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Eye on IndustryPrecision Engineering : Poised for Growth with $5.6m Investment  

Singapore's precision engineering industry is poised for higher growth and increased revenues, thanks to the $5.6 million investment pumped in by the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association, with support under LEAD.

by Joanne Tan

The fridge in your home may be a foreign brand but the compressor inside could be made in Singapore. Small as we are, Singapore produces 10% of the world's household refrigerator compressors. We are also home to no less than10 major semiconductor and industrial equipment manufacturers.

The PE industry is made up of manufacturers of precision components and machinery, as well as providers of related manufacturing services. It is a key supporting pillar to a wide range of industry sectors such as electronics, aerospace and medical technology. In 2005, the PE industry generated an output of $20 billion and contributed to 12% of manufacturing value add. It is also one of the largest contributors of manufacturing employment, accounting for one out of every four jobs in the sector. The industry is expected to generate an output of $28 billion and double its value added to $10 billion by 2018.

Engineering Growth in PE The Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association (SPETA) is implementing their industry plan to enhance the competitiveness of the PE industry. When completed, these projects will bring about more than $450 million in revenue, some 2,000 new jobs and an increase in value added of $150 million for the industry over the next three years.

This was announced at SPETA's annual general meeting held on 7 February 2007 where the association showcased some projects in the plan. Joining the local PE companies at the event, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, commended SPETA for their commitment in taking the lead to grow the industry. He urged PE companies to tap on the programme to "differentiate themselves by providing products and services which cannot be easily copied or matched, seek new growth markets, enhance their technical capabilities to move up the value chain, and attract and retain talents and upgrade the skills of their workers."

SPETA leads SPETA Chairman Dr Felix Ong said, "We are very happy that our industry plan and efforts have the support of SPRING and IE Singapore.

Our PE industry will be poised to meet the new global challenges ahead through the development of new markets and businesses, and upgrading of our capabilities."

World's First Virtual CNC Training SimulatorOne critical area is to tackle the training of computer numeric control (CNC) machinists, which traditionally requires one machine for one machinist, resulting in heavy capital investment. SPETA, together with SIMTech, developed a simulator for training CNC machinists which significantly reduce the training hours spent on the actual machine and machine resources required. As a result, the number of students trained is also doubled.

This is the world's first simulator that uses a three-dimensional precise unified geometrical model. It allows students to simulate the milling process and save the "machined" model for other downstream machining process. The virtual CNC simulator also allows for different situations to be tested during training, which would be costly, if done on the actual machine. The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) is in discussion with SPETA to integrate this simulator into its curriculum.

Tapping on the Automotive Industry Riding on the growth of the automotive industry, SPETA is helping PE companies to tap the new opportunities in the sector. This industry has grown significantly from $480 million in 2003 to $640 million in 2005. PE companies can also participate in SPETA-facilitated collaboration between local and foreign PE companies to help build capabilities in design and production. SPETA's efforts complement AUTO IGNITE, a multi-agency effort aimed at encouraging Singapore enterprises to move up the value chain by supplying automotive sub-systems and modules.

SPETA is one of 13 industry associations that have received support under the LEAD programme. Launched in May 2005, LEAD is a joint initiative by SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore to enhance industry and enterprise competitiveness through partnership with industry associations to improve key capabilities of local enterprises in their sectors.

SPRING Deputy Chief Executive, Mr Png Cheong Boon, underlined SPRING's commitment to support SPETA in developing the precision engineering industry. "Our local PE enterprises will benefit by participating in SPETA's industry-wide programmes. They should leverage on these programmes to upgrade their capabilities and tap on new business opportunities." He added, "We urge more industry associations to come forward and join us in this private sector-led initiative to take their industries to higher growth." ET

Four key areas under SPETA's LEAD proposal:  

Market and business development through business missions and networking seminars to help create new market and business opportunities between local and foreign PE companies

Capabilities development by:

- Training executives and managers in the management of PE companies and tool rooms

- Developing new specialist training courses and joint industry projects or consortiums

- Setting up of a Virtual CNC Training Laboratory to train CNC machinists and a tooling design advisory and consultancy service

- Organising management or technical seminars to introduce the latest management and technological trends

Technology development by implementing a:

- Platform for collaborative engineering to enhance competitiveness amongst tool rooms in different locations and tool room management system to enhance the management of tooling facilities

Growth market development (automotive parts industry) through:

- strategic alliances between our local PE companies and foreign companies

- training courses and capability development projects to develop our local automotive capabilities in the design and production of automotive modules

 

The simulator software is the exact replica of an actual CNC machine that allows students to try out different milling situations safely and more efficiently.

CNC Milling Machine

CNC Training Simulator