The overarching integration of industrial processes is entering the next round: Exhibitors at the Digital Factory trade fair (to be staged under the umbrella of Hannover-Messe 2015 in April) will demonstrate what industry needs for this next evolutionary phase, how product development and manufacturing processes will be coordinated in the future, and what the integration of information technology and automation can look like in action. The lead theme of the world’s most important trade fair for industrial technology is “Integrated Industry – Join the Network!”, and it is in this spirit that the hot topic of Industry 4.0 will be addressed.
The new Additive Manufacturing Plaza gives additive manufacturing a dedicated showcase at Digital Factory. The Plaza will put the spotlight on digital prototypes as a prerequisite for automated production. The heart of this special display is being staged in exclusive collaboration with Arburg. A group pavilion and individual stands by key players are part of the display. The focus will be on industry-capable machines as well as standard industrial materials of representative hardness and other parameters. Among the leading suppliers to appear alongside Arburg are alphacam, ExOne, Kisters and voxeljet. According to Arburg, it is the only manufacturer to cover the entire spectrum of industrial production of high-quality plastic components, from additive manufacturing of one-off units all the way to injection moulding for mass production.
“At this special display, we are not only presenting our Freefomer and Arburg Plastic Freeforming technology, but also promising ways of using Industry 4.0 technology to deploy additive manufacturing and injection molding throughout the entire process chain,” explained Heinz Gaub, CTO, Arburg. “Along with the manufacture of functional components and small batches, we are presenting cutting-edge additive manufacturing using the Freeformer for user-specific customisation of mass-produced components made of plastic. Full integration throughout the value chain makes it possible to flexibly respond to customers’ individual wishes.”