CSIRO and Amaero develop better cooling for die cast tooling
CSIRO and Amaero International have announced the results of a project to add conformal cooling channels to additively manufactured die cast tooling.
Tomago to get lithium ion battery factory
Energy Renaissance has announced that construction will begin at Tomago, NSW at a site it hopes will reach “gigafactory” volumes within the decade. Renew Economy and others report that Energy Renaissance has announced a $28 million factory at the site of the Tomago smelter. Construction is scheduled to begin within weeks, and the company plans…
Shoalhaven selected as site for ‘copter manufacturing
Three SMEs and aerospace and defence company Raytheon Australia will manufacture a rotary wing unmanned aerial system in the Shoalhaven should the group will an army contract. With ten SMEs involved in the overall bid to provide the UAS, based on Schiebel Pacific Limited’s CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS (pictured), three will be involved in manufacturing and…
De.mem wins seawater desalination contract
Water and wastewater treatment company De.mem has won a $2.6 million contract to provide a seawater desalination plant for innovative fruit and vegetable grower Sundrop Farms. The plant, which will utilise ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes, will be manufactured at De.mem’s Brisbane plant. Sundrop, a world leader in the use of solar concentrator electricity generation…
Western Australia commits to local train manufacture
The Western Australian budget includes a record $5.7 billion investment in Perth’s METRONET rail services, including the first tranche of funding for local pasasenger train construction. The budget includes spending of $1.7 billion on rail projects in 2020-21 for the the Forrestfield-Airport Link and the Thornlie-Cockburn link now under construction. Three other rail line extensions…
Efficiency drive saps Orica profit
Explosives manufacturer Orica has outlined the short-term costs of an efficiency drive and investment programme which has been underway for several years. The Melbourne company has delayed its reporting of full year results by two weeks and told investors that underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would be ‘slightly above $600 million.’ Chief executive…
USQ composites research recognised with top Australian ranking
The University of Southern Queensland has topped a national ranking of institutes for composites research.
Austal’s USS Mobile completes acceptance trials
The future USS Mobile (LCS 26) has successfully completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of delivery to the United States Navy (USN). The 13th Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, The vessel is a high-speed, shallow-draft surface combatant with an aluminium trimaran hull. Austal Chief Executive Officer…
Manufacturing and renewables: Albo’s budget reply
By Denham Sadler Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has unveiled his alternate vision for Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on revitalising local manufacturing through renewable energy and defence industry spending. Mr Albanese delivered his budget response speech on Thursday, criticising Josh Frydenberg’s second budget for its short-term politics and lack of longer-term…
Australian-made Warfighter platform passes another milestone
The team developing the Warfighter UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) has passed another milestone, demonstrating “the lightest combat UGV able to achieve effective fire from a 50cal at 1km range.”