Intelligent Process Automation is widely recognised as a new tool manufacturers could be leveraging to improve their bottom line. With the underpinning technology continuously evolving and advancing, it’s important to understand that automation is not limited to traditionally labour‑intensive or dangerous work, as in the case of physical robots.

PRINCIPLES from the automotive, mining and paper industries have helped develop a machine to convert cheap pulpwood into a premium product with the same properties as tropical hardwood.

A number of big Australian companies have started to publicly release tax reports recently, such as ANZ, BHP Billiton, AMP and the National Australia Bank. This follows intense scrutiny of tax minimisation and evasion from the Australian government.

Major industrial companies have been making serious acquisitions lately, seeking to strengthen their capabilities with metal additive manufacturing. Brent Balinski spoke to Mark Cola, co-founder and CEO of Sigma Labs, about what it all means.

Australia’s largest workplace health and safety event, Safety in Action, took place this year in Sydney, exhibiting the latest systems, products, and seminars to encourage safety in the workplace. Manufacturers’ Monthly was on site speaking to some of the companies that attended. Sharon Masige writes.

Australian research has recently shown graphene’s usefulness in giving materials improved thermal properties. Brent Balinski spoke to ANU Associate Professor Shannon Notley about getting this out of the lab.

Despite last-minute efforts by the Obama administration, the US Congress’ ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is in serious danger.

“Disruption” and “disrupters” have become buzz words in the business community and are often used to describe any change or evolution in a sector.

First released in October last year, the Synergy platform was officially launched by Renesas in Australia recently. Brent Balinski spoke to the company and one of its local independent design house partners about developing products for the Internet of Things.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s innovation agenda is being questioned again after both the Coalition and Labor agreed to make cuts to Australia’s R&D tax incentive.

An innovative “smartwood” project is turning pulpwood into a material almost identical to tropical hardwood that is stronger and more environmentally friendly. Researchers from the Flinders Centre for NanoScale Science & Technology (CNST) in South Australia have collaborated with Australian company 3RT Holdings Pty Ltd to develop a method for converting cheap pulpwood into a … Continue reading Pulp friction: new wood to shake up furniture industry →

The future is predicted to see unmanned aerial vehicles in a fast-growing number of places. Brent Balinski spoke to Dario Valenza, founder of UAV maker Carbonix, about his company’s leap from racing boats to drones, a few design considerations, and what he hopes the future brings.

Not only is Apple suffering from a major lack of hardware innovation but it’s also being outdone in software and online, where apps reign supreme. It quite possibly signals the company’s eventual demise.

The Industrial IoT (IIoT) provides manufacturers in all industries with greater connectivity that in turn, generates valuable information and intelligence regarding operations. By leveraging this intelligence, they are able to attain significant efficiencies and manufacturing improvements.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently said: “China has more freedom to invest in Australia, indeed all foreigners have more freedom to invest in Australia, than almost any other country.”
But is this true? We asked two experts to discuss the evidence for and against this statement.

Electricity is a major cost for many manufacturers and a business-critical requirement for all. Price and reliability matter. And right now both seem to be under a cloud. In South Australia, contract prices have been increasing sharply, and short-term spot prices reached extraordinary highs in July.

Last month I had a somewhat public rant about the decision by the NSW state government to award the contract to build new trains for NSW to an overseas (mainly South Korean) consortium.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) is unlikely to secure compensation for customers from German car maker Volkswagen and its Australian subsidiary for breaching emission standards.

The tech revolution continues to barrel forward lately, and 2017 will see some of the most innovative and evolutionary disruptions we have seen thus far. There will be more connection, more automation, and more significant impact in business and investment than ever before, and the revolution has just begun. The innovations coming to fruit in … Continue reading Five disruptive trends in technology for 2017 →