Menu

manufacturing

factory-48781_1280

Amaero Lured to UAE as Victoria Loses Out

, , , , 0

 

The reason why additive manufacturing group Amaero abandoned plans to build a titanium alloy powders plant in Victoria, Australia has been revealed in a statement to the ASX. The plant will instead be constructed in the United Arab Emirates supported by investment funds made possible by that country’s defense offsets program.

In September, Amaero dumped plans for a long promised Victorian titanium alloy plant, though then it did not give a reason other than to say that it was the outcome of a strategic review, now completed. As recently as June this year Amaero had reported that the Melbourne plant was on-schedule for production-readiness by the end of 2022. It said then that the plant was nearing completion at its engineering partner and would be put through an operational hot test in coming weeks, followed by disassembly and shipping to Melbourne for re-installation. Amaero had also announced that it would build a strategic alloy atomization plant in July the previous year, with plans to invest $8 million at its Melbourne site to produce aerospace-grade powders.

There was also a leadership revamp at Amaero in September with David Hanna stepping down as Chairman and Hank Holland, a managing partner of US private equity firm Pegasus Growth Capital, being appointed Executive Chairman – he was a non-executive director on the board of Amaero. According to a statement from Amaero: “The board has completed its strategic review and has decided not to proceed with the titanium powder manufacturing facility in Victoria.”

Now, Amaero has revealed a renounceable entitlement offer to raise up to $10.5 million as part of plans to form a joint venture with UAE based partner Technology Holding Company LLC, an affiliate of Ethmar Holdings. The capital raising has been sub-underwritten by an entity controlled by Hank Holland who was in the Middle East for the past four weeks exploring a number of opportunities for titanium powder production and structural steel fabrication. Former CEO Barrie Finnin was also named as Chief Technology Officer and Manager of Australian operations. The JV will be for the purpose of producing ‘titanium, aluminum and super allow powders in the UAE’.

Capital for the new plant would be funded by a ‘US defense offset obligor’, also referred to as a strategic funder. Defense offsets are utilized by dozens of nations to boost domestic industries by reducing the challenges of increased costs as part of international defense equipment purchases. Amaero told the ASX: “The estimated cost for capital investment (facility, improvements, equipment and inventory) is approximately A$290 million, which is expected to be funded by the strategic funder.” It is expected that a ‘large scale production’ facility would be sited in Abu Dhabi. Australia does not have a defense offsets program, though they were in place for defense purchases in the past.

industry-2692640_1280

Hexagon HxGN Machine Trainer CNC/CMM simulator offers training flexibility

, , , , 0

 

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has introduced the HxGN Machine Trainer, a multi-axis CNC and CMM simulator. Taking the initiative from the training of professionals in other critical occupations, such as commercial pilots, Hexagon has created a ‘hands-on’ professional training solution for 3 and 5 axis machines, Mill-Turn and Coordinate Measuring Machines that is ‘hands-off’ the expensive physical equipment. Manufacturers, heavy steel fabrication companies, educators, and students can use the operator-programmer trainer within a minimal physical footprint on the factory floor or in the classroom.

Hexagon’s Manufacturing

The HxGN Machine Trainer offers a new and unique operator programmer training method imagined and developed by Hexagon. Thought of like a flight simulator and certification tool, dedicated to CNC machining and CMM machines, the program is based on the new generation of NCSIMUL intelligent simulation software, which is a perfect combination of software and hardware, efficient, practical, and easy to learn. The HxGN Machine Trainer is positioned between classroom computer training used to teach theory and the real machine environment. Fabrication skills such as steel fabrication, pipe fabrication etc. can also be learnt on the HxGN Machine Trainer.

The business motivation behind the HxGN Machine Trainer was to provide real-world training for the next generation of operators and programmers. The Machine Trainer can significantly benefit colleges and industrial training centers. In the post-pandemic world, where multiple challenges are being faced by the fabrication industry and skilled personnel are increasingly difficult to recruit, training is now critical to ensuring a supply of qualified manufacturing resources. The HxGN Machine Trainer eliminates the risks of training on a physical machine, ensuring machines remains in production, while also reducing the risks of machine crashes as a result of inexperience. The HxGN Machine Trainer will allow a faster progression for newly qualified talent in the manufacturing job market.

HxGN Machine Trainer provides the perfect illustration of Industry 4.0 digital thread application to the shop floor operation. As a standard, it includes machining instruction documents and G-code machining programs transfer, in order to define tool set-ups directly on the control panel and prepare for machining. After virtually machining various practical work scenarios and knowing about heavy and light metal fabrication, the student will control the part with the Metrology option. Machining and inspection reports, automatically generated, as well as OEE rates will be available for analysis as a part of the continuous improvement process. The HxGN Machine Trainer offers a compact footprint and is scalable to allow training on a variety of machines. Supported CNC include HEIDENHAIN and SIEMENS control & panel emulator with simulation driven through the physical user interface. The Machine Trainer provides a real machine user experience with handwheel, control panels, tower indicator, coolant animation and machine acoustics.

Through the I++ Simulator software, the HxGN Machine Trainer hosts a wide selection of CMM digital twins, of different sizes and brands, to simulate their mechanical design. I++ Simulator, like a real CMM, will receive operating instructions from a 3D Metrology software, such as PCDMIS or QUINDOS. Through its communication protocol, respecting to the I++DME standard, I++ Simulator can also collaborate with other solutions available on the market.

car-1716088_1280

Rapid Prototyping – Innovation in the Fabrication Industry

, , , , 0

 

How do companies stay relevant in the ultra-competitive fabrication and manufacturing industry. Fabrication firms are facing challenges as they need to maintain superior raw material quality, stay competitively priced, fulfil common lead schedules and keep up to date with the latest technological advancements – in short, companies need to maintain productivity and quality. An innovation which heavy steel fabrication companies are looking to provide as a service nowadays is rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping is already in use in industries like product design, robotics, energy, consumer products etc.; however, a question may arise as to how this innovation can be applied to a labor-intensive industry like fabrication and what are the resulting impact? This blog will look to answer this question and more going forward.

What is Rapid Prototyping?

Rapid Prototyping is a rapid-fabricating or machining process that employs CAD experts in addition to high-tech Computer Numerical Control machining or structural steel fabrication equipment to create a physical part in a quicker timeframe. It can be used at any stage of the product development cycle for any components or sub-components. In an engineering product design context, a prototype is a preliminary version of the end-product used to evaluate the design, test the technology, analyze the working principle, and provide final product specifications. Prototypes are an integral part of engineering product design and, more importantly, in new product development.

Prototypes can be categorized depending on the degree of accuracy required, product development stage, and purpose. Rapid prototypes don’t necessarily need to look like final products and can vary depending on what the product designer is trying to achieve from the prototype. Rapid prototypes can be classified in terms of accuracy or “Fidelity”. The degree of prototype accuracy can vary from low-fidelity to high-fidelity in functionality, appearance, user interface, and size. For instance, low-fidelity prototypes are very simple and produced very quickly to test the broader concept. e.g., paper sketches to cardboard mock-ups. High-fidelity prototypes appear and function closer to the final product. They are used in industries where unmatched precision is required and the best use of 3D printing is of essence, e.g., in automotive, robotics, aerospace and defense industries since the production parts are cut precisely.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Some advantages of rapid prototyping are reduced design and development time, reduction in overall product development cost, incorporation of changes instantly, elimination or reduction of risk, minimization of design flaws, functionality testing being allowed at a fraction of the cost, improved and increased user involvement during design stages and an ability to evaluate human factors and ergonomics.

Conversely, some disadvantages of this process are potential lack of accuracy, added initial costs, rapid prototyping processes being expensive and uneconomical, reduced material properties like surface finish and strength, limited material range and possibility of overlooking some key features because they cannot be prototyped.

Finishing Touches

Multiple rapid prototyping technologies are being used across the fabrication industry, such as Stereolithography (SLA), Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), Binder jetting, CNC Machining etc. Each of these techniques have their own pros and cons, and are used accordingly in different fabrication and manufacturing scenarios e.g. pipe spool fabrication, automated fabrication etc. While there are clear advantages in incorporating rapid prototyping in processes, production inefficiencies need to be tackled so that longer-running fabrication jobs are not put on hold to create prototypes as per urgent client requirements. Hence, prior experience in management and operations will be a necessity if prototyping is to be embedded properly in fabrication. It’s still early days, however prototyping looks to offer an exciting new dimension to the fabrication landscape and it’s up to firms to harness its potential in the days ahead!

buildings-34906_1280

Maruichi Stainless Tube Building $75M Plant in Texas

, , , , 0

 

Maruichi Stainless Tube Texas Corp. is planning to build a 125,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Seguin. The Seguin Economic Development Corp. and the city of Seguin have announced Maruichi expects to break ground on the project at the beginning of 2023 and be completed at the beginning of 2024. The project will represent a total capital investment of $75 million and will result in the creation of at least 106 new jobs over a two-year period. Products produced by the company are used in power plants, the chemical industry, the semiconductor industry, hydrogen gas stations, the automotive industry and structural machinery.

“Maruichi is very excited to expand our manufacturing operations in Seguin, Texas”, said Takashi Onishi, president for Maruichi Stainless Tube Co. LTD. “Strategic location, access to a skilled workforce, and the partnership and genuine support we’ve received from the SEDC Board of Directors, the Seguin City Council and city staff helped solidify Maruichi’s decision to locate this project in Seguin. We look forward to contributing to the betterment of the city’s economy and becoming the newest member of the business community.” Maruichi Stainless Tube Texas Corp.’s future Seguin facility will produce seamless stainless steel precision tube via steel fabrication to support customers in the semiconductor industry. The demand for stainless steel precision bright annealed, or BA, tubes used for semiconductor manufacturing is significantly increasing due to global increase in semiconductor demand.

The Seguin facility will help Maruichi further meet demand in the United States from multiple construction and mining projects for large-scale semiconductor manufacturing plants and mining plant and equipment, according to a press release from the city of Seguin. “We are delighted that Maruichi has decided to build their new manufacturing facility in Seguin, Texas. This project will help create excellent employment opportunities for our residents and help grow and diversify our economic base. We are proud that they have chosen to do business in the city of Seguin” Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen said. Maruichi will build the Seguin facility on a 33-acre site to be purchased from the SEDC. The site is situated between Eighth Street and Guadalupe Street, just south of I-10, within the Rio Nogales Industrial Park. The SEDC Board of Directors and Seguin City Council approved a purchase and sale agreement during meetings held Sept. 6.

The SEDC Board of Directors and Seguin City Council also approved a performance-based cash grant formalized through a performance agreement. Maruichi is required to meet capital investment, job creation and payroll performance benchmarks over the term of the agreement in order to realize the SEDC incentive, according to the city of Seguin. “Maruichi’s investment will help diversify and strengthen Seguin’s rapidly growing manufacturing and heavy steel fabrication industry,” said Josh Schneuker, executive director of the Seguin Economic Development Corp. “Economic development is a team sport, and today’s announcement would not be possible if it were not for the collaboration between the SEDC, the city, and our regional partner greater: SATX. The hard work over the past few months helped secure this project to the city of Seguin, Guadalupe County and the San Antonio Region.”

machine-30512_1280 (1)

Fabrication and Manufacturing – what’s the difference?

, , , , 0

 

In the industrial sector, the phrases “manufacturing” and “fabrication” are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to a variety of methods for constructing a final product. However, manufacturing and fabrication are not same. From a layman’s perspective, “manufacturing” associates itself with a factory or a manufacturing line while “fabrication” is more associated with a workshop or workbench. The differences, though, go deeper than this and, despite the fact that both are associated with creating an end product, the two processes are often mistaken for one another. So, what exactly is the difference between fabrication and manufacturing, and how does each process influence our lives? This blog will look to answer some of these questions.

What do we understand by Manufacturing?

Manufacturing is the process of making a thing from scratch using large-scale industrial processes. It entails the use of machinery, equipment, and/or chemicals to create finished products on a large scale. These finished products may be used in the assembly of more sophisticated items like cars, storage water tanks, ships, and airplanes. Production, or manufacturing, is the transformation of raw materials into a manufactured product. The manufacturing sector utilizes mechanized and manual methods of production, as well as chemical and biological processes, on a massive scale. It’s the process that raw materials have to go through before they can be sold to consumers. Manufacturers often have a lower mix and greater volume product composition, and the process may be extremely repeatable.

What is Metal Fabrication?

Metal Fabrication is any industrial process that involves the shaping of metal into components or finished goods. It has applications in many industries such as oil and gas, construction, mining etc. Sheet metal, which may be up to 0.25 inches thick, is often used by metal fabricators. Fabricators take the sheet metal and turn it into the final product by cutting, folding or shaping operations. Fabrication often involves lesser volumes or one-off projects. Metal fabrication and structural steel fabrication may be utilized for both mass production and the production of vast quantities of individually crafted metal and steel goods.

We can look at an example of fabrication and manufacturing in order to clarify the difference between fabrication and manufacturing. Imagine that a certain company is importing automobile parts for Volkswagen cars and assemble them, creating finished Volkswagen cars. However, the process carried out by this factory is a fabrication since they don’t actually manufacture the cars from the bottom-up. In contrast, the factories that construct the automobile parts from raw materials are engaged in a manufacturing process.

Where does Welding fall?

Welding often blurs the lines between production and fabrication. Welding in manufacturing is often done according to a standard print, and each item is made separately. Weld cells receive parts that are already cleaned and inspected, and they join together components from separate assembly lines to create a final product. In various areas of fabrication, welders must be able to handle a wide range of tasks, from setting up and bending metal to welding and grinding. This is because components may arrive in the fab shop’s weld cell in an unfinished state. The welding fixture is a vital component that separates fabrication from production. Most welds in manufacturing are performed using reusable fixturing. Fixturing, on the other hand, is not often used in the vast majority of fabrication applications.

Concluding Statement

Finally, from the above, we can understand that the degree to which work requires procedure distinguishes manufacturing from fabrication. Fabrication is the process of creating components for a product by assembling either generic or customized pieces e.g., pipe spool fabrication being leveraged to develop pipe spools. However, manufacturing is an end-to-end process, beginning with the design and development of individual components and ending with their assembly into a completed good, with fabrication playing a key role along the way. If we were to add a math angle to this, we can say that fabrication is the subset with manufacturing being the superset in this regard!

factory-1140760_1280

Sheet Metal Fabrication Techniques and Products

, , , 0

 

Metal working is considered to be a combination of science and art as it involves precision as well as imagination to meet desired objectives. Commonly used metals in this regard are aluminum, bronze, copper, steel (used in steel fabrication) etc. Sheet metal fabrication involves bending (using heat inducted bending services) or cutting metal to meet design requirements – and it is an integral part of the manufacturing industry. There are multiple procedures which require large-scale equipment and necessitates talent and expertise to be maintained at each step. This blog will discuss details of some commonly used sheet metal fabrication operations and resultant household products developed.

Types of fabrication processes

  1. Cutting: Cutting metal sheets into halves, thirds, or smaller parts is one of the most popular metal manufacturing operations. Because it hasn’t been formed into anything yet, the metal used in many applications is brand new when it’s cut. It is also possible to use pre-formed metals such as bars and measured panels, which are then sent to be cut. Lasers and plasma torches, as well as more complex, high-tech apparatus, are used to make the cuts.
  2. Folding: Folding is one of the most difficult metal manufacturing methods, in which a metal surface is manipulated to form at a certain angle. To get a more or less blunt folding effect, the metal surface must fold at a 90-degree angle in certain cases. For this reason, only facilities with specialized high-tech equipment are permitted to undertake the folding procedure.
  3. Welding: Welding is a common metal manufacturing procedure, alongside cutting. Welding is the joining of two metal pieces together. In a welding application, it doesn’t matter whether the components are formed of metal sheets, panels, bars, or forms. Welding may be done using a variety of techniques and tools. The most common way to create a weld is to apply heat to both the joining places of the two materials.
  4. Machining: Machining is the process of using a machine to remove material from a piece of metal. On a lathe, the metal is rotated against cutting tools that shave corners and edges to get the required shape or dimension. In some machining applications, however, a hole or series of holes will be produced right through the metal surface. As a result, the metal drill might be categorized as a machining tool.
Items Manufactured Using Sheet Fabrication

  1. Chairs: It is common for a desk chair’s legs and the supporting framework to be built of cast metal. Folding chairs, which have bars and panels constructed of cut and folded metals, show off the metal manufacturing processes more clearly.
  2. Hinges: Doors and cabinets’ hinges are made of sheet metal that’s been cut to size and pierced with holes for fastening. The barrel is where the folding process takes place, resulting in the hinge’s fixed axis of rotation
  3. Silverware: At metal fabricating plants, the majority of utensils for eating are made from sterling or nickel silver, which is cast or pressed into form. Kitchen implements like whips, graters and openers are also subjected to the same technique.
  4. Sinks: Cast iron and steel sinks, unlike the vitreous china ones seen in bathrooms, go through a casting and folding process before being inserted into the countertop.
Concluding Comments

Engineers that specialize in metal fabrication may build anything from a bicycle all the way up to a full-fledged airplane. Specially tailored fabrications may be performed by heavy steel fabrication companies, depending on the application’s requirements. Fabrication is leveraged for many related industries, e.g., building of pipelines using pipe fabrication for oil transportation. Thus, sheet fabrication is the heartbeat of manufacturing and this heartbeat is expected to rise steadily in industries like mining and oil and gas in the post COVID-19 world!

© K999 Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. 2023