Agmaster’s
manufacturing facility is located in Collie, Western Australia.
Purpose built in 1996 the factory covers 3000m2 and is well equipped with some
of the latest technology in manufacturing machinery.
The majority of Agmaster products are
produced in-house; however some items that require specialized
machinery are outsourced. The steel castings for points
and presswheel components are cast at a foundry in Sydney.
The rubber tyres for presswheels are also moulded in Sydney.
The majority of the company’s tungsten requirements
are from England. Plastic products like the rotary star
harrow hubs, tips and presswheel rims are all injections
moulded in Perth. Most other raw materials and products
are sourced from suppliers in Western Australia.
Agmaster employs 10 people fulltime aided by up to 10 casual employees during peak production periods
(January – May).
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In the factory, where possible, production
processes are carried out with automated machinery. This
includes:
• Auto-feed bandsaw – for cutting of pipe and RHS
• Robot Welder – used to weld components where possible and practical.
• Plasma Cutter – this machine is CNC controlled (computer numeric
controlled) and uses the latest torch technology to cut underwater. Typically
plate is cut in 50-75mm of water depth. The major benefits of this are to restrict
plate distortion, minimize noise and fume. All parts to be cut are computer drawn
and then nested using a specific software program to maximize the plate utilization
and minimize waste.
After a cutting program is generated in the office it is downloaded to the
machine via a fibre optic cable link. An operator then activates the program
and sets the machine going. From this moment the machine is self managed
and generally requires very little operator support. Fast, clean cutting
is then achieved, e.g. 10mm plate is typically cut at 2500mm/minute (just
over 40mm/second).
• Profile Cutter – CNC controlled similar to Plasma except it has
4 oxy LPG cutting torches.
• CNC Lathe – for machining of components.
• CNC Twin Pallet Milling Machine – allows the operator to unload
and load one pallet whilst opposite pallet is being machined. All knife points
are machined in this machine to produce an optimal surface for tungsten application.
• Heat Induction Units – designed to provide uniform, consistent
heating for tungsten application.
• The factory has also numerous other punching, cutting, bending and purpose
build machines for processing components.
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