Semantic interoperability is considered key for the implementation of Industry 4.0. Standardized and secure communication from the field device to the cloud is no longer a vision, but a reality that can be implemented with the help of OPC UA. In this article you will learn what this open communication standard is all about.

Who are the top automotive suppliers in Germany and which are the largest worldwide? Definition, examples, trends and industry knowledge — simply explained and at a glance!

Mapping a 3D printing process as a continuous digital process chain from design to manufacturing and post-processing is the logical consequence of a digital-additive manufacturing strategy. On behalf of AIM3D, the development service provider Naddcon has now integrated the ExAM 255 3D printer into the Siemens NX environment.

Supply chain management is the integrated process-oriented planning and control of the flow of goods, information and money across the entire value and supply chain from the customer to the raw material supplier.

The 100-year anniversary of the Hehl family company has set the stage for Arburg's latest piece of machine technology, the hybrid Allrounder 470 H. This anniversary machine delivers a high performance across the board: it saves energy, conserves resources, is production-efficient, user-friendly and reliable.

In the fourth quarter 2022, the index of machine tool orders in Italy marked a 3.5 percent increase compared with the period October-December 2021. The absolute value of the index stood at 133.6 (base year 2015=100). This is a new record value for the quarter of reference.

The continued resilience of the UK’s manufacturing base has delivered a strong sales year for machine engineering company Yamazaki Mazak in the UK.

As of February 1st, 2023, the Irish company PMT Premier Machine Tools (PMT), a supplier of machining solutions for the medical industry, will become part of the products and services offering from Seco. With this acquisition Seco will increase its presence in the medical segment offering integrated manufacturing solutions.

Since 2004 Al Fajer Information & Services and Messe Duesseldorf have maintained a partnership, whose continuation was secured by the signing of a contract in Düsseldorf on 27 February 2023: Arab Plast will again be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 13 to 15 December 2023.

The STOM industrial cycle and accompanying events will take place in Kielce, Poland from 28 to 31 March. This time the organiser Targi Kielce has extended the trade fair to four days. Read more here.

5,700 customers from 53 nations came to the Arburg Anniversary Days at the “Think Tank” in Lossburg, Germany, from 8 to 11 March 2023. At the event, which is called Technology Days in other years, everything that makes plastic hearts beat faster was to be found.

The Plastics Industry Association (Plastics) announced that the Plastics Show NPE has sold 93,000 m2 of exhibit space at this year’s in-person Space Draw event — a new record high with 91 m2 sold in 2018.

Meusburger presented a mould making innovation: the E 3380 compact slide unit. It is the only compact slide unit with a prefabricated cooling hole and an integrated fountain on the market.

To simplify 3D CAD design for mould and die making customers, Meusburger offers standardised colour codes. Each colour represents a clearly defined tolerance, and work can be done directly from the 3D model.

Customised production, numerous possible combinations, custom dimensions in all variants — with a large repertoire of latch locks, Strack Norma offers its customers advantages in terms of the economic efficiency and production reliability.

Since the early days of the moulding industry, many mechanical solutions have been developed to help release undercuts during the ejection process. As a result of the technological evolution, machinery, or materials, many mechanisms have become redundant. However, there is one mechanism which has lasted through many changes with almost no redesign: the slide.

Industrial 3D printing expert Titomic has further expanded into Europe by entering into a reseller agreement with Multistation, located in Paris, France.

Mapping a 3D printing process as a continuous digital process chain from design to manufacturing and post-processing is the logical consequence of a digital-additive manufacturing strategy. On behalf of AIM3D, the development service provider Naddcon has now integrated the ExAM 255 3D printer into the Siemens NX environment.

3D printed components were manufactured by CRP USA for the Portland State Aerospace Society’s Oresat0 Cube Sat, Oregon’s first satellite, deployed into low earth orbit in March 2021 and successfully operating since then. A turnstile antenna assembly, a star tracker camera lens and sensor assembly, and a battery assembly were all 3D printed out of Windform LX 3.0.

Software company Sigma Additive Solutions will partner with Dye Mansion, a provider of connected and integrated post-processing solutions for industrial polymer 3D-printing, to add an integrated hardware/software solution option that offers extra quality assurance for Dye Mansion’s post-processing solutions: DM60, Powershot Performance and Powerfuse S.

According to DMG Mori’s Chairman of the Executive Board Christian Thönes, 2022 was a year of top performance for the machine tool manufacturer and at the same time a year of major global challenges. Despite strong headwinds, the company was able to reach and in some parts exceed the forecasts that were increased during last year.

On 21 February 2023, at an Open House event held in its Laser Center of Technologies in Geneva (Switzerland) with more than 70 international VIP guests, GF Machining Solutions presented its new Laser S 1000 U fs and Laser S 1200 U fs machines in an exclusive preview. The two solutions are equipped with new ultrashort pulse Laser sources and are available for sale now.

The tool and mould maker Quarder was asked to produce an injection-compression mould for the manufacture of a component in microfluid technology. However, the requirements were extensive, even for experts.

Thanks to the newly developed Eneskaimpulse 230 welding system for repair welding in tool and mould making, even newcomers no longer need to worry about how to operate correctly.

Digital manufacturing software specialist, Module Works, has opened an office in Pune, India. The new office adds to the company’s facilities in Germany, Romania and Japan and will support the company’s growing international customer base.

Holistic digitalisation is only possible if the administration (top floor) is connected to manufacturing (shop floor). We show how the individual systems are connected both horizontally and vertically by means of IIoT and interoperability.

CAD/CAM company Mastercam has announced the 2022 Wildest Parts Competition winners. The competition is held each year to encourage student interest and participation in manufacturing.

The Sigma Technical Talks have proven themselves well over the past two years. But even today, there is still a need to learn for free and in a time-efficient manner. Therefore, there is a new edition of the webinar series in this spring with new and current topics from the world around Sigmasoft.

Top quality and performance is what DME promises users with new ME Series and M2+ Series Temperature Controllers for hot runner systems. The ME series has been designed for top value applications in low to mid complex moulds while the M2+ Series is ideal for very demanding applications.

Hot runner technology enables injection moulded parts with the highest surface quality, as required in particular by the automotive industry. In many applications, systems from Oerlikon HRS Flow support cost-efficient, material-saving production with highly precise process control.

With the additively manufactured Streamrunner, Hasco offers new possibilities for mould makers and injection moulders. The solution offers new possibilities and design freedom.

Meusburger has created a new hot runner controller especially for injection moulders. The Profitemp IM is a compact, handy and powerful hot runner control unit, which features many advantages and easy handling. The device is available from stock.

Cutting tool expert Walter is extending its range of solid carbide milling cutters for ISO N machining with the addition of two distinct roughing specialists, the MD265 Supreme and the MC268 Advance.

The latest edition of Industrial Tooling Corporation’s (ITC) annual product catalogue has now been published and is available to view online. Now reaching its seventeenth edition, the new catalogue is crammed with new product enhancements and developments from the cutting tool manufacturer.

Now available from Floyd Automatic Tooling is the new Crazy Mill Cool Micro series of micro end mills from Mikron Tool. With micro machining applications increasingly commonplace, this high-performance end mills could be a game changer for the industry.

Highly complex contour areas required the smallest cutter diameters with 5-µm accuracy on 384 measuring fields, and extremely long machine runtimes: The Spe-Chip microfluidic sample carrier mould was in a league of its own. The toolmaking department at Erwin Quarder Systemtechnik in Espelkamp in Germany's Eastern Westphalia managed the project — with support from Moldino.