18 April 2016

Press Release

HANNOVER MESSE 2016 (25–29 April, Mon.–Fri.):

HANNOVER MESSE-Trendspots: A glimpse of what exhibitors are bringing

to Hannover!

–  Issue 4

At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, all eyes will be on Industry 4.0 (advanced manufacturing). Over five action-packed days, some 5,000 exhibitors will be showcasing the latest technologies for the factories and energy systems. The Trendspots offer a little taster of what you can expect to find at the fair. The first edition is being published today, but more are set to follow, right up till the start of the fair.

Making short work of complex processes

DDM Systems from the USA, the partner country at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, is exhibiting an additive manufacturing process for ceramics that saves seven of the conventional twelve processing steps, earning it a HERMES AWARD 2016 nomination.

DDM Systems Inc. was formed by a team from the renowned Georgia Institute of Technology with the aim of substituting traditional manufacturing processes for metals and ceramics. And it has certainly succeeded in doing so, as the company is now the leading innovator and process optimizer for unique additive manufacturing technologies with high-quality industrial applications. Now, the first prestigious industrial accolade beckons with the company’s nomination for the HERMES AWARD at HANNOVER MESSE 2016.

The panel of judges for the HERMES AWARD recognized the GIT spin-off for its additive manufacturing process for ceramics and nominated its groundbreaking LAMP System CPT6060, which is on show at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. The LAMP System CPT6060 streamlines the process of high-quality casting from twelve to five processing steps. The judges were particularly impressed by the more than two million parallel UV light rays used for the photopolymerisation and the extremely high accuracy to ten micrometers this produces in large-dimension ceramic molds of up to 600 x 600 x 450 cubic millimeters. The LAMP System CPT6060 is used in the 3D printing process to achieve extremely precise integral-cored shell molds directly from digital data sets, which enables rapid prototyping and series production in one system. What’s more, the nominated high-tech process shaves up to 60 percent off conventional manufacturing costs.

DDM Systems, Inc. (Atlanta, GA 30318, USA), Hall 6, Stand K01

Topic: Partner Country USA Digital Factory Pavilion, co-exhibitor with USA Digital Factory Pavilion

Seamless sensory intelligence

At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, SICK AG from Waldkirch in Germany is demonstrating what can already be achieved with intelligent and reliable sensor data – and how this data can be put to practical use in a range of applications.

While Germany’s manufacturing industry is in particularly good shape right now, the crucial transition to the information technology era is only just in the starting blocks, leaving it lagging behind other sectors. If manufacturers wish to retain their competitiveness on the international playing field, they simply cannot afford to miss the boat. The key to well-founded decisions, improved resource efficiency and end-to-end transparency right along the value creation chain lies in the unrestricted exchange of manufacturing, product and logistical data. In turn, this data exchange utterly depends on the data provided at the start of the process chain – by intelligent sensor technology.

SICK AG from southwest Germany spearheads technology and the market with its sensors and industrial applications solutions and creates the perfect basis for safe and efficient process control, preventing occupational accidents and avoiding environmental damage. At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the company is demonstrating how robust, intelligent sensor data can be seamlessly integrated into various applications over a broad range of environmental conditions. After all, the challenges of the future – such as safe collaboration between humans and robots, high levels of variation right down to “batch size 1” and coping with rapid fluctuation in demand – will make intelligent, robust, reliable sensor technology an absolute must.

SICK AG (79183 Waldkirch, Germany), Hall 8, Stand D36

Just say and wave!

Visitors to HANNOVER MESSE 2016 are being given the chance to try their own hand at the speech- and gesture-controlled driverless vehicles from IPH.

Autonomous, self-driving vehicles are the latest buzz, but also subject to a certain degree of skepticism. The trend is already taking hold in Industry 4.0-driven factories, where it sparks far less controversy. Workers in state-of-the-art production and storage facilities no longer climb behind the wheel of forklifts themselves, but instead assign transportation tasks to intelligent driverless vehicles. The Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover (IPH) is showing at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 how it helps humans and forklifts communicate. In cooperation with Jungheinrich AG and other partners, IPH researchers have developed a driverless forklift truck that understands human language and gestures. Visitors can even try it out for themselves at the Lower Saxony Pavilion in Hall 2.

These futuristic autonomous transportation vehicles will soon be finding their own way around factories and warehouses. With the aid of 3D cameras, the vehicle can sense its environment and navigate like a human being, memorizing distinctive points along the way. If something changes – for example, if a rack is pushed aside or a pallet blocks its usual route – the vehicle can adjust to this fact in the true sense of Industry 4.0. In contrast to previous automated guided vehicles, it is able to move around independently without requiring predefined paths, for example magnet sensors or markings on the floor. The ensuing reduction in costs now places this new technology within the grasp of small and medium-sized enterprises.

IPH – Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover gGmbH (30419 Hannover, Germany), Hall 2, Stand A08

Don’t get your cables in a twist!

Straight out of Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, leading cable protection system and energy chain developer CP System (CPS) is exhibiting at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 with ROBO-KIT – the company’s own unique contribution to Industry 4.0.

When it comes to technology, South Korea is arguably the new Japan. With star performers Hyundai and Kia in the automotive industry and innovation powerhouses Samsung and LG in consumer electronics, the country is also a major player in heavy industry – and all these successes look set to continue. Based in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city and a key hub of industry, CP System (CPS) is exhibiting at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 with ROBO-KIT – the highly dynamic company’s own unique contribution to Industry 4.0.

ROBO-KIT is based on a cable protection system developed by CPS for use in robotics applications to prevent the problems that often arise with twisted, damaged or broken control cables. Since the ROBO-KIT system actively guides the movement of cables, it minimizes both friction and interference, thereby ensuring a longer service life and also allowing the robots to move freely.

CP SYSTEM Co. Ltd. (619-963 Busan, Republic of Korea), Hall 16, Stand G18

Making links

Dassault Systèmes is at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to present an example of Industry 4.0 networking that shows how agricultural machinery manufacturer CLAAS successfully links up a range of different locations and disciplines.

“When it comes to digitization and networking, there is still a great deal of untapped potential out there for German SMEs.” These are the words of Andreas Barth, EuroCentral Managing Director at Dassault Systèmes, underlining the importance of making full use of the opportunities that Industry 4.0 offers: “A more networked value creation chain is much better equipped to adapt flexibly to market changes and customer requirements than a rigid system is. This is precisely why we are so excited to be showcasing the success enjoyed by one well-established company in this regard.” The company in question is CLAAS, an agricultural machinery manufacturer that has successfully linked up a range of different locations and disciplines by using the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform as the central hub for all its development and production processes.

This case study presented by Dassault Systèmes at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 shows in detail how SMEs can implement Industry 4.0 ideas in practice. For instance, visitors can see for themselves how staff at CLAAS use a standardized data management system accessible from any location to retrieve all the product data and related information they require. This ensures that staff always have access to the latest version of product data and makes duplicate files a thing of the past. Visitors can explore this and many other aspects of smart networking at the Dassault Systèmes stand, which also features demo stations for systems engineering, construction and simulation, and production and service.

Dassault Systèmes Deutschland GmbH (70563 Stuttgart, Germany),

Hall 6, Stand K30

Gripping innovations!

The ETO GROUP is exhibiting in Hannover this year with highlights including bistable actuators for boosting efficiency, actuator/sensor systems for increased security, new cartridge valves and the première of an innovative wireless gripper based on MAGNETOSHAPE technology.

Operating at seven locations on three different continents, the ETO GROUP develops and produces both customized components/modules and series products for OEMs and system manufacturers, always ensuring maximum quality and setting global standards with its innovations. The ETO GROUP product portfolio is centered on magnetic valves, electromagnetic actuators and sensors for hydraulic, pneumatic and mechatronic applications. At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the ETO GROUP is represented by ETO MAGNETIC and EKS Elektromagnetik, with highlights including bistable actuators for boosting efficiency, actuator/sensor systems for increased security and new cartridge valves, as well as the trade show première of a new wireless gripper.

The wireless MAGNETOSHAPE gripper concept is one of the first application-focused developments of MAGNETOSHAPE technology, which is based on magnetic shape-memory alloys (MSMAs). MSMAs are ferromagnetic materials that generate force and motion under the influence of moderate-strength magnetic fields. The wireless gripper concept on show separates the stationary gripper drive unit from the actual gripper, completely eliminating the need for error-prone pneumatic and electrical connections in moving systems. What’s more, the exceptionally lightweight wireless gripper can clamp parts many times its own weight with grip and release intervals well below 10 milliseconds. As a result, the flexible MAGNETOSHAPE gripper concept is perfectly designed for handling small parts at high speeds. Application-specific further developments can also be customized to suit individual requirements at any time.

ETO MAGNETIC GmbH (78333 Stockach, Germany), Hall 2, Stand C16,

co-exhibitor with the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

Dazzling eco design

RIVA GmbH Lighting is showcasing a bright idea in Hannover that stems from the EU’s cycLED project, led by Fraunhofer IZM, to optimize resource flows along the lifecycle phases of LED products – the new Lucid nova eos hall luminaire.

Environmentalists are quite bedazzled and purseholders see a bright future for the new Lucid nova eos hall luminaire for high temperature applications from Riva Lighting. The Lucid nova eos reflects the latest insights in eco-design and beats its conventional rivals hands down. The hall luminaire is being premiered at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, and there are plenty of world firsts to celebrate – such as its highly efficient lens optics and the very efficient, lifetime-optimized regulation of its luminous flux.

The lamp was developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration IZM as part of the EU-funded cycLED project and is manufactured entirely in Germany. The optimal interplay of components and the advanced development of light control make the Lucid nova eos a market leader in its segment. Another special feature is the integrated open interface that makes adding additional control modules quite simple. The Lucid nova eos can be mounted at a wide range of heights between 6 and 30 meters, making it ideally suited for use in industrial, storage, production and sports halls – or even outdoors if desired.

RIVA GmbH Lighting (71522 Backnang, Germany), Hall 27, Stand K73

The functional feel of fabric

Besides showcasing photosensory textiles and a multi-functional car seat at the BMWi Pavilion during HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the Forschungskuratorium Textil is also unveiling textile expansion sensors for monitoring the structural state of rotor blades.

The Forschungskuratorium Textil (FKT) promotes and coordinates industry-driven cooperative research projects funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) involving 16 research institutes from the textile and clothing industry. It also strives to develop the overall performance of textile research. In total, 20 textile industrial associations representing more than 1,300 companies are involved, including such auxiliary segments as textile machinery engineering, chemical fibers and textile-related services. Besides exhibiting photosensory textiles and a multi-functional car seat at the BMWi Pavilion during HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the FKT is also unveiling textile expansion sensors for monitoring the structural state of rotor blades.

Wind turbine rotor blades can be subject to massive stresses causing perceptible changes to electrical resistance that can be measured by suitable devices. The Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology (ITM) at TU Dresden has developed carbon fibers that can function as textile expansion sensors for this very purpose. A special integrative procedure adds these textile sensors during the manufacture of the rotor blades’ textile reinforcement to enable in-situ structural monitoring that can measure and pinpoint expansions, and therefore stresses, with fine precision. The researchers from Dresden say this technology will in future enable early identification and monitoring of serious structural changes or damage.

Forschungskuratorium Textil e.V. (10117 Berlin, Germany), Hall 2, Stand C28, co-exhibitor with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

The four-wheeled sales channel

bill-X GmbH is unveiling its very special vision for mobility at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. You can buy anything you like in its connected car – from products and services to tickets and combined packages.

bill-X GmbH from Osnabrück in Germany has already made a name for itself with the ultra-modular design of its OpenInformer standardized software platform that rapidly implements individual customer requirements and integrates solutions into existing system architectures with amazing flexibility. At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the team of developers from bill-x is now unveiling its Mobility Solutions based on its core concepts. The object of desire is the connected car, whose passengers can buy anything they like – or where suppliers can sell anything they like, depending which way you look at it.

Whatever that “anything” is, bill-x undertakes to integrate it directly into the car’s cockpit, invoice the product or service and even link it with other offers. A prime example of this bundling is the company’s “Parken und Laden” (park & power) project, in which parking and electricity are supplied by two different providers but the consumer needs pay only once for the package – cashless and conveniently by invoice at the end of each month. From raw data collection and billing through to reminders and even any ensuing debt collection processes, bill-x says it can perform all the necessary functions with its software – or, if preferred, just those for which the supplier has no in-house system.