Product News

Photo: Tim Parker, founder and managing director of Cleanfuelz with the latest experimental model. Did you know that most petrol engines only use 20% and diesels only use 40% of the fuel – and waste the rest as noxious exhaust fumes? Cleanfuelz has been developing a solution to the problem of the inefficient burning of fuel in vehicle engines since 2008. Their initial plan was to become the NZ distributor for American designed ‘Hydrogen On Demand’ products. However it was quickly established that the sample units were simply not robust enough and used a large amount of energy and often required major engine modifications to make them work. Cleanfuelz decided to take a totally different approach, and after numerous designs, a university test confirmed that the Catalyser produced gasses that had a catalytic effect on the combustion of the fuel. That is, introducing hydrogen into the fuel mixture increases the rate of combustion and means that nearly all the fuel is combusted. This results in lower noxious exhaust emissions (up to 90% reductions), while using only a small amount of energy. This can also result in fuel savings and less wear and tear on the engine. However, we found that fuel savings for every vehicle are often different because this depends on a number of factors including the condition of the engine and how it is tuned or programmed. The Catalyser can be installed on any type of vehicle using any type of hydrocarbon fuel. On bigger engines above six litres we usually suggest installing two units. We have seen remarkable improvements on petrol and diesel engines of 1500 CC up to 220HP in tractors. Vehicles can be your normal car or truck, or any off road vehicle like farm tractors, forklifts, heavy equipment, bulldozers, graders, diggers etc. We believe […]

A new approach to miniaturised heaters is proving to be outstandingly reliable, versatile and economic. Miniaturised ceramic heaters capable of independently controlling their dissipation are replacing Nichrome elements universally used until recently in domestic medical and military  applications. It is now possible to mass produce incredibly small controlled dissipation 230 V elements onto small 12 mm x 9 mm ceramic substrates capable of operating at over 350¡ celsius. Besides heaters the technology can be used for such diverse applications as thermal print heads, molecular gas flow sensors and tracking transmitters. Thick Film technology is used wherever high reliability is required, such as space satellites and heart pacemakers. Circuit elements are physically printed sometimes in multiple layers on thin ceramic sheets and then fired at high temperature typically 850¡C to form working electronic modules.

The Cigweld Transmig 175i is a self contained single phase multi process welding inverter that is capable of performing GMAW/FCAW (Mig), MMAW (Stick) and GTAW (Lift Tig) welding processes. The unit is equipped with an integrated wire feed unit, voltage reduction device (VRD applicable in stick mode only), digital voltage and amperage meters, and a host of other features in to fully satisfy the broad operating needs of the modern welding professional. It features: Full multi process capabilities: GMAW/FCAW (MIG), MMAW (STICK), GTAW (TIG) Standards Compliant Voltage Reduction device (VRD) Fully compliant to AS 60974.1 Digital voltage and amperage meters Enclosure rated to IP23S 3 Year Limited Warrant Specifications Supply Voltage            240 volt, 1 phase 50/60 Hz Supply plug lead        15 amp Welding current range        10 – 175 amps Duty Cycle            175 amps @ 25% duty cycle (Mig) 175 amps @ 20% duty cycle (Stick) 175 amps @ 25% duty cycle (Tig) Power source weight        14.6 kg : Plant 23 kg Dimensions            H460mm x W320mm x D590mm Plant contents: Transmig 175i inverter power Source, Tweco Fusion Mig Gun (3M), Comet Professional Argon regulator/flow meter, Feed rolls 0.6/0.8 V groove (fitted) , 1.0/1.2mm U groove; 0.8/0.9 V Knurled, Contact tips: 0.8mm fitted, 0.6mm, 0.9mm, 1.0mm, Electrode holder with 4m lead, Work clamp with 4m lead, Shielding gas hose assembly, Shoulder strap , Product bag and operating manual. NextSTEP Contact: ken-durbin@thermadyne.com.au

An earthquake the magnitude of that experienced in Christchurch on Saturday is devastating for any city. But as the hours since the quake pass, a positive story is emerging from the scene. The level of damage seen in modern buildings and bridges in Christchurch is much less than that caused by similar earthquakes in Kobe, Japan in 1995 or Haiti earlier this year. This can be directly attributed to exacting standards of the structural engineering profession, the city building inspectors, and the New Zealand construction industry, supported by modern earthquake engineering standards. Earthquake engineering has been considered seriously in New Zealand since the 1855 Wellington earthquake, and improved immeasurably following the Napier earthquake in 1931. During the 1970s, New Zealand emerged as an international leader in earthquake engineering, and the results of the Christchurch quake will provide researchers with tangible evidence of where improvements must be made in future. Members of the Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) and the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering were amongst the first volunteers on the scene, undertaking initial building safety evaluations and geotechnical assessments in the central city. “Engineers from around New Zealand have been flooding IPENZ with calls volunteering their services’ says IPENZ Director of Engineering Charles Wilmott “The high standard of work our industry has undertaken up to this point means Christchurch came through a huge earthquake relatively well, and the work we undertake going forward will ensure the region is back on it’s feet as soon as possible’. Saturday’s earthquake showed that the performance of “lifelines’ such as roads, bridges, water supplies and sewage systems is critical. Much more research is needed to understand these systems and to ensure they can better survive earthquake conditions. In the coming weeks engineers will continue to contribute to be at the forefront of […]

Korean manufacturing giant LG Electronics has recently introduced its first mobile phone designed with Delcam’s Tribrid Modelling software. The Waffle phone features a surface texture created in the ArtCAM artistic CADCAM program, wrapped around the body of a phone design produced with the PowerSHAPE CAD software.  It is expected to be the first of a number of new models that will use the Delcam software to create the distinctive designs needed to build market share in the highly competitive and fashion-conscious mobile phone market. Tribrid Modelling is Delcam’s unique, patented approach to design that adds triangle modelling to the solid and surface modelling options that are available in hybrid modelling systems.  It gives the ability to add triangle files of logos, branding, textures or other 3D decorations onto the surfaces of CAD models.  This effect is rather like sliding a transfer over the surface of an object, with the added advantages that the decoration can be scaled or stretched to fit any given area, and that the result is fully three-dimensional. Tribrid Modelling also allows Boolean operations to be carried out between triangle models and either surfaces or solids.  For many years, PowerSHAPE was one of very few CAD systems able to perform Boolean operations between solids and surfaces.  The ability to perform similar addition, subtraction and merge operations with triangles as well makes the software even more flexible. LG Electronics has become a global leader through more that 50 years of technical innovation in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances.  The company, which is based in the Korean capital Seoul, employs more than 80,000 people, working in over 115 operations around the world.  Last year, its global sales topped US$ 43 billion. Staff from Delcam’s Korean joint venture, Hankook Delcam, had their first contact with LG in August […]

Peter Rocque is one of those increasingly-rare active, Kiwi craftsmen – “a toolmakers’ toolmaker” – deeply concerned that with the decline in local manufacturing has come the devaluing of the tool-making trade. “And this represents a dire threat to any prospect of New Zealand re-establishing itself as a manufacturer of anything other than milk and agricultural products. Because there will not be anyone left to build the prototypes, to give practical input at the conceptual stage, since even that aspect of the process will have gone with the last of the craftspeople,” Rocque says. “I believe it is up to us in the manufacturing industry to take matters in hand and avoid this imminent crisis. No one is going to do anything to fix this killing-off of an essential skill, if we are even to retain basic niche manufacturing to complement the celebrated ‘innovation’ which seems to be the focus of all funding and support. “With that, innovation will also disappear offshore; prototypes will be made there; and with that, even the IP will dissipate. A sorry state, but one which has been coming at us, with a vengeance, ever since that disastrous day Helen Clark decided to shake hands with the Chinese,” he says. Peter Rocque came to this country 30-odd years ago, a graduate of the then global centre of tool-making, Stockport, part of greater Manchester. Recruited to New Zealand by the legendary Rex Manufacturing company, he worked his way up and once he had sussed the scene, decided to go on contract and work for himself. “I’d got the confidence to do that having been given the kind of break I’m suggesting our industry gives to qualified fitters-and-turners, who’ve done a bit of this and that, after graduating from our local training institutes. While none of us […]

From humble beginnings almost 100 years ago, Scott Technology has evolved into a publicly listed automation business, and a world leader in several niche markets. Located in Dunedin, this specialist engineering firm is investing heavily in R&D to support new product development and its expansion into new export markets, says Managing Director Chris Hopkins. Today the company operates in several sectors, however its main success has traditionally been in the appliance industry, where it designs and builds automated production lines for the world’s leading whitegoods manufacturers. “Over the past several years we have also invested heavily in research and development in the meat industry and in other areas of our business. This has seen our international revenue grow dramatically and our opportunities and potential increase significantly,” says Mr Hopkins “Our extensive R&D programme in the meat processing side of the business means we now have 11 patents either pending or granted, plus international trademarks and design copyrights. “This R&D has produced technology that is aimed at large volume lamb and beef processors within New Zealand and Australia. Our innovations potentially can offer significant value to customers in automating what to date has largely been a manual process. We have few competitors in this new field of automation and robotics within the boning room of our major customers.” In the mining market, Scott Technology has developed a small range of standalone equipment used by on-site mine labs and commercial labs as part of the sample preparation process. More recently it has leveraged off its automation expertise to expand further into providing automated systems that process samples ready for analysis. In the industrial automation side of the business Scott partners with companies to take on the role of their in-house engineering department to design and build automation or production solutions. nextSTEP Visit:www.scott.co.nz