Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Thales shows off Bendigo armoured vehicle production

Thales in Bendigo has welcomed 45 visitors from Defence’s Capability and Technology Management College (CTMC) to its Protected Vehicles manufacturing site in Bendigo (pictured, visiting the Bushmaster production line). “The aim of the visit is to expose CTMC students to some of the practical aspects of military vehicle technology, including design, manufacture, testing and sustainment. Bendigo is an ideal location as the students can see first-hand the complete production process for both the Hawkei and Bushmaster,” Sam McPhee, account manager vehicles and Land C4I, Thales Australia said.

ASI launches 2022 Australian Steel Excellence Awards

The Australian Steel Institute has announced that entries are now open for the 2022 Australian Steel Excellence Awards. Now in their twentieth year, the awards profile “the beauty and versatility of Australian steel as a design and prime building material”, according to ASI. In 2022 they will culminate in the National Steel Excellence Awards Dinner to take place in Sydney in November. The awards: Promote excellence in the use of Australian steel in design; Recognise high standards across the Australian steel supply chain; And celebrate collaboration and the achievements of the Australian steel industry. More information here.

Victorian magnesium facility progresses

Latrobe Magnesium will enter into agreements for the purchase of long-lead capital items including a spray roaster and furnaces for its magnesium demonstration plant now under construction in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. This follows the receipt of $10 million of a $23 million financing facility funding the development. The equipment to be ordered is the equivalent of a third of direct equipment purchases needed for the plant. A second $10 million advance is due to be drawn by the company by September. Underway are site works, engineering activities and equipment packages put out to tender.

UQ upgrades supercomputer facilities

The University of Queensland has purchased a new high-performance computer, named ‘Bunya’ after a native Queensland tree, to replace three HPCs that have been in service for nearly seven years. Jake Carroll, CTO at UQ’s Research Computing Centre (RCC), said the acquisition — expected to be operational next month — has “more power efficient than the current HPCs and will allow us to minimise our environmental impact” and was able to transfer a 23 gigabyte Blu-ray movie into a node in 0.92 seconds. The upgrade is funded by UQ with contributions from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), and the Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation (QCIF). Bunya will be housed in the Polaris Data Centre in Springfield, Queensland.

Picture: Thales/Bendigo

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