Comment by Peter Roberts. Medical researchers and a private company developing a surgical implant to restore some sight to the blind have passed an important milestone, with the technology’s future commercialisation now in play. Bionic Vision, a consortium of Melbourne research groups, and privately funded Bionic Vision Technologies, have successfully restored ‘a sense of vision’…
Defence industry minister, Steve Ciobo has announced five companies will share grants of $12 million to develop innovative technologies. The grants, by the Defence Innovation Hub, will further develop their innovative technologies to support the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Sentient Vision Systems, a small Australian computer vision company, has been awarded a $5.5 million contract…
The most recent quarterly jobs figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show manufacturing has made a major comeback in Victoria, following the end of the car assembly industry last year.
Michael Lord of campervan and motorhome maker Trakka tells us about how technology has changed a company he has worked at since 1981, and how it is able to remain competitive through focussing on low-volume, high-quality products.
The federal government has announced a new grants scheme offering up to $1 million for projects that help meet Australia’s defence industrial capability priorities. The government’s Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grants scheme aims to build the capacity and resilience of Australian small-to-medium sized business. Grants may be used to fund capital equipment (including specialist software…
Black Sky Aerospace has successfully launched a commercial payload into space from a site at Westmar, west of Brisbane, aboard its largely Australian designed and made sounding rocket. The launch was confirmed by Queensland minister for manufacturing, Cameron Dick in a media statement issued at 5.23pm. “This Sighter190 research rocket is the first in Australia…
Canada’s Eguana Technologies has become the third energy storage group to announce it will set up facilities in Adelaide to assemble and manufacture lithium ion battery storage systems. Attracted by the state’s subsidised home renewables scheme, Eguana joins Sonnen and Alpha-ESS who will make batteries at the former Holden assembly plant north of the city.…
Comment by Peter Roberts One of the biggest complaints made by manufacturers is that few young people are interested in a career in manufacturing. But perhaps they are not the probblem? When I was in short pants South Australian schools took children on factory tours, and I can still recall the former Chrysler car plant…
3D printing is rapidly gaining traction in full scale production with news one of the field’s leaders, BMW has printed one million automotive parts. The German company has been using additive manufacturing for 25 years but prototyping is fast giving way to production. The company printed 200,000 production parts this year, a 42 per cent…
BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL) has purchased new steel coil treatment, galvanising and painting operations to add to its growing presence in South East Asia. The Melbourne company’s Malaysian subsidiary announced it would pay $42 million to buy YKGI Holdings Berhad’s (YKGI) manufacturing facility in Klang, Malaysia. The assets comprise a Push-Pull Pickling Line, Cold Rolling…
