What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) The critical trade keeping Australian manufacturing alive Australian manufacturing faces a hidden crisis as the number of toolmakers and engineering pattern-makers has declined by 70 per cent between 2006 and 2021, according to the latest Census data. Only 2,220 practitioners remain…
Speaking on the @AuManufacturing Conversations podcast recently, Dr Joe Berry from the University of Melbourne and Dr Peter Sherrell from RMIT explained how they observed that when a water droplet becomes stuck on a tiny bump or rough spot, the force builds up until it “jumps or slips” past the obstacle, creating an irreversible electrical charge that had not been reported before.
KBR selected for Samsara factory Houston, US-headquartered engineering firm KBR has been announced as a partner on Samsara Eco’s plastics and textile enzymatic recycling plant, scheduled for completion in early 2028. Samsara is commercialising an enzymatic recycling technology for processing “some of the most common types of plastic and synthetic fibre – materials that have…
Textile recycling business BlockTexx and paper manufacturer and recycler Opal have announced a new pilot program, with “old and unused uniforms” from Opal’s Botany Mill collected and processed. According to a statement from the paper company, the program has already seen a 660-litre container full of uniforms collected, with these to be put through BlockTexx’s…
In a breakthrough that could steam ahead of conventional energy storage, Australian innovator MGA Thermal has fired up the world’s first commercial Electro-Thermal Energy Storage (ETES) system capable of delivering 24/7 renewable industrial steam. Unveiled Monday at the company’s Tomago site in Newcastle, the system harnesses the power of latent heat through cleverly engineered Miscibility…
By Nicole Gillespie, Melbourne Business School and Steven Lockey, Melbourne Business School Have you ever used ChatGPT to draft a work email? Perhaps to summarise a report, research a topic or analyse data in a spreadsheet? If so, you certainly aren’t alone. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly transforming the world of work. Released today,…
By Marina Yue Zhang, University of Technology Sydney In the escalating trade war between the United States and China, one notable exception stood out: 31 critical minerals, including rare earth elements, were strategically exempted from tariffs. This was not a gesture of goodwill. It was a tacit acknowledgment of the United States’ deep dependence on…
South Australia’s space industry took a significant leap forward with the successful integration of Myriota’s Internet of Things (IoT) payload on the Kanyini satellite, according to an announcement released on Sunday. Adelaide-based companies Myriota and Inovor Technologies have collaborated on Kanyini, South Australia’s first state-funded satellite, which now orbits more than 500 kilometres above Earth.…
Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay commit to defence industry Moreton Bay region industry representatives have signed up to an agreement on sovereign defence priorities. An industry-led communique was signed at a Sunshine Coast event last month, led by representatives from Regional Development Australia Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast (RDAMBSC), Australian Industry and Defence Network, Manufacturing Excellence…
What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Fonterra plans $1.7m refurbishment of Tasmanian cheese tower Global dairy company Fonterra has plans to upgrade the cheddaring tower, as its Wynyard, Tasmania cheese factory. It lodged a development application to refurbish and remediate the tower, boosting its height to 21 metres,…
