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NEWS

Motovated Design & Analysis Newsletter - June 2008

Hello everyone,

This issue of our newsletter brings news straight from the shores of Darling Harbour. Our BDM, Chris, spent last week visiting the National Manufacturing Week in Sydney and early May at EMEX in Auckland so can give you an update on what’s happening within the industry throughout Australasia. Along with our regular brainteaser and tips & tricks sections, this edition also brings news from our recent FEA training sessions, and an important announcement about the new R&D Tax Credit.

It's been a very interesting year for us so far, with lots of inspirational jobs cropping up, not to mention within the team we have had two engagements, a wedding and a new baby (all to different people of course!).  Our congratulations go to Bevan & Elrike, Ian & Gem, Leon & Naiomi and Chris & Kelly.

As always, if you have any projects that just aren't getting done, or you need a bit of advice, call us and we will be happy to help.

Greg Morehouse
General Manager
Engineering Analyst

Report from EMEX (Auckland) and NMW (Sydney) Trade Shows

EMEX logo EMEX, New Zealand’s biggest engineering and machinery industry exhibition was held in Auckland on 6-8 May. With an increased focus on ‘Heavy Metal’ this year there was an impressive range of CNC machines, laser cutters, press brakes, etc., including some interesting new technology.

Plant automation, monitoring and control appeared to be another area under continuous development, reflecting the growing importance of automation in modern manufacturing. There may have been marginally fewer exhibitors than in 2006, but with them now all under the one roof there seemed to be increased buzz and activity about the exhibition – still one of the most significant manufacturing events in New Zealand.

NMW logo Australia's National Manufacturing Week this year was held in Sydney on 27-30 May. The addition of new Electrix and AusTronics pavilions represented the ever increasing integration of electronics and electrical control into the manufacturing industry. Like EMEX, it was again obvious that automation and especially robotics were a major draw for the visitors, most of whom are coping with increasing production demands in a short labour market. There was also a growing number of CAD, CAM and ERP software solutions available, as well as several "Business Streamlining Consultants".

In essence, most of the exhibitors at both shows seemed to be offering solutions to help manufacturers work smarter and compete as competition in the market increases. At Motovated we see this increasing demand, and are able to help our clients design their products and production machinery for more efficient manufacture.

It was nice to meet many new faces in Auckland and Australia. If you would like to discuss methods of improving your manufacturing facilities, please call me on 03 982 5283 and we would be happy to help Engineer Your Vision!

Chris Morison
Business Development Manager
Engineering Analyst

Motovated Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Training Fully Subscribed

FEA Motovated's most recent FEA training sessions were held on the 14th and 16th of April. The sessions were fully subscribed, with a session for everyone. The half day sessions focused on the areas of interest for individuals and proved very flexible. The discounts for multiple sessions and/or multiple attendees from one company made it possible for everyone interested to be involved.

After the training, Paul Weeks, a Mechanical Engineer at Victor Hydraulics Ltd, said that he felt confident that he could now use the software to aid their analytical design work and that he was looking forward to having some more advanced training in the future. Richard Trudingan, Design Manager at Windflow Technology Ltd who is an experienced analyst but new to COSMOS said that the course was very useful, covering a lot of territory in a short time and he found being taken out of a work environment an effective way to learn.

Motovated is always happy to share its expertise and experience of finite element analysis. If you would be interested in attending training courses in your area, or would like to discuss any tricky analysis, please get in touch using the contact details below.

Tips & Tricks: Design for Manufacture – Sheet Metal Pressing "2 to 1" Rule of Thumb

Brake Press If multiple returns are desired on a sheet metal pressing, a good rule of thumb is to make each return twice as long as the previous one as shown in the example picture. This allows good clearance between the blade and the return as folding is progressed.

With experience and tooling such as a joggled blade this ratio can be reduced somewhat, but designing components to be made as simply as possible is always good practice. As E. F. Schumacher put it:

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

Research & Development Tax Credit – Motovated is a Listed Research Provider

In April this year the Government finally introduced the much awaited 15% Research & Development tax credit. This allows eligible companies to claim back 15% of eligible expenditure on eligible research – as always with tax rules, there’s lots of eligibility criteria! In summary these criteria are:

  • The business must operate in New Zealand;
  • R&D activities must be related to business activities;
  • The business must control the R&D, bear the financial risk and own the results.

There is also a fourth criteria which states that the R&D expenditure must be greater than $20,000, unless the research is carried out by a third-party “Listed Research Provider”.

We are pleased to announce that Motovated Design & Analysis has completed the listing process and is now a Listed Research Provider. This means that eligible companies, including those spending less than $20,000 on R&D, can claim back 15% of their expenditure if they get Motovated to do the research instead of doing it themselves!

In addition to the added benefits of our expertise, experience, and technology, this is just one more reason why you should contact Motovated today for help with your product or machine development requirements. From our clients’ own experience, doing the research up front leads to better products and helps to reduce risk and post production delays, and now these tax credits help make it much more affordable. So if you have a project in mind, contact Chris on 03 982 5283 or chris@motovated.co.nz. If you would like more information on the tax credits, contact us or visit the IRD website.

Outsmart your colleagues!

Did you get our March Newsletter's question right? This was about a guy walking over a railway bridge when he hears a train coming. The short answer is that the bridge is 44 m long, the long answer can be found on our website. Congratulations to James Powell of Flight Structures Ltd, a Mitre 10 voucher is on its way to you.

babies And now for this issue's question: Stan and Helen have two children. The probability that the first child is a girl is 50%. The probability that the second child is a girl is also 50%. Stan tells you that they have at least one daughter. What is the probability that their other child is also a girl?

Send your correct answer to chris@motovated.co.nz to be in with a chance of winning a $50 Mitre 10 voucher.

Thanks for your time, and we hope you enjoyed this newsletter. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best engineering services and advice possible.

Greg and the team at Motovated.