EMO 2017 – Trends in Metalworking

Author photo: Fabian Wanke
ByFabian Wanke
Category:
Company and Product News

The motto of the recent EMO Hannover 2017 was "Connecting systems for intelligent production" and more than 2,200 international manufacturers of production technology where showcasing their solutions.  And not just systems were connecting, the show welcomed around 130,000 visitors, of which more than half came from outside Germany, with a sharply increased number of Asian  exhibitors and attendees. 

According to a survey conducted during the exhibition, EMO visitors are planning to invest more than 20 billion Euros into production technologies in the next 2 years. During the EMO week, contracts with a volume of around 8 billion euros were signed. This underlines how important the latest automation technologies are to stay competitive in a connected world.

Product Highlights

Siemens took this year's motto very seriously and connected over 240 different machine tools from over 140 manufacturers across the whole exhibition site with its "Manage MyMachines" application on MindSphere.  The Taiwanese Fair Friend Group (FFG) and Siemens confirmed a long-term collaboration to push forward the “Digital Enterprise” and automation technologies.  The two companies will work closely together in the future on the consolidation of the Siemens Digital Enterprise Suite and the cloud-based IoT operating system/ platform MindSphere at FFG. 

Heller Maschinen und Technologie AG (Heller) presented its “HELLER4Industry” concept/ strategy and showcased its MindApp “HELLER4Services”, developed in cooperation with Siemens.  The app covers digital services to reduce maintenance and service costs over the life-cycle of a machine tool.  Heller also announced, that they’re working on new business models, like pay-per-use and new payment systems, to attract end users. 

DMG MORI announced the start of ADAMOS (ADAptive Manufacturing Open Solutions), a joint venture of DMG MORI, Dürr, Software AG, ASM PT and ZEISS. The goal is to establish ADAMOS as a global standard for the industry and to attract other machine builders to become partners. The IIoT platform is announced as open, non-proprietary and will offer the possibility to read data from controllers from different control suppliers. 

Mr. Mori , president of DMG MORI, spoke freely about the development he sees for his company’s businesses.  He believes, that E-cars and the change in mobility systems will lead to a reduction of demand for machine tool machinery in the automotive industry.  Today, the automotive industry accounts for about 25% of DMG MORI’s sales. According to Mr. Mori, this percentage will decline to around 15% in the next 20 years. Nevertheless, he sees growth potential for DMG MORI in other sectors, like medical, semiconductors, aerospace and defense.

Additive Manufacturing

Besides digitalization, additive manufacturing was on everyone's lips at the EMO. The fast-growing industry will further complement cutting technologies in production.  In recent years, 3D printing, especially of metals, has become an attractive manufacturing process not just for prototype parts. The still relatively new production technology continues to offer room for developments. The market potential is certainly huge.  ARC is currently conducting a study about Additive Manufacturing which will be published end of this year. 

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