Italy — At EMO Milano, Umati was connecting more than 50 machines from all over the world, almost half of them remotely. Using the updated Umati dashboard, anyone interested could follow live to see what these machines, connected via the standardised OPC UA for Machine Tools interface, were doing and how they were working.

Germany — “Instead of growth, we must focus on values!” — this slogan from BASF executive Saori Dubourg was taken back home by the participants of the 30th Aachen Machine Tool Colloquium (AWK) on 23 September 2021. More than 1400 specialists and executives from the executive floors of the manufacturing industry had followed the call of the Machine Tool Laboratory WZL of RWTH Aachen University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT to the traditional network meeting.

When long-established cutting tool manufacturer AA Tools was acquired by new owners in 2014, the objective was to modernise the shop floor equipment with the very latest CNC machine tool technology. For the bespoke cutting tool manufacturer, the acquisition trail included a CNC tool and cutter grinder, a 4th-axis machining centre, a live tooling turning centre, an EDM drilling machine and a Mitsubishi MV1200R wire EDM machine from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

In 2022, Stuttgart will be the venue of a new trade show: The first edition of the new trade fair for grinding technology, Grinding Hub, will be held from 17 to 20 May 2022. At the event, leading manufacturers will present their solutions for current trends in grinding technology.

To address the issue of swarf clearance that might occur when machining soft, tough and high-alloyed materials, Guhring has introduced the new RF100 Sharp Series of high-performance end mills.

Intelligent software algorithms are essential for real-time collision avoidance, but they are only half the story. The other half is a well-designed user interface that enables operators to drive the software effectively. In their latest cooperation Module Works, technology providers for digital manufacturing solutions, and the Chiron Group, CNC machine tool manufacturers, put operator experience at the center of a new GUI for the Module Works Collision Avoidance System (CAS).

Six Hurco 3-axis vertical machining centres carry out a majority of prismatic machining in the toolroom of plastic packaging manufacturer in Beccles, UK. Instead of subcontracting machining jobs, the company is now able to offer the production of bigger multi-cavity moulds, for instance.

Germany — WZL of RWTH Aachen University support companies in identifying proven success factors for the implementation of digital product development.

Metav 2018 will be addressing data interchange between tools with the assistance of the accurate digital model – the digital twin.

Italy — Turkish tool manufacturer Turcar dominated the field of Anca's Tool of the Year competition with its multi-functional tool with axial and radial cutting features to machine five independent operations in one cycle.