Linking academia and the business community at EMO

In line with the fair's motto – “Connecting systems for intelligent production” – the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) will organise an Industry 4.0. special show area.

At the special show area, Fraunhofer and university-affiliated research institutes of the German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP) will showcase latest advances in networked production technology. Apart from WGP, representatives of industrial sectors will showcase solutions that they have implemented in practice. In an accompanying presentation forum, academics will throw light on their latest research results and firms will be spotlighting their competences in regard to the smart factory concept.

Insights to the future factory

In an area covering 650 m², the Industry 4.0 area located in hall 25, will have on more than a third of this area, nine WGP institutes presenting examples of their research projects and providing insights into the factory of the future. With its total of 39 institutes, the WGP will exhibit expertise covering the entire field of production technology, according to WGP.

Academics from Munich and Stuttgart will showcase the “BaZMod” project financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The motto of “Component-Friendly Machine Configuration in Production Operations Using Cyberphysical Additional Modules” (in German abbreviated to “BaZMod”) involves expanding the presently known interfaces. Up till now, interfaces between an intelligent tool and a machine’s control system have been executed differently by each manufacturer. In the shape of “BaZMod”, the academics will be presenting solutions for a standardised interchange of data and energy between a smart tool and the production environment.

Results from the specialised research field of “Gentelligent Manufacturing” will be spotlighted by researchers from Hanover, who will present a machine tool that can “feel” and new approaches in the field of sensor technology, like modularised microsensors and sensor-based clamping technology. Magnetic magnesium alloys, an innovative high-frequency communication system for the production operation and teaching-free process monitoring will also be spotlighted at the booth.

In the field of simulation, academics from Kaiserslautern will show results from the BMBF’s “mecPro2” project. Cybertronic products (CTPs) are complex systems, whose development is still often document-centred even today. The transfer of product-related information to the production people, too, is frequently document-centred and is often delayed right to an advanced phase of planning for the CTP. This makes it more difficult and time-consuming to plan the cybertronic production system (CTPS). Within the framework of mecPro2, a model-based systematised planning methodology has been developed for CTP and CTPS, enabling integrated planning to be assured for both product and production.

Man-machine interactions will be presented by a team from Aachen, who will show the results of various government-funded research projects, like augmented reality and man-robot collaborations, plus radio-based application-friendly technologies. The exemplary process will show interaction with a lightweight robot, the creation and production of an individual order and the continuous provision of information by means of innovative interfaces.

Practical solutions on show

Besides research, plenty of space will also be devoted to practical applications in the Industry 4.0 area. Companies will exhibit their latest practical solutions, ranging from machine tools and logistics to the relevant software.

Exhibits will include data-processing solution based on machine learning, suitable for integration with industrial communication protocols. A demo robot cell featuring a virtual display of a software package for automation solutions, including a control unit, will be on show too. A tool dispenser system and a pallet handling system in conjunction with a bookkeeping software package will also be presented.