When Queensland-based original equipment manufacturer, M&Q Equipment, was looking for a reliable local supplier to provide a range of bearings and bearing assembly components for their flagship slurry pumps, they turned to their trusted suppliers at BSC’s Wacol branch; which resulted in a partnership with Timken®. For over 25 years, M&Q has been a trusted … Continue reading Partnership solution comes through for Austral pump maker, M&Q Equipment →

A chirping sound, however pleasant when you are taking a stroll through the park, is an unwanted noise when it emanates from a revved up engine at your plant – as it’s often indicative of a misaligned pulley. Belt drive systems are used extensively in water and wastewater treatment plants to rotate the fans, pumps, and … Continue reading Preventive maintenance puts the ‘shhh’ in belt drive systems →

Collaborative robots, fondly known as cobots, have come a long way since their inception more than 10 years ago. First viewed as a ‘lab experiment’, these were initially bought, sent off to innovation centres for testing and were never to be seen or used on the production floor. Today however, cobots are the fastest-growing segment … Continue reading Introducing cobots into the workplace: here’s what you need to know →

Prevention is the name of the game when it comes to maintenance of electrical equipment in water and wastewater treatment facilities, according to Steve Keown, CBC‘s National Product Manager for Lubricants. “Why risk spending thousands of dollars on repairs when you can prevent those damages?” says Keown. “When you are running a water treatment plant 24 … Continue reading Shine on: Keeping electrical parts clean and glowing →

It’s no secret that sustainability is a hot topic, with the rapidly increasing awareness from consumers of the impact of the waste generated through the products they purchase. Flowing on from this, there is a growing expectation for brands to introduce sustainability into their manufacturing, material sourcing and packaging processes. For a long time, consumers … Continue reading Coding technology protecting traceability and the environment →

For Australian manufacturers to remain competitive, the key message from industry bodies is to work smarter, not harder. In research conducted by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) it was found that the manufacturers in Australia who are globally competitive are those who make smarter use of technology. In its report Advanced manufacturing: A new … Continue reading Automation important for manufacturers to remain competitive →

The most common cause of bearing failure in an industrial plant is improper lubrication. Which is why a multipoint lubrication system is recommended, particularly for large operations such as those typical in the building material manufacturing sector, says lubrication expert Mandar Shivalkar. “The key point to understand is that over-lubrication can be just as damaging … Continue reading Keeping plant operations slick with multipoint solution →

Industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) serves a variety of key applications across industries. It is widely used in the food and beverage industries for carbonation of liquid drinks. It can also be used as a shielding gas in welding processes or as a refrigerant with a lower global warming potential than traditional HFCs. There is an … Continue reading Fuelling the industry with a clean gas →

Industrial robots are commonplace in factories because they provide an effective alternative to manual workers for repetitive, high-volume assembly line tasks. The machines can continuously repeat high-precision tasks for many years with only the occasional interruption for routine maintenance. Boosted productivity ensures a return on the initial high capital investment. But relatively low-cost human workers … Continue reading Collaborative robots: designing for productivity and safety →

The explosive nature of grain and flour dusts is well-documented, with some of the worst industrial accidents in the world caused by explosions from dust clouds. Research published in the United States additionally reveals that 50 per cent of all explosions from combustible dusts in the 20th century occurred in grain silos and flour mills1. … Continue reading Volt belt leads the charge in ATEX environments →

When conveying material, it is often necessary to attach additional conveyor belt products, such as a scraper or flaps, or extend flighting between a pair of parallel chains. In food and beverage (F&B) systems, these can be necessary to ensure the product flows to the right area in the process. And in order to attach … Continue reading Keeping F&B manufacturers on track with Diamond precision →

While BDO has been operating its full gamut of services – spanning audit, insurance, tax, compliance, and advisory services for a range of industries since 1975 – in the last six years, they have amped up their technology and digital focus; allowing them to help manufacturer’s optimise value from their digital implementation. BDO’s technology advisory … Continue reading How to optimise your digital transformation →

Paul Golata, senior technology specialist at Mouser Electronics discusses considerations when designing robotics for industrial or commercial purposes. Successful robotics connectivity only happens by design. Intricate and delicate electronic systems must work to monitor, control, and adjust robotic performance through real-time adjustments. When it is well-designed, the result is a reliable high-performance network of machine … Continue reading High-performance connectivity in robotics →

Justin Farrell from Siemens and Phil Newnes from APS Industrial discuss the recent trends in industrial automation technology and what it takes to move manufacturing businesses forward. Recent trends in automation technology have the potential to be gamechangers in the industrial sector, pushing forward productivity and efficiency and making processes more flexible and adaptable in … Continue reading Building the right game in industrial automation →

The impact of recalls within the automotive parts sector are far-reaching and not only do they affect the manufacturer themselves, but there is an impact on the automotive brands that use them too. From drops in sales, to reputational damage and not to mention customer safety, it has become vital to track and trace an … Continue reading Do not let an unchecked fault drive off with your credibility →

Plastics and rubber play an important role in getting food and food products to our plates. Rubber conveyor belts and rubber/plastic lined chutes, hoppers and grinding mills are all part of the farm produce’s journey from farm to processing plants and to the trucks for transport. When a rubber conveyor belt gets damaged, whether from … Continue reading LOCTITE rubber repair resin cuts curing times →

The food industry needs to operate efficiently to ensure quick delivery of produce, so it is as fresh as possible for customers. To meet this standard, reliable air compressors with a proven track record of success are required. Air compressor faults take time to repair and that downtime also threatens required delivery objectives, especially for … Continue reading Compressing the right information for customers →

Use of collaborative robots (cobots) are forecasted to grow in Australia. Manufacturers’ Monthly spoke to Universal Robots about how automation will improve production lines. In Australia, cobots have traditionally found their largest markets in food and beverage and general manufacturing. Human workers and cobots have worked side by side for duties such as machine tending, … Continue reading Cobots to help Australian businesses adapt →

MathWorks has introduced the new Release 2020a with expanded AI capabilities for deep learning. The release introduces an enhanced Deep Learning Toolbox that helps users manage multiple deep learning experiments, keep track of training parameters, analyse and compare results and code with the new Experiment Manager app. It can also interactively train a network for … Continue reading MathWorks delivers additional AI capabilities to engineers and scientists →

The explosive nature of grain and flour dusts is well-documented, with some of the worst industrial accidents in the world caused by explosions from dust clouds. Research published in the United States additionally reveals that 50% of all explosions from combustible dusts in the 20th century occurred in grain silos and flour mills. Dusts from … Continue reading Volt belt leads the charge in ATEX environments →