MACHINES & TOOLS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 December 1940, Page 6

MACHINES & TOOLS

AUSTRALIA’S NEW INDUSTRY. £2.000,000 PRODUCTION. Australia, within 12 months, has developed, from a scanty nucleus a machine tool industry that has recently made or has on order 3,300 machines and tools valued at £2,000,000. This is the most significant development in Australia’s war-time drive for selfsufficiency in munitions supply. A Commonwealth Department of Information bulletin, issued in New Zealand by the. Australian Trade Commissioner (Mr C. E. Critchley), says that when war broke out there were in Australia only one manufacturer of lathes and two manufacturers of power presses. The quality of their work was good, but the output was small. The Commonwealth Small Arms Factory at Lithgow was manufacturing a number of high grade machines and there were several other manufacturers of machines whose output was limited. These were Australia’s entire source of supply. Now there are 28 firms engaged in producing high-grade , machines, of much greater range and improved quality. Among the more spectacular achievements is the production of huge power presses with capacities between 700 and 3,000 tons.

Makipg this announcement recently, the Minister for Munitions (Senator Mcßride) said that the development of the machine tool industry was necessary because of the difficulties in making purchases from the heavily burdened overseas market. Australia’s plans for increased output of munitions and all war-like stores were conditioned by the availability of production equipment, so production equipment was produced.

The progress of this key industry has been most gratifying. Australia is now making engine lathes capable of turning 30ft. lengths of 24 inch diameter; gun lathes for turning, boring and rivetting up to 20ft. in length; capstan and turret lathes in various' lengths and various types of shell lathes up to six inch shell capacity. An immediate start is being made, on the production of the “Wirth” type of machine for shells up to six inches in diameter. Apart from these, Australia is making various types of 'drilling, milling and shaping machines, large capacity grinding machines, hacksaws, cold saws and cutting edges for machinss.