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How viable is additive manufacturing?

The manufacturing and legal issues surrounding additive manufacturing. In 1984, Charles Hull invented the first 3D printer, which used stereolithography to build up a plastic product layer by layer. Over 35 years later, additive manufacturing (AM) is drastically altering a range of industries, from manufacturing to the medical sector. But what are the limitations of the technology? H In some applications, component manufacturing is shifting away from traditional subtractive machining methods and towards additive manufacturing techniques. The broadening of the applications of AM is causing manufacturers to assess the viability of using it in their own facilities. To do this, there are a few considerations to make before turning to 3D technology. Quality not quantity When moving from one manufacturing method to another, quality is a huge factor, particularly in highly regulated industries like aerospace and medical devices. In fact, quality has been one of the major hurdles to the widespread adoption of AM. One critical consideration is that quality and consistency must be the same machine to machine, regardless of location. Powder bed fusion is one of the most frequently used additive manufacturing methods and there is a possibility that it may introduce defects. However, if the process has a constant thermal gradient, it can prevent warping of the product, avoiding the introduction of defects due to incorrect temperatures. Another concern is that unsintered powder will degrade as a result of heat exposure and that this could impact quality, although regular changing of the powder can prevent this from becoming an issue. When investing in an AM system, manufacturers can overcome quality concerns by working with an experienced partner, who provides training and support on best practice. Those looking to invest in AM parts produced elsewhere should be mindful of their supplier’s approach to quality, to ensure that what […]

Connection Technologies Limited – looking forward to the next 20 years

The founder of Connection Technologies, Lewis Woodward, started the business in December 1999. The aim then and still now is to work with the customer and assist them in achieving their goal. “I knew that without a successful customer, I was going nowhere”. 20 years ago, business conditions were different to what they are today. Business then relied on personal contact and who you knew. Then there was no internet and business was largely done with New Zealand based companies. Technical input and having people who knew your business was important. Today “faceless” internet websites located outside NZ shores compete with each other for business. In the “old” days the customer did not need to know the part number of the item they needed, just a description. Today, you must have the part number to order on the web and so often you are drowned with the range of products available “Our aim was to be the best pro-active supplier with a finite range of product focusing on connectors and supporting tooling as might be required for the industrial, military and aviation market”. This was further narrowed down on the basis that Lewis recognised the OEM PCB market in any volume was dying in NZ. The data reticulation industry he had previously been part of was being. fought after at minimal margins, much of the coax market had moved to the data industrial markets. Getting the right staff in any business is always a challenge. Lewis said he was fortunate that an ex-employee from the same industry wanted to move back to Wellington and “this was exactly what we needed. “Hiring knowledgeable staff with industry background has always been a challenge. We needed people who saw sales different from the normal perspective of selling “nuts and bolts” and making their […]

Young women encouraged to engineer a career

Being a young woman in a male-dominated field hasn’t stopped Bella Franks carving out a successful international career as an engineer. Recently, she spoke about her experiences to a group of female students keen to follow in her footsteps. Bella was one of four guest speakers at the Women in Engineering Canterbury (WiE Can) event hosted by the University of Canterbury (UC). WiE Can gives 60 female Year 13 students from high schools across New Zealand the opportunity to find out more about engineering by attending a series of hands-on workshops. WiE Can’S Elizabeth Franks. Bella, who graduated from UC in 2010 with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with Honours and is now working for Aecom as Associate Director of Buildings and Places, says engineering offers a varied and exciting career path. She advises young women considering the profession to “go for it”. “It’s such a rewarding career. So many of the world’s most pressing issues need smart young women to solve them and drive human innovation forward. “It’s rare in today’s work environment to have such a tangible outcome to your efforts, such as a beautiful building or public space, so it’s very satisfying to be able to see the results of your work.” Bella spent four years living in New York working on one of the United States’ largest private real estate developments, the Hudson Yards project in Manhattan, and she is currently working on the City Rail Link in Auckland. The 30-year-old says there is a certain amount of “proving yourself” as a young, female engineer, particularly in the construction world. “People can be very quick to write you off as inexperienced or out of your depth and it takes time to earn respect. Young males face this challenge too but often to a lesser extent.” UC […]

Recycling breakthrough set to save environment from toxic acid waste

An industrial prototype to recycle acid waste from Christchurch’s galvanised steel industries is just the beginning for researchers at the University of Canterbury who have a global vision for their eco innovation. Called Zincovery, their exciting project is a finalist for Callaghan Innovation’s prestigious C-Prize. Zincovery is the brainchild of UC Associate Professor of Engineering Dr Aaron Marshall and Chemical and UC Process Engineering Master’s student Jonathan Ring, whose prototype process is poised to make a big impact as a new low-cost industrial recycling technology. Their solution for recycling spent acid and recovering pure zinc is a true leap forward towards a cleaner global future for industries reliant on galvanising, a process that involves applying a protective zinc coating to steel. They have their sights set on tackling the hundreds and thousands of tonnes of zinc and acid released into landfill and wastewater every year through the steel galvanising process. Using their industrial prototype, currently under construction, Zincovery aims to offer an innovative recycling service for acid waste at a lower cost than what businesses would pay to dispose of it. Their prototype will be capable of recycling 15 per cent of the acid waste produced by Christchurch’s galvanised steel industry. Next year, the goal is to build a commercial treatment plant for New Zealand. Zincovery’s long term ambition is to expand into international markets. If successful, potential returns could run into hundreds of millions of dollars with a significant portion of that directed back to New Zealand. Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand’s innovation agency, has recognised the project’s potential with Zincovery named as a C-Prize finalist. The C-Prize challenge aims to foster new technologies that tackle complex global problems with a particular focus this year on solving tough environmental challenges. The 10 finalists, selected from 140 entries from across New […]

Factories no longer the sure route to prosperity.

Countries once grew rich through manufacturing – but today there is more than one way to effect structural transformation. Think about countries growing out of poverty and you probably picture something like this: underemployed workers leaving inefficient farms for factories that make textiles and clothing for domestic and export markets. Over time, this shift raises productivity and wages across the economy, while countries’ production and export baskets diversify into more sophisticated goods and services. For the past several decades, this image would have been broadly on the mark. South Korea is a prime example: through the 1950s, a large share of its population still worked in the agricultural sector. Its manufactured exports a decade later were mostly textiles, clothing, footwear and wigs. Two generations on, in 2017, Korea was the world’s fifth-largest merchandise exporter and its ninth-largest importer. Even if your mobile phone and household electronics weren’t made by a Korean company, they almost certainly contain integrated circuits that were. In varied ways, and to differing extents, countries from Bangladesh to Colombia to China have trodden this path. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in late 18th century England, ‘structural transformation’– a term economists use for the process of shifting people and resources out of subsistence work into more productive activities – has begun with labour-intensive manufacturing. And starting in the 1950s, trade has been a key accelerator of structural transformation in developing countries, enabling much faster growth and poverty reduction than would otherwise be possible. Good enough to compete Trade matters in this story because in most developing countries, internationally tradable sectors are typically much more productive than the rest of the economy. Pulling more people and capital out of non-tradable activities and into firms dealing in tradable goods and services therefore makes for better jobs and a […]

Finding the right direction in times of great change

-Dieter Adam, The Manufacturers Network Returning from Europe recently, I found myself on an airplane watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. If you don’t know the story it is loosely based on two Wild West outlaws Butch Cassidy played by Paul Newman, and his partner the “Sundance Kid” played by Robert Redford. The pair are on the run from a crack US posse after a string of train robberies and forced to flee to Bolivia in search of a more successful criminal career. I had seen the film before, but this time I watched it from a manufacturing perspective. These two ‘experts’ run a small, highly specialised and profitable business. They could be considered leading operators in their field and they have impressive brand recognition. As the regulatory environment changes, they ultimately realise that their business model is unsustainable, but instead of changing the model, they opt to take their current operations to a different market. That is initially unsuccessful, mainly because of a lack of understanding of local conditions, including language, and a lack of ability and willingness to acquire the necessary knowledge, in spite of the best efforts of their ‘consultant’, the Sundance Kid’s girlfriend, played by Katherine Ross. When they eventually realise they need to adjust their business model, they do so half-heartedly and use their first failure as an excuse to revert to the ‘tried and true’ method, only to ultimately fail spectacularly in the face of overwhelming regulatory action. This movie could act as a great ‘how not to’ guide for manufacturers in times of uncertainty and change. A living example of this in the real world is in the German car industry, which has largely been accused of napping at the wheel’ when it comes to switching from internal combustion engines (ICE) to […]

Could you build our base in Antarctica?

Antarctica New Zealand is looking for a construction partner for the Scott Base Redevelopment project. But this is a job interview with a difference: the selection process involves a trip to Antarctica. “This is no junket though”, says Senior Project Manager Simon Shelton. “We understand that very few people have been to Antarctica so we want to work with the industry to familiarise them with the environment, show them Scott Base and help them understand any perceived commercial risk.” Over the next two years, the design of the proposed new base will be completed. This involves employing a main contractor organisation to work with Antarctica New Zealand and their design consultants to confirm how best to deliver the project. Registrations of Interest are now open on the Government Electronic Tenders Service website, GETS. Shortlisted applicants will be taken to Scott Base in February to experience the environment and the unique logistical requirements involved with safely living, working and building in Antarctica. Mr Shelton says Antarctica New Zealand is looking for an innovative organisation to safely and effectively deliver a complex project. “Even little things are important to know in Antarctica, like what clothing is required to work outside, how people and materials get there and back and how cold it really is,” he says. Antarctica New Zealand General Manager Engineering Matt Johnson says it’s an important project in a remote and challenging environment. “The redevelopment of Scott Base is the largest project ever undertaken by Antarctica New Zealand. “This is an opportunity for a construction company to be part of New Zealand’s legacy in Antarctica and to help support our world-leading science programme. “We’re looking for an organisation with the ability to deliver complex and challenging projects, a strong commitment to environmental stewardship, one that values the power of teamwork […]

Clean, high-tech: this is the factory of the future

Factories have long held a place in the popular imagination, not just as sources of employment and community prosperity, but also as hectic, noisy, grimy and polluting facilities, where thousands of people are employed in largely low-skilled line positions. Today’s factories are changing. Breathtaking advances in technology, automation and globalisation are transforming how and where manufacturers plan, construct, operate and integrate their factory networks. They are also ushering in significant operational, political and societal changes. From America’s Rust Belt to rural India and China, a chorus of voices is struggling to understand: how are technologies changing how we produce and distribute products? Are automation and free trade taking away valuable factory jobs? What type of skills will be required? How can communities prosper in the face of new production technologies? How and when should manufacturers upgrade their legacy equipment to embrace new technologies to boost yields and efficiency for advantage or simply to remain competitive? Businesses, governments and society alike must understand the technological dynamics at play and collaborate together to ensure tomorrow’s factory towns prosper. What will the factory of the future look like? The key answers will come from the factory floor where new technologies like 3D printing, advanced robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and virtual and augmented reality are converging to create new value, enabling the hyper-efficient and flexible factory of the future. The value created is real: large global producers have increased efficiency and reduced costs by up to 30% across all operations, driven by improvements in overall operating efficiency, lower inventory, energy and water costs, and reduction in incidents involving safety. While the pace of change and how these changes will propagate across networks will differ by industry and country, the factory of the future is a more digital, virtual and […]

Infrastructure boost must contribute to productivity growth

BusinessNZ has welcomed the $12 billion infrastructure boost announced, and says it’s appropriate for road and rail transport to be the priorities. Chief Executive Kirk Hope said business would be keen to see the details of the projects. “We need to make sure the projects can be executed, and that decisions are worked through Infrastructure Commission to ensure investments are strategic and contribute to New Zealand’s growth in productivity. “It will be important that capacity constraints don’t restrict execution of essential short- and medium-term projects, and that the projects are strongly aligned with immigration and training policies.”

Infrastructure spending good news for SMEs

Today’s major infrastructure spending announcement is good news for members in the EMA’s upper North Island region. EMA Head of Advocacy and Strategy, Alan McDonald, says an additional infrastructure spend of $12 billion over four years is a welcome boost, especially with $6.8 billion of it going into the transport sector. “We’ve already seen an additional $400 million allocated to school infrastructure, and the $300m announced for new spend on hospitals is also going into an area that needs the additional funding attention,” he says. For EMA members the most welcome news is the new transport spend, as its region from Taupo North continues grow rapidly without having the necessary connectivity and ease of movement to support that growth. The new funding will be in addition to what has already been allocated in the National Land Transport Plan (NLTP). “Our understanding is that in some cases the funding may speed up projects in the NLTP or supplant already allocated funds. Where that happens the funding that is freed up from the NLTP will then be reallocated for other NLTP projects to further accelerate that pipeline,” says Mr McDonald. “While details about which projects will receive the new funding are being held back – they are likely to be announced in the New Year – there are a number of public transport, rail and road projects across the upper North Island that are virtually ready to go and if brought forward will bring considerable benefits to businesses in the region,” he says. The new National Infrastructure Commission will rightly prioritise the projects, but the EMA’s wish-list of shovel-ready projects would include: The third rail main, rail electrification between Papatoetoe and Pukekohe, the airport to Puhinui link, the north western busway and Mill Road in Auckland; the route south from Whangarei to […]

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