AIP National Office 34 Lawson Street Oxley QLD 4075 Australia +61 7 3278 4490 +61 7 3009 9916 info@aipack.com.au www.aipack.com.au

AIP NEWSLETTERJoin the AIP on

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OCTOBER 2014

NEW MEMBERSThe AIP would like to welcome the following new Members...

JOIN THE AIP LINKED IN GROUP TODAY

The AIP recognises the changing role of social media as an additional means of reaching our members, sponsors, and industry contacts across Australasia as an international group. The AIP has a Linked in Group and we invite you to join your peers who have already connected. Linkedin: Australian Institute of Packaging.

The AIP Ignite Mentoring Program is well underway with the mentees completing three webinars with special guest speakers from the industry.

The mentees have participated in sessions on a broad range of topics including:1. Lead like a woman! with Maureen Frank, Founder

& Managing Director, Emberin.2. Stop procrastinating - it’s time for action! with

Ralph Moyle FAIP, National President, AIP.3. Personal branding - understand what you are selling

with Dr Carol Lawrence PhD, MAIP, Environment & Sustainability Specialist, UPM Raflatac Oceania.

4. Build a plan - your strategy for your life and career with Llewellyn Stephens FAIP.

Some of the feedback we have received includes:

“ I wanted to let you know that I thought the webinar was really useful today and I really got a lot out of it.”“ Great webinar today!! I would like to opt in to the peer group.”“ Thanks for insightful webinar today – it was really interesting.”

AIP PARTNERS

Untitled-1 1 19/9/11 3:47:10 PM

Find out how your company can become a partner of the AIP by emailing info@aipack.com.au

packaging

Tim Allman Member NSWDavid Harris Member VICChris Riches Member NSW

PROUDLY OWNED AND PRESENTED BYPACKAGING & PROCESSING WEEK

2015 NATIONAL TECHNICAL FORUMS

24th to 26th Marchin conjunction with AUSPACK 2015

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

OPEN INNOVATION & COLLABORATION

MARK THESE DATES IN YOUR DIARY

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 20142

• Become a subject matter expert in packaging specifications and compliance • Opportunity to utilise your packaging qualifications and experience • Palmerston North Location

THE BUSINESS UNIT This is an opportunity to be involved in a challenging and dynamic environment known for industry breakthroughs and world beating innovation.

Based at the Fonterra Research and Development Centre (FRDC) in Palmerston North you will be part of a high-performing, knowledgeable, supportive team. The opportunities to perform leading-edge science and technology at a commercial interface in Fonterra are extensive.

THE ROLE Reporting to the Packaging Innovation and Development Manager, this roles main purpose is to lead and deliver research underpinning the production of sustained significant commercial value for Fonterra, whist being the subject matter expert for all specifications and compliance needs in the packaging space.

The main accountabilities of this role include …• Utilising your knowledge of the specifications and compliance space to be the trusted advisor within

the FRDC• Providing quality packaging technology outputs in New Product Development projects, New Technology

Development projects and Business Support.

This role will require the ability to travel nationally and internationally.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE To be successful in this role you will have… • Proven experience in Packaging compliance and specifications• Strong packaging experience from a Dairy or other FMCG environment.• Previous project management experience • Proven knowledge of cross functional NPD and re-engineering projects.• Understanding of the NPD process of concept through to commercialisation• Outstanding relationship management, problem solving and communication skills• An energetic and enthusiastic attitude

This is a fantastic opportunity to gain breadth and depth of packaging experience in a varied product environment with Fonterra.

SENIOR PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIST

TM

POSITION VACANT

POSITION VACANT

To apply for this position or to find out more please contact the Sourcing Consultant – Marc Garratt on marc.garratt@fonterra.com

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 3

Our client is a medium-sized flexible packaging company operating in Australia & New Zealand, implementing a business plan that includes a new state-of-the art factory with new extrusion, printing, lamination, and converting equipment. This will be the best equipped food packaging factory in the region when completed, servicing blue chip multi-national customers.

If you are energetic and innovative, this is an excellent opportunity to provide the technical management within the business, including quality standards, raw material qualification and sourcing, food standard compliance along with new product development with customers.

The successful candidate will have an engineering degree and a high level of technical knowledge of polymers and experience with blown film manufacture, flexographic printing and lamination.

Opportunity abounds for personal development and promotion with a very attractive lifestyle in one of the best regions in the world.

POSITION VACANTTECHNICAL MANAGER

POSITION VACANT

Formal applications should be forwarded to obrien@hortoninternational.com.au Further enquiries should be directed to Brian O’Brien on +61 3 9650 2555.

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING STATE OF THE ART PLANT

Expert advice, quality assembly and fulfilment to make your product stand out!

Good things come in great packages!

• Custom Packaging• Gift Packs• Presentation Packaging• Barcodes and Labelling

• Point of Sale• Product Assembly• Fulfilment and Distribution

CUSTOMISED PACKAGING, PRINT AND PRODUCT FULFILMENT

www.xpadite.com.au Find out more: 61 2 9653 9127 andrew@xpadite.com.au www.xpadite.com.au

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT: FRIDAY THE 7TH OF NOVEMBER 2014

PROUDLY OWNED AND PRESENTED BY

PACKAGING & PROCESSING WEEK

2015 NATIONAL TECHNICAL FORUMS 24th to 26th March

in conjunction with AUSPACK 2015 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

PROUDLY OWNED AND PRESENTED BYPACKAGING & PROCESSING WEEK

CALL FOR PAPERS

YOU ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT FOR CONSIDERATION AS A PRESENTATION UNDER THE THEME OPEN INNOVATION & COLLABORATION

click here for submission form

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY MEDIA PARTNERS

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 5

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE LATEST AIP ACTIVITIES FOR 2014

ALL MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND ANY EVENTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALANDTo register to attend any of the events simply email info@aipack.com.au or visit the events page on www.aipack.com.au

AIP XMAS PARTYAIP, APPMA & SCLAA XMAS PARTYVIC QLD

When: Wednesday the 26th of NovemberWhere: Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club Time: 6.30 pm

When: Friday the 5th of DecemberWhere: Officers Mess, Victoria BarracksTime: 10.30 am

PACKING 800 HAMPERS FOR FOODBANK

For more information visit auspack.com.au

AUSPACK. The natural home for food processing

and packaging machinery.

PACKAGING + PROCESSING

OWNED AND PRESENTED BY THE APPMA

30TH ANNIVERSARY

Come and join us at the 2014 Christmas Party, as we relax into the Festive Season with a Gourmet Barbeque on the Western Deck of the Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club. This private club is nestled on the sand overlooking the water, with a sunset that will take your breath away.

The AIP, SCLAA, apicsAU and cipsa Queensland Divisions Christmas Party will include not one, but two, very enjoyable and fun activities as follows:

Fun Event No 1: All attendees at the Christmas Party will enjoy working with like-minded professionals, a nice lunch and chilled beverages to get into the Christmas spirit.

Fun Event No 2: This year we will be packing 800 Christmas Hampers to be distributed through Foodbank charities to assist those less fortunate than ourselves at this time of the year. That is 200 more than normal! So come along and not only enjoy the Christmas Festivities but also enjoy the camaraderie, fellowship and networking to assist with packing of the hampers to assist those less fortunate.

Aim to alternate groups between Fun No 1 and Fun No 2, to complete a fun filled and hamper filled afternoon. We will be alternating the packing between groups throughout the function so don’t worry there will be plenty of time for ‘Christmas Cheer’. The more the merrier so if you would like to invite others to the function please bring them along for a day of helping others.

CALL FOR PAPERS

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 20146

T he Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has been exhibiting at FoodTech PackTech for eight years now and each time they attend they try to add additional value to the industry, their members and the show.

STATE OF RETAIL READY PACKAGING SEMINAR For the 2014 FoodTech PackTech the AIP not only exhibited but they also ran a seminar on ‘ The State of Retail Ready Packaging’ with was designed as a panel discussion so that the attendees could learn from a broad range of experts. Panellists were Richard Manaton, General Manager Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Countdown, Sarah Yanez MAIP, Packaging Development Manager, Tasti Products Limited, Mat Bogust, Cardboard Engineer, Think Packaging and Paul Haggett MAIP, Business Development Manager, Schawk!

The panel discussed many issues including the use of RRP in NZ vs Australia, the variances in board grade between both countries and also whether retailers like Countdown are using RRP in-store in NZ. Richard Manaton indicated that Countdown strongly encourages the brand owners to use RRP designs and highlighted that guidelines are available on-line for all suppliers to access.

Sarah Yanez MAIP showcased two new RRP designs that Tasti Products are just launching in-store and Mat and Paul provided invaluable insight into the importance of design and visual aspects for successful RRP. Both Mat and Paul also reiterated the importance of ‘collaboration’ between packaging technologists, cartonboard engineers, agencies and marketers to ensure that RRP is tried and tested before it is launched in-store. This seminar was standing room only.

L to R: Richard Manaton, Sarah Yanez MAIP & Paul Haggett MAIP Mat Bogust, Think Packaging

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 7

AIP HALF-DAY TRAINING COURSE The AIP also introduced a half-day training course to FoodTech PackTech with Dr Carol Lawrence Phd, MAIP, Environment & Sustainability Specialist, UPM Raflatac Oceania on Labelling & Matching the Label with the Package. Carol worked with the attendees on understanding selection criteria and how it is the key to the selection of the right label: Permanent, removable, repositionable and wash-off adhesives and chemical composition of adhesives and approvals for use on foods/pharmaceuticals.

Carol then guided them on how to combine the adhesive and label face to achieve optimum performance so the label is tailored to the specific conditions that the package has to withstand. During the course case studies were discussed to illustrate the importance of considering all the key attributes of the product being labelled, including: Packaging substrate – cardboard, glass, rigid/flexible plastics, Labelling and in-service temperature considerations, Moisture or condensation whilst labelling, Label printing method and the need for the addition of variable information, Sustainable label criteria and waste management, Impact of the label on package recyclability, Compostable labels and Tamperproof labels. Attendees came from Auckland and surrounding areas, Hamilton and Christchurch. The AIP looks forward to supporting FoodTech PackTech again in 2016.

DICK SMITH VOUCHER WINNERCongratulations to David Bayliss from Foodtech Applications for being the lucky winner of the Dick Smith Voucher on the AIP stand!

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 20148

N ew Ingeo eco profile data reinforce lower greenhouse gas emissions during Ingeo manufacture compared to other commonly employed plastics. NatureWorks releases today the first findings of its updated eco

profile for its naturally advanced family of Ingeo™ biopolymers. The revised profile, which is based on the latest version of PE INTERNATIONAL’s GaBi LCA software and database, follows the ISO 14040/44 standards and reinforces the fact that the production of Ingeo polymer emits fewer greenhouse gases and consumes less non-renewable energy compared to commonly used plastics such as polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polycarbonate (PC).

The eco profile of a polymer gives information such as the total energy and raw materials consumed, and the total emissions to air, water, and soil from the cradle to the finished polymer pellet. An eco profile is an essential input to any full life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted on consumer products made from that polymer. NatureWorks works closely with brand owners, manufacturers, universities, and other research groups in using life cycle assessment to compare the impact of various material types on products.

“Our most recent eco profile in 2010 was calculated using the methodology, the modeling software, and core database in place at the time,” said Erwin Vink, Environmental Affairs Manager, NatureWorks.

“The same approach was used by such industry organisations as Plastics Europe since the beginning of the nineties to calculate the eco profiles for the fossil based polymers. However, LCA tools and databases have progressed in the past four years, and we decided it was time to recalculate the eco profile based on those advancements.

“While the Ingeo manufacturing process remains the same, what has changed are the LCA software modeling tools and extensively broadened LCA databases and datasets, which give us the most up-to-date and accurate picture on greenhouse gas emissions and other commonly used indicators in LCA.”

NatureWorks teamed with PE INTERNATIONAL, one of the world’s leading LCA consultants, basing the update on PE´s GaBi6.3 modeling software. PE INTERNATIONAL subsequently reviewed the methodology used, the final modeling work as well as the use of upstream data by NatureWorks, to determine the 2014 eco profile and found that the company’s LCA process was scientifically and technically valid and consistent with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards for conducting LCAs.

The most recent recalculated eco profiles for Ingeo, polypropylene (PP), PS, PET, and PC show smaller overall greenhouse gas emissions for each polymer compared to previous European industry data. The ranking of the polymers from lower overall environmental impact to higher overall impact remained the same.

NATUREWORKS TEAMS UP WITH PE INTERNATIONAL TO REVISE INGEOBiopolymer Eco Profile

CRADLE-TO-GATE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS The chart below compares the greenhouse gas emissions (including biogenic carbon uptake in the case of Ingeo) for Ingeo manufacture with the emissions resulting from the manufacture of a number of different polymers produced in the US and Europe using the latest available industry assessments for each. The numbers represent the totals for the first part of the life cycle of the polymers, starting with fossil or renewable feedstock production up to and including the final polymerisation step.

The new Ingeo eco profile information is expected to be available shortly in industry life cycle inventory databases. In the meantime, for further information, see the NatureWorks eco-profile webpage. In the near future, LCA practitioners interested in accessing the full eco profile will be able to download it in such file formats as xls and GaBi.

For more information on NatureWorks and Ingeo, visit www.natureworksllc.com. Follow NatureWorks on Twitter (@natureworks) for the latest updates.

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 9

WHAT WE LEARNED: INTERPACK 2014

C onvenience and functionality are king, resource efficiency and renewable substrates are growing, biomass is evolving – five delegates from the AIP and APPMA share their findings from this year’s Interpack. Mark Dingley, general manager of operations with Matthews Australasia and chairman of APPMA, says converters should use equipment to get the jump on their competitors, but think carefully before they buy. He says some businesses are only now realising the

power of packaging equipment in giving them a competitive advantage. However, a purchase always means tallying up the total cost of ownership, with capital cost only part of the equation.

The key, Dingley says, is choosing the right technologies to benefit from real productivity gains. Interpack this year saw many suppliers providing access to Overall Equipment Efficiency data inline on their machines, he adds, meaning converters can check precisely where it may be failing or subpar, and fix it before the problem hits the bottom line. Dingley says a leader in this field at the show was Rockwell with its Convergence Ready technology, which merges automation and IT to line and site data to deliver improved real time information to businesses.

Stephen Flaherty, marketing and retail manager with Confoil, Ian Hayes, innovation manager for packaging with Murray Goulburn, Claude D’Amico, market development manager for Innovia Films, and Jason Goode, packaging development manager with Simplot Australia, were also on hand to share their Interpack experience.

NOVELTIES AND INNOVATIONS The Kortec Klear Can is a transparent PP plastic can for food manufacturing which allows consumers to see the food and is retortable for extended shelf life of up to five years. Consumers can see the content, enhancing buying decisions.

THIS ARTICLE WAS RE-PRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM I-GRAFIXwww.i-grafix.com

Interpack 2014: 175,000 visitor headcount

Packaging developments

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 201410

WHAT WE LEARNED: INTERPACK 2014 Cont’d

THIS ARTICLE WAS RE-PRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM I-GRAFIXwww.i-grafix.com

THE GREEN STUFF D’Amico says he feels bioplastics still has some way to go to be totally compostable. New thinking includes less emphasis on end-of-life and composting and more on renewable content, done sustainably. Innovia’s own NatureFlex film, used for tea and coffee packaging, is made from wood sourced from managed plantations operating on forestry principles, with the compostable film breaking down in a home compost bin or industrial compost environment in a matter of weeks. German Bio4Pack has created compostable fruit and vegetable packaging and shopping bags that are fully compostable – the tray, top film, label and absorption pad in-tray can all be composted.

Multiple applications and compostable: Innovia’s NatureFlex film

Pattruss pouches, package and serve

Digital printing used by Hovis to package The Daily Bread with the day’s news

Amcor brought its N-Gage lidding films that seal directly onto an APET base web for processed meats, with high barrier and peelable qualities. It also makes it possible for consumers to recycle the whole package. The UK’s RPC Bebo Plastik has developed Bebo Swing for both re-closing and tamper evidence for spreadable products like margarine and butter. It incorporates a perforation process for easy opening, and the re-closable lid can be hinged or fully removed.A combination of conveyor element and layer gripper, The Wave from Langhammer can take complete product layers from a conveyor lane and place these, independently of configuration or product, safely on a pallet by positioning the layer without pressure.

Digital printing used by Hovis to package The Daily Bread with the day’s news.

Aero Pack, a plastic aerosol, uses air to dispense product.

Bosch brought its BLO linear PET container blowing machine, which allows dairy and beverage producers to package their products in a wide range of container shapes, styles and sizes.

Pattruss has a range of pouches, made of aluminium film, multi-layer transparent OPP film or single-layer OPP film, pyramid shaped and laser perforated so they can be opened to become a dispenser for serving.

UK bread maker Hovis is using digital printing to produce The Daily Bread, its packaging featuring the day’s news.

The Easylid removes the need to overcap the seal on a food container, with a doube seal technique.

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 11

TRENDS For machines, the focus is on lean designs and the rapid change of operational equipment through automatic servo driven line changes. For servicing, a camera worn by a mechanic in one country can give remote access to an overseas technician, who can see exactly what is before them and offer the solution in real time. Accessibility saw the application of larger tear tabs to assist the elderly or infirm to open containers. Flaherty also noted new foamed multilayer films, with nine layers of film gauging at 25 microns.

ADVICE FOR EXHIBITORS AND VISITORS Hayes says Interpack is a great place to see and be seen if you are selling into the ANZ market. He says decision makers and decision influencers do attend, and his top advice: visitors need a face that they recognise at the stand. For visitors, he says allowing a couple of days after the event can be advantageous, as you can often organise post exhibition site visits. Flaherty says planning is essential for visitors as the week is simply not long enough to cover all contingencies and get around the 19 exhibition halls swamped by a crowd of more than 100,000.

INTERPACK 2014 Some 2700 exhibitors from more than 60 countries presented at this year’s Interpack, and were visited by 175,000 people – 66 per cent of them from outside Germany. While the delegates agree that Australia’s small population reduces the country’s ability to foster new technologies produced locally, they suggest that it could be achievable if manufacturers band together to collaborate. Since the last Interpack it seems the internet has been a major structural force driving changes in the market towards making real time information accessible. Germany and other governments are now talking about the next industrial revolution, classed as IR 4.0 and moving towards a so-called smart factory – the next Interpack is likely to feature more technologies headed in this direction.

WHAT WE LEARNED: INTERPACK 2014 Cont’d

THIS ARTICLE WAS RE-PRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM I-GRAFIXwww.i-grafix.com

Scanning and analysing real time data

Product demonstrations

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 201412

THIS ARTICLE WAS RE-PRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM PKN PACKAGING NEWS www.packagingnews.com.au

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 13

THIS ARTICLE WAS REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM PKN PACKAGING NEWSwww.packagingnews.com.au

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 201414

1984 PLUS 30 YEARS! Written by Michael B Halley FAIP

OO’Brien a character in the novel 1984 is quoted ‘Power is tearing human minds apart and putting them back together in new shapes of your own choosing.’

At the meeting of members of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and the Label and Tag Makers Association of Australia (LATMA) this quotation was very much in the minds of the attendees.

Dennis Choo a Solution Architect with Esko-Graphics Pte Ltd and Heath van der Waerden from the Technical Sales department at Tasman Machinery certainly tore our minds apart and then showed how their company’s technology benefits the packaging and label making industries. (One of the presenters did not exist and the other was a young child in 1984,)

Dennis came to tell us about WebCenter a unique and powerful web-based platform that manages packaging pre-production specification, approval and project life cycle.

He said that with packaging at its core, it understands all aspects of successful packaging: its shape, the importance of brand colors and it offers control of all necessary content. So you can manage all the complexities of creating packaging: from specification, design and execution. This management solution makes it easy to classify and organise all your packaging assets. As Dennis said ‘the package needs to talk to the consumer’. For instance if the label is not right the consumer will be confused.

He showed and explained an iceberg and how the lead up to a final product has a lot of hidden activities and how the demographics of the target consumer are important. Security is paramount and it is easy to integrate with existing business systems, even in large enterprises. No need to be desk-bound, all information can be accessed as easy as your emails.

So no matter where or what time, graphical content can be viewed, edited or approved. But all brand stakeholders need to be aligned as no one is Superhuman.

Once you are happy with the content your customer can be called into an online conference and the final decision can be made by all involved. The security aspect comes to the fore in this communication for all participants are recorded and editing is recorded allocating responsibility. Dennis showed graphically where in traditional package development errors are made. Mistakes in copying text can be as high as 58% often caused by incompatibility of different file formats and copy & paste method. Dennis talked about the latest Online Artwork Editing Solution base on Chilli Publishing Engine to target on reducing the traditional copy text workflow errors.

Innovation is managed by a ‘how can’ and ‘how would’ analysis. Viewing packaging products on the shelf in a virtual store to experience ‘the first moment of truth’ of retails requirement. Colours can be viewed and considered using a digital swatch and how it will look printed on different substrates. A system called Automation Engine is said to set a new standard for prepress workflow automation. Automation Engine serves as the heart of any size prepress production operation. It enables unparalleled workflow automation with rock-solid quality control, and comes with extensive business system integration capabilities and is highly scalable

A job in Automation Engine represents a production order that organises the data storage for the job but also the job’s metadata, its link to order ID, due date, customer information, as well as Customer Service Representatives’ details.

Need to reach food & beverage manufacturers? Food Magazine is Australia’s leading source of information on new trends, products and issues, reaching more professionals in food and beverage manufacturing than any other industry title.

For more information, contact:

Sharon AmosSALES MANAGERT: (61 7) 3261 8857 M: 0417 072 625E: sharon.amos@ cirrusmedia.com.au

Danielle BowlingEDITORT: (61 2) 8484 0667 E: danielle.bowling@ cirrusmedia.com.au

F D 3 9 2 4 _ A I P _ Q P - 1 2 0 1 4 - 0 5 - 0 6 T 1 1 : 2 5 : 3 4 + 1 0 : 0 0

AIP NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2014 15

Besides these administration attributes, a job can also contain the graphical specifications like barcode, inks, RIP options which can be used in any workflow to take advantage of all the data that is already there, avoiding double entries

So no longer do you have to work in isolation and customer relationships will be greatly improved. Dennis left us with the feeling that Big Brother is certainly here! You can enjoy the viewing experience of WebCenter on your iPad or iPhone. View, annotate, approve, manage... Everything at your fingertips! His final words were ‘Esko likes challenges and offer to do face-to-face system/process auditing that will brings packaging supply chain to the next level.’

Heath’s fingertips were itching as he waited his turn with the microphone and video clicker. 3D Printer technology was his remit and his in-depth knowledge stood out as he regaled the audience with up to the minute information.The Economist, in February 2011 stated ‘Three-dimensional printing …may have as profound an impact on the world as the coming of the factory did….Just as nobody could have predicted the impact of the steam engine in 1750—or the printing press in 1450, or the transistor in 1950—it is impossible to foresee the long-term impact of 3D printing. But the technology is coming, and it is likely to disrupt every field it touches.’

Three years on many fields have been disrupted with the Packaging Industry well to the top of the list. If you are using glass or plastic containers a prototype can be knocked up in relatively quick time and allow people to be touchy feely. The packaging designers, Brand Owner, manufacturer, and all players in the supply chain can use the model to develop the final product that will enter competitive markets. There can be no last minute ‘things we missed’ if all players are involved and give approval.

Tasman is the leading supplier of 3D Printers and additive manufacturing systems in Australia and has a range of machines from desk top to more commercial models.

The technical aspects of 3D printing is best left to the experts but in basic terms you need a computer aided design (CAD) system and a 3D printer. Instead of printing on a sheet of paper in two dimensional the software allows for layering of material other than ink. Layers of polypropylene (in the case of prototyping a bottle) as thin as 16 microns are built up to exactly replicate the design from the CAD.

Heath did warn that much of his presentation was ‘Geek Speak’ and he then explained the eight different three letter acronyms that define the various processes. TLA, SLA, SLS roll off the tongue easier than, for instance, stereolithography the technology for which SLA stands.

Heath had many slides and real samples of products developed using 3D technology and as he said ‘there is nothing better than holding the real thing in your hand’. Almost all disciplines and trades are being managed using 3D technology as people use the systems that uncover benefits that before were quite complicated and hard to define.

None of us like going to the dentist but the new inter oral scanning and digital manufacturing of replacement fangs is likely to reduce the perceived (and often real) inconvenience of hands in the mouth and gunky impression taking. Although the attendance number was small the questions asked and answered showed real interest in the subjects covered by Dennis and Heath. The scary part is that the technology will continue to grow and we mere mortals may well be left wanting. There is some concern about counterfeiting being made easier for the ne’er-do-well in society but reputation will always overcome.

1984 PLUS 30 YEARS! Cont’dWritten by Michael B Halley FAIP

PH: +61 7 3278 4490 educate@aipack.com.au www.aipack.com.au

MAKE 2014 THE YEAR YOU INVEST IN YOUR CAREER

BUILD YOUR PACKAGING CAREER ON FIRM FOUNDATIONS WITH THE AIP.

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is at the forefront of packaging training and education in Australasia; helping to shape the careers of generations of packaging professionals - from packaging technologists to international packaging business leaders along with a host of people in associated disciplines - sales and marketing, purchasing, production and environment.

DIPLOMA IN PACKAGING TECHNOLOGYThe Diploma in Packaging Technology is an internationally recognised Level 5 foundation degree-level qualification that prepares students to take responsibility for packaging operations at any level through the supply chain and can also lead to higher level study.

CERTIFICATE IN PACKAGINGThe Certificate in Packaging is an internationally recognised Level 3 qualification designed to meet the training needs of a wide variety of personnel in packaging, from the new entrant looking for a great start, to design, production, management, sales, marketing or purchasing staff looking to deepen their packaging knowledge.