Materials

Strategic planning sessions form main theme of conferenceMetals NZ chairman Noel Davies

The underlying theme behind the Metals New Zealand conference in Tauranga in mid-May was to give members a chance to become involved in strategic planning to give the industry a better suck of the sav in projects in New Zealand and overseas.

Chairman Noel Davies led the debate when he displayed a chart showing rolling totals of heavy steel volumes and import value of plate, and then asked what level of advocacy HERA should undertake on behalf of the industry – 63 percent of those surveyed felt that HERA should be more active or a major HERA focus.

BERL economist Ganesh Nana presented a tender evaluation tool.

HERA director Wolfgang Scholz said the metals industry had an accepted place in New Zealand. He discussed working with China under the free trade agreement, saying that metal from China would be five percent cheaper than the new Zealand produced product, which would provide opportunities.

He referred to the earlier presentation on procurement by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment ‘s Murray Heyrick, but said there was still a need to “hone our own business proposition. We have to differentiate our offering from that of the competition.”

Dr Scholz said quality and local knowledge were major points of difference, and that these points, if accurately accounted for, can make up a 10-20 percent cost difference where overseas competition was involved. Then it was the turn of PR practitioner Michelle Boag, who has been employed to assist Metals NZ with its strategic development.

Ms Boag stated the objects of the strategy as:

  • Extending the government procurement rules to all government agencies, SOEs and local government
  • Promoting the role of industry participation plans and lead user innovation
  • Achieving balanced decision making in the government procurement process, such as allowing for whole of life costing

 

She believed the environment for New Zealand steel fabricators was tough – even given the demand from the Christchurch rebuild – and mentioned factors such as high exchange rates, enhanced international competition due to low global demand, low shipping rates and the government’s FTA strategy.

She noted that there had been a move from adversarial to collaborative in the tendering and contract process. There was a need for Metals New Zealand to focus on consistent key messages, develop a stakeholder management strategy, focus on quality, service and delivery time. There was also a need to educate Metals New Zealand members on the implications of the new environment, focus and vocabulary.

Specific tactics included promoting articles in the media and engaging major contractors and project owners in public debate, a review of the communications of Metals NZ and its associates and a focus on monitoring and evaluation.

Ms Boag stated that there were four future challenges for Metals New Zealand. These were relationships, education of procurers, training of the organisation’s members, and resourcing support for these activities.


 

New Zealand metals engineering industry meets to build better futureThe conference dinner was held under yesterday’s skies

Conference report

The Metals New Zealand Industry Conference – held on May 9-10 at the Classic Flyers Aircraft Museum in Tauranga – aimed at building better business for New Zealand engineering companies. As the conference feedback demonstrated, all programme items contributed to the success.

On Thursday there were the industry tours, the Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA), Steel Construction NZ (SCNZ), and National Association of Steel-framed Housing (NASH) sessions, and the main conference.

On the Friday, the ‘Competing with Fabricated Metals Product Imports’ facilitated by Michelle Boag and a SCNZ workshop facilitated by Kevin Dawkins created great interest and debate with useful feedback for the next actions by Metals NZ.

The conference kicked off with two well-attended industry tours: The first to the Titanium Industry Development Association’s (TiDA) research facilities followed by a visit to Page Macrae Coatings. The second tour was stainless steel-focused and visited the facilities of NDA Engineering Group in Hamilton and then on to Tauranga-based Lawter (NZ) Ltd.

The SCNZ session covered a range of topics from survival tips for contractors to Steven Schmid, Associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at Notre Dame University in Illionis, USA, showed how strategies for partnerships could be applied to New Zealandearthquake- related construction. The Metals NZ session by Dr Steven Schmid, Associate Professor Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering of the University of Notre Dame in Illinois, USA, was of particular relevance for R&D-conscious businesses and research providers. Dr Schmid is part of a White House taskforce which advises the President on how to keep manufacturing in the US and how to repatriate it.

Dr Schmid explained that the strategy that has been followed successfully has been partnerships, both in workforce development and in university/industry relations, often facilitated by government. The technologies that have had a large impact include additive manufacturing, especially the trends of rapid tooling, functionally graded materials and now-consumer 3D printing.

The HERA session by speakers Nick Inskip and Boaz Habib focused on renewable energy, with emphasis on geothermal and marine energy. A look at IP and harnessing that as a path to success was also presented. The main conference session kicked off with the telephone conference with the Business, Innovation & Employment Minister Steven Joyce, followed by a welcome from Metals NZ Chairman Noel Davies. Keynote speakers were Australian Steel industry Advocate Dennis O’Neill, former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry and Catherine Beard, CEO of Manufacturing NZ and NZ Export.

The Friday workshop with the theme “Competing with Fabricated Metal Product Imports” and facilitated by Metals NZ communication strategy advisor Michelle Boag, attracted the attention of the industry leadership. Based on the fact that the public sector is a key customer of our industry, the focus on the government procurement reforms and the new Rules of Sourcing where seen as an opportunity to ensure the local industry receives a fair go.

Following presentations by sector group representatives from TiDA, HERA, NZ Stainless Steel Development Association (NZSSDA) and Casting Technology NZ (CTNZ) on technology advances to improve local industry competitiveness, Government Procurement Senior Advisor Murray Herrick outlined the proverbial shift in the goal post in government procurement with increased emphasis on balanced decision-making.

Dr Ganesh Nana from BERL introduced the HERA-commissioned tender evaluation tool which would allow consideration of all criteria listed in the new procurement rules. And HERA Director Dr Wolfgang Scholz outlined what differentiates our New Zealand offerings from that of the overseas competition, so that procurers have all arguments for choosing the local supply chain as the better deal.

Michelle Boag summarised her research, which included consultation with procurers, in stating that with the new Rules of Government Procurement, the industry has a unique opportunity to capitalise on. New Zealand’s engineering industry needs to focus now on the real advantages that accrue to New Zealand by using NZ-based expertise, services and products.

In order for procurers to follow the rules and also use the BERL tender evaluation tool the industry needs to engage, educate and build relationships with procurers at both industry and individual company level. Ms Boag’s outline of a detailed action agenda caused much discussion and no doubt will lead to a strong continued programme of advocacy and engagement, especially by Metals New Zealand.

Many delegates have expressed positive views on the conference and noted the strong sense of collaborative industry spirit in the event.

www.metals.org.nz


 

Rangiora rollformer manufacturer lands major contractRangiora rollformer manufacturer lands major contract

It’s not every day that a New Zealand rollformer manufacturer gets repeat orders from a subsidiary of a multinational steel company to supply a key part of a complete technology package.

When Melbourne-based BlueScope Steel’s ENDUROFRAME® framing business was sourcing the manufacturers of equipment to make their proprietary steel house framing system, there was a very wide field to choose from in Australia, Asia and New Zealand.

However, specialist Canterbury rollformer manufacturer Angus Robertson Mechanical had a CV packed with impressive references from clients – “quality, ability to think outside the square, innovation, professionalism, best in the country” – and won the contract for the first machine.

The Enduro rollformer is part of the ENDUROFRAME® building system, a light gauge steel framing system used to design, detail and manufacture steel frames and trusses for residential and light commercial markets.

EnduroCadd® is another core component of the ENDUROFRAME® technology package. It is the result of more than 20 years of light gauge steel R&D and construction feedback from projects around the world. It is also the only steel framing package in Australia that can self-certify roof trusses for non-cyclonic and An Enduro™ rollerformer has been exported to Ghanacyclonic regions, eliminating the time and costs of external certification.

Smartlink is the link between the ENDURO™ rollformer and the ENDUROCADD® software. It schedules orders and optimises production and fabrication. The program increases manufacturing efficiency, and schedules orders to optimise material flows. Since manufacturing that first ENDURO™ rollformer, Angus Robertson Mechanical Ltd has supplied several machines to ENDUROFRAME® and these have gone to Asia, Africa and Australia. The latest ENDURO™ rollformer from Angus Robertson Mechanical was on display at the recent SouthMACH show in Christchurch.

“ENDUROFRAME® came to us with a product, and what they wanted from that product,” says Angus Robertson Mechanical designer Patrick Morris, “and we designed and manufactured to achieve that result. The first machine took us 26 weeks to complete, but now we have got them down to an 18-week turnaround.”

The rollformer has been designed to be an all-in-one machine, capable of producing all steel sections required for steel trusses and wall frames, using 550MPa high tensile TRUECORE® steel in both a ribbed C section and an unribbed U section. It is available in two options – 75mm and 90mm, and the latter is capable of manufacturing frames and trusses for all wind speeds from N1-C4.

The ENDURO™ rollformer has been designed for high-speed rollforming, with multiple punching stations and a heavy duty 1.5 tonne SWL tilt-up uncoiler, eliminating the need for overhead cranes. The uncoiler also means coils can be Sophisticated rollformer part of completed technology packageloaded faster and damage can be reduced. The machine can use coil from 0.55-1.2mm thick. It comes standard with a proprietary Human Face Industrial, touch screen PC which means the machine can be operated by one person. The operator station is at the back of the machine, beside the 12-metre run-out table. Control is through an ethernet, via a PLC.

There have been modifications to the hydraulic shear to enable very flimsy sections to pass through the rollformer. Only five minutes is needed to change profiles.

The ENDURO™ rollformer produces a ribbed C-section which is used for studs and trusses, as well as an unribbed U-section used for plates and nogging. The ribbed C-section increases the strength of studs by more than 20 percent compared to unribbed sections, meaning less steel can be used in frames and trusses. It is also asymmetrical, which allows it to be boxed for additional strength when required. The U-section is slightly larger than the C-section, allowing the C-section to snap into the boxed section without swaging.

BlueScope Steel is a steel producer with operations in Australia, Asia, New Zealand, North America and the Pacific Islands. It was spun out of BHP Billiton in 2002 and renamed BlueScope Steel in 2003.

BlueScope has 17,500 employees, and is the largest steel producer in Australia and New Zealand, with manufacturing plants at Port Kembla in New South Wales and Western Port in Victoria, and Glenbrook near Waiuku.

Its brands include COLORBOND®, ZINCALUME® and AXXIS® steels. ENDUROFRAME® is part of the BlueScope Steel Global Cold Form Solutions business which develops software for many types of steel building solutions.

www.enduroframe.com


 

Winners from New Zealand’s metals industryMetals NZ Awards

The winners of this year’s Metals NZ Awards were announced at an industry gala dinner held in Tauranga in early May. More than 130 members of the various associations belonging to Metals NZ and the industry attended the dinner, held at the Classic Flyers Aircraft Museum.

The Keith Smith Award for Distinguished Service went to the director, chairman and part-owner of Hydraulink Fluidconnectors, Noel Davies. He was presented with a commemorative plaque and a cheque for $2,000 by the widow of the late Keith Smith, Jean Smith, who is still actively involved in running the engineering company that they built together, Mobridge Limited.

There were four nominations for the Metals NZ Exporter of the Year: Victory Knives, Grayson Engineering, Page Macrae Engineering and Southern Cross Engineering (SCE), and it was the latter’s new generation of grain stackers that triumphed. After successfully designing and manufacturing the grain stacker, SCE generated in its first year of production an export sales revenue equivalent to $ 25 million in 2012, with the potential of between $NZ 10-15-million per annum over the next five years. It has also added 50 skilled employees to its Canterbury-based workforce.  

Six companies were nominated for the Metals NZ Innovation Award – KIWIRail, MJH Engineering, Pacific Steel Group, South Auckland Forging Engineering (S.A.F.E.), Titanium Industry Development Association (TiDA) andSouthern Cross Engineering with its beat-all-comers grain stacker. But it was TiDA that took the prize for its ground-breaking research and development of what’s known in the industry as Powder Metallurgy Consolidation. TiDA has in the process become one of Australasia’s Titanium Powder Consolidation leaders.


 

Stadium tops structural steel awardsDunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium

Every two years Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) celebrates outstanding steel construction projects at the biennial Excellence in Steel Construction Awards.

The Awards recognise steel structures built by SCNZ member companies.

Grayson Engineering secured the premier award in the Over $3 million category for Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium. Grayson’s commitment to excellence and engineering innovation helped it overcome considerable time pressures to successfully deliver this prominent and multifaceted project in time for the Rugby World Cup.

“The Forsyth Barr Stadium was a stand-out project that won ahead of some other notable projects,” said SCNZ Manager Alistair Fussell.

“However the judges were so impressed by the exceptional standard of entries in this category that they also awarded a Judges Merit award to MJH Engineering for the Wellington Indoor Community Sports Centre.”

RedSteel won the $0.5-1.5 million category for its part in delivering another Rugby World Cup-related venue – The Cloud, the novel lightweight steel and fabric structure built on Auckland’s Queen’s Wharf as part of ‘Party Central’.

“We’re delighted the Awards attracted entries of such a high calibre,” said Mr Fussell.

“The bar has been set very high and it’s a credit to our local structural steel industry that New Zealand produces work of this scale and quality.”

The independent judging panel assessed entries based on the steel constructor’s commitment to best practice, teamwork, sustainability, safety management and innovation.

www.scnz.org


 

High Density structural glazing tape provides thermal sealing for buildingsHigh Density structural glazing tape provides thermal sealing for buildings

Pres-On, a leading supplier of adhesive industrial tapes and gaskets, has introduced a new HD (High Density) structural glazing tape for the cost-effective thermal sealing of storm windows and doors, curtain walls, and other building structures.

Available coated on one or both sides with a specially formulated acrylic adhesive, new SG6600/6700 Series HD structural glazing tapes bond instantly to vinyl, plastics, powder paints, bare metal, and glass, eliminating slippage and wasted production time. The long-lasting adhesive is water- and humidity-resistant, plus has a service temperature range up to 82°C.

The tapes are manufactured from high-strength, high-density open cell urethane tapes that resist fungi and oxidation to preserve the performance as well as the appearance of building structures. Tensile strength is an impressive 400psi, an excellent indicator of its ability to resist stress from stretching or pulling. Tear strength, as measured by the ASTM standard, is an equally impressive 40pli, providing customers with assurance that the tape will resist tearing after a tear has been started by the cutting or nicking of an edge.

Pres-On SG6400 tape is available in 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16 or 3/8-inch thicknesses on rolls up to 50 feet in length. Custom widths, lengths and thickness can be ordered, as can die cuts for special applications requiring vibration and sound dampening.

Pres-On is a leading manufacturer of adhesive coating, coated foam tape, mounting substrates, gaskets and cap liners serving customers worldwide in the industrial and consumer markets.

The company is based in Addison, Illinois.

www.preson.com


 

Diode lasers change tape laying in fibre-reinforced plasticsTube from CFRP produced by diode laser assisted winding

Laserline’s diode lasers are revolutionizing the tape placement and winding technology of fibre-reinforced plastics.

Local heating and accurate temperature control replace laser autoclaves and enable a one-stop processing of thermoplastics. Advanced fibre placement technology with diode lasers is used by the major airplane manufacturers for fuselage and panel construction.

Recently, Laserline has tackled the task of developing an efficient process for tape layering with the power of a diode laser. Increasingly, items such as aircraft parts, pressure vessels, seals and pipes that have traditionally been made of steel or aluminium, are being replaced by carbon fibre reinforced plastics-elastomers.

The use of CFRP’s enables weight savings of up to 70 percent and improves the mechanical properties of the product. During the tape laying process the orientation of the fibres can be controlled as needed, orienting them for example, so they can absorb maximum stresses to which the material may be subjected.

Working with a customer in Germany which manufactures carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP’s) using a process of tape layered into a mould, Laserline introduced a diode laser that provides greater efficiencies in heating and melting the tape material in the joint area in a temporally and spatially controlled process.

The company built a tape placement head mounted on a robot to place tape onto a 3D pre-form. Working in close cooperation with the customer, Laserline developed special homogenising optics to heat the CFRP strips as they are placed. These special optics produce a rectangular laser focus with a very uniform energy distribution. A coaxial multi- point temperature control regulates the laser power to ensure safe heating of the material and keeps it below decomposition temperature.

Since 2009 diode lasers have been used for the production of CFRP components. Specific homogenizing optics, 3kW of laser power and a high process efficiency result in tape layering speeds of several meters per minute. The small footprint of Laserline’s fibre-coupled diode laser module LDM 3000-100 with its high efficiency, allowed the customer to build a robust, compact, class-1 welding cell suitable for the factory floor or in mobile units.

Laserline products are distributed in Australasia by Raymax Applications Ltd.

www.raymax.com.au


 

Levelling the playing fieldNick Inskip

Commentary
By HERA industry development general manager Nick Inskip

Local industry is well used to contract conditions when tendering, and to the fact that the project owner will typically retain part of the payments due to the vendor as security against the proper completion of the work being undertaken. This is a cost factored into the price that local industry quotes when tendering.

It’s a cost of doing business in the New Zealand market that industry must accommodate and it is equally applied to all local tenders, so it’s usually accepted as fair and in that regard, local suppliers are competing on a level playing field.

Most of the major infrastructure projects in New Zealand are connected in some way to government, which isn’t a surprise since government makes up a large portion of our economy and you wouldn’t expect them to support any process that unfairly discriminated against New Zealand industry as suppliers on projects paid for with public money. However, the increasing trend for procurers to seek the ‘cheapest’ option has seen the development of some bumps in the playing field that would be quickly rolled flat if it was a cricket ground.

The problem comes from the fact that when procuring from offshore suppliers, there is no requirement placed on the foreign company to include the costs of retention monies in their tender price. This immediately gives them a cost advantage that rolls up into the price they quote, helping them undercut local suppliers. It also means that while a local supplier has every incentive not to cut corners and to make every effort to make sure their performance is up to standard so they get the retention monies paid to them, that kind of incentive isn’t there for foreign suppliers who typically require payment before shipping.

It also means that there is little opportunity for redress when a piece of equipment made offshore arrives and is found to be substandard. In fact, where initial price is seen as the major driver of procurement and where there are no perceived consequences, there is also the opportunity for an offshore procurer who realizes that they can trim the price they submit by omitting to do something which may not be readily apparent if inspected before shipment.

An example of this could be that they paint an item of plant in the open rather than in a climate-controlled environment, or only provide one coat instead of two of paint, or even undertake sandblasting to a standard lower than specified. These kinds of practices can reduce their costs and hence the price they submit, and with no consequences such as forfeiting retention monies, there is no incentive against cutting corners.

These risks are widely understood and many governments around the world put in place mechanisms to address them, such as requiring a completion bond from foreign suppliers to projects funded with public money. In practice this has the same effect as retention monies in providing an incentive to ensure corners are not cut and that foreign suppliers are not advantaged over local suppliers.

The issue becomes more complex where a government or government entity appoints a ‘prime contractor’ who does not require a cascading of completion bonds to foreign suppliers. In this case, however, the foreign supplier is immediately advantaged and any pretense of a level playing field disappears. It can be argued that the prime contractor accepts the risk, so there is no risk to government, but that isn’t the point. The point is that by omission of the requirement to cascade completion bonds to foreign suppliers, local industry is immediately discriminated against.

While this is probably not deliberate, it is a reality, as is the risk that with no consequences for a foreign supplier, they will cut corners which might not show up until the item supplied, is a few years old and unlike a local supplier, they have no local reputation at risk.

So we need Government and related entities to act now to flatten out the pitch and make sure the game is fair for local industry.

If you wish to comment on this piece, contact me at 09 262 4750 or email indev [at] hera [dot] org [dot] nz


 

Revolutionary graphene garners billion dollar research boostThe dawning of the age of graphene – 40 times stronger than steel

Nokia Corporation and the Europe-based consortium Graphene Flagship received a $1.35 billion grant this week from the European Union for research and development of the super-material graphene, reports the Nokia blog.

"When we talk about graphene, we’ve reached a tipping point. We’re now looking at the beginning of a graphene revolution. Before this point in time, we figured out a way to manufacture cheap iron that led to the Industrial Revolution. Then there was silicon. Now, it’s time for graphene,” says Nokia Research Center leader Jani Kivioja.

He expects it will improve existing materials and products to make them better than before.

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is a two-dimensional ultra-thin sheet of carbon atoms. It is the best conductor of heat and is 40 times stronger than steel. It is also a semiconductor with electrical conductivity 1000 times better than silicon. Some people predict it will become the material of choice for computer chips.

"Now we have all the ingredients in place to be globally successful. We believe that new two-dimensional materials will have an impact on industrial value chains in many ways, creating opportunities for new products, services and economic growth," says Tapani Ryhänen, head of Nokia's sensor and material technologies lab.

"There is a huge opportunity to bring manufacturing back here [to Europe], while using new materials and at the same time keeping manufacturing industries competitive."

Key applications of graphene include flexible electronics, functional lightweight components and advanced batteries. New products include electronic paper and bendable personal communication devices, as well as lighter and more energy-efficient airplanes. Longer term, graphene is expected to give rise to new medical applications such as artificial retinas.


 

International textile manufacturer launches lightweight second generation compositeTPreg, is a range of continuous thermoplastic pre-impregnated reinforcement material. It is a light and offers cost savings in large series production

Chomarat is launching TPreg: a continuous pre-impregnated thermoplastic reinforcement material, which was recognised for innovation in the thermoplastics category at the JEC awards in Paris this year.

TPreg is part of Chomarat’s C-PLY™ project Chomarat offers innovative solutions with TPreg, is a range of continuous thermoplastic pre-impregnated reinforcement. It is a light material, offers cost savings in large series production.

The TPreg range of products that complements the current OrganoSheet line, assembly of a continuous reinforcement and a thermoplastic resin. TPreg maintains Thermoplastic composites advantages: speed of conversion processes, little emission of volatile matter, thermoformability and recyclability

“TPreg is a conformable reinforcement that preserves perfect orientation of the fibres. It can be designed with a diversity of materials – carbon fibre, glass fibre and so on – and in different widths. With various impregnation levels in development, the range is suited to various production processes and opens up new technico-economic prospects for the market” says Chomarat R&D manager P Sanial.

“This new range finds applications in numerous sectors such as automotive or sports and leisure.”

Launched in 2011, the C-PLY Bi-Angle™ second-generation composites project under the leadership of Professor Tsai has demonstrated that an optimised design of composites makes it possible to obtain significant savings in weight (up to 30%).

Currently the working group is entering a new phase and is demonstrating that the use of C-PLY in a manufacturing phase with automated laying processes makes it possible to obtain productivity gains never obtained before.

Driven by its core values of creativity and innovation since 1898, CHOMARAT is an international textile group, which operates on four continents. The company is composed of three strategic business units: composites, textiles and fashion, incorporating over 25 different processes and manufacturing technologies.

www.chomarat.com


 

Strong growth for specialist timber constructionTimberFirst project manager Daryll Pugh and managing director Peter Roil inside the new hangar. The project at the Hawke’s Bay Airport was completed in four weeks, with most of it prefabricated before being moved onto the site

TimberFirst markets, designs and project manages the construction of timber buildings using laminated pinus radiata timber beams produced by affiliate Kanuka Engineered Wood Products.

Kanuka’s factory on the outskirts of Hastings won an architectural award and is regarded as an industrial masterpiece for not using internal supports in the 60 metre long factory. The laminated beam systems produced by Kanuka have engineering capability of up to 100m clear span.

The company has just completed a new 1100 m2 hangar for Hawke’s Bay Airport Ltd to house the Napier Aero Club and three private hangars that are being relocated to free up land for airport purposes. Other projects are the Red Stag Timber remanufacturing building in Rotorua, the Epic Centre in Christchurch and other aircraft hangars.

“Since the devastating Christchurch earthquakes, there has been renewed interest in timber as one of the key structural components to building commercial buildings,” says managing director Peter Roil.

“Laminated timber is earthquake tolerant as it absorbs energy. As a sustainable and natural product it also has a much lesser impact on carbon emission.”

The hangar project at the Hawke’s Bay Airport was completed in just four weeks, with most of the prefabrication done at Timber- First before being moved onto the site.

Hawke’s Bay Airport is undergoing significant development with a multi-million dollar Business Park and the ability to have most of the construction prefabricated offsite was an added bonus.

Hawke’s Bay Airport business development manager, Wayne Wootton, says the TimberFirst option stood out because it used sustainable materials and aligned with the Airport’s Business Park design guidelines.

“One of the key aspects of the vision for a sustainable Business Park is the use of sustainable construction materials,” he says.


 

Printing the graphene wayPrinting the graphene way

Using an ink containing tiny graphene flakes, scientists have ink-jet printed graphene patterns that can be used for printing finely detailed, highly conductive electrodes.

Although ink-jet printing has been previously demonstrated, the graphene patterns in the new study are about 250 times more conductive than previous patterns.

The printed graphene ink is also highly tolerant to bending stresses, with the ability to withstand folding with only a slight decrease in conductivity.

The researchers, led by Ethan B Scott from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, have published their study on inkjet-printing grapheme patterns in a recent issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

The researchers explain that inkjet printing is an attractive method of printing electronic components because it is low cost, can print large areas, and can print on flexible substrates, says Phys.org. Researchers have previously used inkjet printing to fabricate components such as transistors, solar cells, LEDs and sensors.

However, printing highly conductive electrodes is still a challenge because of the requirement for very fine resolution.

Recently, researchers have turned to grapheme due to its high conductivity, chemical stability, and intrinsic flexibility compared to other inks.


 

Masterbond offers two new specialised epoxy gelsApplying Masterbond Super Gel 9

Master Bond Super Gel 9 is a urethane modified epoxy gel suitable for a variety of applications, including the encapsulation of sensitive electronic parts and sealing optical components.

This multifunctional gel is widely used in the aerospace, electronic, optical, electro-optical and other specialty industries.

Super Gel 9 has an exceptionally low Shore A hardness of about 5 to 10. This softness allows it to be easily repairable, making it ideal for retrieving components with a sharp knife or razor blade. It will not shatter during this process. These properties also enable Super Gel 9 to withstand rigorous thermal cycling and thermal/mechanical shock.

This product has a 2:1 mix ratio by weight or volume, along with a low viscosity and exotherm enabling it to be cast in larger sections up to 8 to 12mm thick.

Super Gel 9 bonds well to an array of substrates, such as metals, glass, ceramics and many rubbers and plastics. It has a long working life of 7 to 9 hours depending on the mass that is mixed (the smaller the mass, the longer the working life). It resists many chemicals including water, oils and fuels.

The service temperature range is -73°C to 93°C. Super Gel 9 is available in pints, quarts, gallons, five gallon container kits and gun dispensers.

Master Bond UV25

Suitable for high production applications, Master Bond UV25 offers fast fixture times, rapid curing and high-temperature resistance.

This multifunctional one-component UV curable system was developed for bonding, sealing, coating and encapsulation applications. It is widely used in aerospace, fibre-optic, optical, electronic and related industries.

Master Bond UV25’s most notable feature is its thermal stability, with a glass transition temperature of 186°C. It is serviceable over the broad range of -51°C to 260°C. Additionally, this material is optically clear with a refractive index of 1.55 at room temperature.

Upon exposure to a UV light source emitting at a wavelength of 320 to 365 nm with an energy output of 20 to 40 milliwatts per cm UV25 cures in 20 to 30 seconds. The rate of cure also depends upon the compound’s distance from the light source, the thickness of the section and the intensity of the light source. It is not oxygen inhibited and therefore does not require any special treatment in that regard.

The product does not contain any solvents or volatiles and features low shrinkage upon curing. It bonds well to glass, surface treated metals and plastics such as polycarbonates and acrylics, among others.

When being used in potting applications, this system can cure in section up to 0.100 to 0.120 inches. At room temperature, UV25 has a moderate viscosity of 7,000 to 11,000 cps. It is also a competent electrical insulator.

UV25 can be stored for up to 6 months in its original, unopened containers with no exposure to light. It is available in syringes, pint, quart, gallon and 5 gallon containers.

www.masterbond.com


 

Major funding boost for titanium researchers

New Zealand’s titanium materials research has attracted a major investment that will enable the development of a pan-industry manufacturing base for high value export products, say programme participants.

Titanium Technologies New Zealand (TiTeNZ), funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), will provide a major boost to research activities with widespread national and international application across the medical, aerospace, defence, marine, energy and general engineering sectors.

The research collaboration has initial funding of $3.1 million per year for two years, but is aiming to establish a long term programme to support high value manufacturing based on titanium alloys.

TiTeNZ builds on current research capability and infrastructure in titanium metallurgy, high temperature materials processing and fabrication, and advanced surface coatings at Callaghan Innovation, GNS Science, the University of Waikato, the University of Auckland and the Titanium Industry Development Association (TiDA).

“This investment will enable the development of a world class titanium research platform in New Zealand and create a multi- company, multi-sector manufacturing base for high value export products,” says Professor Ian Brown of Callaghan Innovation who is leading a cluster of Crown Research Institutes and University applied materials research teams working in partnership with New Zealand industrial manufacturers.

Oversight of the new programme will be managed by an Industry Advisory Panel. Advisory Panel chair Jon Mayson says: “New Zealand has an amazing opportunity around the research and commercialisation of Titanium materials. We are currently at the leading edge internationally in some of our research.

“Our challenge is to ensure that our current position is converted to commercial opportunities for New Zealand businesses. This may involve collaborating globally in research, but the major focus must remain in ensuring economic outcomes for New Zealand through commercialisation.”


 

Antares III brings home top superyacht awardThe 30 metre Antares III’s hull is a composite of E-glass, Kevlar, carbon fi bre and epoxy. The yacht has a maximum sail area of 800m2. It is also fi tted with a 331kW Scania D1-12 59M engine driven through a ZF-360 2.7:1 gearbox which gives it a range of 3600 nautical miles, cruising at 11 knots

The New Zealand-made 30-metre sloop Antares III, built of composite materials has won the major award at the International Superyacht Society Awards, held during Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

The yacht was also named Best Sailing Superyacht in the 24 to 40m category.

SP-High Modulus, the marine business of Gurit, provided the composite structural engineering solution for the Dixon-designed superyacht, which was built by Yachting Developments.

Yachting Developments CEO Murray Greenhalgh says the company works with a variety of materials, including wood and steel.

“We are currently doing a refit of a steel exploration charter craft,” Mr Greenhalgh says.

He says Antares III faced stiff international competition at Fort Lauderdale, and its quality of build was the determining factor in its win. The super yacht was engineered to meet stringent Germanischer Lloyd and MCA classification requirements.

Due to the use of composites, she weighs 25 to 30 percent less than an aluminium equivalent, with no compromise in strength and stiffness properties. The hull was specified to be an epoxy post-cured sandwich laminate, using an E-glass/carbon/aramid combination skin over a foam core.

SP-High Modulus engineers worked closely with the designer and the yard to enable the challenging build schedule, which allowed just 400 days from start to launch, to be met.

SP-High Modulus is the marine business of Gurit and currently supplies the superyacht market, high-performance custom, production, and work boat sectors. The companies of Gurit Holding AG, Switzerland, are specialised on the development and manufacture of high-end composite materials.

Gurit also supplies growth markets in wind energy, tooling, and transportation.

www.gurit.com/marine
www.yachtingdevelopments.co.nz