AMT March 2010
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 Lead story
AusAMRC to drive new manufacturing techniques
By Nina Hendy
Prof. John Beynon, has been put in charge of the newly established Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Swinburne’s Hawthorn (Vic) campus. Coordinated by Boeing Research & Technology Australia, AusAMRC has been established to research and develop projects that will help Boeing Australia and Australian suppliers improve their capability to deliver globally competitive and high-quality Boeing products. Based on the supply chain model for new technology research AusAMRC will initially focus on: high performance machining of titanium and aluminium alloys; hybrid metal-composite components; and advanced tooling for integrated composite structures. Two of first few research projects include further investigation into advanced tooling for integrated composite structures and a study around hybrid metal composite components, among others. Lovitt Technologies Australia became the first industry member of the AusAMRC in early February 2010. Lovitt will work with AusAMRC on research to improve its capabilities in hard metal research and develop new manufacturing technologies for aerospace, and other advanced industries.…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
A new approach to commercialisation :
Commercialisation Australia Commercialisation Australia, which takes a radical new approach to commercialising home-grown ideas, opened for business on 4 January, with funding of $196m over the first four years and $82m a year thereafter. The response has been overwhelmingly positive: over 1000 individuals and organisations have registered their interest in the program and close to 100 have already completed the first step in applying for assistance…
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DMG/Mori Seiki opens technology centre
After Gildemeister’s successful Open House in Pfronten, Germany, DMG/ Mori Seiki Australia will open its doors from 23 – 26 March 2010.
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Bushmaster receives boost
Thales Australia’s Bushmaster family of vehicles has received another boost, with the Single Cab Utility down-selected for the Department of Defence’s Land 121 Phase 3 program…
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Details for defence support centre announced
Details of the Aerospace and Defence Support Centre – Amberley (ADSC) have been announced and the large project is predicted to bring thousands of jobs to Ipswich when construction begins in 2012 …
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Government News:
Become an Enterprise Connect Technology Partner
If your firm has leading-edge equipment that is under utilised, you may receive assistance to promote this equipment to a national network of firms. By becoming an Enterprise Connect Technology Partner. you may be eligible to receive up to $5,000 (ex GST) to make this equipment available to other firms…
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Strong response to Tasmanian stimulus fund
The Australian and Tasmanian governments last month announced that the response to the North-West and Northern Tasmania Investment and Innovation Fund has been so overwhelming that a second funding round was not necessary. Offers of funding will be made before Easter …
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The sky is the limit: Levett Engineering
By Nina Hendy
The aerospace sector is one of the more difficult industry sectors for manufacturers to break into. But South Australian company Levett Engineering can count itself among the few servicing this lucrative sector.The company has grown to be one of the most respected aerospace manufacturers in the country, creating parts with often more difficult materials to manufacture with, such as titanium, aluminium, stainless steel, engineering plastics and inconnel. Today, Levett Engineering manufactures aluminium and titanium airframe components, parts for landing gears and actuators for aerospace manufacturers as well as parts for the afterburner in a jet engine, among others. The company’s clients include US aerospace manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney along with UK’s BAE Systems. Levett Engineering is also in discussions with Boeing, which he hopes will lead to work this year. The company is expected to double its turnover during 2010, with some of this growth being due to the recent securing of a contract with Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter program. Additionally, Paul Levett, founder, picked up the Emerging Exporter category in the Australian Export Awards late last year. ...
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Heat Treatment: On track for world aerospace deals
By Barbara Schulz
Business is booming for Brisbane-(Qld) based Heat Treatment Australia, with the company achieving National Aerospace and Defence Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap) accreditation last year. The accreditation means that the company will be able to provide goods and services to companies including NASA, Boeing, The United States Airforce, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and General Electric. Norm Tucker, is Managing Director of the company whose high pressure quench vacuum furnace is unique in Australia, and is ideal for hardening and carburising aerospace components …
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One on One Boeing floats the boats
By Barbara Schulz
Dr. Bill Lyons, General Manager, Boeing Research & Technology Australia, talks about Boeing’s current research activities in Australia, as well as opportunities for local companies willing to join the aerospace supply chain. This Centre conducts applied research for military and civil programs for Boeing, including unmanned systems research, advanced composites manufacturing, biofuels, network technologies and aerospace support and has recently teamed up with Swinburne University in Melbourne to establish the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AusAMRC )
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Tapping into global defence supply chains
By Suresh Palanisamy and Dr Matthew Dargusch
The Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), Melbourne, was established in June 2008 and officially launched in February 2009 to deliver sustainable materials technology and manufacturing processes to enhance Australia’s defence capability by adopting a collaborative partnership approach between Defence, defence industries and research agencies. The DMTC’s titanium machining activities aim to enable Australian defence industry to participate in global defence supply chains The research providers in the titanium projects are Cast CRC, DSTO, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland and Swinburne University of Technology. The industry partners in these projects include Avoca Engineering, Millatec, Seco Tools, VIPAC, Surface Technology Coatings, Goodrich and BAE Systems. The development of know-how in machining and other titanium fabrication technologies will assist Australian industry to gain business in titanium component manufacture. Industry and research organisations will benefit by having the capability to conduct maintenance programs for titanium components in military vehicles through the development of local expertise in titanium technology. The DMTC research program has been planned with a view to delivering savings in excess of 30 to 40% in terms of both consumable costs and machining cycle time reductions. This goal will contribute to strengthening Australian industry capabilities in machining of high-end materials for defence applications. DMTC purchased and installed a high pressure coolant system (ChipBlaster) at Seco Tools technical centre in Sydney in order to carry out trials with the latest technology and tools. All the supporting participants in the DMTC program will be able to access this system to carry out trials on their components. This DMTC program will also include advanced process monitoring and optimisation along with the development and integration of new cutting tool technology and hybrid machining practices. In order to develop advance cutting tool technology the DMTC has established the Advanced Surface Solutions Facility (ASSF) at Surface Coating Technology. The ASSF, consisting of the DMTC Innova PVD system, in addition to an advanced tool grinding facility, measurement hardware and finishing facilities, will form the core technologies for the research staff to undertake research in these particular areas.
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7th Pacific Rim International Conference of Advanced Materials and Processing Materials Australia has secured the opportunity to host the 7th Pacific Rim International Conference of Advanced Materials and Processing (PRIM7), on 1-5 August 2010 in Cairns. This events hosts a gathering of key researchers, engineers and business owners at the leading edge of materials applications and technology. Held every two years, this is the first time in Australia. Over 1000 delegates will be gathering to network, share ideas and present their latest findings
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News: Aerospace and defence manufacturing
Lightweight composites to get trimmer and smarter
From CSIRO: In the new generation of aircraft being developed and built today, polymer composites are used extensively for fuselage and other components, saving fuel and cutting emissions. CSIRO researchers have set themselves the goal of producing a new generation of super-strong, lightweight polymer composite materials for use in aircraft, road vehicles, trains and ferries. A team led by Dr Stuart Bateman at CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering is designing and testing even lighter and stronger polymer composites that will out-perform the conventional materials currently used in the transportation sector…
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News: Aerospace and defence manufacturing
Precise scanning for reverse engineering applications
From Hi-Tech Metrology – The ZScanner 700 PX, Z Corporation’s handheld laser scanner, makes it easy for the first time to scan very large objects such as aircraft and automobiles, items that previously have been too big to capture by hand
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News: Aerospace and defence manufacturing
Faster programming with PowerMill
From Camplex: Moving to Delcam’s PowerMill CAM system for high-speed and 5-axis machining has enabled French aerospace manufacturer Creuzet Aeronautique to cut its programming times dramatically How to machine aircraft titanium
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News: Aerospace and defence manufacturing
Laser sintering of titanium gains importance
From Betta Machine Tools: EOS, a world-leading manufacturer of laser sintering systems, reports an increasing use of its Eosint M 270 systems for the production of titanium parts
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How to machine aircraft titanium
In recent years, titanium has become dramatically more significant as a workpiece material in machine shops. Boeing offers practical tips how the right choice of cutters, depths and tool paths with attention to particular steps in the process help to machine titanium more efficiently than many might suspect…
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What is the right machine tool for titanium?
By Peter Zelinski
The Boeing 787 uses considerably more titanium than previous commercial aircraft models. Other new aircraft use considerably more titanium, too. Within the aircraft manufacturing supply chain, titanium machining capacity will have to expand to meet the need. When all of these airplanes enter full production, the demand for titanium parts will far outstrip the amount of titanium machining capacity that exists in the aerospace supply chain right now. For machining suppliers, titanium therefore presents a clear opportunity. Yet Steve Lovendahl of Boeing says many of these suppliers will need to re-examine their methods and resources before they can fully take advantage of the opportunity. That re-examination may point to the need for a new machine tool, he says. Shops should recognise this. However, it is not necessarily the case that this will be an expensive machine…
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Getting the metal out
By Peter Zelinski
Part of a series of articles on machining pockets in titanium parts, this article describes various options for roughing and finishing the hard metal efficiently. The Sandvik Coromant research group devoted to aerospace machining has worked to develop and evaluate techniques for efficiently machining titanium aerostructure components. Bruce Carter, Aerospace Projects Manager with the company, says when it comes to roughing, there are essentially three options for hogging material out of a titanium pocket…
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Advanced turbine hole finishing
By Bill Walch
Holes in turbine engine components can rotate at very high speeds. Any smeared metal or micro-cracks at the surfaces, created using both conventional and non-conventional machining processes, increase the risk for diminished performance or failure. Hole-finishing processes like abrasive-flow machining (AFM) reduce this risk. Keeping 21st century aircraft engine turbines together and cool requires holes – thousands of holes that must be sized precisely and aimed exactly, made in hard-to-work alloys. Fortunately, hole-finishing processes are improving as well. Hole-finishing processes like abrasive-flow machining (AFM) have evolved from pure deburring functions to polishing and radiusing to very close tolerances. Add new developments in machine controls, abrasive media, and flow targeting, and the results continue to get much more precise. Kennametal has been a part of many leading-edge programs – engines for the space shuttle, space station components, and astronaut flight-control components as well as commercial and military aircraft programs. As materials continue to evolve in delivering toughness, strength, and durability, Kennametal’s processes continue to evolve as well…
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Tools for aerospace applications
The demand for optimised tools in the aerospace sector is particularly high. Walter has developed three new products to meet these needs. The Walter Prototyp SkytecTM with internal cooling is a recently developed tool for aluminium machining in the aerospace industry sector. Especially for boring composite materials (GFRP, CFC) Walter is supplying a new PCD twist drill. For more flexibility during milling, Walter developed the modular milling cutter system ConeFitTM, comprising solid carbide milling tips and toolholders made of steel…
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Aluminium machining taken to new levels
By Christer Richt
While conventional indexable insert edges have tended to be comparatively blunt for aluminium machining, Sandvik Coromant has now developed a new endmill concept for aluminium machining featuring new edge, insert, insert seating and clamping technology. The new CoroMill 790 insert design results in a sizeable lowering of the power requirement…
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Opportunities in aerospace machining
By Moshe Goldberg
Market demand for titanium machining capacity is on the rise, and expertise in titanium machining can secure many shops’ future. Selecting the right tooling and machining practices specifically tailored to machine this hard-to-machine material is essential to master titanium machining. under even the best conditions, the more familiar titanium alloys take ten times longer to machine than aluminium and perhaps four times longer than high tensile steel. Usually it requires more horsepower per unit of metal removed, and a machine with higher torque. And now come the new titanium 5553 (5Al, 5V. 5Mo, 3Cr) grades, 20-35% stronger than mainstay Ti 6Al, 4V, but even more difficult to machine by a factor or 4 to 1. As use of Ti 5553 grows – which it inevitably will – so will the machining logjam in aircraft production. That logjam can be your best business opportunity in this tight economy. Iscar has developed a complete line of milling, turning and hole making tools specifically optimised for titanium work - these tools can improve material removal rates in all popular titanium alloys by more than 40% on average. This article expounds on the available tools including the Helido cutter which features double-sided inserts with four cutting edges rather than two (the H490); contributing to extra reliability is the Sumo-Tec coating treatment, introduced by Iscar in late 2007, which improves tool performance by smoothing out the coating and reducing friction in the cutting zone; for 90°milling, there are the Helitang tangential milling cutters for heavy rough milling; for heavy rough milling of deep pockets a recent spin off is the new Iscar Helido Feedmill H600 double-sided inserts. Similarly, new additions to the Finishred family of roughing/finishing solid carbide endmill qualify it well for titanium work…
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Coming to grips with titanium
By Klaus Stukemeier
In order to machine difficult-to-machine materials to the required quality standards in a cost-effective manner, the entire process chain has to be right. Using high-performance tool clamping systems as well as optimised milling strategies helped German aircraft engine manufacturer MTU to considerably increase productivity in the manufacturing of titanium blisks, looking to tool clamping specialist, Rego-Fix. The Swiss company offers their powRgrip toolholding system. The special contact surfaces of powRgrip between the tool and collet as well as between the collet and toolholder, can achieve outstanding vibration dampening. With clamping powers of over 1000 Nm, the powRgrip system ensures that the tool is held securely in place, even when processing difficult-to-machine materials. The processing time has been reduced by 42% and the tool costs by 76%. “In combination with the innovative milling strategy, the powRgrip system makes a decisive contribution to our success in blisk manufacturing, according to Götz Lebküchner, Materials and Processing Engineer at MTU:…
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Streamlining operations
International Sheetmetal Review (ISMR) analyses the benefits of waterjet cutting, tests some new technologies and interviews key players in the market including Wightman Stewart, WardJet, Flow International, Water Jet Sweden AB, JetEdge (which acquired Calypso Waterjet Systems), Waterjet Corporation, Bystronic and KMT Waterjet Systems . Australian company Techni Waterjet offers the in-house developed PAC (“Precision Angle Control”) cutting head. The PAC55 is capable of producing parts with a true angle up to +/-55 ° with continuous rotation. This product is an industry first and sparked plenty of interest at the 2008 Austech exhibition,” said Director Glenn Langdon …
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Sheetmetal A revolution in waterjet cutting
By Val Pavlovic
Techni Waterjet has introduced its in-house developed electric servo pump for high-pressure waterjet cutting, which is set to revolutionise the waterjet industry by replacing hydraulics with electric power. The Quantum electric servo pump, or Quantum ESP, is said to deliver efficiency gains and real savings because it only ever uses the power required for the cutting process., according to inventor and Techni Waterjet Managing Director .Darren Reukers…
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Lights-out materials handling
By Val Pavlovic
The completely automated ‘lights-out’ materials handling system Night Train FMS allows Melbourne-based Shamic Sheetmetal to run shifts that are practically unmanned, made possible by the world-rated Finn-Power technology, distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand by Maxitec. Much of Shamic’s recent machinery stocks have been acquired from Maxitec, according to MD Eric Woodgate…
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A better made blade
By Tony Sitathan
In Singapore, robots help cut the turn-times of engine overhaul by more than five days below the industry standard. 18 months ago Sean Ho of Singapore Aero Engine Services Private Limited (SAEL), achieved the Rolls Royce Component Overhaul Centre of Excellence Gold Award. This was in recognition of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of the 500 Rolls Royce Trent engine. SAEL realised the importance for automation and became one of the first to implement ABB robotics in its MRO roadmap making it the first automated compressor cell repairing centre globally…
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Robots double output
A custom turnkey solution installed by leading independent systems integration company, Sage Automation, for boutique South Australian bakery Perryman’s, has helped the company to double its production, integrating the ABB IRB 140 Robot, Human Machine Interface; Vision System - Cognex Insight 5403; Hygienic icing system; Custom built dispensing gun …
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AMTIL FORUM
Forum Strategies: Using Web 2.0 to get ahead
Web 2.0 presents an opportunity for those in the manufacturing industry to interact with buyers on a mass scale, explains Lena Zak of Industracom
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Forum Law: Market dominance through innovation patents
By Benn Mott, Freehills Patent and Trademark attorneys
The commercial value of Australia’s innovation patent system has been proven by a recent court decision. The decision shows that products with only minor variations over existing products now qualify for patent protection
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Forum OHS: WorkSafe urges safety professionals to seize their “place in the sun”
The harmonisation of Australia’s OHS laws has given health and safety a place in the sun. How we take advantage of that is a question safety professionals need to answer.” This will be WorkSafe Victoria Director Stan Krpan’s message to delegates gathered at the Safety in Action Conference on 22 April 2010
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Forum Finance: To fix or not to fix?
Robert Amos of Armadale House explains how mortgagees should evaluate special fixed mortgage offers and stresses the importance of understanding how the interest rate market works
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60 years with men and machines Instalment 2
By Fred Colvin
AMT presents part 2 of a 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). Mr Colvin, who wrote the book in 1947, will take us on a journey starting as a 15 year-old apprentice in a Philadelphia machine shop in 1883, up until 1950, the peak decades of the machine age. His firsthand experiences in the 19th to mid-20th century machine tool industry are sure to give us unique and fascinating insights into a bygone era which laid the foundations of the industry today. The year is now 1883 and Fred has made his debut as a 15 year-old apprentice. Foreman Charlie Westcott has been given the responsibility of Fred's oversight ...
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AMTIL NEWS
Australia’s Advanced Manufacturing Industry Capability Directory - The Source
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Member Profile – Able Industries Engineering
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