Automation

The X-Stream XS-720p slow motion camera by IDT offers continuous frame streaming via the PCI express 2.0 x4 interface with a sustained transfer speed of 1.75GB/sec. I has been designed for checking and inspecting high speed applications including industrial and packaging inspection, microscopy, media, traffic control and surveillance. The cameras flexible design has been implemented around … Continue reading Slow motion inspection camera for packaging plants →

Australia’s 457 visa system is back in the news again. If you believe Labor, the 457 visa is a rort allowing foreign workers to steal Australian jobs. The government, on the other hand, defends it as a way for Australia to meet skills gaps in the economy. Misunderstanding the problem is leading to wrong solutions … Continue reading The real issues with the 457 visa aren’t being addressed →

Geelong, Victoria’s second city, has emerged as an area of great expertise for advanced materials – particularly carbon fibre composites – in recent years. Brent Balinski spoke to Quickstep’s Carl De Koning about the company’s New Technology division, headquartered at Waurn Ponds.

According to a recent article in Forbes, America’s manufacturers are getting very worried. As you read this, a number of influential US manufacturers and their associated industry representatives are urging President-elect Donald Trump to back off from his most threatening trade rhetoric. They want him to pursue a more nuanced approach to trade with China … Continue reading OPINION: So how will the manufacturing sector respond to President Trump? →

Victorian energy company AusNet Services’ first-half statutory net profit has fallen by 52 per cent on its previous year’s result. Net profit for the six months to September 30 was $178.6 million, down from $374.5 million a year earlier. AusNet Services is Victoria’s largest energy delivery service business, owning and operating approximately $11 billion of electricity … Continue reading AusNet profits fall by 52 per cent →

Lantek has developed a new functionality to its existing range of sheet metal solutions CAD/CAM software, which integrates online parts and consumables procurement for sheet metal parts. Using CAD/CAM software, Lantek’s customers can integrate with their own customers into a supply chain, allowing them to reorder previously supplied parts or request quotations for the manufacture of … Continue reading Sheet metal working now at your fingertips →

BlueScope Steel has partnered with TOLL, K&S Transport and Buzinga App Development to improve health and safety methods for their employees and contractors through the safety app, ‘SteelDrive’. The app, launched in June, 2016 and now available to Android users, allows truck drivers to document the restraining and transportation of steel, through photo-taking, GPS-tracking, and cloud-based … Continue reading BlueScope launches workplace safety app →

Voice recognition software maker Nuance Communications has announced that robot maker ROOBO will be using the Nuance Mix NLU development platform, which provides voice and natural language (NLU) capabilities, to create conversational and cognitive interfaces for ROOBO robots and devices. Additionally, Nuance and ROOBO are set to collaborate on future integrations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance … Continue reading Talking robots will soon be here →

According to a story this morning in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Incitec Pivot CEO James Fazzino said while the outlook for commodity prices is more positive than six months ago, he still expects challenging conditions for the company to persist into 2017. “The markets were tough given the downturn in the global resources industry … Continue reading Incitec still nervous about its recovery →

Ford’s closure of its Geelong manufacturing plant last month is part of a broader story about Australia’s manufacturing sector. But one side of this story has so far been overlooked: the role of Australia’s lax attitude to vehicle emissions. Globally, car manufacturers are taking climate action seriously by significantly improving fuel economy, in turn reducing … Continue reading Australia’s car industry ignored the elephant in the room: carbon emissions →

A forensic accountant has alleged that dairy processor Murray Goulburn may have overstated its earnings and even lost money in the last financial year. It was claimed in early November that its treatment of the milk supplier support program in its accounts was wrong. This in turn has led to dairy farmers doubting whether they’ll get repaid, … Continue reading Did Murray Goulburn overstate its earnings? →

Bolstered by rapid consumption growth and increasing customer needs in the Asia Pacific region, leading food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak today announced their US$110 million investment in a state-of-the-art regional manufacturing facility near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to serve customers across the region. The move is prompted by increasing consumption volumes, … Continue reading Tetra Pak expands regional manufacturing footprint with US$110 million Vietnam factory →

US-based Hypertherm has released Rotary Tube Pro, software that makes it easier to design and cut tube and pipe parts with no 3D CAD experience required. The software features a parametric design interface that allows main tubes and side-wall cutouts to be added from a list of predefined shapes. Alternatively, users can add tubes and … Continue reading New pipe and tube cutting software →

Speaking at a press conference to launch its Global Status of CCS: 2016 Report at the twenty second conference of the parties (COP 22) in Marrakech yesterday, Global CCS Institute Chief Executive, Brad Page, said the scale of the challenge to deliver the ‘well below’ 2°C climate goal should not be underestimated. “The current level … Continue reading Carbon capture industry must expand says global body →

Schneider Electric has acquired Applied Instrument Technologies. Simultaneously, rumours have spread that the company is planning to acquire Rockwell Automation.

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors, will make an announcement on Monday, with various industry experts predicting it will have to do with improvements in the cars’ driver assistance abilities.

The World Robotics Report 2016 recently released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) forecasts that compact, user-friendly collaborative robots will become a key driver in the automation market.

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.

Volvo has tested out its self-driving technology truck underground to work in a Swedish mine.

The world’s first self-driving taxis have begun picking up passengers in Singapore.