The 20th International Exhibition for Metalworking Technologies, which will take place from 20 to 24 February in Düsseldorf, shows the entire value added chain in an overall organic view.
The classical topics of metalworking are found at the core of METAV, such as machine tools, production systems, high-precision tools, automated material flows, computer technology, industrial electronics and accessories.
Classical metalworking and innovation are of course not a contradiction at METAV. The latest technologies in traditional production technology can be seen at the fair, as can current solutions for Industry 4.0. With the core area, METAV addresses numerous user industries including the automotive industry and its component suppliers, machine manufacturing, medical technology and aircraft construction, electrical engineering and electronics as well as the ironworking, sheet metal cutting and metalworking industries.
This heart of the fair is intrinsically connected with the so-called Areas, which were successfully introduced with the new METAV concept in 2016. The fair thus represents the reality of modern industrial manufacturing compressed into its grounds. Two areas are dedicated to special topics of production technology and two others are focused on special industrial sectors.
Areas demonstrate synergies in production technologies
The Quality Area shows how inseparably measurement technology is connected to industrial manufacturing. In the era of digital transformation, these categories are gaining steadily in perceived importance. Not least the measuring and testing technologies involved will become a supporting pillar for smart and big data concepts.
The Additive Manufacturing Area, in contrast, illustrates that the corresponding manufacturing processes have firmly established their place in the factories. They are an outstanding complement to classical metalworking that joins in with the entire bandwidth of the process chain – even though mechanical post-processing is required in any case. This is made clear not least by the numerous exhibitors that rely on hybrid machines, i.e. production technology that combines additive with machining manufacturing.
In the Moulding Area, it’s all about tool, mould and model building. Moulding is considered to be one of the most demanding fields of application in metalworking. The standards of precision and quality involved are extremely high, which encourages innovation in this area. Besides conventional processes, new process technologies are always finding their way in, such as laser-based manufacturing for fine texturing of design surfaces. Therefore, the requirements that apply and how they can be solved with innovative production technology are central topics of the Moulding Area.
As the second user-based Area, the Medical Area focuses on medical technology. With its stringent requirements and massive innovation potential, it is a driver of technological progress in production technology. There is a good reason why medical technology ranks highly in the worldwide registration of patents. On the other hand, it is a segment with outstanding, long-term market perspectives. Demographic development of the world population is fuelling the demand, above all including the increasing average age in industrialized countries and the rising standard of living in numerous emerging countries.
METAV covers a broad range of specialisms dealing with numerous aspects of production technology. Its soul remains the entire bandwidth of metalworking, an area that has once again gained considerable innovative potential with the digital transformation. At the same time, METAV showcases the connections to the numerous, flanking industrial topics that decisively codetermine production technology. And it does so at a time in which Industry 4.0 is causing us to conceive value creation in a more extensive, universal and more effectively networked form.
