News Ticker

How manufacturers can prepare for the ESPR
Tech isn’t the Hero, it’s the plucky sidekick
Finding Your True Competitive Edge: A Guide for Manufacturers
Fixing manufacturing’s billion-dollar harm problem
Steel awards showcase local industry’s expertise and sophistication
Aotearoa’s Industry 4.0 journey
5S – Not That Old Chestnut
Scott Aylett, SEA Electrical a winner

Developments

Comment: Are our trades dying?

The New Zealand Herald has picked up on our Acton Tools article from October issue of NZ MANUFACTURER which shows the level of concern for the future of the manufacturing sector. Peter Rocque is a toolmaker who believes that in devaluing the toolmaking trade New Zealand is in danger of being a manufacturer  of only milk and agricultural products. What do you think about this? Is your company experiencing the same issues? We have had some good feedback already on this article which appears on page 1 of October issue. You are most welcome to share your thoughts with us. -Doug Green

Techspanonline.com e-commerce website goes live

The new Techspan Group e-commerce website is now live. The website has been completely redesigned for simple navigation and quick access to all Techspan products. The new Techspan e-commerce website (V4) has a similar look and feel to the previous site, but with highly refined features and functionality. The new e-commerce website is easier and quicker to navigate. Products have been arranged in the 5 core product groups : plastics machinery – plastic welders – ultrasonic equipment – process heating – industrial printing systems. The secure e-commerce functionality provides delivery times and prices, and enables customers to order and pay on-line. The site is distributor friendly, and enables ordering and payment by distributors, or their customers, with deliveries selectable to either the distributor or the customer. High level 3D security systems have been used for the highest level of privacy and security. RSS feeds, YouTube, Facebook, and newsletter blog feeds are also embedded in the site. Product information, datasheets, operation manuals, parts listings, videos, and MSDS sheets are all available on-line. Techspan Group is a 100% privately owned New Zealand company established 31 years ago (1979),  with warehouses in Auckland and Sydney. The company supplies high technology plastics machinery, industrial ultrasonic equipment, process heating equipment, and industrial printing technology – high quality products at competitive prices. On the site you can sign up for the company e-newsletter. next STEP Visit  www.techspanonline.com

Ultra Helicopters

Ultra Helicopters vision is to have a minimum of 75 % of the parts manufactured here in NZ for a 2 seat helicopter. Due to its composite construction it will fall into the microlight category which is a first for NZ. The company is currently working with CAA to get Type approval and once that is completed we wtll be actively demonstrating it to various flying clubs/ schools and other events. This will be our main market focus initially followed by private individuals. Overseas the market is huge, ranging from Tuna boats, to highway patrol, surveillance work, private boats, training schools etc. Once the CAA approves the machine here the Australians will probably follow suit. and then the FAA in the US. The advantages of having it in the microlight class are the operating costs, turbine time as standard on the license which can be partially transferred to a PPL later, only a microlight medical required . It also has one of the best power to weight ratios of any 2 seat helicopter. The high inertia blades also make auto rotations safe and easy to perform. Key changes with regards to composite pieces are, for example, with the tailboom where a huge reduction in parts will be possible with an increase in strength and a reduction in weight, The backbone will also have seatbelt hardpoints rated at 16 G’s and landing bow and engine mounts rated at 10g’s, this is the same as a commercial helicopter and previously unheard of in the microlight class. After some brainstorming some clever thinking has resulted in the reduction of other parts, this has resulted in considerable time saved for assembly. Having a helicopter manufactured here in NZ has a certain appeal to it nextSTEP Visit: www.ultrasporthelicopters.com

Transpower, lines companies out of touch with customers

Business has been struck almost speechless at the lack of sensitivity of Transpower and other lines companies. Transpower and partners have gone to the Commerce Commission asking for a green light to raise their prices so they can guarantee themselves an almost 12% pre tax, risk free return on capital to upgrade the grid. “Every other business in New Zealand would be very happy to be earning over 8% after tax on their capital right now,” said Alasdair Thompson, chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association. “For a government owned monopoly to request a 12% risk free rate of return shows Transpower has lost touch with its customers,” Mr Thompson said. “The request is to increase prices so they can expect over 8% return on capital after tax, which equates to nearly 12% before tax. ‘The transmission upgrades are necessary and will be paid for by a mix of shareholder funds and borrowing which has to be paid off from future profits boosted by price increases. “But monopolies extracting the sort of return that Transpower wants must be reined in by the regulator. The price increases being sought are grossly unreasonable in a flat and struggling economy. “Business and residential customers alike will be watching closely the outcome from the Commerce Commission.”

CADCAM software used here for implants

A range of Delcam’s CADCAM software, in particular the latest release of the CopyCAD Pro reverse engineering system, is being used by a group of companies in New Zealand to design and manufacture custom-made maxillofacial implants for patients suffering with tumours or major bone loss.   The overall process, which is managed by Computer Generated Implants Ltd, has improved the quality of the results and the speed of recovery. Most of the recent cases have involved patients who have had tumours removed some time ago.  Typically, the reconstructive surgery carried out at the time involved a bone graft using a shaped portion of patient’s fibula.  Aesthetic outcomes were often poor and the patient also had to endure a lengthy period in a leg plaster cast while the fibula healed. in these cases, there was little requirement to design and manufacture implants in a short time frame.  However, for so-called ‘hot cases’, the priority is to dramatically shorten the overall lead time.  Ideally, the surgeons would like to operate well beyond the margins of the tumour and insert the custom-made implant in the same procedure. “We had been using Delcam’s CopyCAD and PowerSHAPE successfully for many years for the design of these types of implant,” explained a spokesman for the group.  ‘The results have been good but the process required a high level of modelling skill and could take days or weeks.  This was not a real problem for historic cases but we really needed to shorten the lead time for the process.   The new CopyCAD Pro release has proved much easier to use and enables us to confidently take on “hot cases’ now.  It is a huge and important leap forward.” The process used by the New Zealand group begins when patient data in either a CT or MRI scan is […]

Emergency Shutdown – Who pays the workers?

By Claire Parkes, Managing Director, Clarian Human Resources Many businesses in Christchurch are quickly coming to terms with how to handle their staff resource while their operations are fully or partially closed down. There’s lots of information hitting the media, so let’s cut-to-the-chase with the essentials. 1. Look at your employee agreements – is there anything written about what actions will take place in the event of an emergency or temporary shut-down of operations? If so, you will need to follow these. 2. Are your employees on a fixed number of hours per week or can they be varied on demand i.e. casual agreements? If the hours are fixed, you will need to pay them for hours normally contracted for if they are fit and able to undertake the work. 3. Check your insurance – does it cover payment of wages in this situation? 4. Ask employees if they would be willing to take annual leave during the shutdown period (but be aware that they do not have to oblige where you have not given them 14 days notice). 5. Consider allowing your employees to work from home or another appropriate building if access is possible. 6. Be open with your employees about the financial strain the situation has put on the company and see if you can come to some kind of mutual agreement about reduced hours over a certain timeframe. 7. Direct your employees to compensation through WINZ for loss of income and basic necessities (see http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/civil-defence-payment.html) 8. Contact the Chamber of Commerce to see if you are eligible for compensation recently announced by the government. 9. Ensure you are continuously checking the suitability of your office space against health and safety regulations. 10. Consider whetherÊimprovements to your policies and agreements to cover for any future emergencies can […]

World first robotic legs provide new option for wheelchair users

When Hayden Allen was spinal cord injured five years ago he became a full time wheelchair user and doctors told him he’d never walk again. Today a revolutionary product developed by Auckland-based company Rex Bionics has enabled Hayden to walk again. Hayden has been one of the first people in the world to use Rex, the Robotic Exoskeleton. Rex is best described as a pair of robotic legs that supports and assists a person who usually uses a wheelchair, enabling the person to stand, walk and go up and down steps and slopes. “I’ll never forget what it was like to see my feet walking under me the first time I used Rex,”says Hayden, who is 6’4” (193cm) tall when standing. “People say to me, “look up when you’re walking” but I just can’t stop staring down at my feet moving.” Being out of his chair and on his feet again allows Hayden many more options on a day to day basis, increasing opportunities for employment and recreational activities by providing access for him to independently go places previously inaccessible to him. For example – up stairs! Rex users self-transfer from their wheelchair into Rex, strap themselves in and control their movements using a joystick and control pad. Rex is the brainchild of two childhood friends, Richard Little and Robert Irving – co-founders of Rex Bionics. “Both of our mothers are in wheelchairs so we are aware of some of the obstacles and access issues faced by many wheelchair users,” says Richard. Robert’s Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis seven years ago was the catalyst for these men to put their engineering skills to use to develop a practical, standing and walking alternative to wheelchairs. The founders are quick to point out that Rex is not a replacement for a wheelchair, but a complement […]

Never underestimate the importance of brand

Michael Holt, Managing Director, gardyneHOLT design Our country and our industry is based on a practical sense of getting things done, usually with little fuss or fanfare. However, times are changing and in particular we’re less reliant upon our domestic markets to offer sufficient demand, especially with our own markets wide open to competition from overseas. The message from government, now more than ever, is to develop our export markets and international revenue base. But have we properly developed the knack for self-promotion that we really need in order to compete vigorously. The essence of commodification is where two or more seemingly similar things are only really differentiated on price. Price competition is a common and often painful element in contract negotiations, leading to ongoing cost control. But it’s a tough way to make fair profits. Furthermore, why would anyone want to sell their product or service based primarily on price? There’ll always be others striving to be even cheaper, so price really is a fickle way of winning and maintaining sales. Competitive advantage must be woven into the products, service and ongoing relationship in order to maintain demand, differentiation and where possible, premium. For example, Hi-Q Components, a smart and reliable Kiwi business with a great reputation for supplying thousands of different small components to manufacturers (electrical components, bushes and bearings, caps, covers etc) realised that their brand is the first and best way to express their value. They started with the idea of supplying anything that can fit within a shoebox, and that’s still true today. Their brand should say that for them but the problem was that their brand didn’t say anything much at all. Our task was to add all the right qualities while keeping a connection to the original brand. In the process, we’ve created […]

CADCAM gives racing supplier power and precision

‘Power Through Precision’ is the company motto at MBE Cylinder Heads and Manifolds.  MBE achieves both precision and power by using Delcam’s PowerSHAPE design software and its PowerMILL machining program.  To see how, watch the Delcam TV video on https://www.delcam.tv/delcam-video.asp?VideoId=79.  Founded in 1997 by Matt Bieneman, MBE is located in the heart of America’s racing country in Mooresville, North Carolina.  Mr. Bienenman created a team of specialists hand-picked from the best in the industry and was equally particular about his selection of equipment and software.  The resulting levels of quality and technical innovation have made MBE a trusted choice for leading race teams and engine builders throughout the United States, Australia and Canada.  Customers include teams from dirt racing and drag racing, as well as competitors in tractor- and truck-pulling events. Just like the race cars, trucks and other custom vehicles he helps build, MBE’s head programmer Mark Olson says what makes the company’s Delcam products winners is their power.  “It amazes me what the Delcam programs can do,” he admitted.  “I’ve used a lot of programs in my career (which began in 1970) and this is the smartest software that I’ve ever used.” “We do a lot of manual work to develop the shape of the manifold,” explained Mr. Olson.   “Once we are happy with the design, we digitize the ports, chambers and whatever else needs to be machined, and we import the data into PowerSHAPE.” “PowerSHAPE has a great, powerful surfacing engine,” said Mr. Olson.  “I haven’t yet found anything as good as PowerSHAPE to manipulate surface data into exactly the shapes that I need.” After perfecting the model in PowerSHAPE, Mr. Olson moves his design easily and flawlessly into PowerMILL.  The transparent interface between PowerMILL and PowerSHAPE is a big benefit.   “You can cut and paste geometry […]

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