EMO Hannover metalworking fair to focus on smart technology

March 8, 2019 – EMO Hannover will bring the top trends in metalworking to manufacturers for its biennial fair in Hannover, Germany, with a focus on system intelligence.

EMO Hannover showcases machine tools and manufacturing systems and is the largest metalworking trade fair in the world with over 130,000 visitors. The 2019 theme is “Smart technologies driving tomorrow’s production.”

Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, CEO of the German Machine Tool Builders Association (VDW), which organizes EMO Hannover, said at a press preview event in Toronto this week that the theme describes how the industry is moving beyond data collection and into advanced analytics to improve processes. “This fair is more than just talking about Industry 4.0 or the Industrial Internet of Things – it’s going through the whole value chain,” he said. “It’s about productivity, quality and flexibility.”

More than 1,930 equipment manufacturers – no dealers or distributors – from 46 countries are set to highlight the latest in cutting and forming machines, electronic controls, CAD/CAM, industrial robots, assembly systems, flexible automation systems, abrasives, welding, industrial electronics, sensor technology, precision tools, production software and more.

EMO Hannover will have exhibition areas dedicated to Industry 4.0 and additive manufacturing, a speaker series, and rotating pop-ups for start-up companies, backed by a start-up competition for digitalization in products with a EUR 10,000 prize.

One of the major demonstrations of the 2019 event will be for the Universal Machine Tool Interface (umati), a draft standard developed by a consortium of industry companies facilitated by EMO Hannover. “Before, a hindering aspect for machine tool builders was connecting their hardware with the cloud – they had to build software for it,” says Schäfer. As a result, a manufacturer often needs different software for every machine tool.

Umati seeks to resolve that as a new common-language standard based on OPC UA that transmits data from machines to higher-level IT systems. In practice, it will enable the connection of machines from major manufacturers and all major control system suppliers to the cloud. At EMO Hannover, the umati joint stand will include a live presentation of connected machines from many manufacturers at the show to one data hub.

A concurrent careers fair will see 6,500 student participants and the installation of an entire production line assembling an all-aluminum Formula 1 car.

EMO Hannover takes place September 16-21, 2019.