• Media Activity
• Newsletter
• TIA Newsletter Online News Registration

Maptek 3D technology Conference

Tuesday 15th May 2012 11:42am

Maptek conference on 3D mining technologies

Maptek is holding a must-see conference for users of their laser scanning hardware and 3D software modelling products from May 28-30th at the National Wine Centre.

This event is a great opportunity for TIA members and the technology industry to come and see the 3D modelling capabilities of Maptek. This event will be a mix of technical presentation and workshops of Maptek’s products.

If you would like to see demonstrations of Maptek products, you can visit the Maptek Users Conference at the National Wine Centre on Monday 28 May OR Tuesday 29 May between 3.30 and 4.30 pm. RSVP is essential. Email your interest to or telephone Jane Ball on 8338 9222.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Maptek is headquartered in Adelaide, and employs 400 staff in 13 offices globally. Maptek develops Vulcan and I-Site 3D modelling software, and produces 3D laser scanning instruments at our

Do new technologies ease small-scale product innovation?

Monday 14th May 2012 2:30pm

The two extremes of product volume have their own attributes. If you’re designing and building a high-volume product, you can justify manufacturing tooling and test fixtures—whether at your facility or at a contract assembly house. At the other end of the volume spectrum, if you are producing only a few units per month, or doing semicustom or full-custom work, you usually must perform many aspects of the manufacture using manual techniques.

But what about those projects with low to moderate volume of approximately 10 to 50 units per month? They are often caught in the small-scale, in-between zone: too few to afford serious tooling and fixturing but too many to build by hand.

I thought about this question when I saw a leading-edge oscilloscope from Agilent, which is certainly not going to have volume runs comparable to those for a smartphone (Reference 1). The scope’s analog front-end circuitry and assembly include ICs mounted on a custom-milled waveguide subassembly (

Lack of Funds May End Skills Program

Tuesday 8th May 2012 9:45am

Funding is in doubt for a successful program promoting careers in technology and engineering to secondary students.

The Technology Industry Association (TIA) Skills Program provides students and teachers from 50 schools around the state with an annual career night, work experience opportunities and teacher professional development.

Acting TIA Chief Executive Officer Tony Stevens said that over the past seven years, the skills program had achieved its goal in the increased number of students studying technology.

He said feedback from universities and a recent survey supported this.

But the skills program might not be able to continue if the TIA ceases to function as a body representing industry, Mr Stevens said. This decision will be made later this month by TIA members.

"It would be a great loss to our state if this program is discontinued," said Mr Stevens.

"More students definitely would go into tertiary places because of this program. The TIA is moving through a transition under the

Electronics giant joins SA hub

Tuesday 8th May 2012 9:01am

ELECTRONICS giant Siemens has signed on to be part of the State Government's planned manufacturing hub at Tonsley Park.

In London for a week-long trade mission, Premier Jay Weatherill yesterday met Siemens executives and received a commitment from the company to endorse and promote the Tonsley Park concept globally.

It will also consider opportunities for education, research and industry collaboration on the former Mitsubishi site, and has agreed to share information with South Australia on future trends and opportunities.

Mr Weatherill said the talks also canvassed Siemens' potential involvement in other major projects in SA, including in the defence industry.

The German company is one of the world's largest engineering and electronics companies spanning the industry, energy and healthcare sectors.

It employs about 360,000 people worldwide, including about 100 in South Australia.

Siemens regional general manager Jurgen Schneider said the company was keen to partner with the State Governmen

Electronic Implant Restores Vision

Friday 4th May 2012 10:46am

Electronic eye implant surgery has restored sight to two blind men with a genetic eye condition.

The operations, which took eight hours each, involved light-sensitive microchips, designed to mimic the eye's natural light-processing abilities, being implanted in the back of the men's retinas, reported the UK’s Daily Telegraph.

Surgeons at King's College Hospital, London, where the operations were conducted, confirmed the men had regained "useful sight" a few short weeks after the surgery, and are now able to distinguish black from white, as well as the silhouettes of objects.

"Since switching on the device, I am able to detect light and distinguish the outlines of certain objects which is an encouraging sign," said Robin Millar, 60, who is one of the recipients of the surgery.

"I have even dreamt in very vivid colour for the first time in 25 years so a part of my brain which had gone to sleep has woken up.

"I feel this is incredibly promising for future research and I'm happy to be co

Keeping data centres cool

Wednesday 2nd May 2012 9:20am

BUSINESSES are having to deal with increasing amounts of data, and technology manufacturers are catering for this need by building ever more powerful storage and processing hardware. With much of this hardware concentrated in data centres, serious thought must be put into their enclosures and cooling.

According to Mario Baecker, cooling data centre specialist and product manager from Rittal, climate control has always played a critical part within data centres.

“With equipment becoming more powerful, we see increasing heat loads in the racks,” Baecker told Electronics News. “About ten years ago the average W/Rack was around 500-1500 Watt. Today we see an average of 3500-5000 W/Rack.”

Open approach

The increasing heat loads means a focus on not just increasing airflows, but also intelligently managing the airflow within the enclosure to maximise efficiency.

This starts with the door, of which there are three main types: no doors, perforated or closed. Most data centr

Australian defence industry faces challenging future

Wednesday 2nd May 2012 8:43am

Australia has never shirked its military responsibilities. In Gallipoli, Kokoda, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, diggers have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their allies, covering themselves in glory. And today, while the potential enemy may have changed and the epicentre of future conflicts relocated to the Asia Pacific region, that responsibility continues to form a central part of government policy.

Tomorrow’s battles will be very different from the past. Long gone are the days of a well-defined front line with thousands of infantry facing each other with small arms, backed by tanks, artillery and planes. Tomorrow’s war will likely be fought by anonymous technicians from behind a computer screen, employing long-range missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, RF jamming and even cyber attacks on the enemy’s control systems and GPS infrastructure.

The winners will be those that have access to the latest technology. But that technology doesn’t come cheap, and has a ha

Silicene, the silicon-based alternative to graphene

Wednesday 2nd May 2012 8:39am

EUROPEAN researchers have created silicene, by turning silicon into a one-atom-thick sheet (just as graphene is one-atom-thick carbon).

Silicene is theorised to have similar electronic properties to graphene, but would be more compatible with silicon-based electronic devices, allowing easier integration with existing silicon production lines.

Patrick Vogt of Berlin's Technical University in Germany, and colleagues at Aix-Marseille University in France created silicene by condensing silicon vapour onto a silver plate to form a single layer of atoms.

The optical, chemical and electronic properties of the silicene layer was found to closely match the theorised values.

Silicene may turn out to be a better bet than graphene for smaller and cheaper electronic devices because it can be integrated more easily into silicon chip production lines.

The next step for the researchers is to grow silicene on insulating substrates, so the material can be tested for its electrical properties.

Source: Electro

No Sub Decision Until Late Next Year

Tuesday 1st May 2012 3:16pm

A KEY decision on whether Australia will go ahead and buy next-generation submarines won't be made until late 2013 or early 2014.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith has confirmed 2025 remains the nominal retirement date for the navy's six Collins class submarines, although the potential to extend their working life was being looked at.

Mr Smith said funding options for the new vessels had yet to be considered by the government.

On the current schedule, approval is planned for late 2013, early 2014, he said.

Source: The Advertiser 30th April 2012,

Time to Turn to Safe, Clean Nuclear

Tuesday 1st May 2012 3:13pm

THREE nuclear reactors could replace most of SA's power generation and reduce emissions by 90 per cent, a climate consultant believes.

ThinkClimate Consulting director Ben Heard, speaking at the Paydirt South Australian Resources and Energy Investment Conference in Adelaide, said new nuclear reactor designs produced waste with a short, 30 year half life, and could even use old nuclear waste for fuel.

Three reactors replacing the Torrens Island, northern power stations and the Whyalla power station, supported by gas fired power at Pelican Point and Osborne, would suffice to power SA, with a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of more than 7.5 million tonnes per year.

Mr Heard said 25 gigawatts of nuclear power  about 10 times SA's energy use  would produce about 750 tonnes of waste per year.

In comparison, a 2.2 GW coal plant would produce 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, as well as large amounts of other pollutants such as fly ash, waste water and sulphur dioxide.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• ...
• 12
• 13
• 14
• >>

Comments

Log in to post a comment.

Print