Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 02 December 2014

High-tech company Rapid Advanced Manufacturing (RAM3D) in New Zealand has opened a new facility in Tauranga’s Tauriko Business Park, with the aim of making metal additive manufacturing more accessible to the Australian and New Zealand markets. RAM has been collaborating with global engineering technologies company Renishaw and, as a result, is using several AM250 metal additive manufacturing systems in its Tauranga facility.

RAM3D was spun out of the research organisation Titanium Industry Development Association (now TiDA) and it has the biggest Australasian centre for 3D metal printing. RAM3D’s new facility allows companies from a range of sectors, including aerospace, defence, consumer and industrial, to explore the benefits of metal additive manufacturing.

RAM3D works with its clients to improve the design of production parts and prototypes. It also uses additive manufacturing to make these parts in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. RAM3D is collaborating with companies as far away as Singapore and the products manufactured at the Tauranga centre are used around the world.

The diversity of the parts RAM3D manufactures ranges from titanium knives used by the Team Emirates America's Cup crew to customised handlebar extensions for the New Zealand Olympics cycling team, as well as titanium lugs for high-end Australian custom bike maker Bastion Cycles.

“The additive manufacturing market is on the rise in New Zealand and Australia,” explained Warwick Downing, Managing Director of Rapid Advanced Manufacturing. “This growth is fuelled by realism, not hype; the enquiries we are getting show a clear understanding of the potential of design for additive manufacturing. This is an encouraging trend. We believe this trend is being driven by industry collaborations that facilitate a better understanding of the technology, such as the one between RAM3D and Renishaw.

“The key to the successful and sustainable implementation of additive manufacturing into the production process is to have a good understanding of the technology and work in partnership with suppliers and clients.”

“RAM3D strongly believes that additive manufacturing is a competitive production technology with an unprecedented potential for industry,” continued Mike Brown, Managing Director of Renishaw Oceania. “The company’s unique combination of skills, facilities and experience make it an industry leader in this part of the world. It is a privilege for Renishaw to collaborate with such a key player in the market to grow the region’s adoption of additive manufacturing.”

RAM3D is planning to continue its growth and accommodate for 20 metal additive manufacturing systems by the end of 2020. The company is keen to work with a wider range of clients from different industries who want to explore the benefits and potential of metal additive manufacturing.

| A RAM release  |  March 02, 2017  ||

Development of national regulations for the storage of end-of-life tyres, and the finding of alternative end uses, cannot come soon enough, says Waikato Regional Council.

The need for these initiatives is being highlighted by a large site near Otorohanga now not able to take any more used tyres, said investigation and incident response manager Patrick Lynch.

“Council monitoring of a large storage site near Otorohanga has recently determined that no more tyres can be placed there until the site can properly manage their environmental risks. The operator there has received a formal notice to that effect.”

Due to a lack of uses for large volumes of old tyres this facility has been put in a position of stockpiling, resulting in hundreds of thousands of tyres now being on the site, Mr Lynch said.

“Anyone wanting to store tyres in bulk needs to manage the risk they can pose to the environment generally and to manage the risk and consequence of fire.”

In recognition of the environmental risk that large tyre piles pose, the Ministry for the Environment has announced that they will be putting in place a national environmental standard later this year to manage the storage and stockpiling of end-of-life tyres. All tyre storage facilities will need to be compliant with this standard.

“We know that central Government is also working hard to develop solutions for how to cope with the four million end-of-life tyres that New Zealand produces annually. In the meantime, it is the responsibility of anyone holding large amounts of old tyres to ensure they are managed safely and disposed of through appropriate collection facilities or landfills,” said Mr Lynch.

“We also urge consumers to check with their tyre retailer as to where their used tyres are going. When the consumer is purchasing a new tyre for their car they are generally paying a levy to ensure that it is properly disposed of when it reaches the end of its life. By all means the consumer should feel free to ask the retailer where used tyres are going. ”

Meanwhile, the Waikato Mayoral Forum is supporting the efforts of the regional council and others to find solutions for dealing with end-of-life tyres at a national level.

Mr Lynch briefed the forum – which includes mayors and the regional council chair – at a meeting in Hamilton this week. It subsequently passed a motion of support for a New Zealand-wide approach.

“This is an important issue and it’s great to see the collaborative efforts going into addressing it,” said forum chairman Alan Livingston.

|  A Waikatoe Regional Council release  |  February 23, 2017  ||

Risks around future Official Cash Rate movements are equally weighted, reflecting balanced risks around inflation, Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler said today in a speech.

Speaking to Craigs Investment Partners’ Investor Day in Auckland, Mr Wheeler noted that the Bank’s February Monetary Policy Statement included a neutral bias with an unchanged OCR track until late 2019.

Expanding on the main risks around the interest rate projections, Mr Wheeler said: “In effect, there is an equal probability that the next OCR adjustment could be up or down. We consider the balance of risks for the global outlook to be downside. For the domestic economy, there is some potential upside for output growth if migration and commodity prices turn out to be stronger than forecast, but the risks around inflation look balanced.

“This means that if the economy were to develop in line with the Bank’s economic projections, which are based on several assumptions, then the OCR would remain at its current level over the next two years.

“However, small open economies such as New Zealand are hit by multiple shocks and the Bank assesses whether these, or a combination of them, warrants a change in monetary policy.”

While the outlook for global growth has improved over the past six months due to rising commodity prices and stronger business and consumer sentiment, several major sources of uncertainty exist in Europe, China and the United States. The balance of risk in the global economy is on the downside.

“Many of the risks in these regions are well known, and already reflected in relative prices such as interest rates, exchange rates and commodity prices. The greatest source of uncertainty relates to the US Administration policies in respect to its ‘America first’ policy platform. Although a substantial US fiscal stimulus could be positive for growth in the global economy, the prospect of a marked increase in protectionism – coming at a time when global trade is growing slowly and trade disputes are increasing – would be expected to have sizeable impacts on the global economy.”

Domestically, there are several uncertainties around the economy, including the future path for commodity prices, the exchange rate, migration, the housing market, and household saving.

“The greatest source of uncertainty currently lies around the housing market and the possibility that imbalances in the housing market might deteriorate. Fortunately, house price inflation has moderated substantially in recent months, but it’s too early to say whether this moderation will continue.

“Another risk is that the exchange rate remains higher than projected in the MPS, suppressing tradables inflation and net exports. As we indicated in the MPS, whether monetary easing would be required to offset this would depend on the factors driving the exchange rate (e.g. weaker global growth, higher commodity prices) and how domestic capacity pressures were changing.

“Our assessment is that the risks around the OCR are equally weighted.”

|  A RSBNZ release  |  Thursday 2 March, 2017  ||

The SMS group has received an an order rom Shandong Iron & Steel SMS group www.sms-group.com for the supply of a continuous caster for ultra-wide slabs. The single-strand caster is designed for an annual production of 1.5 million tons of steel slabs with widths of up to 3,250 millimeters and 150 millimeters thickness. On the caster, structural steel grades as well as micro- and low-alloy steel grades will be produced. Peritectic grades will make up more than 45 percent of the overall production. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2018.

In the future, Shandong Steel will measure and align molds and segments using the HD LASr assistant system developed by SMS group. Perfect alignment between molds and segments has a strong influence on slab quality.

Thanks to its three-dimensional laser measuring system and an intuitive operating concept, HD LASr ensures precise and reliable recording as well as a meaningful evaluation of the measured objects.

The molds will be treated with UNIGUARDTM, a plasma-ceramic coating which provides for a mold service life that is four times longer than with conventional coatings.

For this caster, SMS group will supply an HD moldTC (TC – thermocouples). Furthermore, the narrow sides will be equipped with HD moldFO (FO – Fiber Optical sensors) and the Breakout Prevention Assist and Mold Temperature Assist systems.

Breakout Prevention Assist reliably prevents break-outs resulting from stickers in the mold and in this way ensures effective protection and high availability of the plant. Mold Temperature Assist provides two- and three-dimensional information on distribution of the heat dissipation, alignment of the submerged entry nozzle, stirring effect and the contact between strand shell and copper plates.

Additionally, the mold will be equipped with HD moldFO copper plates that detect signals by means of optical fibers. More than 500 measuring points are distributed across the entire height of the mold. Direct visualization of the local strand shell thickness and the respective thickness of the liquid and solid layers of mold powder is only possible using HD moldFO. This provides for a deeper understanding of the solidification process.

SMS group will supply the entire X-Pact® electrical and automation systems for the continuous caster, the technological control systems (Level 1) and the technological process models (Level 2).

Furthermore, the plant will be equipped with Internet of things (Industry 4.0) technologies newly developed by SMS group providing for intelligent processing of plant data and automation of processes. Based on the steel grades to be produced, the X-Pact® TechAssist system automatically selects the optimum technological parameter settings for the metallurgical process.

X-Pact® Process Guidance automatically provides all relevant process information, prompts and operator screens at the right time. All plant control and maintenance functionalities can be performed comfortably at an operator station. X-Pact® Business Intelligence summarizes relevant data from different systems and enables interaction with dynamic applications and dashboards.

The SMS group scope of supply furthermore comprises training of the customer personnel, local manufacturing supervision, installation and installation supervision as well as commissioning supervision.(60 lines of max. 65 characters per line)

Reliable measurement of continuous caster segments and molds using the HD LASr plant assistant system from SMS group. With the HD moldFO from SMS group, among other things the strand shell thickness can be visualized.

| An SMS Group release  |  February 16, 2017  ||

British engineer and inventor James Dyson has announced he is increasing his brand's UK presence tenfold with the opening of a second campus.

Dyson made the announcement today at the company's global headquarters on the outskirts of Malmesbury, a historic market town in Wiltshire, southwest England.

The new campus will sit on 517 acres of space nearby, on former Ministry of Defence land at Hullavington. Dyson has said this will expand the company's UK footprint tenfold.

"After 25 years of UK growth, and continuing expansion globally, we are fast outgrowing our Malmesbury Campus," said James Dyson. "The 517 acre Hullavington Campus is an investment for our future, creating a global hub for our research and development endeavours."

"It will enable us to continue creating world-class products and jobs right here in the Cotswolds."

British engineering and innovation are a passion of Dyson's. After being the only prominent designer to argue in favour of Brexit last year, he committed £15 million over the next five years to tackle the UK's engineering skills gap.

He is also opening a new university, the Dyson Institute of Technology, this September on the recently expanded Dyson Campus in Malmesbury. It will feed Dyson's engineering workforce, which he hopes to double from 3,000 to 6,000 by 2020.Embargoed: New Dyson campusDyson's Malmesbury Campus was recently expanded by Wilkinson Eyre, adding a mirrored laboratory and sports hangar

Dyson's announcement was welcomed by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has made the creative industries, engineering and technology central to the country's post-Brexit growth plan.

"This investment is a vote of confidence in our modern industrial strategy and our determination to cement the UK's position as a world leader in high-tech engineering," she said. "Dyson's exporting strength and commitment to creating jobs in Britain is a real success story that demonstrates the opportunity that our plan to create a truly global Britain can present."

"It is also good to see that the site chosen by James Dyson will bring former MoD land back into productive use."

The site includes world war two hangars, which will be restored as part of the project. Site preparations for phase one of the Hullavington Campus begin next week.

The Hullavington announcement comes two weeks after Dyson opened a new Technology Centre in Singapore. The centre focuses on developing connected-home technologies.

|  A deZEEN release  |  March 02, 2017  ||

Ξ Dyson to open second UK campus as "a global hub for our research and development"

NZTE's Export News

Reserve Bank sees risks equally balanced

While you were sleeping: Rally on rate bets

Whoever said engineers can't get their black belts too?

NZOG still seeks Barque partner

What Trump gets wrong about manufacturing

President Trump has promised to revitalize American manufacturing by bringing back mass production to the United States. This past Thursday, he convened a “listening session” with his manufacturing council, and a week ago, in front of thousands of Boeing factory workers in North Carolina, the president reaffirmed his mantra to have “products made in America, made by American hands.”

President Trump is right in his call to invest more resources in manufacturing in America. But, he is mistaken to focus solely on mass production. The future of the sector lies not just with mass production but also with low-volume manufacturing and precision machining (a $60 billion industry) where America already offers a strong value proposition for its customers right here in the U.S.

For example, the president missed an opportunity to nurture this large manufacturing base when he filled his manufacturing council with executives mostly from Fortune 500 companies. Small- to mid-size machine shops, that specialize in low- volume manufacturing, also deserve airtime for their contribution to the rising tide of manufacturing in America. Whether through traditional machining or newer 3D printing processes, these manufacturers are often on the cutting edge of product development.

In an interview following the manufacturing council meeting last week, U.S. Steel CEO Mario Longhi said it was “totally realistic to bring [manufacturing] jobs back.” As we put in place policies to bring back these jobs, however, we must be mindful of the realities of the 21st century economy.

Low volume manufacturers in the United States already offer a tremendous value proposition versus our main overseas competitors. These smaller businesses are much more sensitive to the cost of regulation and such regulation often prevents them from expanding, either through the purchase of additional capacity or additional employees.

By embracing new, smarter technologies like 3D printing, low volume manufacturers are both adapting to a more advanced economy and creating jobs in America. Operating 3D printers or CNC machines provides machinists, who now must be a combination of artisan and computer programmer, the requisite skills to adopt quickly the most advanced manufacturing technologies.

The United States has significant advantages in low-volume manufacturing. It demands a high degree of quality control and supply chain management. Sourcing in the U.S., where there are no cross-border issues and every destination is no more than a day away, is safer than offshoring.

While we don’t expect President Trump to spend the next press conference lauding new jobs at Bikle Manufacturing or pressuring Ashby Manufacturing to keep jobs in Pennsylvania, it would be wise for his administration to be more inclusive of the low-volume manufacturing sector.

It would be misguided to think that reshoring jobs from a handful of companies that are household names will be enough to bring back the glory days of manufacturing in this country. The government must also invest in the small machine shops that you probably have never heard of. These shops, many of which are third or fourth generation American have been making America great for decades.

|  An opinion from Randy Atschuler on The Hill Washington  |  March 01, 2017  ||

Rory McIlroy on the new rules:  "I think golf's emphasis on the rules can sometimes turn people away from it," Rory McIlroy said. "To modernize and make it simple is a good thing. With what's happened in the last couple of years, with some rulings and high-profile things that have happened at crucial stages in tournaments, people who look at that and might want to get into the game say, 'You know what? It's too complicated.'"

 Golf’s two governing bodies released a draft of modern rules Wednesday aimed at bringing common sense to what can be a complicated sport.

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the U.S. Golf Association spent more than five years trying to simplify the Rules of Golf without stripping the centuries-old game of its traditions and fundamentals of fair play. The result figures to be the most comprehensive overhaul since the first set of rules was published in 1744.

But in this case, the Rules of Golf actually shrunk.

The proposal, which now faces six months of public feedback, reduces the number of rules from 34 to 24.

In many cases, penalties have been rescinded. Players no longer will be assessed a one-shot penalty if their golf ball accidentally moves, if their club touches the ground while in a hazard or even if a putt strikes a flagstick that is not being tended.

Remember when Jeff Maggert’s shot from a fairway bunker caromed off the lip and hit him in the chest? That cost him a two-shot penalty in the 2003 Masters. Under the proposed rules, it wouldn’t be a penalty.

“The primary objective was, ‘How do we make the rules easier to understand and easier to apply around the world,” said Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of rules and amateur status. “I think what you’ll see is that part of this process is to evaluate all the outcomes and identify outcomes that are more reasonable and common-sense based.”

Rory McIlroy has been informed of the changes and liked what he heard.

“I think golf’s emphasis on the rules can sometimes turn people away from it,” McIlroy said. “To modernize and make it simple is a good thing. With what’s happened in the last couple of years, with some rulings and high-profile things that have happened at crucial stages in tournaments, people who look at that and might want to get into the game say, ‘You know what? It’s too complicated.’

“Making them more modern to move with the times is good.”

Depending on the six-month public comment period, the proposal would be finalized in 2018 and become effective in 2019.

One of the proposed rules would penalize caddies who stand behind their players until right before the shot, to help them with alignment. That is most prominent on the LPGA Tour. If the modern rules are adopted, caddies would have move as soon as their players take their stances.

“This is one we stepped back and said, ‘Aligning yourself is just fundamental to playing the game,'” Pagel said. “It’s not that caddies can no longer help the player. But when a player goes to set up to the ball, that challenge is the player’s.”

Another significant proposal, which got McIlroy’s attention, was how to drop. The goal was to get the ball back in play quickly. Modern rules would more easily identify where to drop, and players would only have to hold the ball above the ground without it touching anything. The recommendation is at least 1 inch above the ground or grass. Currently, players have to stand upright and hold the ball at shoulder height and arm’s length from their bodies.

Among other proposed rules:

Instead of only being allowed to repair pitch marks or old hole plugs on the greens, players now can fix just about anything, including spike marks and heel prints.

Players were disqualified if they used a club that was damaged in anger. Under the proposal, they can still use it.

Players who touched the line of their putts or the putting green in pointing out a target faced a two-shot penalty. The modern rule has no penalty, provided they are not improving the condition of the putt.

Several proposed rules were geared toward improving the pace of play, such as encouraging players to hit their shot when ready. Players would have only three minutes to search for a lost ball instead of five minutes.

“It is important that the Rules continue to evolve and remain in tune with the way the modern game is played,” said David Rickman, executive director of governance for the R&A. “But we have been careful not to change the game’s longstanding principles and character.”

While the Rules of Golf would only be 24 rules, that’s not to suggest 10 rules were simply eliminated. That indicates how the book was taken apart and put back together.

“Probably a bit more than 10 went away,” Pagel said.

|  DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer  |  March 02, 2017  ||

Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy has attended the world’s largest food tradeshow in Dubai today, as annual two-way trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries exceeds $3.2 billion.

“This visit is an opportunity to strengthen our business and trade links between GCC countries and New Zealand by shining the spotlight on our world-class products,” says Mr Guy.

Gulfood is a five-day food show and provides a platform for New Zealand companies to impress 95,000 visitors expected to visit the 5000 stands from more than 120 countries.

“Food and beverage is an important part of our trading relationship, built upon the complementarity of New Zealand’s high quality food offering and many Gulf countries’ food security needs.”

Mr Guy also spoke at a function with over 200 people including New Zealand exporters, local importers and distributors and leading representatives from the hospitality industry.

New Zealand has traditionally been associated with dairy and meat exports but the list of available food products in the United Arab Emirates retail sector continues to grow, rising from thirteen products in 2013, to ninety in 2017.

“A number of our businesses already have a strong presence in this market and are doing exceptionally well selling New Zealand food and beverage products. My visit is aimed at opening doors and helping to further promote New Zealand companies.”

New Zealand’s presence at Gulfood signals the importance of our relationships with the UAE, Gulf countries and the wider region. Finalising the New Zealand GCC Free Trade Agreement is an important next step to enhancing our trade, including food and beverage, even further.

During his visit Mr Guy will also meet with UAE Minister for Climate Change and Environment, HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, and UAE Minister of State, HE Rashid Fahad, to discuss food standards and safety.

These meetings will highlight many areas of future cooperation between New Zealand and the UAE, in particular investment in agritech, water management and food security.

New Zealand companies attending Gulfood 2017 include Fonterra, Tegel, Taylor Preston, Lowe Corporation, ANZCO Foods, NIG Nutritionals, Milkio, NZ Dairy Company, Open Country Dairy and Spring Sheep.

|  A Beehive release  |  March 1, 2017  ||

Mettler Toledo is inviting New Zealand manufacturers to a one-day event at its newly established Centre of Excellence in Hamilton on March 29.

The free event will include a range of workshops covering key industry topics such as foreign object detection, food safety and compliance, and hazardous area weighing. Centre experts will also provide hands-on product demonstrations, guides on good analytical practice, and a new approach to pH measurement.

The workshops are designed for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical producers interested in improving contamination detection, analysis of pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen, and hazardous area weighing processes.

“This one-time event is an opportunity for manufacturers to obtain industry insights and product training in one convenient location,” said Country Manager Andy Cashen of Mettler Toledo New Zealand.

“In addition to the workshops, the whole range of METTLER TOLEDO equipment will be available for live demonstrations and use. Attendees have direct, hands-on access to products such as metal detectors and x-ray systems, hazardous weighing equipment, pH, conductivity and DO sensors, and more.”

Partners and customers in New Zealand will also be given an opportunity to tour the new facilities to celebrate the opening.

The newly established Centre of Excellence is the main facility for the company in New Zealand.

For customers and local suppliers, the facility offers many great opportunities, including access to training and demonstrations, expert consulting from technical sales professionals, skilled factory trained local service technicians, and local customer support.

|  A Food Australia article  |  February 27, 2017  ||