The made in Italy 4.0 brand in production at MECSPE
Mar 07, 2016
The innovation of production processes and processing, materials and latest generation technology will be the stars of the upcoming edition of MECSPE, the international fair on technologies for innovation which will be held in Parma from March 17 to 19, 2016. Inside the 9 closely interconnected Thematic halls – which offer the exhibiting businesses the opportunity to illustrate the innovative value of their products and establish significant business relations – it will be possible to observe, experience hands-on and analyse the entire production process of a manufactured good, from its design phase all the way to the production of the definitive object ready for use. The 2016 MECSPE edition, the standard-setting event for the Italian manufacturing industry, is enriched with new initiatives aimed at making the visitors’, the businesses’ and the exhibitors’ experience even more synergetic and active.
“One of the most important new elements that stands out at MECSPE 2016 is undoubtedly Power Drive, the hall created to fulfil the visitor’s request for an ad hoc space dedicated to power transmission systems and components. The hew hall will dynamically bring together and correlate the single categories and solutions used to build industrial automatic machinery. – emphasizes Emilio Bianchi, Director of Senaf – Plus, the next edition will feature plenty of space dedicated to subsupply, with a 4 fully dedicated thematic areas, where the various fields of specialisation will be on show, divided by processing type and materials: Plastic Materials; Mechanics; Sheet Metal Processing and Electronics. A concrete opportunity to meet specialised companies and get a full picture of the latest technologies that are most suitable for manufacturing yourproduct. Lastly, – concludes Bianchi – the 2016 edition will once again be standard-setting in industrial automation and information technology with the third edition of Digital Factory beyond automation©, the initiative that Senaf has concretely developed for three editions, aimed at presenting the crucial role of production technologies 4.0, which have become an essential part of the converting process”.
And automation, seen as technology applied to industry, will be one of the main themes of MECSPE 2016, embracing every production sector: from automotive to aerospace, to machine tools as well as foundries, the pharmaceutical industry and electronics. In pavilion 5 dedicated specifically to Automation, the Digital factory Beyond Automation©initiative is organised in various areas and from various angles thanks to the input of major businesses in the industry, Autodesk, Dassault Systemes, Heidenhain Italiana with its partnersand Siemens.
The Digital Factory – Beyond Automation©, which includes Logistics, aims to be the concrete standard for builders of industrial goods who see their own development in the real scenario of the evolving world of production. A scenario that involves all economic operators: subsuppliers of components and parts, suppliers of machines, manufacturing additive systems, automation, robotics, technical and management information technology all the way to PLM and metrology. An organised Factory, from the development of the idea to delivery of the piece to the customer, applicable to any material: metal, light alloys, plastic, composites. “Digital Factory – Beyond Automation© at Mecspe 2016 will be all of this. The production process will be illustrated though the production of car tyre rims, by the H2Polito Team from the Polytechnic of Turin, prior to their upcoming participation at the next Shell Eco-marathon.
The production line will include rim processing on a 5-axis machine tool, robotised automation, measuring and certification cell, automated handling of production, warehouse logistics and palletising. The rims will be traced and be traceable along the entire route for the retrieval of product information at every current and future movement. “Virtual reality” will be a powerful instrument for in-depth knowledge of the production situation from a tablet or smart-phone, which has the capacity to turn into a managerial tool at a high PLM hierarchical level.
The Pavilion is completed with 5 squares of excellence: Robotics – Assembly; Simulation; Electronics and Innovation; Innovation of power transmission and Testing. At the Robotics – Assembly Square visitors can have a hands-on experience of the most interesting applications developed by the Sponsors of the Robot Forum (Palacassa at the Parma Fairground, 16 March 2016) and by their System Integrator, and look into the themes covered in the plenary session. Also on March 17, the Solution Award ceremony will be held, honouring the application with the best technical capacity in terms of manipulation and perception during assembly, in the use of efficient collaboration models and the organisation of the layout and the processes.
The Simulation Square, with its area dedicated to Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) is developed around the skills of the exhibitors in the sector who will have the opportunity to present, in an exhibition area called “Designed-by-Simulation”, a number of products belonging to the Automotive and Transport; Artistic and Design; and Additive manufacturing and 3D printing sectors, optimised and developed through simulation.
The most advanced electronic technologies will be displayed in the Electronics & Innovation Square. A specifically dedicated area will be hosting the La Sapienza University of Rome, Eurotech, National Instruments and STMicroelectronics who will explain and exhibit advanced electronics in all of its aspects as an essential starting solution for every type of innovation. The La Sapienza University of Rome will bring the best works of its researchers, offering a glimpse of the future where the most sophisticated electronics joins medicine, biology, mechanics and every other aspect of daily life. Cutting-edge hardware solutions that are adaptable to many vertical markets will be the protagonists of Eurotech, while National Instruments will provide examples of instruments and methods for facing the most complex technical and engineering challenges. STMicroelectronics, on the other hand, will present the latest offers for basic technologies and the components for products and solutions that are intelligent and efficient in terms of energy consumption, and which lead to electronic applications of daily use.
An initiative dedicated to Testing will be presented at Control Italy, where the visitor can learn about the applicational advantages of fibre optic sensors using FBG technology (Fiber Bragg Grating). Thanks to their special structure, these sensors allow mixed measurement serial monitoring (structural, thermal, vibrational), also applicable to objects used in environments with the risk of explosion, immersed in liquid or in contact with brackish water, ice and dust. The area will be set up with a GS|K fatigue testing bench, comprised of a KUKA Roboter anthropomorphic robot, which will twist and bend a composite aeronautical part whose structural and vibrational behaviour will be monitored in real time by a network of FBG fibre optic sensors connected to the new GS4R 2.0 control unit, designed and developed by Global Sensing.
Training in the automation industry is also developed through numerous conventions, such as those organised by new Business Media. The organising committee of Electronic Selection, with its partners in the Electronics & Innovation area, will hold – on Thursday March 17 at 10.30 - the Microelectronic Innovation and Smart Industry convention where microelectronics will be presented as the underlying and crucial condition for upgrading the industry to the 4.0 paradigm, through a four-way conversation involving the input of STMicroelectronics, Eurotech, National Instruments and the ‘La Sapienza‘ University of Rome, starting with the scenario of the market and technologies. The organising committee of Industrial Automation will look into the relationship between Industrial Automation and Big data, illustratinghow the use of these elements are crucial to evolution in an industrial context; the convention will be an opportunity to look back at Automation Award 2015 and present the 2016 edition (Friday March 18, 10:30am).
Completing the offer, Anipla – Associazione Italiana per l’Automazione will discuss Components and Systems for motion control: a competitive edge for producers (Thursday March 17, 10:00am), while Associazione Meccanica will tackle the topic of Industry 4.0: knowledge to reap opportunities (Thursday March 17, 11:30am). The Power Drive Innovation convention (Friday March 18, 10:00am), with a focus on the Power Drive Innovation Quadrilateral will illustrate, on the other hand, the main innovations in terms of technological solutions applied to the fluid and non fluid power transmission sector. The most recent innovations in the sector of nano-structured cladding and the use of innovative materials will be presented, without overshadowing production optimisation technologies of materials commonly used in transmission manufacturing.
The MECSPE trade shows
Machines and Tools – machine tooling, tools and equipment; Digital Factory – IT technologies for the management of a smart factory; Motek Italy – factory automation; Power Drive – Systems – Parts – Mechatronics; Control Italy – metrology and quality control Logistics – logistics, machine and equipment management systems; Mechanical Subsupply – outsourced industrial processes: Electronic Subsupply;Eurostampi – moulds and moulding – Subsupply of plastic materials; Additive Manufacturing - rapid prototyping and 3D printing.
The numbers for the 2015 edition
33,673 visitors, 1,281 exhibitors, 31 processing islands, 15 thematic districts, 9 thematic shows, 10 squares of excellence, 103 conventions and mini-conferences organised by businesses, universities and research institutes.
For any information on the fair, please visit www.mecspe.com