SME NZ Times May 2008 - Society of Manufacturing Engineers

Page 2 May 2008
SME NEW ZEALAND
Scott Technology
Our Visit to Scott Technology was not our first so I had some idea what would be on shown and can report
that they are still building a top class products. Most of the production will end up overseas with America and
China being key markets with Press Lines being the main product. The production rate from one on these
press lines is such that you need a very large market or you are going to run out of storage space very
quickly.
Turn out was lower than expected, this was big surprising, as Scott Technology have a reputation about town
as an outfit doing grand things.
A briefing was given by Peter Knotts before taking us
through to the factory. Peter explained market trends
for whiteware production machinery and the shift to
production of tooling and production to China
Quality of the line is expected to be at the highest
standard and once in production the line becomes the
key element in the production process, of cause price
does come into it as quality alone no longer gets you
the job.
For the most-part, the lines are designed using Solid
Works for 3d design as its great for solving particular
design issues, rather than a whole line as it would
soak-up too many resources to do a whole line in 3d
solids. A lot of drawing work is still done on Auto CAD. Using 2 dimensional CAD tools, still do a great job, considering
the complexity of the lines. At the end of the day it all comes down to emplying good designers.
Scotts also have a factory in Dunedin, these day to two factors have become more specialized with Dunedin
being more involved with robotics . The Christchurch workshop
The first thing you notice is the general working environment its big, warm, tidy & bright... and this is a cold
winter's night where you would expect to see your breath.
The production line we viewed is destined for China to producing liner for a washing machine, using prepainted
sheet. This is mainly for environmental reasons, as it means there is less need for messy paint plant,
but it also works out cheaper.
All the presses were hydraulic, passing through an impressive array of large diameter hosing. Details were
explained by Ross Thompson who looks after the design process. Customers generally will specify a name
brand but at this size delivery of pumps etc becomes the most important factor as often these parts are not off
the shelf. Tonnage was general BIG for some presses. An extensive network of sensors, actuators and safety
screens was in place,
with all its associated wiring looms, all computer controlled through main control cabinets. This particular order
required test processing so that Scotts know that the machine has been thoroughly tested!
Seeing the work layed out in progress was like wandering a gallery of engineering art.... precision sculptured
metal. Very nice. It must be a pleasure to build. No doubt there were some head-aches on the way though...
Murphy lurks!
Onto the machine shop where a roomful of giant machines were standing silent. Most of these machines were
covered in ladders, and that was just so you could see the workpiece. As we worked our way down the shop,
the machines got progressively smaller from giant mills to CNC machining centres to CNC lathes, to manual
lathes, a couple of immaculate & original Bridgeport mills, to drill-presses. What more could an engineer want!
Many thanks to Peter, Ross and Catlin
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