Manufacturing Technology

From riverbeds to flood zones: new sonar tech puts Australia on the map

An Australian designed and built sonar sensor capable of operating in shallow water and coastal environments has been developed by Macquarie and University of Wollongong researchers. The Smart sonar and accessible hydrography project has progressed the local manufacturing of state-of-the-art transducers for high-sensitivity sonar systems, proving Australia need not rely so heavily on international suppliers. High-sensitivity sonar systems are vital for water managers, dam operators, mining sites, and environmental monitoring, enabling the mapping of riverbeds, tracking of sediment movement, and surveillance of underwater vegetation such as seagrass. The new transducer shows strong promise for surveying flooded and storm-damaged areas, and coastal environments. The project, supported by the NSW Smart Sensing Network’s Grand Challenge Fund, was led by Senior Lecturer in Macquarie University’s School of Computing, Dr Matthew Roberts. He contributed advanced signal processing and data analytics, enabling the sonar transducer to generate detailed maps and measurements of underwater environments in real time. “This project proves that Australia can develop underwater sonar technology from start to finish,” Dr Roberts said. “It’s not just about the hardware—it’s about the full capability, from ceramic design to field deployment, that allows us to build systems tailored to Australian needs.” At the heart of the system is a ceramic transducer—sometimes called a “ceramic puck”—which converts electrical energy into underwater sound waves. The piezoelectric ceramic material, developed by the University of Wollongong, is typically used in medical ultrasound and has now been adapted for underwater applications in Australia. Distinguished Professor Shujun Zhang from the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials at the University of Wollongong is the co-investigator on the project. “This high-sensitivity transducer was built on a foundation of advanced, domestically fabricated piezoelectric ceramics, crucial for operating in complex shallow waters,” Professor Zhang said. “The project also strengthens vital sovereign capability by training the next generation of Australian material researchers in cutting-edge transducer design.” […]

Deakin REACH and Samsara Eco unite to transform textile recycling with world-leading enzyme technology

Australia’s war on waste has a powerful new ally, Deakin University’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub (REACH). REACH has joined forces with Samsara Eco to fast-track world-first technology that could recycle plastics and textiles, previously considered unrecyclable, that would take centuries to eliminate from the environment. Textile waste is one of the world’s most persistent environmental issues, driven by fast fashion, high consumption and poor disposal practices. In Australia, synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester make up almost 60 per cent of the materials used in clothing, yet with less than one per cent of discarded garments recycled into new clothes, most end up in landfill or are incinerated, adding to pollution and harmful emissions. Samsara Eco’s AI-designed enzymes break down fossil-fuel derived materials like synthetic fibres, including nylon 6,6 and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into their original building blocks or monomers – allowing them to be rebuilt into new products with virgin-quality performance. The collaboration will see Samsara Eco lean into Deakin’s advanced chemical analysis and polymer processing expertise to better understand and find recycling solutions for specific additives like dyes, finishes and coatings present in textile waste. ‘We are laser-focused on creating true circularity and that means finding a solve for all plastics,’ said Founder and CEO at Samsara Eco Paul Riley. ‘This research supports our efforts to make this a reality. We’ve already come a long way with our enzymatic recycling technology, which can infinitely recycle PET and nylon 6,6 plastics used for clothing and other textiles, including mixed fibres and plastics. Our research collaboration with Deakin will support our efforts to recycle more waste at speed, scale and with precision.’ Unlike mechanical recycling, which degrades the quality of materials and limits recyclability, Samsara Eco’s enzymatic depolymerisation technology is making it possible to rebuild worn or contaminated textiles into […]

Australia’s competitiveness hits 13-year high

Australia rose to 13th from 19th place out of 67 nations for competitiveness, according to the Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024. It was Australia’s highest ranking in 13 years. The improved ranking is the result of Australia’s stronger business and government investment, population growth and budget positions. Australia’s stable economy, transparent regulations and global business ties provide a secure and thriving environment for investors. Singapore, Switzerland and Denmark were ranked the world’s top three most competitive economies respectively. While the United States was ranked 12th (down three places), the United Kingdom, France and Japan were outside the top 20. The World Competitiveness Ranking measures economies, regions and sub-regions based on how they optimise their individual competencies to achieve long-term value for their people. The ranking examines economic performance, business efficiency, government efficiency and infrastructure. Top 10 for economic performance Australia’s overall economic performance improved from 10th to 7th. Australia’s competitiveness in international investment was ranked in the global top five. The high ranking reflected the country’s strong performance in both inbound and outbound investment. Strong international trade, high commodity prices and a comparatively healthy local economy have also helped drive this rebound in Australia’s competitiveness. Australia was ranked highly for: government efficiency (13th in the world) infrastructure (18th in the world) business efficiency (22nd in the world). Read more about Australia’s competitiveness profile [PDF, 440KB] in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024. A top investment destination Australia has long been a top destination for investment, thanks to a resilient economy, a skilled workforce, and stable and transparent regulatory frameworks. Strong business ties with Asian markets make Australia a natural springboard into the fast-growing region. In green energy and critical minerals, Australia is a global leader – and intends to capitalise on its natural advantages to become a renewable energy superpower. […]

After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup

by Julia Austin Entrepreneurship expert Julia Austin shares battle-tested strategies to help founders and startup joiners build their venture from the ground up in this masterclass in intentional entrepreneurship. So you want to start a company. Or you were crazy enough to join a startup. You had a great idea, you built a prototype, and maybe you even raised some money. Now what? Julia Austin is here to answer that big question. She has both experienced and observed that the differentiator between the startups that succeed and those that fail is operational excellence. A lot of entrepreneurs are great at the idea part but do not anticipate the details required to actually run and scale a new venture. Drawing on Austin’s extensive experience at renowned startups like Akamai, VMware, and DigitalOcean and the hundreds of founders and startups she has educated, coached, and advised, After the Idea is full of time-tested strategies to help founders, investors, and employees navigate the operational challenges of startup ventures, including customer development, scalability, process optimisation, team management, and more. This accessible set of techniques is for anyone determined to turn a great idea into a solid success.

Tapway expands into Indonesia

Tapway Sdn. Bhd., an emerging Vision AI platform developer, has announced the appointment of three prominent Indonesian companies — PT Innovation Cloud Services (ICS Compute), PT Metrodata Electronics, Tbk (Metrodata), and PT Syspex Multitech — as its official channel partners. The appointments were formalized through the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) at the Embassy of Malaysia’s office in Jakarta recently. As channel partners, ICS Compute, Metrodata, and Syspex will be responsible for distributing SamurAI licenses, leading implementation efforts, and providing long-term support for customers in Indonesia. These agreements mark a significant milestone in Tapway’s regional expansion as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), enabling localized distribution and deployment of its Vision AI solutions across Indonesia’s retail, manufacturing, logistics, FMCG, and smart infrastructure sectors. Tapway’s SamurAI Vision AI platform offers off-the-shelf and customizable AI models, with no coding required, to support compliance, productivity, safety, and customer experience enhancement. Lim Chee How, CEO of Tapway, said, “Indonesia represents one of Southeast Asia’s most promising markets for Vision AI. Our partnerships with ICS Compute, Metrodata, and Syspex are the result of two years of groundwork, mutual trust, and a shared vision to make AI adoption scalable and impactful. The MoUs are not just a formality, but they mark the start of real-world transformations across logistics, retail, and manufacturing landscapes in Indonesia.” PT Innovation Cloud Services (ICS Compute) will focus on deploying Vision AI in use cases that demand real-time automation and seamless system integration. The Company connects AI-powered camera data directly into business systems, enabling real-time responses, faster decisions, and measurable improvements across operations. Budhi Wibawa, CEO of ICS Compute, said, “We see Vision AI as a way to make operations smarter, not just by seeing, but by acting. By connecting ground-level insights to real-time systems, we help businesses respond faster and work […]

BLT’s 2024 ESG Highlights: Advancing Low-Carbon Manufacturing with Additive Innovation

As ESG principles continue to reshape the global manufacturing landscape, Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) stands out as a long-time practitioner of sustainable innovation. In its newly released 2024 ESG Highlights, BLT details the progress it has made in integrating environmental responsibility, social impact, and strong governance across its operations. From materials R&D and the design and manufacture of equipment to customer-focused additive solutions, ESG principles are embedded at the core of BLT’s strategy—supporting a low-carbon, sustainable, and inclusive future for advanced manufacturing. Environment: Driving Sustainable Manufacturing at Every Stage BLT integrates sustainability into every step of its metal additive manufacturing process. Using powder bed fusion, the technology primarily consumes inert gases and electricity, with almost no harmful emissions released. Compared to traditional subtractive methods, the systems run quieter and use energy more efficiently. This combination not only cuts down environmental impact but also supports more resource-conscious production — making these 3D printing solutions a natural fit for industries aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. In 2024, BLT advanced its commitment to green manufacturing with the development and launch of a fully automated production line, officially put into operation in March 2025 after nine months of internal testing. The system integrates powder circulating, cleaning, and waste recovery modules into a closed-loop workflow, enabling efficient powder supply, reuse, and sieving throughout the production cycle. This comprehensive approach minimizes raw material waste and reduces emissions at the source. Additionally, the process includes argon gas recovery, further contributing to the company’s efforts to lower its carbon footprint. According to BLT’s internal data, producing 1 kg of ready-to-use metal powder using a recycled material process results in just 8.09 kg of CO₂ emissions — a 56.5% reduction compared to traditional methods. When argon gas recovery is added to the process, total emissions can be cut […]

Powering remanufacturing with AI

Companies are accelerating remanufacturing as a way to mitigate supply chain shortages, reach new customers through affordability, and implement high-margin alternatives for parts. However, those looking to build or optimise their remanufacturing operations face unique challenges, such as pricing a long tail of SKUs and undertaking accurate core forecasting—that is, predicting the volume, timing, and quality of returned products (core) that will be available for remanufacturing. Enter AI. As the costs of cloud storage and processing and prepackaged tools decrease, AI is becoming more accessible for organizations, helping them improve efficiency, yield, and margins. Unlocking AI in remanufacturing AI is an umbrella term for leading-edge techniques and methods of analysing data, predicting outcomes, and generating insights. While AI and gen AI technologies have garnered a lot of attention, they are only part of the AI landscape. Core forecasting The unpredictable nature of core availability is a challenge for remanufacturers, and conventional analytics lack the sophistication needed for predictive analysis. Introducing a specialised system such as a forecasting tool could help remanufacturers evaluate core availability at a per-SKU level. This forecasting tool could be trained on historical part performance data to assess the following: the estimated useful lifetime of a part the historical use rate of a part (such as hours or miles per day) macroeconomic conditions by region and industry that may affect trade-in timelines Adopting AI tools for core forecasting could help remanufacturers reduce core safety stock by 2 to 4 percent and save 3 to 5 percent in freight costs by reducing the cost of expedited shipping. AI tools could also help remanufacturers reduce overtime expenses, lose fewer sales due to stockouts, and ensure they have the parts that end customers need. Case study: Incentives for core availability. A top technology OEM struggled to match the regional availability of core […]

SMB manufacturers are cutting costs without cutting corners

Andrew Mamonitis, Vice President – APAC, Manufacturing Division, ECI Solutions In today’s volatile business landscape, small and mid-sized manufacturers (SMBs) are navigating a minefield of cost pressures. Inflation may be easing, however supply chains remain erratic, and the modern workforce demands greater flexibility. Many SMBs, desperate to stay afloat, are tempted by aggressive cost-cutting. Yet experts warn blunt force cuts can do more harm than good. For many SMBs, the question isn’t whether to modernise operations – but how fast. Leading SMBs are adopting modern precision strategies – leveraging real-time data, automation, and smarter planning tools – to trim waste without jeopardising growth. Eight key strategies they are embracing are: Making data-driven decisions: Modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have transformed how SMBs uncover inefficiencies. With integrated analytics, businesses can now detect underperforming products, costly customers, and process bottlenecks that erode profits. Consider the case of a building supply firm. By analysing inventory data, they discovered specialty mouldings (long considered essential), were costly and slow-moving. By shifting these to a special-order model and doubling down on core items, they cut inventory costs while improving customer satisfaction. Inventory as a Strategic Asset: Many manufacturers still treat inventory as a necessary evil, overstocking to avoid shortages or running lean to conserve cash. But modern inventory management systems offer a better path. With AI-powered forecasting and unified inventory views, companies can optimise stock across multiple locations. One distributor, plagued by stockouts in one warehouse and excess in another, solved the issue by synchronising inventory across five sites. The result was lower overall stock levels and higher availability. Production planning that plays in harmony: Inefficient production planning is among the costliest problems for SMBs. A reactive approach (scrambling to meet yesterday’s demand) leads to overtime, delays, and wasted resources. A homebuilder suffering from poor […]

Tech Council of Australia and techUK sign landmark partnership

The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) and techUK have formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking a significant milestone in technology industry collaboration between Australia and the United Kingdom. Signed during London Tech Week at the UK Department for Business and Trade in the Old Admiralty Building and announced at the Aus-UK Chamber of Commerce Tech Week Event at Australia House in London, the agreement builds on the momentum of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which came into force in 2023. The FTA includes the world’s first innovation chapter which recognises the important role that innovation plays in stimulating competitiveness, increasing productivity, encouraging investment and promoting international trade. It also includes a strong digital trade chapter emphasising the importance of promoting trusted data flows and enabling digital trade facilitation. The new TCA and techUK partnership is a practical step toward implementing the objectives of the FTA and formalises those ambitions at an industry level. TCA and techUK will work together to deepen cooperation and collaboration between tech sectors, with a focus on technology trade, regulation, investment, and innovation. This includes sharing knowledge and insights, aligning on regulatory and policy issues, and driving practical commercial opportunities for UK and Australian technology companies. At the core of the MoU is a commitment to supporting technology businesses, especially SMEs, expand across borders. This means better access to markets, clearer insights into regulatory environments, and stronger connections to potential partners and investors. The partnership will focus on emerging and critical technology areas including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital identity, fintech. These are sectors where both the UK and Australia have established industry strengths and where closer collaboration can unlock new commercial opportunities to bolster long-term digital resilience. Australia’s Trade and Investment Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, Annika Barton noted “we […]

Your Life Is Manufactured: How We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It Better

By Tim Minshall We live in a manufactured world. Unless you are floating naked through space, you are right now in direct contact with multiple manufactured products. How often do we stop to think: where do the things we buy actually come from? There exists a nearly invisible, awe-inspiring global system of manufacturing that enables virtually every aspect of our existence. The things we surround ourselves with take surprising and often byzantine journeys to reach us – be it the thousands of litres of water needed to make a single pair of jeans or the components of our smartphones travelling over six times around the world to reach us. From mega-factory floors, engineering laboratories and seaports to distribution hubs, supermarkets and our own homes, Tim Minshall traces these journeys to reveal the hidden world of manufacturing. Charting how this world came to be, Your Life is Manufactured reveals the seismic impact manufacturing has had on our lives and the natural world, exploring how it could offer us a path to a truly sustainable, more equitable future. In doing so, Minshall grants us the ability to make better choices for ourselves, our communities and the planet.

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Manufacturing Technology