A glimpse of what exhibitors are bringing to Hannover!

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.

1. Schaeffler Technologies at HANNOVER MESSE

Schaeffler Technologies, part of one of the world’s biggest family companies is exhibiting ”Machine tool 4.0” and ”Drivetrain 4.0” at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 – two innovations for production and maintenance in the context of the fourth industrial revolution.

With some 84,000 employees at 170 sites in 50 countries, the Herzogenaurach-based Schaeffler Group is one of the world’s biggest family-run companies. But it is more than just big – its systems and precision components for engines, transmissions, and chassis and its rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications help it play a big part in the mobility of tomorrow. At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, Schaeffler is exhibiting ”Machine tool 4.0” and ”Drivetrain 4.0”, two new products for production and maintenance applications in the context of the fourth industrial revolution.

The ”Machine tool 4.0” concept, one of four finalists nominated for the German Industry Innovation Award (Innovationspreis der deutschen Wirtschaft), is a joint development from Schaeffler and DMG MORI, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chip-forming machine tools. This fully networked machine, based on sensorized Schaeffler components and a cloud-based software package and evaluation unit, represents a clear step towards digitalized production – particularly if experience from this project is also transferred to other machinery and plants. In Hannover, Schaeffler is also exhibiting clear steps towards ”predictive maintenance” as part of the special event of the same name. ”Machine tool 4.0” is being joined at the event by ”Drivetrain 4.0” and its additional data-based solutions, which will be demonstrated live to highlight the added value of cloud-based services.

2. Bionic Robotics at HANNOVER MESSE

Bionic Robotics GmbH from Darmstadt in Germany is showcasing a lightweight robot at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 that emulates an exceptionally successful role model in terms of movement and size – the human arm!

Bionic Robotics GmbH, an innovation-driven spin-off from TU Darmstadt founded in 2010, focuses primarily on developing and manufacturing super-light robotic arms. The lightweight robot called BioRob that the company is exhibiting at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 is very similar to an exceptionally successful role model in the way it moves and its size – the human arm. It is similarly versatile, its four-to-five joints make it extremely flexible, and with its drives located in the base the robotic arm itself weighs very little. This makes BioRob the perfect industrial automation robot for performing transportation, pick & place, palletizing and alternating handling tasks involving small or medium-sized batches.

Thanks to its prize-winning, patented and bionic-inspired drive concept, which gives the robot arm a very light and flexible structure, people can safely venture within its reach. BioRob also meets the new ISO/TS 15066:2016 standards for collaborative robots, which makes it the only robot on the market without complex sensor and control technology that is suitable for human-machine interaction. Even at high speeds, thanks to its lightweight construction, the forces involved in any accidental contact with human co-workers would be so low that there is no risk of injury. This makes expensive protective enclosures, guards or other barriers a thing of the past.

3. Rethink Robotics at HANNOVER MESSE

U.S. specialist Rethink Robotics is teaming up with its German partner HAHN Robotics to showcase their collaborative robot Sawyer, a new concept for the changing work environment of Industry 4.0.

The trend toward growing diversification means companies have to find a way of manufacturing increasingly customized products cost-efficiently, even in small series. That in turn means they have to be even more flexible if they are to keep pace as the speed of change in Industry 4.0 production processes continues to increase. While SMEs used to have a clear advantage in this regard because they were smaller and therefore more flexible, the cost-intensive restructuring processes being pursued by larger companies are now threatening to change all that. This is why a development like the collaborative robot Sawyer couldn’t come at a better time. Sawyer, which U.S. high-tech expert Rethink Robotics and its German partners HAHN Robotics are exhibiting at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, will in future help SMEs in particular to set up their own high-performance automation.

Sawyer the ”cobot” (collaborative robot) embodies an entirely new production concept. The idea is not to replace humans, but rather to work productively in harmony with them. From the very start, a major focal point in design work was to ensure man and machine could work together side-by-side both safely and harmoniously – and without the need for any protective devices. This meant equipping Sawyer with a degree of intelligence and intuition that sets new standards in robotics. The end result is technology that can create a win-win situation by freeing up employees to turn their attention to more complex tasks and thus boost value creation in the entire company for the long term.

4. SONOTEC Ultraschallsensorik at HANNOVER MESSE

Ultrasound specialist SONOTEC is in Hannover to unveil its innovative new SONAPHONE ultrasonic measuring device as part of the special Predictive Maintenance 4.0 exhibition.

Being able to predict the optimum time to perform maintenance as accurately as possible is becoming increasingly important in the value creation chain. This helps significantly reduce the downtime imposed by previously unpredictable failures and optimize maintenance strategies based on actual wear. Such is the importance of predictive maintenance (PM) to Industry 4.0 that it has been allocated a dedicated exhibition zone at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. And this is where ultrasound specialist SONOTEC is premiering its innovative SONAPHONE and showing how companies can save energy and boost the efficiency of their entire production process with ultrasonic measuring devices.

”Our new SONAPHONE heralds a groundbreaking development in predictive maintenance. The aim was to develop the first user-friendly ultrasonic measuring device to combine innovative measuring and sensor technology with smart software for predictive maintenance,” explains Hans-Joachim Münch, SONOTEC’s managing director. It is 25 years since the ultrasound specialist from Halle first started developing and supplying ultrasonic test equipment for identifying holes in compressed air and gas systems, monitoring storage facilities, detecting partial discharges and inspecting valves and steam traps. The company’s mobile ultrasonic measuring devices, which can be found in the standard toolkit of many maintenance professionals, play a key role in improving system safety and availability.

5. Turck, Hans at HANNOVER MESSE

At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, Hans Turck GmbH & Co. KG is exhibiting a new addition to the BL compact series for its BL ident RFID system – a robust IP67 module for connecting EtherCAT master systems.

Turck is launching its new BL compact RFID module with integrated EtherCAT interface at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. Now, the company’s tried-and-tested BL ident RFID system can be connected directly to EtherCAT master systems using the robust IP67-I/O module, so that large volumes of data from the control system can be read out and processed directly from the BL ident system. This is done using acyclic services to ensure the data is always available in the control system when needed and that time-sensitive and decision-relevant data can be processed in real time.

To achieve this, Hans Turck GmbH & Co. KG provides standard-compliant components, which are processed in the control system and thus ensure the RFID system can be easily integrated into users’ system landscapes. The BL compact module’s 16 Kbyte per channel provide plenty of scope for adequate storage, so that even large volumes of data can be processed. To enable the system to react quickly to applications, read and write commands can be stored directly in the module so as to reduce reaction time and boost processing speed. What’s more, the new system – like all BL ident modules – supports the parallel operation of read/write heads for HF and UHF, thus offering users a great deal of flexibility and allowing them to define the basic RFID technology through the application.

6. Symmedia at HANNOVER MESSE

At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, symmedia GmbH is showcasing its symmedia SP/1 Parts intelligent spare parts store that networks production machinery directly with the manufacturer.

As production downtime inevitably costs machine operators time and therefore money, the best solution would surely be to keep the right spare parts to hand for whenever and wherever they’re needed. But surely it would cost a fortune to store a full inventory? Machinery manufacturers keen to optimize increasingly important and above all high-margin service business can explore a new option called symmedia SP/1 Parts at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. It’s been designed by service expert symmedia, which focuses on getting machines online and developing digital service solutions for mechanical and plant engineering.

Parts, the intelligent spare parts store, is the latest addition to symmedia’s SP/1 software package that already offers well-established remote service, monitoring and maintenance functions. Parts networks operators’ production machinery directly with the manufacturer and automatically sets up an intelligent shopping cart with order suggestions based on the machine’s datasheets – so genuine spare parts can be ordered from the manufacturer with a single click. This not only saves time, but also helps plan machinery maintenance and ensures maximum long-term availability for production. This Industry 4.0 solution enables machine manufacturers to network their products on a global scale and to optimize the service they provide across all sectors. As manufacturers extend their increasingly important high-margin service business and seek to retain their preferred supplier status for spare parts, even after the guarantee has expired, machine operators will benefit from the optimized identification and ordering service provided by Parts. This intelligent spare parts store is already being used successfully by injection molding machinery engineer ENGEL Austria.

7. JUMO at HANNOVER MESSE

With its innovative operation and visualization concept, the LOGOSCREEN 600 being premiered at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 by family-run company JUMO from Hesse heralds a new generation of monitors.

JUMO GmbH & Co. KG is a third-generation family-run business that has built up an international reputation over the decades as a high-tech supplier of innovative products in the field of instrumentation, control and automation. Its current product portfolio ranges from the sensors used in temperature, pressure and analysis measuring technology through to the control, automation and recording of measurements. JUMO is unveiling an innovation from the last of these segments at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 – its new LOGOSCREEN 600.

The LOGOSCREEN 600 rolls JUMO’s decades of experience in paperless recorders into this innovative operation and visualization concept. From now on, it will usually take just three taps or less of the appropriate symbols to call up the desired process data. Different versions of the device are available for the paperless recording of process data – from the basic input-less model (which gathers process measurements via Ethernet or RS485 interfaces) through to the top-end device with three or six universal analog inputs, two analog outputs, twelve digital inputs and twelve individually switchable digital inputs/outputs. At just 119 millimeters deep, including connector plug, the LOGOSCREEN 600 can even be installed in shallow switch cabinets.

8. Fraunhofer-Institut IWU at HANNOVER MESSE

The Fraunhofer IWU is showcasing its ”Press Plant 4.0” at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 – a novel miniature model factory that offers trade visitors a virtual tour using augmented reality.

True to its motto ”Forschung für die Zukunft” (Research for the Future), the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU) focuses on application-oriented research and development in the field of production technology for the automotive and mechanical engineering industries. More than 650 highly qualified engineers and scientists work in its state-of-the-art laboratories for machine tools, forming and joining technology, mechatronics, precision technology and virtual reality in Chemnitz, Dresden, Augsburg and soon also Zittau (Oberlausitz). This makes the IWU one of Germany’s leading contractual research and development institutions in its specialized fields of work. At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, a team of researchers and developers from the IWU will be showcasing their ”Press Plant 4.0” project for the very first time under the tantalizing motto ”Visualize Industry 4.0”.

In a particularly effective approach to this theme, the IWU is using augmented reality to offer visitors a virtual tour through a miniature model of a future press plant based on Industry 4.0. They will be guided through the individual production stages in an interactive and easy-to-follow tour that uses the production of sample components to demonstrate the intelligent networking of processes, machines, plant and humans. It will also be made very clear how networking helps save time, energy and material, speeds up reaction times and makes factories more versatile in responding to market changes.