Laser Assisted Machining of Hard-to-wear Materials for Slurry Pump and Mineral Processing Equipment. The project aims to develop techniques for commercially applicable machining of very hard-to-wear materials using high power laser beams. Traditional techniques of machining such components using cubic boron nitride (CBN) based cutting tools are highly time consuming and expensive both in terms of labour costs and inserts costs. The laser assisted machining of these materials is expected to redu ....Laser Assisted Machining of Hard-to-wear Materials for Slurry Pump and Mineral Processing Equipment. The project aims to develop techniques for commercially applicable machining of very hard-to-wear materials using high power laser beams. Traditional techniques of machining such components using cubic boron nitride (CBN) based cutting tools are highly time consuming and expensive both in terms of labour costs and inserts costs. The laser assisted machining of these materials is expected to reduce the cost and lead time of manufacturing, provide improved tool wear life, and improved on time delivery of products. The technology will have application to the manufacture and use of slurry pumps associated with the mineral processing and mining industries.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0346666
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,000.00
Summary
Mobile high power diode laser for thermal processing applications. This proposal seeks to establish a mobile, high-power diode laser facility for thermal processing of in-situ components in the power generation, defence, shipbuilding and mining industries. Diode lasers offer significant advantages for laser thermal processing over conventional CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers in terms of their output wavelength, size and efficiency. The mobile high power diode laser facility will help build a strong infr ....Mobile high power diode laser for thermal processing applications. This proposal seeks to establish a mobile, high-power diode laser facility for thermal processing of in-situ components in the power generation, defence, shipbuilding and mining industries. Diode lasers offer significant advantages for laser thermal processing over conventional CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers in terms of their output wavelength, size and efficiency. The mobile high power diode laser facility will help build a strong infrastructure for in-situ repair of worn components and is expected to reduce overall component repair costs and time.Read moreRead less
A New Parallel Robot with breakthrough performance for Manufacturing of Aerospace Components - kinematic and dynamic synthesis, design optimisation and prototyping. The Gantry-Tau is a new parallel type robot manipulator that will have the large workspace benefit of traditional Gantry robots in addition to stiffness and accuracy benefits well beyond the capabilities of existing robots. Preliminary results have shown that the Gantry-Tau can become the most accurate Gantry manipulator to date, wit ....A New Parallel Robot with breakthrough performance for Manufacturing of Aerospace Components - kinematic and dynamic synthesis, design optimisation and prototyping. The Gantry-Tau is a new parallel type robot manipulator that will have the large workspace benefit of traditional Gantry robots in addition to stiffness and accuracy benefits well beyond the capabilities of existing robots. Preliminary results have shown that the Gantry-Tau can become the most accurate Gantry manipulator to date, with the potential of competing with dedicated machines in the manufacturing industry. The expected project outcome is a working prototype of the Gantry-Tau demonstrating machining performance on aerospace components, publications in high-ranked conferences and journals and several patent applications.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668473
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$710,000.00
Summary
Direct Metal Deposition Freeform Fabrication Facility for Rapid Tooling and Manufacturing. Tools, dies and moulds produce approximately 87% of plastic and metal products for industries ranging among automotive, medical, electronics, aerospace and consumer products. The industry appears to be in a state of decline with domestic demand for tools, dies and moulds shrinking because manufacturing facilities are relocating to foreign countries to take advantage of low-cost labour and manufacturing cos ....Direct Metal Deposition Freeform Fabrication Facility for Rapid Tooling and Manufacturing. Tools, dies and moulds produce approximately 87% of plastic and metal products for industries ranging among automotive, medical, electronics, aerospace and consumer products. The industry appears to be in a state of decline with domestic demand for tools, dies and moulds shrinking because manufacturing facilities are relocating to foreign countries to take advantage of low-cost labour and manufacturing costs. The new technology of Direct Metal Deposition offers an opportunity to reverse this trend by providing tools that are faster to manufacture, allow for old tools to be refurbished and to incorporate special features into the tools, to deliver competitive advantages.Read moreRead less
High Performance Twist Drill Design and Drilling Operations for Machining Mould Steel. In this project a high performance drill point design, based on low drilling forces and high drill-life criteria when machining mould steel will be developed together with a computer application software for drilling force predictions, based on the ¡®unified-generalised mechanics of cutting approach¡¯, and optimal drilling feed and speed selection for minimum cost and time per hole, based on a multi-constraint ....High Performance Twist Drill Design and Drilling Operations for Machining Mould Steel. In this project a high performance drill point design, based on low drilling forces and high drill-life criteria when machining mould steel will be developed together with a computer application software for drilling force predictions, based on the ¡®unified-generalised mechanics of cutting approach¡¯, and optimal drilling feed and speed selection for minimum cost and time per hole, based on a multi-constraint drilling optimization analysis. Particular attention will be given to the manufacture of the drill point geometry. It is anticipated that the application software will enable the drill design, manufacture, performance and drilling conditions to be integrated.Read moreRead less
Predictive Mechanics of Cutting Models for Forces and Torque in Machine Tapping Operations with Straight and Helical Flute Taps. This project is aimed at developing a fundamental understanding of the cutting process as well as mechanics of cutting mathematical models and software for reliable predictions of all the force components, torque and power in machine tapping of both wrought and sintered metallic materials with straight and helical fluted taps. This investigation will provide useful fun ....Predictive Mechanics of Cutting Models for Forces and Torque in Machine Tapping Operations with Straight and Helical Flute Taps. This project is aimed at developing a fundamental understanding of the cutting process as well as mechanics of cutting mathematical models and software for reliable predictions of all the force components, torque and power in machine tapping of both wrought and sintered metallic materials with straight and helical fluted taps. This investigation will provide useful fundamental and practical information and data on the tapping operations, renowned as 'some of the most neglected operations in machining research' and as 'bottleneck operations in practice'. This project heads towards satisfying the internationally recognised pressing need for quantitatively reliable machining performance data and equations.Read moreRead less