EMO Hannover board
After a brief hiatus, the world's premier metalworks trade fair, traditionally occurring every odd year, will be back this September.
EMO Hannover was lest held in 2013, then attracting more than 2,130 exhibitors and around 143,000 trade visitors. It returns in 2017, September 18 - September 23, 'connecting systems for intelligent production,' per this edition's tagline.
Earlier this week, three months prior to EMO Hannover 2017, journalists from around the world were invited to its preview. Dr Jochen Kockler, Member of the Managing Board, Deutsche Messe AG, analogised the preview to 'looking through the keyhole at Christmas', daringly peeping at presents under the tree. The presents, on this occasion, were 37 exhibitors. All had their own mini booth along a lengthy corridor, and later, all had 120 seconds to preview what they will be showcasing in September, during a round of elevator pitches.
These pitches were proceeded by Carl Martin Welcker, General Commissioner of the EMO Hannover, detailing what to expect from EMO Hannover 2017. This included Industry 4.0; contemporary and future production operations; additive manufacturing processes; metal-cutting in aerospace; the safety of machine tools; the development of markets in the USA, Mexico and India; start-ups for intelligent production; youth recruitment; and a series of seminars.
All culminating, he projects, in a significant advancement in productivity: "If all succeeds, this signifies a quantum leap forwards in terms of productivity, and will catapult those who can do it to the leading edge of international competition,"
EMO Hannover Carl Martin Welcker
Carl-Martin Welcker explains what we can expect at EMO Hannover 2017.
AM at EMO
Among the exhibitors at the preview, were a handful of companies operating in the additive manufacturing (AM) field. And while EMO Hannover won't be a hotbed of additive manufacturing presentation, there was, and will be, a few nods to AM from the likes of Fraunhofer and DMG Mori.
The latter of which will pitch up in Hall 2, a space of around 10,000-square metres, and will present around 80 high-tech machine tools, as well as software solutions in the areas of AM, digitisation and automation. DMG Mori says it will present its future technologies in the additive field, reinforcing its offer of both laser metal deposition (LMD) welding with a powder nozzle and selective laser melting (SLM) in a powder bed. Information will also be provided on DMG Mori's Technology Excellence Centre, which promotes the integration of processes for customised turnkey solutions, in aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and more. Moreover, a press conference will be held by DMG Mori on Tuesday 19th September, at 9am, from Hall 2, which will be followed by a breakfast and networking event.
Fraunhofer, meanwhile, said it was less likely that they would unveil any new AM developments at EMO in September, though there was a small FDM demonstration in operation at their booth. In similar vein, Siemens told TCT they prefer to save additive-related announcements for more additive-centric shows.
EMO Hannover preview
The stage was set for a host of elevator pitches and two keynotes courtesy of Stuttgart University professors.
Industry 4.0 at EMO
Instead, and as expected, there was a greater influence on Industry 4.0 at the EMO Hannover preview - it was also revealed there would be a stand dedicated to the concept in September. Two keynotes, from Stuttgart University's Prof. Dr-Ing. Hans-Christian Mohring and Prof. Dr-Ing. Thomas Bauernhansl, intertwined with the elevator pitches and gave a deeper insight into first the key enabling technologies helping to transform manufacturing, and second, the 'Industrial Internet of Things' and platform-based value creation in business ecosystems.
Mohring covered a range of technologies, from the advancements in tooling, to additive manufacturing, hybrid and virtual machines, and automation. On AM, he emphasised its capability to optimise design, and thus improve the performance of parts. Trumpf, DMG Mori, Stratasys, ARBURG, Simufact and Dassault Systemes all featured. The key theme of his presentation, was that 'people earn their money at the cutting edge', and its these technologies that are increasingly helping them do so.
Bauernhansl followed and put the Internet of Things (IoT) into context. By 2020, there is projected to be 50 million IoT devices in use. In 2003, there was just 500,000. He outlined the past 70 years can be split into four waves of digitisation: 1950 - 1980 saw the beginning of digitalisation; 1980 - 1990 brought virtualisation; the following decade brought networking; and since the turn of the millennium, we've seen automatisation. Bauernhansl's final reflection was to encourage people to 'build windmills rather than walls, if the force of wind changes.'
EMO Hannover preview
Nearly 40 companies each hosted their own booth before giving pitches of just 120 seconds later in the day.
The German President at EMO
Just as the EMO organisers are excited to once again deliver a hotspot for international metal works experts, they're excited to welcome President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Steinmeier will officially open the event on Monday 18th September, which up to now has attracted more than 2,050 companies from 45 countries to exhibit - more than 1,400 from Europe, and a 4% rise in Asian participants too.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to last for an hour on the morning of September 18. Following Steinmeier in making a speech will be Stephan Weil, the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, and CECIMO's President Luigi Galdabini. Once the opening ceremony is complete, Steinmeier will take an exhaustive tour of the fair.
“We are absolutely delighted that our head of state will be honouring the EMO Hannover with his presence, and thus unequivocally affirming the high level of perceived importance accorded to the nation’s industrial sector,” said Welcker. “We shall be demonstrating to the President the performative and innovative capabilities of our sector, and the range of solutions we offer in the environment of digitisation.”
EMO Hannover will be held from September 18 - September 23 2017.
