Developments

In the firing line

President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports are now a reality. Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminium, but exempted Canada and Mexico. For American companies that make metals, that’s welcome news. But for businesses that consume steel and aluminium, like automakers and beverage producers, it will likely mean higher prices. Many have warned that could cut into profits and ultimately spur layoffs. Here’s a look at some of the US companies that may be hit by Trump’s latest protectionist move: Anheuser-Busch The aluminium used in beer cans is expected to get more expensive once the tariffs go into effect. Anheuser-Busch(BUD) has warned that it could threaten manufacturing jobs in the industry. The company employs more than 18,000 people in the United States. Auto parts manufacturers The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents companies that make vehicle parts in the United States, has said the tariffs will make cars more expensive and could put the many of the more than 800,000 jobs in its industry at risk. Boeing The nation’s largest single exporter uses aluminium and some steel parts to make planes. Boeing(BA) could also suffer if other countries decide to retaliate against US tariffs by buying planes from competitors like Airbus. The company has more than 140,000 employees in the United States and around the world. Caterpillar Making Caterpillar (CAT) construction equipment could get more expensive if steel and aluminium prices rise. The company employs more than 98,000 full-time workers around the world. About 42,000 are in the United States. Campbell Soup Company Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said that there’s 2.6 cents worth of steel in a can of Campbell’s soup, and consumers can expect prices to rise less than one cent as a result of tariffs. Campbell’s (CPB) responded that “any new broad-based tariffs on imported tin plate steel — an insufficient amount of which is […]

Predictive maintenance: spend a little to save a lot

Paolo Carnovale, Head of Industrial Product Marketing, RS Components Spending money to save money doesn’t come easy to some. But in the case of predictive and preventative maintenance regimes – especially for high-capital assets – a relatively modest spend could potentially offset repair or lost-production costs that run into millions. The problem with maintenance spend is that it is very hard to quantify its benefits if nothing actually goes wrong – accountants tend to like tangible figures as opposed to those generated by “what-if” scenarios. Couple this to budget competition from other disciplines and the job of justifying the expenditure becomes even harder. As it is tough to define an “opportunity cost/loss” in terms of maintenance statistically, it is far easier to look at the issues simplistically by determining, for example, the cost of maintenance vs. the cost of repair/replacement and the expected life of a machine or asset vs. its extended service life. In all cases, the cost of lost production, goodwill and customer confidence must also be factored in to this equation. Even with these simple analyses, the need to have maintenance as a strategic element of an operational plan, becomes very clear, but what is the next logical step? For those with complex operations, the obvious route is the deployment of a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS), which will help remove much of the guesswork and workload by defining a strategy and timetable as well as the actual work to be undertaken on individual machines and assets. More often than not, this type of proactive approach is combined with technological solutions that offer a real-time snapshot of machine health. These solutions range from simple temperature sensors and vibration probes all the way up to bespoke, fully featured condition monitoring (CMS) software solutions. How they are selected, […]

Industrial Software Platform delivers maximum return

Schneider Electric has announced increasing momentum surrounding customer adoption of the company’s Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions, an integral component of the Industrial Software Platform. Through investments in the cloud, advanced machine learning and augmented reality (AR), coupled with new partnerships, the company empowers customers to maximise their return on capital investment and to improve profitability. “Defining and executing an asset performance strategy is a critical component to improving productivity while safeguarding business continuity,” said Kim Custeau, Asset Performance Management Business Lead at Schneider Electric. “We have been delivering proven, industry leading asset performance solutions for nearly 30 years, and continue to invest in a long-term strategy to drive innovation in this area. “Our focus is to provide real value to our customers by empowering them to maximise return on capital investment and improve profitability. We are proud to see our customer results speak for themselves with significant reported savings. “Industrial IoT (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 provide new opportunities to improve overall business performance, particularly for APM. For owner-operators, this includes operational improvements largely involving improved asset reliability,” said Ralph Rio, Vice President Enterprise Software at ARC Advisory Group. “Users have reported that moving from preventive maintenance to predictive or prescriptive approaches provided a 50 percent savings in maintenance labour and MRO materials. With predictive and prescriptive maintenance, near-zero unplanned downtime for critical equipment can be achieved.” Machine Learning and Prescriptive Analytics Machine learning and advanced pattern recognition play a central role within Schneider Electric’s asset performance solutions, enabling customers to more accurately predict – and proactively resolve – issues before they impact their business. This increases reliability, reduces costs and improves safety. Duke Energy prevented an estimated $35 million cost from early warning detection of a steam turbine problem. Ascend Performance Materials now responds faster to alerts with actionable […]

Librestream and Olympus bring remote NDT/RVI experts into the field virtually

Onsight allows customers to share live visuals with remote experts for rapid decision making in the field. Olympus Australia and New Zealand (Olympus) and Librestream Technologies Inc., a leader in remote expert systems for enterprise, are pleased to announce that Olympus is now offering Librestream’s Onsight platform to provide additional functionality to their product portfolio. Using Onsight, Olympus customers in industries including aerospace, manufacturing and oil & gas, can share live visuals from remote visual inspections (RVI) and non-destructive testing (NDT) instruments with remote experts for rapid decision making in the field. “Onsight connects our customers in a way that truly transcends the remoteness we are accustomed to in Australia and Oceania. The ability to instantly share live visuals gives global collaborators a true presence, virtually taking them inside the inspection equipment,” said Brendan Slaven, RVI Product & VM Manager for Maintenance at Olympus. “Librestream complements our technology perfectly with their vast experience in remote collaboration. Onsight brings the experts to you, when you need them, minus the requirement to travel,” Slaven continued. The Librestream solution includes Onsight Connect collaboration software and the Onsight 400R Collaboration Hub device to connect to Olympus videoscopes, ultrasound and other test instruments. Olympus can also provide options to connect a variety of popular virtual reality headsets in order to share visuals in live 3D.

Simplest valve actuators provide automation and production efficiency

By James Maslin National Sales and Marketing Manager for Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd. Australia Rapid and reliable actuation of gate valves is becoming more and more critical to liquid and gas handling applications as industries face the twin demands of production automation and pressure to produce without production interruptions for maintenance. Gate valves, also known as sluice valves, are one of the most widely used types of valves in industrial applications, where they typically operate either fully open or fully closed, being used in pipelines as isolating valves rather than control or regulating valves. Their compact simplicity, low pressure loss, bidirectional versatility and ability to handle full flows where particles cannot cluster has led to widespread use in process engineering applications throughout industries such as food and beverage, agribusiness, manufacturing, mining and mineral processing, liquid-solid separation, filtration, materials handling, water and waste water and waste-to-energy projects. Typically gate valves are manually or (occasionally) hydraulically actuated, but where faster or remote actuation is required, they usually rely on conventional pneumatic actuation using a cylinder with rods and seals. However, an alternative means of actuation is available to process engineers charged with designing pipeline and reticulation systems that respond to the needs of automation and uninterrupted production demands. These flexible-wall, bellows-type Airstroke actuators – manufactured by Firestone and distributed throughout Australia by Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd – are tough, fabric reinforced rubber balloons of different shapes engineered to perform different tasks. The simple single, double and triple-convoluted airbags operate without seals, shafts or internal moving parts to provide ultra-reliable actuation alternatives for materials handling technology exposed to grime, debris and waste, which can disrupt the seals and shafts of convention pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. Reliability engineered into their DNA Structurally they are identical to the enormously durable and reliable Firestone […]

Low-height skidding system moves heavy loads in the tightest of spaces

Enerpac’s new Low-Heigh t Skidding System is ideal for transformer maintenance. Global hydraulics and heavy lifting technology specialists Enerpac are introducing to Australasia a new Low-Height Skidding System – which stands at just 92mm with the track – for the accurate positioning of heavy loads in tight and awkward spaces. The Enerpac LH-Series Low-Height Skidding System is a modular track system that can jack and slide heavy loads, such as transformers, generators, motors or drives, over a pre-constructed track. Skidding systems are ideally suited to tight spaces where cranes can’t access the load effectively. The new low-height system takes this one step further by using a rigid, durable design that can access even tighter spaces, while still providing high lifting capacities. Skidding systems are typically 200-600mm high, which is still an enormous advantage when cranes can’t access a lift site, but the Low-Height system, at just 92mm, opens possibilities in even tighter, more compact applications. The Low-Height Skidding System is comprised of a series of skid beams moved by hydraulic push-pull units, travelling over a pre-constructed track. A series of special PTFE-coated pads are placed on the skid tracks to reduce friction. The push-pull units are powered by a standard Enerpac Split Flow Pump to ensure each skid beam travels synchronously. When using two skidding units together, the maximum capacity is 3,560 kN of force, which can lift 400 tons, utilising 700 bar (10,000 PSI) hydraulic pressure. The Low-Height Skidding System has a push-pull stroke of 600 mm and is designed to easily change skidding direction, using Enerpac’s globally proven hydraulic pumps and cylinders. Customised solutions can be implemented for complex projects, such as utilising optional track support and connecting both power units together to provide synchronous travel of the load. Such a configuration would be used in applications like […]

Leading Vietnam ceramics manufacturer going from strength to strength

Ian Trousdell, Director, Flowform International Ltd on site with some of the products made for his company by Doan Potters Ltd including Matatiki models. Hung Tran, Senior Merchandiser Doan Potters Ltd is on the right. Doan Potters Ltd., Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Doan is one of Vietnam’s leading manufacturers of ceramics. With more than 24 years in the business, they provide a good customer experience through their design, quality and reasonable pricing. Established in 1994, Doan Potters Ltd had a turnover in 2017 of $12.5M. The company operates from a 280,000 square feet factory and has production capacity of 200,000 pieces per month and 2,400,000 pieces per year. Their products are mainly shipped to the US market and have the advantage of being manufactured handmade, with special and unique charms. The company has a highly skilled workforce. They conduct in house laboratory testing -lead test, frost resistant test and transit test. Including for consistency of color for mass production, new development test, i.e.: new color, new clay, new technique. Major customers include Lowes, USA; London Drugs, Canada; Home goods, USA; Westelm, USA ad Pier 1, USA. Products shipped for these clients include indoor and outdoor planters, lanterns, candle holders, stools, basket wares and other indoor home accessories. Ian Trousdell, Director of Flowform International and Design for Life Ltd – www.flowform.net – ian.trousdell@flowform.net – currently expanding into China, experienced technical difficulty making figure […]

Grundfos introduces one of the world’s most efficient motors with an IE5 rating

For the first time in the Asia Pacific, pump manufacturing pioneer Grundfos has launched one of the world’s most efficient motors. New generation Grundfos MGE motors – from 0.25 kW to 11 kW – are now capable of attaining this ‘super’ status. Achieving the highest efficiency level available for electrical motors in the market today, these MGE IE5 motors will enable Grundfos pumps to reach 10 per cent in energy savings and 25 per cent in payback time, as compared to the IE3 solution. Reaching IE5 in efficiency means that businesses, residences and industrial players will not only meet but exceed IE3 premium efficiency legislative standards set worldwide, including the European Union, the US, and Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and China in Asia Pacific Region. To align with international standards, minimum energy performance standards for industrial motors in Singapore will be set at IE3 level from 1 October 2018. Eric Lai, Regional Business Director – Industry, Asia Pacific Region, Grundfos said the pump manufacturer is dedicated to supporting worldwide efforts to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement commitments. “Sustainability is a very important part of Grundfos’ DNA and we aim to create cleaner and more energy efficient technologies to enable our customers to reduce their water and energy consumption to limit the impact on the environment. “Our new MGE motors are a result of our continuous development efforts and extensive experience in the pumps sector. They perform to the highest standards and we are proud to announce they have been awarded IE5, the highest energy efficiency rating worldwide,” Eric Lai said. The key to Grundfos’ new MGE motors’ unparalleled performance is their state-of-the-art intelligent solutions as they adapt to the surrounding system which, coupled with the high-efficiency IE5 motor, drive down energy consumption. […]

Revolutionary new beam welding technology to fast-track large manufacturing projects

A new technology could improve the efficiency of large-scale manufacturing projects by enabling firms to perform electron beam welding without a vacuum chamber. EBFLOW, which features a local coarse vacuum that can be transported to and operated on site, has been developed by Cambridge Vacuum Engineering and was launched on 1st January 2018. The technology is designed to simplify the process of thick section welding in the manufacture of a wide range of large structures including ships, pressure vessels, wind farms and towers, nuclear plants, and many of the structures involved in oil and gas exploration and civil engineering projects. To date it’s only been possible to perform electron beam welding – a key technology in the fabrication of large, heavy wall structures – at sites equipped with a vacuum chamber large enough to house the structures under manufacture. But EBFLOW’s coarse vacuum can be mounted on tracks and operated locally. The technology can be used in any plant where large components are welded. In tests, EBFLOW has been shown to be 20 to 30 times faster than conventional arc welding, offering transformational gains in productivity. At the same time, it uses less power than conventional arc processes, lowering a plant’s carbon footprint. Among the myriad of other benefits are the ability to perform low-heat input welds that result in reduced distortion – ensuring quality – and the option to perform NDT testing immediately after welding, fast-tracking the manufacturing process and driving down costs. Speaking ahead of the launch Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering said: “This technology will transform the productivity of fabrication processes throughout the world of heavy engineering. In many cases the speed of welding can be 30 times faster than current methods. “The technology has been fully developed and pioneered in Britain and we are […]

SDK to re-expand capacity to produce high-grade SiC epitaxial wafers

Showa Denko has decided to re-expand its capacity to produce high-quality-grade silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial wafers for power devices, which have already been marketed under the trade name of “High-Grade Epi” (HGE), in addition to currently conducted expansion work of HGE production facilities. After the initial expansion work which is scheduled to be finished in April, SDK’s capacity to produce HGE will be increased from current 3,000 wafers*1 per month to 5,000 wafers per month. After the re-expansion work which is to be finished in September 2018, that capacity will be increased to 7,000 wafers per month. When compared with the mainstream silicon-based semiconductors, SiC-based power devices can operate under high-temperature, high-voltage, and high-current conditions, while substantially conserving energy. These features enable device manufacturers to produce smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient next-generation power control modules. In addition to the traditional use as power sources, SiC-based power devices are now replacing conventional silicon-based power devices for on-board use such as inverter modules for railcars, on-board battery chargers and rapid charging stations for EVs, in parallel with rapid expansion of the EV market. SDK’s SiC epitaxial wafer business has been achieving growth rate higher than that of the market because manufacturers of power devices appreciate the lowest incidence of crystal defects and the highest homogeneity of wafers in the world which SDK’s HGE achieved. SDK decided this time to conduct re-expansion of its HGE production facilities since the initially expanded HGE production facilities are expected to reach full capacity operation by the middle of 2018. SDK will continue responding to the demands of the market through establishment of stable supply system of HGE. *1 This number is based on a conversion into SiC epitaxial wafers for power devices having withstanding voltage of 1,200 V. Showa Denko K.K. is a major manufacturer and […]

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