New videos on YouTube

Ringier Metalworking have uploaded a couple of videos in our YouTube account taken during the recent METALTECH show in Kuala Lumpur. Feel free to visit or subscribe to: http://www.youtube.com/ringiermetal.

You can also find these videos in our website: http://www.industrysourcing.com/industry/132/news.aspx

AMT announces Local Motor’s 3-D Printed Car Challenge winners

Excited to know who won Local Motor’s 3-D Printed Car Challenge?

Out of 207 entries, seven designs were awarded: the overall winner, the community choice, and five innovation awards for design or technology that may influence the final produced vehicle.

So, without further ado…the overall winning design was Strati by Harlock, aka Michele A., which featured a unique design that will be compatible with 3D printing. The car has a sleek look with a retractable roof.

This design will be built onsite during the six days of IMTS, using parts manufactured on the show floor. And, not only will this car be 3D printed, but it will also be electric! The idea behind this vehicle is to create a solution for the urban transportation needs of Chicago. AMT, Local Motors and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has been testing 3D designs, have partnered to demonstrate how sustainable green technologies, using additive and subtractive techniques, can create stronger, safer, faster, and more efficient vehicles. The finished car will be an example of how green technology can reduce life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions, lower production cost, and create new products and opportunities for high paying jobs.

The design contest takes the competition up a level since contestants were only asked to design the skin of the Rally Fighter for IMTS 2012. “This continues the legacy of Local Motors bringing disruptive technology to IMTS. We started this journey in 2010 when Jay B. Rogers, Jr., President, CEO & Co-Founder, Local Motors, appeared at the AMT Annual Meeting and from that a partnership emerged to build the Rally Fighter on the show floor at IMTS 2012,” says Peter Eelman, Vice President, Exhibitions & Communications, AMT. “We are excited to showcase the winner’s innovative design and demonstrate to the industry this new process of manufacturing a car with a substantial structure being 3D printed onsite in AMT’s Emerging Technology Center at IMTS 2014.”
 

Konecranes provides NS BlueScope Malaysia with highest levels of safety and efficiency

To those of you who are in need of lifting equipment and services, Konecranes, a Finnish company, which specialises in the manufacture and service of cranes and lifting equipment as well as the service of machine tools, can help you improve your productivity in a wide variety of industries. And to prove that, the company released various case studies for you to read. Below is one company in Malaysia in which Konecranes provided 23t overhead double girder CXT production crane.

The strong safety culture of the international BlueScope Steel Organisation has been ideally matched in service at its Malaysian NS BlueScope facility by the global safety focus of the Konecranes Group.

NS BlueScope Malaysia produces high quality products, derived from continual product research and development in Australia. They strive to provide their customers with rugged, durable steel products for every environment, from industrial and severe marine environments to fluctuating tropical climates.

“Safety takes a high priority in everything the company does, so Konecranes were a good fit for us. BlueScope has a strong safety culture and Konecranes aligns with this very well,” says Mr Mohammad Abang, Technician, NS BlueScope Malaysia.

The Konecranes Group, which operates under the market signature ‘Hooked on Safety’ is the world’s largest crane service organisations – with over 420,000 cranes under service contracts worldwide – and has enjoyed a strong relationship with the BlueScope Steel Organisation across Australasia due to both organisations’ strong safety oriented cultures.

“Konecranes is a large, well-known and reliable company, which makes service and maintenance easy. They have a really fast service time and their internal reporting is the best we’ve seen,” says Mr Abang.

“We are also constantly impressed with the availability of spare parts and the efficiency in which Konecranes can deliver and install them,” he said. Some of the cranes have recently undergone a modernisation upgrade to include a mechanical drive.

Several Konecranes overhead CXT cranes have proven their worth in service at the Malaysian facility. Since installation in 2002, 18 cranes have been used in the Selangor steel manufacturing facility that is the only local manufacturer of both ZINCALUME® and TRUECORE™ zinc/aluminium alloy-coated steel and Clean COLORBOND® pre-painted steel.

The CXT cranes, in single girder, double girder or monorail range from 0.5t to 23t and are used for loading, unloading and maintenance on production and coating lines. Konecranes also do the service and maintenance of all the cranes at the Malaysian facility.

“We like the elaborate design of the Konecranes units. We are constantly looking to improve efficiency and safety and Konecranes can provide this,” says Mr Abang.

Konecranes has built on decades of experience with proven technologies to introduce this robust and durable unit, with dual lifting speeds, a standard limit switch and versatile configurations, like hook suspension, push trolley, and motorised trolley versions.

CXT wire rope hoists utilise the latest advanced technology from the Konecranes group to extend hoist operation cycles, safety and durability. The versatile hoist can be adapted to a huge variety of applications and ensures reliably operation, regardless of the conditions.

The compact dimensions allow the CXT to utilise smaller spaces more efficiently, and different trolley configurations maximise the lifting height potential. To further optimise the efficiency of the crane, the empty hook can be driven with up to 50% higher speeds compared with the loaded hook, allowing the operator to choose the most efficient way to operate the hoist.

The latest CXT wire rope hoists are available with smart features including:

•         Adaptive Speed Range (ASR) – this allows very slow speeds, which are important in moment of load lift-off and lowering. It also has the ability to lift up to 50% faster than traditional hoisting control. ASR is typically used in light to medium lifting.
•          Extended Speed Range (ESR) – this is an extension of the ASR that allows even slower speeds. ESR is typically used in heavy to very heavy lifting.
•          Load control – designed to make the operator’s work safer and more productive
•          Positioning and area control – designed to assist the operator in positioning the load more efficiently and accurately. It also allows the crane’s working area to be adapted to the varying physical layout of individual facilities and production lines.

“These are some of the most advanced features available for cranes. We work closely with customers and engineers to produce ways of increasing safety, efficiency and productivity. Our latest smart features combine engineering expertise with knowledge of our customers,” says Mr Adrian Lim, Country Manager, Konecranes Malaysia.

Get Automation Answers at IMTS

For those of you who are coming to IMTS 2014 in Chicago, this is your chance to get all your automation answers.

Tim Shinbara, Technical Director, AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology writes: 

What comes to mind when you think of automation? Is it more mechanical than sensory, or more mundane than dynamic? While each individual’s thoughts may ebb or flow between answers, the world of automation seems to be changing to become more flexible to hit multiple moving targets.
IMTS not only has the advantage of seeing the latest and greatest in a given technology sector, it also provides the means to discern what technology elements will work well together as a production solution. Things to think about as you delve into IMTS 2014:

•Are these technologies to augment/supplement or replace my current capabilities?  

•Do I need an island solution or do I need some level of commonality for holistic incorporation?

•What data would be beneficial to have from my manufacturing technology?

Many of these answers may seem to focus more towards a system solution; a solution where automation may have a role in either discrete processes or in the integration of the pieces. Whether you feel automation is too expensive, too complex or too much capability, one thing remains…you never know until you ask! 

So ask away at IMTS 2014, but be prepared to be pleasantly surprised, blown-away or just awed by the presence of so much technology! 

If you have any questions, e-mail: tshinbara@AMTonline.org.

MTConnect conference: Attendees come away educated, connected and inspired

I just want to share with you some interesting insights that happened during the manufacturing conference organized by MTConnect. Indeed attendees came home educated, connected and inspired. Here are some of the highlights from the MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference in April.

Founding principal of MAYA Design and co-author of Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology, challenged attendees to look beyond just the Internet of Things and “imagine a world in which you could not buy a microprocessor that didn’t have a radio on it. Everything, every trivial piece of bric-a-brac we build with processors, is going to be communicating with everything else. What would such a world look like?”

He continued, “It’ll be a lot like nature. Trillions of computers communicating with billions of people and an uncountable number of information objects, flowing freely from device to device with everything connected.”

In another keynote address, Greg Harris, Ph.D., who is with the U.S. Army, Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, Engineering Directorate, Manufacturing Science & Technology Division and Program Manager of the Digital Manufacturing & Design Innovation (DMDI) Institute, explained how the federal investment for the DMDI Institute that will be used to establish the Digital Lab for Manufacturing (Digital Lab), led by a Chicago-based research and commercialization collaborative called UI Labs came to be. “We knew the basic criteria necessary for innovation to take place: close proximity, ways to make the design-make-and-learn cycle faster and an ecosystem in place to support innovation. As a pillar of President Obama’s investment in U.S. Manufacturing, the Digital Lab will be the nation’s flagship research institute in digital manufacturing and design innovation and a world-class, first-of-its-kind manufacturing hub with the capabilities, innovation and collaboration necessary to transform American manufacturing.”

On the closing day of the conference, The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology (DMS&T), along with AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Army Benét Labs, announced the three top winners of the MTConnect Challenge 2 as voted by [MC]2 attendees. The MTConnect Challenge was a two-part competition for the development of manufacturing intelligence ideas and software applications utilizing the MTConnect standard.

First prize of $100,000 was awarded to Valerie Pezzullo of Clemson University for Machining Process Monitoring to Aid in Chatter Identification. Second prize of $75,000 went to Joel Neidig of ITAMCO for Expanding Manufacturing's Vision: MTConnect + Google Glass. Third prize of $50,000 was awarded to Shane Crandall for Promise.

The conference also featured an End User Forum and various other educational sessions where attendees received hands-on training about MTConnect and the MTConnect/OPC UA Companion Specification.

Cuperex CEO John Beachy: Phenomenal discovery of processing copper ore

“It is still a phenomenal discovery, a revolutionary process turning low grade copper ore concentrates into 98%-pure copper crystals without the need for smelting,” Beachy Head told International MetalWorking News- Middle East & Africa (IMNE)

A South African company that said it would change the face of copper ore processing globally with its ground breaking technology and convinced investors to part with US$50 million, has failed to perform, and has been placed under financial rescue plan.

It all started when in 2006, when Cuperex Director Dr Gerard Pretorius was experimenting with excess malachite the company was importing but could not sell as a jewellery-grade product as it intended.

While trying to find ways of extracting the copper from the malachite other than the traditional cementation processes Pretorius tried a new mechanism that involved continual stirring. He was however making the mistake of stirring away the nucleus preventing the crystals from growing until one Sunday he left his experiment to go to church.

When he came back from church, lovely copper crystals had grown on the iron without contaminating it. This accidental discovery was the birth of a world patent which Cuperex took to investors. The company had told its financiers it intended to become a leading copper producer through the roll-out of its world-patented technology, a radical shift from traditional electrowinning.

But things went belly up due to apparent insufficient low-grade copper ore yields available to Cuperex and the cash flow monster started blowing smoke.

Cuperex CEO, John Beachy Head is still upbeat however after explaining that a “speed wobble” in the operation had forced them into financial rescue.

“It is still a phenomenal discovery, a revolutionary process turning low grade copper ore concentrates into 98%-pure copper crystals without the need for smelting,” Beachy Head told International Metal Working News- Middle East & Africa (IMNE)

When a small plant was constructed at Spectakel, near the small Northern Cape town of Springbok, in 2012 it was reported that it would have a capacity to produce 200 t of copper a month with a second 1000 ton a month plant at nearby Concordia, in the pipeline.

Mining Weekly Online journalist Martin Creamer interviewing Cuperex’s Dave Lake at the time reported that payback on the R24-million 2 400 ton/year Spectakel facility was expected to be less than one year. Investors had ploughed US$5 million into the project.

But Beachy Head explained that low copper yield had dunked Cuperex into a cash flow crisis. “It is not all doom and gloom however, we are in a financial rescue process because there is still hope based on the patented new technology. We will make it work, it is just taking longer than we expected,” Beachy Head said.

The technology still has the potential to change the face of copper ore processing. It can be scaled down to match small seemingly insignificant deposits at the mine site. This means that high-value copper rather than low-value ore is transported, a huge cost saving in the operation.

 “This process of turning concentrate into pure copper is completely new technology in the industry”, Dr Pretorius at the time demonstrated the process to the media by growing and harvesting copper crystals hydrometallurgically at desktop scale. The technology is radically different from the traditional conversion process of concentrate into copper which requires significantly more capital expenditure, more electricity and equipment. In contrast, the Cuperex technology can make the production of as little as 50 ton a month which by industry standards is not financially viable, into a positive account.

Spectakel has 25 000 ton of copper and Concordia 70 000 ton, which Cuperex secured two years ago in order to prove its technology to the world. Lake told Mining Weekly at the time that the advantage of beginning at Spectakel rather than the deeper Concordia is that the oxide ores were near the surface.

 “The company is positioned to be a copper maker and it will not be renting or selling its technology”, Lake was reported as saying. He said the company expected to be producing copper from dumps, heap leaches, tailings dams and oxides stockpiled on surface by copper producers focused on the deeper copper sulphide ores.

It almost looked too good to be true but it did not deter investors. Beachy Head however reassured IMNE that the technology was “solid” and an industry breakthrough that will pull Cuperex through its financial crisis”

By: Johan Schronen

TRUMPF APAC open house: A conversation with Hans-Peter Laubscher

International Metalworking News for Asia (IMNA) sat down with the Managing Director of TRUMPF Asia-Pacific, Hans-Peter Laubscher, during TRUMPF Asia-Pacific's 2014 Open House. Laubscher spoke about up-and-coming markets in Asia; new investments and innovations that keep the company competitive; and what it takes to be a market leader.

The family-owned Germany company, TRUMPF, was founded in 1923 as a mechanical workshop. Today, the company has a presence in over 60 countries, with almost 10,000 employees world-wide. The company has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in a myriad of differing industries: laser technology, electronics, medical technology, and sheet metal and material processing.

TRUMPF set up its office in Singapore in 1991. The Singapore office in the German Centre in the International Business Park is also the main office of TRUMP Asia-Pacific. The company has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, as well as trusted distribution partners in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand.

IMNA: How has TRUMPF's technology and expertise influenced and impacted the machine tools industry?

Laubscher: At TRUMPF we are proud to offer our customers technologies which best suits their needs. For example, when looking at the 2D laser cutting technology, our machines are equipped with either a CO2 laser or a fiber guided Solid State Laser – depending on the customer’s application.

Thus, the fact that we produce both Laser Sources ourselves is extremely important for us in order to provide a one stop solution when it comes to service and applications.

IMNA: What steps are you taking from a management point of view to stay competitive and progressive?

Laubscher: We know that investing in new machinery is a major decision for manufacturing companies. With this regard, we offer leading edge technology driven by innovations such as BrightLine fiber or Laser Networking. At the same time we are strengthening our portfolio with entry level solutions for start-up companies. Our investment in fiber guided laser cutting machines is paying off. We are the sole player with four different machine series which can either be equipped with CO2 or fiber guided lasers.

Thanks to our technology, we are certain that our customers will save on material, energy and processes in the long run. This will eventually lead to cost savings. It is good to know this as the initial investment in technology is, in many cases, a burden for smaller companies. In order to be able to support our customers in their long term success, TRUMPF offers competitive financing possibilities to our customers.

IMNA: In what areas, or departments, will you continue to invest?

Laubscher: As you can see in our showroom today, TRUMPF is continually investing in new ways and synergies to offer technologies which enhance our customer’s production sites.

For example, the TRUMPF Laser Network allows companies to connect several machines or applications to one single Laser Source, thus saving on the initial investment costs as well as on space and maintenance requirements. The Laser Network also allows an easy entry into new fields of application by using the Laser Source of the 2D Laser Cutting for Laser Welding applications as well – just to name one example.

IMNA: Can you tell us about TRUMPF's sales and business growth and revenue?

Laubscher: In 2012 and 2013, the TRUMPF Group – which has almost 10,000 employees worldwide – achieved sales of 2.34 billion Euros. With more than 60 subsidiaries and branches, the TRUMPF Group is represented in almost all of the countries in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. Asia makes up 22% of total sales of the TRUMPF Group, with China being the third largest single market after Germany and the United States. However, we strongly believe that other Asian markets, and especially markets in ASEAN, will grow over-proportionally. With this respect, we are increasing our footprint in the region continuously in order to serve our customers in the related markets with sales and after sales services.

IMNA: How involved is the company, from a manufacturing and a marketing standpoint, in Asia?

Laubscher: TRUMPF has its own production sites in Japan and China and several showrooms and Application Centres in the Asian region in countries such as Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.

In South East Asia we are represented with own TRUMPF subsidiaries in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. For us, it is essential not to only supply technology to the markets, but to also strongly build on providing service to our machines in order to support our customers at any time required.

IMNA: What new markets are you targeting?

Laubscher: In addition to new markets, we are also targeting new fields of application of our latest technologies. Especially when it comes to Laser Tube Cutting, there are certain industries which show great potential for more efficient and cost effective manufacturing by just adapting the design of the manufacturing parts to be processed by new technologies.

IMNA: What would you say are the keys to TRUMPF's success story?

Laubscher: TRUMPF is rather unconventional. We are a mechanical engineering company and a laser specialist, but we are also a manufacturer of medical technology. Merging the expertise in these fields by being back-integrated gives us the advantages of being flexible and adapt to changing demands in the markets.

Our special strengths lay no doubt in the fact that we have all technologies under one roof. We design and manufacture all types of lasers in-house, produce external beam guidance and cutting optics ourselves, and integrate them into leading edge systems. With that said, we are unique being a one-stop shop vertical and horizontal from punching or laser cutting, via bending to welding.

Additionally, we are a family-run company. We are also responsible and geared toward the long-term, being conscious of our history and focused on the future. We are a medium-sized enterprise – even though we have almost ten thousand employees. All these factors contribute to being a leader in innovation, and having shaped the technological state of the art for decades with a dedicated commitment to all markets we are directly, or via partner, represent.

By: Marisse Gabrielle Reyes