The exhibitors will be presenting the entire spectrum of foundry technology, castings, metallurgy and thermo process technology in twelve different halls. The list of countries participating is global and ranges from “A” for Australia to “U” for United Arab Emirates. Trade visitors from the business, research, development and academic communities cannot obtain such a comprehensive insight into the industry at any other trade fair anywhere in the world. So the international reach of the four trade fairs will once again be impressively broad this year. It is traditionally the case that more than half of the 78,000 trade visitors that are expected to attend come to Düsseldorf from overseas and from European countries.
As the leading trade fairs in their respective sectors, GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST will be covering the most important trends – and that is not all: they will be driving forces behind the ongoing market development of key technologies, above all in the core areas of Additive Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 or with respect to the tremendous potential offered by lightweight structures in the automotive industry.
Industry 4.0: a dominant issue at the “Bright World of Metals”
Digital transformation is an important topic at the “Bright World of Metals”, because Industry 4.0 is one of the main developments determining the future in the metallurgical sectors too, so it will be a dominant issue in the halls on the exhibition site in Düsseldorf. More and more sophisticated sensor technology is providing more and more data from the production process in foundries and steel mills. Thousands of data are needed for every slab that is cast and every strip of steel that is rolled. It is no longer possible to analyse these data, to recognise patterns and to obtain information from them with the classic IT methods. The computer centres and databases of the past are being replaced by big data analysis, artificial intelligence and networked cloud systems. The digital monitoring of machines and equipment reduces maintenance costs, increases efficiency and has the potential to optimise products.
Major focus: Additive Manufacturing
The “Bright World of Metals” is spotlighting another topical subject: Additive Manufacturing – the big issue in production engineering. The special Additive Manufacturing show in Hall 3 and the “Metal 3D Printing” conference will, for example, be premiered on 26. June. AM is already in successful operation in many demanding industries like medical engineering, car manufacturing and aerospace. The foundry, steel and aluminium industry have recognized the potential of 3D printing too – as, not least of all, a survey by the Federal Association of the German Foundry Industry (BDG) about the impact of electromobility on the foundry industry and its products emphasises. Alternative concepts implemented in hybrid and electric drives require increasing casting volumes by comparison with drives based exclusively on combustion engines. It is likely that peak casting demand will not be reached until 2030, according to the BDG survey – so the prospects for GIFA and METEC 2019 are excellent.
ecoMetals & ecoMetals Trails
The ecoMetals campaign by Messe Düsseldorf is an established feature and has been a success story for a long time now. It is no secret that sustainability, minimisation of resource consumption and energy efficiency are current trends in the energy-intensive foundry and metallurgical industries. Modern technologies that minimize resource consumption and improve energy efficiency play a not inconsiderable role when industrial customers are making investments. There can be no doubt that companies which excel in these areas will also be popular destinations for visitors to GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS or NEWCAST. Messe Düsseldorf responded to this trend as early as 2011 by launching a special campaign focussing on this issue, in which the leading companies in the industries spontaneously took part by presenting their technological innovations. The emphasis this year is again on environmentally sound operation and production in the sector, with resource and energy efficiency, climate protection and innovative processes and products as the main priorities. About 30 exhibitors will probably be presenting their accomplishments under the heading “ecoMetals@Bright World of Metals“. Visitors can obtain a personal insight in the context of guided tours – known as “ecoMetals Trails”.
For further information please visit: www.tbwom.com