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The Days Of The Traditional Machine Tool Are Not Numbered

The whole world is talking about 3D printing, additive manufacturing and generative multi-layer construction technologies.

To quote Carl Fruth, Managing Board Chairman of FIT AG, Lupburg, “at EMO, the very latest CNC-based production technologies will be on show, additive manufacturing among them. Innovative potential product solutions in this field will be demonstrated.” Photo: Fit AG

Nevertheless, this is a long way from meaning that the classical machine tool is going to be pensioned off. EMO Hannover 2017 will be showcasing an international banquet of production technology – with alternative processes as the highly auspicious icing on the cake.

Carl Fruth has meanwhile long since achieved his goal of transferring competences in the field of multi-layer technologies into product manufacturing: moreover, within the framework of a Technology Day featuring an in-house exhibition held in April 2017, FIT AG (Fruth Innovative Technologies) in the Upper Palatinate village of Lupburg, in addition to inaugurating a new office building also opened the first additive factory. The “FIT factory is even on an international comparison unique in terms of manufacturing capacity and automation technology, and is intended to serve as a template for further additive manufacturing facilities of the FIT Group,” to quote the firm’s founding father and Managing Board Chairman Fruth. He is a pioneer of additive manufacturing – and a visionary for whom ten years ago it was already a certainty that multi-layer construction technology would in future be the norm in everyday production operations and the sales of milling machines or injection moulding machines would inexorably decline.

But that is still a long way from meaning that the days of the mother of all machines (i.e. the traditional machine tool) are numbered. This is impressively confirmed by the innovations that will be showcased by the exhibitors at EMO Hannover 2017. One of the impediments to the widespread adoption of additive technology in individualized mass production was described several years ago by Fruth himself as the lack of productionsuited manufacturing lines. This has changed in the meantime. Fruth puts it like this: “There are a large number of delicate seedlings: many of our customers would like to use additive technologies to manufacture replacements for existing components. But this is possible only in a very few cases. Usually, a new component has to be developed and very often the adjoining components of the system as well. Firstly, many companies are deterred by the outlay involved, and secondly, of course, you need specialized development competence for this new production technology.”

The country needs new designer engineers

When traditional design guidelines no longer apply, a new generation of design engineers is needed, keen to embrace function-driven thinking. According to Fruth, additive manufacturing means that in the design phase not only the geometry, but also the material properties and the component costs are essentially specified in full. This complexity necessitates specialized training and experience. Moreover, up to now there is no software tool in existence that provides all the requisite functions. So firms have to work with different, complex software tools. Very often, information is lost in transitioning from one tool to another. When you need up to eight iterations for developing a component, the substantial outlay involved is obvious.”

˝The competences required, moreover, are possessed not by a single design engineer, but only by a team. In traditional companies, furthermore, the competences concerned are divided up among different departments – a situation exacerbated by squabbles about prerogatives and uncertainty. Innovative companies, however, also see this as an opportunity: “we support our customers in this process, and train them component by component to achieve maximized performance in AM design. That’s why we also call these products ADM – Additive Design and Manufacturing”.

When the talk turns to additive manufacturing in an automated process chain (something he used to refer to as the Achilles’ heel!), Fruth becomes veritably effusive, “this is my own particular hobbyhorse. We don’t have a digital specification of our products. This is why Industry 4.0 hasn’t taken off and also why automation isn’t working properly either. When everything has to be automated and optimized by hand, then the traditional forms of mass production are – old hat!” Whether there’s a robot standing at the production line or a human employee turning the product, there are no fundamentally new approaches involved: “For as long as a drawing and thick ring binders of text are required for specifying a product, Industry 4.0 is never going to get off the ground. In this context, it’s immaterial whether there’s a PDF file for the specification involved – we’re talking here about machine-readable specifications and their fully automated implementation.” Some former weak points, by contrast, he adds, like the reproducibility of the processes, quality assurance in mass production, or dependable simulation methods, have been almost eliminated. “Everyone involved has understood the problem and is working purposefully to solve it.”

More technologies are sharing the market

To quote Peter Scheller, Marketing Director at Siemens PLM Software, Cologne, “EMO Hannover 2017 is an excellent platform for learning more about ongoing challenges and customers’ wishes.” Photo: Siemens PLM

The inevitable question of whether the conventional machine tool will soon be out of a job receives a differentiated answer from the AM expert. “Components are manufactured in a process chain. That’s true today and will still be true tomorrow. Additively manufactured components, as is the case with other production technologies, too, require quality-testing – it’s immaterial in this context whether this means each individual component or every 50th one of identical components. So I don’t think existing technologies are going to be replaced.” CNC-driven processes, he adds, are all very flexible in use, and all have a market of their own. The question is rather, “what share can each technology have of the cake as a whole?” The slice for the various additive production technologies is currently so small that it can only increase. Fruth, however, also believes that the cake as a whole for CNC processes is becoming larger, at the expense of tool-linked production technologies and other highly personnelintensive processes. We’re looking here at a combination of different CNC technologies.

At the upcoming EMO Hannover 2017, Fruth expects “to find the very latest CNC-based production technologies, plus innovative potential products in this category. A large number of equipment manufacturers for additive processes and material producers will be exhibiting at EMO Hannover. For us as users of this equipment, this adds a special interest to the fair.”

Harmonized software solutions for additive manufacturing

A new solution for additive manufacturing has recently been premiered by Siemens PLM Software, the Business Unit for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Cologne. It consists of an integrated software package for design, simulation, digital manufacturing, plus data and process management. This enables a generative design to be created automatically, on the basis of new functions for optimised topologies. This frequently results in organic shapes that a design engineer would be highly unlikely to think of himself, and that would be very complicated or even impossible to manufacture using conventional production methods. Possible user target groups include the automotive industry, the aviation sector or medical technology.

The revolutionary solution and its possible applications are explained by Peter Scheller, Marketing Director at Siemens PLM Software. “What’s special about it is that this is a consistently harmonized platform. On the basis of our Convergent Modelling technology, we incorporate within our NX software for integrated CAD all the relevant product development steps for 3D printing, from scanning to the actual printing. In the field of 3D printing, there are already a whole lot of individual solutions in various niches, either from printer manufacturers or other vendors. The important step we’re now taking is the integration of all process steps into a platform with a central user interface, on which both the geometry and the print path generation are stored in a secure data format.”

Highly sophisticated integrated technologies for simulations and analyses enable a design’s behaviour to be calculated in advance. This new technology, with its high change triggering potential, will encourage innovative design approaches. Photo: Siemens PLM

In addition, within the framework of this strategy, Siemens PLM Software has unveiled plans for a new online collaboration platform providing an option for worldwide cooperation in the manufacturing sector. The declared aim is to render on-demand product designs and 3D printing production operations more easily accessible to a global manufacturing industry. In mass production environments,” says Scheller, “3D printing has not yet arrived completely: it originated in prototyping and so far has been predominantly used for this purpose. But we’re approaching a threshold here: the process is emerging from this niche; many companies are currently thinking about using it for mass production or have already introduced it for this purpose.” When you think about an additive production process on an industrial scale, “from our point of view a processreliable data format is extremely important, as a basis for enabling components to be dependably manufactured again and again in the same quality. So far there hadn’t been a platform of this kind, which is why we’re now providing one for our customers.” For industrial production operations, in particular, it is very important to have an exhaustive description of your components on file in digital form. This is essential for accessing this digital twin in the event of queries or cases of damage and investigating the relevant causes.

Scheller sums up his expectations for EMO Hannover 2017 as follows: “Siemens will continue to invest in innovations and to work together with technology partners in order to develop new solutions designed to progress the efficacy of additive manufacturing and drive 3D printing forward still further. That’s why we’re looking forward to fruitful meetings at EMO Hannover 2017 and plenty of mutual feedback with customers and associates. The fair is a superlative platform for learning more about current challenges and customers’ wishes.”

 

Rising Unemployment Shows An Economy In Trouble

The employment figures released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) indicate a deeply troubled economy which, in the absence of a solution, will see ordinary South Africans continuing to suffer badly, the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) said.

SEIFSA Senior Economist Tafadzwa Chibanguza.

SEIFSA Senior Economist Tafadzwa Chibanguza said that given the 2017 firstquarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures recently published, which revealed that South Africa had fallen into a recession, it almost seemed a forgone conclusion that the employment figures for the same period would confirm a negative picture.

“In fact, the employment figures mirror those of the GDP, with the tertiary services contributing the most to the employment declines,” Chibanguza added.

The quarterly employment statistics released by StatsSA showed that a total of 48 000 jobs were lost between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, amounting to a 0.5% decrease. Between the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of this year, a total of 58 000 jobs – representing 0,6% of jobs – were shed.

The 48 000 jobs lost in Q1 2017 is a net number, which is the result of decreases in most sectors and increases in some. Chibanguza said if all the jobs lost in the tertiary sector were added up, then a total of 64 000 jobs were lost between the end of Q4 2016 and Q1 2017.

If the 4000 jobs lost in the manufacturing sector were added, then a total of 68 000 jobs were lost in Q1 2017. Chibanguza said that, with employment being an outcome variable which increases or decreases on the back of higher or lower levels of economic activity, South Africa “a thorough introspection of its challenges in order for meaningful solutions to be found”.

He said that it was encouraging to note that the mining sector had added 8000 jobs and the construction sector 12 000 jobs in Q1:2017. He said that the increase in mining jobs was to be expected given the relatively better mining production statistics released for the first quarter of 2017, which was assisted by stronger commodity prices.

However, Chibanguza cautioned that the new version of the Mining Charter released by the Minister of Mineral Resources last week had the potential to undo this upside.

He added that construction employment generally tended to be volatile, depending on the number of projects in progress and sounded a caution that the current weak levels of business confidence and the accompanying slow gross fixed capital formation were likely to imperil this trend.

“Rome is burning and the man on the street is the biggest victim”, Chibanguza warned.

SEIFSA Welcomes Automotive Sector’s Commitment To Increase Sourcing Of Locally-Produced Goods

SEIFSA Senior Economist Tafadzwa Chibanguza said the announcement made by representatives of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa in Sandton recently that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) would increase their sourcing of locallyproduced goods as part of their 2035 Transformation Plan boded well for the metals and engineering sector, which was a supplier to auto manufacturers.

SEIFSA Senior Economist Tafadzwa Chibanguza.

The announcement was made after a meeting with the ANC leadership, which was also part of that press conference.

Chibanguza said that the announcement speaks directly to the metals and engineering sector, which SEIFSA represents. He said the automotive sector makes up 31% of the total demand profile of the metals and engineering sector.

“It is, in fact, the largest domestic demand source for metals and engineering products, followed by construction and then mining. Prospects to increase local sourcing of inputs translates favourably to the metals and engineering sector since it indicates a potential growing share of activity for local companies.

“This is a classic case of a dynamic and pragmatic approach to a difficult economic environment,” Chibanguza said.

He said that current levels of economic activity are very weak and only economic growth would counter that situation, but that would not happen overnight. The announcement by the automotive sector was a welcome, dynamic response to that weak environment.

Chibanguza expressed the hope that the current impasse in the mining sector occasioned by the new Mining Charter would be resolved speedily in order to improve demand levels from that sector to the metals and engineering sector.

High-Profile Dialogue For The Embattled Steel And Engineering Sector

The contraction in the metals and engineering sector will be the focus of the 3rd annual South African Metals and Engineering Indaba in September.

SEIFSA Chief Executive Officer, Kaizer Nyatsumba.

The Indaba, to be held at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Conference Centre in Sandton, from 14-15 September, is set to take place against the backdrop of negative sentiment about the South African economy because of, among others, falling Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and contraction in the secondary sector in the first quarter of this year.

According to the South African Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin June 2017, manufacturing production contracted for the third successive quarter in the first quarter of this year. This was mainly due to weak domestic demand and low business confidence.

Presented by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation and the Department of Trade and Industry, the Indaba is an opportunity for business executives, policy makers and trade union representatives to collaborate towards addressing the challenges facing the sector.

Speaking ahead of the Indaba, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) Chief Executive Officer, Kaizer Nyatsumba said, in addition to tackling the challenges in the sector, the conference would also consider the steps necessary to reverse the contraction in the metals and engineering sector.

According to Statistics South Africa, the metals and engineering sector has shrunk in each successive year since 2013.

“We need to urgently turn around that trend because the steel and engineering sector is an important contributor to the GDP and job creation,” Nyatsumba said.

He added, “this requires collaboration between government, labour and business. With unemployment currently at unacceptably high levels, South Africa needs a vibrant and competitive steel and engineering sector. The Indaba is an opportunity for the different stakeholders to exchange ideas.”

Steel Industry Negotiations – Misinformation By NUMSA

It is common cause that the Industry is in distress. According to the MEIBC the Industry lost 150 000 jobs over the 10 year period from 2006 to 2015.

The IDC recently confirmed a further 25 000 job losses and 500 business closures during the last twelve month period. The issue of uncompetitive wages is one of the main causes stifling job creation in the Industry.

Gerhard Papenfus, Chief Executive (NEASA)

The wages in the Steel Industry are currently, on average, double that of other Industries covered by bargaining council agreements. The wage gap is even bigger when it is compared to wages determined by wage determinations.

The wage proposal by NEASA and other employer groupings in this round of negotiations are to address this ever worsening trend in terms of job losses and also to create a position in which new jobs could be created. One of the employer demands is to establish a new entry level wage for newly appointed employees in this Industry.

In press releases by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), they constantly create the impression that this constituted a downward variation of wages.

This is simply not true. It is not the case now, and it has never been the position of employers. In terms of the employers’ position in this regard, the wages of existing employees will not be affected.

The same applies to the misinformation being circulated to the effect that, apart from employers proposing to reduce the wages of current employees, they also want to increase working hours. Again this is not true. The proposal by employers in this regard is simply to add an additional five hours to the normal working hours before overtime is introduced.

In spreading misinformation about the employers’ proposals, knowing perfectly well that it is not true, NUMSA is playing a very dangerous game – probably aimed at inciting employees to strike – for the wrong reasons. This is dangerous, mischievous and irresponsible.

Stakeholders at the negotiating table, both employers and trade unions, must remember that they are not only negotiating for their own interests. There is indeed much more at stake. Opening the opportunity of employment to the millions of unemployed people has now become one of South Africa’s most strategic objectives. In the Steel Industry, taking the lead in this regard and doing something constructive, is within our power.

SAEFA Confident That Commitment To Interests Of All Parties Can Still Avoid Engineering Sector Strikes

That’s the view of Gordon Angus, Executive Director of the South African Engineers and Founders Association (SAEFA). SAEFA have appointed an independent lead negotiator to represent employers in the current wage negotiations with engineering and steel sector workers and their unions.

“The reality is that strike action will be extremely detrimental to employees and the sector as a whole,” Angus emphasizes, “not to mention the additional pressure that it will bring to bear on the already tenuous economic situation in the country.”

Gordon Angus, Executive Director of the South African Engineers and Founders Association (SAEFA).

Angus points to Jonathan Goldberg’s appointment as an independent negotiator by SAEFA, at their own expense, as a clear indication by the Association and the more than 400 businesses it represents of their sincere desire to reach a solution that will prevent strike action while also setting a solid and realistic foundation on which the sector can build going forward.

However, he points out that reaching such a solution requires the same level of commitment by the labour representatives to acting in the best interests of all parties, particularly the financial wellbeing of the employees they represent. “Offers presented by employers have been summarily dismissed by unions, indicating the absence of a sincere desire to reach a sustainable solution that benefits all parties,” Angus explains, “but rather a predisposition by the union towards strike action.”

He points in particular to NUMSA’s outright rejection of a proposal of a reduced entrylevel wage for new employees in the sector as indications of the union’s unwillingness to find solution that promotes the long-term sustainability of the sector.

“SAEFA and the other employer representative associations have repeatedly assured employees that the proposed lower hourly wage (initially proposed at R20 per hour, the same level as the national minimum wage) is only for new, unskilled employees in the sector,” he says “and that this will never be passed on to existing employed, trained and experienced workers.” However, he says that unions appear unwilling to trust that this is the case, nor that the intention behind the lower entry-level wage structure is to make it financially viable for the industry to provide further work opportunities and training to even more South Africans, thereby helping to reduce the sharply rising and wholly unsustainable SA unemployment rates.

“I am confident that, if the parties are willing to come to the table with an open mind, and a willingness to consider all viewpoints and concerns, a solution can be found that avoids the potentially devastating consequences of industrial action, Angus concludes, “but agreeing on that solution will require a sincere commitment by the employers and the union to set aside any other agendas they may have and negotiate with the best interests – both current and future – of the entire industry in mind.”

The Future Of Transport Is Magnetic

The idea of creating new high-speed mass transit systems is a hot topic for many scientists around the world.

Spurred on by technology engineering entrepreneur, Elon Musk, the race is on to create pods that can transport passengers and cargo at high speeds. Musk – the founder and cofounder of several innovative companies including Tesla (premium electric cars), SolarCity (solar energy supply), and PayPal (online payment portal) – has inaugurated the Hyperloop project with one of his companies, SpaceX. Although SpaceX was originally set up to explore aerospace manufacture and transport, with the ultimate goal of enabling colonization of other planets, Musk recognized that harnessing the expertise of aeronautical engineers could revolutionise ground transport and so set up Hyperloop.

The Hyperloop concept is being developed so that pods will travel at very high speeds along a tube, to provide an alternative to flying, rail transportation and driving, while also being safe, convenient and kinder to the environment in not using power that is dependent on fossil fuels. There are several Hyperloop sites being established around the world and in 2015 Musk launched a competition to encourage the best international student groups to push the boundaries of science and create their ideas of how pods could operate.

MIT’s pod carries out its test run at the SpaceX Hyperloop tunnel in California.

Two such top universities – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, in the US) and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, in the Netherlands) – took part in the first phase of a competition in January this year to unveil their prototype pods at a Hyperloop test track in California. Challenged with a tunnel of one mile in length and six-feet diameter, the teams had to demonstrate that their pods could safely accelerate to speeds of up to 250 mph and break to a standstill without crashing. Both teams used magnetic levitation as their method of propulsion.

The future of transport innovation

Max Opgenoord, a PhD student who is researching transonic aeroelasticity (the interaction between the aerodynamics and the structural dynamics of aircraft) was the project leader for the MIT Hyperloop team. “It has been an exciting ride,” he says. “When we started with the competition, no one knew what a Hyperloop pod should look like, so we had incredible design freedom. And now, almost two years later, we have demonstrated that a Hyperloop pod can be built. The levitation was definitely the most challenging part of the project, because there were so many options.”

As part of the competition, the rules stipulated that participants from different study areas such as engineering, technology, manufacturing and business management should work together. Musk realized that in order for innovative ideas to become a realistic proposition for high-speed, low-carbon and scalable mass transit, a practical all-round approach would be needed.

Edouard Schneiders, an applied physics student was on the team for TU Delft’s competition entry. “It was very exciting to take part in this competition – the atmosphere was ecstatic,” he says. “Hyperloop is extremely fast and extremely efficient. It will have enormous social and economic consequences whilst vastly reducing emissions.

“Transportation has not significantly progressed since the release of the Boeing 747 and the invention of MagLev trains in 1970. The transportation industry needs to evolve and look for completely new solutions like Hyperloop in order to make a real impact.”

Experts from SpaceX and Tesla, along with university professors, judged the competititon entries. The TU Delft Hyperloop team won first prize overall, while MIT Hyperloop won an award for safety and reliability.

At the forefront of technology

Max and Edouard conducted a workshop at CWIEME Berlin to talk about their groundbreaking designs for the SpaceX Hyperloop competition and the future of transport. Both are excited to see what else is on offer at the show and hear from experts about how technology has a beneficial impact on different industries.

CWIEME Berlin is the world’s leading exhibition for coil winding, electric motor and transformer manufacturing. With seminar and workshop speakers from disciplines such as design engineering, manufacturing, R&D, procurement and management, visitors were informed about the latest trends in electronics, electric motor, transformer, generator, automotive and energy sectors.

World’s Largest Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Test-Bed

Land scarcity has severely limited Singapore’s adoption of solar power.

Floating solar panels may be a viable alternative for the city-state surrounded by water. Floating panels could be eleven percent more efficient than solar panels placed on precious land. Pioneering technology leader ABB is providing critical components on a landmark one megawatt floating solar photovoltaic test-bed. It measures 1 hectare or 1.5 football fields. The energy generated will be fed into the national energy grid, providing electricity for up to 250 households.

“We are proud to support this important project in Singapore with our technological expertise and domain knowledge,” said Tarak Mehta, president of ABB’s Electrification Products division. “This project is perfectly aligned with our Next Level strategy around the energy revolution and is an important step in collaborating with partners to bring more renewables into the future energy mix.”

Located in the Tengeh Reservoir in west Singapore, the installation features multiple solar solutions from providers to study the performance and cost-effectiveness of floating solar platforms. ABB supplied 100 kW of market-leading TRIO-50 solar inverters to Phoenix Solar, one of several system integrators for the project. These essential components convert the direct current produced in solar panels into alternating current for use in electrical grids. Additionally, ABB low-voltage molded case and miniature circuit breakers protect the electrical circuits on the water.

In Singapore – a country with an area of only 719 square km and a population of 5.6 million – high average annual solar irradiation of about 1,500 kWh/m2 makes solar an attractive source of renewable energy. Floating solar platforms will be naturally cooled by the surrounding water, which increases the efficiency of the energy yields significantly. A study has found that the natural cooling effect of the water beneath the solar cells makes them up to 11 percent more efficient than solar panels placed on land. In a synergistic effect, the floating platform helps reduce evaporation of the valuable water.

CECIMO Announces Positive Forecasts For 2017

Although exports from the European machine tool industry were 3% lower in 2016, CECIMO members were outperforming internationally as the global MT trade decreased around 7%.

The global machine tool consumption contracted 6-8% in 2016. CECIMO countries exported machine tools worth around 18.3 billion euro in 2016, accounting for the clear majority (96%) of the European exports in the sector and for almost one of every two machine tools sold in the foreign markets. It is difficult to make a forecast for 2017, as plans for international trade barriers seem to emerge. Though, if the business climate remains unchanged, CECIM0 exports are likely to grow to a level of 19 billion euro. Amongst the reasons of this positive trend, Dr Frank Brinken, Chairman of the CECIMO Economic Committee and Vice-Chairman of Starrag Holding AG, points out that “digitization and future proven high quality standards increase the attractiveness of the European MT portfolio in foreign markets”.

Luigi Galdabini, CECIMO President

On the domestic European side, modernization of production equipment and previously postponed investments for capital goods will likely contribute to a rise in machine tool sales. The European consumption is expected to pass 18 billion euro in 2017 and to retain a solid market share in global MT consumption above 26%. Such increment relates to an annual market expansion of nearly 3.5 percent.

Finally, the levels of investment, necessary to modernize manufacturing with digital ready equipment, are still insufficient. However, the growing acceptance and speed of the digitization of our industry support the economic recovery in Europe, while political stimuli and the positive sentiment among European businesses should drive investment in the MT sector upwards.

Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General

European machine tool builders favour data-driven business models

Data is one of the most important production factors and European machine tool builders favour data-driven solutions that improve machine performance, maintenance and environmental efficiency. Nevertheless, the industry is still at the early phases of understanding the full scope of data-driven solutions, and we need a future-proof public policy to underpin the growth of European machine tool builders.

Frank Brinken, Chairman of the CECIMO Economic Committee and Vice-Chairman of Starrag Holding AG.

“We are glad to see that European policymakers put connectivity in industrial context at the forefront, and that they foresee a dialogue with trade associations for a EU framework on machine-generated data. Yet, we remind policy-makers that industrial data mirrors processes, products and systems, so it’s context-sensitive and often contains trade secrets. The goal is not to implement new premature rules, but rather, to increase our companies’ technical and organizational capacity. Together with policy-makers we should generate a common understanding fit for the digital era” says Mr Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General.

So, MT industry does not favour strict regulations on access rights to data with a top-down approach, which might hamper legal certainty and trust in data economy. Access to data generated by machines is defined by bilateral contracts between businesses, which seems to work sufficiently well for now. “To build a thriving data economy in Europe, the complex manufacturing sector needs the European institutions to be cautious in designing policies on data rights. Any strict regulation might be perceived as an intervention in the market and block investment in data-driven solutions. Businesses should negotiate and decide freely the extent of the industrial data to be shared” adds Mr Luigi Galdabini, CECIMO President. Policy-makers should rather provide long-term certainty, raise awareness on new business models, and support highspeed internet across Europe, with a focus on SMEs.

Lastly, the machine tool sector is becoming increasingly global, trading within and beyond Europe. As data economy cannot be built at national level, the EU should increase its efforts on free flow of data across the EU and on data exchange with third countries.

Nearly 35,000 Aircraft Valued At US$5.3 Trillion Required In The Next 20 Years

The world’s passenger aircraft fleet above 100 seats is set to more than double in the next 20 years to over 40,000 planes as traffic is set to grow at 4.4 percent per year, according to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast 2017-2036.

Over this period, increasing numbers of first time flyers, rising disposable income spent on air travel, expanding tourism, industry liberalization, new routes and evolving airline business models are driving a need for 34,170 passenger and 730 freighter aircraft worth a combined total of US$5.3 trillion. Over 70 percent of new units are single aisle with 60 percent for growth and 40 percent for replacement of less fuel efficient aircraft.

A doubling in the commercial fleet over the next 20 years sees a need for 530,000 new pilots and 550,000 new maintenance engineers and provides Airbus’ global services business a catalyst to grow. Airbus has expanded its global network of training locations from five to 16 in the space of three years.

Air traffic growth is highest in emerging markets such as China, India, the rest of Asia and Latin America and almost double the 3.2 percent per year growth forecast in mature markets such as North America and Western Europe. Emerging markets currently home to 6.4 billion of the world’s 7.4 billion population will account for nearly 50 percent of the world’s private consumption by 2036.

“Air travel is remarkably resilient to external shocks and doubles every 15 years,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer – Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “Asia Pacific continues to be an engine for growth, with domestic China to become the world’s largest market. Disposable incomes are growing and in emerging economies the number of people taking a flight will nearly triple between now and 2036.” Over the next 20 years Asia Pacific is set to take 41 percent of new deliveries, followed by Europe with 20 percent and North America at 16 percent. Middle class numbers will almost double to nearly five billion as wealth creation makes aviation even more accessible particularly in emerging economies where spending on air travel services is set to double.

In the twin aisle segment, such as the A330 Family, A350 XWB Family and the A380, Airbus forecasts a requirement for some 10,100 aircraft valued at US$2.9 trillion.

In the single aisle segment, such at the A320neo Family, Airbus forecasts a requirement for some 24,810 aircraft valued at US$2.4 trillion. Airlines adding capacity by upsizing to the largest single aisle, the A321, will find even more business opportunities with the A321neo thanks to its range up to 4,000nm and unbeatable fuel efficiency. In 2016, the A321 represented over 40 percent of single aisle deliveries and over 60 percent of single aisle orders.

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