energy

Manufacturers need reliable access to energy. Here’s how you can improve your power availability.

The energy requirements of a manufacturing site are complex. Power consumption is generally high, and large assets can cause power fluctuations leading to irregularities and equipment damage. On top of this are safety concerns and a need to minimise downtime. 
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glass

Raising a glass to a historic Dandenong manufacturer

Oceania Glass™ is Australia’s Architectural Glassmaker with a proud heritage serving Australia, having sold their very first glass in 1856. Oceania Glass offers a comprehensive range of value-add glass solutions through an extensive customer supply network across Australia and New Zealand. Their glass is featured in many of Australia’s most iconic buildings, including the Australian Parliament House.  They operate a float line in Dandenong South, Melbourne, producing around 165,000 tonnes of flat glass each year and are certified by ISO 9001 Environmental Management System and ISO 140001 Quality Management Systems. “Oceania Glass specialises in value-add glass that improves natural light to make people’s lives better, such as energy saving Low E glass used in homes and commercial buildings to make them more comfortable,” says Parvinder Singh, Reliability Engineer for Oceania Glass. “We also present a unique offering to the local architecture and design community who share our love of glass.”  A few doors down the street from Oceania, nestled in the same industrial pocket, is CBC Dandenong — which conveniently allows Oceania to source and procure parts for repairs and maintenance on short notice.  On one such occasion, Parvinder was experiencing trouble with the keyways of the laminate oven rollers in the glass plant, so he decided to reach out to the CBC engineering team for a consult.  The OEM of the laminate oven had supplied a design with a keyway in the roller journal and a floating grub screw to allow thermal expansion in the oven rollers. But according to Parvinder, the drawback of this design was that the bearing housing was too static to accommodate thermal growth on such a high-heat application.  “Due to a very small surface of contact between the grub screw and the keyway wall the grub screw had been slowly digging a cavity in to the side wall of the keyway,” explains Parvinder. “Eventually this caused the bearing to lose its ability to float in the keyway and was breaking the grub screw. Once the grub screw breaks, the roller shaft used to spin on the inner raceway of the bearing eventually wearing down the bearing journal.”  Technical Sales Representative Chula Jayawardene and an engineer from Timken, made a joint call to Oceania Glass to examine the problem area and assess the application requirements.  Read More
star

Start-up to rising star

Manufacturers’ Monthly finds out more behind the growth of Australian vitamins business, Star Combo, as they worked with BDO to become one of the country’s leading contract manufacturers of supplements.  
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AI

Driving growth with AI technology

In discussion with Professor Will Browne, chair in Manufacturing Robotics at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and CSIRO, with ARM Hub, Manufacturers’ Monthly learns how manufacturers can access AI as a tool to grow their business. 
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cobot

Introducing Lorch Cobot welding to Australia & New Zealand

Lorch Schweißtechnik GmbH (Lorch) is a leader in the design, development, and application of advanced welding technologies. Based in Germany, they are at the cutting edge of industry 4.0, developing smarter solutions for tomorrow’s industrial challenges. They bring the next level of welding to the table with collaborative robot technologies and advanced welding – in one integrated package.  
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customer engagement

Strategies for enhancing customer engagement & brand image during supply chain disruption

According to a recent White House report, manufacturing, construction, retail, and wholesale trade are the industries most impacted by the pandemic-induced global supply chain disruption. Frustratingly though, many companies in Australia are experiencing record demand along with a diminished ability to supply. However, this could be your opportunity to improve customer engagement and elevate brand image to prepare for the time when supply lines become more fluid.  
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chain

From field to factory to your family there are many links in the chain

During harvest season farmers across Australia reap what they have sown during planting season in the form of fresh produce. This raw product is transported to Food and Beverage manufacturing plants around Australia for processing into consumer products – from staples such as bread, milk and butter to snack foods such as potato chips, orange juice and soft drink.
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post-pandemic

A forecast for the post-pandemic industrial landscape

As an island nation with some of the harshest environmental conditions on the globe; Australia has always had be to be nimble in terms of sourcing innovations and solutions. In the past few years, Australian industry has experienced a significant disruption in supply chain and logistics processes — with overseas sourced components contending with shipping delays as prolonged as six months. 
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software

Driving longevity with Gates® software tool

A quarry or mining plant potentially has hundreds of different belt drives. How can a site or reliability manager ensure belts are achieving their life expectancy and that drives are working at optimal efficiency? According to Steve Hittmann, the Gates® Design Flex™ Pro™ free software tool is designed exactly for this purpose, providing real cost savings and benefits to customers.
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