Meeting place for production technology

In September it will be happening. After four years, EMO Hannover will take place again from 18 to 23 September 2023. Currently, around 1750 exhibitors from 42 countries are expected, representing the entire spectrum of production technology. According to the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders‘ Association) as organiser, EMO Hannover 2023 will focus on three megatrends: The Future of Business, The Future of Connectivity and The Future of Sustainability. This is a continuation from previous events. There, too, topics such as digitalisation or connectivity were the focus of the trade fair. So nothing new under the sun?

Thematically that may be true, but not in terms of content. For example, umati, the global initiative for open communication interfaces for the machine industry, will be even more extensively and comprehensively represented in Hannover. Meet-the-experts rounds and live demonstrations will show visitors the sophistication of the technical solutions and the benefits they can offer users. In the immediate vicinity in Hall 9, visitors will find the booths of the OPC Foundation and the Machine Information Interoperability (MII) department of the VDMA.

In our article „Smooth data flow“ starting on page 43, you can read how the „OPC UA Geometrical Measurement Systems“ working group has now succeeded in taking an important step towards standardising communication. The OPC UA Companion Specification for Geometric Measurement Systems (GMS) has been completed and adopted. According to the authors, the companies involved in the VDMA have completed the development of the interface in a record-breaking time. In addition, the working group „OPC UA Cutting Tools“ has been set up. The goal: the effective exchange of tool data between CAD/CAM system, tool grinding machine and measuring machine.

The topic of sustainability is also not really new, but it is becoming more and more concrete in its implementation. The tool manufacturer Ceratizit, for example, wants to demonstrate that high performance and particularly sustainable production are not mutually exclusive in high-performance tools. The company manufactures the geometry of a solid carbide milling cutter series from a specially developed carbide grade and can thus point to an extremely low carbon footprint.

Another example is the energy chain manufacturer igus, which has developed a process to recycle decommissioned energy chains, regardless of the original manufacturer. Since the start of the project, igus says it has already collected over 60 tonnes of high-performance plastics, half of which were collected last year. New products are created again from the recyclate, for example the first energy chain made from 100 percent recycled material.

Digitalisation and automation are, of course, still among the top topics in the industry. Not only because the technical solutions have developed significantly since the last EMO Hannover. The shortage of skilled workers has taken on a momentum that leaves companies no choice but to optimise processes and automate procedures and work steps. Artificial intelligence has come into play as another tool. Popularised by ChatGPT, AI is now on everyone‘s lips. In industry, AI is usually still called machine learning. But even there, development is progressing very quickly. With the technique of federated learning, for example, it is possible to train a common AI model with decentrally stored data without directly trading the data. This makes it possible to develop AI models even for companies that do not have enough data on their own to create a precise model.

The challenges to production technology are becoming more exacting and the industry is responding: in part with optimised, in part with completely new approaches to solutions. At EMO Hannover, all developments will be on show live. In this journal we present you with an excerpt, more information will follow: online at www.vdi-nachrichten.com, but also daily updated during the fair in the fair newspaper EMO Daily direct from the fairground!

Udo Schnell Editor-in-Chief Design/Editorial Director VDI Fachmedien