Germany — In order to ensure the competitiveness of German-speaking tool, pattern and mold making companies, the cooperative MARKTSPIEGEL WERKZEUGBAU conducts an anonymous company comparison across the industry. The initiators started in 2019 to systematically make the companies better with industry knowledge. This article presents the key figures report from February 2021.

It was in the Japanese city of Nagoya that Eichii Okuma founded his company in 1898. Unlike their modern counterparts, the early Okuma machines were not built to meet the requirements of the aviation or automotive industries. Instead, the first Okuma products were machines for making udon noodles.

Canada – Hot runner innovations are required by moulders to remain competitive. Whether it is sophisticated gate control or new nozzle designs, the industry is constantly moving forward.

A 3D printed titanium frame is a crowd puller at Euromold stand.

Germany - EDM and HSC specialist OPS Ingersoll hosted an Open House last month which attracted nearly 200 visitors from around 100 companies. The event featured a variety of presentations from long-standing OPS Ingersoll partner companies, covering the whole process chain from design to the finished product.

UK — As an engineering solutions company, A&M EDM is striving to enhance its operations and capabilities to maximise its service to clients in the aerospace, motorsport, automotive, marine, medical, rail, defence and general subcontract sectors. To achieve this, the West Midlands company has invested in technology from 3, 4 and 5-axis machine tools, EDM wire and spark erosion and laser welding through to temperature-controlled metrology department.

UK-based global engineering company Renishaw will showcase its Ren AM 500Q, a pioneering four-laser system, which raises productivity, while decreasing cost-per-part, without compromising on quality.

One of the latest additions to leading standard part supplier Strack Norma's product portfolio is its new Z5265 digital counter

Germany — Online exchanges are on the upswing and are further boosted by Corona. This is especially true for B2B platforms that respond to new user needs and market changes. Reason enough for the Vogel Communications Group to rethink the used machinery exchange, which has existed in print since 1894 and digitally since 2005 and was previously operated by the trade medium “MM Maschinenmarkt“”.

Whether sand molds for metal casting or plastic melt-off models for investment casting — foundries benefit in both cases from the many advantages offered by additive 3D printing processes.