Techniques borrowed from the world of manufacturing could make the building industry more “efficient, connected and customer-centric.” Brent Balinski spoke to Monash University’s Professor Mathew Aitchison about the topic, as well as why prefabricated housing is a tricky business. Those who study it have sometimes lamented the low levels of productivity growth and technology…
Professor Jian-Feng Nie of Monash University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering led a recent discovery for magnesium alloys. He shares some context for the results with Brent Balinski.
Comment by Peter Roberts Australia has had numerous prime ministers from Bob Hawke to Malcolm Turnbull who have boasted about us being an ‘innovation nation’. But this is a classic case of promoting one of your weakest points to try to avoid scrutiny – in fact Australia has never been, and is not even remotely…
Comment by Peter Roberts Excuse my cynicism but a cynical government held a gabfest in Canberra this week that we are meant to believe shows their commitment to Australian manufacturing.. Industry reps, academics and others met with industry minister Karen Andrews with the outcome? Well bugger all. Andrews said: “The roundtable discussed ways to enable…
Brent Balinski spoke to CSIRO ON’s David Burt about the challenges involved in commercialising scientific achievements.
Comment by Peter Roberts Everyone seems to want to buy Australia’s iconic manufacturers – except Australians it seems. Despite a multi-trillion dollar superannuation nest egg built up by working Australians, why is it so often only foreign interests that can see value in our manufacturers? Just this past week Arnott’s biscuits, part of Campbell Soup…
Analysis by Peter Roberts Another day, another example of world-leading science commercialised overseas. The term world-leading is over-used by over-zealous Australians, but it is no exaggeration in describing the contribution by the University of New South Wales’s Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics towards the global uptake of PV solar cells. The Centre, led by Professor Martin…
Brent Balinski speaks to Xtek’s managing director Philippe Odouard about the company’s curing process – which it says can produce lighter, stronger composite parts – and its potential applications in defence, space and elsewhere.
Brent Balinski speaks to Harry Wang, founder of Advanced Circular Polymers, about the company’s factory and serving manufacturers wanting to adopt recycled plastics in their products. From kicks to shampoo bottles and beyond, there are signs that businesses are starting to commit to the use of recycled materials. Adidas has a goal of…
An Innovative Manufacturing CRC-backed project announced last month is aiming to move research on material coating methods out of the lab and into factories. Brent Balinski asked project lead Dr Weiwei Lei a few questions about how his process works and what the project hopes to achieve.
