Smart Manufacturing Today

Irene Kaur one of the women changing the engineering industry

Kiwi electrical engineer Irene Kaur is by any measure breaking new ground. The STEM movement – now active in education sectors in many countries – is designed to attract more girls and women to fields that have traditionally been defined and dominated by men. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics have in the past had a lack of appeal to females as a career opportunity, due to it being seen as a male-dominated field, lack of awareness and promotion as a viable career opportunity for woman As of today, the percentage of female graduates in electrical engineering at the University of Auckland shows the imbalance still remains persistent: 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 % female 16% 24% 16% 24% 29% Part 4 -female 10 18 9 10 16 Part 4 -male 52 58 49 31 40 There are only four female chief executives on the NZX50, and according to one of them, Spark’s Jolie Hodson, the tech sector has roughly a 70:30 male to female skew. In light of the clear inequity, many organisations are taking it upon themselves to look at how they can better support females and diversity in the workplace, including looking at key initiatives like flexibility, equal opportunities, ongoing training and support. Schneider Electric has been named as one of the 25 companies engineering students most want to work for, based on a global survey (conducted September 2020 to May 2021) by Universum of 84,000 students from 10 of the world’s biggest economies – the list ranks Schneider Electric alongside the likes of Pfizer, Apple, Google and Microsoft. Part of the attraction is creating a culture and ethos that are welcoming to women, and Kiwi electrical engineer Irene Kaur (pictured) is by any measure breaking new ground – but she doesn’t see herself as knocking down barriers for women […]

A three dimensional panoramic view of the turquoise spring Kiikunlahde in Hollola, Finland in a mini planet panorama style.

Sustainable Technologies in 2022

At the core of sustainability are cost savings which has led economists and environmentalists to see eye-to-eye on the long-term benefits of sustainable practices in business. RS Components value both the environment and energy conscious design. In addition to their global support of the environment initiatives of Engineers Without Borders, the RS library of accessible consumer materials cover everything from tech-articles to product-selection guides on the most environmentally-economic products on the market. Their commitment to keeping their RS Components customers up-to-date on sustainable product trends compelled them to launch a webinar – Sustainable Technologies in 2022. A panel of experts from the leaders in industry include Schneider Electric, Fluke, Phoenix Contact, ABB and RS PRO who will discuss how business can become more sustainable in operations. Join the Sustainable Technologies in 2022 seminar by clicking on the link below to register: https://au.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?id=sustainable-technology&cm_mmc=AU-PR-_-IUPAU_20220323-_-DTC_203_0322_APAC-_-Sustainability_edm And add this date in your diary 12PM Thursday 7th April 2022 All attendees who stay until the end of the session will receive a FREE e-Gift Card valued at $20*.

Meeting manufacturing’s cyber security challenges

Scott Leach, Vice President APJ at cybersecurity firm Varonis In February 2021, Security Intelligence reported a 156 per cent increase in ransomware attacks on manufacturers worldwide.Some of the biggest attacks included a demand for $US17 million from a Taiwanese laptop maker and another attack for $US34 million from an electronics manufacturer for Apple. Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report also found the manufacturing sector facing a significant increase in ransomware attacks. These accounted for 61.2 per cent of all breaches in the sector analysed by Verizon. None of these reports offered any reason for this surge in attacks on manufacturers. Still, it has been well-reported that the increasing interconnection of legacy operational technology (OT) and newer information technology (IT) systems has greatly increased the attack surface for manufacturers. OT can now be compromised to gain access to IT, and vice versa. To make matters worse, OT systems were historically isolated from the internet and therefore were not designed to face cyberattacks. Manufacturers must double down on security, and ensure their data is protected and managed safely. This is particularly important for customer data and intellectual property, which could be extremely valuable to a rival organisation. Taking a data-centric approach to security Traditional security measures rely on a ‘walled garden’ approach. Anyone within the walled garden–i.e., employees, contractors and those granted network access–are automatically assumed to be trustworthy, and not verified. Instead, a data-centric approach utilises a zero-trust model, where no-one is assumed to be trustworthy and every access attempt to sensitive data is verified. Typically, the identity of the accessor, the device they are using, their location and the data they are seeking access to are all checked against pre-authorisations. There are plenty of technology solutions available to implement a zero-trust policy. The hard part for any large organisation that […]

The Factory Ceiling

-Georgina Fenwicke, Tell Frankie There is much to discuss about the Factory floor and for good reason. The operational layout, the transport plan, proximity to the inwards and outwards doors, the racking config. All of these drive greater productivity and operational efficiency in a building. However, little is often mentioned about the Factory ceiling. Long run steel roofing. Bitumen. Tiles. Clearlite. There’s a real mix of roofing products used in New Zealand’s Manufacturing facilities. For Operations managers and manufacturers, the Factory Ceiling is one of the biggest capital risks and value add areas. Consider the following opportunities: Increasing the roof height for an extra rack of space – occupancy of Industrial property is at all time highs as supply chains Regular maintenance of the roof – preventatively maintaining your roof profile is just smart business. It protects against Leaks and product damage Dust build up and contamination of product Longer life and depreciation costs spread out over a longer period of time Frankie is an Operations Control Centre where your teams can get on the same page around building and machinery maintenance. Property Operations is a mix of Asset and Facilities management, a holistic function that controls and allocates capital (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX). A day in the life of a factory manager is a moveable feast. There are issues that crop up every morning that need to be solved quickly – a roof leak, flooding, a broken door, the lift isn’t working. There’s also the backlog of scheduled works and Inspections to be coordinated that week. Annually, there’s a need to plan budgets, review the condition of major areas of the building and review the quality of service contracts. Factory and Operations are facing a number of challenges in 2022: Availability of parts: Supply chain challenges for machinery […]

Technologies enable smart factories to self-adapt

By Jarrod Kinchington, Infor ANZ vice president and managing director Judging by the headlines, continuous logistics issues, continued pandemic restrictions, and rising prices for raw materials will mean that manufacturers have their work cut out for 2022. In addition, the drive towards sustainability is adding pressure to readjust the manufacturing footprint. Most manufacturers are still stuck with a geographic footprint, which was driven by labour arbitrage around the globe, rather than by factors such as closeness to customers or ecological concerns. To increase efficiency, many producers have started to implement Industry 4.0 technologies. Industry 4.0 came with the promise of a smart factory being profitable at the production lot size of one unit. The concept was introduced at the brink of the millennium change with the introduction of cyber-physical systems to share, analyse and guide intelligent actions for various processes in the industry to make the machines smarter and to lower downtime. Analytics can also be used for other aspects like logistics, demand forecasts, production scheduling and quality control, capacity utilisation and efficiency boosting. But we still stand at the beginning for leveraging the true potential of Industry 4.0. Smart technologies offer no less than the possibility to redesign the global manufacturing footprint, to position factories closer to markets, reduce logistics nightmares and increase visibility of the ecosystem partners, including suppliers and customers. There are six important ingredients for a strategy to create the future-proof smart factory: Customers increasingly demand highly personalised products as well as an enhanced customer experience. Manufacturing companies adopt highly agile cloud-based solutions to gain the ability to increase individualisation, service additions, and serve higher flexibility requirements. The need to reduce delays and transport costs, as well as the drive toward a more sustainable production and the imperative to reduce the distance to the physical end-consumer […]

New Euchner MBM bus module for EtherCAT P

If there is one area where applications are becoming ever-more complex, it’s safety engineering. Euchner has not only kept up with this trend with its Multifunctional Gate Box (MGB) safety door system, but has gone a step further by employing modular design to make the MGB2 Modular fully customisable for maximum optimisation. Available from Treotham, the modular system features a separate locking module, bus module and submodules, making it suitable for implementing a wide range of additional functions. In addition, the brand new bus module MBM is available in a version that connects to EtherCAT P, which means that every single function of the Multifunctional Gate Box 2 (MGB2 Modular) safety door system can also be used with EtherCAT P. Following on from its market firsts in PROFINET and EtherNet/IP connection, this is another success, reasserting the company’s claim as a pioneer of innovative bus systems. In this latest system, comprehensive diagnostic functions in the form of EtherCAT messages and the integrated web server provide a fast and detailed overview of the device status. Due to the ease with which parameters can be set, even replacing the system during servicing is a simple matter and takes no more than a few minutes.

igus 7th axis extends working space by up to 400 percent

Articulated arm robots can travel over six metres, quadrupling their working space: the 7th axis is now compatible with all lightweight articulated arm robots worldwide thanks to a simple Plug & Play kit. So far, models from Universal Robots, Epson and the igus robolink series from Treotham have benefited from this increased mobility. Now Omron, Franka Emika, Doosan, Yuanda Robotics and many other lightweight robotics suppliers are joining the list. The first users of the so-called 7th axis, a linear axis with an electric toothed belt drive that igus launched in 2020, were thrilled according to Alexander Mühlens: “Suddenly, thanks to the additional axis, their articulated arm robots are as mobile as humans. This enables them to take on multiple tasks in automation environments making them significantly more productive,” says the Head of Automation Technology at igus. “We therefore decided to extend the compatibility of the system to all manufacturers worldwide – such as Omron, Franka Emika, Doosan and Yuanda Robotics. With a matching Plug & Play kit of hardware and software we make customisation possible.” Ready-to-connect complete solution for all lightweight articulated arm robots In the future, all lightweight articulated arm robots with a weight range of 10 to 50 kilograms or, depending on the dynamics, a payload of 2 to 20 kilograms can use the 7th axis. Treotham supplies the system as a ready-to-connect complete solution from a single source. It consists of a drylin ZLW toothed belt axis with a length of up to six metres and two parallel rails made of aluminium. These can be mounted on the floor, walls or ceilings and a toothed belt drive with stepper motor for a positioning accuracy of 0.3 millimetres. Also included is: an energy chain for guiding energy and data cables; a switch cabinet integration kit with cables; […]

Family business suppliers to the pneumatics industry

JWR Pneumatics is a family run business dedicated to providing technical sales and great customer service to the pneumatics industry. Jonathan Wood, general manager (pictured), started JWR Pneumatics in May 2021. He gained his qualification and experience in the Hydraulic and Pneumatic industries, both in New Zealand and in Melbourne, Australia over ten years. JWR Pneumatics understands how freight and manufacturing time delays are frustrating, adding huge costs to the end user. Their team is focussed on keeping good stock levels to give customers a fast order turnaround. JWR Pneumatics prides itself in being willing to go the extra mile. They understand that manufacturing can be difficult to forecast future sales and have overcome this problem by having an agreement with existing customers, by keeping high volume custom products on their shelves, enabling them to give an immediate supply to customers, without unnecessary delay. JWR Pneumatics imports pneumatic equipment from Italian supplier Airwork. Airwork is an Italian manufacturing company with 25 years experience who specialise in the design, manufacturing, and supply of standard and customised solutions in the pneumatic automation industrial field. Airwork manufactures all their pneumatic equipment in Italy to the highest standard while maintaining competitive pricing. JWR Pneumatics keep a wide range of plastic push-fit pneumatic fittings from sizes 4mm up to 16mm and a wide range of pneumatic valves in stock ranging from solenoid, pilot and manual operations, in sizes from 1/8 BSP threads to 1/2BSP thread sizes. They also stock air filtration units and standard ISO size cylinders. Although JWR Pneumatics is committed to selling Airwork pneumatic equipment, they are not limited solely to Airwork products. They are also resellers for Master Pneumatics and Festo. JWR Pneumatics are more than happy to brand match where possible to make the refitting of replacement pneumatic components as easy […]

Hutt Valley businesses step up to help build talent pipeline in the region

-Rebecca Reed It’s the same old story for every business, particularly those in the manufacturing sector…how do you fill the shortage of tradespeople and find the right workers for the job? The lack of skilled workers in Aotearoa has only intensified since Covid, with employers battling to attract and retain talent to keep up with their workflow demands. In the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce recent Business Confidence Survey at the end of 2021, 56% of employers in the region said they were struggling for talent. Chief Executive, Patrick McKibbin, has been a long admirer of an innovative model born out of the Hawkes Bay that has become a real success story in attracting and retaining young talent. This model was the brainchild of engineering employer, Patton Engineering. After struggling to find and attract the right workers, particularly apprentices, Patton Engineering decided to do something about it themselves. In 2018, Patton Engineering partnered with Hastings Boys’ High School to create a model to support students towards a pathway into engineering that could be rolled out nationwide. To realise this vision, they focused on secondary students who were undertaking trades training as part of their technology class. Machinery, materials, and gear were provided to the school through sponsorships, grants, and donations. Patton Engineering also engaged their suppliers, like Steel and Tube, to provide the school with materials at the same cost it sells to Patton. This Steel and Tube deal is now available to all schools across New Zealand. How exactly does the model work? Essentially Patton Engineering, and now another 31 employers working with the school, provide work experiences through the year and then get to see and select the future employees for their business. For the business this has a fantastic ROI with lower cost to recruit, lower churn […]

Six tips for going circular (from manufacturers who are doing it)

-Jim Goddin, thinkstep-anz Every expert was once a beginner – and that includes the three New Zealand and Australian manufacturers who share their circular economy (CE) expertise here. Ged Finch, Jason Graham-Nye and David Bell run or work in manufacturing businesses based on CE principles. Ged is R&D Manager at XFrame, a business which designs and manufactures reusable prefabricated structural framing. Jason co-founded gDiapers which designs and makes compostable nappies. David is Manager Sustainability and Insight at steel recycler, manufacturer and distributor InfraBuild. Our three experts have learned a lot about CE since they started out. In a recent thinkstep-anz webinar, they shared their tips for taking a manufacturing business circular. Their advice is relevant for businesses that design and manufacture their own products and for contract manufacturers too. Before we hear from our experts, here’s a look at CE and how it can add value to your manufacturing business. Circular economy in a nutshell CE is often confused with recycling. It’s much (much!) more. CE is based on three principles. Here’s how they play out in the real world of product design and manufacturing at XFrame, gDiapers and InfraBuild. Principle 1: designing out waste and pollution XFrame estimates that their reusable framing can reduce construction waste from a single home by up to 5 tonnes. gDiapers’ products eliminate waste from disposable nappies. InfraBuild recycled 1.4 m tonnes of scrap metal in Australia in 2021. Principle 2: keeping products and materials in use More than 95% of the materials in an X-Frame building can be recovered and reused, many times. The materials in gDiapers’ nappies can be composted and put back into the soil. InfraBuild keep materials in use by feeding their electric arc furnaces with 100% scrap metal wherever possible. Principle 3: regenerating natural systems The timber XFrame use to manufacture […]

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