the collaborative way the group works on behalf ofits clients. “Now we have a consistent brand identity for all of the subsidiaries, giving us a much more connected lookthat builds on our strong collective Holmes…

CHR® Cling Films Tapes that Don't Stick Now available in New Zealand through SWF Distribution, a product range that has multiple uses and application. From providing protection to surfaces through to being able to print onto the surface, the CHR Cling Films are a premium quality product that is designed to be easily removed and leave no adhesive while also being able to withstand surface temperatures of 218 degree C. The Managing Director of SWF Distribution Mr Ross Eathorne says he is very enthusiastic about this product now being available through his company.” Being a Saint-Gobain manufactured product you can guarantee…

Will Stirling examines the benefits of steering clear of liquid coolant in The Engineer At the interface between a cutting tool edge and a metallic workpiece, the temperature can vary from 200°C to over 1,300°C. At such temperatures softer metals such as aluminium melt and the cut surface of the component can be damaged. However, with modern coatings and tool technology the expensive tooling is not badly affected by heat alone. It is thermal shock, or rapid temperature variations that weakens tools and this is far more likely to reduce tool life than simply exposing tools to high temperatures. Continue…

We are looking at hold downs for secondhand tanks.These tanks will hold tallow and are approx. 4m dia. x 8-10m high.Our current design does not meet the new seismic standard.Anyone have ideas, recommendations?Needs to meed the code for the vertical up thrust and rolling EQ's. Allow tallow is quite a heavy viscosity it does have a slopping affect with EQ'skene Link Here to posting on The Factory Floor Exchange -  Thursday 6 October 2016

An innovative carpet embedded with LED lighting by a Massey University textiles professor will be shown during the 15th Venice Art and Architecture Biennale. Associate Professor Sandy Heffernan from Massey’s School of Design in Wellington undertakes innovative textile and technology collaborations that have included new yarn developments and sustainable dyeing innovations. She came across raw wool contaminated with a high level of vegetable matter and wanted to show that it could be turned into something beautiful. Once off the sheep’s back, wool is checked for vegetable matter, which is then eliminated through processes such as carding. “I used yarn which…