Manufacturing sector boosts ASEAN motion

IHS has revealed that the Southeast Asian general motion controls (GMC) market is set grow to more $90 million by 2017, and the computer numerical control (CNC) motion controls market to more than $70 million, with a total CAGR of 7.5 per cent from 2012 to 2017. According to the market research company, the growth will be driven by the increasing demand for motion control products used in manufacturing, along with the gradual shift of machinery production to Southeast Asia.

If Southeast Asia were a single entity, it would rank as the eighth largest economy in the world, with a population of more than 600 million people, or 8.8 per cent of the world's citizens. Sectors such as food and beverage and packaging machinery, which are closely tied to the booming consumer markets in Southeast Asia, will be less affected during the economic downturn and ultimately will drive demand for motion controls products, providing substantial growth opportunity.

Semiconductor equipment and electronic machinery were estimated to be the two largest industry sectors in 2012. Singapore and Malaysia are leading manufacturers of specialised semiconductor and E&E equipment, while Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are the end-users of this equipment.

"Industry sectors such as semiconductor, electronic and electronic assembly, machine tools, packaging, rubber and plastics, accounted for more than 80 per cent of the Southeast Asian motion controls market in 2012 in terms of revenue," said Wilmer Zhou, senior market research analyst for IHS. "These industries use many motion control products, and will continue to dominate the South East Asia motion controls market in the coming years."

Being a cyclical industry, the electronics and electronics assembly and semiconductor markets experienced a huge decline in 2009 and 2010, following a strong rebound in 2011 and a flat year in 2012. Southeast Asia is one of the world's most important semiconductor and electronics production bases. Rising production costs in China have shifted manufacturing and production momentum to Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, providing stability to sales of motion controls into these sectors over the long term.

Another market driver is the increasing utilisation of motion controls in automotive manufacturing and related industries, such as machine tools and plastic & rubber.

Thailand is one of the biggest automotive manufacturing centres, with 2.45 million motor vehicles produced in 2012, 68 per cent more than in 2011. Numerous well known automakers, assemblers, and parts manufacturers are located in the country, such as Ford, General Motors, BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Driven by the fast growth of automotive industry, demand is increasing for machine tools such as laser-cutting machines, machining centres, milling machines, drilling machines, lathes, shearing machines, and stamping and forging machines, all of which drive high demand for CNC motion controls products.

Read the full story at www.careel-laser-engraving-machine.com web! Four product lines to meet your Laser engraver, laser cutting machine, Laser marking, welding and carving application. If need any help, please contact our Sales Team or Technical Team, they can support you well.

Despite missteps, engraving business

When Ann Giovannitti is asked why she, her family members and friends bought a Gibbstown engraving business in 2008, she is quizzical.“I really have no idea,” laughs the president of Above All Engraving. “We were looking for an investment at the time, so we purchased the building and the business from the previous owner.“Of course, right after we bought it, there was the recession,” the special education teacher adds. “And this — awards, plaques, trophies — is the fluff that people cut out of their budgets first.

“Business could be better,” she says, managing a smile.Laughter and smiles are abundant at Above All as Giovannitti, her sister, mother and a childhood friend run the business.Clients include local schools and sports teams, fire and police departments, chambers of commerce and — just recently — Atlantic City’s Fashion Week.“We can engrave pretty much anything, from acrylics, glass, leather and even wood,” says Julie Harris, Ann’s younger sister. Harris is a radiology manager and CAT scan technician at a Pennsylvania medical center.

Giovannitti calls Harris “the computer whiz.”“It’s all computer-generated,” Harris explains. “We have software programs that we use to manipulate all the information, and then we send the job over to the engraving machine, which is just like a printer.“We have a diamond-cutter machine and a laser engraver. The laser is a lot more detailed, and we’ll use that to do artwork and logos.”While Harris handles the etching, the others take on different tasks. Giovannitti manages the business side — paperwork, billing and banking. Mom Rosalind DeCinque assembles the plaques and trophies, carefully measuring, spacing, taping and gluing.

She’s also head of the prayer department.“Some days it’s a challenge,” DeCinque admits, standing over a newly finished plaque. “It can be very meticulous work. And slow.“But my awards are made with love.”As for the prayers? “I just want the business to do well. How many rosaries have I said? Too numerous to count.”Lifelong family friend Maryann Wright manages the store during the day. She handles the orders that come in and the shipments that go out.

“I’ll also take care of the research when certain awards or plaques are requested. If we need to order materials or product, I’ll do that and then hand them to Julie for the engraving. And I’ll help Roz put things together.”Ann’s husband, Vince, is the guidance chairman at Paulsboro High School. He marvels at how the women have banded together to run the business.

“They just took the bull by the horns, and it’s unbelievable what they do. My wife and Julie have said that we are just not going to let this fail.“There might be some creditors chasing us,” he laughs, “but Ann always figures out a way to pay the bills.”Shirley Bierbrunner of the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce has been working with Above All Engraving “forever.”“The chamber has been using them for years, even before (Ann, et al) took over,” Bierbrunner explains.

“And they’ve been great. If we forget to place our order and then need it in a hurry, they always get it done.’’Jim Pandolfo, treasurer of the Paulsboro Community All Sports Banquet, concurs. The yearly banquet honors senior athletes, who are presented with awards crafted at Above All.“We hold our event on the Thursday before Memorial Day, and the spring sports season is still going on,” he notes. “So, sometimes we’ll drag our feet in getting the list of winners to them.

“But they always work with us and they always come through.”That persistence and determination has paid off despite missteps along the way, says Vince Giovannitti.“We made so many mistakes. From not negotiating with the seller, to buying the building and the business as opposed to just buying the business.“We made every mistake we could,” he adds.

“But I’m happy for my wife. She loves the business end of this, and we just hope and pray the store becomes more viable.”Asked how she manages to juggle the demands of being a special-ed teacher, business owner and mother of two, Ann shrugs and — you guessed it — smiles.“I don’t know. We just find the time. I’m flexible because I’m home by about 3:15 (in the afternoon). So is Vince. So if I need to come here, he’s at home.“We have Maryann here during the day and Julie can take calls at her work, so it’s been OK,” she adds. “We really do all work well together and my sister and I get along great.“I’m the oldest, which is, I guess, how I ended up being the president. I really don’t even know how that happened.

Read the full story at www.careel-laser-engraving-machine.com web! Four product lines to meet your Laser engraving, Laser cutting, Laser marking, welding and carving application. If need any help, please contact our Sales Team or Technical Team, they can support you well.

Grand Woodworking Chooses Cabinet

To succeed in modern business during this economic recovery, companies must work more efficiently to produce the highest quality products with less overhead. This practice keeps the cost of goods reasonable while yielding exceptional quality. One key aspect of this process is often a greater reliance on computer software, and one company using computers to reduce manufacturing costs is Grand Woodworking.

Grand Woodworking is South Florida's newest and most competitive source for custom architectural woodwork and custom kitchen cabinets. The company is headquartered in Naples and draws on the expertise of architectural millwork and custom woodworking artisans with deep experience in creating masterpieces for distinguished homes and businesses.

Grand Woodworking has partnered with Cabinet Vision software and now uses the Solid Ultimate software product to take full advantage of its solid modeling technology. Solid Ultimate also enables Screen-To-Machine manufacture, the most powerful automated CAM solution in the woodworking industry, which sends all Grand Woodworking's designs as machine-ready G-Code straight to their Holzher Cosmec 510 three axis Laser engraver.

Neil Heuer, co-founder of Grand Woodworking explained,  "The Cabinet Vision software will create greater quality control ensuring a better product. Also it will allow us to utilize our CNC to its fullest ability and make a precision product that is of greater quality in a much faster period of time. We can also share detailed renderings of photorealistic quality with the client prior to the actual installation. This ensures that the unique custom manufactured woodworking pieces are exactly what the customer expected. "

Cabinet Vision's products help enable any furniture

, woodworking or kitchen cabinet manufacturer to fully automate and integrate its design through manufacturing processes, saving time, eliminating costly mistakes and increasing productivity.

Don Diamond, Manufacturing Technology Consultant with Vero Software a leading CAD CAM software company and developers of Cabinet Vision stated,  "We at Vero Software Limited are very excited to be working with Grand Woodworking to help them improve their manufacturing processes, allowing them to deliver higher quality products and services to their customers. Cabinet Vision's industry leading technology combined with Grand Woodworking's skilled craftsmanship is sure to produce amazing results. "

Kodak showcases range of digital solutions

Kodak is showcasing a range of digital print solutions at the show and has partnered with more than 10 companies to launch new applications. Kodak drives the restructuring to focus on the commercial and transactional, publishing, packaging, and enterprise management segments.

Lois Lebegue, managing director of Asia Pacific Region, Eastman Kodak Company, said, “In the past year, Kodak Asia-Pacific business maintained a fast growth in the commercial and transactional, publishing, packaging, and enterprise management segments.” Lebegue further added that, “Kodak’s complete solution and service portfolio helps our customer to provide the value-added services to their customers and grow their business.”

Kodak Prosper 1000 Press, a monochrome digital inkjet press and Kodak Nexpress SX3300 digital colour press is on display at the show. Kodak Nexpress SX3300 which was launched in 2011 targets the commercial printing, personalised imaging product market, and a variety of labels.

Kodak also displayed Paper Rating Program and optional Image Optimizer Station wherein customers can choose Kodak’s prequalified papers or treat any off-the-shelf paper for more flexible application options.

In the pre-press solution for digital, Kodak showcased Kodak Trendsetter 1600 Platesetter, Kodak Flexcel Direct System which provides direct laser engraving for flexographic sleeve production; Also, Kodak  Achieve All-in-One CTP System and Kodak Sonora XP Process Free plates.

In addition to the solutions above, Kodak also shows the security, service and support solutions. The Kodak stand at the show highlights collaboration with more than 30 key partners, including Taiyo, Dragon and Konica Minolta, to create targeted solutions across all markets.

It has been almost a decade since the launch of smart identity (ID) cards in June 2003. Some members of the public have pointed out that with the advancement in technology, the encryption and anti-forgery technologies adopted for smart ID cards have become outdated. They are concerned that the personal data of members of the public might be leaked.

Moreover, a total of some 400 forged smart ID cards were seized by the authorities in 2011 and 2012, reflecting that the risk of smart ID cards being forged by law-breakers should not be overlooked.In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether the authorities have conducted any review on the use of smart ID cards, including the quality of the materials, security features of the computer chip, as well as the development and application of other functions, etc.; if they have, of the outcome; whether the authorities have kept abreast of more advanced technology so as to improve the current design of smart ID cards; if they have, of the details; and

(b) given that for those persons who were issued smart ID cards in the early stage, their photos on the ID cards may look significantly different from their facial appearances at present, whether the authorities have plans to arrange for replacing the ID cards of members of the public by second generation smart ID cards in order to update their photos thereon, so that smart ID cards can effectively serve their functions as identification and travel documents; if they have, of the implementation timetable and progress of the preparation work?

The existing smart identity card has a number of anti-forgery features, such as optical variable ink, multiple laser image, kineprint with colour-changing images when viewed at different angles, and high-quality laser engraved photograph on the polycarbonate card body, all of which make it difficult to alter or counterfeit the card.The chip of the smart identity card is made of durable alloy and is designed with a number of security measures that could effectively prevent various forms of intrusion.Moreover, the chip is designed with segregated compartments to separate immigration applications from other value-added non-immigration functions and access to chip data is protected by various security controls.

Intershape is Lighting the Way to Higher Yields

Intershape Ltd has launched AniLEDlight, a new range of LED lights specifically designed for use in dairy buildings. Installing LED lights in dairy buildings reduces energy and maintenance costs while providing a superior quality light that improves cow well-being and so increases yields.

Increase Comfort and Yield
A recent study by Oklahoma State University found that the switching the lights in dairy sheds from fluorescent to LED lights increased milk yields by up to 6%. LED light is of superior quality - less harsh and closer to natural daylight, and researchers suggest that this reduces stress, improves cow well-being and so increasing yields.

LED lights produce no ultraviolet light, so they don’t attract flies like conventional lights, they don’t flicker and switch on and off instantly. The more natural light allows dairy workers to see the cows more clearly and identify any injuries or welfare issues more quickly.

Reduce Energy Costs
AniLEDLights use 70% less energy than conventional lights, and can be dimmed when there is plenty of natural daylight to save even more energy.

Reduce Maintenance Costs
The lights burn for up to 60,000 hours, nearly 7 years continuous use, before they need to be changed, they are IP66 rated and are vibration and shock proof so once installed, they need no ongoing maintenance.

Comfortable Cows
Paul Butland, Managing Director of Intershape Ltd explains, “As dairy units get bigger and cows spend more time inside, Intershape is committed to providing dairy farmers with the most up-to-date technology to keep their cows in the best possible conditions.

“These lights, in combination with our mattress, rubber flooring and ventilation products will allow dairy farmers in the UK to make their dairy buildings as comfortable and healthy as natural pasture, with healthy, stress-free, high yielding cows and reduced labour and energy costs.”

More Information
AniLEDlights are made in the UK and are being used in dairy buildings across Europe and North America. They come with a 5 year warranty and are supplied direct to farm across the UK and Ireland exclusively by Intershape Ltd.

 The Nova Scotia company, which makes energy-efficient lighting, said Wednesday that it will provide 8,000 LED street lighting units to the Corporacion Dominicana de Empresas Electricas Estatales, the Dominican Republic’s state power holding company.

The utility began converting its public lighting to energy-saving light-emitting diode technology in July and installation is underway on major avenues and streets in Santo Domingo and other urban centres.

LED Roadway Lighting said in a statement that the Dominican Republic will benefit from energy savings of 50 per cent from the existing high-pressure sodium lighting units and that its technology will help “reduce the burden on the national energy system.”